Mint News Blog

News, Information, and Commentary on US Mint Products

Friday, October 17, 2008

2008-W Platinum Eagles Back on Sale


After nearly two and a half months of suspension and speculation on both sides of question, 2008-W Uncirculated and Proof Platinum Eagles are back on sale at the US Mint.

The coins had been suspended since August 7, when the price of platinum was $1,559 per ounce. The pricing for the products had been set earlier in the year when platinum was closer to its highs above the $2,000 level. Since the coins were suspended, the price of platinum has continued to decline to today's spot price of $863.

The US Mint has lowered pricing significantly from the last available prices:

2008-W Proof Platinum Eagles

Price Aug 7 New Price
1 ounce 2,509.95 1,324.95
1/2 ounce 1,279.95 674.95
1/4 ounce 664.95 349.95
1/10 ounce 279.95 149.95
4 coin set 4,589.95 2,419.95


2008-W Uncirculated Platinum Eagles

Price Aug 7 New Price
1 ounce 2,349.95 1,214.95
1/2 ounce 1,199.95 619.95
1/4 ounce 619.95 319.95
1/10 ounce 259.95 134.95
4 coin set 4,289.95 2,219.95

You can find the coins for sale on the US Mint's website here and here.

As recently as this week, I examined some of the secondary market prices for the 2008-W Platinum Eagles. Coins were selling for huge premiums above the Mint's original offering prices. The return of the coins for sale at lower prices will definitely have an immediate and drastic impact.

Perhaps the silver lining : The Mint announced that they will be halting production of 2008 dated platinum bullion coins once the current blank supplies are exhausted. Based on this, it is possible that they have also stopped producing 2008 dated platinum collector coins. If this is the case, the current offering might be remaining inventory for the last production run. Once these are gone and the coins are "officially" sold out, the market can determine the proper price based on the projected final mintage and availability of the coins. And if nothing else, the absence of the coins has certainly generated some new buzz around the series.

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4 Comments:

At October 17, 2008 at 1:48 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

What happens to all those people who bought at the much higher price--has the return period for the coins ended?

I saw one of the 1/2 ounce coins go for $2700 in a recent ebay auction--I'll bet someone is kicking their you know what now.

 
At October 17, 2008 at 1:50 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

By the way, I just bought the 1/4 and 1/2 ounce Unc. Thanks for this blog. I have been checking this site every day. I wonder how long they will stay on sale?

 
At October 18, 2008 at 7:50 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I almost bought the set at over 4k. Wow, so glad it was removed before I got to it. I would be very pissed. I check this blog out a lot, thanks for your time Michael! 2200 sounds like the deal now. And after the auto industry picks back up, the price for platinum should resume it's upward course.

 
At October 20, 2008 at 6:55 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for the update. I too have been watching to see when/if they were back on the US Mint's website. It will be interesting to see how many are actually minted/sold (how many blanks are left).

This COULD be the key to the series.

 

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