At a recent large coin show I noticed almost none of the 5oz ATB quarters. What do you think will happen, will they continue to be minted through the end of the series? Both the collector and bullion version? I have seen a few of the collectors versions but almost none of the bullion versions since the first year of issue. Is the real problem that the premium over spot silver is too much for the bullion version? Just wondering if anyone had any insight into the present availabilty and future of these things. Lack
They're pretty readily available: http://www.apmex.com/Category/110/America_the_BeautifulSilver_BullionCoin_Program.aspx
I have no idea what the mint is going to do with this series. I have only ever seen two in person and I bought the Yellowstone for spot + $1.25.
It's an interesting piece of silver. I have many of them. I look for them at shows and talk to dealers about them. I don't see them very often at shows. Some coin dealers won't even sell them. You can get into a real debate about what they actually are with some people. A lot of times the argument tends to boil down to "good" or "bad" ("I like 'em" or "I don't like 'em"). Many dealers don't even know the full story on them. I talked to one guy who swore there was no such thing as the bullion version of these. Those are the one's you get from the likes of www.fidelitrade.com or even www.apmex.com . The US Mint has set limits on the sale of them. See this link for the numbers. http://www.numismaticnews.net/article/mint-stats-calendar-says-buy-or-wave-good-bye 35,000 for the collector series (the uncirculated P). You can see by the article that they are not selling out. But they will stop selling some of them come December 31 (see the link below), even though the limit has not been reached.. http://catalog.usmint.gov/webapp/wc...storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&identifier=7600 edit: many will respond with "the collector series is also bullion" - I didn't mean to imply that there was a bullion version and a non-bullion version. 5oz silver is pretty bullion - for many the collector series will carry a premium over spot - but it is really essentially a big 5oz chunk of silver. (I love them)
Many were disillusioned by the way the Mint handled the 2010 bullion issues and their delay on the release of the collector issues, lofty prices, quarter denomination, etc. However, the limited mintages and cool look of the large silver ATB has potential for future appreciation. The fact that people are avoiding them NOW may be a good thing. TC
