There are a number of US Mint related news items worthy of a quick mention:
Today at 12:00 Noon ET, sales of the American Samoa Quarter Bags and Rolls began at the United States Mint. Two-roll sets are priced at $32.95, 100-coin bags from either the Philadelphia or Denver Mint are priced at $32.95, and 1,000-coin bags from either Mint are priced at $309.95.
To coincide with the release, sales ended for the previous Guam Quarter Bags and Rolls. These products had initially went on sale May 26, 2009. The 1,000-coin bags were unavailable for approximately one month, but the other products were available continuously during the period.
The last reported sales statistics (as of July 19) indicate 37,106 two-roll sets sold, 12,777 100-coin Philadelphia bags, 12,071 100-coin Denver bags, 1,475 1,000-coin Philadelphia bags, and 1,399 Denver bags sold. With the exception of the 1,000-coin bags, these numbers are below the sales figures for the prior Puerto Rico Quarter bags and rolls.
As previously posted, the ordering limit for the 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coins increased today. After imposing a household ordering limit of one for nearly six months, the limit has now been raised to ten coins per household.
CoinWorld is reporting that the US Mint is striking more 2009 Jefferson Nickels, despite "officially" announcing the end of production three months prior. The Denver Mint has reportedly struck 7.4 million additional coins in June and July. This adds to the previously produced 39.36 million 2009-D Jefferson Nickels.
In a separate story, the US Mint has provided some new information regarding the status of the 2009 Gold Buffalo Coins. Before the latest news, let's back track through their previous statements.
Back in June, the US Mint indicated that only the proof version of the coin would be minted for 2009 and bullion coins would not be produced. A few weeks later, this statement was corrected when the US Mint indicated that the bullion coins were not canceled and would be produced as "required by law." This week, the US Mint is indicating that the proof version of the coin might not be minted for 2009 after all. With these latest statements, we are brought to the exact opposite of the US Mint's initial statements.
Late last year and early this year, there were constant issues about the US Mint's lack of communication and their failure to respond to questions about the status of products, shipping, and other issues. In the past few months, the US Mint has been communicating a whole lot more, but often reversing positions to the exact opposite of their previous statements. Unreliable communication is not an improvement from lack of communication.
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