2007 State Quarter First Day Covers- Sleeper Hit?

CoinWorld recently had an interesting article on the First Day Cover offerings from the US Mint. While these products have been little publicized, several of the issues have sold out from the Mint and are commanding premiums on the secondary market. Could the 2007 State Quarter First Day Covers be the sleeper hit of 2007?

When the State Quarter First Day covers were first issued in 1999, the maximum authorized mintages were set at 100,000 per state. Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey all managed to sell out at this level, but sales started dropping for the subsequent states. As a result, the Mint reduced the maximum mintage for the 2000 states to 75,000. As sales continued to wane, the Mint reduced maximum mintages for 2005 states to 50,000.

The 2007 states have the lowest ever maximum authorized mintage of 35,000 per state. The sales figures for a few states are now coming very close to sell out levels. Here are the sales figures from Numismaster:

Montana: 27,723 / 35,000
Washington: 31,664 / 35,000
Idaho: 24,156 / 35,000
Wyoming: 22,822 / 35,000
Utah: 20,440 / 35,000

Like State First Day Covers for previous years, the 2007 States will likely stay on sale until there is a sell out. When this eventually happens, these states will join the few states that have sold out and are no longer available at the Mint. They will also be amongst the State First Day Covers with the lowest sales figures. This makes a good case for some secondary market appreciation.

Note that on ebay, the First Day covers command the highest prices when they are still in the unopened Mint mailers. So if you are considering buying for later resale, leave them in the sealed mailers.

All 2007 State Quarter First Day Covers are still available from the US Mint for $14.95.