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America the Beautiful 5 Ounce Silver Coin Sales Update
November 9, 2011 by Silver Coins Today Staff · 1 Comment
2011-P Gettysburg 5 Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin
Sales of America the Beautiful 5 Ounce Silver Coins — both the investment-grade bullion coins and the collector uncirculated coins — have slowed.
The first several releases in the bullion and collector series sold out. But today, buyers can purchase newer issues from either series without struggle as higher coin mintages, lower silver prices and the sheer number of releases has affected demand.
Before getting into a bit of background, the following table provides the latest United States Mint sales figures for the bullion and collector America the Beautiful 5 ounce coins.
| America the Beautiful 5 Ounce Silver Coin Sales* | ||
|---|---|---|
| ATB Coin in Order of Release | Version | |
| Investment-Grade Bullion (sales/mintage) | Collector Uncirculated (sales/mintage) | |
| 2010 Hot Springs National Park 5 Ounce Silver Coin | 33,000/33,000 | 27,000/27,000 |
| 2010 Yellowstone National Park 5 Ounce Silver Coin | 33,000/33,000 | 27,000/27,000 |
| 2010 Yosemite National Park 5 Ounce Silver Coin | 33,000/33,000 | 27,000/27,000 |
| 2010 Grand Canyon National Park 5 Ounce Silver Coin | 33,000/33,000 | 26,019/27,000 |
| 2010 Mount Hood National Forest 5 Ounce Silver Coin | 33,000/33,000 | 25,113/27,000 |
| 2011 Gettysburg National Military Park 5 Ounce Silver Coin | 126,700/126,700 | 14,881/35,000 |
| 2011 Glacier National Park 5 Ounce Silver Coin | 126,700/126,700 | 11,711/35,000 |
| 2011 Olympic National Park 5 Ounce Silver Coin | 82,700/126,700 | Not Released |
| 2011 Vicksburg National Military Park 5 Ounce Silver Coin | 31,600/126,700 | Not Released |
| 2011 Chickasaw National Recreation Area 5 Ounce | 23,800/126,700 | Not Released |
* Bullion sales are as of Wednesday, November 9. Collector uncirculated coin sales are as of Monday, November 7.
America the Beautiful 5 Ounce Silver Bullion Coins for Investors
When the five 2010-dated bullion America the Beautiful coins made their appearance, they simultaneously showed up late in the year (December 2010) with limited mintages of 33,000 each. The low mintages attracted collectors who would not normally consider buying a 5 ounce bullion coin intended for investors. That sparked enormous demand for the coins which led to quick sell outs.
The United States Mint raised mintages for the 2011 strikes to 126,700. That and weaker silver prices helped to ease sales. The first two bullion coins sold out, the third has solid sales and the remaining two have decent, but progressively lower sales. It would appear that the final three coins will not sell out.
Uncirculated America the Beautiful 5 Ounce Silver Coins for Collectors
Collector 5 ounce uncirculated America the Beautiful coins have been released in a staggered approach. While produced in 2010, the United States did not begin selling any of the 2010-dated coins until 2011. The debut strike appeared in April, the second coin in May, issues three and four were released in June, and the fifth uncirculated coin launched in July. With a per coin mintage limit of 27,000, the first four sold out and it would appear the fifth will as well.
With a higher per coin mintage of 35,000, the United States Mint also started selling the 2011-dated uncirculated coins. The first one launched in September and the second one in October. (The third one is scheduled to launch in late November.) Their prices started at $279.95 each and were later reduced to $229.95 when silver prices tumbled from the $40 an ounce area to the $30 an ounce level. Cheaper prices did fuel improved sales in October versus September. But the amount of coins released this year has been barrier, say collectors. Many have commented on the difficulty of budgeting for so many coins within such a short time. That is at least one reason why the newer coins are not performing as well.
Differences between Bullion and Collector ATB Coins
Like many investor and collector coins that share the same design, the most obvious difference between the two types of America the Beautiful 5 Ounce Silver Coins is the mint mark or lack of a mint mark. United States Mint bullion coins do not bear mint marks. Every collector America the Beautiful coin, on the other hand, will have a "P" mint mark for Philadelphia.
Another difference is the way the coins are sold. The United States Mint will only sell its bullion America the Beautiful coins to its network of Authorized Purchasers, but it sells the uncirculated versions directly to the public for a limited time and within special packaging that includes a Certificate of Authenticity.
In my opinion, the super low mintages of the 5 ounce U.S. Mint collector coins, coupled with the pure precious metal content, will insure that these coins will be sought after and rare in the coming decades. I too, feel that there are way too many coins, released in a way too small time window, for many to be able to budget for, or afford these coins.