Prices Raised for Some US Mint Silver Products
The US Mint has just made effective pricing changes for certain products with silver coins. This includes the 2010 Silver Proof Set, 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set, and the upcoming 2011 Quarters Silver Proof Set.
The change comes in response to the rising market price of silver. During 2010, the price of silver gained more than 80%. For the year to date, silver is up about 14.5%.
In a recent post, I made mention of the fact that with higher silver prices, some currently available US Mint products had melt values approaching their product prices. The opportunity proved brief, as one of the products was suspended about a week later, and the other product closest to melt had its price adjusted today.
The pricing adjustments are as follows:
| Previous | New | Change | |
| 2010 Silver Proof Set | 56.95 | 64.95 | +8.00 |
| 2010 Quarters Silver Proof Set | 32.95 | 39.95 | +7.00 |
| 2011 Quarters Silver Proof Set | 39.95 | 41.95 | +2.00 |
The 2011 America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set is not yet available at the US Mint. Sales are scheduled to begin on March 29, 2011. The previous price was published in the Federal Register in January when the US Mint published prices for this year's products.
The price for the 2011 Silver Proof Set remains unchanged at $67.95.
Labels: US Mint
posted by Mint News Blog @ 11:42 AM
48 Comments:
Wow, the price was raised for the 2011 silver quarters set before it was even offered for sale!
I wonder why the price of the 2010 set was adjusted to be $2 lower than the price of the 2011 set, when the silver content is identical?
I snooze, I lose. Was going to order some 2010 sets at the old price this weekend.
I am just as curious as the person above as to why two mint sets with the same precious metal content can vary by $2.00, someone at the mint wants to make extra cash.
TMM
It could be related to the acquisition cost of the metals. The silver for the 2010 sets would have been purchased last year at lower market prices.
Or it could be a marketing decision. They are trying to clear the older date out of inventory by offering at a lower price.
If and when the price of gold or silver takes a nosedive, will the mint go through all this trouble to adjust the price down??
NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!!
Anything silver has "gone to gold". Only a few months ago I posted that full 2000 silver proof sets were going for under $25. I snatched up a bunch, and now you can't find them for under $40. I still think these are the most undervalued silver set on the market. Same amount of silver that is in the 2011 set at $20+ less per set!
There still are other good values on the market (if you think silver will stay over $30/oz).
You may find this article of interest about silver, the Hunt Brothers, and the silver bubble...
http://www.buyandhold.com/bh/en/education/history/2000/hunt_bros.html
In 1973, the Hunt family of Texas, possibly the richest family in America at the time, decided to buy precious metals as a hedge against inflation....
In 1979 the sons of patriarch H.L. Hunt... formed a silver pool. In a short period of time they had amassed more than 200 million ounces of silver, equivalent to half the world's deliverable supply.
When the Hunt's had begun accumulating silver back in 1973 the price was in the $1.95 / ounce range.... Late '79 / early '80 the price was in the $50's, peaking at $54.
Once the silver market was cornered, outsiders joined the chase but a combination of changed trading rules on the New York Metals Market (COMEX) and the intervention of the Federal Reserve put an end to the game. The price began to slide, culminating in a 50% one-day decline on March 27, 1980 as the price plummeted from $21.62 to $10.80.
The collapse of the silver market meant countless losses for speculators.
1979?
Things are a lot different now.
There is no monopoly and hugh demand.
Silver is solid on fundamentals and now is lower than the historic silver/gold ratio.
I think it will hit 40 this year.
In about a few years will the same thing will happen to nickles for their nickle content?
It already sounds like the nickle will be made of something else in the next few years.
Should I start hoarding nickles?
I have been hoarding pennies for years. My $100 worth of copper pennies is now worth at least $300. Not bad, eh? A 300% increase!
I'm gonna get rich....
Anyone who says "silver is high on fundamentals" (which is a meaningless statement -- "fundamentals" is used in the investing world to describe factors related to the inherent value of a stock, divorced from what it is trading at) has bought what these shameful PM pitchmen are selling hook, line, and sinker. Caveat emptor goes double for speculators.
Stocks with more fundamentals than gold and silver, NOT!
What was the P:E of Enron?
PMs cannot go to zero like many stocks have.
If you like pretty coins, the cheap clad quarter set is purdy and will hold it's value when silver goes to zero.
Not to pick nits but $100 rising to $300 is a 200% increase.
"Anyone who says "silver is high on fundamentals" (which is a meaningless statement -- "fundamentals" is used in the investing world to describe factors related to the inherent value of a stock"
You need to go take Econ 101. When the dollar is tanking, or inflation is high, then "fundamentally" silver/gold go up.
Hey, no problemo en mi casa. The mint raises their prices again, I simply turn and walk away. I think no one will hold a gun to my head and demand I get taken for a ride. I wish them well, if they can entice former customers to continue getting fleeced, then more power to them. Actually, this weekend I fully intend to peel off the scores of setsand pieces I have accumulated as a hobbiest for years. It's time. Selling prices for the most part are substanially more than original cost, so I will do well. It will take quite some time to dispose of most everything, the local guys will get a fair deal from my side, but I doubt they can absorb the huge quantity too quickly. This time, the mint dropped the last straw, and it broke the camels back. Farewell my friends it's time this collector moves out. Everything has a price and everyone has a choice.
I can't figure out why speculators would want to buy US silver mint/proof sets for the silver content when one can get a comparable amount of silver by buying a American Silver Eagle bullion coin. The cost for purchasing an ASE is much less than buying a silver mint/proof set... And both can be sold on eBay for at least their weights in silver.....
I wish the PM prices would Pop Pop Pop, for a while. I'd like to buy some more rolls of Eagles, but in a trough, not a peak!
Anon @ 7:50 AM,
Me too! I turned down buying a roll of 2011 Silver Eagles two weeks ago for $780. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I'm still haunted by the memory of buying a 2009 roll two years ago for $350.
I definitely would buy more if prices would tank for a while.
Imagine how I feel. I bought a roll for $168 in 2004.
I remember telling my father I wanted to buy 300 ounces of silver at $10.50 an ounce. I still remember him telling me me "What the hell are you going to do with 300 ounces of silver?!" So I didn't buy it. I could have paid off the balance of my student loan! At least I picked up some in 2009 with four PCGS tubes of ASE's. Plus I got 3 sets of the the 5oz. ATB's from the authorized dealers. With silver at $35+ that's a good deal.
I sold some of my silver when the price crossed above $30
I sold some more of my silver when the price crossed above $35
A profit that isn't taken isn't a profit at all!
I dont care if it goes to $10 or $100 an ounce, the greedy will always get burned - so I am patiently selling my silver at a nice profit. Only a fool wouldn't at this point - if you bought any silver before January 2011 at bullion prices, you have won... sell some and lock in your profit while you can.
Don't be a sucker and get totally burned when things drop sharply. Less than 90 days till QE2 ends.
Anom 2:50am,
"I can't figure out why speculators would want to buy US silver mint/proof sets for the silver content when one can get a comparable amount of silver by buying a American Silver Eagle bullion coin."
But not for a comparable price!
Your statement: "The cost for purchasing an ASE is much less than buying a silver mint/proof set" is silly. 1.338 oz of silver in every silver proof set. Plus you get $1.06+ in spendable change.
SAEs are selling for $3.50+ over spot. I've been buying silver proof sets for under spot for the last year. Big difference.
Additionally, I'm not speculating. Those not owning silver/gold/oil/grains etc. are speculating.
This talk of buying silver proof sets just got me to search eBay for the heck of it. I landed a 2009 silver 6 quarter proof set for $37.95 plus FREE shipping.
Spot price for 6 is $38.28 according to Coinflation.com
Not too shabby! Can't beat that with a bat!
Yes, I agree, you can buy siver proof sets (quarters and complete proof sets...before the Pres. dollars were included) at near spot price...silver eagles...even in rolls, cost $3.50 per ounce of siver.
Another good buy you can get at around melt cost is 90% silver pre-1965 coinage.
I love Silver Eagles, but they are not the cheapest way to ontain silver.
Well...I might as well be my own devil's advocate...when you go to sell Silver Eagles, you will get over spot...if you sell some silver proof sets or 90% silver coins...you will get around spot.
Which way is better?...I think we are splitting hairs...buy silver in any form, hold onto it, and your kids will think back and say what a smart man you were!
Maybe I am missing something here. Didn't the mint manufacture the 2010 set LAST year? If so, the coins are made, and the current market price of silver shouldn't affect the price of the coins at all! Sounds like a new tax to me.
Any idea on what this years ASE proofs will go for? It seems last years price of $45 will seem like a 'bargain'
Oh my goodness....
Reading some of the comments here makes me see pettiness to the point of greed.
I have lived a long life and have seen "fads" come and go in the collectibles market. Whether it's Beanie Babies, baseball cards, or gold and silver coins, there will always be some folks who buy, buy, buy to make a fast buck.
If you're lucky enough to win the lottery, inherit money, or marry into wealth, the best way of making a profit is through hard work and wise investments. Speculative investments, in the long run, will likely burn you.
I agree with anonymous @March 19, 2011 7:50 AM. I wish precious metals would pop, pop, pop.
I am a coin collector, not a PM investor. Many gold and silver coins are now selling at prices based on bullion values. I would prefer to pay prices based on scarcity, beauty, and simply for the thrill of the hunt.
So maybe it's time to focus back on my penny, nickel, and clad coin collections.....
...the best way of making a profit is through hard work and wise investments. Speculative investments, in the long run, will likely burn you.
How is not investing some cash in silver wise? How is not putting a certain portion of your assets in precious metals as a means of diversification not wise? How is preparing a portion your overall portfolio strategy to hedge against almost certain inflation not wise?
Any form of investing is speculative. Tell that to the people with THOUSANDS of dollars (retirement accounts) tied up in Enron, AIG, Citigroup, Lehman Brothers, etc... I bet you thought those name brand, stalwart stocks weren't speculative. All that "hard work" going into "wise investments" sure paid off for those folks.
I am both a PM investor and coin collector. It's a fun way to use your hobby to invest for your future. The one sad thing is watching thousands of bullion coins being given numismatic grades and people paying a premium for it. It's just bullion! The one dealer I buy my gold buffaloes from charges the identical amount for a raw, MS69 and MS70 piece. Whatever she gets in she sells at the same price - 7% over spot. Of course I take the MS70's because I know someone will pay more for it than a 69 when I sell it. Sad but true.
From what I have seen, it is the demand for the coin, not the grading, that drives prices in the long term.
Yes, higher grades increase the value of a coin, but when demand falls (and typically they do after the excitement and novelty wars off), so does the value, regardless of the grade it receives.
BU Silver Eagles are a guaranteed no hassel trade. Lots of demand. Everyone wants em.
Among collectors, I would say that there is more of a demand for BU Morgans and Peace dollars.
Full 10 pc silver proof sets have melt at over $48. Add the $1.06 of non-silver coins, base value is around $50. If you think silver will go up in the long run, scoop up silver proof sets. They have numismatic value too! The 2000 and a few other years are still going for a discount (for now).
I think the 2008 clad may be a sleeper for the copper pennies.
You mean the 2009 clad has the copper pennies.
Off topic, but I thought appropriate for this blog.
Mall memorial plan ends with missing money.
Ground never broken for the Black Patriots
By Matthew Cella and Chuck Neubauer
-
The Washington Times
8:51 p.m., Sunday, March 20, 2011
When the National Park Service established a “reserve” around the Mall, closing the area to new monuments, two final memorials had secured space and were waiting to be built: a monument honoring Martin Luther King Jr. and a memorial to black soldiers and sailors who fought in the Revolutionary War.
But despite several assists from Congress, which 14 years ago authorized the U.S. Mint to issue a commemorative coin to jump-start fundraising for the nonprofit Black Patriots Foundation, ground never broke on the Revolutionary War memorial.
And when congressional authorization to build the memorial between the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument expired in 2005, the foundation - and nearly $1 million generated by the coin sales - had vanished.
A little-noticed 2009 report by the Treasury Department’s office of inspector general obtained by The Washington Times through an open-records request revealed a lack of oversight on the part of the U.S. Mint and widespread abuses by the foundation. Yet no administrative sanctions were issued, no one faced charges and the money was deemed irretrievable.
A Mint spokesman said it had no statutory authority to try to recover the funds.
The foundation vigorously promoted the memorial, saying it would “remind us that blacks and whites shed blood together for our nations independence and our collective freedom.” More than 5,000 blacks fought in the Revolutionary War.
The commemorative $1 coin featured an image of Crispus Attucks, a black man killed in the Boston Massacre and widely referred to as the first patriot to die in the American Revolution. It also depicted a black Colonial family that would have been featured on the 90-foot-long bronze sculpture on the Mall.
The coin, sold in collector sets ranging from $30 to $84, was made available in February 1998. Under the 1996 law enabling its creation, a $10 surcharge for each coin was dedicated to funding the memorial. The coins were sold through December 1998, raising $902,000, which was delivered to the foundation in 2003.
The law specified that coin proceeds were to be used exclusively for the memorial’s construction, yet foundation officers told the inspector general’s office that they were unaware of this provision and admitted to commingling coin proceeds with funds from other sources. They also acknowledged using the money to pay operational costs, including a salary of more than $80,000 for the foundation’s president, Rhonda Roberson.
I've been scooping up the 2009 and 2010 silver proof quarter sets at less than melt or just a tad over it with free shipping. It's great - I earn eBay bucks for each transaction which I use towards buying more bullion as well as using my Amex card hooked up to PayPal where I earn Rewards Points. It's a total win win. All of my bullion purchasing is strictly done on eBay. They pay us to shop there!
ocks. And there is a time to buy metals/commidities.
Now is the time for metals/commodities.
Every first world country has tons of debt or is owed tons of debt.
Every year energy costs crimp margins.
We are in the first four years of the chinese being allowed to finally own gold.
In order to pay off debt countries are printing money to stuff the debt holes- just ask japan.
If countries have no savings,money printing is the only solution.
Even if the US does default instead of print people will want something else in lieu of treasuries/dollars since printed money is worth the same as money not paid back.
The more resources that go limited the more war.
The more war the more unstablenthe economy.
The more unstable the economy the more debt taken on due to loss of productive capacity.
The more debt the more...
Well, you get the picture.
Unless everyone pays their debt off the bullish fundamentals for something stable for use as a currency will be the investment thesis for the foreseeable future. Dont believe me- just ask history.
"Maybe I am missing something here. Didn't the mint manufacture the 2010 set LAST year? If so, the coins are made, and the current market price of silver shouldn't affect the price of the coins at all! Sounds like a new tax to me."
Silver is silver, whether its in inventory or already sold, the value of silver has gone up. If you bought something when silver was 20, wouldn't you want the going rate if silver was at 35?
It doesn't matter what the inventory cost is now (that's a sunk cost), what matters is the market value of what is being sold. Everyone here wants to complain about how the mint is not run like a real business, and yet when it is, the same people whine.
Michael,
Can you please shed some light on the Crispus Attucks 1998 $1 silver Commemorative scandel?
I was reading a post, but it disappeared.
Did the USMint really misplace a million dollars?
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/mar/20/lost-money-ends-plan-for-mall-memorial/
Anon 9:52
I would agree with you whole-heartedly if the Mint reduced prices (of silver offerings) when PM prices dip down. That doesn't appear to have been the case now or in the past. Personally, I'd prefer them to just stop offering the coin(s) rather than raise the price. Everyone that wanted a 2010 silver set has had ample time to pick it up.
Hey, isn't it about time that the Mint "determines" when the Eliza Johnson First Spouse coins will go on sale? This "TBD" junk is getting REALLY old! The coin is already about 3 weeks late, and if they don't hurry up and release it, the price of gold will pass yet another price increase threshold. For now, the price is the same as what it would have been had the coins gone on sale the original slated release date of March 3. If they keep dragging their feet, the coins I need to keep my sets going will cost me an extra $75! Not chump change.
They also need to "determine" when the 2010 ATB numismatic versions go on sale as well. The first quarter is almost over, and the coins have been struck for months!
WHAT'S THE HOLDUP???!!!
Mint just waiting for gold price rising up then they release Eliza Johnson First Spouse coins...that suck !!!!!
Sorry about the garbled post earlier-stupid smart phone. As anecdotal evidence to the power of silver proofs I had the boy scout troop over to house last week and collecting was the theme for the meeting. A scout had brought out his 50 state coin set and i told him they would be better collected in silver proof.NO ONE AT THE MEETING KNEW THAT SILVER WAS EVEN AN OPTION TO COLLECT THE STATE QUARTERS. That shows how much of the public even knows about the option or value of precious metals. I think proof sets are beautiful and I gift them every year to my friends children. They will be excellent investments as well as collectibles for years to come.
Both the Uncirculated Pierce and Fillmore coins have been pushing their "availability for shipment" dates back since early March! ...what's up with that?!
They can't be making more of these 2010 issues...right?
It's been a month already so it couldn't be a shipping problem from the Mint to the Fulfillment Center, could it?
If they were "sold out", why not just come out and say that instead of continuing to accept orders?
"Inquiring Minds" need to know!
If the delay in releasing Eliza Johnson is long enough where the price goes up again, maybe that will finally be the straw that breaks the camel's back for me. I could just sell off the coins I've accumulated so far for massive profits and quit the series.
I'd need to re-invest that money in more metal, though. Maybe I'd just buy some Gold Eagle bullion coins for a much lower mark-up.
The Mint should be nice and offer the option to buy the First Spouse coins as 4-coin sets early in the year. That way you could lock in the current year's releases at the same gold price level. The way they are released now, the final coin of the year always ends up costing a lot more than the first coin of the year, with the middle ones somewhere in between.
The Mint says they want to release them along the same schedule as the Presidential Dollar coins. However, those have already been released as both proofs and uncirculateds in the annual Mint sets. So, why can't they do the same thing with the First Spouses?
"The Mint says they want to release them along the same schedule as the Presidential Dollar coins. However, those have already been released as both proofs and uncirculateds in the annual Mint sets. So, why can't they do the same thing with the First Spouses?"
Without a total Minting bashing, in my opinion, the people there might be very good at actual production techniques, but when it comes to thinking into the future, they have no clue about what it takes to appeal to their customers. That's no way to run a business. Your buying customers should have the feeling their best interests are considered. That doesn't seem to be the case all too often.
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