2010-P Mount Hood Five Ounce Silver Coin Sales at 14,759

From the start of sales on July 28 through August 1, 2011, the US Mint has recorded sales of 14,759 of the 2010-P Mount Hood National Forest Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins. This is a dramatic slowdown compared to previous releases of the series.

With a mintage of 27,000 per design and a special vapor blasted finish, the five ounce silver coins found a stampede of buyers when the first design featuring Hot Springs National Park was released. The pace of orders was so fast, that it took down the US Mint's website for about 45 minutes. Even with the down time, sales had reached approximately 19,000 after 9 hours of availability. By the time of the first regular sales report was issued, sales had reached approximately 25,000. A complete sell out was achieved after about 15 days of availability.

The second release featuring Yellowstone National Park saw sales progress at roughly the same pace, with first reported sales of 24,626 and a sell out after 15 days of availability.

The pace of sales started to noticeably diminish with the next two releases. The Yosemite National Park design had initial sales of 20,511 and did not sell out for about six weeks. The Grand Canyon design had initial sales of 19,200 and remains available for sale. An ordering limit of one per household continues to be in place.

Is the even bigger slowdown for the latest Mount Hood design, an ominous sign for the series?

In a past article, I used the term "ATB fatigue". In the course of three months, the US Mint has now released five separate five ounce numismatic coins. According to the latest information available, at least some of the 2011 designs will also be released during the current year, continuing to stretch collector budgets. The exact release dates and maximum production limits for the 2011 designs have not yet been determined.

The ongoing commitment necessary to continue the collection will be significant, particularly if the price of silver continues to rise.

An interesting point of comparison: If a collector were to purchase all of the numismatic ATB five ounce silver coins for 2010 and 2011, the total silver content would be 50 troy ounces. This amount is greater than the silver content of all proof commemorative silver dollars that have been issued by the US Mint from 1983 to 2011. At 0.7736 troy ounces of silver content for 63 different coins, the total reaches only 48.7368 troy ounces.

Coin Update News: Complete US Mint Sales Report