2011 US Mint Product Prices

The US Mint has provided updated pricing details for their 2011 numismatic product portfolio. The good news is that prices for the most popular annual sets remain unchanged. The bad news is that prices for almost all other products have been increased.

Increasing prices for products containing silver is understandable, but the price increases for products containing base metal coins are less easily justified.

Here is a list of products and their new prices for 2011:

Product	2010 Price	2011 Price	Change
2011 Proof Set	31.95	31.95	-
2011 ATB Quarters Proof Set	14.95	14.95	-
2011 Presidential Dollars Proof Set	15.95	19.95	+4.00
2011 Uncirculated Mint Set	31.95	31.95	-
Annual $1 Coin Uncirculated Set	N/A	49.95	N/A
ATB Uncirculated Coin Set	21.95	21.95	-
ATB Quarters Circulating Coin Set	9.95	9.95	-
2011 Presidential Dollars Uncirculated Set	18.95	19.95	+1.00
2011 Silver Proof Set	56.95	67.95	+11.00
2011 ATB Quarters Silver Proof Set	32.95	39.95	+7.00
ATB Three Coin Set	13.95	14.95	+1.00
America the Beautiful Quarter 100-coin Bags	35.95	49.95	+14.00
America the Beautiful Quarter 2 Roll Set	32.95	39.95	+7.00
2011 Kennedy Half Dollar 200 Coin Bags	130.95	134.95	+4.00
2011 Kennedy Half Dollar 2 Roll Set	32.95	34.95	+2.00
2011 Native American Dollar Rolls	35.95	39.95	+4.00
2011 Presidential Dollar Rolls	35.95	39.95	+4.00
2011 Presidential $1 Coin Covers	15.95	19.95	+4.00
2011 Presidential $1 Coin & First Spouse Medal Sets	11.95	14.95	+3.00
First Spouse Bronze Medals	5.50	7.95	+2.45
2011 First Spouse Bronze Medal Set	15.95	19.95	+4.00
1-1/2 inch Bronze Medals	5.50	7.95	+2.45
3 inch Bronze Medals	42.00	44.95	+2.95

Just last year, the US Mint also increased prices across nearly every category. (See previous posts here, here, and here.) Taking into account the increases during the two years, the prices of some products are now up more than 100%.

Many basic products which enjoyed a small but dedicated following have morphed into numismatic luxury items. Sales trends seem to indicate that many collectors are starting to opt out of these products. Another round of price increases will only hasten the process.

At a time when the US Mint halted a bullion program due to excessive premiums charged by primary distributors, increasing their own product prices by large percentages with little justification comes across as brazen and inappropriate.

A few of the increases which stand out in my mind:

The price of the 100-coin bags of America the Beautiful Quarters has increased by 39% to $49.95 per bag. This product consists of $25 worth of circulating quality quarters in a canvas bag. As recently as 2009, similar products had been priced at $32.95. With these coins difficult to acquire from banks or circulation, the US Mint's bags and rolls were one of the primary dependable sources of acquiring the coins.

The price of First Spouse and other 1-1/2 inch bronze medals will increase by 44.5% to $7.95 per medal. In 2009, these medals were priced at only $3.50.

The America the Beautiful Quarter Three Coin Sets are increased by $1.00 to $14.95 per set. Each set consists of two uncirculated quarters and one proof quarter. These coins can all be acquired through the separately issued America the Beautiful Uncirculated and Proof Sets, or the full annual sets. If a collector purchased all five three coin sets, the cost would be $74.75 before shipping and handling. This compares to a cost of $36.90 for purchasing the ATB Uncircualted and Proof Sets.

The Presidential Dollar Coin Covers will have prices jump by $4.00 to $19.95 per cover. Each cover includes two dollar coins and a 44 cent postage stamp. At least in this case, the product offers some unique qualities in that the coins are sourced from the first day of production and the covers are canceled on the circulation release date.

The Presidential $1 Coin and First Spouse Medal Sets have increased by $3.00 to $14.95 each. Each set includes one dollar coin and a 1-1/2 inch bronze medal. When this product line was introduced in 2007, the sets were priced at $7.95.