Thursday, May 10, 2012

Upcoming Coin Newsletter Launch

Posted by Mint News Blog | Filed Under: Website Launch

I have been working on a free weekly email newsletter for coin collectors, and I am happy to say that the first issue is ready to go. As such, I would like to invite readers and subscribers of Mint News Blog to sign up to receive the first newsletter.

The newsletter will tie together a lot of the information and news that is presented here and on other websites that I operate. It will also include exclusive content that has not been published elsewhere.

Each newsletter will serve as a concise recap of the week in coins with a look ahead to the coming week. Other features include my own “reflections on collecting” and a weekly focus on a particular coin or coin series.

The newsletter is free and delivered each week to your email inbox. If you don’t enjoy it, you are free to unsubscribe at any time.

The inaugural newsletter is scheduled to be sent on Friday morning at 9:00 AM. To receive it, please sign up below.

Mint News Blog readers receiving this post by email can sign up at ThisWeekInCoins.com

28 Comments
Wednesday, May 9, 2012

US Mint Coin Production April 2012

Posted by Mint News Blog | Filed Under: Coin Mintages

The United States Mint has provided updated figures for circulating coin production through the end of April 2012. Also provided are updated preliminary production figures for the Chaco Culture National Historical Park Quarter, Chester Arthur Dollar, Grover Cleveland Dollar, and Benjamin Harrison Dollar.

For the month of April 2012, circulating coin production reached 858.04 million coins. This represents the highest monthly total since June of last year. The production total is up about 34% compared to the year ago period and about 24% compared to the prior month.

A breakdown of production by denomination and mint facility is presented below. The first number column represents the total production for April 2012, and the second number column represents the total production for the year to date.

2012 US Mint Coin Production Figures
Apr 2012 YTD 2012
Lincoln Cent – Denver 291.60 M 848.80 M
Lincoln Cent – Phil. 296.00 M 1,108.80 M
Jefferson Nickel – Denver 58.08 M 187.20 M
Jefferson Nickel – Phil. 48.24 M 193.68 M
Roosevelt Dime – Denver 83.50 M 270.50 M
Roosevelt Dime – Phil. 69.00 M 288.50 M
Quarters – Denver 0 47.00 M
Quarters – Phil. 0 47.80 M
Kennedy Half – Denver 0 1.70 M
Kennedy Half – Phil. 0 1.80 M
Native Am Dollar – Denver 0 2.80 M
Native Am Dollar – Phil. 0 2.80 M
Pres Dollar – Denver 2.52 M 7.00 M
Pres Dollar – Phil. 9.10 M 13.72 M
Total 858.04 M 3,022.10 M

Once again production was dominated by cents, nickels, and dimes, which accounted for 98.65% of all coins produced. The only other denomination actually struck during the month was the $1 coin, which is not actually released for general circulation, but only sold by the US Mint via numismatic bags, rolls, and boxes.

There were apparently no quarters struck for circulation during the month. This denomination has been considered to be a workhorse within circulation, however it seems that existing stockpiles at Federal Reserve Banks continue to fulfill the needs of commerce. At the conclusion of the State Quarters Program, certain reports had revealed that large quantities of quarters had flowed back to reserve banks. Late in 2011, there seemed to be signs that the stockpiles were finally dwindling, but this year’s production figures suggest otherwise.

The US Mint has posted production totals by design for certain America the Beautiful Quarters and Presidential Dollars. In the past, typically when these totals had been posted, the Mint would begin production of the next design and not produce additional coins for any previous designs. In recent years, the US Mint has specifically reserved the right to restart production of any design within the year of issue based on demand and production capacity. Thus, the amounts provided below cannot be considered final until the end of the year.

2012 US Mint Coin Production by Design
Denver Phil. Total
El Yunque Quarter 25.00 M 25.80 M 50.80 M
Chaco Culture Quarter 22.00 M 22.00 M 44.00 M
Arthur Dollar 2.80 M 4.06 M 6.86 M
Cleveland Dollar 2.66 M 4.06 M 6.72 M
Harrison Dollar 1.54 M 5.60 M 7.14 M

The preliminary figures suggest another mintage low for the America the Beautiful Quarters Program, with just 22 million Chaco Culture Quarters struck at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints. This is the lowest mintage for a quarter since 1958.

The figures for the Chester Arthur Dollar show an increase of 1.12 million coins struck at the Philadelphia Mint. Orders for the US Mint’s bags, rolls, and boxes had already surpassed the initial production quantity for the coins. The latest weekly sales report shows total sales accounting for 7,088,500 Chester Arthur Dollars, which is once again higher than the indicated production level. This suggests the US Mint will need to revisit production for this coin once again.

Preliminary totals for the Grover Cleveland (first term) and Benjamin Harrison Presidential Dollars are 6.72 million and 7.14 million. Both coins have production heavily concentrated at Philadelphia, suggesting that more production may need to take place at Denver.

22 Comments
Monday, May 7, 2012

2012 US Mint Proof Set

Posted by Mint News Blog | Filed Under: Annual Sets

Today, May 7, 2012 at 12:00 Noon ET, the United States Mint will release the 2012 Proof Set. This product typically represents the most popular annual set and includes proof versions of 14 different coins.

Each 2012 Proof Set includes the following coins struck at the San Francisco Mint and carrying the “S” mint mark:

  • 2012-S Proof Lincoln Cent
  • 2012-S Proof Jefferson Nickel
  • 2012-S Proof Roosevelt Dime
  • 2012-S Proof El Yunque Quarter
  • 2012-S Proof Chaco Culture Quarter
  • 2012-S Proof Acadia Quarter
  • 2012-S Proof Hawaii Volcanoes Quarter
  • 2012-S Proof Denali Quarter
  • 2012-S Proof Kennedy Half Dollar
  • 2012-S Proof Chester Arthur Dollar
  • 2012-S Proof Grover Cleveland Dollar (first term)
  • 2012-S Proof Benjamin Harrison Dollar
  • 2012-S Proof Grover Cleveland Dollar (second term)
  • 2012-S Proof Native American Dollar

Perhaps removing some of the significance of the current offering, the cent, nickel, dime, and half dollar have already been released within the 2012 Birth Set. The five quarters have already been released in the 2012 America the Beautiful Quarters Proof Set. Four of the dollar coins have already been released in the 2012 Presidential Dollars Proof Set.

The only coin that will be available for the first time within the current offering is the 2012-S Proof Native American Dollar.

Last year, the US Mint had taken the approach of releasing the full annual proof set first, and the various component sets afterwards. This year, they have reverted to the more frequently used practice of releasing component sets prior to the full set.

The 2012 Proof Set is priced at $31.95 per set, which is the same price level used for the prior year. There are no ordering limits and no stated product limit.

42 Comments
Friday, May 4, 2012

The End of “Unprecedented Demand”?

Posted by Mint News Blog | Filed Under: US Mint

After years of struggle, the United States Mint seems to have finally completely caught up and adjusted to the heightened levels of demand for gold and silver coins. Unfortunately, this seems to occurred at just the time when demand has started to decline.

The financial crisis in 2008 brought renewed interest in precious metals as a safe haven asset and alternative investment. Gold and silver bullion coins began to experience “unprecedented demand” and the United States Mint was caught unprepared. During 2008, there were suspensions in the sale of gold, silver, and platinum bullion coins at various times, with sales only resumed on a rationed basis.

Under applicable law at the time, the Mint was required to mint and issue gold and silver bullion coins in quantities necessary to meet public demand. Since they were not able to meet full demand, they were forced to source all incoming precious metals blanks to the production of more bullion coins. This led to the suspension of production and early sell out of the 2008 Proof Silver Eagles, and later the cancellation of the 2009 Proof Gold and Silver Eagles. Meanwhile, production of platinum bullion coins was suspended to free up more manufacturing capacity and has not been resumed to the current date.

Throughout 2009 and 2010, bullion coins were frequently subject to rationing, and the precious metals numismatic offerings that were not canceled were often released late in the year and were quickly snapped up by collectors. For example, after almost a year of uncertainty about its status, the 2010 Proof Silver Eagle was released on November 19 and sold more than 700,000 coins in less than two weeks.

In 2011, the situation improved with rationing lifted for gold bullion coins and only periodically imposed for silver bullion coins. The release dates for precious metals products took place earlier in the year and the Mint was able to resume some previously canceled offerings like the 2011-W Uncirculated Gold and Silver Eagles. The Mint also began striking Silver Eagle bullion coins at the San Francisco Mint to increase capacity. For the fourth year running, annual sales for Silver Eagles set a new record.

This year, the US Mint was able to release the 2012-dated Gold and Silver Eagles on January 3, with no rationing imposed on authorized purchasers. Although sales were strong in January, through the first four months of the year, Silver Eagle bullion coin sales are down 23.53% from the prior year and Gold Eagle bullion coin sales are down 43.22%. On the numismatic front, the 2012 Proof Gold and Silver Eagles were launched early in the year and offered without household ordering limits. The Mint is even planning to offer a special San Francisco Silver Eagle Set with an unlimited mintage during a specified ordering period, among other expected precious metals numismatic offerings.

Does this close the chapter on Silver Eagle shortages and “unprecedented demand”? Or is this just a brief lull in a longer ongoing saga?

I have put together some comparative data for monthly sales of the United States Mint’s bullion coins for 2011 and 2012. In all cases where coins have been available in both years, the monthly sales are lower for 2012 when compared to 2011.

American Silver Eagle Bullion Sales

2011 2012
January     6,422,000     6,107,000
February     3,240,000     1,490,000
March     2,767,000     2,542,000
April     2,819,000     1,520,000
May     3,653,500
June     3,402,000
July     2,968,000
August     3,679,500
September     4,460,500
October     3,064,000
November     1,384,000
December     2,009,000

American Gold Eagle Bullion Sales (ounces)

2011 2012
January 133,500 127,000
February 92,500 21,000
March 73,500 62,500
April 108,000 20,000
May 107,000
June 61,500
July 64,500
August 112,000
September 91,000
October 50,000
November 41,000
December 65,500

American Gold Buffalo Bullion Sales

January 0 13,500
February 0 7,000
March 38,000 26,000
April 20,500 9,000
May 15,500
June 5,500
July 12,000
August 28,000
September 13,000
October 12,500
November 8,500
December 21,000

America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Bullion Sales

2011 2012
January 0 5,700
February 0 300
March 0 1,800
April 225,400 200
May 101,400
June 19,000
July 23,700
August 4,100
September 2,900
October 6,200
November 3,300
December 4,400

48 Comments
Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Native American Dollar Sales at 967,775 Coins

Posted by Mint News Blog | Filed Under: Other Coins

Based on figures from the latest weekly sales report, the United States Mint has sold 967,775 of the 2012 Native American Dollars though their offering of 25-coin rolls, 250-coin boxes, and 500-coin boxes. The products went on sale April 26, 2012 and the sales reporting date is April 30, 3012.

This represents a much slower start than experienced for the Chester Arthur Presidential Dollars. Within a comparable opening period, sales had reached 2,886,600 coins. As of the most recent sales report, sales have now swelled to 6,905,750 coins across the available options.

Here is a look at the breakdown of sales for the 2012 Native American Dollars including a calculation of the total number of coins sold.

2012 NATIVE AMERICAN $1 COIN ROLLS
Units Coins
$25-roll (P) 9,748 243,700
$25-roll (D) 9,753 243,825
$250-box (P) 747 186,750
$250-box (D) 746 186,500
$500-box (P) 120 60,000
$500-box (D) 94 47,000
Total 967,775

As mentioned in a previous post, there is a legal requirement that the total number of Native American Dollars minted and issued each year shall be not less than 20% of the total number of $1 coins minted and issued during the year. If demand for the four different Presidential Dollars continues to be triple the demand for the Native American Dollars, the US Mint will have trouble fulfilling the requirement.

Will the US Mint seek other outlets for the excess 2012 Native American Dollars that are required to be issued? They could potentially issue the coins for circulation through the Federal Reserve Banks, despite the fact that more than a billion $1 coins are already held in storage. The Mint could also try to revive the Direct Ship Program, which in the past has been a somewhat successful outlet for issuing the required NA Dollars.

Or the US Mint could simply fail to meet the 20% requirement, since there doesn’t seem to be any recourse for not fulfilling the requirement. In fact during the 2010 calendar year, the US Mint failed to issue the required number of NA Dollars “because of low demand”. The 2011 Annual Report simply mentions that the Mint “did not fully comply with Public Law 110-82″ with no mention of repercussions.

Numismatic Gold Coins

It seems that there will not be a price increase for the US Mint’s numismatic gold coins today. In the last post, I had mentioned the strong possibility based on the available London Fix Prices.

With all of the final data points available, the average price of gold did fall into the higher range of $1,650 to $1,699.99. However, the Wednesday London PM Fix price was below $1,650, which prevented the price increase. In order for a price increase or decrease to take place, the average price from the prior Thursday AM London Fix to the current Wednesday AM London Fix must be within a different range and the Wednesday PM Fix price must agree directionally with the change.

2012 San Francisco Silver Eagle Two Coin Set

In a press release, the US Mint has officially announced the upcoming offering of the 2012 San Francisco Silver Eagle Two Coin Set. There had been previous indications of the product including preliminary information provided by Mint contacts and a preliminary product page posted on the Mint’s website.

Details provided in this earlier post are confirmed in the press release. The sets will contain proof and reverse proof Silver Eagles from the San Francisco Mint with the “S” mint mark. The sets will be available for sale during a four week period from June 7, 2012 12:00 Noon ET to July 5, 2012 at 5:00 PM ET. The mintage will be determined based on the orders received during the period.

The press release also establishes that there will be no household limit during the ordering period. Until now, this wasn’t clearly indicated. The sets will be mounted in a blue lacquer presentation case with certificate of authenticity. Shipping will begin in late July.

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