Double Prosperity Set & Two More Gold Eagles Sold Out

Since my post on the 2008-W Uncirculated & Proof Gold Eagles earlier this week, three additional options containing the coins have sold out.

The three recent sell outs are the 8-8-08 Double Prosperity Set, the 2008-W Uncirculated One Ounce Gold Eagle, and the 2008-W Uncirculated One-Quarter Ounce Gold Eagle. The only Gold Eagle which remains available on the US Mint's website is the 2008-W Uncirculated One-Half Ounce coin.

The Double Prosperity Set contains one-half ounce versions of the 2008-W Uncirculated Gold Buffalo and 2008-W Uncirculated Gold Eagle. The sets were overpriced and overlooked for the first several months of their release, but gained some popularity recently. As I explored in a previous post, the Gold Buffalo coin contained in the set sold out as an individual option and has been selling at a premium. If you account for the value of the Gold Buffalo, the additional Gold Eagle was sometimes available for less than its gold content value.

The last reported sales stats for the Double Prosperity Set show a total of 7,751 sets sold.


One of the contributing factors to the recent sells out is undoubtedly the rising price of gold. As of the writing of this post, the price of gold has surged above $990 per ounce. The US Mint's prices are still set at levels based on a gold price within the $900 to $949.99 range. Under the US Mint's new pricing policy, prices are adjusted each Thursday based on the average of the London Fix prices for the preceding week.

By my calculation, we just missed a price increase this week. Even though the price of gold was above $950, the average price fell just below. This near miss creates an interesting opportunity. The current prices for gold products are actually at the same levels that would be in place if gold was $90 lower. Customers may be using this opportunity to buy collectible gold coins for lower premiums relative to the price of gold.

The next potential US Mint repricing for gold products should take place this coming Thursday, February 26. However, with gold moving up by leaps and bounds each day, I think the US Mint might act sooner. The new pricing policy is silent on what happens if gold makes a significant move between the weekly adjustment periods. However, I would venture that the US Mint would implement an early suspension which would remain in place until the prices can be adjusted for Thursday morning.

We'll see how this develops...