Monday, October 17, 2011

Individual One Ounce 2011 Proof Gold Eagle Sold Out

Posted by Mint News Blog | Filed Under: Gold Eagles

On Friday, the US Mint officially sold out of the individual option for the one ounce 2011 Proof Gold Eagle. The coin does remain available for sale as part of the four coin set.

I believe this is the first 2011-dated US Mint numismatic product to achieve a sell out of the maximum product limit.

The 2011 Proof Gold Eagles originally went on sale April 20, 2011. The original price for the individual one ounce coin was $1,735, which was adjusted throughout the course of the offering based on the average market price of gold. During the course of the offering the price ranged from a low of $1,735 to a high of $2,135. At the time of the sell out, the price was $1,935.

The maximum product limit for the individual option was 30,000 coins. The limit for the four coin set is 40,000. Sales for the set have reached 11,765 based on the latest available data.

The individual one ounce 2011 Proof Gold Eagle had been just under the sell out level for some time. Near the end of August sales exceeded 29,000 units, and then reached 29,917 in the following week. For the next several weeks, sales reports indicated negative or minimal sales. Finally, the latest report covering the week ending October 10, showed a big jump which brought total sales back near the sell out mark.

The period of slow and negative sales figures coincided with the recent decline in the market price of gold.

In an interesting bit of news, the US Mint has recently extended their numismatic pricing grid to cover average gold market prices up to $2,999.99 per ounce. Previously the chart only went up to $2,049.99.

25 Comments
Thursday, October 13, 2011

25th Anniversary Silver Eagle Set on Sale October 27

Posted by Mint News Blog | Filed Under: Silver Eagles

The US Mint has confirmed that the 25th Anniversary Silver Eagle Set will go on sale October 27, 2011 with shipping expected to begin in late November. Unfortunately, there are still no pricing details available.

Some details of the offering were previously provided in a US Mint press release. The five coin sets will include one proof coin struck at the West Point Mint, one uncirculated coin struck at the West Point Mint, one uncirculated coin struck at the San Francisco Mint, one reverse proof coin struck at the Philadelphia Mint, and one bullion coin. As indicated elsewhere, the coins will carry the appropriate mint marks, with the exception of the bullion coin, which will not have a mint mark.

Through other product offerings or channels, the US Mint has already offered an uncirculated coin struck at West Point, a proof coin struck at West Point, and bullion coin. Based on available information, it seems that the two remaining coins will be unique to the 25th Anniversary Set.

From the press release, the Mint plans to produce “up to 100,000″ of the sets with a household order limit of 5.

A lot of people are speculating on the price for the 25th Anniversary Silver Eagle Set. My guess would be above $300, maybe $320 to $350. In recent history, US Mint numismatic product prices tend to be higher than collectors expect. I might be wrong, but we will see.

It doesn’t always work to add up the prices of individual coins included within a multi-coin product. Back in 2006, the US Mint offered the 20th Anniversary Gold and Silver Eagle Set for $850. Later (and I believe concurrent with the offering) the one ounce 2006-W Gold Eagle and 2006-W Silver Eagle contained in the set were available individually for $720 and $19.95, or $739.95.

To provide some additional data, the 2006 20th Anniversary Silver Eagle Set containing an uncirculated coin, proof coin, and reverse proof coin was priced at $100 per set. At the time, the proof coin was priced individually at $27.95 and the uncirculated coin was later offered for $19.95. The market price of silver was around $12 per ounce.

At the end of the day (as long as the product limit remains 100,000 or less and the two potentially unique coins are unique), secondary market prices will be almost immediately significantly higher than whatever the US Mint issue price is.

125 Comments
Tuesday, October 11, 2011

US Mint Circulating Coin Production September 2011

Posted by Mint News Blog | Filed Under: Coin Mintages

New circulating coin production figures are available from the US Mint. During the month of September, there were 811.42 million coins struck at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints across all denominations.

The latest monthly total represents an increase from the previous month when 605.54 million coins were struck. It is also an increase from the year ago period of September 2010, when 690.02 million coins were struck.

A breakdown of production by denomination and mint facility is included below. The first number column represents the production for September 2011, while the second number column represents the total production for the year to date.

2011 US Mint Coin Production Figures
Sept 2011 YTD 2011
Lincoln Cent – Denver 316.40 M 1,924.14 M
Lincoln Cent – Phil. 222.40 M 1,878.40 M
Jefferson Nickel – Denver 58.80 M 422.88 M
Jefferson Nickel – Phil. 42.96 M 369.84 M
Roosevelt Dime – Denver 82.50 M 611.00 M
Roosevelt Dime – Phil. 43.00 M 601.00 M
Quarters – Denver 0 125.60 M
Quarters – Phil. 0 122.40 M
Kennedy Half – Denver 0 1.70 M
Kennedy Half – Phil. 0 1.75 M
Native Am Dollar – Denver 0 23.10 M
Native Am Dollar – Phil. 0 11.62 M
Pres Dollar – Denver 21.70 M 133.56 M
Pres Dollar – Phil. 23.66 M 134.96 M
Total 811.42 M 6,361.95 M

 

The three smallest denominations accounted for nearly all coin production for the month. There were 538.80 million cents, 101.76 million nickels, and 125.50 million dimes struck, which 94.4% of all production.

There were no quarters, half dollars, or Native American Dollars produced for the month.

The US Mint produced 45.36 million Presidential Dollars, which appear to be the start of production for the next design featuring James Garfield. Although there have been seven bills introduced in Congress seeking to abolish, suspend, or limit the production of Presidential Dollars, so far none of these bills have been voted on. There has been one bill introduced seeking to transition from paper $1 bills to $1 coins, which would likely result in much higher production for $1 coins. This bill has been referred to committee and has not been voted on.

The Mint has not provided any new or updated production figures by individual design. The previously released preliminary figures for the first four 2011 America the Beautiful Quarters designs and the first three 2011 Presidential Dollar designs are shown below.

2011 US Mint Coin Production by Design
Denver Phil. Total
Gettysburg Quarter 30.80 M 30.40 M 61.20 M
Glacier Quarter 31.20 M 30.40 M 61.60 M
Olympic Quarter 30.60 M 30.40 M 61.00 M
Vicksburg Quarter 33.40 M 30.80 M 64.20 M
Andrew Johnson Dollar 37.10 M 35.56 M 72.66 M
Ulysses S. Grant Dollar 37.94 M 38.08 M 76.02 M
Rutherford Hayes Dollar 36.82 M 37.66 M 74.48 M

 

Numismatic Gold Product Price Increase

After four consecutive price decreases, a price increase is possible for gold numismatic products this week. The four decreases on September 14, September 21, September 28, and October 5 brought prices lower by the equivalent of $250 per ounce of gold content.

The average market price of gold for the weekly period (excluding the Wednesday AM price) is within the $1,650 to $1,699.99 range. In the most likely scenario, as long as the Wednesday PM price is above $1,650 per ounce, then the price increase would take place. In the past, the US Mint has made pricing changes effective around mid-morning on Wednesday.

Gold products which would have their prices increased include the 2011 Proof Gold Eagles, 2011-W Uncirculated Gold Eagle, 2011 Proof Gold Buffalo, First Spouse Gold Coins, and 2011 commemorative gold coins.

The average market price for platinum seems likely to remain within the $1,450 to $1,549.99 range. As such, the price of the 2011 Proof Platinum Eagle should remain unchanged.

47 Comments
Friday, October 7, 2011

US Mint Reduces Prices for Silver Numismatic Products

Posted by Mint News Blog | Filed Under: US Mint

The United States Mint has resumed sales for previously suspended silver numismatic products, with some at lower prices. An array of silver products had been suspended on September 26, 2011, following a sharp decline in the market price of silver.

Yesterday, sales of the 2010 and 2011 Silver Proof Sets and America the Beautiful Silver Proof Sets had resumed at the prices previously in effect.

Today, sales of the 2011 Proof Silver Eagle, 2011-W Uncirculated Silver Eagle, and America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins have resumed. These products reflect price decreases of $9.50 or $10.00 per ounce of silver content. A summary of the old price, the new price, and the change is included in the table below.

Old Price New Price Change
2011 Proof Silver Eagle 68.45 58.95 -9.50
2011-W Unc Silver Eagle 60.45 50.95 -9.50
ATB 5 oz. Silver Unc Coins 279.95 229.95 -50.00

 

I believe this is the first time that the US Mint has reduced the prices of silver numismatic products during the course of an offering.

On the other hand, they have increased prices of silver products during an offering. Most recently this took place for the 2011 Proof Silver Eagle, which had its price raised from $59.95 to $68.45 in early September. The decrease effective today, brings the price $1 below the original price.

59 Comments
Thursday, October 6, 2011

US Mint Last Opportunity Products

Posted by Mint News Blog | Filed Under: US Mint

The US Mint has added a “Last Opportunity” section to their website to highlight products which will only remain available for a limited time. This section has appeared on their website periodically over the past few years.View the section on the US Mint website here.

None of the products listed in the section are particularly surprising. Here is a listing of the products and the last day of sales. Availability through the listed date would also be subject to the US Mint’s remaining inventory, so earlier sell outs could occur.

November 15, 2011 12:00 Noon ET

  • 2010 Mount Hood National Park Quarter bags and rolls

As stated on the product pages, the US Mint has been offering bags and rolls of each America the Beautiful Quarter design for one year from the initial release date. The date shown above occurs at the one year mark.

November 18, 2011 12:00 Noon ET

  • 2009 Zachary Taylor Presidential Dollar Rolls

All other 2009 and 2010 Presidential Dollar rolls have already sold out, so this will clean up the offerings so only the designs from 2011 and onwards will be available.

December 1, 2011 12:00 Noon ET

  • Proof 2010 Mary Todd Lincoln First Spouse Gold Coins

This coincides with the release date of the Lucretia Garfield First Spouse Gold Coins. For a few years, the US Mint had consistently timed the close of sales to coincide with the release date for the coin one year ahead in the schedule. For the most part, this did not take place for the 2010-dated coins, which sold out earlier at unexpected times. The proof Mary Todd Lincoln coin has managed to remain available.

December 16, 2011 5:00 PM ET

  • 2011 Army $5 Gold
  • 2011 Army Silver Dollar
  • 2011 Army Half Dollar
  • 2011 Medal of Honor $5 Gold
  • 2011 Medal of Honor Silver Dollar

Under the authorizing legislation, the US Mint is only allowed to sell these commemorative coins during the 2011 calendar year. As in the past, the US Mint is concluding sales a few weeks before that to allow time for order processing and delivery before the close of the year. Some of this year’s commemoratives seem poised to have historically low mintages. See this post.

December 30, 2011 5:00 PM ET

  • 2010 Silver Proof Set
  • 2010 Proof Set
  • 2010 Uncirculated Mint Set
  • 2010 Presidential Dollar Proof Set
  • 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters Proof Set
  • 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set

As mentioned on this site several times before, the US Mint has been planning to conclude sales of the 2010 annual sets at the close of this year. Despite the long duration of the sales period, sales are historically low for some options. See this post.

What is surprising is some of the products that were not included in the section. The US Mint will apparently continue to sell Presidential Dollar Coin Covers from 2009 and 2010, all of the 2010 Presidential $1 Coin & First Spouse Medal Sets, and the 2010 Lincoln Cent Two Roll Sets. In the past, the US Mint has sometimes included similar products in the “Last Opportunity” section to provide a definitive sales ending date.

Other News

On Wednesday, the US Mint implemented pricing changes for numismatic gold and platinum products. The gold products were priced lower by one pricing increment ($50 for each ounce of gold content). The basis for the new prices is an average gold price in the $1,600 to $1,649.99 range.

The single platinum product was lowered in price by one increment ($100). The basis for the new price is an average platinum price in the $1,450 to $1,549.99 range.

Without explanation, the US Mint resumed sales of the 2010 and 2011 Silver Proof Sets and ATB Quarter Silver Proof Sets. The other previously suspended silver numismatic products remain unavailable. These suspended products include the 2011 Proof Silver Eagle, 2011-W Uncirculated Silver Eagle, 2010-P Mount Hood 5 Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin, and 2011-P Gettysburg 5 Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin.

10 Comments
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »