Inaugural sales of the 2009 American Buffalo Gold Proof Coin are exceptionally strong, according to newly released figures by the United States Mint. Four-day sales of the 24-karat, .9999 fine gold collector coin came in at 19,468 — a tad shy of surpassing figures for the one-ounce 2008 Proof Buffalo Gold.

The proof coin went on sale Thursday, Oct. 29, at 12:00 noon ET. Few issues were reported in ordering — via the phone or the US Mint’s website — during the first several hours of availability, unlike the recent launch of the Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set where the 50,000 authorized sold out within 30 hours.

The Buffalos were released at an issue price of $1,360.00. That was expected to hold some collectors at bay. Further complicating a decision to order was the falling gold prices last week. The US Mint prices its collector gold coins based on a weekly average of the London Gold fix. If the gold price falls below $1050 an ounce, the Buffalo and UHR gold piece will be dropped $50.

A price reduction was missed last Wednesday by a mere 28.8 cents, and indications were that the change could occur this week. That may still happen tomorrow, although it seems less likely. Read the rest of this entry »

October was explosive for US bullion coins. Unprecedented demand for gold and silver coins elevated the month with US Mint recorded sales levels that are either at or near the top of the all-time high charts.

Bullion American Gold Buffalo and American Silver Eagle coins enjoyed their best October ever.

For the Silver Eagles, more than double the amount were sold last month at 2,939,000, than in any previous October. The month also stands out as the time when 2009 became the best selling year ever for eagles — dating all the way back to their launch in 1986. The latest numbers pad the tally further with 23,406,500 delivered in the first 10 months of this year. Read the rest of this entry »

Today at noon ET the United States Mint began selling the 2009 American Buffalo Gold Proof Coin for $1,360.00, as it announced on Oct. 22.

The one-ounce .9999 fine (24 karat) gold coin is expected to draw significant attention. The US Mint handled early demand in improved fashion compared to the collector blitz and resulting problems that brought its web site down just a few weeks ago with the release of another product, the Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set.

While there were initial reports of several minute online order delays, that appeared to be the extent of any issue. Phone lines were busy. Some collectors indicated that it took dozens of minutes to get through to a Mint customer service representative, but again, it was unlike their experience of weeks back where there were reports of over an hour of delay and repeated "call back" messages. The Mint added an extra menu option that routed customers to a different queue and standby waiting list, which may have helped.

The Mint’s handling of the Buffalo Gold proof orders on opening day indicates they made improvements, but demand may also have been less intense. The $1,360.00 price point certainly held some customers at bay — especially when considering that gold prices have been dropping for several days and the coins missed out on a $50 price cut by a mere 28.8 cents. (See 28.8 Cents Prevents US Mint Gold Coin Price Reductions.) Many may try and wait for such a cut next week, despite the possibility that the coins could sell out — the Mint has not indicated how many are available, and there are no order limits in place. Read the rest of this entry »

The price of gold has been on a five-day price slide, but ironically the timing of the decline was slightly off in helping collectors pay less for US Mint gold collector coins.

The US Mint uses a London Fix weekly gold average to determine whether to keep gold coin prices the same, or adjust them up or down. The average came in 28.8 cents higher than the threshold needed to cause a reduction of UHR Gold Double Eagles by $50, First Spouse Gold Coins by $25, and 2009 Gold Buffalo Proof Coins by $50.

The Buffalos go on sale Thursday at noon ET. Since the London Fix five day average is $1,050.278, the coins will launch with a price tag of $1,360.00. Had the average been at or below $1,049.99, the coin would have been released at $1,310.00. Read the rest of this entry »

The United States Mint today said the 2009 American Buffalo Gold Proof Coin will launch on Thursday, October 29, at noon Eastern Time.

The release date is not surprising since it was tentatively announced earlier this month. What is nearly shocking is that there will be "no mintage or household order limit for this product."

A quick "Hurray!" comes to mind, before it is silenced somewhat with the prospects of the mad dash to order.

Given their lateness in release, the fact that they were suspended several times in 2008 due to "unprecedented demand" for gold coins, and their natural desirability, the pent up demand for proof 2009 Buffalo coins is enormous. The bullion versions of these coins opened Thursday, Oct. 15 to blistering sales. 71,500 were sold by the following Monday. As of Wednesday, 86,000 were gone, representing in those few days an astounding 50 percent of the entire total sold in 2008!

And the bullion versions are sold in bulk to the Mint’s several authorized dealers — not in tens of thousands of onesies or twosies orders as will occur when coin collectors buy. Even an optimist has to suspect the US Mint phone lines and Web site will again be susceptible to downtime, as happened last Thursday when nearly 30,000 Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Sets were purchased within five hours. Read the rest of this entry »

All 2008-W American Buffalo Gold Uncirculated coins for collectors have sold out, according to the United States Mint online store.

The one-ounce and one half-ounce gold coins joined the ranks of other fractional sizes, moving to the “product is not available” category over the weekend. Their sales had increased over the previous week by 8.7 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively.

The Mint’s gold and platinum coin series has been ablaze in sellouts of late. The American Buffalo gold uncirculated 4-coin set sold out last Monday while the proof quarter-ounce version and the final platinum Eagle uncirculated coins went Wednesday. Read the rest of this entry »

The U.S. Mint 2008-W American Buffalo Gold Proof one-quarter ounce coin sold out on Wednesday.

The bullion coin joins a moving fleet of other sellouts, including the final American Eagle Platinum Uncirculated coins earlier Wednesday, and the sold out Gold Uncirculated American Buffalo 4-Coin Set on Monday.

None of the above coins will be minted in 2009. The Mint said nearly a month ago that it would trim its portfolio to better focus on core products, and these coins were on the "last chance" list. Read the rest of this entry »

The 2008 American Buffalo Gold Uncirculated Four-Coin Set on Monday joined the quickening ranks of other bullion coins and is no longer available.

The collector proof and uncirculated coin series has been getting extra attention from collectors after the U.S. Mint reduced prices and announced it would eliminate many collector coins from its numismatic portfolio, including all the American Buffalo uncirculated coins and all but the 1 ounce proof option.

Read the rest of this entry »

The United States Mint halted production and will no longer ship 2008 one-half ounce and one-quarter ounce American Eagle gold coins to authorized dealers, it was announced Monday. Additional gold and platinum coins will be halted when their blank inventories are depleted.

"Due to the extreme fluctuating market conditions for 2008, as well as current market conditions, gold and silver demand is unprecedented and the demand for platinum is unusually high," the U.S. Mint said in a memorandum.

"The U.S. Mint has worked diligently to attempt to meet demand, however, blank supplies are very limited and it is necessary for the U.S. Mint to focus remaining bullion production primarily on American Eagle Gold one-ounce and Silver one-ounce coins," the Mint said.

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The Royal Canadian Mint has been able to sustain its inventory of gold coins, unlike the U.S.Mint, as physical demand for gold has surged in September due to volatile markets and financial uncertainty.

The U.S. Mint suspended one-ounce Buffalo gold coin sales to authorized dealers Thursday when demand exceeded supply. For the same reason in August, the Mint had to suspend and then resumed one-ounce American Eagle gold coin sales to dealers on an allocated basis.

The Royal Canadian Mint has not turned away buyers this year. Nor has it plans to do so — to the contrary of reported market talk.

Read the rest of this entry »