2008-W Burnished Gold Eagle Sales Begin Amidst Sharp Decline in Gold

Today, the 2008-W Burnished Gold Eagles went on sale at the US Mint. Pricing and ordering options for the products have been previously outlined in this prior post. Sales have begun amidst a steep decline in the price of gold, which is sure to impact sales and collector impressions on the offering.

When the pricing for the coins was initially announced on March 27, 2008 gold was trading at $953.90 per ounce. Today, gold closed at $883.50. The Mint did not make any adjustments to their previously announced prices despite the $70 decline in gold value per ounce.

I think that the Mint will eventually adjust their prices downwards if the recent decline in precious metals values does not soon reverse itself. Before any price decreases, I would hope that the Mint temporarily suspends sales similar to how they perform price increases. This would avoid a situation where a collector purchases coins one day and finds the price significantly lower the next day without any corresponding move in gold prices.

But what is the Mint's threshold for deciding to implement a price decrease? I personally haven't seen the Mint adjust prices for a product downward in the years I have been following their offerings. So I guess we will all find out together!