2012 Proof Silver Eagles, Arthur Coin Cover Debut Sales

2012 Proof Silver Eagles scored debut sales of 299,539

The hottest numismatic U.S. coin item of the year debuted, the 2012 Proof Silver Eagle. In its shadow was another new product from the United States Mint, the Chester Arthur Presidential Dollar Coin Cover. As expected, both made it to the top of the Mint’s weekly best-seller list.

Between the launch on Thursday, April 12, and Monday, April 16, collectors ordered 299,539 of the 2012 American Silver Eagle Proof Coins. Without the restraint of a household order limit this year, the US Mint gave collectors the freedom to buy as many as they wanted.

Compared to previous releases of the annual .999 fine silver specimens, 2012 stacked up well. 367,623 were purchased in 2011 during a six day span, and 273,212 were bought in 2010 in a three day period. Going forward, Proof Silver Eagles seem poised to top the sales chart for many weeks to come.

Inaugural sales for the Chester Arthur Coin Cover, spanning one full week, were slower than the debuts of earlier releases in the series. 13,562 were picked up between April 9 and April 16. It was a few hundred behind Garfield’s Coin Cover start of 13,843 in December. Others include Hayes with 14,051 in October and Grant’s 15,695 in June.

Those were not the only Arthur dollars on collectors’ minds though. The US Mint sold another 11,965 of the 250-coin boxes of Arthur dollars and 183 more of the 500-coin boxes in this round. Even the 25-coin rolls increased by 9,634.

What makes it so interesting is the fact that all together, the US Mint has sold 6,190,200 Arthur dollars in rolls and boxes since their release on April 5, plus another 27,124 that were part of the coin covers, and yet only 5,740,000 dollars were produced according to the latest Mint’s coin production figures. Needless to say, more need to get minted. Many of the Arthur products are on backorder and will not be available for shipping until mid-May.

All available sales on U.S. Mint numismatic coin products are below. The first three columns of the table provide weekly United States Mint sales increases between the listed time periods, offering a sense of recent trends. The final column provides the latest United States Mint sales totals as of Monday, April 16, 2012.

Bullion coin tables are found toward the bottom, with the most recent sales as of Wednesday, April 18, except for the five ounce bullion coins. According to the U.S. Mint, their numbers were last updated on April 9, 2012. (NLA = No Longer Available.) Check out the US coins section of the site for more information on the products.

Table of Sales for U.S. Mint Numismatic Coin Products

*Includes 2011-dated coins.