2009 American Gold, Silver, Platinum Eagles Still Missing
The US Mint recently updated their Scheduled Products Listing with the majority of their product line up for the 2009. They had previously posted a partial schedule of products available through the spring.
Specific release dates for newly listed products have not been posted. The availability dates are simply listed as summer, spring, fall, or winter.
Notably still missing from the schedule are all expected collectible offerings for the 2009 American Gold Eagle, 2009 American Silver Eagle, 2009 American Platinum Eagle, and 2009 American Gold Buffalo.
Assuming the US Mint will offer the same products as the prior year except for the ones that were discontinued, the expected offerings include:
2009 American Gold Eagle - 1 oz, 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz, 1/10 oz 2009 Proof Gold Eagles, the 2009 Proof Gold Eagle 4 Coin Set, and the 1 oz 2009-W Uncirculated Gold Eagle.
2009 American Silver Eagle - the 2009 Proof Silver Eagle and the 2009-W Uncirculated Silver Eagle
2009 American Platinum Eagle - the 1 oz. 2009 Proof Platinum Eagle
2009 American Gold Buffalo - the 1 oz. 2009 Proof Gold Buffalo
Last year the US Mint released many of these products early in the year. The 2008 Proof Silver Eagle was released on January 3, the first 2008 American Gold Buffalo was released on February 5, and the first 2008 American Gold Eagle was released on March 4. (View an archived version of the US Mint's 2008 Release Schedule.) The fact that the US Mint cannot yet commit to even a vague seasonal release date for this year's products raises concerns.
Besides the already released 2009 UHR Double Eagle, the only gold products the US Mint has included on their release schedule are the 2009 First Spouse Gold Coins. The US Mint is legally required to issue these coins under the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005. Besides the traditionally offered 2009 Silver Pr0of Set, the only silver coins listed are the 2009 Louis Braille Silver Dollar and the 2009 Abraham Lincoln Silver Dollar. The US Mint is legally required to issue these commemorative coins. There are no platinum products listed.
Readers can correct me if I am mistaken, but I do not believe that the US Mint has any legal requirement to produce and issue the collectible versions of the American Eagle and American Buffalo coins listed above.
Does that mean there potential that these coins will not be issued in 2009?
Last year, amidst the ongoing shortage of Silver Eagle bullion coins, the US Mint indicated that they would use all incoming silver blanks for the production of bullion coins rather than collector coins. The US Mint indicated this explicitly within one of their statements:
We are not using incoming supplies of silver blanks to produce numismatic versions of these coins (American Eagle Silver Proof and Uncirculated Coins); all incoming inventory is being used solely for silver bullion coins..."The 2009 Silver Eagle and 2009 Gold Eagle bullion coins are currently subject to rationing. I do not believe production has even begun for the 2009 Platinum Eagle bullion coins and 2009 Buffalo Gold bullion coins. This is presumably due to continued strong demand for bullion coins combined with a shortage of gold, silver, and platinum blanks needed to produce the coins.
If the demand for bullion products remains greater than the supply of blanks the US Mint is able to obtain, will they use all incoming blanks for bullion coins throughout 2009, and forego production of gold, silver, and platinum numismatic products that are not legally required? By not including these products on their schedule, is the US Mint allowing for this possibility?
Labels: Gold Eagles, Platinum Eagles, Silver Eagles
posted by Mint News Blog @ 11:15 AM
8 Comments:
I believe that's the end for platinum coins. Gold eagles however are a strong possibility later in the year although a lot depends on raw material prices. should gold etc. 'explode' upward then goodbye eagles?
Are final 2008 platinum coin sales availableby now?
Regarding the 2008 platinum sales figures, they have only adjusted slightly from the last time I posted about them.
The most recently updated figures can be found here:
Platinum Eagle Mintages
Perhaps they are planning to use their gold reserves to meet the Ultra High Relief Eagle demands. They did say that they would sell as many of these as the demand dictated. They are already embarrassing themselves with that pledge based on the fact that they are now saying 6-9 months for the delivery in some cases. Pick up your UHR this year, because I would be surprised if they offered it again based on ability to hype, but their inability to deliver.
I really like the Buffalo, and would be disappointed if it wasn't offered this year. It's a really neat design.
I would be shocked if they didn't issue both proof and uncirculated silver eagles (esp. the proofs). Not offering the SEs would be the biggest surprise of the year.
Platinums are up in the air since they typically don't sell in large quantities. I like them, but they are generally more expensive which limits the number that can buy them.
I am personally excited about some of the Lincoln coins that will be out this year, and plan to load up.
All of the above is just the opinion of an angry mid-westerner/souther.
Look for the Mint to continue selling proofs of everything, but the "collectible" uncirculated versions are gone, with the possible exception of the Silver Eagle and possibly the one ounce Buffalo.
The Mint took 2009 platinum designs to the CCAC in August. The Mint would lose any cred it had left if it didn't issue them at some point.
The conspiracy theorist in me says that the Mint bought too many platinum blanks when platinum was priced higher. Overestimating demand and collectors willingness to pay over $1,000 per coin, they were stuck with a lot of platinum. When the metal rises in price a little, look for the fortuitous debut of platinum coins.
Michael,
Thanks for picking this up; I had a feeling that the question I asked about the W-Burnished SAE on the GAE-HR post last week would get picked up by you. Thanks for answering on that post as well.
After doing some searching, it appears that the W SAE may be struck after all. If you look under the "subscriptions" page on the US Mint webpage, you will see that they state that the coins will be "...$25.95 per delivery. Price is subject to change without notice." http://catalog.usmint.gov/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&productId=13941&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=17738
Being that I have been collecting the W's SAE, I am going to get on the subscription, being that who knows how many of these will be minted this year.
Already, I'm thinking that buying up all the 2008 W SAE I can find, especially PCGS First Strikes, was a good decision after reading your post back in October about the low mintage number. I have about an equal number of certified and uncertified of these to cover my spread. I bought many of the PCGS on e-Bay through the MS Live Search Cash-Back Program when it was at 30%, so the PCGS I got cost the same as the raw ones from the mint (i.e $25.95). Now I'm just holding and crossing my fingers!
Thanks for all of your posts.
~J
Michael,
Any thoughts on how much the Lincoln silver commemorative coin is going to cost based recent silver prices? I am interested in the coin, but am wondering if the mint is going to price gouge based on the fact that they had a significant premium on the UHR.
Thanks.
Regarding the Lincoln Commemorative, based on Coin World, the price will be $37.95 for the proof and $31.95 for the uncirculated.
I will have a full post hopefully tomorrow.
It sure does seem like the 2009 Silver Eagle might not become a reality this year, which is sad; however, I signed up for the Mints Subscription service today. Here's what it says on the subscription page:
"American Eagle Silver Proof Coins are one of the world’s most popular coins. The United States Mint issues these coins yearly, and with your enrollment today, you will receive the 2009 American Eagle Silver Proof Coin as your first coin."
...so there might be hope, and I would really recommend that those interested subscribe, it wouldn't hurt.
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