Today April 28, 2011 at 12:00 Noon ET, the United States Mint began accepting orders for the 2010-P Hot Springs National Park 5 Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin. This is the first numismatic version released for the America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins. The rush to the place orders for this low mintage coin has taken down the US Mint’s website.
At the time this article was written, the US Mint’s online catalog at http://catalog.usmint.gov/ displayed the following message:
“The United States Mint is experiencing technical difficulties. During this time period, you will not be able to use the website. To place an order please call 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). We apologize for the inconvenience.”
The 2010-P Hot Springs National Park Silver Uncircualted Coin is struck in 5 troy ounces of .999 fine silver and has a diameter of 3 inches. The oversized coin features the sames design as the circulating quarter dollar and previously released 5 oz. silver bullion version. These numismatic coins include the “P” mint mark for Philadelphia and carry an uncirculated finish.
The mintage level for the coin is set at 27,000, an extremely low level for a silver coin issued by the United States Mint. The coins are priced at $279.95 each, with an ordering limit of only one per household.
Prior to the release, the US Mint did warn about likely ordering problems. A message was posted on their website late yesterday:
Because of the anticipated demand for the coins, we expect that our online ordering management system will be much slower than usual. As we have previously indicated to our customers, our online ordering management system is in need of upgrade. Fixing the system is a priority. Unfortunately, we do not anticipate an upgraded system being in place until approximately mid-2012. In the meantime, we apologize to our customers for any inconvenience and ask them to be patient during this time.
A rapid sell out of the full 27,000 mintage is expected for the 2010-P Hot Springs 5 oz Silver Coins. The US Mint plans to institute a waiting list for orders beyond the maximum mintage. If products become available due to order cancellations, orders will be fulfilled from the waiting list on a first come first served basis.
The US Mint will release four other 2010 America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins featuring Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, and Mount Hood National Forest. Each of these coins will also be limited to a mintage of 27,000 pieces. Release dates for these coins have not yet been provided by the US Mint.
I believe there is a non-zero number of coin collector/computer programmers in the country that would gladly contribute some of their time for an AtB 5-ounce silver coin or some other Mint product. I understand that is not how the government works, but I know the talent is out there to solve the Mint’s technical problems.
As of 4/29 9:10 am eastern time, the 2010 P Hot Springs coin is still available from the mint. Let’s see if it sells out today.