The Coin Collecting Den

The 2009 American Buffalo Gold Proof coin went on sale yesterday, October 29. Based on the average price of gold for the period being $1,050.28, the coins were priced at $1,360 each, with no order limits or announced mintage limit. The current spot price of gold is $1,037.50, which could mean a price drop of $50 is in the future for this coin. No sales figures will be out for at least a few days, but since the Mint’s site didn’t crash the way it did with the launch of the Lincoln Chronicles set, it’s safe to say the demand has been more moderate. This may be due to the previously mentioned possibility of a price drop if the price of gold stays below $1,050 per ounce. It may also be due to the lack of a mintage limit, which could mean enough coins will be produced to fill the market demand and reduce the value of the coin in the secondary market. Time will tell!

The Mint announced today that the 24-karat American Buffalo Proof gold coin will begin sales on Thursday, October 29 at 12:00 pm Eastern Standard time. If gold remains between $1,050 and $1,099.99 per ounce, the coins will be priced at $1,360 each. There is no order limit and no announced mintage limit, apparently the Mint is not suffering any shortage of 24-karat blanks, in contrast to the 22-karat blanks used for the American Eagle coins. Demand seems likely to be high for this coin! This could mean the production figures for this coin will be relatively high, which in turn could limit the secondary market value compared to last year’s more limited mintage.

On a related note, the Mint has already sold 86,000 American Buffalo bullion coins as of today (10-22-09) since they went on sale October 15. That is a very robust figure, particularly in comparison to 2008, when 172,000 coins were sold in the entire year. This is a definite indication of strong demand that seems likely to include the proof coins as well.