Sales of the US Mint’s gold numismatic products continue at a muted pace, following the rapid series of suspensions and price increases that have occurred over the past few months.
Since mid-July, the prices for most of the US Mint’s numismatic gold coins have had their prices increased proportionally by $350 per ounce. The gold commemorative coins saw an even larger increase on a proportional basis as prices were boosted from $454.95 to $558.60 for the coins containing 0.2418 troy ounces of gold. Early in the succession of price increases, buyers often seemed to order heavily ahead of increases. Now, after so many increases and the US Mint’s recent practice of suspending sales days before the price increases, the pace of orders has fallen.
In the most recent period, sales of the 2011 Proof Gold Eagles slowed for the more expensive one ounce, half ounce, and 4 coin set options. The 2011-W Uncirculated Gold Eagle added just 32 coins, and the 2011 Proof Gold Buffalo added 191. Commemorative gold coins saw some interest for the proof version of the Medal of Honor design, which sold 212. The Lucy Hayes First Spouse Gold Coin, which was only available for a single day during the last reporting period added 636 units across proof and uncirculated versions.
The 2010-P Mount Hood National Park Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin saw sales reach 1,194. This is an increase from the prior week, following the US Mint’s removal of the household ordering limit.
The full US Mint numismatic product sales report appears below. The figures are compiled through September 12, 2011. The first number column represents total sales through the reporting date, and the second number column represents the change in sales since the last report. Products with sales followed by an asterisk (*) are no longer available from the United States Mint. Currently available US Mint products can be found online at http://catalog.usmint.gov/
| Product | Sales | Change |
| 2011 AMERICAN EAGLE PLATINUM PROOF COIN | 9,597 | 64 |
| 2011 AMERICAN EAGLE GOLD PROOF COINS | ||
| One ounce | 29,924 | 7 |
| One-half ounce | 3,805 | 47 |
| One-quarter ounce | 6,438 | 302 |
| One-tenth ounce | 13,784 | 489 |
| Four-coin set | 10,960 | 21 |
| 2011 AMERICAN EAGLE GOLD UNCIRCULATED COIN | ||
| One ounce | 5,540 | 32 |
| 2011 AMERICAN BUFFALO GOLD PROOF COIN | 18,090 | 191 |
| 2011 AMERICAN EAGLE SILVER PROOF COIN | 740,946 | 5,081 |
| 2011 ARMY COMMEMORATIVE COINS | ||
| $5 Gold Proof | 16,240 | 35 |
| $5 Gold Uncirculated | 7,051 | 26 |
| $1 Silver Proof | 109,271 | 217 |
| $1 Silver Uncirculated | 41,278 | 65 |
| 50 Cent Clad Proof | 62,361 | 77 |
| 50 Cent Clad Uncirculated | 35,825 | 42 |
| 2011 MEDAL OF HONOR COMMEMORATIVE COINS | ||
| $5 Gold Proof | 16,766 | 212 |
| $5 Gold Uncirculated | 7,318 | 12 |
| $1 Silver Proof | 97,840 | 268 |
| $1 Silver Uncirculated | 39,204 | 54 |
| FIRST SPOUSE GOLD COINS | ||
| Abigail Fillmore Proof (2010) | 6,140* | 0 |
| Abigail Fillmore Uncirculated (2010) | 3,489* | 0 |
| Jane Pierce Proof (2010) | 4,843* | 0 |
| Jane Pierce Uncirculated (2010) | 3,333* | 0 |
| Buchanan’s Liberty Proof (2010) | 7,304* | 0 |
| Buchanan’s Liberty Uncirculated (2010) | 5,348* | 0 |
| Mary Todd Lincoln Proof (2010) | 6,743 | 5 |
| Mary Todd Lincoln Uncirculated (2010) | 3,760* | 0 |
| Eliza Johnson Proof (2011) | 3,337 | 13 |
| Eliza Johnson Uncirculated (2011) | 2,253 | 8 |
| Julia Grant Proof (2011) | 3,346 | 27 |
| Julia Grant Uncirculated (2011) | 2,187 | -8 |
| Lucy Hayes Proof (2011) | 1,689 | 424 |
| Lucy Hayes Uncirculated (2011) | 1,069 | 212 |
| AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL 5 OZ UNC COINS | ||
| 2010-P Hot Springs National Park | 27,000* | 0 |
| 2010-P Yellowstone National Park | 27,000* | 0 |
| 2010-P Yosemite National Park | 27,000* | 0 |
| 2010-P Grand Canyon National Park | 27,831* | -53 |
| Mount Hood National Park | 21,288 | 1,194 |
| SEPTEMBER 11 NATIONAL MEDALS | ||
| 2011-W | 101,259 | 2,348 |
| 2011-P | 60,269 | 1,713 |
| 2011 PROOF SETS | ||
| 2011 U.S. Mint Proof Set | 822,495 | 4,063 |
| 2011 Presidential $1 Coin Proof Set | 232,023 | 724 |
| 2011 America the Beautiful Quarters Proof Set | 107,881 | 500 |
| 2011 SILVER PROOF SETS | ||
| 2011 U.S. Mint Silver Proof Set | 455,312 | 1,869 |
| 2011 America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set | 113,816 | 659 |
| 2011 UNCIRCULATED MINT SETS | ||
| 2011 U.S. Mint Uncirculated Set | 423,970 | 1,556 |
| 2011 Presidential $1 Coin Unc Set | 38,489 | 366 |
| 2011 America the Beautiful Quarters | 21,685 | 163 |
| 2010 PROOF SETS | ||
| 2010 U.S. Mint Proof Set | 1,091,393 | 272 |
| 2010 Presidential $1 Coin Proof Set | 528,833 | 154 |
| 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters Proof Set | 270,038 | 142 |
| 2010 SILVER PROOF SETS | ||
| 2010 U.S. Mint Silver Proof Set | 572,400 | 13 |
| 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set | 265,484 | -52 |
| 2010 UNCIRCULATED MINT SETS | ||
| 2010 U.S. Mint Uncirculated Set | 576,258 | 157 |
| 2010 Presidential $1 Coin Unc Set | 98,620* | 0 |
| 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters | 30,724 | 90 |
| 2010 CIRCULATING COIN SETS | ||
| 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters | 20,766 | 75 |
| 2011 NATIVE AMERICAN $1 COIN ROLLS | ||
| 25-Coin Roll (P) | 18,312 | 94 |
| 25-Coin Roll (D) | 18,245 | 88 |
| 2011 RUTHERFORD B. HAYES $1 COIN ROLLS | ||
| 25-coin roll (P) | 23,174 | 544 |
| 25-coin roll (D) | 22,598 | 487 |
| 2011 ULYSSES S. GRANT $1 COIN ROLLS | ||
| 25-coin roll (P) | 27,737 | 103 |
| 25-coin roll (D) | 26,921 | 79 |
| 2011 ANDREW JOHNSON $1 COIN ROLLS | ||
| 25-coin roll (P) | 30,487 | 31 |
| 25-coin roll (D) | 29,237 | 34 |
| 2010 JAMES BUCHANAN $1 COIN ROLLS | ||
| 25-coin roll (P) | 34,290 | 0 |
| 25-coin roll (D) | 33,646 | 0 |
| 2009 ZACHARY TAYLOR $1 COIN ROLLS | ||
| 25-coin roll (P) | 40,385 | 15 |
| 25-coin roll (D) | 38,492 | 7 |
| 2009 JAMES K. POLK $1 COIN ROLLS | ||
| 25-coin roll (P) | 42,806 | -20 |
| 25-coin roll (D) | 41,110 | 0 |
| 2011 KENNEDY HALF DOLLAR BAGS & ROLLS | ||
| 200-Coin Bag | 6,420 | 28 |
| Two-roll set | 20,687 | 73 |
| 2011 VICKSBURG QUARTER BAGS & ROLLS | ||
| 100-coin bag (P) | 2,545 | 88 |
| 100-coin bag (D) | 2,474 | 95 |
| Two-Roll Set (80 coin) (P&D) | 19,415 | 696 |
| 2011 OLYMPIC QUARTER BAGS & ROLLS | ||
| 100-coin bag (P) | 3,187 | 17 |
| 100-coin bag (D) | 3,090 | 16 |
| Two-Roll Set (80 coin) (P&D) | 23,289 | 139 |
| 2011 GLACIER QUARTER BAGS & ROLLS | ||
| 100-coin bag (P) | 3,525 | 7 |
| 100-coin bag (D) | 3,683 | 5 |
| Two-Roll Set (80 coin) (P&D) | 25,888 | 65 |
| 2011 GETTYSBURG QUARTER BAGS & ROLLS | ||
| 100-coin bag (P) | 4,593 | 7 |
| 100-coin bag (D) | 4,440 | 4 |
| Two-Roll Set (80 coin) (P&D) | 31,129 | 44 |
| 2010 MOUNT HOOD QUARTER BAGS & ROLLS | ||
| 100-coin bag (P) | 6,140 | 13 |
| 100-coin bag (D) | 5,900 | 14 |
| Two-Roll Set (80 coin) (P&D) | 33,085 | 29 |
| 2010 GRAND CANYON QUARTER BAGS & ROLLS | ||
| 100-coin bag (P) | 6,749 | 19 |
| 100-coin bag (D) | 7,103 | 20 |
| Two-Roll Set (80 coin) (P&D) | 34,898 | 32 |
| 2010 LINCOLN TWO-ROLL SETS | ||
| Preservation of the Union | 177,959 | 65 |
| PRESIDENTIAL DOLLAR COIN COVERS | ||
| William Henry Harrison | 29,639 | 16 |
| John Tyler | 26,401 | 6 |
| James K. Polk | 24,619 | 4 |
| Zachary Taylor | 23,583 | 5 |
| Millard Fillmore | 22,463 | 3 |
| Franklin Pierce | 20,840 | 3 |
| James Buchanan | 19,487 | 6 |
| Abraham Lincoln | 31,283 | 27 |
| Andrew Johnson | 17,051 | 16 |
| Ulysses S. Grant | 16,322 | 54 |
| PRES $1 COIN & FIRST SPOUSE MEDAL SETS | ||
| Abigail Fillmore | 9,646 | 15 |
| Jane Pierce | 7,520 | 15 |
| James Buchanan’s Liberty | 7,133 | 23 |
| Mary Todd Lincoln | 13,129 | 32 |
| Eliza Johnson | 4,749 | 46 |
| Julia Grant | 4,119 | 84 |
| AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL QUARTER 3 COIN SETS | ||
| Hot Springs National Park | 19,202 | 36 |
| Yellowstone National Park | 19,399 | 50 |
| Yosemite National Park | 16,986 | 37 |
| Grand Canyon National Park | 16,474 | 35 |
| Mount Hood National Forest | 14,152 | 49 |
| Gettysburg National Military Park | 14,515 | 126 |
| Glacier National Park | 11,862 | 250 |
Unless we see another gigantic runup in gold prices (or a huge slump), I’m expecting sales to continue to be quiescent for awhile. Demand seems almost entirely driven now by gold price swings, and there’s no reason to expect those wild swings won’t continue, especially with how we’ve gotten “GREECE ABOUT TO DEFAULT” virtually every day in the headlines for the past week or so.