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)

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 United States Mint today said the 2009 American Buffalo Gold Proof Coin will launch on Thursday, October 29, at noon Eastern Time.

The release date is not surprising since it was tentatively announced earlier this month. What is nearly shocking is that there will be "no mintage or household order limit for this product."

A quick "Hurray!" comes to mind, before it is silenced somewhat with the prospects of the mad dash to order.

Given their lateness in release, the fact that they were suspended several times in 2008 due to "unprecedented demand" for gold coins, and their natural desirability, the pent up demand for proof 2009 Buffalo coins is enormous. The bullion versions of these coins opened Thursday, Oct. 15 to blistering sales. 71,500 were sold by the following Monday. As of Wednesday, 86,000 were gone, representing in those few days an astounding 50 percent of the entire total sold in 2008!

And the bullion versions are sold in bulk to the Mint’s several authorized dealers — not in tens of thousands of onesies or twosies orders as will occur when coin collectors buy. Even an optimist has to suspect the US Mint phone lines and Web site will again be susceptible to downtime, as happened last Thursday when nearly 30,000 Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Sets were purchased within five hours.

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Read the rest of 2009 Gold Buffalo Proof Coins (573 words)

US Mint sales once again look attractive following a week when collector interest in most coins dipped. Demand is strong for both silver and gold bullion coins, as has been the case for much of the year. The newly released Gold Buffalo coins were most impressive.

In other notables, Ultra High Relief $20s finally topped the 100K barrier, and the Lincoln Chronicles set shot off Mint shelves to the tune of 50,000 in 30 hours. Collector silver coins and sets also held their own, enjoying better than normal weekly gains. These and other highlights follow:

• UHR Double Eagle Gold Coins hit 100,704 since their release on Jan. 22. Weekly sales picked up by 1,913 compared to prior 1,172.

• As expected, although not on the first day like many anticipated, the Lincoln Coin and Chronicles set sold out. The maximum 50,000 were scooped up within 30 hours. Standby orders are now in affect. Also in the Lincoln family line, the Lincoln Proof Set climbed by 10,921.

• Passing through their haze, Presidential Dollar Proof Set and 2009 Silver Proof Set increased by 2,872 and 12,306, respectively. Both sets were knocked down with negative adjustments in last week’s report.

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Read the rest of US Mint Sales: Bullion Coins Hot, Silver Coins Strong (1,319 words)

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Four numismatic news or coin blog articles are referenced on CoinNews every Tuesday and Thursday. 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:

Gateway closing a little [Lincoln Cent Values]
Steve Roach | Coin Values

Lincoln cents are one of the gateway coins of numismatics and most collectors have at one time or another filled a blue Whitman album with circulated Lincoln cents. The series is one of the first that people collect, and it’s still an exciting moment for most people to find a Wheat reverse cent, produced from 1909 to 1958, in circulation today …

Go to story »   

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Read the rest of Coin News: Lincoln Cent Values, Buffalo Nickel, Jay Johnson (300 words)

The US Mint’s 2009 Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set went on sale at noon on Thursday, Oct. 15. Within five hours, a total of 29,919 were grabbed by coin collectors. By the following day and before 6:00 p.m. ET, the Mint sold its entire inventory of 50,000.

As of this writing, the Mint is only taking standby orders in the event cancellations occur.

The set excitement level was expected to be high, with many collectors predicting a sell out on the very first day. That did not happen, although the Mint’s phone lines were backed up and its web site mostly down for several hours following the launch. In fact, at times it was so bad that the Mint issued an apology to customers for their experience.

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Read the rest of Lincoln Chronicles Sets Explode and Sell Out (228 words)

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US Mint circulating production levels for the third 2009 Lincoln penny, known as the Professional Life cent, are now known for each Mint facility in Denver and Philadelphia.

2009 Lincoln Cent Mintages

The Birthplace or "Log Cabin" penny continues to rank as the scarcest in combined Denver and Philadelphia mintages, while the 2009-P Lincoln Birthplace cent is still the most scarce at 284,400,000.

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Read the rest of 2009 Lincoln Cent Mintages Finalized for Three Pennies (87 words)

The Lincoln Coin & Chronicles Set from the US Mint is discussed first on "What’s In The News", a segment of this week’s Coin Chat Radio. The host, Bob Van Ryzin, informs listeners of the make-up of the set, as well as its limited mintage. In a CoinNews follow-up, the set sold out Friday and collectors must now go on a waiting list.

The National Money Show in Forth Worth is the next topic, with a day being added to the event bringing the total to four. It will run from March 25-28, 2010 and is sponsored by the American Numismatic Association.

Nick Brown of Majestic Rarities recently purchased an error gold 1906 Indian cent for $276,000 at the Stack’s Americana Auction in Philadelphia and Numismatic News Editor Dave Harper spends a few minutes with the buyer trying to figure out why.

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Read the rest of Coin Chat Radio: Lincoln Chronicles Set, Error Coins, Kid Designer (351 words)

It took longer than many collectors expected, but the Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set sold out prior to 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, Oct. 16.

However, THERE IS STILL A CHANCE TO PLACE ORDERS. The US Mint continues to keep the sets open for those who would like to be added to a waiting list. The Mint states at its online store:

Waiting List Notice: The number of orders we have taken meets the maximum limit for the United States Mint Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set. You may still place an order for this product, which will go on a waiting list. If a product becomes available due to an order cancellation, we will fulfill orders from the waiting list on a first-in, first-served basis. We cannot provide information about your position on the waiting list.

When we place your order on the waiting list, we will send you an order receipt. This is not a guarantee that you will receive your order. If we are not able to fulfill part or all of your order, you will receive a cancellation or sold-out notification. If you paid by check, you will receive a refund.

CoinNews has tested this statement in the past. It is indeed possible to receive a product after being placed on a waiting list. But those who are interested should rush to sign up here.

In the end, 50,000 sets were purchased by collectors in less than 30 hours. (Numismatic News editor Dave Harper reported 29,919 were sold by 5 p.m. ET on Thursday.) Obviously, the sell out did not occur on day one, as many were thinking possible, but it was crystal clear how furious the demand was following their Thursday noon launch. US Mint phone lines were extremely backed up with repeated automated messages to "try again later" and the entire Mint Web site was down for hours. The Mint later issued an apology for the online hassles customers had to experience.

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Read the rest of Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set Sold Out (246 words)

The US Mint on Friday "sincerely apologized" to customers who experienced difficultly and frustrating moments Thursday when attempting to order the newly issued Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set.

As we relayed on CoinNews yesterday, the US Mint Web site was either down or sporadic in behavior for several hours following the launch of the new Lincoln set.

The collectors here at CoinNews experienced the same frustrations in ordering — and excitement in the hunt. But we can offer no grounds to blame the Mint considering our own CoinNews.net site went down for a time as collectors used our ordering links as gateways to the Mint’s Lincoln Chronicles page. And we had just over 9,000 visits in the afternoon while the Mint likely had that during the first minutes of issue.

The Mint should be commended for its apology and recognition of the problems. Here is the Mint message in its entirety:

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Read the rest of US Mint Apologizes to Customers for Chronicles Set Experience (111 words)