Today at noon ET the United States Mint began selling the 2009 American Buffalo Gold Proof Coin for $1,360.00, as it announced on Oct. 22.

The one-ounce .9999 fine (24 karat) gold coin is expected to draw significant attention. The US Mint handled early demand in improved fashion compared to the collector blitz and resulting problems that brought its web site down just a few weeks ago with the release of another product, the Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set.

While there were initial reports of several minute online order delays, that appeared to be the extent of any issue. Phone lines were busy. Some collectors indicated that it took dozens of minutes to get through to a Mint customer service representative, but again, it was unlike their experience of weeks back where there were reports of over an hour of delay and repeated "call back" messages. The Mint added an extra menu option that routed customers to a different queue and standby waiting list, which may have helped.

The Mint’s handling of the Buffalo Gold proof orders on opening day indicates they made improvements, but demand may also have been less intense. The $1,360.00 price point certainly held some customers at bay — especially when considering that gold prices have been dropping for several days and the coins missed out on a $50 price cut by a mere 28.8 cents. (See 28.8 Cents Prevents US Mint Gold Coin Price Reductions.) Many may try and wait for such a cut next week, despite the possibility that the coins could sell out — the Mint has not indicated how many are available, and there are no order limits in place.

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Read the rest of 2009 American Buffalo Gold Proof Coin Launches with Little Issues (253 words)

Twenty years ago in 1989 the Austrian State Mint passed from the Treasury into the ownership of the central bank. The mint was given the freedom to produce and sell products in accordance with the demands of the modern numismatic and investment markets. One of the very first innovations introduced by the new CEO, Paul Berger, was the production of a gold bullion coin for investment purposes: the Vienna Philharmonic.

On 16th October this year a limited quantity of 6,027 Vienna Philharmonic coins, each weighing 20 ounces of fine gold, will go on sale in Europe, America and Japan.

20 ounces to commemorate 20 years!

Why the odd number? The mint decided to offer 2009 coins (the date of the 20th anniversary) in its three major markets: in Europe, in America and in Japan. Investors still remember the 15 giant coins (each of 1,000 ounces) that celebrated the fifteenth anniversary in 2004, and that entered the Guinness Book of Records as the then largest gold coin in the world. All 15 giant coins were snapped up within days, and the excitement surrounding this special issue of a 20 ounce coin promises a similar market reaction.

The new 20 ounce coin has a diameter of 74 mm and a thickness of 8.3 mm and is housed in a prestigious wooden and red velvet case. Pre-orders for this unique anniversary gold coin have already started pouring into the mint in Vienna. It promises to be a major success as indeed the past 20 years of the Austrian bullion programme have been.

The Vienna Philharmonic Story

The decision in 1989 to issue a gold bullion coin in the two weights of 1 ounce and ¼ ounce was greeted with indulgent smiles. Austria, a small central European country since the destruction of her empire in 1918 and without any gold mining industry to support, was entering the bullion market, long dominated by the Krugerrand and that time divided between the USA, Canada and Western Australia.

Berger and his team decided that music was the ideal theme for their new coin. Austria was internationally renowned for its music, but they decided against the portrayal of one of the many great composers like Mozart, Haydn or Strauss. That would make the coin appear like a commemorative edition for collectors. Instead they chose a living and world-famous musical institution: the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. To their delight the members of the orchestra enthusiastically endorse this choice, freely grant the use of their name. The engraver, Thomas Pesendorfer, designed a collection of instruments to represent the orchestra itself and for the other side of the coin he took the great pipe organ of the Golden Hall in Vienna where the orchestra plays at home. It is seen on television around the world every year on 1st January during the New Year’s Day Concert.

The new Austrian coin was launched in Vienna on 10th October and was an immediate success. The demand in the home market was nothing less than ferocious. In two and a half months 419,000 ounces were sold, achieving with one blow an 18% world market share for the entire year 1989! It rapidly established itself as a serious participant in the international gold market. In 1992 and again in 1995, 1996 and 2000 the Vienna Philharmonic was ranked by the World Gold Council as the top selling gold bullion coin worldwide. In 2008 the Vienna Philharmonic continued to rank No. 1 in Europe and in Japan, and with a year’s market share of 25% it came in 3rd worldwide narrowly missing 2nd place. The “indulgent smiles” have long since disappeared.

A 1/10 ounce in 1991 and a ½ ounce coin in 1994 completed the traditional family of four sizes. In 2008 a silver 1 ounce Vienna Philharmonic was added to the investment range with resounding success.

Looking back on 20 years of continual growth and success, the Vienna Philharmonic has established itself firmly as one of the four great gold bullion coins offered on the international market of today. This one-time issue of a limited number of 20 ounce gold coins is but a fitting tribute to a 20 year long success story that shows no signs of letting up in the near future.

Related posts:

1. Last of the Austrian Mint’s “Vienna Jugendstil” Series
2. Austrian Mint Issues 5 Euro Silver Coin Honoring Great Conductor
3. Gold touches 27-year high of $746.30 an ounce; silver surges nearly 3%

The Austrian Mint has just released their product schedule (known to them as an Issuing Programme) for the year 2010.

The coin schedule includes many coins that collectors should find nearly irresistible, given the spectacular designs the Mint has become known for from around world.

Several of the new issues will be continuations of series started in previous years and one will be the very first coin of a new series.

For reference, here is an image of the provided 2010 coin product schedule (click image to enlarge):

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Read the rest of Austrian Mint 2010 Coin Product Schedule (1,058 words)

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US Mint collector coins moved like molasses when compared to sales figures of two weeks ago. But bullion coins — especially gold — still had a little swagger in their step. October will be a robust month for American Eagles and American Buffalos.

These and other highlights follow:

• UHR Double Eagles took a significant hit, rising sadly by only 562. Since they went on sale Jan. 22, there has been one single instance when weekly sales were lower. The reason? Gold has been on a five day losing streak, which started last Thursday. It makes sense for collectors to be cautious in buying with expectations of a $50 price decline. We missed that reduction by just 28.8 cents.

• In the Lincoln category, the Chronicles sets were taken off standby status last week with the max 50,000 officially allocated. Lincoln Cent Proof Sets climbed by 4,900, which was less than half of the prior 10,921 increase.

• 2009 US Mint and US Mint Proof Sets were the biggest unit gainers, rising 21,826 and 22,613 respectively. The proof sets were actually up a tad bit. Not so for the mint sets which previously climbed by 74,474. The 500,000 milestone is still nearly 11K away.

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  Read the rest of US Mint Sales: Bullion Robust, Collector Coins Retreat (1,143 words)

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The price of gold has been on a five-day price slide, but ironically the timing of the decline was slightly off in helping collectors pay less for US Mint gold collector coins.

The US Mint uses a London Fix weekly gold average to determine whether to keep gold coin prices the same, or adjust them up or down. The average came in 28.8 cents higher than the threshold needed to cause a reduction of UHR Gold Double Eagles by $50, First Spouse Gold Coins by $25, and 2009 Gold Buffalo Proof Coins by $50.

The Buffalos go on sale Thursday at noon ET. Since the London Fix five day average is $1,050.278, the coins will launch with a price tag of $1,360.00. Had the average been at or below $1,049.99, the coin would have been released at $1,310.00.

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Read the rest of 28.8 Cents Prevents US Mint Gold Coin Price Reductions (139 words)

(Santa Ana, California) – Information provided to Northern California law enforcement authorities by Professional Coin Grading Service led to the arrest of a suspect who is now under investigation in connection with the sales of fraudulently altered Morgan dollars in tampered PCGS holders for nearly $300,000.

“Genuine, common date Morgan dollars were split into two pieces (front and back along the rim), then adhered to each other in combinations to create the illusion of rare date and mintmarks.  The coins then were placed in tampered PCGS holders to give the coin credibility in the marketplace and to hide the alterations,” said Stephen Mayer, Chief Operating Officer of Collectors Universe, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLCT), parent company of Professional Coin Grading Service.

Among the fraudulent alterations were “1883-S,” “1884-S” and “1903-S” that were deceitfully labeled as PCGS MS65, MS63 and MS64, respectively.

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Read the rest of PCGS Helps Police Nab Counterfeits Suspect (335 words)

Several numismatic news or coin blog articles are referenced on CoinNews two separate times a week. These articles are not authored by us, but we recommend coin collectors read them for their unusual or interesting content. Here are today’s coin articles:

2008 mint and proof sets strong
Harry Miller | Numismatic News

Mint sets have shown little change with the exception of a flurry of interest in the Special Mint Sets of 1965-1967 and some strong buying of the 2008 set, which seems to be in very short supply. Proof sets are active with no declines lately. There are about a dozen increases. Some are caused by the rise in silver bullion. The 2008 set shines here as well. …

Go to story »   

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Read the rest of Coin News: 2008 Proof, Mint, and Chronicles Set Values; Fake Coins; Errors (438 words)

(San Antonio, TX) – CoinCollectingNews.org was originally designed as a quick hub where interested parties could learn about the latest coin news from leading sources. While this feature continues as the site’s trademark, Coin Collecting News recently expanded to offer brand new resources and more than 150 pages of quality information relevant to the hobby of coin collecting.

"I started Coin Collecting News about 18 months back in the hopes of creating an open, sharing environment for both collectors and writers," said Mike Unser, founder and president of CoinNews Media Group LLC, which owns CoinCollectingNews.org.

"While we patted ourselves on the back with how well the site was performing, it became clear that we weren’t doing enough. Our readers began telling us that they wanted more information about the coin world and how it relates to them — not just daily aggregated news."

"With that in mind, we spent a significant amount of time adding content and resources that are sure to be useful to anyone interested in numismatics," Unser added. "We’ve been thrilled and thankful for the feedback we’ve received following each area rollout. The entire process, with the exception of the many late nights and weekends, has been positive for all of us at CoinNews Media Group."

The new areas Unser mentions are actually web site subsections that have been quietly appearing on Coin Collecting News since late August. Acceptance by the collecting community has been exceptional. Readership is up nearly 35 percent since Oct. 1, and collectors are spending extra time on site, visiting more pages.

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Read the rest of More Coins, Articles and Features Added to Coin Collecting News Web Site (305 words)

Continuing its international expansion, Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) participated in COINEXPO in Warsaw, Poland on October 15-17 and in the Brogniard show October 17 in Paris, France.  

Both shows raised the continuing growing interest in world coin grading among European and Eastern European collectors. In Poland, third-party independent coin grading is already widely recognized as adding value to collectors’ coins. Collectors can submit their coins to PCGS through two PCGS authorized Polish dealers, Mennica Polska and Inwestycje Alternatywne Profit (www.e-numizmatyka.pl).

Following PCGS President Don Willis’ visit to Paris, it was the first time a coin grading company was ever invited to participate in the Paris Brogniard show organized by the French Numismatic Dealers Association, SYNDICAT NATIONAL DES EXPERTS NUMISMATES ET NUMISMATES PROFESSIONNELS. "It was a great opportunity for PCGS to have such a high-visibility presence at this premier European show," said Muriel Eymery from PCGS, who expressed her thanks for the support of the show organizers and PCGS French dealers. 

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Read the rest of PCGS Impresses at COINEXPO Warsaw and Paris Brogniard Show (353 words)

In what is now a touch of torment, several weeks back the United States Mint published 2009 American Eagle Silver Proof Coin images within their Press Image Library.

The torment comes from the fact that US Mint on October 6, 2009, announced that these coins were canceled for the year, which makes the images the closest collectors will ever come to experiencing what they would have been like.

In reality, their designs have remained unchanged since they were launched in 1986, so there is little left to the imagination as to how they would have looked. And, further, these images are less of a reminder of what could have been as compared to what will be an always present hole in 23 year old collector books.

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Read the rest of 2009 Proof and Uncirculated American Silver Eagle Coin Images at Mint (216 words)