Sales of the 2015 Dwight D. Eisenhower Coin & Chronicles Set ended just as quick, perhaps quicker, as the first release this year honoring Harry S. Truman. Ordering wasn’t as smooth for some customers this time, however, with parts of the U.S. Mint’s website having problems.
Released today at noon Eastern Time, the Eisenhower sets were gone in minutes. For collectors able to get their orders placed and confirmed, they’re breathing a sigh of relief. For those who didn’t, they’re voicing frustrations.
This year’s first Coin & Chronicles Set sold out within 15 minutes. It was limited to 17,000 and had a 5 per household ordering limit. It’s now selling on the secondary market for about triple its issue price. That alone created extra demand for the Eisenhower set. To broaden access, the Mint established a lower household ordering limit of 2 sets. We knew they’d still sell out, but we thought it would take longer.
"A total of 16,820 sets were sold in approximately 15 minutes," Lateefah Simms, public affairs specialist in the Mint’s Office of Corporate Communications, said in an email. "All accepted orders will be processed and fulfilled on a first-in, first-served basis according to existing United States Mint policies."
No additional inventory will be produced, Simms said, adding that the 17,000 sets are already at the Mint’s fulfillment center for immediate shipment to customers.
As for why some customers experienced issues while ordering, Adam Stump, deputy director of the U.S. Mint’s Office of Corporate Communications, provided the following statement:
"The main United States Mint web page, www.usmint.gov, was down from 12:04 p.m. to 12:21 p.m. due to an issue with a computer application unrelated to the launch of the 2015 Coin & Chronicles Set – Dwight D. Eisenhower. This application issue did not have an effect on any catalog pages, including the web page for the 2015 Coin & Chronicles Set – Dwight D. Eisenhower. Customers were still able to order the 2015 Coin & Chronicles Set – Dwight D. Eisenhower, which became Unavailable at 12:16 p.m., meaning the U.S. Mint is currently out of this item, but more may be available later. Any customer who may have normally entered the catalog site, which is any page that starts with catalog.usmint.gov, would not have experienced any issues. Any customer who attempted to enter through www.usmint.gov from 12:04 p.m. to 12:21 p.m. would have encountered an error trying to get to the catalog site. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused customers."
Product shipments, returns and exchanges will be monitored daily by the U.S. Mint. At this writing, the set’s product page is showing a status of unavailable with a "Remind Me" button. Those who use the feature can receive an email if ordering reopens.
