2012 Proof Silver Eagle Sales Top 600K, Trumping Annual $1 Coin Set

Collectors last week focused a great deal of attention on the U.S. Mint’s 2012-W Proof Silver Eagle, based on the bureau’s recent coin sales stats.

At the same time, however, orders for this year’s 2012-W Uncirculated Silver Eagle seemed grim, as its sales plunged by thousands — more than the debut sales of the 2012 Annual Uncirculated Dollar Coin Set that contains one of the coins.

2012-W Proof Silver Eagle Surpasses 600,000

Increases for the proof Silver Eagle outperformed all of the other numismatic silver products put together. In fact, it was the best-selling U.S. Mint collector product. The Silver Eagles soared by 62,623, topping 600,000 — hitting 659,438, to be exact.

One factor supporting stronger sales was silver’s steadily climbing price. On Monday, September 3, it was $31.74 an ounce on the London Fix. Spot silver jumped by more than $1.30 today alone, and is currently at $34.65. When silver’s price rises and silver coins’ melt values go up, premiums that the U.S. Mint charges dwindle to make popular silver products — especially Silver Eagles — more attractive.

Sales Fall for 2012-W Uncirculated Silver Eagle

Oddly, sales of the 2012-W Uncirculated Silver Eagle fell by 8,791 in one week from 144,955 in the prior report to 136,164. They’ve been available individually since August 2, 2012. An adjustment this early in the sales period was not expected. In the first week of availability, collectors scooped up 123,801 coins, but demand has cooled over the weeks. Possible explanations for the sudden fall could be accounting corrections found during the U.S. Mint’s quarterly inventory that ended just recently. More common adjustments result from several large customer returns and cancellations.

The U.S. Mint generally accepts returns for any reason as long as the entire product is returned within seven days. It should be noted, though, returns are not being accepted for customers who are unsatisfied with an old logo on the packaging for the 2012 Uncirculated Silver Eagle. Below is a detailed explanation from the Mint’s online FAQ’s page, Answer ID 231.

"There are two types of artwork appearing on the packaging for the 2012 American Eagle Silver Uncirculated Coins. One depicts the United States Mint’s standard artwork prior to its new branding effort launched in 2010. The other depicts the updated logo for the United States Mint introduced in 2010. In order to reduce waste, we made a determination to consume all remaining packaging that had the prior graphical elements before moving to the current logo. We are not able to honor requests for a particular logo, as fulfillment will be random. For this same reason, returns for graphical elements will not be accepted."

Debut Sales for the 2012 Annual Uncirculated Dollar Coin Set

In a related category, the 2012 Annual Uncirculated Dollar Coin Set went on sale Thursday, September 6, 2012. It debut sales were 4,941 by Monday. That was lower than the starting sales from the two other previously released annual sets in 2007 and 2008. Yet, their sales start did not explode either but ended well. The 2007 set debuted at 5,762 and eventually reached 90,167 and the 2008 set debuted at 15,421, but reached 98,896.

In bullion coin news, the 2012 Hawaii Volcanoes National Park 5 Ounce Silver Bullion Coin debuted with 7,900 in sales on Monday, and bullion American Silver Eagles added 664,000 to their monthly total over the last seven days. The new September total hit 1,039,000.

The following are the latest United States Mint numismatic product sales:

US Mint Sales: Silver Coin Products for Collectors

	Previous Sales	New Sales	Unit Increase	% Increase	Mintage Limit
2012 Annual Uncirculated Dollar Coin Set	–	4,941	–	–	none
2012-S Silver Eagle Two-Coin Set	251,302	251,302	0	0.00%	none
Making American History Coin and Currency Set	36,549	37,654	1,105	3.02%	100,000
2012-W Proof Silver Eagle	596,815	659,438	62,623	10.49%	none
2012-W Uncirculated Silver Eagle	144,955	136,164	(8,791)	-6.06%	none
2011-W Uncirculated Silver Eagle	300,100	300,630	530	0.18%	none
2012 Silver Proof Set	288,849	292,687	3,838	1.33%	none
2011 Silver Proof Set	566,291	566,628	337	0.06%	none
Proof Star-Spangled Banner Silver Dollar	104,489	104,793	304	0.29%	500,000
Uncirculated Star-Spangled Banner Silver Dollar	38,052	38,148	96	0.25%
Star-Spangled Banner Two-Coin Set	10,664	10,710	46	0.43%
Star-Spangled Banner Bicentennial Silver Set	27,807	28,148	341	1.23%
Proof Infantry Soldier Silver Dollar	100,624	100,806	182	0.18%	350,000
Uncirculated Infantry Soldier Silver Dollar	41,544	41,604	60	0.14%
Infantry Soldier Silver Dollar Defenders of Freedom Set	44,165	44,284	119	0.27%
2012 America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set™	125,618	126,239	621	0.49%	none
2011 America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set™	144,618	144,757	139	0.10%	none
2012-P Acadia 5 Ounce Uncirculated Silver Coins	8,288	9,318	1,030	12.43%	25,000
2012-P Chaco Culture 5 Ounce Uncirculated Silver Coins	9,612	10,167	555	5.77%	25,000
2012-P El Yunque 5 Ounce Uncirculated Silver Coins	12,798	13,143	345	2.70%	25,000
2011-P Gettysburg 5 Ounce Uncirculated Silver Coins	23,064	23,186	122	0.53%	35,000
2011-P Glacier 5 Ounce Uncirculated Silver Coins	19,274	19,383	109	0.57%	35,000
2011-P Olympic 5 Ounce Uncirculated Silver Coins	16,861	16,960	99	0.59%	35,000
2011-P Vicksburg 5 Ounce Uncirculated Silver Coins	16,975	17,078	103	0.61%	35,000
2011-P Chickasaw 5 Ounce Uncirculated Silver Coins	15,226	15,348	122	0.80%	35,000
9/11 Silver Medal – W	105,173	105,266	93	0.09%	2 million
9/11 Silver Medal – P	66,135	66,215	80	0.12%

 

Monday, September 10, is the as of date for the United States Mint numismatic silver coin product sales above.

The Star-Spangled Banner commemorative products are limited to 100,000 gold coins across all applicable product options, which includes the Two-Coin Set, while the silver coin limit is 500,000.

US Mint Sales: 2012 Bullion American Silver Eagle Coin

January*	6,107,000
February	1,490,000
March	2,542,000
April	1,520,000
May	2,875,000
June	2,858,000
July	2,278,000
August	2,870,000
September	1,039,000
Total	23,579,000

 

*These coin figures include a portion of the 2011-dated Silver Eagle. Wednesday, September 12, is the as of date for bullion Eagles.

US Mint Sales: 2011-2012 America the Beautiful Bullion Silver Coins

Gettysburg	126,700
Glacier	126,700
Olympic	85,900
Vicksburg	39,500
Chickasaw	29,700
El Yunque	16,700
Chaco Culture	17,000
Acadia	15,100
Hawaii Volcanoes	7,900

 

Monday, September 10, is the as of date for the bullion America the Beautiful Silver Coin sales above.