Another 2012-dated collector set from the United States Mint is gone and its sales are at a 50-year low. The bureau on Monday listed the 2012 Mint Set as "Sold Out," placing its online product page in the "No Longer Available" section.
Released on May 21, 2012, the latest U.S. Mint sales figures as of Jan. 28, 2013 show 2012 Mint Sets at 392,000. That marks a substantial declined from the previous year’s set of 533,529 and, more interestingly, it will have the lowest mintage total since the 1962 Mint Set logged sales of 385,285.
Update: The United States Mint reported final sales of the 2012 Mint Set at 392,224.
Mint Sets are one of the bureau’s core, annually released products. Demand for these type of products has declined in recent years but the sales drop-offs are much sharper for those from 2012. Sales of the 2012 Proof Set came in at the lowest since 1956. The 2012 Silver Proof Set was the least purchased since the series of 90% silver coins debuted in 1992. (Read about them in this coin news article.)
A shorter sales cycle is one reason for weakened figures in 2012. Last year’s Mint Sets, Proof Sets and Silver Proof Sets were available from seven to eight months compared to a period of almost two years for the 2011-dated sets. Recent buying levels were decent for 2012 Mint Sets. Many more could have sold based on the weekly gains since late November of 11,629; 9,921; 7,558; 5,490; 2,549; 3,613; 3,307; 2,206; and 1,979.
Officially dubbed the 2012 United States Mint Uncirculated Coin Set® and last priced at $27.95, the set includes 28 coins parsed into two folders of 14 coins each. One folder has uncirculated quality coins from Philadelphia with "P" mint marks and the other folder has uncirculated quality coins from Denver with "D" mint marks.
The coins include all denominations and designs released last year, including the four 2012 Presidential $1 Coins, the 2012 Native American $1 Coin, the 2012 Kennedy half-dollar, the five 2012 America the Beautiful Quarters, the 2012 Roosevelt dime, the 2012 Jefferson nickel and the 2012 Lincoln cent.
