The U.S.Mint announced on Dec. 6 that it would delay the launch of the widely and eagerly anticipated 5 ounce silver versions of the new America the Beautiful Quarters. One week later, no dealer has yet listed the coins for sale or released any specific information about its plans.
The AP’s are in “uproar” over the Mint’s new terms, according to a coin dealer web site called Coininfo.com (http://www.coininfo.com), and one unnamed dealer referred to the one set per household limit as “outrageous.”
The 11 Authorized Purchasers (AP’s) are assessing the Mint’s new terms of sale for the distribution of the coins. Those are, in essence, that they only sell them to the public, with a limit of one coin for each design per household, and that they can only charge a 10% premium over what they pay the Mint for the coins (which is spot plus $9.75).
The AP’s are being deluged with calls asking about the new coins. Dillon Gage, A Mark Precious Metals, and Jack Hunt Coin Broker all said they will post information on their web sites when it becomes available. The Gold Center has said it may opt out of the program because it would not be feasible to comply with the Mint’s terms. MTB is also not sure whether or not it will participate. And Coins ‘n’ Things told me that they expected to have information by Thursday.
It appears that at least some of these dealers are already making plans to sell the coins to other dealers, rather than to the public, as the Mint asked them to do. That may be partly because those companies, with the exception of APMEX, American Precious Metals Exchange, deal almost exclusively with other dealers, not with the public.
APMEX, as the only AP with an established retail business, is expected to distribute many of the coins. On Dec. 10 they said they would release a statement on selling the new coins today. So far no statement has been released.
Since some of the other AP’s may not purchase their 3,000 coin allocation, APMEX is likely to distribute a significant number of the coins to the public, unless it too opts out of the program. The Mint, when it announced the program’s delay, said it would allow AP’s to purchase any leftover coins on Dec. 20.
APMEX, an Oklahoma-based bullion and coin company that became a U.S. Mint Authorized Purchaser this year, was the first company to offer a pre-order option for the new coins. It offered the 5-coin series for $1395 plus shipping. As the largest online bullion dealer in the country and a market maker, APMEX’s pricing decision played a key role in setting the initial market price for the coins.
APMEX sold 1,000 sets in 19 hours at $1395 each, with the average customer buying 2.6 sets. Many people who either could not afford those prices, or who felt they were unreasonable, launched an online assault on the reputation and integrity of APMEX.
As someone who has dealt with APMEX, I know how much they value their positive reputation in the marketplace. They have very high customer reviews. But the controversies surrounding the ATB program have strained ties to some of its customers.
Meanwhile, e-Bay sellers, who presumably made arrangements to purchase coins from AP’s and other dealers, are still selling the coins at very high premiums. The weekend following the Dec. 1 Mint statement on the launch of the program, e-Bay auctions for the coins were bring $300-400 per coin. By last week, they were bringing as much as $700 per coin.
Established coin dealers and other market makers such as John Maben’s Modern Coin Mart issued statements to clients last week advising them that the Mint was delaying the series and expressing their frustrations with the Mint’s handling of the program.
The Mint’s Dec. 6 memo reminded AP’s of their commitment to offer the coins at reasonable premiums and to distribute 33,000 coins in the widest manner possible. Many collectors and dealers have asked how it is possible to widely distribute such a small number of coins. The most common suggestion is that the Mint should have sold all coins directly to the public.
But under existing law, the Mint is not authorized to distribute bullion coins directly to the public. The Mint plans to release collector versions of the coins in the first quarter of next year and sell them directly to the public, but without congressional approval, it can not do that with the bullion versions.
However, some collectors have suggested that the Mint could make minor changes, such as adding Mint packaging to the coins, so that it could say the coins are not bullion. It is not clear whether that would be permissible under existing law.
Louis Golino will be a new contributor to CoinUpdate.com, where he will cover U.S. Coins. He is a long-time collector, numismatist, and numismatic writer. His articles have been published in Coin World, Numismatic News, and other publications. He has also written widely about international politics for newspapers and web sites.
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You’re back alright,buddy, and with a vengence. Short,sweet and to the point. It was a good read and very informative. You even tell the reader where to look for further info on the coins.
One small clarification from the author: In the third to last paragraph, where I refer to how it is possible to widely distribute 33,000 coins, there will be 33,000 of each of the 5 designs, or a total of 165,000 coins.
Also, if anyone sees the coins for sale, or is able to place an order with one of the Authorized Purchasers, please post a comment.
Fidelitrade is taking names and will call or email next week to take orders when their coins arrive. They said the Mint issued new rules today. They aren’t an AP so the Mint must be expanding their network for this issue at least. Can you find out the new Mint rules??
Thanks for the info., Mark. I don’t understand how Fidelitrade can get coins next week since the Mint’s terms require them to sell only to the public. I have not heard about new rules from the Mint being issued today. I’d suggest checking the press release section on the Mint’s site. I will post a comment if I can find out what is going on.
I just called Fidelitrade. They said they are an Authorized Purchaser, and that the only Mint rules they know about are from last week.
I don’t think anyone will be able to buy from the AP’s (Authorized Purchasers) to start with. Due to the restrictions on the selling price, here is what I’m afraid will happen.
AP shows all units sold , never offering any for sale. They are all sold to friends, ETC.. All coins sold back to AP. AP then becomes just another seller and up and up goes the price. Bet no one buys a set at the mint’s guidelines!
To add to my comment above: Several AP sites have indictaed they are asking questions of the us mint on the coins. The question is: If we buy the coins back can we sell them at the going market value. Yes they can according to Federal Law on trade. The government can’t dictate the price after they are sold the first time. Why as a business would you sell the coins and make 10-20% profit, when I can work the rules and make 1000% !! Think about it folks, no one will buy the coins without paying the market price.
Buy Canadian Silver, 4 nines and no other base metal with it like American coins. Canadian coins worth more, better grade and you don’t have to worry about anyone jacking the prices up and ripping you off. If you had to trade the American The Beautiful coin for goods and or services, look at the money you lost. There will be a time you will do that unless you sell them to some other smuck for 200 bucks an ounce.
I have purchased three sets of the America The Beautiful silver coin set. I am looking to sell two of them. Interested parties can email me for info and price.
My 5-coin set arrived last Thursday. Like most, mine are already on their way to PCGS. If the premiums are already $500 – $600 per coin…what will a 70 produce?
Home shopping network was selling the set for $5,000 on the evening of January 5th. They said THEY had 120 sets to sell. Authorized distributors will not take inquires. I thought distributors were supposed to distribute. Are they figuring out how to get more or just waiting for the price to rise? Either way (as usual with anything associated with the Mint), citizens will pay out the nose.
I called the Mint as was told to call 202-354-7500 if I wanted to complain about how the middle men were screwing the public on this deal. It was a recording but you could leave a message.