Gold buyer frenzy, but no sellout

When the 2018-W uncirculated one-ounce gold American Eagle coin went on sale July 12, it went on backorder within a minute or two.

Collectors might be forgiven for thinking the offering sold out.

But it did not sell out.

The Mint reports as of July 15 that only 4,149 of a possible mintage of 10,000 were sold.

However, that has not prevented aggressive marketing and even more aggressive pricing of SP-70 examples for more than double the $1,590 issue price on the secondary market.

On July 18, the Mint even reduced issue price by $50, taking it down to $1,540.

Does that sound like a sellout?

Last year’s 2017-W uncirculated gold American Eagle saw a final sales number of 5,800.

What does backorder mean if not a sellout?

It means the Mint did not strike the full 10,000 mintage ahead of time. It can’t, therefore, make delivery within a few days of new orders.

This is not surprising, since the Mint does not want to be stuck with unsold, high-priced inventory.

This article was originally printed in Numismatic News. >> Subscribe today.

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