2008 US Mint American Legacy Collection
As mentioned in my last post, I'll be spending some time reviewing the batch of new products which will be released by the US Mint as part of their 2008 Gift Catalog. One of the more notable products is the 2008 United States Mint American Legacy Collection which will go on sale October 27, 2008 at 12:00 Noon ET.
The US Mint calls this set "the most complete offering of United States Mint 2008-dated proof coins." This will be the fourth year the Mint has offered a collection as such. The product page can be found here.
This set includes all 14 coins contained in the 2008 Clad Proof Set- the 4 Presidential Dollars, Sacagawea Dollar, Kennedy Half, 5 State Quarters, Roosevelt Dime, Jefferson Nickel, and Lincoln Cent. In addition, the set includes a proof version of the 2008 Bald Eagle Commemorative Silver Dollar.
The sets are priced at $100.00 each. The Mint has limited overall production of the collection to 50,000. There is an order limit of 10 units per hosuehold.
As in prior years, the coins in this set can actually be obtained more cheaply by purchasing the individual components. The 2008 Proof Set is priced at $26.95 and the 2008 Bald Eagle Silver Dollar is priced at $43.95 for a total cost of $70.90.
If you are purchasing this set, you should realize that you are paying an extra $29.10 for the packaging. You could actually purchase a second 2008 Proof Set for this amount and still have money left over for coffee.
On the other hand, the secondary market has often demonstrated the uncanny ability to support premium prices for certain packaging. The most notable case of this is for the 2007 Presidential Dollar & Spouse Medal Sets.
Labels: Annual Sets
posted by Mint News Blog @ 4:40 PM
3 Comments:
I wonder if this year's American Legacy Collection will sell out all 50,000 units? I see this going one of two ways. First, those who were taken by surprise last year by the short time frame of sales by the Mint and had to buy their set on the secondary market for a $40 to $50 markup over issue price will be quicker to get theirs from the Mint this time, eventually purchasing all 50,000 sets between them. Or, speculators who don't have faith that what happened last year will happen again (only slightly over half of the authorized mintage selling, creating an instant series key) will pass on this set. If that happens, the number sold could very well be comparable to last year's total.
Since the time frame of sales will undoubtedly be similar to last year (when the Mint cut off sales in mid-December to ensure fulfillment prior to December 31), combined with the fact that the sets don't expect to be shipped until early December, the speculators would be wise to take a chance on this year's set as well. If the published sales figure in "Numismatic News" is getting too high close to the cut-off date, the order could always be canceled prior to fulfillment. But, if the sales figures stay low and is even lower than last year at cut-off, we will have a new series key.
One last thing to consider in this situation is that the number of orders cancelled prior to cut-off based on earlier sales figures that appear too high could drastically reduce the final sales total, allowing a new series key to emerge after all.
Time will tell!
Thanks for your comments! I'll definitely revisit this offering when it gets close to the cut off date.
Does Brad work for the Legacy Dept. in the Mint? :)
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