2008-W Uncirculated & Proof Gold Buffalo Sales Figures

The 2008-W Uncirculated and Proof Gold Buffalo coins have been relatively brisk sellers at the US Mint.

Although the American Gold Buffalo has been offered since 2006 as a 24 karat one ounce gold bullion coin, the US Mint only started offering fractional denominations this year. On July 22, the US Mint started selling 1/10 ounce, 1/4 ounce, 1/2 ounce, and 1 ounce coins, as well as a four coin set. Coins are offered in proof and uncirculated versions. There are no production limits on the coins and they will be minted to demand.

Here are the sales figures as of the October 1 Mint Stats from Numismaster. The product column refers to sales of each ordering option. The combined column refers to the total sales for each coin by adding individual sales to the set sales.

2008 Proof American Gold Buffalo Sales

	Product	Combined
1 ounce	9,488	15,473
1/2 ounce	1,255	7,240
1/4 ounce	2,972	8,957
1/10 ounce	8,707	14,692
4 coin set	5,985	N/A

2008-W Uncirculated American Gold Buffalo Sales

	Product	Combined
1 ounce	1,576	5,902
1/2 ounce	1,948	6,274
1/4 ounce	2,840	7,166
1/10 ounce	10,489	14,815
4 coin set	4,326	N/A

I mentioned previously that coin collectors may be purchasing the fractional Gold Buffalo coins in lieu of the fractional Gold Eagles. A quick comparison of the sales data shows the Buffaloes outselling the Eagles for all sizes of the Uncirculated version. Sales for the proof versions lag by a small amount. For a better comparison, see my post with full 2008-W Uncirculated & Proof Gold Eagles sales figures.

The coin with the lowest combined sales total is the 1 ounce 2008-W Uncirculated Gold Buffalo. This is different than the typical pattern. Usually the highest sales are recorded for the 1 ounce and 1/10 ounce coins, with the lowest sales for the 1/2 ounce size.

It's a testament to the popularity of the classic Buffalo design that these coins can put up strong sales numbers despite a later release date than the Gold Eagles and the relatively high premiums on the coins.