Proof Silver Eagle Opening Sales Figures

Opening sales figures are available for the 2010 Proof Silver Eagle through the US Mint's latest numismatic sales report. According to the numbers provided by the US Mint, through November 21 sales have reached 273,212.

As stated in the sales report, this represents a relatively underwhelming start for the long awaited offering. Based on irregularities with some of the other numbers in this week's report, I think it is possible that the figures for the proof Silver Eagle have been under-reported.

For some points of comparison, this year's silver commemorative coins debuted with sales of 214,673 for the Boy Scouts coins and 98,358 for the American Veterans Disabled for Life coins. The last proof Silver Eagle issued in 2008, debuted with sales figures of 185,232. These coins were released under normal circumstances before the price of silver began its ascent, bullion sales surged, and collector coins were interrupted.

The 2010 Proof Silver Eagle figures top each of these amounts, but not as dramatically as seen for the 2010 Proof Gold Eagles. Opening sales figures for the gold coins came in 300% to 500% above the corresponding levels for the 2008 releases, for each product option. There was every reason to expect the Silver Eagles to experience a similar surge in orders for the opening.

Of course it is possible that the higher pricing, frustration over the incorrect email notifications, and curtailed speculative buying may have kept sales from running too high, but there are other numbers in the sales report that seem suspect.

The Mount Hood National Forest Quarter bags and rolls figures are down about two-thirds from the corresponding numbers for the other releases of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program. The table below shows the opening sales figures for each release so far.

	P 100 Bag	D 100 Bag	Two Roll Set
Hot Springs	5,268	4,915	25,983
Yellowstone	4,447	4,392	23,273
Yosemite	4,275	4,187	23,416
Grand Canyon	4,015	3,900	23,172
Mount Hood	1,543	1,465	7,495

The 100,000 email notifications that were incorrectly sent last week were "primarily for Mount Hood quarters bags and rolls and the 2010 American Eagle Silver Proof Coin." Both of these products have reported sales figures much lower than expected. I suspect that somehow subscription orders were not reflected in the weekly sales report. I will provide any updates as I receive them.