The United States Mint officially confirmed today that the one-ounce 2009 American Platinum Eagle Proof Coin will be available for purchase at noon Eastern Time (ET) December 3, 2009 — the same date it had tentatively provided back in October. As part of the announcement, the US Mint released an image of the new theme for the reverse, which will change annually on platinum coins until 2014.

Platinum Eagles have not been available from the Mint all year and, as it announced in October, no bullion versions will be struck until at least 2010. This makes the one-ounce proof eagle the only coin available to collectors and investors who desire a 2009-dated platinum American coin. (The Mint discontinued all Platinum Uncirculated Eagles and the fractional Platinum Eagle Proofs in 2008.)

The reverse of this year’s coin will feature the first design of a six year series commemorating the core concepts of American Democracy by showcasing six principles of the Preamble of the United States Constitution. Read the rest of this entry »

With gold prices pounding on new highs, many of the US Mint’s gold coins enjoyed stronger sales last week, although $20 UHRs dropped back and proof Buffalo coins continue to slow.

The newly released Lincoln Presidency cent two-roll sets are visible in this week’s report. The initial numbers are solid. Braille Silver Dollars, which will go off sale in less than a month, also picked up nicely. These and more highlights follow:

• 2009 Buffalo Gold Proof Coin sales continue to soften as compared to their first few days following their Oct. 19 launch. Another 4,316 were added, which is down nearly half from last week’s reported increase of 8,487. On the other hand, the bullion one-ounce versions climbed 13,500 versus the prior 11,000.

• American Silver Eagles topped 25 million this week. Their latest seven-day sales rose by 750,000, which is down from the prior 850,000. American Gold Eagles are moving faster. 41,500 were sold in the last seven days compared to the previous 30,000.

• UHR $20 Double Eagles snapped a two-week winning streak. Numbers came in at 1,098 and lagged behind the last gain of 1,453. The year-to-date tally is at 104,862.

• Louis Braille Silver Dollars improved across the board. A combined 208,272 have now been sold for all offerings. The Mint will take the Braille products off sale on Dec. 11 at 5:00 PM ET.

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Bullion 2009 American Silver Eagle coin sales have been on fire this year. Eight of ten months were "best ever" records. 2009 has already been crowned the top-selling year of all-time, and that was back in early October.

For a series which began in 1986, nothing underscores the demand for the silver eagles better. Their values in the upper grades are nothing to laugh about either.

In our latest installment of analyzing recently sold coins on eBay, we took a 40-day snapshot (Sept. 28 to Nov. 6) of more than 5,500 completed auctions of 2009-dated American Silver Eagles.

What we found, and as coin collectors would naturally expect, is that there are significant rewards in selling graded MS70s. But how values have changed over the 40 day period is illuminating. Especially in regards to the harder to get PCGS "First Strike" designated eagles. Read the rest of this entry »

Gold coins are again the major talking points coming out of the latest US Mint sales data. Buffalo gold proof numbers are less spectacular than those from last week’s report. But they are far from shabby and a retreat from the earlier blazing sales was to be expected.

Standing out also were Ultra High Reliefs, bullion Eagles, Braille dollars and the Mint’s traditional annual sets. All improved over the prior week. Our bullet point analysis follows:

• In less than two weeks, collector 2009 Buffalo Gold Proof Coins surpassed the 2008 sales figures of 25,896. Another 8,487 were added, raising the total to 27,955. In the same family, the sister bullion versions are now at 132,000 for an increase of 15,500 in the last seven days. They are 40,000 shy of topping the same sized 2008-dated sales.

• American Silver Eagles climbed 850,00 during the same seven-day period, which was 151K better than the last. American Gold Eagles spurred ahead 30,000 — more than double the prior figure. November is historically one of the better months of the year for bullion coins.

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Up to 500,000 $1 silver coins and 100,000 $5 gold coins will be struck in 2011 by the United States Mint as authorized by the Medal of Honor Commemorative Coin Act of 2009 which President Obama signed into law Friday, Nov. 6, 2009.

The collector minted proof and uncirculated coins will mark the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Medal of Honor in 1861, America’s highest award for valor which can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the Armed Services of the United States.

"We owe everything to those who wore the uniform and committed extraordinary acts of bravery in defense of their colleagues and nation," said Rep. Christopher Carney who introduced the legislation which easily passed in the House and then the Senate.

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The Government of the British Virgin Islands has approved the release of a new coin to celebrate the Centenary of Naval Aviation.

On 7 May 1909, the Admiralty placed the first order for an aircraft specifically for use in military and naval operations. Little did they know that this single action would ultimately lead to them being one of the key players in the development of military and naval aviation around the world and to the eventual foundation of the Royal Air Force.

Despite initially trying to dissuade officers from following an aviation career, it was soon realised that those that took to the skies in those early days were not only adventurous and brave men but also pioneers in this new form of warfare. Read the rest of this entry »

The Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set was issued by the US Mint on Oct. 15 and 50,000 promptly sold out within 30 hours.

While many collectors on release day experienced anguishing moments due to ordering hiccups at the hands of the Mint, they are smiling more these days.

The Lincoln coins are desirable, the set packaging attractive, and Mint came through with rapid shipping.

Better, and this never hurts, the sets are commanding more than double their $55.95 issue price in the secondary market.

An analysis (see chart below) of over 1,000 eBay auctions from Oct. 14 through Nov. 2 indicate that the quantity of sets sold is increasing, yet their premiums are remaining strong. The continuing demand has been a boon for sellers. Read the rest of this entry »

The latest batch of US Mint sales figures are out and jumping to the forefront are gold coins — both bullion and collector. The bullion Silver Eagles are moving along as well. The US Mint Set and Proof Set continue with strength, with the former smashing through the 500,000 barrier. These and other highlights follow:

• The US Mint news of the week circled around the inaugural Buffalo Gold Proof sales. 19,468 were sold in four days. That was 123 shy of the 2008 Buffalo Proofs. The 2009 bullion versions are on fire as well. They were released on Oct. 15 and are now at 121,000 — 51,000 short from matching the 2008s.

• American Silver Eagle bullion coins officially recorded their best October ever, reaching 2,939,000 in the month. The US Mint has yet to report any November numbers, but the final two months of a year are generally very strong for eagles. American Eagle Gold coins finished last month with sales of 115,500, making October the 5th best ever for the series.

• UHR $20 Double Eagles recovered from the dip that took weekly sales to their second lowest level ever. 1,045 more were scooped up by collectors, bringing the new total to 102,311.

• Three of four Braille Silver Dollar products performed better than the last round. The Braille Education Set, which went on sale Oct. 15, declined slightly with 793 versus the prior 1,004. In related news, the US Mint announced this week that it would stop selling Braille dollars after 5:00 p.m. ET on Dec. 11. For the record, a total of 202,655 of the authorized 400,000 silver dollars have been sold.

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The Chinese lunar calendar is known to be thousands of years old but they still use it today to mark special events and festivities. In fact, their system is known worldwide along with the twelve animals used to differentiate its cycles.

Said to signify the courage and competitiveness of a natural leader, the tiger is one of those twelve animals and is found on some of the newest releases from The Perth Mint. The 2010 Year of the Tiger Silver Coins feature a variety of options for the collector or gift giver.

Perhaps the most popular in this series will be the colored tiger silver coin. Struck from one ounce of 99.9% pure silver, the 1 dollar face value coin shows a lying tiger that has been colorized to its natural hues. To the left of the tiger is the Chinese character for the animal while underneath is the inscription ‘Year of the Tiger.’ The colored coin is available from the Perth Mint for $68.18 AUS and ships with a presentation case. It is limited to a mintage of 170,000 worldwide. Read the rest of this entry »

The United States Mint this week announced the deadline to order Braille Commemorative Silver Dollars.

The legislation authorizing the coins stipulates that they can only be issued "during the 1-year period beginning January 1, 2009." On its online store, the US Mint has posted the following message:

The 2009 Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar products must be issued by December 31st. In order to meet these requirements, the United States Mint is only accepting orders for these products until December 11th at 5:00 p.m. ET. Please note that all credit card and billing issues must be resolved prior to December 11th.

The coin products referenced in the notice all honor the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille, inventor of the Braille system for reading and writing by the blind and visually impaired. The four available, along with their prices and latest sales figures as of Sunday, Nov. 1, follow: Read the rest of this entry »