Few enhanced uncirculated sets left

I was wrong.

In my Aug. 9 blog, I wrote that I expected the sales number for the 225th Anniversary Enhanced Uncirculated Coin Set to decline over the coming week.

It didn’t.

It went up.

But the set is still not sold out.

As of Aug. 13, according to the U.S. Mint, 223,310 of the sets had been sold.

That is an increase of 5,796 from the week before.

Maximum mintage is 225,000.

That leaves 1,690 to go.

As of this morning, the U.S. Mint is still offering the set for sale on its website.

If you do want one from the Mint, you had better act.

It is conceivable that this set will not sell out, but I would not be willing to bet on it.

Putting my foot in my mouth with a bad forecast once per topic is as far as I am willing to go.

There have been times when Mint offers see declining sales numbers, but they usually are related to coins made of precious metals just after a sudden decline in the prices of those metals.

The enhanced set is comprised entirely of coins made of base metals.

Price swings in copper, nickel and zinc have a much more limited impact on the value of base metal sets.

Now rather than belabor the point of the set selling out on Aug. 1, going back on sale Aug. 3 and remaining available through Aug. 16, let’s leave this date summary as the last word.

The coin collector discussion should now turn to where this “S” set fits in.

It is not a set of proof coins as other “S” sets are.

It is enhanced uncirculated.

The Mint describes these coins as having an “enhanced uncirculated finish using a combination of laser frosted areas and an unpolished field that accentuates design details, creating a unique contrast distinctly different from the mirror–like finish of proof coins.”

Do collectors as a group like it?

Is it something we would like to see more of?

Perhaps it should become a permanent fixture going forward.

Enhanced uncirculated sets could be issued every year if there is collector demand for it.

There is no impediment to this other than collector desires and the willingness of the Mint to fulfill them.

Buzz blogger Dave Harper won the Numismatic Literary Guild Award for Best Blog for the third time in 2017 . He is editor of the weekly newspaper "Numismatic News."

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