US Coins

2017 Congratulations set is officially sold out

The 2017 Congratulations set is now officially considered “sold out” by the United States Mint.

Original images courtesy of U.S. Mint.

The status of the 2017 Congratulation set was officially changed to “sold out” at the U.S. Mint’s website April 27.

A sales figure of 74,906 was listed in the United States Mint’s sales report for the week ending April 23, from the 75,000-set maximum. The sales figure published the previous week was 74,497, meaning 503 coins were then considered unsold or un­delivered, compared to the 94 sets in the latest report.

The set went on sale at noon Eastern Time April 4 and became unavailable after two minutes, suggesting that the Mint had received sufficient orders to sell out the edition. Typically, though, the initial sales total does not exactly equal the maximum mintage or edition size, as happened with this set. Invariably, some credit cards are declined, or purchasers return or cancel their purchases, though cancellations or returns are less likely for a popular product that is im­mediately selling for substantial premiums on the secondary market.


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A day after the sale, a statement from the U.S. Mint’s Office of Corporate Communications addressed the pos­sibility of additional sales of the 2017 Congratulations set: “Sales attrition from cancellations, returns and credit card declinations could result in a very limited quantity being made available for sale.”

The conversion of the product’s status to “sold out” would, how­ever, make any new sales offering unlikely.

The appeal of the set is the Proof 2017-S American Eagle silver dollar it contains. Past sets (the first was issued in 2013) contained the standard Proof American Eagle silver coin for the year and sales tended to be fairly low.

The Proof 2017-S American Eagle silver dollar will be offered in another product later in the year, the 2017 Limited Edition Silver Proof set. However, since the price of that set will likely be several times that for the Congratulations set, it may be priced outside the budget of some collectors, with the result being a gap in many collectors’ sets of American Eagle silver dollars.

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The Congratulations set is available on the secondary market, though not at its original issue price. Several sellers with apparently sizeable inventories have been offering the sets on the secondary market at premiums well above the issue price of $54.95. The Mint imposed no household limits on set purchases, which made it possible for commercial sellers to acquire large numbers of the sets in the short sales period. Some collectors voiced displeasure with the Mint’s marketing decision that they see as favoring dealers over collectors. 


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