Waiting and waiting and waiting

I have often used the metaphor that coin collectors waiting for potentially hot new U.S. coin issues are like kids just before Christmas waiting for Santa Claus.

My morning email contained a message from a reader who turns the metaphor to another use.

Here we are at the end of July and we still do not know when the Centennial gold Standing Liberty quarter and the gold Walking Liberty half dollar will be offered for sale. The Centennial gold Mercury dime was sold April 21.

We also do not know when this year’s limited edition silver proof set will become available.

“Hey Dave……. Am I the only one wondering when the Mint is going to stop dragging their feet and at least put Availability Dates out there for these products???” asks the reader.

He sent a screen shot of the Mint web page with the large TBD letters (to be determined).

For emphasis, under it, the reader writes, “Or are they waiting for Christmas !!!!?????”

Obviously, he is anxious for these new products to arrive. I know he is not alone.

Other collectors are as excited by the gold Centennial coins as the writer is. After all, the gold dime sold out in about 45 minutes. It became a speculators' darling. It will probably be the same when the other two gold pieces are released.

Collectors might be less excited about the limited edition set, but who is to say? As we have seen in recent years, one speculative success tends to be followed by another.

Building excitement is useful in marketing. Letting the dynamic tension increase for a while might lead to 30-minute sellouts of these other products. We will see.

I will let the writer know he is not alone.

I would be more worried if pending Mint releases were not the focus of a little impatience.

What we do know is that when the two gold coins come, they will be more expensive than the dime.

If you want them, make sure you have a credit card that is not expiring in the next few months. Being denied an order because of a credit card problem would be like getting a lump of coal in your Christmas stocking.

Then you’ll just have to wait for “Santa” like any other excited kid.

Buzz blogger Dave Harper has twice won the Numismatic Literary Guild Award for Best Blog and is editor of the weekly newspaper "Numismatic News."

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