Thursday, June 30, 2011

2011 Proof American Silver Eagles

Posted by Mint News Blog | Filed Under: Silver Eagles

The United States Mint will begin sales of the 2011 Proof Silver Eagles today, June 30, 2011 at 12:00 Noon ET. Traditionally, this has been one of the Mint’s most popular annual collector offerings.

A collectible proof version of the American Silver Eagle has been offered each year from 1986 to present, with the exception of 2009. The obverse design features Adolph A. Weinman’s classic depiction of Liberty from the Walking Liberty Half Dollar. The reverse features a heraldic eagle designed by former Chief Engraver of the United States Mint John Mercanti.

The 2011 Proof Silver Eagles are struck at the West Point Mint and carry the “W” mint mark. Each coin is struck in .999 fine silver and has a weight of one troy ounce.

Pricing for this years offering has been set at $59.95 per coin. This represents an increase of $14 from the price of last year’s offering. Reportedly, a silver market price of $37.50 per ounce was basis for this year’s pricing. Silver is currently trading around $34.80 per ounce.

An initial ordering limit of 100 coins per household will be in place for the start of sales. The same limit was initially imposed last year, but removed after two weeks of sales.

Even before the actual start of sales, things seem to be going more smoothly for the Proof Silver Eagle offering. Last year, the release date took place very late in the year on November 19. In the week leading up to the release date, the US Mint sent 100,000 incorrect email notifications stating that the product was canceled. Shortly after the start of sales, approximately 2,200 orders were deleted in error.

Let’s hope that today’s release continues to go smoothly. Here is a link to the US Mint’s product page.

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Wednesday, June 29, 2011

2010-P Grand Canyon Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin

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


It’s time for another America the Beautiful 5 oz. silver numismatic release. Today, June 29, 2011 at 12:00 Noon ET, the US Mint will begin accepting orders for the Grand Canyon National Park Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins.

The reverse of the coin, designed and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill, features a view of the granaries above the Nankoweap Delta in Marble Canyon near the Colorado River. The obverse features the 1932 portrait of George Washington by John Flanagan.

Following the format of previous numismatic releases, the coins will include the “P” mint mark and carry a finish created through a vapor blasting technique.

The Grand Canyon Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins are priced at $279.95 each and have a maximum mintage of 27,000. An ordering limit of one coin per household has been established and will remain in place for at least the first week of sales.

This will represent the fourth numismatic release in the program. The first release featuring Hot Springs saw a flood of orders during the opening hour of sales that took down the US Mint’s website. Orders were received to meet the 27,000 mintage following 15 days of availability, after which a waiting list was imposed.

The next release featuring Yellowstone National Park experienced a less turbulent opening, and the US Mint’s website remained operational. The pace of sales was around the same level as the prior release, with a sell out achieved after 15 days. This time, there was no waiting list.

The most recent release featuring Yosemite National Park saw opening sales that were somewhat slower than the prior two releases. However, after 14 days of availability, orders had been received to meet the 27,000 maximum and a waiting list was imposed. The coins still remain available for ordering on the US Mint’s website on a waiting list basis.

Once again, it’s likely that the Grand Canyon design will achieve a sell out of the maximum mintage. If the pattern of the last two releases holds, the coins might be available for about two weeks.

The big question is how will the US Mint handle the future numismatic releases of the series after the last of the 2010-dated coins? Presumably, the low mintage of 27,000 was the result of the limited time frame and/or precious metals blanks available before the close of last year. Given the opportunity, will the US Mint increase the mintage levels, as they did for the bullion versions of the coin? The 2010-dated bullion coins had 33,000 per design, while the 2011-dated versions have had 126,700 per design.

In terms of collector products, the US Mint has a tendency to increase mintage levels for products that quickly sell out. At some point, the increased mintages start to have the opposite effect and actually serve as a detriment to sales. A recent example is the one ounce Proof Platinum Eagle, which had a maximum mintage of 8,000 coins in 2009. This was increased to 10,000 for 2010, and finally 15,000 for the current year. The 2009 and 2010 issues sold out in about a week, while this year’s coin has been lingering and selling slowly. Nearly doubling the maximum mintage may be a significant factor in the slower sales.

Personally, I would prefer if the US Mint keeps the same 27,000 maximum mintage for the 2011-dated numismatic ATB 5 oz. Silver Coins. This would maintain a level of enthusiasm and collectibility based to the limited nature, which would help to preserve the collector base for the ongoing series.

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Tuesday, June 28, 2011

September 11 Medal Sales at 50,998

Posted by Mint News Blog | Filed Under: Commemorative Coins


After just under one week of availability, sales of the 2011 National September 11 Medals have reached 50,998. This seems to be a relatively strong start for a medal, but it remains well below the ambitious maximum authorized mintage of 2,000,000. At this point, sales account for only 2.55% of the maximum.

View the full weekly sales report at CoinUpdate.com.

The total sales for the September 11 Medals are made up of 33,046 and 17,952 of the “W” and “P” mint marked versions, respectively. The authorizing legislation had provided that to the extent possible one half of the medals should be struck at West Point and one half at Philadelphia. The US Mint allows customers to order either version without any limits or specific proportions established.

The initial unit sales are below the level of the 2011 Army Silver Dollars released earlier this year. Within a comparable sales period, the coins had sold 67,593 across proof and uncirculated versions. The initial sales figures for the 2011 Medal of Honor Silver Dollars were lower at 35,502, however the initial period only covered two days.

Some factors potentially weighing on the sales: 1.) the fact that it is a medal rather than a coin with a legal tender face value; 2.) the fact that it is not part of any ongoing series or program; 3.) competition from the flood of other silver numismatic products; and 4.) there seems to be very little awareness of the medal in the mass market where the coins could potentially sell in greater numbers.

There was some mainstream and local coverage of the launch event held at the start of sales. (This article includes some images of the actual medal.) However, the number of articles on the official US Mint medal have been fewer in number than the articles which appeared in the media earlier this year about the “bogus” or “fake” 9/11 commemorative coins offered by a private company.

I believe the last time the US Mint offered silver medals was the National Wildlife Refuge System Centennial Medal Series of 2003. The 1.5 inch diameter silver medals featured Theodore Roosevelt on the obverse and four separate reverse designs featuring the Bald Eagle, Elk, Canvasback Duck, and Salmon. The maximum mintages were 35,000 for the Bald Eagle medal and 25,000 for each of the other designs. If memory serves, each of these medals sold out rather quickly, which would have made for total medal sales of 110,000 units across the four designs.

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Monday, June 27, 2011

Ulysses S. Grant Presidential $1 Coin Cover

Posted by Mint News Blog | Filed Under: Coin Covers, Presidential Dollars

The United States Mint will begin sales of the Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Dollar Coin Cover on June 29, 2011 at 12:00 Noon ET. This will be the 18th release in the American Presidency $1 Coin Cover series.

Each cover includes Ulysses S. Grant Dollars sourced from the first day of mintage at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints. These two coins are mounted on a display card and placed within an illustrated envelope including a 44-cent postage stamp with a postmark of “May 19, 2011 St. Louis, MO”, the official circulation release date of the coins.

The US Mint redesigned these covers starting with the prior release. The portrait of the President was reduced in size to make room for a black bar at the bottom of the envelope, which includes the Treasury Department and US Mint logos. The design used for the first 16 covers featured a larger and more prominent head and shoulders portrait of each President.

Each cover is priced at $19.95 plus applicable shipping and handling. The maximum production limit is established at 22,000 units. Compared to last year’s covers, this is a price increase of $4 and production limit decrease of 10,000 units.

The most recently released Andrew Johnson Coin Cover has sold 16,313 units as of the latest available sales report. Previously released covers remain available for sale at the US Mint all the way back to William Henry Harrison, the 9th President.

Coin Update News: Interview with Erik Jansen, Newest Member of CCAC

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Thursday, June 23, 2011

Yosemite Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins on Waiting List

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

The US Mint has posted a “waiting list” notice for the 2010-P Yosemite National Park Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin.
This notice signifies that the United States Mint has received orders to meet the maximum mintage limit for the product. Orders are still being accepting, but they will go on a waiting list, which will be fulfilled on a first come, first served basis in the event that any coins become available due to order cancellations.

Sales figures for the third numismatic release had been trending slower than the previous releases, which makes the apparent sell out an unexpected development.

The Yosemite coin went on sale June 9, 2011. Through the first US Mint sales report on June 12, total sales had reached 20,511 units. In the following week, sales of 2,593 units were recorded to bring the total to 23,104 on June 19. If the waiting list notice is correct, then an additional 3,896 have been sold since that date to reach the maximum mintage of 27,000 coins.

In total, the Yosemite National Park Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins have been available for 14 days before the waiting list notice was posted. This compares to availability of 15 days each for the prior two releases featuring Hot Springs and Yellowstone National Park.

Other News

Yesterday, the US Mint reduced the price of the 2011 Proof Platinum Eagle. Since the start of sales on May 26, 2011, the coins had been priced at $2,092 each. The new price is $1,992 per coin, reflecting an average platinum price within the $1,650 to $1,749.99 range.

Today, the US Mint officially announced the details for the fourth numismatic ATB five ounce silver coin featuring Grand Canyon National Park. Sales will begin on June 29, 2011 at 12:00 Noon ET. The price per coin will remain at $279.95, and the same ordering limit of one coin per household will be imposed.

Details of the 2011 Proof Silver Eagle were also announced. Nothing has changed from the preliminary details provided earlier this month. Sales will begin on June 30, 2011. The coins will be priced at $59.95 each, and an initial ordering limit of 100 coins per household will be in place. There is no maximum mintage limit established.

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