2010 Boy Scouts of America Silver Dollar Coins Available

The United States Mint today placed the 2010 Boy Scouts of America Centennial Silver Dollars on sale for thousands of eagerly awaiting collectors.

Unfortunately for many of them, as well as for the U.S. Mint, early ordering did not go well. Initial reports from some buyers indicate there were delays and ordering errors as they tried to complete their transactions.

Many collectors who attempted to place orders via the Mint’s web site started having issues almost immediately as the ordering window opened at noon (Eastern Time). Browser time-outs were a common occurrence as anxious buyers tried to load the Boy Scout page and add the coins to their cart. Once added, checkout proved equally frustrating for many, even those trying to use the Mint’s quick checkout.

Telephone ordering was not much better, although in the first minutes after release wait times were very manageable for the lucky. This changed quickly, however. Within the first half hour of the coin’s availability, phone calls were routinely being disconnected after callers heard the short message "your call may be monitored for quality assurance purposes."

By 2PM (Eastern), the Mint appeared to have recovered from the initial snafus and orders could be placed with ease.

All of these issues are very reminiscent of last year’s Mint release of the Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set in October. With a household order limit of one unit and an extremely limited mintage of only 50,000, collectors created havoc with the Mint’s ordering systems on that day of release as well. (In less than 48 hours, the complete mintage had been ordered.)

With the Boy Scout Commemorative seeing similar issues, it is not hard to imagine that demand is extremely high for these strikes. This is exactly as many have been predicting for months. Fortunately for buyers, the mintage on the coins is a relatively high 350,000 and the order limits are equally generous at 100 each per household. Still, a quicker-than-expected sell-out may result so buyers would be wise to place an order sooner versus later.

Three Scout members (a Boy Scout, Cub Scout and female Venturer) are seen on the obverse of these coins giving a salute in full uniform. The reverse shows the Boy Scouts universal emblem.

The Centennial Silver Dollars are struck in proof or uncirculated condition and have an introductory price of $39.95 and $33.95, respectively. Assuming inventory holds out that long, prices will revert to their normal level of $43.95 for the proof and $35.95 for the uncirculated coin on April 21, 2010.

Orders may be placed for the coins via the Mint’s web site at http://www.usmint.gov or by calling the toll-free number 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468).