Sales of the 2012 American Silver Eagle Proof Set ended earlier this week on Thursday, July 5, 2012 at 5:00 PM Eastern Time. The proof set containing two proof quality American Silver Eagle coins struck at the San Francisco Mint had opened for ordering beginning on June 7, 2012, or four weeks ago.
During that time, coin collectors snapped up a total of 251,302, according to a counter placed on the set’s product page located on the United States Mint’s website. That counter had been updated weekdays to give the public an idea of how many had been sold.
The two-coin proof set contains one San Francisco struck 2012-S Proof American Silver Eagle and one San Francisco struck 2012-S Reverse Proof American Silver Eagle. Standard proof coins showcase polished devices and a mirror-like background. The reverse proof coin has mirrored devices and a polished background.
A complete listing of the total sales for the proof set is shown and the calculated change from the previously released totals is shown below. The actual daily amounts are from figures published by the U.S. Mint.
| Total Sales | Change from Previous Update | |
| June 8 | 85,341 | |
| June 11 | 115,059 | 29,718 |
| June 12 | 121,304 | 6,245 |
| June 13 | 125,371 | 4,067 |
| June 14 | 128,540 | 3,169 |
| June 15 | 131,512 | 2,972 |
| June 18 | 135,468 | 3,956 |
| June 19 | 136,678 | 1,210 |
| June 20 | 138,863 | 2,185 |
| June 21 | 141,892 | 3,029 |
| June 22 | 145,173 | 3,281 |
| June 25 | 152,047 | 6,874 |
| June 26 | 156,569 | 4,522 |
| June 27 | 162,581 | 6,012 |
| June 28 | 166,836 | 4,255 |
| June 29 | 175,588 | 8,752 |
| July 2 | 201,059 | 25,471 |
| July 3 | 217,351 | 16,292 |
| July 4 | 245,131 | 27,780 |
| July 5 | 250,738 | 5,607 |
| July 6 | 251,302 | 564 |
As the chart shows, buyers only ordered 564 of the two-coin sets on July 6th, the last day of availability. In comparison, the first day in which the sets were released saw orders totaling 85,341.
The 251,302 recorded sold is not an official mintage for the set. Final mintage will be determined later by the U.S. Mint after all orders have been finalized. It may lower after cancelled and returned orders are accounted for or it may increase slightly as last minute mail orders are added to the total.
Prior to release, a mintage was not established for the proof set. Instead, the U.S. Mint opted to accept orders for the product for four weeks. This is in stark contrast to a similar previous release, the 25th Anniversary Silver Eagle Set, issued last year.
That set saw an initial mintage of just 100,000. Within a few hours, buyers ordered the entire amount during an ordering frenzy that resulted in a crashed U.S. Mint website and an over-whelmed U.S. Mint telephone ordering system. This quick sell-out led many collectors to question U.S. Mint policies.
By utilizing a four-week ordering window for this newest release, it is thought the U.S. Mint wanted to insure a fair opportunity for all to obtain the product. As the final days approached, buyers were keeping a keen eye on the total sales.
At around 250,000, the final mintage is comparable to the 20th Anniversary Silver Eagle Set issued in 2006. It had a final mintage of 248,875.
Those who placed orders for the 2012 American Silver Eagle Proof Set will have to wait for their product to arrive. The U.S. Mint indicates orders will begin shipping on or around July 27, 2012 and will continue through mid-October.