Comments for Mint News Blog

Comment on 2012 Kennedy Half Dollar Bags and Rolls by george glazener

george glazener — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:48:32 +0000

@Brad:
Very interesting….makes sense. So the resulting perception out there now is that the set will be a loser, even though the MINT has only sold about 44,000 or so. I wonder if after all the speculators have cashed out, and the product finally sells out at the MINT, that maybe then it will get back some respect and interest.

Comment on 2012 Kennedy Half Dollar Bags and Rolls by Brad

Brad — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:44:05 +0000

George,

It’s the scenario I figured would play out if the sets didn’t sell out in a few weeks after sales began. The long backorder period gave plenty of cancellation time for would-be buyers if the sets didn’t turn out as hot as expected. There was no harm in speculators placing orders for the full 100 per household order limit, in case they sold out quick and commanded a fast premium. Now that it’s obvious that’s not going to happen, confidence is lost and cancellations start. Who knows, there might be more before it’s over.

Comment on How the US Mint Determines Price Changes for Gold and Platinum Numismatic Products by george glazener

george glazener — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:33:30 +0000

I also keep them. I use them as a reminder to pay closer attention when the MINT offers items like last years clad 50c ARMY commem coins, which I foolishly overlooked. I dismissed it as a pointless offering (no silver in ‘em), but I neglected the low mintage figures on the weekly sales reports. I hope I’ve learned a lesson.

Comment on US Mint Numismatic Silver Coin Pricing by auxmike

auxmike — Thu, 17 May 2012 22:51:20 +0000

The prices are hopping up again!
I can’t blame the mint for holding fast. They’re right on the cusp of releasing an anxiously awaited “S” set featuring 2 ASE silver dollars with no mintage limits.

Comment on Numismatic Gold Coin Prices Reduced by Shutter

Shutter — Thu, 17 May 2012 22:06:37 +0000

The key factor that seems to be driving metals prices is the action between the EUR and USD. Yes, but not today. See here. The Dollar continued rising, yet the metals also rose. Most likely those who've been putting off purchases took advantage of lower prices to buy. In the immediate term I expect the metal prices to continue heading south.

Comment on Numismatic Gold Coin Prices Reduced by Dan

Dan — Thu, 17 May 2012 21:38:37 +0000

And the US Government either directly or through the IMF could pump more money into the ECB to redo the Greek/Euro bailout – which means the printing presses would run harder and precious metals would rise. The danger is that its not just the Greeks, but Spain, Portugal, Italy, etc .. are right around the corner and if the US/IMF bails one out, it’ll have to bail the others out as well. Who’s going to bail out the dollar?

Comment on US Mint Numismatic Silver Coin Pricing by J A

J A — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:06:11 +0000

Thanks Michael this was very informative and was a great follow-up to your previous article on pricing for gold and platinum.

Comment on Numismatic Gold Coin Prices Reduced by CaptainOverkill

CaptainOverkill — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:05:53 +0000

Fosnock,

I don’t think we will see the bottom in silver until this issue with Greece is finally dealt with one way or the other. The key factor that seems to be driving metals prices is the action between the EUR and USD. The usual reaction when the Euro falls is for the dollar to climb and gold and silver to go down. The reason for the fall in the Euro and the surge in the dollar in the past week has been the fallout from the SYRIZA victory in the May elections in Greece.

I think if Greece defaults and withdraws from (or is kicked out of) the Eurozone, that will crash the Euro and send it close to dollar parity. I also think it will cause a huge stampede to the safety of the US dollar as well, which would lead to a major crash in metals prices.

Of course, I could be wrong, and this could be the event that sends people rushing to gold rather than the dollar for protection, but I don’t think we’ve reached that point yet. I’m basically anticipating a 2008-style “Lehman” moment.

Of course, my scenario will be derailed if the pro-bailout/pro-austerity forces win the Greek elections, but right now they are fading in the polls while SYRIZA, which is anti-bailout, is surging.

I might do a post on my blog talking more about this sometime this weekend.

I think the Mint will release the numismatic AtBs too, I just am waiting to see when they will do and for how much. I also want to see if they drop maximum mintages even lower based on the dismal sales from this year. Basically I want to see what effects the poor sales combined with falling silver prices have on the numsimatic AtBs (if any) before I make any decisions.

Comment on Numismatic Gold Coin Prices Reduced by Zaz

Zaz — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:04:05 +0000

I reserved a pair of El Yunques yesterday, didn’t use my credit card but sent a check this morning, since they probably won’t have them in hand until after Memorial Day. This gives hope to the numismatic versions, I expect NP11 to probably show up in late July and maybe 4 to 5 weeks after apart for the others through late autumn. The bullion coins will probably be released piecemeal also since there seems to be very little demand for Ag in this form.

Comment on Numismatic Gold Coin Prices Reduced by Fosnock

Fosnock — Thu, 17 May 2012 18:43:33 +0000

CO,

Do you see silver going lower? I think its at a low but I’m usually off but I thought $29 would be the low. I read on this form that the mint will release the 2012 collector ATBs