The United States Mint's website is now showing the 2010 Proof Silver Eagle as sold out. This product joins the one-half ounce Proof Gold Eagle as another somewhat unexpected sell out.
The 2010 Proof Silver Eagle originally went on sale November 19, 2010 with no stated maximum mintage, and an initial household ordering limit of 100 coins. Collector interest was expected to be high, after the cancellation of the prior year release and against the backdrop of strong performance for the price of silver.
When the US Mint reported debut sales figures of 273,212 coins for the period November 19 to 21, I questioned the numbers as possibly being under reported. Later that week, it was revealed that approximately 2,200 orders had been deleted in error, accounting for some of the discrepancy. Two weeks later when the next report was available, the US Mint showed sales of 707,704.
This week's sales report showed total sales of 834,879, unchanged from the prior week. I asked the US Mint for clarification on the figure, but have not yet received a response. It now seems that the figure may not have been updated since the product was close to selling out.
If the final sales are around this level, the 2010 Proof Silver Eagle would rank as the fourth highest mintage of all proof coins for the series. However, products which sell out unexpectedly, as opposed to lingering into the following year, seem to experience a boost in premium on the secondary market. We'll have to wait and see if this develops.
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