The United States Mint surprised collectors Friday with the return of both proof and uncirculated 2008 American Eagle Platinum coins carrying the "W" mintmark. And even better, the new prices are substantially lower than those from 2007 or in mid 2008.
Both platinum series of coins were pulled from the Mint’s online shelves in early August with the expectation they would return after price reductions were made to better match platinum’s free fall.
After more than two months of waiting, collectors can now purchase the coins at a discount, albeit with the understanding that there are still substantial premiums to consider when comparing coin prices to platinum’s latest slide — it closed yesterday on Nymex at under $900 an ounce, and is falling further in early morning trading. The current level is a far, far cry from its record high of $2,252 per ounce earlier in the year.
As a special interest, these 2008 coins bear the final ‘Judicial Branch’ design in a three-year platinum series entitled, "The Foundations of American Democracy." Collectors who purchased coins from the previous two years due to their differing designs will likely be inclined to take advantage of the Mint’s new prices, which are now lower than last year.
In all this, one thing is certain. There is absolutely no telling how long the coins will remain available.
The old and newest proof and uncirculated platinum coin prices follow:
New American Eagle Platinum coin prices
| Proof: Old/New Price* |
Uncirculated: Old/New Price* |
|
| One-ounce platinum coin | $2,299.95/$1,324.95 | $2,349.95/$1,214.95 |
| One-half ounce platinum coin | $1,174.95/$674.95 | $1,199.95/$619.95 |
| One-quarter ounce platinum coin | $609.95/$349.95 | $619.95/$319.95 |
| One-tenth ounce platinum coin | $269.95/$149.95 | $259.95/$134.95 |
| Four-coin platinum set | $4,119.95/$2,419.95 | $4,289.95/$2,219.95 |
*Prices of the coins when they were first released in 2008 (May 5th for proof; July 1 for uncirculated) and new prices announced October 17, 2008.
Volatility of the market forced the Mint to suspend and resume, after adjusting prices, gold and platinum bullion coins more than once. The highest prices charged for the 2008 American Eagle platinum proof coins may be reviewed by following U.S. Mint Making a Mint with 59%-79% Premiums on Platinum Proof Coins.
The coins may be found via the US Mint page:
At 10:24 AM EDT, spot platinum was down $45 to $851.00 an ounce. In recent days platinum has been quickly approaching the price of gold, although gold has been falling as well.
This is a great thing. I had begun to lose hope that the Mint would bring back the platinum coins and thus create an immense rarity. Fortunately, they were able to regroup and offer lower prices. It took them awhile but they did the right thing.
Finally! I ordered mine yesterday. I don’t want to take any more chances. With physical metal being a rarity on the market, I could see a sell out of these for the first time in many years.
Well the mint wants to perform like a coin retailer now. In the past when the Mint put a price on a coin that was the price for the remainder of the coins run reguardless of what the secondary market (Ebay, Coin Vault, Ect.)was selling the coin for. Then they tried to chase the spot price and raised the price, then removing the item for sale now returning it at a greatly reduced price. Well we hardcore collectors who bought the coin when it first hit the market are now denied a refund of the difference in price. It was… Read more »