2010 Boy Scout Silver Dollars Finally Officially Sold Out

It appears that the proof version of the 2010 Boy Scouts of American Centennial Silver Dollar has finally sold out at the United States Mint. The coin had been lingering on "waiting list status" for an unusually long time.

The United States Mint began sales of the Boy Scouts Silver Dollars on March 23, 2010. Because of the large number of current and former Boy Scouts and the relatively low authorized mintage of 350,000 coins, a sell out was widely expected.

On April 23, 2010, the US Mint indicated that they had received orders sufficient to meet the "maximum limit" for the uncirculated version of the coin. They continued to accept orders for a waiting list, which would have orders fulfilled on a first-come, first-served basis if coins became available due to order cancellations. The waiting list for the uncirculaed coins was closed after a week on April 30, 2010.

Unrestricted sales of the proof version of the coin continued all the way until June 18, 2010. At that time, the Mint began accepting orders for placement on a waiting list. Up until today, more than six week later, orders were still being accepted for the waiting list. This is the longest I can recall seeing a US Mint product under "waiting list status."

The last reported sales figures indicate that 105,000 of the uncirculaed version of the coin had been sold and 245,000 of the proof coins had been sold. The combined individual sales meet the maximum authorized mintage of 350,000 coins.

Some readers have pointed out the lack of any special sets or collectible products related to this year's commemoratives. Last year, both commemorative silver dollars were included in special products, with the Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set and the Braille Education Set.

The 2010 Boy Scouts Silver Dollar may have been particularly well suited to a special product or set offering. The US Mint could have created a "Young Collector's Set" as they have for some precious commemorative issues. This would have been appropriate for encouraging or fostering an interest in coin collecting for current Boy Scouts. Another potential idea would have been to create a product incorporating the requirements or educational materials to study for receiving the coin collecting Merit Badge. Finally, an excellent reader suggestion was to create a set including a special version of the 2010 Kennedy Half Dollar, since John F. Kennedy was the first former Boy Scout to become President.

Besides this year, I believe that the last time absolutely no collectible products or sets were available for the year's commemorative coins was back in 2003 with the First Flight Centennial Commemorative Coins. Each year since and for most years prior, at least one of the year's commemorative coins has been incorporated into a separately issued set, multi-coin set, or other educational offering.