The near ballistic rise in gold has resulted in another series of United States Mint price increases for its gold collector coins. On Wednesday, the Mint pulled the trigger on the latest round of hikes — the fourth in five weeks. Coin prices since July have been raised on a per coin basis from as little as $25 to as high as $462.50. On Friday, the Mint suspended two of its older silver sets as silver topped $42 an ounce.
Current gold prices should hold until Wednesday morning, although with gold soaring to successive all-time record highs — at $1,848.60 an ounce as of this writing — a preemptive suspension like last week could potentially be in play.
[Update: The United States Mint suspended its gold collector coin products on Monday, August 22, as gold raced toward $1,900 an ounce.]
In the most recent adjustments, the average price of gold moved within $1,750.00 and $1,799.99 an ounce. According to the Mint’s pricing grid (see PDF of pricing grid), that move called for price increases across 12 gold collector coin products.
Gold Collector Coin Prices and Total Increases Since July
| US Mint Product | July Prices* | Current Prices | Total Increases |
| Uncirculated First Spouse Coins | $916.00 | $1,041.00 | $125.00 |
| Proof First Spouse Coins | $929.00 | $1,054.00 | $125.00 |
| American Gold Buffalo | $1,810.00 | $2,060.00 | $250.00 |
| 1 oz Uncirculated Gold Eagle | $1,778.00 | $2,028.00 | $250.00 |
| 1 oz Proof Gold Eagle | $1,785.00 | $2,035.00 | $250.00 |
| 1/2 oz Proof Gold Eagle | $906.00 | $1,031.00 | $125.00 |
| 1/4 oz Proof Gold Eagle | $465.50 | $528.00 | $62.50 |
| 1/10 oz Proof Gold Eagle | $200.50 | $225.50 | $25.00 |
| Proof Gold Eagle 4-Coin Set | $3,308.00 | $3,770.50 | $462.50 |
*United States Mint listed gold collector coin prices prior to July 20 when the first of the latest four increases occurred. Increases over the last five weeks have occurred on July 20, July 27, August 10 and August 17.
As mentioned, the yellow metal handily crossed the $1,800 an ounce milestone this week, threatening yet another series of increases across the above products. That will happen if the London gold Fix average from Thursday AM (August 18) to Wednesday AM (August 24) stays between $1,800.00 and $1,849.99 an ounce — or, of course, goes higher.
Commemorative Gold Coins Remain Suspended
United States Mint exactly one week ago suspended its four commemorative gold coins, including the:
- Proof 2011 Medal of Honor $5 Commemorative
- Uncirculated 2011 Medal of Honor $5 Commemorative
- Proof 2011 U.S. Army $5 Commemorative
- Uncirculated 2011 U.S. Army $5 Commemorative
The Mint at the time said:
"The United States Mint has suspended sales of commemorative gold coins for re-pricing. Due to the current market volatility, we will be placing these coins on a ‘pricing grid’ similar to the structure we use to price American Eagle, American Buffalo and First Spouse gold coins. A new grid specific to these coins is being developed and will be posted when complete."
The commemorative coins each contain 0.2419 ounces of gold. They are still unavailable.
2010-Dated Silver Sets Suspended
On Friday, the United States Mint online catalog added the notice, "This product is temporarily unavailable," to its 2010 Silver Proof Set and 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set. Presumably, the sets have been suspended for re-pricing as they include coins composed of 90 percent silver. The precious metal jumped ahead by more than $2 on Friday with a current spot of $42.82 an ounce.
The 2010-dated silver sets have undergone two similar suspensions earlier this year — the first in early March when they returned at higher prices and then again on April 8 when silver topped $40 an ounce. The Mint at the time of the first suspension said:
"Recently, the market price of silver has risen substantially. As a result, the United States Mint is reviewing the prices of current products containing silver to make sure the market value of the silver contained in them is not now higher than the cost of the products themselves."
The 2010 Silver Proof Set includes 1.338 ounces of silver and was priced at $64.95 prior to its latest suspension. The 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set has 0.904 ounces of silver and had a pre-suspension price of $39.95.
The United States Mint has a bit more room before suspensions would kick-in for the 2011-dated versions as they are priced higher, $67.95 for the 2011 Silver Proof Set and $41.95 for the 2011 America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set.
Past silver set suspensions have lasted from a few days to weeks.
CoinNews.net’s U.S. & World Coins section offers information and specifications for each of the coins listed above.
