"...With less than 1,000 5-ounce silver 2010 America the Beautiful uncirculated collector coins honoring Hot Springs National Park left for sale, the U.S. Mint announced May 4 that the uncirculated collector version of the 2010 Yellowstone National Park 5-ounce silver coin would go on sale May 17. It is being sold directly by the U.S. Mint at a price of $279.95. That’s the same price it charged for the 2010 Hot Springs uncirculated 5-ounce coin that went on sale April 28. That price could change, however, as the market price of silver fluctuates, said Mint Director of Public Affairs Tom Jurkowsky..."
Yeah, ya got that right! I wonder why the US Mint is really quick to raise their prices to coincide with the fluctuating price of silver but when it's time to lower the price, they're all uh, what?? I'm just sayin'
In the Numismaster article, it's interesting to see that the first day, the mint sold only 20,426 coins and needed more than 5 days to sell out the 27,000 coins. Everyone was so sure they had sold out in a couple of hours. Perhaps, the computer glitches slowed things down. It also shows that you can't go by order numbers. My order number was more than 30,000 higher than some of the early postings. If other e-commerce sites can tell you exactly how many of a given item is still available when you place your order, I don't understand why the US Mint can't do it also.
The BEP computer system already does that. Maybe the mint's new computer system coming next year will have that feature, too.