It?s official. It?s a sellout. The American Eagle 20th Anniversary Silver Coin Set sold out Nov. 13, but that hasn?t yet been officially confirmed. It is the date on which a telephone sales person said they had been instructed that the sets had sold out and the provisional orders, which are taken in case others get cancelled, ceased being taken.

Were you a buyer? Certainly this set has caused a stir as many of the new issues this year have done. Buyers were motivated by a third-party grading service phenomenon. Buy the maximum 10 sets, which is called a block, send them unopened to a third-party grading service and see if you can get some or all of the sets certified at -70. Then you can sell them for a huge profit.

Because of the order limit of 10, dealers have been purchasing unopened blocks for $2,700. That?s not a bad figure, considering that the buyer paid $1,000. If delivery is fast enough, the original buyer might not even have paid his charge-card bill yet. There aren?t too many ?no money down? investments.

The loose-capsule shipping problem with San Francisco $5 gold commems has caused the numbers to dip slightly. The proof is down 578, the unc., 338.