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Commemorative Gold Coins Repriced
Late yesterday, the United States Mint resumed sales of the two commemorative gold coins honoring the Medal of Honor and its recipients and the U.S. Army. The $5 gold coins with gold content of 0.24187 troy ounces had been suspended on August 12, 2011 as the price of gold moved towards $1,800 per ounce.
The offering prices are now $79.35 higher than the prices in place before the suspension. The uncirculated versions of each coin are $524.30, while the proof versions are $534.40. The original prices for these products were established through publication in the Federal Register on January 4, 2011 when the market price of gold was around $1,388 per ounce.
Contrary to earlier statements from the Mint, the new prices seem to be fixed and will not fluctuate weekly as with other numismatic gold products. In the event that gold rises to a level which brings the price close to melt value, the coins would likely be suspended for at least a few weeks and repriced again.
Update: The pricing for the commemorative gold coins will be based on a grid, published by the United States Mint today. As with other numismatic gold products, weekly pricing adjustments are allowed based on the average market price of gold. The prices currently in effect reflect the $1,750 to $1,799.99 pricing tier.
Orders for the commmorative gold coins were extremely heavy leading up to the suspension. With the higher prices, the pace of sales will certainly decline from these levels.
If past practice is followed, sales of the commemorative coins should continue until a pre-announced date in mid-December 2011. The authorizing legislation for each program only allows for sales to take place within the current calendar year.
Silver Product Prices in Disarray
Also yesterday, there were developments for some of the US Mint’s silver numismatic products.
Sales of the 2010 Silver Proof Set and 2010 ATB Quarters Silver Proof Set were resumed at the original prices. The products had been suspended on August 19 when the market price of silver was around $42 per ounce. Silver recently dropped to around $39 before rebounding sharply back to $41. Any further rise in silver might cause the re suspension of the 2010 silver annual sets for a fourth time.
The US Mint has suspended sales of the one ounce 2011 Proof Silver Eagle. The message on the product page indicates that this will be a product repricing. When last available, the coins were priced at $59.95 each. This price was established based on a market silver price of $37.50.
The resumption of sales for the 2010 silver annual sets and suspension of the 2011 Proof Silver Eagle seem to be at odds with one another. At times when the market price of silver was higher, sales of the proof Silver Eagles were allowed to continue uninterrupted.
I think it may be the case that the US Mint is establishing the price for the 2011-W Uncirculated Silver Eagle (expected to go on sale September 29) and is using this as an opportunity to bump up the price of the proof version of the coin.
Update 2: The price of the 2011-W Uncirculated Silver Eagle will be $60.45 and the release date is now listed as September 20. This supports my earlier supposition (here and in comments) that the proof coins were being repriced to align the pricing levels relative to the uncirculated coins.
The US Mint’s pricing mechanisms are clearly having trouble coping with the recent volatility in precious metals prices. Even the more flexible pricing policy which allows for weekly adjustments can’t keep up with price swings that cover multiple hundreds of dollars in short time periods. It’s also impacting sales patterns, as collectors rush to take advantage of relative bargains and then back off when premiums return to their intended levels.
The last time the US Mint faced a pricing crisis in late 2008, they implemented the grid system for weekly price changes. They might have to take this one step further and implemented daily price changes or even prices that float with the market prices of the underlying metals.
Late yesterday, the United States Mint resumed sales of the two commemorative gold coins honoring the Medal of Honor and its recipients and the U.S. Army. The $5 gold coins with gold content of 0.24187 troy ounces had been suspended on August 12, 2011 as the price of gold moved towards $1,800 per ounce.The offering prices are now $79.35 higher than the prices in place before the suspension. The uncirculated versions of each coin are $524.30, while the proof versions are $534.40. The original prices for these products were established through publication in the Federal Register on January 4, 2011 when the market price of gold was around $1,388 per ounce.
Contrary to earlier statements from the Mint, the new prices seem to be fixed and will not fluctuate weekly as with other numismatic gold products. In the event that gold rises to a level which brings the price close to melt value, the coins would likely be suspended for at least a few weeks and repriced again.
Update: The pricing for the commemorative gold coins will be based on a grid, published by the United States Mint today. As with other numismatic gold products, weekly pricing adjustments are allowed based on the average market price of gold. The prices currently in effect reflect the $1,750 to $1,799.99 pricing tier.
Orders for the commmorative gold coins were extremely heavy leading up to the suspension. With the higher prices, the pace of sales will certainly decline from these levels.
If past practice is followed, sales of the commemorative coins should continue until a pre-announced date in mid-December 2011. The authorizing legislation for each program only allows for sales to take place within the current calendar year.
Silver Product Prices in Disarray
Also yesterday, there were developments for some of the US Mint’s silver numismatic products.Sales of the 2010 Silver Proof Set and 2010 ATB Quarters Silver Proof Set were resumed at the original prices. The products had been suspended on August 19 when the market price of silver was around $42 per ounce. Silver recently dropped to around $39 before rebounding sharply back to $41. Any further rise in silver might cause the re suspension of the 2010 silver annual sets for a fourth time.
The US Mint has suspended sales of the one ounce 2011 Proof Silver Eagle. The message on the product page indicates that this will be a product repricing. When last available, the coins were priced at $59.95 each. This price was established based on a market silver price of $37.50.
The resumption of sales for the 2010 silver annual sets and suspension of the 2011 Proof Silver Eagle seem to be at odds with one another. At times when the market price of silver was higher, sales of the proof Silver Eagles were allowed to continue uninterrupted.
I think it may be the case that the US Mint is establishing the price for the 2011-W Uncirculated Silver Eagle (expected to go on sale September 29) and is using this as an opportunity to bump up the price of the proof version of the coin.
Update 2: The price of the 2011-W Uncirculated Silver Eagle will be $60.45 and the release date is now listed as September 20. This supports my earlier supposition (here and in comments) that the proof coins were being repriced to align the pricing levels relative to the uncirculated coins.
The US Mint’s pricing mechanisms are clearly having trouble coping with the recent volatility in precious metals prices. Even the more flexible pricing policy which allows for weekly adjustments can’t keep up with price swings that cover multiple hundreds of dollars in short time periods. It’s also impacting sales patterns, as collectors rush to take advantage of relative bargains and then back off when premiums return to their intended levels.
The last time the US Mint faced a pricing crisis in late 2008, they implemented the grid system for weekly price changes. They might have to take this one step further and implemented daily price changes or even prices that float with the market prices of the underlying metals.
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