Last week the United States Mint released circulating quality quarters minted in San Francisco — a facility that has not produced a circulating quality coin with an "S" mint mark since the early 1980’s.
This week’s sales stats from the U.S. Mint reveal how fast the new quarters raced out of the gate. As it turns out, not so fast…
Debut sales appear a bit tepid when contrasted against past quarters from the Denver and Philadelphia Mints that bear respective mint marks of "D" and "P".
Released within bags and rolls on Thursday, June 21, collectors ordered a combined 614,700 of the San Francisco 2012-S El Yunque quarters. Unit splits were 3,827 for the 100-coin bags and 5,800 for the 40-coin rolls.
Looking back through all the past America the Beautiful quarters, the "D" and "P" quarters show significantly higher starting sales. The P’s lead followed by the D’s.
It must be noted that, with few exceptions, past U.S. Mint quarter bag and roll products have launched earlier in a week — most of them on a Monday. As such, most of their first reported sales cover a longer period than that of the latest "S" El Yunque quarters. Still, sales volumes are at their height during the first few days of a product’s release, so comparisons remain telling.
| Debut Sales of "S" Mint Mark El Yunque Quarters | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| "S" Sales | |||
| 2012-S El Yunque Quarters | 100-coin bag (S) | 3,827 | 614,700 |
| Roll (40 coin) (S) | 5,800 | ||
The following table provides a breakdown of debut sales performances of past America the Beautiful Quarters.
| Debut Sales of "P" and "D" Mint Mark ATB Quarters | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit Sales | "P" Sales | "D" Sales | Total Sales | ||
| 2012 P&D Acadia Quarter | 100-coin bag (P) | 2,177 | 838,900 | 837,500 | 1,676,400 |
| 100-coin bag (D) | 2,163 | ||||
| Two-Roll Set (80 coin) (P&D) | 15,530 | ||||
| 2012 P&D Chaco Culture Quarter | 100-coin bag (P) | 2,332 | 886,720 | 882,320 | 1,769,040 |
| 100-coin bag (D) | 2,288 | ||||
| Two-Roll Set (80 coin) (P&D) | 16,338 | ||||
| 2012 P&D El Yunque Quarter | 100-coin bag (P) | 2,189 | 840,580 | 834,780 | 1,675,360 |
| 100-coin bag (D) | 2,131 | ||||
| Two-Roll Set (80 coin) (P&D) | 15,542 | ||||
| 2011 P&D Chickasaw Quarter | 100-coin bag (P) | 2,271 | 937,260 | 931,160 | 1,868,420 |
| 100-coin bag (D) | 2,210 | ||||
| Two-Roll Set (80 coin) (P&D) | 17,754 | ||||
| 2011 P&D Vicksburg Quarter | 100-coin bag (P) | 2,457 | 994,460 | 986,660 | 1,981,120 |
| 100-coin bag (D) | 2,379 | ||||
| Two-Roll Set (80 coin) (P&D) | 18,719 | ||||
| 2011 P&D Olympic Quarter | 100-coin bag (P) | 2,518 | 989,720 | 985,620 | 1,975,340 |
| 100-coin bag (D) | 2,477 | ||||
| Two-Roll Set (80 coin) (P&D) | 18,448 | ||||
| 2011 P&D Glacier Quarters | 100-coin bag (P) | 2,697 | 1,066,780 | 1,062,580 | 2,129,360 |
| 100-coin bag (D) | 2,655 | ||||
| Two-Roll Set (80 coin) (P&D) | 19,927 | ||||
| 2011 P&D Gettysburg Quarters | 100-coin bag (P) | 3,275 | 1,162,340 | 1,157,840 | 2,320,180 |
| 100-coin bag (D) | 3,230 | ||||
| Two-Roll Set (80 coin) (P&D) | 20,871 | ||||
| 2010 P&D Mount Hood Quarters* | 100-coin bag (P) | 1,543 | 454,100 | 446,300 | 900,400 |
| 100-coin bag (D) | 1,465 | ||||
| Two-Roll Set (80 coin) (P&D) | 7,495 | ||||
| 2010 P&D Grand Canyon Quarters | 100-coin bag (P) | 4,015 | 1,328,380 | 1,316,880 | 2,645,260 |
| 100-coin bag (D) | 3,900 | ||||
| Two-Roll Set (80 coin) (P&D) | 23,172 | ||||
| 2010 P&D Yosemite Quarters | 100-coin bag (P) | 4,275 | 1,364,140 | 1,355,340 | 2,719,480 |
| 100-coin bag (D) | 4,187 | ||||
| Two-Roll Set (80 coin) (P&D) | 23,416 | ||||
| 2010 P&D Yellowstone Quarters | 100-coin bag (P) | 4,447 | 1,375,620 | 1,370,120 | 2,745,740 |
| 100-coin bag (D) | 4,392 | ||||
| Two-Roll Set (80 coin) (P&D) | 23,273 | ||||
| 2010 P&D Hot Springs Quarters | 100-coin bag (P) | 5,268 | 1,566,120 | 1,530,820 | 3,096,940 |
| 100-coin bag (D) | 4,915 | ||||
| Two-Roll Set (80 coin) (P&D) | 25,983 | ||||
*The Mount Hood opening United States Mint sales figures are highly suspect given erroneous order cancellations that occurred at the time.
The U.S. Mint has indicated that it has struck 1.4 million of the 2012-S El Yunque quarters. If more are needed to meet demand, it will raise the mintage. 2012-P and 2012-D El Yunque quarter mintages stand at 25.8 million and 25.0 million.
I don’t get why the P mint sales always seems to be more than the D mint sales. Maybe there’s some East Coast allegiance that discriminates against the D mint, small though it may be.
As to comparing mint mark sales in general, what’s important is that the total sales of a coin determines it’s rarity and post issue value. If the S mint coin is rarer than the P or D coins then once sales have ended it’s after market value might be higher (though likely not much if at all considering the total sales listed).
Jim – Being from New Jersey 30 minutes drive from the Phila. Mint makes Denver coins – rolls especially rare around here. I know a coin dealer with a brother out west and they have been sending -P & -D rolls back and forth for years in order to keep stock levels up in each other’s stores. So, if I want Denver rolls, I either buy at a local show, or coin shop…but in the case of 2009, I will admit to buying the Lincoln Cent roll sets from the mint on-line. Which turned out OK when they cut the… Read more »
Jim, I believe that more coins are issued due to the fact that “P” mint was part of the orignal 13 colonies was the 1st or the “Mother Mint”.
See: http://www.usmint.gov/about_the_mint/mint_facilities/index.cfm?action=PA_facilities
Ronnie, it mostly has to do with production capacity at each facility. There’s no special sentiment involved. In fact, for most circulating denominations. The figures above show roughly equal production from both mints; cumulative circulation figures from 1999 to 2011 have Denver very slightly in the lead: http://www.coinnews.net/mints/us-circulating-coin-production-figures/ The interesting fact is how little cross-circulation there is in this age of credit cards and e-payments. In the 1950s and earlier it wasn’t unusual to find D and S coins on the east coast with similar mixes elsewhere. But today very few people carry lots of change while travelling so coins… Read more »
Munze,
Sorry, a bit of a joker…
But I do miss the days of finding an “S” mint easily in pocket change.
Brian & Munze,
On a more serious side (perhaps), In Europe they are already using the “I Phone” for in store purchases by sliding the phone across the scanner. This will be in the US within the next 2 years. As we move even further toward a “cashless” society I begin wonder if the Lincoln penny will be here to issue in 2059 (not accounting for the affects of inflation after 50 years)!