Anyone reading recent issues of Coin World probably knows that a recurring theme in news coverage lately is the increasing importance of the enrollments option for obtaining United States Mint products.

Although we are just four months into 2022, multiple Mint products are selling out before they go on sale. That may seem oxymoronic and illogical, but it is accurate. Customer enrollments are exhausting inventories of coins, sets and medals before the official sales launch for the products.

Enrolling early ensures that you will probably get your coin or set when it goes on sale. If you wait until the sales launch, however, there is a strong chance that you will not be successful in purchasing that most desired coin or set.

For Mint customers with direct access to the Mint website, enrollment is easy. Simply go to the product page in the Mint catalog and click the enrollment button. Do it early to increase your chances of being successful.

However, if you lack access to the internet, or if you wait for a sales launch to order a product, be aware that you may not be successful.

Sellouts before sales launches are a new experience at the U.S. Mint. It may take time to understand why this is happening, but I suspect that lower mintage or product limits are at play for many product sellouts. As the year progresses and more products become available (or not), comparisons of numbers sold for 2022 products to those for comparable products from 2021 and earlier will likely show lower totals for this year.

The Mint has reported experiencing supply chain problems, most notably in obtaining the silver planchets for the formerly planned 2022 Morgan and Peace dollars. It will be some months before we know how impactful those supply chain problems will become this year.

It would be easy to point fingers at Mint officials for the sellouts, and in some cases blame may be warranted. However, circumstances beyond anyone’s control are at play. The global shortages of numerous products are real and widespread, and it may be years before things are back to “normal.”

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