2012 American Silver Eagle Two Coin Set Released

Today, June 7, 2012, the United States Mint was inundated with orders for its newly released 2012 American Silver Eagle Two Coin Set.

How many orders were placed will not be known until Friday, but early volume resulted in U.S. Mint phone lines that were often inaccessible and a website that was either extremely slow, timing out, or recovering from a crash. Released at 12:00 noon ET, the U.S. Mint’s site did not return to its normal behavior until around 4:00 PM ET.

Today’s ordering/buying experience was similar to the launch day for last year’s 25th Anniversary American Silver Eagle Set which sold out in hours. Many collectors then complained that they were left hanging, having to pay extra to acquire the anniversary sets on the secondary market. The differing aspect in today’s circumstances was that while ordering obstacles were present for several hours, the U.S. Mint does not have a mintage limit for the two coin set since they will be produced to meet demand.

Editor’s Update: The sales odometer described in the immediate paragraph below was updated by the U.S. Mint by mid-afternoon on the day after the set’s release. It has debut unit sales at 85,341.

To provide an ongoing picture of that demand, the U.S. Mint has added an odometer of sorts on the set’s product page that is designed to tell visitors how many orders have been placed. However, the message for it currently states:

"Data for cumulative total units ordered will first appear on June 8, 2012 at approximately 3 p.m. (ET)."

Priced at $149.95 as indicated on this site last week, the 2012 American Silver Eagle Two Coin Set includes:

• 2012-S Reverse Proof American Silver Eagle Coin
• 2012-S Proof American Silver Eagle Coin

These two coins are not expected to be sold outside the set. They are further unique as they are the first proof American Eagles struck at the U.S. Mint in San Francisco since 1992, and they carry the ‘S’ mint mark.

Leading up to the San Francisco set were surveys taken by the U.S. Mint in January that posed questions related to it and other possible Eagle products offered annually. Whether such or similar Eagle sets become an annual tradition is yet to be determined or announced by the bureau.

It is already somewhat taxing to track the types of American Silver Eagles released since their debut in 1986. In fact, this year alone there will be a total of five and maybe even six different ones with a date of 2012. These include:

• 2012 American Silver Eagle bullion coin, which was released on January 3
• 2012-W Proof American Silver Eagle coin that was issued on April 12
• 2012-W Uncirculated American Silver Eagle that is scheduled for release on August 2
• The two San Francisco minted Silver Eagles within the set issued today

Additionally, the U.S. Mint indicated the possibility of offering another uncirculated American Silver Eagle from San Francisco.

The product page for the 2012 American Silver Eagle Two Coin Set may be found at http://www.usmint.gov. Orders will be accepted by the Mint until July 5, 2012 at 5:00 PM ET. They will not be available beyond the four-week window. Sets will begin shipping on July 27, 2012.