2008-W Proof & Uncirculated Platinum Eagle Sales Figures

With the ongoing suspension of all 2008 Platinum Eagles, now is an interesting time to take a look at the most recent sales figures.

2008 Platinum Eagles have not sold very well this year, due to a combination of factors:

• The price of platinum has been extremely volatile this year. For the first few months of 2008, the price went straight up, reaching an all time high of $2,290 per ounce. This was followed by a few months of choppy thrashing. In recent months, the price of platinum has been in constant decline to today's level of $1,191. This kind of volatility has probably made most coin collectors skittish about buying a coin with much of its current value tied to the price of platinum.

• Platinum Eagle sales at the US Mint have either been suspended or priced at extremely high premiums. I will write a second post with a time line showing the brief time periods when the coins actually were on sale. Since the cumulative period of time when coins were on sale was so brief, collectors have not really had the opportunity to purchase them.
  

The most recent sales figures for 2008 Proof Platinum Eagles and 2008-W Uncirculated Platinum Eagles are presented in the following tables. The figures come from the latest Mint Stats report from Numismaster. The first sales total column shows the amount sold for each ordering option. The second sales total column represents the combined total (individual option plus 4 coin set).

2008 Proof Platinum Eagles
	Product	Combined
1 ounce	1,222	1,981
1/2 ounce	482	1,241
1/4 ounce	628	1,387
1/10 ounce	1,255	2,014
4 Coin Set	759	N/A

2008-W Uncirculated Platinum Eagles
	Product	Combined
1 ounce	146	599
1/2 ounce	126	579
1/4 ounce	198	651
1/10 ounce	712	1,165
4 Coin Set	453	N/A

If you haven't already guessed, these numbers are extremely low. They are far below the estimated mintages for last year's coins. For comparison, you can check out my post on the 2007 Proof Platinum Eagles mintages, and 2007-W Uncirculated Platinum Eagles mintages.

Do the low sales figures for the 2008 Platinum Eagles represent an opportunity? It's hard to tell. It will depend on when, if, and at what price the Mint starts selling the coins again; the future market price of platinum; and collector's perception/reaction to the final mintage numbers.

If you are fishing for some 2008 Platinum Eagles now, you can find a handful for sale on eBay, but the coins are priced at a big premium. Here are the 2008 Proof Platinum Eagles and the 2008-W Uncirculated Platinum Eagles currently listed for sale.