Final Sales for 2012 San Francisco Silver Eagle Two Coin Set Adjusted

An adjusted, unaudited final sales total for the San Francisco produced 2012 American Silver Eagle Two Coin Set was provided by the United States Mint on Thursday, December 6, 2012.

In a bit of surprise, final sales are down more than 10% from the number posted by the U.S. Mint one day after the set went off sale.

The two coin set originally debuted on June 7, 2012. Instead of establishing a pre-determined mintage cap, the U.S. Mint opted to try something new. It offered the sets for sale during a four-week period, indicating that all valid orders received during the sales window would be fulfilled.

Each business day, the U.S. Mint updated a "sales odometer" of sorts on the set’s product page that offered total orders up to that period. When sales ended on July 5, 2012, that odometer was 250,738. The Mint adjusted it one last time, on the 6th, with final sales of 251,302.

The unaudited final sales total that was just released is 224,981 sets. This marks a decline of 26,321, or 10.5%, from the previous amount. It should be noted that final sales may be adjusted when the audited figures are eventually released. However, it is unlikely that the number will change drastically.

There is reason to believe that many collectors canceled or reduced their two coin set orders owing to what can be described as a lack of communication between the U.S. Mint and its potential customers.

The 2012 San Francisco Silver Eagle Two Coin Set included one 2012-S Reverse Proof American Silver Eagle Coin and one 2012-S Proof American Silver Eagle Coin. At the time of release, many believed these two coins were exclusive to the set and thus their mintage would directly equate to the total number of sets sold.

However, within a few weeks after sales closed for the two coin set, the U.S. Mint announced the pending release of the Making American History Coin and Currency Set, which also included the 2012-S Proof. That upset collectors with some saying they would cancel their San Francisco Silver Eagle Two Coin Set orders.

As the numbers stand now, the 2012-S Reverse Proof from the set moved down to the fourth scarcest Silver Eagle. It falls behind the 2011-P Reverse Proof and the 2011-S Uncirculated that were in last year’s 25th Anniversary American Silver Eagle Set with sales of 100,000, and the 1995-W Proof with sales of 30,125.