2009 Proof & Mint Sets

Before the end of the year, I wanted to take a post to review the status of the US Mint's core annual proof and mint set offerings. By core annual sets, I am referring to the 2009 Proof Set, 2009 Silver Proof Set, and 2009 Uncirculated Mint Set.

In past years, sometimes one of the US Mint's annual sets has sold out before the end of the year, catching collectors by surprise. Last year, the US Mint sold out of the 2008 Proof Set in mid-December. The unexpected nature of the sell out and a relatively low mintage combined to drive secondary market prices higher. This 2008 Proof Set still sells for more than double the original issue price.

The most recent sales for this year's core mint and proof set offerings are shown below, along with the date that sales began for each product. (You can view the full weekly sales report posted today on Coin Update News.)

Product	Sales Start	Sales to Date
2009 Proof Set	June 1, 2009	1,392,782
2009 Silver Proof Set	July 17, 2009	628,289
2009 Mint Set	October 1, 2009	657,322

For comparison here are the sales start dates, end dates, and final sales figures for the 2008 offerings.

Product	Sales Start	Sales End	Total Sales
2008 Proof Set	June 24, 2008	Dec 14, 2008	1,405,674
2008 Silver Proof Set	Aug 26, 2008	July 17, 2009	774,874
2008 Mint Set	July 30, 2008	Feb 25, 2009	745,464

Interestingly, the sales figures for the 2009 sets are still below the levels reached last year. Personally, I was expecting the 2009 annual sets to have higher mintages due to the inclusion of the 95% copper Lincoln Cents. The introduction of separate Lincoln products may have dampened the effect. If an early sell out occurs for any of the 2009 sets, there would be a strong case for higher prices. Personally, I prefer the regular clad version 2009 Proof Set and 2009 Mint Set.

At the time of writing this post, one of the single denomination proof sets has already sold out. The 2009 Lincoln Cent Proof Set, which contains the four 95% copper Proof 2009 Lincoln Cents, sold out today. The set originally went on sale August 26, 2009 priced at $7.95. The most recent sales report indicates that the US Mint sold 201,107 of the sets.