US Mint Sales Sluggish, Led by Gold Coins and Sets

Demand for almost every numismatic product fell according to the latest US Mint weekly sales report. In fact, just analyzing the raw numbers show a drop of over 70,000 total items from the prior week. Nearly every gold coin and all US mint proof and uncirculated sets retreated.

This is not completely surprising, however, as the previous week saw well above average demand for most coins. Also, demand for gold products has declined as the price of the precious metal has fallen. It is down nearly $70 from its peak of just a few weeks ago, and the Mint’s prices were only adjusted this Wednesday for the decline. Accordingly, overall sales of the Mint’s gold containing products (First Spouse Gold Coins, the American Buffalo Gold Coin, and Ultra High Relief $20 Double Eagle) should rise again in the near term.

A few highlights of the weekly sales report:

• The 2009 American Platinum Eagle Proof Coins sold out last week after having reached the maximum mintage of 8,000 units. The sell-out was not unexpected as the Eagle Proofs are the only platinum issues available from the Mint this year. No uncirculated or fractional platinums were struck since they were removed from the Mint’s portfolio last year. Also, the Mint announced in October that no platinum bullions would be minted in 2009.

• Demand for the Margaret Taylor First Spouse Gold Coins remained the highest of any of the First Spouse issues. As they were only released on December 3, it stands to reason that collectors would be more interested in the Taylor coins than in any of the other spouse coins still available. In fact, with 217 proof versions and 82 uncirculated, the Taylor coins outsold the rest of them combined.

• Set interest still appears relatively strong among collectors with 25,948 of the 2009 United States Mint Proof Set sold. This is less than the previous week but still over 3,000 more than the week before that. The 18-coin U.S. Mint Silver Proof Set also showed well with 12,136 added.

Finally, the US Mint this week announced it would end 2009 UHR Gold Sales on Dec. 31. The information is not new to collectors who have followed the coins, but it is certainly a reminder that may entice extra sales. After the poor showing of 587 added in this latest round of numbers, more attention could not hurt.

Other major US Mint coin sales follow:

US Mint Collector Coin Sales

(Data compare previous to current Mint sales reports)

*Sold out or no longer available.

Notable summaries of sales articles this week from CoinNews and sister sites follow:

• US Mint First Spouse Coin Sales Drop, Prices Lowered – FirstSpouseCoins.us
  This week’s sales figures were a bit boring compared to last week’s report that included Margaret Taylor First Spouse opening sales figures. Then, a total of 3,158 Spouse coins sold. This week the total was 479. Still, that was better than November’s weekly average of 404. Naturally, the star of the week was the new Margaret Taylor Proofs, leading the pack with …

• US Mint Silver Coins: Demand Declines, 2009 Silver Eagles Return Strong – SilverCoinsToday.com
  009 American Silver Eagle Bullion Coins have returned with strength following their near two-week hiatus as a result of a depleted inventory. The United States Mint resumed selling the eagles to authorized dealers on Monday, Dec. 7. Although they are being rationed, 737,500 more were still sold in the last seven days and during a time when silver prices moved mostly lower. 27,783,000 is the new 2009 tally. …

• 2009 UHR Gold Sales End Dec. 31 – CoinNews.net
  Giving collectors just a few more weeks to make their final purchases, sales of the 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coins will continue until December 31, 2009, the US Mint announced on Tuesday. These coins were originally offered on January 22 of this year and were white-hot in their first day, selling an amazing 28,173 …

The collector coin sales figures above have an "as of date" of Dec. 13. For an always updated reference of the latest articles, visit US Mint Sales.