The 2010 Proof Set went on sale July 22, 2010. The price of the set was $31.95, reflecting an increase of $2 compared to the prior year set, despite a reduction in the number of coins. This factor may have weighed on collectors as initial orders came in lower than the prior year. Through the reporting date of July 25, 2010, the US Mint recorded sales 296,379 sets. This compares to opening sales of 437,178 for the 2009 Proof Set.

Last week's report focused on the 2010 Mint Set, which went on sale July 15, 2010. In the past week, the US Mint added sales of 46,321 sets to bring the total to 247,085. This also represents a significant decline from the pace of sale established last year. In this case, it's possible that the slower summer months are impacting comparisons since the 2009 Mint Set went on sale in October. However, the trend from other reports has clearly shown a slow down in US Mint product sales this year, particularly for products which underwent price increases.

Sales of available gold coins showed a jump in this report, likely due to the recent price decrease. The 2010 Proof Gold Buffalo added 799 to bring the total to 23,643. There were 538 of the First Spouse Gold Coins sold across all available options. This represented the highest weekly total in four weeks.

The full US Mint numismatic products weekly sales report appears below. Figures are compiled through July 25, 2010. The first number column indicates total sales through the reporting date and the second number column represents the change since the last report. Figures which are followed by an asterisk (*) are no longer available for sale at the US Mint.

The bill H.R. 4684 had been introduced in the House of Representatives on February 24, 2010 by Jerrold Nadler of New York. In September 2009, Nadler had introduced a bill seeking one ounce silver commemorative coins for September 11. The newer proposal for medals, as opposed to legal tender silver dollar coins, had been introduced  following the approval of two commemorative coin programs for the year 2011 honoring the United States Army and the Medal of Honor. Under current law, only two commemorative coin programs may be approved by Congress for each year.

The authorizing legislation would provide for up to 2 million of the September 11 Silver Medals to be produced. To the extent possible one half of the medals would be stuck at the mint facility at Philadelphia and one half struck at the West Point facility. The medals could be issued starting on January 1, 2011. An ending date for sales is not specified, but no medals may be produced after December 31, 2012.

The design for the medals would be "emblematic of the courage, sacrifice, and strength of those individuals who perished in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the bravery of those who risked their lives to save others that day, and the endurance, resilience, and hope of those who survived." Required inscriptions would include the years "2001-2011" and the words "Always Remember". The final designs would be selected by the Secretary of the Treasury following consultation with the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the Commission of Fine Arts, and review by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.

The cost of each medal would include a $10 surcharge per medal, paid to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center to support operations and maintenance following completion.

In order for the current proposal for September 11 Commemorative Silver Medals to become a reality, the bill must be signed into law by the President.

2009 Proof Silver Eagle (not issued)

The American Silver Eagle has been produced since 1986. Each coin contains one troy ounce of .999 fine silver, with the weight, content, and purity guaranteed by the United States Government. Traditionally, Silver Eagles have been offered as bullion coins, distributed through a network of authorized purchasers, and as collector coins, sold directly to the public. Existing law requires that the United States Mint produce the bullion coins in quantities sufficient to meet the public demand, but there is no requirement to produce the collector versions of the coin.

Related Story: Inefficiencies Cited in US Mint's Bullion Coin Programs

During the past few years,the surging demand for physical precious metals has resulted in periodic suspensions and ongoing rationing of the American Silver Eagle bullion coins. Since late 2008, the US Mint suspended production of the collector versions of the coins, in order to source all incoming blank supplies towards the production of bullion coins. This has resulted in the early sell out of the 2008 Proof Silver Eagle and the cancellation of the 2009 Proof and Uncirculated Silver Eagle.

During a hearing on "The State of U.S. Coins and Currency" held by the House Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology, statements by Director Moy revealed that the Subcommittee has been exploring the possibility of amending the law to provide the Secretary of the Treasury with the authority to mint and issue collectible versions of the American Silver Eagle, even if public demand for bullion coins is unmet. The United States Mint provided technical drafting assistance to accomplish the change, although it has not yet been enacted.

If the law can be changed soon, Director Moy indicated that the Mint could produce 200,000 of the collectible Silver Eagles per month. If production began in September, about 830,000 coins could be minted by the end of the year.

The United States Mint offers bullion coins through the American Eagle Bullion Coin Program and the more recently introduced American Buffalo Gold Coin Program. Under Public Law 99-61 and 99-185, the US Mint is required to produce Gold Eagle and Silver Eagle bullion coins in quantities sufficient to meet public demand.

The onset of the global economic crisis caused a significant increase in the demand for physical precious metals. Since late 2008, the United States Mint has been unable to keep up with the increased level of demand, resulting in frustrations for investors and collectors.

On several occasions over the past two years, sales of gold and silver bullion coins have been suspended due to the depletion of the US Mint's available inventory. For significant stretches of time, the US Mint has imposed an allocation program, which rations the available supply of bullion coins amongst their authorized purchasers. The production of collectible versions of the American Gold Eagle and American Silver Eagle were canceled in 2009, as the US Mint sourced all precious metals blanks supplies to the production of bullion coins.

Testimony from Michael Clark, President of Diamond State Depository, described the "heart of the problem" as the Mint's inability to source precious metals blanks from multiple producers. According to the testimony, the US Mint relies on just three suppliers for precious metals blanks. Adding further inefficiency to the process, precious metals are shipped to these foreign suppliers to be made into blanks, and then shipped back to the United States to be minted into coins. This is the result of the legislative requirement that precious metals for the coins must come from newly mined U.S. deposits.

Separate testimony delivered by United States Mint Director Edmund Moy supports Clark's observation about the bottleneck in the process. Moy stated, "We had no difficulty in obtaining gold, silver and platinum in raw material form, but we experienced considerable difficulty in getting this raw material fabricated into planchets by our vendors in sufficient quantities to meet public demand."

During 2008, the United States Mint had made public acknowledgment of production problems for bullion coins and promised action. To date, no significant action has taken place.

Clark concluded his statement on the US Mint's bullion coin programs by providing three recommendations to Congress:

1. Authorize the Mint to produce both proof and uncirculated versions of the Gold and Silver Eagle Coins, regardless of hte demand requirements of the bullion coins, to ensure uninterrupted supply of the market;

2. Direct the General Accountability Office to undertake a review of the Mint's procurement process for blanks, and seek its recommendations on what can be done to improve it; and

3. Require that the Mint procure the blanks for its bullion programs from sources within the United States by no later than 2014.

Under the program, individuals and businesses may order bulk bags containing 200,000 coins, or $50,000 face value in quarters. All orders carry a 3% processing fee of $1,500 per bag. The pick up of the bulk bags from either the Philadelphia or Denver Mint must be arranged with a properly licensed commercial carrier.

Through June 22, 2010, the United States Mint has sold 97 bulk bags. With 200,000 coins included in each bag, this yields a total of 19.4 million quarters sold through the program. The bulk orders were placed for Hot Springs National Park Quarters and Yellowstone National Park Quarters. The breakdown between the two issues and by mint facility were not indicated.

The number of quarters sold through the Bulk Purchase Program represents a sizable portion of the total mintage. The latest preliminary production figures show 59.6 million Hot Springs Quarters and 68.4 million Yellowstone Quarters produced to date, meaning bulk purchases have taken up 15.16% of the collective mintage.

The United States Mint also currently offers America the Beautiful Quarters through their numismatic bags and rolls program. Bags containing 100 coins or two roll sets including 80 coins are sold to collectors at a premium to face value. Through July 18, 2010, the US Mint has sold 28,795 of the 100-coin bags and 71,563 of the two roll sets across available products for the Hot Springs and Yellowstone National Park Quarters. This represents another 8.6 million quarters.

Taken together, sales through the bulk purchase program and numismatic bags and rolls program account for 28 million quarters, or 21.88% of all America the Beautiful Quarters minted. For a "circulating" coin series, a significant proportion of the mintage is not following the expected path.

The 2010 Mint Set went on sale at the US Mint on July 15, 2010. Through July 18, the US Mint recorded sales of 200,764. In terms of unit sales, this represents the third strongest product debut for the year to date. Earlier this year, the 2010 Presidential Dollar Proof Set had a stronger start with with opening sales of 224,426. The Boy Scouts Silver Dollars also debuted with higher sales of 214,673 coins, across both proof and uncirculated versions.

Sales of the annual Mint Set do seem to be on a slower pace compared to the prior year's set. The 2009 Mint Set went on sale October 1, 2009. The first available sales figures through October 11, 2009 came in at 392,007. This initial sales data covers the first ten days of sales, which accounts for the much higher number. Next week, a direct comparison will be possible.

The slower pace of sales for the 2010 Mint Set may be the result of several factors. First, the 2009 Mint Set set may have experienced a higher level of demand due to the inclusion of the 2009 Bicentennial Lincoln Cents. Many collectors were looking forward to the coins, struck in a special composition of 95% copper. Second, the price of the 2010 Mint Set was increased by $4 compared to last year, despite a reduction in the number of coins included. Some buyers may have been put off by the higher price. Third, the 2010 Proof Set will go on sale later this week. Some buyers may be waiting to order both sets together and save on shipping costs.

The complete weekly sales report of United States Mint numismatic products appears below. Figures are compiled through July 18, 2010. The first number column indicates total sales through the reporting date and the second number column represents the change since the last report. Figures which are followed by an asterisk (*) are no longer available for sale at the US Mint.

Gold coin sales were dramatically lower compared to the prior week. The 2010 American Gold Buffalo Proof Coin added juts 433 coins, continuing the slowing pace of sales noted in last week's report. The US Mint sold a combined 181 First Spouse Gold Coins across the available options. This is less than half the level of sales from the prior week. Collector's may be delaying purchases for gold coins in hopes of a price decrease, which would take place if the average weekly price of gold falls below $1,200.

Sales slowed for the separate 2010 Presidential Dollar Proof Set and 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters Proof Set. The full 2010 Proof Set available July 22 will include all of the coins contained in these component sets plus the proof Lincoln Cent, Jefferson Nickel, Roosevelt Dime, Kennedy Half Dollar, and Native American Dollar. The price of the complete set is just $1.05 higher than the cost of the two separate component sets.

The full weekly sales report of United States Mint numismatic products appears below. Figures are compiled through July 11, 2010. The first number column indicates total sales through the reporting date and the second number column represents the change since the last report. Figures which are followed by an asterisk (*) are no longer available for sale at the US Mint.

The bill H.R. 5680 United Statse Marshals Service 225th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act was introduced by Rep. John Boozman of Arkansas on July 1, 2010. He had previously introduced the similar H.R. 2799 on June 10, 2009. This was followed by another similar bill S. 2106 introduced by Sen. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas.

Each of the bills propose a $5 gold coin with a weight of 33.931 grams, diameter of 32.7 mm, and 1 troy ounce gold content. These specifications would be unusual for a gold commemorative coin. Typical $5 gold commemorative coins have a weight of 8.359 grams, diameter of 21.6 mm, and contain 0.242 troy ounces of gold.

The obverse of the $5 Gold Coin would feature the Marshals Services Star and the reverse would feature a design emblematic of the sacrifice and service of U.S. Marshals who lost their lives in the line of duty. The coins would be struck in high relief and include incuse edge lettering with the motto "Justice, Integrity, Service".

The $1 silver coins would have a weight of 26.73 grams, diameter of 1.5 inches, and composition of 90% silver. These specifications are typical for commemorative silver dollars. The design for the silver dollar would also bear the Marshals Services Star on the obverse with no specific guidance for the reverse design. These coins would also include edge incusion with the U.S. Marshals motto.

The current bill makes several modifications to the previously introduced legislation. The maximum mintage level for the $5 gold coins would be set at 142,000, compared to 100,000 mentioned in the prior bills. The maximum mintage for the silver dollars would be 503,000 compared to 500,000 previously.

Another change from the prior proposals is that the coins would carry the date "2014-2015" and could be minted and issued until December 31, 2015. The prior proposals specified a date of "2014" with authorized for production through the end of 2014.

Following the conclusion of the popular 50 State Quarters Program, the United States Mint had a one year program featuring the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories. Not only were mintages for the six issues of this series a fraction of the levels for the prior State Quarters, they also underwent a continual decline that lasted for the entire series. Each subsequent release had a lower overall mintage than the one before.

The trend continued into the first release of the new America the Beautiful Quarters Program. These coins will depict a National Parks or other national site from each of the fifty states, District of Columbia, and U.S. Territories over the course of the next twelve years.

The Hot Springs National Park Quarter had a preliminary production of 59,600,000 coins. The figures for the most recently released Yellowstone National Park Quarter exceed this amount by 8,800,000 or 14.7%.

Production Figures for Recent US Mint Quarters

In recent months, US Mint coin production figures have been rising nearly across the board. In the most recent month, circulating coin production across all denominations and mint facilities was nearly one billion coins. As recently as February 2010, monthly production had been below 200 million.

The 2010 Proof Gold Buffalo went on sale at the United States Mint on June 3, 2010. By June 13, 2010, sales of 17,465 coins had been recorded. In the following two weekly periods, sales of 2,054 and 1,540 were recorded. This week sales have slowed down even more to just 798 coins. After roughly one month of availability total sales have now reached 21,857. Last year's 2009 Proof Gold Buffalo had managed to sell 37,885 coins after one month's time.

Debut sales figures for the Franklin Pierce Presidential Dollar Coin Cover came in at 16,668. This continues the trend of gradually diminishing of sales for the American Presidency $1 Coin Cover series. The two prior releases had debut sales figures of 18,705 for the Zachary Taylor cover released on December 30, 2010 and 17,833 for the Millard Fillmore cover released on April 2, 2010.

The complete United States Mint weekly sales report appears below. Figures are compiled through July 4, 2010. The first number column indicates total sales through the reporting date and the second number column represents the change since the last report. Figures which are followed by an asterisk (*) are no longer available for sale at the US Mint.