2014-W Proof American Gold Buffalo

Tomorrow, May 8, 2014 at 12:00 Noon ET, the United States Mint will begin accepting orders for the 2014-W Proof American Gold Buffalo. The latest annual release follows the excitement surrounding last year’s reverse proof version and the early sell out of the standard proof at a low mintage level.

2014 Proof Gold Buffalo

The American Gold Buffalo coin series was launched in 2006 as the first 99.99% pure gold produced by the United States Mint. Under the authorizing legislation, for the first year of issue, the coins were required to carry the original designs created by James Earle Fraser for the 1913 Type 1 Buffalo Nickel. This classic design features the portrait of a Native American created from a composite of real life models on the obverse paired with the iconic image of an American Bison on the reverse. The authorizing legislation specifically provided that the obverse or reverse design could be changed after the first year of issue, however this option has not been exercised and the designs have remained the same throughout the series.

For the first two years of the series in 2006 and 2007, the coins were issued in 1 oz size in both bullion and proof format. In 2008, the number of numismatic versions was vastly expanded with fractional weight proof coins in 1/10 oz, 1/4 oz, and 1/2 oz sizes in addition to the 1 oz size. Collectible uncirculated versions were also offered across the four different sizes. Amidst a broad retrenchment in the US Mint’s numismatic product offerings, the newly introduced versions were discontinued after the close of the year.

From 2009 to 2012, the offerings reverted to the original 1 oz size bullion and proof versions. For 2013, the US Mint offered a 1 oz reverse proof version of the coin to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the design, which was available to order during a four week window. The reverse proof coin reached orders of 47,836, while the standard proof remained somewhat under the radar and sold out early with last reported sales of 18,594.

For this year, the offerings have reverted to the standard 1 oz bullion coin released on January 2 and the 1 oz proof coin released tomorrow.

packageThe 2014-W Proof American Gold Buffalo is offered without an indicated mintage limit and there are no household ordering limits in place. The coins are priced according to the pricing grid for numismatic gold and silver products and may be adjusted weekly. For the start of sales, the coins are priced at $1,640 each based on an average gold price within the $1,250 to $1,299.99 range.

Each coin is struck in 1 troy ounce of 99.99% pure gold with a diameter of 1.287 inches and a reeded edge. The “W” mint mark appears on the obverse to signify production at the West Point Mint. The coins come housed in an elegant hardwood box with matte finish and are accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

It seems possible that this year’s offering will see stronger demand than the prior year. Following heavy demand for the annual Proof Gold Buffalo in 2009 and 2010, sales levels had marked declines for the next three years. This seemed to culminate with the low reached in 2013, when collector demand was divided between the standard offering and the special reverse proof. If sales mark a gain compared to last year, this would solidify the status of some of the lower mintage issues of the series.

The current lowest mintage for a 1 oz proof Gold Buffalo is held by the 2013-W at last reported sales of 18,594 pieces. The lowest mintage for any proof Gold Buffalo is for the 2008-W 1/2 oz coin with a final audited mintage of 12,169. The status of lowest mintage for any Gold Buffalo coin is held by the 2008-W 1 oz uncirculated coin at a final audited mintage of 9,074 pieces.

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Comments

  1. jy says

    any news on a revised reverse proof mintage? – or is 47,836 the official total?

  2. KEITHSTER says

    Wow the balls keep arolling a few of mine that were set for the 16th. will now be ready to go by aug.7th talk about trying to do a hot game of keep away. Sure alot of yours have moved out too. Not that them dates mean alot but the thought will keep them hot for now and the long waiting list will give the mint all the time they want.Wish I could get one of these but have to wait and see if the FS’s want to come home with me first Good luck with these those that can get them And Good Luck To The Rest Also:>:>:>

  3. Louis says

    off topic: A couple months ago someone posted a link to a supply seller (JP’s Corner) for the ATB 5 oz/puck albums. I went to JP’s but can’t find it. Please re-post link. Thanks in advance.

  4. Jon in CT says

    Louis wrote on May 7, 2014 at 4:24 PM:

    off topic: A couple months ago someone posted a link to a supply seller (JP’s Corner) for the ATB 5 oz/puck albums. I went to JP’s but can’t find it. Please re-post link. Thanks in advance.

    Wizard Coin Supply sells the “Book of Silver” 5 oz AtB album for $2 less.

  5. says

    Off topic…….what is going on with the mint and delivery dates/shipments? For example, I ordered the Silver Proof Set and the UNC. Silver Eagle. They shipped out in less than a week. Great! Kennedy rolls and PROOF Eagle pretty much the same time period. But, when we get to the BHOF, very odd indeed. I was one of the first in line……completed at 1:09 on 3/27/14. The clad shipped out on 4-3, Great! The Silver shipped out on 4-18, not terrible. But the GOLD? Who knows? Proof originally said 4-21 then went to 6-21. UNC always said 6-21. Yesterday they both jumped to 6-30! What is going on? Were most of these not made pending public demand? Anyone else having similar results? Very frustrating. Sorry to be bitching.

  6. gary says

    Gold took a tumble today. Perhaps the 2014 Buffalo Proof buyers will catch a break on price tomorrow? After all the bucks just spent on the BHOF $5 gold, I wonder how fast sales will start for this coin.
    Think I’ll pass.
    I am looking forward to the 2014-P 5 oz. Shenandoah launching May 15. (Have a subscription) The design is a real beauty!

  7. fmtransmitter says

    Aydin Coins just emailed with graded HOF. I think the Mint is trying to make both people happy, tough gig. Dealers and long time buyers of their OGP products. I smell kick backs. Seems that is business as usual these days.

  8. Dustyroads says

    People get fired over kick backs. It’s probably just as the Mint CS said; the coins are at a higher level of difficulty to produce.

  9. Jafmidtx says

    I’m thinking that the Mint’s experience with these HOF coins will insure that no more curved coins will get produced. That should be great for the future value of HOF coins.

  10. Louis says

    Dusty- They also go to jail for kickbacks. If someone has evidence, that is one thing. But no matter how much this situation stinks, what basis is there for someone saying “they smell kickbacks”?

    Why not assume that the dealers also got their orders in the first couple hrs? If you see the size of the inventories they are getting of slabbed coins, they are pretty slim, which to me suggests they are dealing with the same problems as the rest of us.

  11. says

    re: Wizard Coin Supply sells the “Book of Silver” 5 oz AtB album …will these albums hold the numismatic “P” version Mint capsules? Thanks

  12. VA Bob says

    Dusty – nobody in the government gets fired. Did you just see the guy that watched porno at work 2 to 6 hours a day since 2010?

  13. VA Bob says

    Gary – I don’t believe the price will go down below what Michael published for this week for the Buff. I will however hold off buying tomorrow and see how it trends.

  14. r says

    Isn’t the article supposed to state the 2008-W uncirculated 1/2 oz Buffalo is the lowest mintage not the 1oz ?

  15. VARich says

     James Earle Fraser 1913 Type 1 Buffalo design ~ one of the most, if not the most, allegoric, beautiful, & historic designs of American coinage, so love the design. Just wish the mint took the opportunity to mix up the 24kt design following 2013.

  16. Dustyroads says

    Louis, Yes that’s true. You may be aware of the high degree of corruption within the Mexican police force. Along the border it’s spilling over into the US in the form of bribery and money for protection like I’ve never seen before. Many of our officials here have been prosecuted and sentenced to prison for dealing with these drug lords. Mexico may look away, but in the US we still like to hang them high when we can.

    VA Bob, Yes I remember that story. I’d hate to have to use his keypad!

    Jon in CT, The “Book of Silver” is very nice. Thanks, I’m remembering Wizard!

  17. Dustyroads says

    VARich, Really , why would you want that? You even stressed how beautiful the design is. I still don’t have one, but I’m hoping I sure would hate to lose my chance and have to settle for one with a high premium.

    BTW, Gold price is really funny right now, flat with little incentive to move up or down. I couldn’t call gold above 1300 a rally, unless it can break 1350. What I have been watching is the 1280-73 mark for low break, and gold doesn’t seem to want to do it. The level we’re at is still looking to me like a firm floor. I also can’t help but wonder at what price people are getting used to paying for gold, are we there?

  18. Louis says

    Thanks, Dusty. I know things are pretty crazy over there. I mainly meant in terms of the Mint, but you are right.

    So are we going to get refunds for all the shipping charges for the black bags if they can’t pony up the coins? I think this thing has the makings of the greatest fiasco in modern USM history if they don’t tell us what is going on.

  19. bg35765 says

    The surprise of the sales report for me was only 101 Smoky Mountains 5 ouncers were sold. It looks like the sell out won’t happen as quickly as some of us would have liked.

    I would love to buy a buffalo tomorrow, but like many of you I am stretched too thin right now between the baseball coins and the upcoming Kennedy halfs.

  20. says

    Prices. In early April prices were for Proof Gold and Uncirculated Gold. Today prices are mostly determined by whether they are Pre-Sale or In Hand. With most of the Golds now scheduled for 06/30 shipments, what are you really buying with a Pre-Sale coin? You just have to wonder how many sales will be voided by the 30 day rule. I just wonder how many people think they are going to get a coin that they bought on the bay and will actually get zippo?

  21. fmtransmitter says

    Mine is in hand ready to go…lol BTW, the French Mint did an awsome job with the FIFA domed coin. Got it today and can’t see a single flaw. Maybe that is where the people went that were helping us out with out HOF domed…lol

  22. Dustyroads says

    I highly doubt the Mint will be forthcoming with an explanation for the delay unless the problem is about to turn epic, which I also doubt. The Mint will be more interested in protect it’s integrity than informing the general public of every detail of it’s “less than desirable” procedures.

    Question, Is $118.00 a decent deal for a clad proof or unc. 70. It sounds a little high to me at this juncture.
    Or is it low? I really don’t like clads, but I can’t help but wonder if they may be “must haves.”

  23. Natatack says

    Even the clad half’s seen to be selling for almost double the issue price, even tho still available from the mint. Most likely shortages and people wanting grad/ Father’s Day gifts in hand now not in July or August

  24. A&L Futures says

    IMO, given today’s PCGS POP report, a clad MS70/PR70 @ $100 might be a good deal.

    Updated PCGS POP report w/ std. 30-day “First Strike” labels (69s / 70s only)

    $5 Proof – 167 x PR69; 368 x PR70
    $5 Unc – 137 x MS69; 210 x MS70

    $1 Proof – 543 x PR69; 1059 x PR70
    $1 Unc – 532 x MS69; 492 x MS70

    $0.50 Proof – 751 x PR69; 392 x PR70
    $0.50 Unc – 489 x MS69; 349 x MS70

  25. gatortreke says

    Natatack: Not so sure how available the clads are from the mint, at least with regards to timeliness. I ordered 10 each of the BHOF proof and clad halves on the day before the price increase and these are listed as backordered until 06/21 so if you want something in the near future, don’t expect it from the mint. I suspect this is why the eBay auctions for the halves are significantly above list price at the mint…they are available from eBayer’s who have coins in hand.

  26. Clark says

    @Dustyroads–For me, $118 for an MS70 clad BHOF would be an instant sale to complete a set.

    I paid $159 for one NGC MS70 clad BHOF a couple weeks back so I could complete my set of BHOF 70s. (Luckily, my gold and silvers came back 70s.) I ordered several clads on day one, but the quality of the clads was so bad that I didn’t send them to NGC. I bought a PF70 BHOF clad from Modern Coin Mart early on for only $99, but haven’t seen that price since. I expect to receive another 10 (5+5) BHOF clads from the mint someday, but not soon, so I bit the bullet and completed a couple of sets so I wouldn’t have to drag this out until fall or later… I don’t feel good about myself for paying that much for a clad, but I didn’t have other options to complete the set.

  27. Durf says

    Shipping dates – perhaps USM software glitch – as mine are suddenly all over the calendar. Latest idea is that these are merely “placeholder” dates – reflecting where your order is in the production (or waiting list) line. E.g., my $5 dates just moved up a couple of weeks, my clads back a couple of weeks and my $1s (which were a mere 12 days from shipping) now show September ship dates.

  28. Mark Rex says

    I think this is a rare case where ER and FS actually mean something. With so very few of these in 70 maybe these are ‘low’. I have my 6 in sealed OGP but I’m now considering trying to get me a set in 70. The Mint should give a general update. I think it would be great for myself if mintages were actually lower than thought.

    My 3/31 order for 10x $1s has now received 3 emails each of the past Mondays telling me my CC was declined and I have 7 days to call and fix it or they will cancel it. Keep getting extensions (auto haven’t called) on it – just like I did for a while with the ASE WP sets. I’ll fix that today as my CC payment finally posted. Glad I got the extensions. With the ASE WP I thought that happened because they didn’t want to be left holding it and have to melt it but dunno why with these.

  29. fmtransmitter says

    @Clark: You had options, it is called patience my friend. There will be hundreds of thousands of these…

  30. gary says

    As the current only available option available to buy from the Mint, the clad BHOF halves are most certainly going to have an extremely high mintage when the final sales are done. There will always be a great number of them for sale on Ebay & elsewhere. I think that that very high markup on the 70 coins will in the long run be unsupportable. With such a big mintage, I think that they will be so common that they may never be worth more than a handful of bucks over issue price.

  31. VARich says

    Dusty, 2013 was such a hallmark year for the Buffalo that I would have liked to seen the mint celebrate the design with the RP, then off ramp to another classic such as the incused Indian head or drapped bustie.., or the 2013 Miss Liberty from the PT would have been a stellar choice. Hope you can grab one this year, inflalation is the lurking tiger in the room.

    Regarding the clad, when A&L posted the data early yesterday, that was the number I crunched first, probably less than 500 PCGS with a 34% of a 70 if you send it in, ‘nugh said

  32. VARich says

    Clark ~ some of my clads are so questionable that I’m contemplating drilling a small hole at the 12 o’clock position & gifting as Christmas ornaments.., they’ll surely provide a lot of sparkle given the abrasions.. haha

  33. thePhelps says

    @gary – those are exactly my thoughts on the halves. While the Denver mint is notorious for producing poor coins, the sheer volume of coins that will be available will limit the upside to a MS70 half. It isn’t going to be like the recent clad halves with fewer than 50k even produced and a MS70 coin being tough to find in that batch.

  34. VARich says

    Fm – appears you have some competition, a handful of pre-sales are up now at $1,498 ~ such silliness

  35. Ikaika says

    Anyone had their BHOF silver coins shipping date moved to August? Mine went from June to August. I wonder if the mint over sold these coins even before the waiting list.

  36. Pittsburgh P says

    @Ikaika read posts from last article. This happened to everyone….

  37. stephen m says

    I haven’t any buffaloes and will wait to see how the Kennedy gold will be offered.The clad half 70’s should be plentiful and cheaper down the road. I would wait on all purchases for the curved coins until the market reaches saturation and maybe a better price than today. I flipped the channel last night and they had the gold BBHOF at such a fantastic savings you have to call to get their price. Who would even think of doing that? Changed the channel back and went to bed chuckling.

  38. Clark says

    @fm–You are correct that patience was an option, but I’m the kind of impatient collector who just wants to complete a set of 70s and then move on. Another confession: as much as I denigrate the Early Releases label, buying graded clads today created a set of identical labels, which as Mark Rex noted above, just might mean something in this series and increase the set’s long term value to my heirs.

    @VaRich–LOL! I would buy a few of your BHOF xmas ornaments, but it’s doubtful the mint will be shipping before December.

  39. CasualCollector says

    @Clark — I hear ‘ya on the need to complete the set (with matching NGC Labels). I am not one to chase labels, but it sort of makes sense if you already have 5 of the same label — might as well complete the set properly.. Congrats and enjoy!

  40. Pittsburgh P says

    @clark I am with ya. I hate not having 1 coin to complete a collection and have probably spent more than I have should to aquire the finishing coin. You prob did pay a little much but there seems to be two opposite opinions on the clads. Some feel the market will be saturated with 70s and others feel the market will be saturated with clads but not of 70 quality. I am not sure but I have an extra proof and unc clad NGC 70 just in case. I only paid 175$ for both though cause I got em early enough at 99.99$ each and had a 25$ ebay coupon. Still may have paid too much but figure buyin the coin with cost of grading and insurance is would have been close to 115$ at least so I was fine with it. If they weren’t 70s imo I could have made money on them… These are the only graded modern coins I own and maybe the last but I am happy with them. In the end thats all that matters no matter how much you pay. Congrats!

  41. Pittsburgh P says

    They wern’t I got 2 70s clads graded myself, 1 each proof and unc, along with other BHoF coins I sent in. I posted my results on an earlier article. Then bought one each from Ebay through MCM.

  42. Pittsburgh P says

    I’m sure they did but all the coins I received from the mint except 1 silver and 1 clad were perfect… guess I was lucky or some others were unlucky. Seems like a lot of people are getting 70s, at least that’s what they’re saying. It’s possible they are only saying that to help their arguments out about being oversaturated with perfect clads… I don’t believe that will be the case.

    The owners of Pawn Stars should be ashamed! I read a similar article a few weeks ago before they were being sued. They stated and it did seem it was all legal, although unethical… Hope they lose.

  43. Louis says

    Dusty- I don’t watch the show, but I saw yesterday at PCGS.com that the stars of the show will appear at the June Long Beach, CA con show along with Cassie McFarland and the designer of the this year’s panda coins.

  44. Samuel says

    Dusty, i read the news months ago. do you think they really melted down the coins. if i remember correctly, those are old good coins.

  45. Samuel says

    i watched another pawn store show, the employee actually took the item and went inside office to check the ebay selling price, and then came out to negotiate with customers. they are smart.

  46. john says

    the pawn show had a few show with coins that did belong to the people selling them.I think all pawn shop do this went its come to gold and silver coins.

  47. fmtransmitter says

    VARich says
    MAY 8, 2014 AT 7:39 AM

    Fm – appears you have some competition, a handful of pre-sales are up now at $1,498 ~ such silliness
    What chew talkin bout Willis? That could be a bargain!

  48. fmtransmitter says

    Dang, these pre sellers are going to live off of the money all summer then close their eBay account. I seen it before.

  49. fmtransmitter says

    See what you started US Mint by not shipping out the products when the people ordered them? What business sells things that are NOT on the shelf ready to go?

  50. Dustyroads says

    Louis, I don’t like it, they shouldn’t be there.

    Samuel, Do I think they melted the coins? Yes I do…No I don’t!

    John, They take advantage of a loophole which makes it legal, not right.

  51. mgm says

    The US Mint, that’s who!

    fmtransmitter says

    May 8, 2014 at 3:24 pm

    See what you started US Mint by not shipping out the products when the people ordered them? What business sells things that are NOT on the shelf ready to go?

  52. Dave says

    FM
    That would be the US Government. ……as in The “Affordable” Care Act!

    It’s just another government agency – experts in wastefulness and unconcerned about the customer. They are, however, rewarded by the customer ( voter ) by continually returning being rehired at review time. So sad. No accountability anywhere.

  53. halfpint says

    I think I would rather have the unc 2008 w 1 oz gold buffalo that’s up for auction right now instead of the money people are paying for 1/4 oz of gold from Baltimore show,seen one sell for $4900.00 the other day on ebay,does not make good sense to me, if you compare mintages, a couple of yaers down the road the gold buffalo will still be the one to have

  54. Samuel says

    halfpint, i think the buffalo u mentioned is for serious collectors only, but these baseball coins r for everybody. demand is totally different.

  55. halfpint says

    Sam, how can almost 5 grand for 1/4 oz be for everybody,the price for some of these hof coins are nuts, i have been collecting for 70 years. I just feel the mintage is going to be way to high in the years to come to stand up, if you think about it the major amount of these coins have not hit the market yet.

  56. says

    @halfpint, Coin Collectors are not the ones paying those prices. BASEBALL fans are paying those prices. I have Gold Buffalo’s and my friends could care LESS about them or an AGE or an ASE, but you show them a BHOF coin and they all say the same thing—I Want one of them. I was a baseball player and coached girls softball for several year and for the most part the only ones that I have showed the coins to are former athletes but many have bought BHOF coins that have never bought a coin before and probably will never buy a coin again. They just love Baseball.

  57. Pittsburgh P says

    fmtransmitter says
    MAY 7, 2014 AT 5:55 PM

    A lot of new collectors who bought into the US Mint HOF coin getting an age old lesson here…Rather amusing. You get em when you get em and you can cancel at anytime as long as cancel box is present

    fmtransmitter says
    MAY 8, 2014 AT 3:24 PM

    See what you started US Mint by not shipping out the products when the people ordered them? What business sells things that are NOT on the shelf ready to go?

    Which is it? 🙂
    You know we’re blog buds FMTrans

  58. MarkInFlorida says

    The Mint should put coins like this buffalo in a plastic holder the same size as the TPG capsules. Wouldn’t that freak them out! Convenient size and no extra charge. Genuine OGP capsules instead of TPGs. These wooden boxes are ridiculous unless you give it as a gift. My OGP is all in file boxes in my closet and the coins in the bank SD box in 2×2 boxes.

  59. DCDave says

    @Cagcrip: Small sample, but none of my baseball die-hards are interested in the gold BHOF coins. They collect baseball cards because they honor specific players. Baseball die-hards (or any sports fan) likes to collect items about specific players or teams not just a “I like baseball” coin. Think about it, I’m a die-hard Redskin’s fan, but would never wear a shirt that said “football” or a shirt that just had a football on it.
    As I said before, the proof silver BHOF is one of my favorite coins in my collection, but think the silver and gold are primarily geared for coin collectors.

  60. Steve says

    @DCDave: Most people don’t have $1,000+ in disposable income to drop on a coin. Baseball cards are cheap in comparison…

  61. halfpint says

    Go with dc dave my son is on a softball league and ther are 7 teams, he told me the other day he only knows one guy that even knew about thses coins being made,, so i agree with dave i think is is mostly coin collectors

  62. mark says

    The upcoming pcgs REAL autographs of players should get the baseball collectors more interested in these coins.

  63. says

    At SOME point in time I still expect Major League Baseball to step in and buy out the remaining clads. I do not see that happening until household limits are lifted and until the Mint can produce and ship coins. For WHATEVER reason the Mint has really messed up on this rollout…

  64. Pittsburgh P says

    I don’t know… I am a die hard baseball and Pirates fan and LOVE the baseball coin as is and so do many of my freinds who are baseball fans too. A lot if my teammates from my college team knew nothing about these coins and when I told them they had to have it… A few had to get gold proofs since they liked the stitches… They never bought a coin before but dropped a grand on this one!

  65. Samuel says

    halfpint, IMO, same design coins, like the buffalo, AGE etc, mintage probably plays a very important role in the price. but for one of a kind coin, mintage doesnt matter like the UHR eagle.

  66. Steven says

    so, BHOF are very first modern coins whose market value is determined by demand and mintage, instead of just mintage? Is it wonderful?
    As a newbie but a long time stamp collector, I always find it laughable that only modern coins do fairly well on the secondary market, especially over time, are those coins that people dislike when it is on sale, hence to have a low mintage, but still care to certain degree, hence the price jump when it is sold out.
    Then, who are buying those brand new low mintage coins on Ebay? Newbies like me that had to miss the chance to buy them from the mint on time?
    If BHOF coins are hype, then all those low mintage coins are hype too. Bt all hypes are critically important for this hobby of the past. Right? Without hype, where are newcomers? Without newcomers, how can dealers survive? Who can we sell coins to when it is time to sell?

  67. hw says

    Off topic. I sent all of my coins purchased from the Denver Mint Gift Shop to PCGS for grading. Here are the results:

    5 $1 Proof BHOF::
    3@PF70
    2@PF69

    5 $1 Unc BHOF:
    2@MS70
    3@MS69

    No surprises.

  68. Dustyroads says

    cagcrisp, You have to admit the US Mint has done a fantastic job of offering a product that has been able to appeal to the broader market. Their hope without doubt is to pull in future consumers. I give them an A+ for shrewdness.

  69. says

    @Dustyroads, I agree with you. The coin, the design, the simplicity, the ‘curve’. I LOVE it. Where the Mint dropped the ball is the rollout. For Whatever reason, (packaging, dies, demand, etc.) the Mint just does not have its house in order on the rollout and I am sure that CR are hearing about the criticism every day.

  70. bc says

    I bought 10 silver BHOF coins from the Denver Mint. I sent them all to NGC. I must have received a good batch, compared to others. I did not inspect the coins before sending them to NGC. Here is how they graded:

    3 PF70 ULTRA CAMEO
    2 PF69 ULTRA CAMEO

    5 MS70

  71. fmtransmitter says

    So I got my FS PCGS 9/11 Comemm. It was graded PF68DCAM. Why? A cpl milk spots! That has nothing to do with the “strike”. Under loupe other than the few tiny milk spots it is a 70 IMHO…

  72. Hidalgo says

    @Dusty and @cagcrisp – which do you think will be more popular, the Baseball Hall of Fame Coins or the proposed 2016 Football Hall of Fame coin?

    Also, I am reading that there may be a 2016 National Park Service commemorative coin. If so, it would prevent the FHOF from being issued during 2016. Which appeals to you more?

  73. Hidalgo says

    @fmtransmitter – just curious. I presume you are referring to a First Strike PCGS 9/11 Commemorative. Did you buy this coin from a dealer? Or did you have it certified?

    If you decided to have it certified, just wondering why you picked this particular coin over 100s of others.

  74. CasualCollector says

    @cagcrisp – I agree about MLB stepping up to the plate and buying the remainder (at some point). It’s a small price for them to be able to tout that the BHoF Coins SOLD OUT. Not to mention, if they bought the remainder it would cost them about $12 million, and $2.5 million of it goes right to the Baseball Hall of Fame anyway ($5/clad x 500K).

    Does anyone know how many of those “Educational Sets” are going to be ordered by the BHoF? They were supposed to include an MS Clad and some Educational Material.

  75. thePhelps says

    cagcrisp… all you have to do is look at last years GSA coin and know why this roll out is faltering. Based on the success of the BSA coin they geared up for a huge sell on the GSA coin and then ended up melting a lot of coins and eating the costs. Would you want to see them do that again?

    While we might have expressed great interest in the coins – even the mint didn’t know it was going to be this popular until just before they went on sale.

    I don’t fault them and really other than waiting for my gold coins – I am not to worried about it.

    On the other side of that coin – it appears the household limits are doing much better than we all thought at first. The lack of coins is keeping the value high on the secondary market for people to float coins unopened in a box at exorbitant prices…and they could actually get a buyer – a month and a half after these went on sale.

  76. says

    @Hidalgo, I just don’t see how you could come up with a more ‘unique’ coin than the BHOF coin. A Baseball on one side and a Glove on the other. I don’t see how you can get any more simplistic than that. Football will have to do a Hail Mary to beat the Baseball coin…

  77. Jon in CT says

    mark wrote on May 8, 2014 at 5:50 PM

    The upcoming pcgs REAL autographs of players should get the baseball collectors more interested in these coins.

    I seriously doubt that. Baseball fans gullible enough to buy ‘collectible’ circus coins are already well-served by the Baseball Hall of Fame’s online store:
    http://shop.baseballhall.org/HOF_Coins

  78. Hidalgo says

    @cagcrisp – it is entirely possible for the US Mint to come up with a football-shaped coin. Now that would make a Football Hall of Fame commemorative coin really unique!

  79. says

    @thePhelps, The Mint could stop most of the rollout complaints by simply having an open press conference and answering questions. This has been a PR nightmare for the Mint and it could have been avoided with a little more transparency.

  80. Jon in CT says

    The Mint issued a statement many weeks ago on it catalog home page http://catalog.usmint.gov/ which states:

    · About Changing Shipping Dates: We are experiencing technical difficulties with the part of our system that displays the expected ship date for your order, causing the dates to move incorrectly. Please be assured that orders are being fulfilled according to our standard policy. This issue will have no impact on the actual shipping dates. Thank you for your patience as we work toward a solution.

    The Mint is paying millions right now for an all-new online sales system, which will go live late this summer, and has decided not to waste any more money/effort trying to make their crap system more palatable to customers .

  81. Jon in CT says

    BTW, the current valuation history of the BHoF precious metal coins, especially the gold variety, has all the earmarks of a mania. After reading a history of an early 17th century classic mania, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania, one might conclude that it’s better to be an early seller than a late buyer.

  82. Samuel says

    Jon, it is difficult to tell. remember those $570 pre-sales? i think the PF/MS70 will reach $2K.

  83. Dustyroads says

    thePhelps, Well put, one has to assume that the Mint would want to avoid loosing money at this point. Your rational is right on. As for the computer glitches, it makes since to me watching some of the crazy shipping problems. I still would like to know if the glitches have had any larger effect on shipping in general.

    Hidalgo, Certainly you don’t think I’m raving about the wonders of the BHOF! I like them, I own a few, and I’m happy that the US Mint has been able to pull it off.
    To the contrary, I’m close to praying that the Mint doesn’t produce a Football shaped coin in 2016. If they want to produce a regular round coin for the FHOF, I’m pretty sure I’ll be out either way.

  84. Dustyroads says

    Jon in CT, The Viceroy at ten times the average annual salary may be more expensive than the Truffle today.

  85. VA Bob says

    LOL for all the past remarks about HSN or Coin Vault rip offs, it appears that mentality doesn’t only apply to those hucksters. All my BHOF coins, one of each denomination and finish, has been received (12:13 order), examined, and put up for almost a month now. All were Super Duper Early Release (SDER) shipped within two weeks of going on sale, PF Super Eye Popping 3D Cameo or MS Ultra Silky 80’s with a population of one of one each in the VA Bob pop report (the definitive last word in ultimate premium labels). If I had to sell them they would have to list for $100k or best offer, that’s the clads of course, the PM versions would be list for more. I swear it’s all true, I typed it onto a label and taped it to the OGP, so how could it be wrong? Ebay here I come, think I’d get any takers? Of course I would. Maybe not at that price, but some inflated price.

  86. Jeff Hall says

    Everyone needs to step back the mint has not charged you one dime, so technically the mint owes you nothing. You have an order that does not guarantee you the merchandise. Every one chill supposedly most here are not in it for the money. EXCEPT ME I have sold, submitted, stashed and loving every minute of this .

  87. Dave says

    Steve
    I will wait until the hedge funds decide to reverse from shorting gold to covering and buying. They are trying like crazy to get it back below $1000, but having difficulty because of Eastern demand. If they can break $1150 on the spot, they have a shot at $1k. This is typically a weak time of the year for gold. Hopefully I can buy below $1200 before July 4.
    Geopolitical events can change it all, though.

  88. fmtransmitter says

    Hidalgo says
    MAY 8, 2014 AT 7:02 PM

    @fmtransmitter – just curious. I presume you are referring to a First Strike PCGS 9/11 Commemorative. Did you buy this coin from a dealer? Or did you have it certified?

    If you decided to have it certified, just wondering why you picked this particular coin over 100s of others.
    Was $30 shipped!

  89. Dustyroads says

    fmt, Thanks for the heads up. One of these would complete my silver set. Timing is off right now though, I have to keep on eye on the budget. Maybe someday they can be found for less than $100. per oz. Probably not , oh well.

  90. fmtransmitter says

    @Hidalgo: Just found out it was mis labeled. Any premium for mis labels? They marked it a W mint but it is actually a P Mint version. Good for me. Lower pop. Ha!

  91. VA Rich says

    “Samuel says

    Jon, it is difficult to tell. remember those $570 pre-sales? i think the PF/MS70 will reach $2K.”

    I think we’ll see them start inching up that way in 6-8 weeks; within the next 4 weeks the last of the of label coins will hit the market and then there numbers will diminish, and they’ll go quick. It’s apparent from the other posts above when you have first timers dropping a grand on the their first coin and current market trend that the baseball enthusiasm is behind this one now and here to stay for quite a while.

    Regarding market saturation when the mint does begin shipping, ahhh, maybe somewhat.., I also see a lot of people holding on to their coins because they purely want them or if they do plan to sale, perhaps take a wait and see attitude. By the time the coins are received, they’ve had a lot of time to think it over and personally, I think they’ll be enamored by what they find.

    I do know this, we’ve all been wrong to some degree about this offering in the expectation of how the mint would roll it out and the subsequent demand/market value…, though the naysayers on the BHOF have been consistently wrong, so consistently wrong it’s getting comical.

  92. Larry says

    Another day and another different shipping date for my silver BHOF. I think there is a mint employee with a Ouija board figuring out shipping dates. The mint is lucky they have no competition. I think they should just say “you’ll get it when we ship it”. It would at least be honest.

  93. VA Rich says

    Congrats Steve – they’re so very impressive in hand. The 1 oz’s HR have really taken off recently.., it’ll be on of those World coins for the ages!

  94. stephen m says

    Larry, I thought everyone knows the hold up of the BBHOF coins is because the paper work to rectify the current situation is sitting on someones desk at the Mint. When the person that sits at that desk decides what to do an e-mail will be sent to all employees at the Mint, involved in the coins continued process, of a date for a meeting. When that day comes and after the meeting takes place our coins will follow in short duration. Mean while the future of our coins will just sit on that desk collecting dust. This is how it works at all government entities. Only in America.

  95. VA Rich says

    MK – I sent my NGC coupon coins in on Friday, 02 May via 2-day Priority, they’re scheduled to be delivered today. That’s a quick turnaround.

  96. mark says

    Steve ,,,how did you get the 5oz wedge tailed shipped for $445.00. I put one in cart and its $440.00 before adding $25 to $36.00 shipping options?

  97. mark says

    Thanks Steve… shit i was hoping you knew of a coupon code…oh well. Still debating on getting one.

  98. Matt says

    OT – New reader, and collector. My grading results just posted on NGC’s website for my BHOF order.

    1 – Clad 50C Unc – MS70 ER
    1 – Clad 50C Proof – PF69 UC ER
    1 – Silver $1 Unc – MS70 ER
    4 – Silver $1 Proof – PF69 UC ER
    7 – Silver $1 Proof – PF70 UC ER

    From what I read I am lucky to get that 70 on the clad uncirculated; guess i’ll have to pick up a 70 clad proof on ebay. I am still shaking my fist about my decision not to pick up one each of the gold when I placed my order on 3/27 🙁

  99. TheCoinKeeper says

    Anyone else not showing the full list of comments? Seems to just show the last days worth.

    Mine start at MAY 8, 2014 AT 9:36 PM for this post.

  100. Clark says

    thePhelps wrote: “While we might have expressed great interest in the coins – even the mint didn’t know it was going to be this popular until just before they went on sale.”

    Although its botched fulfillment of orders to date may make it seem like the popularity of BHOF coins came as a complete surprise to the mint, I clearly recall US Treasurer Rosie Rios’ prediction of heavy demand for BHOF coins at the March 27, 2014 launch event on Capitol Hill. I watched streaming video of the event on the 27th while I waited in the mint’s virtual waiting room to place my order. It was Rios and other speakers’ enthusiasm and predictions of same day sellouts that moved me to place multiple orders for gold BHOFs. (Thanks guys!)

    Maybe they were just lost in the exhilaration surrounding the launch, but if Treasurer Rios knew that BHOFs would sell out on day one, the mint’s deputy director, who also attended the event, must have known as well. Just sayin! I’m really starting to believe that serious technical glitches are behind the delays.

  101. thePhelps says

    Clark…March 27th… if you recall that week they implemented the household limits because they had a surprisingly overwhelming amount of interest. These will start rolling out before long.

    So the mint was supposed to drop all production plans and go start pressing these?

    I said it before – it does appear many of you have never worked in a production facility…

  102. Clark says

    thePhelps–I hope you’re right and I respect your production line experience. I’m just suggesting that the mint’s senior managers and marketing teams, maybe not production line managers, knew or should have known that demand for this commemorative issue was likely to be unlike any others before it. Of course, hindsight is always 20/20!

    I worked for two Fortune 100 manufacturers with huge production facilities around the world and can attest that senior management and production lines are not always in communication.

  103. Louis says

    I am a bit late on this point but regarding the NGC ER MS70 halves (BHOF) on sale for $112, I got one to round out my set of coins with the same label. I would not expect prices for this one to drop. I rarely see it offered except for those on the Bay and one dealer where they were $150 and more.

  104. Samuel says

    Louis, thx for the info. unfortunately, my other coins’ labels are ER, his is FR.

  105. Dustyroads says

    Louis, Another update- 12 more available with 4 sold in the last hour. 🙂

  106. says

    @bc, If you go to the persons ‘store’ you will see that 2/3 of all the items are marked as “SALE” items and marked down.

  107. Louis says

    Thanks, Charles. I thought so. To me if the labels all have the BHOF logo and same grade and are either ER or FR that is good enough for a matched set.

  108. DCDave says

    Congrats to all that bought the BHOF from the Mint.
    Never thought buying 1999 silver proofs made sense when they cost so much (didn’t think they had much up-side, but were “trendy”, and don’t think it makes sense to buy expensive graded BHOF now. Not much up-side either IMHO. Only the gold UNC have a somewhat low mintage.

  109. hw says

    Louis:

    The “FR” designation is more recent development (within the last three or four years) that seems to mimic PCGS’s “First Strike”.. For whatever reason, NGC felt it necessary to maintain both old and new labels.

  110. simon says

    Put in my order for the 2014 Pr Buffalo this pm.

    OT: Picked up a 1964 USMint set and it has a pointed “9” 1964-P Dime; also FB !

  111. Pittsburgh P says

    Just got back from a local PAN coin show and there were basically zero BHoF coins available… I saw 2 silvers and a handful of 69 baltimore label clad and silver from dealer who had a table at that show. I wasn’t planning on selling any of mine but took 2 each silver proof and unc… Was contemplating having them graded there but only ANACS showed up. Sold 2 for 130$ each in ogp and traded the other two for the 2001 american buffalo silver set.

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