Silver Proof Set and Gettysburg Quarter Products Off to Slower Start

Based on the figures included in the latest US Mint sales report, sales of the recently released 2011 Silver Proof Set and Gettysburg Quarter bags and rolls are off to a slower start than previous comparable products.

Over the course of the past two years, the US Mint has raised prices across nearly every product class. As the costs of acquiring each newly released product have increased, many collectors have responded by refocusing their buying habits and dropping out of certain offerings.

The 2011 Silver Proof Set went on sale January 25, 2011. The price of the set was $67.95 compared to $56.95 for the prior year set, which actually remains available for sale at the original price. The $11 price increase was more justifiably than some of the other increases, due to the higher market price of silver.

In the initial period, customers ordered 209,367 sets. This represents a decline of 13.4% from the initial sales of 241,656 for the 2010 Silver Proof Set, and a decline of 22.8% from the initial sales of 271,372 for the 2009 Silver Proof Set.

Another factor to consider is that the 2011 Silver Proof Set has been released ahead of the separate 5-coin silver quarter set. In previous years, the separate quarter set had been released ahead of the full set, perhaps dissipating some of the demand.

The Gettysburg Quarter bags and rolls had initial sales that were 9.9% to 18.4% lower than comparable Grand Canyon Quarter products during their initial period. (Note: I am not comparing to the preceding Mount Hood Quarter since those sales were impacted by incorrectly deleted orders.)

Prices for these products increased from $35.95 to $49.95 for the 100-coin bags and from $32.95 to $39.95 for the two roll sets. What is interesting about the impact of the pricing changes is that despite the lower unit sales, total revenue has actually increased. From the US Mint's standpoint, perhaps this is an acceptable result.

Grand Canyon Initial Sales

	Unit Sales	Price	Revenue
100 Coin Bag (P)	4,015	35.95	$ 144,339
100 Coin Bag (D)	3,900	35.95	$ 140,205
Two Roll Set	23,172	32.95	$ 763,517
Total			$ 1,048,062

Gettysburg Initial Sales

	Unit Sales	Price	Revenue
100 Coin Bag (P)	3,275	49.95	$ 163,586
100 Coin Bag (D)	3,230	49.95	$ 161,339
Two Roll Set	20,871	39.95	$ 833,796
Total			$ 1,158,721

Coin Update News: Complete US Mint Sales Report