10th Anniversary Platinum Eagle Set Sales Figures

After quickly selling about half of the total authorized mintage, sales of the 10th Anniversary Platinum Eagle Set have slowed. This set contains the reverse proof Platinum Eagle coin.

The sets went on sale December 13, 2007. By December 20, 14,682 out of the maximum 30,000 sets had been sold. As of January 17, 2008, sales have crept up to 16,841 according to Numismaster.

Along with many others, I had thought this set would sell out in the near term, especially after the strong opening sales figures. There are a couple of upcoming factors that may start driving sales.

The Mint placed an ordering limit of one set per household. This prevented collectors ordering multiple sets and impeded possible speculative buying of the set. This initial ordering limit was re-evaluated by the Mint at the 7-day mark. At that time, they decided to keep the one per household limit in place. The next re-evaluation was anticipated to take place at the 30-day mark, which fell on the weekend before the Mint's website went off-line. Will the ordering limit be raised when the online sales resume?

The price of platinum has risen since the initial offering. Since each set contains one ounce of platinum, this can play a factor in purchasing decisions. When the sets first went on sale, the price of platinum was $1,474 per ounce. Since that date, platinum traded as high as $1,590 per ounce. On Friday, it closed at $1,545. If platinum continues to rise, the sets become a better relative value.

The Mint's website outage may be creating some pent up demand for the coins. I have personally delayed my order for the Bald Eagle Commemoratives. I am sure there are at least some collectors who decided to delay placing orders for other offerings, such as the platinum eagle sets.

According to information recently published in CoinWorld, the Mint had produced the full 30,000 sets by December 31, 2007. It seems likely that the sets will remain on sale until all of the sets are sold. The question remains- how soon?