Sales Ending for 2009 Annual Sets and 2009 Lincoln Cents

On June 15, 2010, the United States Mint will end sales of the 2009 Proof Set, 2009 Silver Proof Set, 2009 Uncirculated Mint Set, and the 2009 Lincoln Cent Two Roll Sets for the "Professional Life" and "Presidency" designs. The impending close of sales has been known since mid-May, when a "Last Opportunity" section was added to the US Mint's website.

The 2009 Proof Sets and Mint Set each contain the four different 2009 Lincoln Cents struck in a special composition of 95% copper, rather than the standard predominantly zinc composition. In the future, this may help the sets hold distinction and elevated demand.

As it stands, the last reported sales figures for the 2009 annual sets are above the levels of last year's sets with the exception of the Silver Proof Set. The tables below show the sales start date, sales end date, and total sales for each set for 2009 and 2008.

Product	Sales Start	Sales End	Sales To Date
2009 Proof Set	June 1, 2009	June 15, 2010	1,475,264
2009 Silver Proof Set	July 17, 2009	June 15, 2010	690,822
2009 Mint Set	Oct 1, 2009	June 15, 2010	771,204
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

The 2008 Proof Set had sold out unexpectedly before the close of the year and ended up with the lowest total sales for a standard proof set since 1959. The sets began selling at a premium immediately after the early sell out. The 2009 Proof Set looks like it will have marginally higher total sales, but this will still be a low number on a historical basis. As mentioned, the higher mintage may be offset by the greater residual demand created by the included 2009 Lincoln Cents and the countless number of sets broken up to obtain the cents.

The 2009 Silver Proof Set is on track to have the lowest total sales for a silver proof set since 1998. After peaking at 1,175,934 with the 2004 Silver Proof Set, total sales have decreased steadily each year since then.

The 2008 Mint Set has enjoyed a large rise in price since it sold out. The sets seem to sell for $45 to $50, which is almost double the original issue price at the higher end of the range. Last year, before the 2008 Mint Set sold out, I mentioned it frequently as a potential winner. This year, I also like the prospects of the 2009 Mint Set. It was available for a shorter period of time compared to the other sets and will have relatively low final sales. Once again, the inclusion of special composition Lincoln Cents should add a permanent incremental source of demand. Of all the products going off-sale on June 15, I like the 2009 Mint Set the best.

Last but not least, sales of the 2009 Lincoln Cent Two Roll Sets will end on Tuesday. When initially announced, many collectors didn't like the fact that sets containing $1.00 face value worth of circulating coins were priced at $8.95 each. After the first set sold out in a few weeks and began selling at a big premium on the secondary market, more collectors started ordering the sets.

The final two designs will fall between the first two designs in terms of total number of sets sold. The final sales or last reported sales are shown below.

	Sales To Date
Birthplace	96,000
Formative Years	300,000
Professional Life	291,534
Presidency	259,941

The final set for the "Presidency" design has better prospects than the "Professional Life" design because of the lower total sales and also the low mintages of the coins included. The 2009 P & D Presidency Lincoln Cents had a final mintages of 129,600,000 and 198,000,000, respectively. These represent the lowest mintages for circulation strike cents since 1955.