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2017 Congratulations set: market update

Even some
large coin dealers’ orders seem to have been delayed. I noticed, for example,
that APMEX says its sets will be available on April 28, while graded examples
are coming in May.
I ordered a
couple and was fortunate to have them ship the next day.
The Mint has
not announced why, almost a month after the release, many orders have not been
shipped. Given the length of the delay, it seems at least possible, if not
likely, that not all of the 75,000 coins were struck in advance of the release
of the coin.
It is also
puzzling, as others such as Bill Gibbs have suggested, why the Mint did not
impose any household order limits, something which has been done in the past
when a high-demand item was launched.
There is no
way to accurately gauge what percentage of 2017-S coins have yet to hit the
market, but a substantial number will presumably be doing so in the coming
weeks.
How that may
impact the market for both ungraded and graded pieces will be interesting to
observe.
It is also
interesting that, unlike the typical pattern in which items that sell out
quickly at the Mint peak early, these sets started off on eBay after the
2-minute sellout at $120 and now bring $150-160. Whether that increase is a
function of the delayed orders, or of something else, is not clear.
So far,
auction and retail prices for examples graded Proof 70 have held on to their
premiums, which vary by label. With the exception of hand-signed John Mercanti
labels, first day of issue labels, etc., NGC and PCGS-graded coins at this
grade continue to bring in the neighborhood of $250, which is a nice return for
those who are selling them.
Many of the
sales on eBay of these coins are presales, though some companies and other
sellers have coins in hand that are shipping.
We may see
some decline in prices as more coins hit the market, but it is the overall
mintage of the coin that will shape longer-term values, which will be
determined by how many 2017 Limited Edition Proof Sets are made available for
sale.
And as I
discussed in my previous piece, it is likely the 2017-S will remain the second-lowest proof coin of the series
and one of the lowest for the entire series.