The United States Mint recently stopped selling 2012-W Proof American Silver Eagle coins.
The bureau does not indicate when sales of the proof will resume. The statement on the Eagle’s online ordering page simply says, "This product is temporarily unavailable for product repricing."
Such sales stoppages generally occur for a product when the melt value of the precious metal within it dramatically changes. On Thursday, July 12, London silver plunged to $26.67 an ounce, which was this year’s all-time low. As a comparison, when the U.S. Mint launched the proof American Silver Eagle on July 12, silver was at $31.47 an ounce.
A quick and robust rebound on Friday put the white metal at $27.48 an ounce. As long as silver does not make any volatile jumps short term, it would seem likely that the coin will be available again very soon, and probably at the same pre-suspension price of $59.95.
The Silver Eagles, which are composed of 99.9% fine silver and weigh one ounce, are best sellers for the Mint. Sales data as of July 9 have them at 489,265.
No other U.S. Mint products have been suspended. For example, the 2011-dated collector uncirculated American Silver Eagle was still available at the time of this writing. Its price is $45.95 per coin.
