Friday, April 29, 2011

Quick US Mint Product Updates

Posted by Mint News Blog | Filed Under: US Mint

Before the weekend, I wanted to provide some new information on various US Mint products. This includes sales figures for the 2010-P Hot Springs Silver Coins, and release information for the Eliza Johnson First Spouse Gold Coin and 2011-W Uncirculated Gold Eagle.

2010-P Hot Springs 5 Ounce Uncirculated Coins

Sales of this highly anticipated product began at the United States Mint yesterday at 12:00 Noon ET. After taking more than 6,000 orders in the first hour, the US Mint’s website went down and stayed down for about 45 minutes.

Prior to the start of sales, website problems were expected and the US Mint warned customers that they may encounter delays. By the Mint’s own admission, they have “an antiquated order management system”. While replacing the system is a priority, it won’t happen until mid-2012.

Sales continued throughout the day at a rapid pace, but it was not fast enough to result in a one day sell out. As reported on Coin Update News, through April 28, 2011 at 9:00 PM ET, the US Mint had accepted more than 19,000 orders in total. This accounts for more than 70% of the total mintage of 27,000 coins.

At the time of this post, the coins still remain available for sale on the US Mint’s website.

Eliza Johnson First Spouse Gold Coins

The US Mint will begin sales of the Eliza Johnson First Spouse Gold Coins next week on May 5, 2011. This issue was originally scheduled to be released on March 3, but the release was delayed without any official explanation.

A maximum mintage of 15,000 coins across proof and uncirculated versions has been announced. This is the same mintage level that was in place for the 2010 releases, except for the Mary Todd Lincoln Coin, which was set at 20,000.

If the US Mint follows prior procedures sales of the Abigail Fillmore coins will end to coincide with the start of sales for the Eliza Johnson coins. Currently, only the proof version of the Abigail Fillmore coin remains available. The last reported sales were 6,093.

2011-W Uncirculated Gold Eagle

Also on May 5, 2011, the US Mint will begin sales of the 2011-W Uncirculated Gold Eagle. This will be the first collectible uncirculated Gold Eagle issued by the US Mint since 2008. These coins are struck on specially burnished blanks and carry the “W” mint mark.

Only a one ounce coin will be available. The fractional weight versions were previously announced as discontinued.

There will be no ordering limits and no stated maximum mintage levels. Pricing will be based on the average price of gold leading up to the release. If gold remains within the $1,500 to $1,549.99 range, then the coins would be $1,778 each.

Additional coverage of these two upcoming releases will be provided next week.

230 Comments
Wednesday, April 27, 2011

2010 Hot Springs National Park 5 Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin

Posted by Mint News Blog | Filed Under: America the Beautiful Quarters

Tomorrow April 28, 2011 at 12:00 Noon ET, the United States Mint will begin sales of the 2010 Hot Springs National Park 5 oz. Silver Uncirculated Coin. This is the first numismatic version of the America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins to be released.
The coins are struck in 5 troy ounces of .999 fine silver and have a diameter of 3 inches. The weight and fineness are indicated on incused edge lettering. The designs for the coin are identical to the circulating quarter dollar and the previously issued 5 oz silver bullion version.

These numismatic versions carry the “P” mintmark for Philadelphia and feature a brilliant uncirculated finish. The coins are encapsulated and placed in a presentation case with a certificate of authenticity. The mintage is limited to 27,000 coins, which is less than the 33,000 mintage for the bullion version.

The price for each uncirculated 2010-P Hot Springs 5 oz. Silver Coin will be $279.95. This represents a premium about $46.35 or 19.84% above the metal value based on a silver price of $46.72 per ounce.

Notice of the product pricing was officially published on April 18, when the market price of silver was less than $43 per ounce. As the price of silver subsequently moved towards $50 per ounce, there was some speculation as to whether the US Mint would be forced to increase the product price. However, so far, there has been no indication that the price of $279.95 will be changed.

The US Mint will impose an ordering limit of one coin per household. This limit will remain in place for at least the first week of sales, after which point it may be extended, increased, or removed.

With a limited mintage and considerable interest from collectors. A sell out is widely expected. The main question is how long will it take?

The last rapid sell out for a “one per household” US Mint product was for the 2009 Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set. This product was limited to 50,000 units and priced at $55.95 each. By 5:00 PM ET on the first day of availability, the US Mint had sold 29,919 sets. It took until the following day at 6:00 PM ET (30 hours of availability), for a complete sell out of all 50,000 units.

The product page for the 2010 Hot Springs National Park Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin can be found on the US Mint’s website here. Ordering options will not be available until the official start of sales tomorrow at 12:00 Noon ET.

2011 America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins

Earlier this week, the US Mint made the first two designs of the 2011 ATB Silver Bullion Coins available to authorized purchasers. The bullion releases for this year will have significantly higher mintages than the previous year. The initial mintage level has been indicated at 126,500 for each of the first two designs, with a goal of maintaining at least this minimum mintage level for the following three designs.

On the opening day of availability, US Mint authorized purchasers placed orders for 153,400 coins. Each authorized purchaser was limited to a specific allocated quantity and could only purchase the 2011-dated bullion coins if they certified that all prior year coins were sold in accordance with the special terms and conditions imposed.

229 Comments
Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Proof Gold Eagle Sales Figures

Posted by Mint News Blog | Filed Under: Gold Eagles

The initial sales figures are now available for the 2011 Proof Gold Eagles. These coins went on sale last week on April 21, one day after the market price of gold broke above the $1,500 level.


2011 Proof Gold Eagle Sales
1 ounce 7,249
1/2 ounce 1,159
1/4 ounce 1,313
1/10 ounce 3,680
4 Coin Set 3,988

The figures above represent sales through April 24, 2011, and come from the weekly Coin Update News US Mint sales report. The numbers are down by about 50% for each product option from the initial sales levels for last year’s coins.

Leading up to the offering, there certainly seemed to be less excitement compared to the 2010 release. At that time, the return of the Proof Gold Eagle following a one year cancellation had captured collector’s attention, and there was plenty of pent up demand following a lengthy period of unavailability.

For this year’s release, a lot of collector focus was still devoted to the America the Beautiful 5 oz. Silver coins. Also the circumstances of the 2011 Proof Gold Eagles were more typical, with an early release date and little doubt about the status of the offering.

Despite the drop from the prior year sales levels, figures are well ahead of the early sales numbers for the 2008-dated coins. The chart below shows the initial sales figures for the 2008, 2010, and 2011 Proof Gold Eagles. The numbers for the 2008 release reflect the first six days of sales, while the other numbers represent the first three days of sales.

Initial Proof Gold Eagle Sales Figures
2011 2010 2008
1 ounce 7,249 13,980 3,120
1/2 ounce 1,159 2,173 598
1/4 ounce 1,313 2,780 518
1/10 ounce 3,680 6,945 1,347
4 Coin Set 3,988 7,147 1,691

Price Increase for 2011 Proof Gold Eagles?

When the 2011 Proof Gold Eagles went on sale, they were priced based on an average gold price in the $1,450 to $1,499.99 range. The price of gold is currently just above the $1,500 level, creating the possibility for a price increase tomorrow. The calculation will probably come right down to the wire, determined by the Wednesday PM London Fix price.

The US Mint calculates the average gold price based on the London Fix prices from the prior Thursday AM to the current Wednesday AM. Furthermore, the Wednesday PM price must agree directionally with the change. For the present period, London markets were closed on Friday and Monday.

London Gold Fix Prices
Apr 21 Thurs AM 1507.00
Thurs PM 1504.00
Apr 22 Fri AM N/A
Fri PM N/A
Apr 25 Mon AM N/A
Mon PM N/A
Apr 26 Tues AM 1505.00
Tues PM 1497.50
Apr 27 Wed AM ?

By my calculation, a price increase will take place if the Wednesday AM price is $1,486.50 or higher and the Wednesday PM price is $1,500 or higher.

A pricing increase would impact the 2011 Proof Gold Eagles, 2010 Proof Gold Buffalo, Abigail Fillmore First Spouse Gold Coin, and Mary Todd Lincoln First Spouse Gold Coins.

35 Comments
Monday, April 25, 2011

2011 Presidential $1 Coin Uncirculated Set

Posted by Mint News Blog | Filed Under: Presidential Dollars

The United States Mint will begin sales of the 2011 Presidential Dollars Uncirculated Set on April 27, 2011 at 12:00 Noon ET. The coins included in this year’s set feature Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, and James Garfield.
One example from the US Mint facilities at Philadelphia and Denver are included for each release, for a total of eight coins. These are mounted in an illustrated folder that includes biographical information for each President.

The front of the folder is slightly modified from the design used for 2007 to 2010 sets, in order to incorporate the US Mint’s new branding. The four sections including portraits of each president are reduced slightly in size and a black bar is added at the bottom with the US Mint logo and Treasury Department seal.

Each set is priced at $19.95 plus applicable shipping and handling. This is an increase of $1 from last year’s comparable product.

While it is not specified in the press release or preliminary product page, presumably these uncirculated coins carry the “brilliant finish” used for the 2011 Uncirculated Mint Set. Last year, a satin finish was used for the annual mint set and Presidential Dollar Uncirculated Set.

The 2010-dated set went on sale more than a year ago. Through the most recent sales report, the US Mint has sold 95,254 units. In the prior year, the 2009-dated set had last reported sales of 105,059 units.

17 Comments
Saturday, April 23, 2011

Silver Melt Values for Proof Sets and Mint Sets

Posted by Mint News Blog | Filed Under: Annual Sets


In the past week, the price of silver rose by more than 8% to close at $46.86 per ounce. The continued rapid rise in silver has had the obvious consequence of increasing the melt values for silver coins. The values of US Mint Proof and Uncirculated Coin Sets have also seen a dramatic rise.

For tracking the silver values of individual coins, I recommend Coinflation.com. With this post, I wanted to provide information on the silver values for modern era proof sets and mint sets. These sets may contain multiple silver coins in addition to base metal coins, so the values can take a bit of calculation.

The table below shows various categories of proof sets and mint sets issued by the US Mint, as well as the 40% silver Eisenhower Dollars issued in the 1970′s. The silver content of the set in troy ounces is shown, followed by the silver value calculated based on $46.86 per ounce, other face value of non silver coins, and a total.

Silver Content and Values for Proof Sets and Mint Sets

Silver oz. Silver value Other FV Total
1950-1964 Proof Sets 0.61487 $ 28.70 $ 0.06 $ 28.76
1959-1964 Mint Sets 1.22974 $ 57.40 $ 0.12 $ 57.52
1965-1967 Special Mint Sets 0.1479 $ 6.90 $ 0.41 $ 7.31
1968-1970 Proof Sets 0.1479 $ 6.90 $ 0.41 $ 7.31
1968-1970 Mint Sets 0.1479 $ 6.90 $ 0.83 $ 7.73
1971-1974 Blue Ikes 0.3161 $ 14.76 0 $ 14.76
1971-1974 Brown Ikes 0.3161 $ 14.76 0 $ 14.76
1976 3 pc Silver Proof Set 0.5379 $ 25.11 0 $ 25.11
1976 3 pc Silver Mint Set 0.5379 $ 25.11 0 $ 25.11
1992-1998 Silver Proof Sets 0.61487 $ 28.70 $ 0.06 $ 28.76
1999 Silver Proof Set 1.33823 $ 62.47 $ 0.06 $ 62.53
2000-2003, 2006 Silver Proof Sets 1.33823 $ 62.47 $ 1.06 $ 63.53
2004-2005 Silver Proof Sets 1.33823 $ 62.47 $ 1.11 $ 63.58
2007-2008 Silver Proof Sets 1.33823 $ 62.47 $ 5.06 $ 67.53
2009 Silver Proof Set 1.51907 $ 70.91 $ 5.09 $ 76.00
2010-2011 Silver Proof Sets 1.33823 $ 62.47 $ 5.06 $ 67.53
2004-2008 Silver Quarters Proof Sets 0.9042 $ 42.21 0 $ 42.21
2009 Quarters Silver Proof Set 1.08504 $ 50.65 0 $ 50.65
2010-2011 Silver Quarters Proof Sets 0.9042 $ 42.21 0 $ 42.21

For anyone unfamiliar with some of these products or the silver content, the sets from 1964 and earlier contain 90% silver dimes, quarters, and half dollars. The proof sets contain one of each denomination, while the mint sets contain two (one from Philadelphia and one from Denver). The silver content of each coin is 0.07234 ounces (dime), 0.18084 (quarter), and .36169 (half dollar).

From 1965 to 1970, the half dollar was struck in a composition of 40% silver with silver content of 0.1479 ounces. The special mint sets, proof sets, and mint sets of this era each contained one half dollar, with the remaining coins in base metal compositions.

From 1971 to 1974, the US Mint struck Eisenhower Dollars in a composition of 40% silver for direct sale to collectors. These coins have silver content of 0.3161 ounces.

In 1976, proof and uncirculated 3 piece sets were produced which contained the Bicentennial design quarter, half dollar, and dollar coins struck in 40% silver. The silver content for each coin was 0.0739 ounces (quarter), 0.1479 (half dollar), and 0.3161 (dollar).

Starting in 1992, the US Mint produced Silver Proof Sets with the dime, quarter, and half dollar struck in 90% silver. The silver content matches the pre-1965 coins. For the 1999-2008 50 State Quarters Program, each set included 5 quarters, and for the 2009 DC & US Territories Program each set included 6 quarters. Separate sets including just the 90% silver quarters have been available from 2004 to present.

Currently, the US Mint has suspended sales of the 2010 and 2011 Silver Proof Set and Silver Quarters Proof Sets. Sales were halted when the silver melt values for each set began to approach the issue prices.

75 Comments
« Older Posts