After yesterday’s product launch, there are currently no upcoming US Mint numismatic products with a scheduled release date. The schedule shows only three products, which are all listed as “TDB”.

While the specifics have varied, in the past few years the US Mint has generally provided collectors with a better idea of what to expect during the year in terms of numismatic product releases.

For 2011, the majority of the product release schedule was published in December of the prior year. While some dates were later adjusted and a few products added, the US Mint basically followed this original schedule.

For 2010, the US Mint also published the majority of the schedule in December of the prior year. The release dates were less specific and indicated only by month or a range of months. As the year progressed, exact dates were eventually posted.

In 2009, only a partial schedule was provided with products and release dates listed for the first few months of the year. Sometimes specific release dates were listed, while others said “spring.” Throughout the year, the US Mint updated the schedule a few months at a time with new products and exact release dates.

2012 Chester Arthur Presidential Dollars

In mid-December, the US Mint had listed the 2012 Chester Arthur Dollar Rolls with a release date of February 16, 2012. This was the same as the circulation release date published by the Federal Reserve banks prior to the announced suspension of production for circulation. The US Mint had also published preliminary product pages for the Chester Arthur Rolls, which were accessible via the upcoming products section.

At some point, the listings for all 2012 Presidential Dollar products were removed from the product release schedule and the preliminary product pages were removed from the website. Later, the Chester Arthur Rolls, 2012 Presidential Dollar Proof Set, and 2012 Presidential Dollar Uncirculated Set were put back on the schedule, but with “TBD” listed as the availability date.

For reasons unknown, the release of the first 2012 Presidential Dollars seems to have been delayed. The initially indicated release date of February 16, 2012 has now come and gone.

The US Mint had also been delayed with the release of the first 2012 America the Beautiful Quarters within numismatic bags and rolls. The El Yunque Quarters were quietly released into circulation on January 23, 2011, while the US Mint did not begin sales of bags and rolls until February 3, 2012.

Once again it is possible that the US Mint will increase prices for gold and platinum numismatic products. This would be the third increase of the year for gold products and the second of the year for the single platinum product.

The US Mint uses a flexible pricing policy for gold and platinum numismatic products that allows pricing adjustments to take place as often as weekly. The average market price of the metals is determined based on the London Fix prices from the prior Thursday AM to the current Wednesday AM. If the average moves into a different tier established at $50 intervals for gold and $100 intervals for platinum, and the Wednesday PM price agrees directionally, then a pricing change takes place. These pricing adjustments have usually taken place around mid-morning Wednesdays.

Based on the current pricing data, the average for gold is within the $1,700 to $1,749.99 range. In the most likely scenario, as long as the Wednesday PM London Fix Price is above $1,700, then a price increase would take place. Prices for the remaining Proof Gold Eagles, Proof Gold Buffalo, and First Spouse Gold Coins would be increased by the equivalent of $50 per ounce of gold content.

Previously this year, numismatic gold coin prices were increased on January 11 and January 25.

Based on current pricing data, the average price for platinum is within the $1,550 to $1,649.99 range. In the most likely scenario, as long as the Wednesday PM London Fix price is above $1,550, then a price increase would take place. The price of the 2011 Proof Platinum Eagle would be increased from $1,792 to $1,892.

At the start of the year, the Proof Platinum Eagle was priced at $1,692 per coin, representing the lowest price during the entire course of the offering. At the start of sales on May 26, 2011, the coins were priced at $2,092 each. Based on the latest numismatic sales report just released today, the US Mint has recorded sales of 13,192 of the coin out of the 15,000 maximum. Since the start of the year, sales have moved up by more than 1,200 coins.

Numismatic Gold Coin Price Increase

Last week, a pricing increase for the United States Mint’s numismatic gold products was only narrowly avoided. This week it is much more likely that a price increase will take place.

For the current weekly period, the average market price of gold is solidly within the $1,650 to $1,699.99 range. In the most likely scenario, as long as the Wednesday PM Fix price is $1,650 or greater, then numismatic gold coin prices will be increased by one increment, or $50 per ounce of gold content. The impacted products would be the remaining 2011 Proof Gold Eagles, 2011 Proof Gold Buffalo, and First Spouse Gold Coins.

Pricing changes have generally been made effective some time between mid-morning and noon on Wednesdays.

America the Beautiful Quarters Products

The United States Mint has published pricing for America the Beautiful Quarters Two Roll Sets. The two rolls containing $20 face value in quarters will be $32.95. This is a decrease from the price of $39.95 effective for last year’s releases.

For the 100-coin bags containing $25 face value in quarters, the Mint had previously indicated pricing of $35.95. This is also a decrease from the price of $49.95 charge for last year’s releases.

These pricing adjustments are a welcome change, especially considering the fact that the America the Beautiful Quarters have been difficult to obtain from circulation channels. The bags and rolls for the first release of 2012 featuring El Yunque National Park are scheduled to go on sale February 3, 2012.

Separately, the US Mint has posted an image of the Three Coin Set for the El Yunque Quarters. In my opinion the packaging design is a vast improvement from the previous version, which was simply black and white. The America the Beautiful Quarters Program in particular provides an excellent opportunity for the US Mint to incorporate images and historical information within numismatic products. Hopefully, the new design for this product is a sign of things to come.

Vicksburg Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins

Effective tomorrow, January 25, 2012 at 12:00 Noon ET, the United States Mint will remove the household ordering limit for the Vicksburg National Military Park Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins. Since the start of sales on January 12, the product has been subject to a five per household ordering limit.

According to the most recent sales data (through January 17), the US Mint has received orders for 7,861 coins out of the 35,000 maximum limit.

Pricing for the America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins is currently $204.95 per coin. This pricing was established though publication in the Federal Register dated December 30, 2011, although the price was made effective for available designs on December 27. The market price of silver on these dates was $28.65 and $28.18. From the lower number, the market price of silver has now increased by nearly $4.00 per ounce. Any further increase in the market price of silver makes a pricing adjustment for the product a distinct possibility.

Unlike with numismatic gold products, the US Mint does not have their pricing criteria for silver coins explicitly stated. Product sales have been suspended without warning and reinstated with new prices. These pricing adjustments have caught some collectors by surprise.

The United States Mint’s annual report for the 2011 fiscal year recently became available. Over the past two weeks, I have been reviewing the results in detail for Coin Update News. Visit this article for an overview and links to the subsequent articles with detailed coverage by segment.

For Mint News Blog, I wanted to provide a brief overview of the results and some important revelations that were made within the report. All figures and results are for the US Mint’s fiscal year ending September 30, 2011.

On an overall basis, the US Mint’s revenue increased by 27.87% to $4.97 billion. Seigniorage and net income increased by 30.06% to $527.8 million.

Looking at the results by segment, circulating coin shipments experienced a unit volume increase of 37% to 7.40 billion coins. The peak annual shipment of circulating coins was 27 billion coins in FY 2000. The recent low was 5.2 billion in FY 2009.

Bullion coin sales achieved record highs for unit volume, revenue, and net income. The US Mint sold 45.2 million ounces of gold and silver bullion coins, up 26.2% from the prior year. Revenue was $3.47 billion, an increase of 21.6% from the prior year. Net income was 65.8 million, up 19.2% from the prior year.

Numismatic program increased by 74.7% to reach record $721.7 million. Net income and seigniorage increased by 127.3% to reach $113.2 million. The increase in revenue was driven by the sale of both 2010 and 2011-dated numismatic Gold and Silver Eagles during the fiscal year. Net income benefited from a shift in sales towards higher margin precious metals products.

The unit cost to produce and manufacture the cent reached a new high of 2.41 cents, and the cost of the nickel rose to 11.18 cents. Meanwhile, the unit cost of the $1 coin dropped to 18.03 cents. During the previous fiscal year the costs were 1.79 cents for the cent, 9.22 cents for the nickel, and 31.57 cents for the $1 coin. The changes were the result of differences in metal costs as well as a change in the method of allocation for sales, general & administrative expenses.

The US Mint is evaluating the optimum way to bring back American Platinum Eagle bullion coins in 2012. The bullion versions of the coin have not been minted or issued since 2008.

The required study to determine the financial viability of palladium bullion coins “will soon begin”. The bullion and possible numismatic American Palladium Eagles will only be issued if the study determines that there is adequate demand to ensure that the  coins can be minted and issued at no net cost to taxpayers.

The US Mint plans to offer a 2012-S Uncirculated Silver Eagle. This will be in addition to the collectible uncirculated version with the “W” mint mark.

Although seigniorage and net income were $527.8 million, the US Mint transferred only $51 million to the Treasury General Fund citing uncertainties in future cash flow from circulating coin operations.

Customer satisfaction improved for the numismatic business. 91.7% of customers rated the Mint favorably, compared to 86.1% in the previous year. The US Mint attributed the better performance to the return of the numismatic versions of the Gold and Silver Eagles.

The US Mint did not fully comply with the requirements of the Native American $1 Coin Act, which requires at least 20% of all $1 coins minted and issued in any year to be Native American Dollars. During the 2010 calendar year, Native American Dollars accounted for 20.1% of all $1 coins produced, but only 12.5% of all $1 coins issued.

Deputy Director Richard A. Peterson had some interesting comments with regards to circulating coinage:

“…we also need to understand the broader trends, dynamics, and realities of today’s economic environment–more so now than at any other time in recent Mint history. Specifically, we need to focus on the metals composition and purchasing power of our circulating coins. Every few generations the nation adjusts the metals content (and occasionally the actual denominations, physical size, and weight) of its circulating coins.”

He goes on to discuss the Coin Modernization, Oversight, and Continuity Act of 2010 which authorized research and development of new metals formulations for circulating coins and requires the submission of a report to Congress by December 2012. Peterson said, “We are clearly focused on delivering to Congress a thorough, well-researched report that provides a prudent framework for future legislation to modernize our nation’s circulating coins.”

Although the ultimate authority to make any changes will rest with Congress, the US Mint seems to be looking for a major overhaul.

The US Mint’s 2011 Annual Report is not yet posted on their website, however, a copy accessed on the Treasury site here.

The Mount Hood National Forest Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin has now sold out at the US Mint. This was the last 2010-dated coin for the series that remained available.

The coins originally went on sale July 28, 2011, priced at $279.95 with an ordering limit of one per household. The household ordering limit was removed on September 6, 2011. The price was reduced to $229.95 per coin on October 7, and reduced again to $204.95 on December 27.

As of the latest available US Mint sales report, the Mount Hood Five Ounce Uncirculated Coins had reached sales of 26,831. The maximum authorized mintage for the issue was 27,000.

Currently, the first three 2011-dated designs for the series are available for sale a the US Mint. These coins feature Gettysburg National Military Park, Glacier National Park, and Olympic National Park. Each carries a maximum mintage of 35,000 and is priced at $204.95. Tomorrow, the next design featuring Vicksburg National Military Park will be released.

More 2012 Numismatic Product Prices

Today, the US Mint announced in this press release that they were reducing or maintaining prices for some 2012 numismatic products.

According to the Mint, the prices were lowered by “refining the product costing process, taking advantage of current lower prices for precious metals and negotiating better pricing from its suppliers.”

I previously shared pricing data for some America the Beautiful Quarters products and $1 coin products in this post.

Prices for products indicated in the press release and not included in my previous post are shown below: