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2010 Proof Gold Buffalo Sold Out
10/05/11
2010 Proof Gold Buffalo Sold Out
The 2010 Proof Gold Buffalo coins have now sold out at the US Mint. The sell out comes just a few days before the 2011-dated version is scheduled to go on sale.
Sales of the one ounce proof coin began on June 3, 2010. At the time, the coins were priced at $1,510 each, based on an average gold price in the $1,200 to $1,249.99 range. There were no ordering limits or stated maximum mintage for the coins.
After opening with sales of 12,778, the 2010 Proof Gold Buffalo remained a relatively steady seller during the ensuing months. The last reported sales through May 1, 2011 were 49,236. When last available, the coins were priced at $1,810 each, reflecting an average gold price in the $1,500 to $1,549.99 range.
It seems that the final mintage will land not too far from the level for the 2009 Proof Gold Buffalo. The US Mint has now released the final audited mintage for this issue as 49,306. The final mintages for all Proof Gold Buffalo coins are shown below.
| Proof Gold Buffalo Final Mintages | ||||
| 1 oz | 1/2 oz | 1/4 oz | 1/10 oz | |
| 2006 | 246,267 | |||
| 2007 | 58,998 | |||
| 2008 | 18,863 | 12,169 | 13,125 | 18,884 |
| 2009 | 49,306 | |||
The 2011 Proof Gold Buffalo is scheduled to go on sale May 19, 2011.
5 Ounce ATB Silver Bullion Finally Reaches Public
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By Debbie Bradley, Numismatic NEws December 29, 2010 |
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This article was originally printed in Numismatic News.
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America the Beautiful 5-ounce silver bullion coins are getting into the hands of the public, just as silver heads past $30 an ounce.
Already they’re showing up on the secondary market, where prices for the five-coin set hovered around $2,800 on eBay in late December.
A collector from Waverly, Iowa, received a set from American Precious Metals Exchange ATB Jump on Dec. 24.
“I was one of the lucky ones that put in my order within the first few hours of their going on sale online on Dec. 3,” he wrote to Numismatic News.
 2011 U.S. Coin Digest: Bullion Coinage Your best reference for the latest details and values for these circulating and non-circulating bullions. Get your download today! |
Although he had ordered three sets, sales rules subsequently imposed by the U.S. Mint capped orders at one per household.
“The coins are both larger and thicker than I had imagined they would be and are quite hefty,” the Iowa collector reported.
The APMEX website on Dec. 28 listed the coins as out of stock, while the Dillon Gage website said the coins would be available for sale Jan. 3. Each company is one of nine purchasers authorized by the U.S. Mint to sell the coins, which were limited to a mintage of 33,000 sets.
APMEX CEO Michael Haynes said the company put a temporary stop to sales until questions it put to the Mint about the new rules could be answered and analyzed.
“We are hopeful that within the next days, maybe a week, we would be able to fully understand the rules so we could be able to offer the coins and comply,” Haynes said on Dec. 28.
The Iowa collector said the 5-ounce coin designs are beautiful in full format.
“Even the Hot Springs issue, which I had found to be quite ugly in regular quarter size,” he said. “It displays extreme detail and it is quite obvious that the wall in the background is actually a wall.
“A second bonus is that the Mount Hood coin came with proof-like surfaces. In my opinion, this is the most beautiful of these five coins.”
The set is already on its way to a grading service for “Early Releases” designation, the collector reported.
“My intention is to build the entire set, but time will tell,” he said.
Tom Miller, manager at Jack H. Beymer in Santa Rosa, Calif., said there have been some calls from customers seeking the coin sets, but the company doesn’t have any in stock.
“We’re waiting for when they’re offered over the counter,” he said.
At a purchase limit of one per household, that may be all a dealer can do.
“We do want to sell it,” Haynes said. “We’re not in the collecting business, although all of us like it, our business is selling.”
So what is the chance of being able to buy a set of the 5-ounce coins?
“I don’t know what anyone’s chances are,” Haynes said. “It’s almost like a lottery.”
2010 Proof Silver Eagle Sold Out
29/12/10
2010 Proof Silver Eagle Sold Out
The United States Mint’s website is now showing the 2010 Proof Silver Eagle as sold out. This product joins the one-half ounce Proof Gold Eagle as another somewhat unexpected sell out.
The 2010 Proof Silver Eagle originally went on sale November 19, 2010 with no stated maximum mintage, and an initial household ordering limit of 100 coins. Collector interest was expected to be high, after the cancellation of the prior year release and against the backdrop of strong performance for the price of silver.
When the US Mint reported debut sales figures of 273,212 coins for the period November 19 to 21, I questioned the numbers as possibly being under reported. Later that week, it was revealed that approximately 2,200 orders had been deleted in error, accounting for some of the discrepancy. Two weeks later when the next report was available, the US Mint showed sales of 707,704.
This week’s sales report showed total sales of 834,879, unchanged from the prior week. I asked the US Mint for clarification on the figure, but have not yet received a response. It now seems that the figure may not have been updated since the product was close to selling out.
If the final sales are around this level, the 2010 Proof Silver Eagle would rank as the fourth highest mintage of all proof coins for the series. However, products which sell out unexpectedly, as opposed to lingering into the following year, seem to experience a boost in premium on the secondary market. We’ll have to wait and see if this develops.
by Debbie Bradley
Summary
Dealers say new rules imposed by the U.S. Mint on the sale of 5-ounce silver bullion coins are far from clear.
This article was originally printed in the latest issue of Numismatic News.
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Dealers say new rules imposed by the U.S. Mint on the sale of 5-ounce silver bullion coins are far from clear.
“I think there is some question on exactly how those rules apply, and we don’t have answers to the questions,” said Michael Haynes, CEO of American Precious Metals Exchange, one of 11 companies authorized by the Mint to sell the new America the Beautiful coins.
APMX has ordered 3,000 sets, the maximum allowed per distributor.
“We have ordered them. That’s good. We’re players, but we need to understand the rules,” Haynes said.
New rules say the authorized companies can only sell one coin of each design to a household to ensure wide distribution of coins to the public. And they are to be sold according to a price structure set by the Mint.
“We understand we can sell one coin, but we don’t know what public means,” Haynes said. “We think it means citizens of the United States, but we are awaiting further clarification.”
The new rules just won’t work, said Ross Hansen, CEO of Northwest Territorial Mint, which sells bullion coins, but is not one of the 11 authorized purchasers.
“The U.S. Mint has made a mess of this,” Hansen said.
There are 11 authorized purchasers of the 5-ounce coins, but all but one of them are wholesalers, he said. They aren’t set up to sell individual orders to the public.
Then there’s the matter of price fixing, Hansen said. The Mint said the authorized purchasers can’t sell the coins for more than 10 percent above the price at which they acquire them from the Mint.
“But this is bullion and price fluctuates with the price of bullion,” Hansen said. “So they’re trying to enforce a fixed cost with a commodity whose price is always in flux.”
An authorized purchaser who ordered the coins when they were first offered on Dec. 10 would pay the Dec. 13 bullion price of $29.33 an ounce for the coins. That would put the cost of a set of five coins, one of each design, at $782 when the $9.75 per coin premium set by the Mintis added in. Add to that the 10 percent markup allowed to the distributors and it puts the cost for each set at $860.20 plus shipping.
“You can give manufacturers a suggested retail price, but you can’t control what your retailers ultimately sell their product for,” Hansen said. “I can’t do that as a wholesaler and neither can the U.S. Mint.
But the Mint does, and that’s just arrogance, Hansen said.
“They don’t communicate well with their retailers,” Hansen said. “They just say, this is the way it is. They don’t make partners out of their distributors and retailers, and that’s what they need to do, make them viable partners.”
Hansen said this confusion could have been solved with a 10-minute conversation between all involved.
“But they’re not working with their authorized purchasers as true partners,” Hansen said. “That’s one reason I’ve never signed up with them. They’re such pain in the rear ends to deal with.”
The new sales rules are “ridiculous,” said Bill Hodges, owner of Southern Coin Investments in Atlanta, Ga., who sells numismatic and bullion coins.
“I strongly feel that some distributors won’t handle them at all, and I don’t blame them,” he said.
It’s tantamount to price fixing, Hodges said.
When dealers were first allowed to place orders with the 11 distributors, Hodges signed up for 20 sets at $1,500 each from one wholesaler. But that deal no longer is valid because of the Mint’s new rules.
Hodges called Mint officials and told them that if the Mint wants wide distribution of the coins, restricting coins to the 11 authorized purchasers isn’t the way to do it.
“They are shutting out our company and hundreds of companies around the country,” Hodges said. “We’re getting calls from hundreds of people, and we keep telling them, we can’t help you.”
That’s what is really frustrating, Hodges said.
“The U.S. Mint needs to employ some people with business and marketing experience to help decide the best means of doing distribution,” Hansen said.
The current plan isn’t working, he said.
“We have 35,000 people in our database, which means we could distribute the coins widely, but we have no opportunity, Hodges said.
“What I hate the most is all the people who call us and we can’t help.”
The Mint coins a new phase: After 50 years, Lincoln Memorial gone from the penny
By Steve Hendrix
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 14, 2010; 9:59 PM
You may have noticed a small change in your small change. More likely, you haven’t.
“Now when did they do that?” asked Victor Schubert, a lawyer from Racine, Wis., squinting at a freshly minted 2010 penny. “And why?”
Schubert and other tourists on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial one recent afternoon were surprised to see a brand-new look to that most familiar of coins.
Gone from the Lincoln penny is the reproduction of the Lincoln Memorial, complete with really tiny seated Lincoln, that has been “tails” since 1959. In its place is a “Union Shield,” a simple acorn of 13 stripes capped with the motto “E Pluribus Unum.” On the “heads” side, the iconic profile of the 16th president by Victor David Brenner remains unchanged.
The U.S. Mint has been stamping out the new design since February; presses in Philadelphia and Denver have produced more than 3.6 billion of them. But officials said the down economy has made banks slow to request new coins. It will be years, they said, before shield pennies become as common as the tens of billions of Lincoln Memorial pennies filling sofa cracks and dresser tops across the country.
Mint spokesman Michael White said there have been few comments from the public about the new design, probably because few have spotted it.
“It’s a phenomenon of notice – once you see one, they’re everywhere,” White said. “But you don’t tend to examine your change unless you’re a coin collector.”
Most visitors to the Lincoln Memorial – where a huge mock-up of the old penny adorns the entrance to an exhibit hall – said they were sorry to see the memorial end its half-century run as the most common edifice in American pockets.
“This building has a lot of meaning for me,” said Schubert, 73, who first came to Washington on a high school trip. Whenever he’s here, he still makes time to walk up the steps to see the giant Lincoln. “I stood right by that column on the corner and looked out over this beautiful expanse and decided I wanted to become a lawyer. I’ll miss seeing it on the penny.”
Then Schubert paused to consider the scale of the change, literally. “Not that I look at pennies very much anyway,” he said.
Janey Hockenhull, chaperoning a group of fifth-graders from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said she doesn’t like to see perfectly good coins get the flip, as it were.
“If something doesn’t need changing, don’t change it,” she said. “What was wrong with the old penny?”
Nothing, Mint officials said, but that didn’t stop Congress from demanding a new one, as it has about every 50 years since the Lincoln penny was introduced in 1909 to mark the centennial of the great man’s birth. Just as that first design, with ears of wheat framing the reverse side, gave way to the Lincoln Memorial penny in 1959, lawmakers directed the Mint to update the coin again this year. (For Lincoln’s actual bicentennial year, 2009, the Mint released four commemorative pennies depicting different phases of his life.)
“It really hasn’t made much of a ripple this time except in coin circles,” said Douglas Mudd, curator of the American Numismatic Association’s Money Museum in Colorado Springs. “I think it was a bigger deal when the wheat penny went away. Some people got very worked up about that one.”
Part of the reason the new penny has dropped without much reaction may be a general new-coin fatigue, Mudd said. After decades when almost nothing on U.S. coins changed except the year they were minted, the past 10 years have seen almost every coin get a makeover.
Starting in 1999, the state quarter project began, replacing the long-standing eagle reverse with images from each state and, eventually, the District. It proved to be the Mint’s most successful program, turning many thousands of people into collectors. (The Mint is now releasing quarters honoring national parks and other scenic sites.)
Thomas Jefferson’s nickel got a facelift in 2006, presenting a head-on view to cashiers everywhere with an image based on a 1800 portrait by Rembrandt Peale.
Coin buffs gobble up every tweak, of course, and Mint officials say it is important to revisit currency design every few decades for security and aesthetic purposes. But they also know that too much change makes people feel funny about their money.
“For me, there’s a little bit of ‘enough already,’ ” Doug Khorey, an English teacher from Pittsburgh, said when he saw the new penny. “It starts to seem like toy money.”
The new shield design wasn’t dictated by Congress, White said. The law merely called for an image that would be “emblematic of President Lincoln’s preservation of the United States of America as a single and united country.”
Gary Marks, chairman of the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, a congressionally appointed body, pushed for the Union Shield, which he said was quite popular during the Civil War, appearing on frescoes in the Capitol and carved into a lot of public marble around town.
“It was on beer mugs, furniture,” Marks said. “For Americans of the time, the Union Shield was broadly seen as a symbol of national unity.”
Mark’s commission selected the shield design from among several proposals, and the Treasury adopted it. You can find the minuscule initials of designer Lyndall Bass and engraver Joseph Menna flanking the shield.
But another advisory body, the U.S. Commission on Fine Arts, had other views. Its members preferred other proposed images, including a stylized flag from the period and a view of the Capitol dome under construction during the Civil War.
“The shield was not one of the three or four [the Fine Arts Commission] focused on, but the Mint didn’t take our advice on this one,” said commission secretary Thomas Luebke.
Luebke and Marks also disagree on whether to shed tears over the disappearance of the Lincoln Memorial from the penny. For Luebke, an architect, the Memorial on the penny and Jefferson’s Monticello on the nickel are worthy elements of the coins that jangle through the land.
“I personally feel that it’s a loss,” he said. “There is something pleasing about these edifices that represent contributions of these presidents.”
Marks, who has a day job as the city administrator of Ketchum, Idaho, prefers more abstract symbols.
“A building is a building,” he said. “It’s a cherished memorial, certainly, but on a coin, I think we’re better served reaching for those iconic, artistic images that communicate our national values. To me, the Union Shield does that.”
2010 Proof Silver Eagles at 707,704
The total reported sales for the 2010 Proof Silver Eagle have now reached 707,704. After less than three weeks of sales, this amount has already exceeded the final mintage of the last available issue of the series.
The US Mint did not provide sales data last week, so the latest report available on Coin Update News reflects two weeks worth of new sales data. The Proof Silver Eagle had debuted with sales of 273,212, so the latest total represents an increase of 434,492.
In most cases, the strongest sales for newly released US Mint products tend to occur within the opening days, with the pace of sales quickly diminishing in subsequent weeks. Based on the figures provided, either the 2010 Proof Silver Eagle has broken with this trend, or as I had suggested, the opening figures were possibly under reported.
Also potentially coming into play were the 2,200 orders from the first days of sales that were deleted in error by the US Mint. Likely most of these orders were reinstated in the following week. Also, the household ordering limit was removed late last week, creating the potential for large bulk orders to be placed.
As mentioned, the sales total for the current release already exceed the 2008 Proof Silver Eagle final mintage of 700,979. More broadly, the sales already represent the ninth highest mintage across all Proof Silver Eagles.
Proof Silver Eagle Mintages – Sorted High to Low
| 1986 | 1,446,778 |
| 2006 | 1,092,477 |
| 1987 | 904,732 |
| 2007 | 821,759 |
| 2005 | 816,663 |
| 2004 | 801,602 |
| 2003 | 747,831 |
| 2001 | 746,398 |
| 2010 | 707,704* |
| 2008 | 700,979 |
| 1990 | 695,510 |
| 2002 | 647,342 |
| 1989 | 617,694 |
| 2000 | 600,743 |
| 1988 | 557,370 |
| 1999 | 549,330 |
| 1991 | 511,924 |
| 1992 | 498,543 |
| 1996 | 498,293 |
| 1998 | 450,728 |
| 1997 | 440,315 |
| 1995 | 407,822 |
| 1993 | 405,913 |
| 1994 | 372,168 |
| 1995-W | 30,125 |
* still on sale.
Numismatic Gold Coin Pricing
Separately, there will possibly be another price increase for available US Mint numismatic gold coins. Under the current policy, prices may be adjusted weekly based on changes changes in the price of gold.
Price tiers are established at $50 increments for gold. If the average London Fix price of gold from the prior Thursday AM to the current Wednesday AM, moves into a higher tier, then product prices are adjusted accordingly. As an additional condition, the Wednesday PM price must also fall into the higher tier.
The average London Fix price for this week would fall into a higher tier as long as the tomorrow’s London AM fix price comes in at $1,353 or higher. More key to the situation will be tomorrow’s London PM fix price, established around 11:00 PM ET. If it comes in at $1,400 or high, a price increase will take place. If it comes in below $1,400, no price changes would occur.
A price increase would impact the available 2010 First Spouse Gold Coins, 2010 Proof American Gold Eagles, and 2010 Proof American Gold Buffalo.
J&T Coins LLC is now selling 2010 1 oz Silver Proof American Eagles. These are mint issued specimens and come with all original government packaging.
After not being minted in 2009 the U.S. Mint is now minting the 2010 version.
Click here to order yours. These are in time for the Holiday Season and make wonderful gifts.
J&T Coins LLC Est. 2001.
American Palladium Eagle Coins with Silver Mercury Dime Design Approved
December 2, 2010 by Darrin Lee Unser · Leave a Comment
Legislation authorizing the US Mint to strike American Palladium Eagle coins was approved Tuesday by the U.S. Senate and has been sent to the desk of President Barack Obama to await his expected signature.
Weinman’s Winged Liberty design shown on this silver 1916 Mercury Dime will be featured on the obverse of the American Palladium Eagle coin
The coin legislation was originally introduced by United States House of Representative member Denny Rehberg (R) from Montana to add bullion and collector proof and uncirculated Palladium Eagle coins to the US Mint’s product offerings. Currently, the US Mint strikes American Gold Eagles, American Silver Eagles and American Platinum Eagles.
The fourth option is meant as a viable alternative to the extremely popular gold and silver coins. In fact, the current market price of palladium places it almost squarely in between the two other precious metals. London Spot for the metal averaged $682.91 per ounce during the month of November 2010, whereas silver came in at $26.54 an ounce and gold stood at 1,369.89 an ounce.
“I’m pleased that my legislation cleared the final hurdle and is now destined for the President’s desk,” said Representative Denny Rehberg upon hearing the news of the Senate passing the legislation which was numbered H.R. 6166. “As the price of gold skyrockets, Palladium provides investors with an option for an alternative precious metal.”
Stipulations in the American Eagle Palladium Bullion Coin Act of 2010 dictate that the obverse and reverse designs be based on the work of noted artist Adolph A. Weinman. Weinman’s name is well-known to coin collectors as his “Walking Liberty” already graces the American Silver Eagle coin. That design was originally used on the silver Walking Liberty Half Dollar that appeared from 1916-1947 and is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful ever to be used on a coin of the United States.
The obverse of the American Palladium Eagle coins will also be a design showcased before on a circulating coin. This time, the image will be a high relief likeness of Weinman’s “Winged Liberty” which appeared on the silver dime from 1916-1945. Many know this coin as the silver Mercury Dime.
On the reverse, a much less well-known design of Weinman’s will be used. It will be taken from the 1907 American Institute of Architects medal.
Each new coin will be struck from one ounce of .9995 fine palladium with a face value of $25. The coin’s diameter and thickness will be determined by the Treasury Secretary. Proof versions will be minted in West Point. Uncirculated and bullion versions may be minted at any Mint facility.
The American Eagle Palladium Bullion Coin Act has unique design language for the collector proof and uncirculated coins stating that the Treasury Secretary shall, “to the greatest extent possible,” use different surface treatments for each year’s issue.
American Palladium Eagle Coins must be minted beginning “not more than 1 year” after the Treasury Secretary submits a marketing study to Congress to “ensure that such coins could be minted and issued at no net cost to taxpayers.”
America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins Available December 6
Today, the US Mint announced the details for the long awaited America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins. There are some changes from previously reported information.
The 5 ounce silver bullion coins will be available for sale on December 6, 2010. As with other bullion programs, the coins will be sold through the authorized purchaser network, who will in turn make the coins available to the secondary market. The premium that the AP’s will need to pay above the market value of the silver content will be $9.75 per coin. Premiums charged for secondary market sales will obviously be higher.
Maximum mintages for each of the five releases will be only 33,000 units each. This is one-third the mintage level that had been previously reported in some print publications. As opposed to American Silver Eagle bullion coins, which must be produced in quantities sufficient to meet public demand, the America the Beautiful 5 oz silver coins are produced in quantities that are determined appropriate by the Secretary of the Treasury.
Numismatic versions of the coins will also be made available during the first quarter of 2011. The possibility had been mentioned by the US Mint Director, although nothing had been confirmed until now. The numismatic versions will be uncirculated versions that carry the “P” mint mark. (No mint mark will be used on the bullion versions of the coins.) The maximum mintage had been set at only 27,000 units for each of the five releases.
The US Mint is either seriously underestimating the demand for the new coins, or they are simply unable to devote additional silver supplies to the product line. As posted yesterday, Silver Eagle bullion coins recently broke a long standing record for monthly sales and are in record territory for annual sales.
Based on the constant stream of inquiries and comments about the America the Beautiful 5 oz. Silver Bullion coins, it’s not that difficult to predict that the limited number of coins available will quickly sell out and start trading for significant premiums on the secondary market.
Higher premiums don’t seem to hinder demand for Silver American Eagle Coins
By Steve Roach on Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Filed Under: General Collecting, Gold & Silver Bullion, US Coins, US Mint, bullion coins
By Steve Roach – the Rare Coin Market Report – Coin World
While bullion markets continue their wild fluctuations, demand for American Eagle 1-ounce silver bullion coins remains vibrant.
In October, the United States Mint increased the premium charged to its authorized purchasers for American Eagle silver bullion coins from $1.50 to $2 per coin. The premium was increased in 2009 from $1.40 to $1.50 per coin and in 2008 from $1.25 to $1.40 per coin.
While Proof American Eagle silver coins may be purchased directly from the Mint, the Mint sells the silver bullion coins only to dealers in minimum 25,000-coin shipments.
However, the premium increase seems to have had no noticeable impact on demand, as the Mint has sold more than 30 million silver American Eagles thus far in 2010, eclipsing 2009’s sales record of 28,766,500 pieces.
Surely silver hitting 30-year highs including a flirtation with $29 earlier in November has helped keep demand for the attractive and easily portable silver American Eagles robust. Demand for the coins throughout the holiday gift-giving season will mean that 2010 sales figures will continue to climb.
Proof 2010-W American Eagle silver coins went on sale Nov. 19, priced at $45.95, with a 100-coin household limit.
The Mint’s Web site already warns customers of possible ordering delays on Nov. 19, due to the deluge of customers who are likely to order in light of “unusually high demand.”
Until Proof 2010-W coins enter the marketplace, wholesalers are paying up to $57 for earlier Proof American Eagle silver coins in original Mint packaging.
Grading service population reports show that 2010 American Eagle silver bullion coins are extremely well-produced. Of the 44,160 graded by Professional Coin Grading Service so far this year, a whopping 36,470 pieces have received Mint State 70 grades. Currently PCGS MS-70 2010 silver American Eagles are selling in online auctions for $60 to $100, while certified MS-69 representatives can be found for around $35 and uncertified examples are seen at $30.
In large quantities, 2010 American Eagle silver bullion coins are available from wholesale dealers at silver spot price plus $2.60 per coin.