Two offers; same week

This article was originally printed in Numismatic News.
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The U.S. Mint set $279.95 as the price for the numismatic uncirculated version of the 2010 Hot Springs National Park 5- ounce silver coin.

It is being sold by the U.S. Mint directly to collectors, with an order limit of one per household beginning April 28.

And, it decided that on April 25 it would release to Authorized Purchasers the first two 2011 5-ounce America the Beautiful bullion coins honoring Gettysburg National Military Park and Glacier National Park. But this time, the Mint will not set conditions on the price or quantity of coins sold by the AP’s.

The Mint notes the price of the collector coin is subject to change as the market price of silver fluctuates.

At the time the Mint set the price of $279.95, silver was hovering around $40 an ounce, closing at $40.58 on April 12 after hitting a 31-year high of $40.60 on April 8.

The numismatic coins are .999 fine silver, the same as the bullion version of the coin. They will have the P mintmark and a finish applied through a vapor blasting technique, according to the Mint. It is the same finish used on the Mint’s 3-inch bronze medals. It is applied after the coin is struck, not to the die.

The Hot Springs numismatic coin has a mintage of 27,000. They could be ordered online as of noon Eastern Daylight Time April 28 at www.usmint.gov, or by calling 1-800-USA-MINT.

The 2010 ATB bullion coins had a mintage of 33,000. The Mint has set an initial mintage of 126,500 for each of the first two 2011 bullion coins.

“The United States Mint may increase the mintage limit beyond the initial release quantities based on market demand and blank availability,” said Michael White, Mint public affairs officer.

Dealers used to buying bullion coins in bulk from Authorized Purchasers balked at the one-set-per-customer limit the Mint put on sales of the 2010 five-coin set.

Marc Watts of Gaithersburg Coins didn’t like the way the Mint handled the 2010 sales, so he’s not too sure how much he wants to get into selling the 2011 5-ounce coins.

“The Mint completely ruined it before,” Watts said. “I’ll do a little something with them, but I wouldn’t sell my wife and kids to get them.”