Watch starts for potential "W" Eagle rarities

The Mint director has apologized to collectors and they have been given the option of getting full refunds for any American Eagle 20th Anniversary Gold and Silver Set that they might have purchased thinking this was the only way to obtain ?W? mintmarked uncirculated gold and silver one-ounce American Eagles. Some collectors have taken advantage of that, but the sales number this week looks like the set is about to reach is 20,000 maximum.

Sales of the individual uncirculated 2006-W uncirculated Eagles in all sizes poke along except for the one-ounce silver Eagle, which has raced to 61,496 in a couple of weeks. The holidays are coming, so we know there will be more buyers. However, there are many hobbyists hanging back for the moment to see how the sales numbers evolve. There might be some rarities in the making. So far, there have been only 54 half-ounce platinum Eagles sold.

If sales numbers of any of these options are still being counted in the hundreds by the middle of December, there likely will be a last-minute sales pop. Just as a reminder, though, this isn?t like sniping in an eBay auction. In prior years, some sales closed before some would-be buyers could act.