US Mint Sales: Precious Metals Products Up, Great Basin Coin Debut

There was a nice mixing of gold and silver product improvements last week, the latest sales figures from the United States Mint show.

And new to the sales charts this week is the debut performance of the 2013-P Great Basin National Park Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin.

First, to the Great Basin silver coin. Sales reached 8,819 between its Thursday launch and Sunday for the second strongest opening since 2012. Sales were supported by the lower $154.95 price and the U.S. Mint’s free shipping promotion.

To step back a bit, the prior America the Beautiful design honoring Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial started with sales of 7,966. It opened $25 higher at $179.95 and collectors had to pay another $4.95 for shipping. On the flip side, the first design of the year commemorating White Mountain National Forest launched in May under the same pricing obstacles but notched debut sales of 10,605.

Jumping back to the present, the Great Basin silver coin was the Mint’s second most popular numismatic product of the week.

U.S. Mint Top Selling Numismatic Products of the Week

1. 2013-W Proof Silver Eagle (+26,962 to 636,680)
2. 2013-P Great Basin Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin (+8,819)
3. 2013 Proof Set (+8,514 to 476,285)
4. 2013 Mint Set (+6,412 to 202,834)
5. 2013 Silver Proof Set (+5,859 to 270,218)
6. 2013 William Taft (P) $1 Coin Rolls (+2,192 to 33,027)
7. 2013 Uncirculated 5-Star Generals 50c Clad Coins (+2,112 to 20,477)
8. 2013 Uncirculated Silver Eagles (+2,047 to 122,475)
9. 2013 William Taft (D) $1 Coin Rolls (+1,922 to 29,755)
10. 2013 Proof Gold Eagle 1 oz (+1,416 to 10,863)

Free shipping likely played a hand in stronger sales for other products as well. Overall, 80 outperformed their prior weekly sales compared to the 70 noted in the last U.S. Mint sales report.

Sales Higher for Precious Metals Products

Almost three weeks ago, the U.S. Mint cut prices on silver coins. Sales jumped the following week for every one reduced and then retreated in the next week. When sales of the silver coins surged, gold coins weakened and vice versa. This latest sales report shows demand increased for most gold coins and silver coins. Logging higher week-over-week sales were:

• All Seven 2012 First Spouse Gold Coins
• Both 2013 5-Star Generals Commemorative Gold Coins
• The 2013-W Uncirculated Gold Eagle
• The 2013-W Proof Gold Buffalo
• The 1 oz and 1/10 oz 2013-W Proof Gold Eagles
• The 2013-W Proof Silver Eagle
• The 2013-W Uncirculated Silver Eagle
• All annual silver sets
• The two previously released 2013-P ATB Silver Uncirculated Coins
• The 2013 Proof 5-Star Generals Silver Dollar

It was somewhat surprising to see better strength in gold coins considering that their prices were raised last Wednesday by $50 for every ounce of gold content. The only gold coins missing out on the better sales advances were the proof Gold Eagle in sizes of 1/2 oz and 1/4 oz and also the four-coin set.

The only two silver coins not to make a better sales splash were the Girl Scouts commemoratives. Then again, they had bumped higher than typical in the last sales report due to the extra attention brought in with the launch of the 2013 Girl Scouts Young Collectors Set.

Update on Products that Sold Out

For a second sales reporting period, no products sold out. In updates to two that sold out around mid-month, the Mint reported a drop of 1 to 3,505 for the proof Alice Paul gold coin and an increase of 313 to 60,313 for the Making American History Coin and Currency Set.

US Mint Sales: Bullion Silver Coins and Bullion Gold Coins

Demand surged for bullion gold coins in the last several days and remained exceptionally high for bullion silver coins. Demand for bullion tends to wane in the dog days of summer. That has been the case for gold coins but not for silver coins. With Silver Eagle sales of more than 4.4 million, July 2013 ranks as the best July and the fifth best month ever for the coins that debuted in 1986.

The following grid offers the latest weekly and monthly sales for all U.S. Mint bullion products. The seven-day covers sales from July 25 to July 31, 2013.

The following tables offer the latest sales for U.S. Mint numismatic products. The sales period covered is from July 22 to July 28, 2013. Products with an asterisk (*) are no longer available.

US Mint Sales: Numismatic Products

Visit the United States Mint website at http://catalog.usmint.gov for product information.