2010 Gold Buffalo Proof Coin Sales at 12,778

Numismatic News is reporting that the 2010 Proof Gold Buffalo sold 12,778 coins through June 8, 2010. The coins originally went on sale June 3, 2010, priced at $1,510 each.

The coins are on a slower pace than last year's 2009 Proof Gold Buffalo offering, which sold 19,468 coins in the first three days of sales from October 29 to November 1, 2009. The offering eventually sold a total of 49,388 coins through the end of sales on March 29, 2010.

A slower start was expected for this year's offering for a number of reasons. First, the coins are priced $150 higher than the initial price of last year's offering. This may have caused some collectors to scale back or attempt to wait for a lower price.

Second, the 2009 Proof Gold Buffalo coins haven't matched the stellar performance of the 2008-W Gold Buffalo coins. Oftentimes, strong secondary market performance for a US Mint product will lead to more robust sales of the following issue from collectors hoping for a repeat.

Third, there was not the sense of urgency and pent up that was present last year. Sales of the 2009 Proof Gold Buffalo began following nearly a year of unavailability for collector versions of the coin and uncertainty about whether the coins would be offered at all. The total number of coins available was also unknown, which may have accelerated the early pace of sales. This year, the coins are offered after just a few months of unavailability for collectible Gold Buffaloes and collectors may be more confident that the offering will be available for some time. Of course, this might not actually be the case if "unprecedented demand" for gold bullion rears it's head.

It seems likely that the 2010 Proof Gold Buffalo will end up with a mintage below last year's level, but how much lower will be the question. The table below shows the final mintages for each of the Proof Gold Buffalo coins.

Proof Gold Buffalo Mintages

	1 oz	1/2 oz	1/4 oz	1/10 oz
2006	246,267
2007	58,998
2008	18,863	12,169	13,125	18,884
2009	49,388*

*Last reported sales

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