Monthly Archives: October 2009

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 numismatic news article »

US Mint collector coins moved like molasses when compared to sales figures of two weeks ago. But bullion coins -- especially gold -- still had a little swagger in their step. October will be a robust month for American Eagles and American Buffalos.

These and other highlights follow:

• UHR Double Eagles took a significant hit, rising sadly by only 562. Since they went on sale Jan. 22, there has been one single instance when weekly sales were lower. The reason? Gold has been on a five day losing streak, which started last Thursday. It makes sense for collectors to be cautious in buying with expectations of a $50 price decline. We missed that reduction by just 28.8 cents.

• In the Lincoln category, the Chronicles sets were taken off standby status last week with the max 50,000 officially allocated. Lincoln Cent Proof Sets climbed by 4,900, which was less than half of the prior 10,921 increase.

• 2009 US Mint and US Mint Proof Sets were the biggest unit gainers, rising 21,826 and 22,613 respectively. The proof sets were actually up a tad bit. Not so for the mint sets which previously climbed by 74,474. The 500,000 milestone is still nearly 11K away.

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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 numismatic news article »