US Mint Weekly Sales: 2009 Bullion Gold Eagles Take Lead

If the United States Mint was hoping for strong Christmas week sales from Santa, unfortunately, they were disappointed. For the third straight week figures show significant drops in volume almost across the board for collector coins.

Only a few meager entries managed a positive change, but the overall results are not too rosy. Of course, this time of year one would expect a lack of interest in the hobby with thoughts turning to travel and family and friends. Even those individuals who thought ahead to give coins as gifts had to plan that out weeks ago and place their orders to insure delivery before Christmas.

The only true beacon of light on the US Mint’s sales for the week were American Eagle bullion coins. The 1 oz Gold Eagle versions, which were just made available from the Mint again on December 15th after having been suspended due to demand, are up to 1,303,500 for the year. That was a jump of 47,500 for one week. And this is with an allocation program in place on strikes, meaning the Mint’s authorized purchasers are limited in the amounts they can order.

1 oz Silver Eagles are being rationed as well, but that did not stop their numbers from rising to 28,680,500 for the year, an increase of 281,500 in just the one week.

A few other interesting items from the weekly sales report:

• While the numbers are not exactly stellar, the 2009 D.C. and Territories First Day Coin Covers have been holding their own the last few weeks, something most other products have been unable to do. Covering the five releases for the year (District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and US Virgin Islands), the coin covers actually saw an improvement in sales this last week with a total number sold of 1,045. This compares to 1,022 last week. Again, not earth-shattering, but a nice gain.

• The Mint reported a total of 1,384 of the 2009 Ultra High Relief Gold Coins sold last week. While not as high as the previous week, it still shows a nice demand for the issues. UHR sales stop at 3 PM (Eastern) on December 31, 2009.

• Showing a goose-egg were the 2009 Kennedy Half-Dollar 2-Roll sets. This is because the Mint sold out their supply last week. Produced only for collector demand and not placed into circulation since 2002, the 2009 rolls were first available in January. The set includes a roll of 20 coins from the Mint in Philadelphia and a roll of 20 coins from the Mint in Denver and sold for $32.95. For the year, the Mint shows total sales at 39,459 sets.

With many collectors at home on vacation between Christmas and New Years, momentum in the hobby seems to be picking up slightly by some reports compared to the last few weeks. It will be interesting to see if this translates into higher sales when the Mint releases its next set of sales figures.

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.

Click here for a full listing of the US Mint sales report.

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

• First Spouse Gold Sales Weaken During Holiday – FirstSpouseCoins.us
  Post holiday US Mint sales figures were a little frightful, since only a few more than one hundred First Spouse Gold Coins were added. The total sold was 113, compared to last week’s 506. Needless to say, these coins were not on many collectors’ minds. The most popular Spouse coins were the Proof Margaret Taylor’s, Sarah Polk’s and Julia Tyler’s. Each managed 46, 25, and 22 respectively. On the opposite side of the spectrum was the Uncirculated Margaret Taylor coin. It declined by negative 15 …

• US Mint Sales: 2009 Silver Eagles Peak, Collector Coins Weak – SilverCoinsToday.com
  The latest United States Mint sales report shows robust 2009 Silver Eagle bullion figures, but weakening numismatic silver coin demand. The bullion Silver Eagles just came off their most recent suspension on Dec. 7. Since then, and despite their allocated or rationed distribution, the US Mint has sold 2,687,500 to their small group of authorized dealers, marking the second best December for Silver Eagles since …

• 2009 Lincoln Cent Update, Proof Set Sold Out – 2009LincolnPennies.com
  Sales for products with 2009 Lincoln Cents were down this week, according to the latest United States Mint sales figures. That’s no surprise, because lower sales is typical for most everything from the Mint once the holiday delivery deadline passes. The most notable news update is that the Lincoln Cent Proof Sets are no longer available from the US Mint. The sets were removed from the Mint web site sometime around Dec. 21 …

• 2009 Fractional Gold Eagle Sell Out Figures – CoinNews.net
  2009 Fractional American Gold Eagle bullion coins are in the history books with leading sales figures, despite their late launch and quick sell out. Having only been released on Dec. 3, 2009, the coins in the fractional sizes of one-half ounce, one-quarter ounce, and one-tenth ounce weights recorded smashing release day sales — 345,000 were sold for a total of 58,000 ounces of gold …

The collector coin sales figures above have an "as of date" of Dec. 27. For an always updated reference of the latest articles, visit US Mint Sales.