2012-S business strike quarters sub 1.4M mintage lowest since 1932?

Akbeez · April 2, 2013 11:48AM

After running the numbers today, it appears that all 5 2012-S ATB business strike (non-proof) quarters each have the lowest mintage since 1932. Albeit, the 2012's were not struck for general circulation.

2012S = 1.4M
1932D = 436k

There were several years of silver proof quarters were lower. 1995-S Silver Proof was at 679k.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this seems significant. I suspect 2013 will see much higher mintages. This was also discussed on a similar thread comparing these to the 1996W dime at 1.4M.

EDITED: To correct miscalculation of 2012 mintages.

MsMorrisine · April 2, 2013 11:52AM

shocked.

although most of these will survive as MS.

I wonder how they grade......

TwoSides2aCoin · April 2, 2013 12:17PM

Thank you for this BIT of information. It reminded me of bitcoins from an earlier thread. A million collectors will not wait to say , "oops missed another one ".
Are there a million collectors ? This is an excellent topic for discussion. I'm sure I will need a couple rolls, in short order.

MsMorrisine · April 2, 2013 12:24PM

<< Thank you for this BIT of information. It reminded me of bitcoins from an earlier thread. A million collectors will not wait to say , "oops missed another one ".
Are there a million collectors ? This is an excellent topic for discussion. I'm sure I will need a couple rolls, in short order.

>>

The 2012 S bags and rolls are sold out at the mint. I foolishly did not see this coming and only have 1 roll of each.

razzle · April 2, 2013 12:31PM

Anyone heard if a spot is being made for them in folders?

cc99999 · April 2, 2013 4:23PM

If 750,000 of them get spent, it might be significant.

Overdate · April 2, 2013 5:04PM

The mintage for each design is actually about 1.4 million (on a par with the 1996-W dime), except for El Yunque which is about 1.7 million.

Example: 2012-S Acadia.

7,254 100-coin bags = 725,400.
17,093 40-coin rolls = 683,720.

Total mintage = 1,409,120.

What makes this series a winner is that most of the rolls will not be broken up for singles, as they cost more per coin than the bags. Many people are collecting ATB quarters by the roll - there were actually many more 2012-PD rolls sold than 2012-S. Many collectors are not even aware that the circulation-strike "S" quarters exist - I was at a local show recently and none of the dealers had any for sale. I think awareness and demand for these coins will grow over the next few years.

I expect that collector and speculator demand for rolls and bags will reduce the available number of 2012-S singles to less than 600,000 of each design, maybe a little more for El Yunque. With each design having barely over half the mintage of the 1950-D nickel, I consider any of these quarters to be a bargain at under $1 each.

2manycoins2fewfunds · April 2, 2013 10:56PM

Unfortunately the number of collectors of these coins is well below 1 million.

In last 20 and in particular last 5-10 years we have seen a real drop off in people collecting modern, non bullion based coinage.

Looking at things like Kennedy mintages, presidential dollars, proof and mint set sales, etc. I believe there are less than 1-3 million collectors left.

Consider that many of those quarters, halves and dollars reside in rolls and bags ready to be broken open if demand ever increases.

GopherNationals · April 3, 2013 1:50AM

It looks like the 40 coin roll option of White Mountain 'S" are nearing a sellout.

HalfStrike · April 3, 2013 3:09AM

If that white mountain s roll sells out this early that would be surprising.

Overdate · April 3, 2013 6:35AM

There's still plenty of time for the Mint to strike more 2013-S quarters (White Mountain and others). The 2012-S quarters had low mintages because they did not sell out until early 2013, when it was too late to strike additional 2012-dated coins.

bigole · April 3, 2013 6:41AM

Plus, the 2013 S quarters are not only offered in the bag and the single roll, but as part of the three roll set as well. Hard to imagine them being as low as 2012 at the end of the day.

Akbeez · April 3, 2013 1:54PM

Thanks Overdate for correcting my math. I missed a zero on the 100 coin bags.

Thread title edited. Even so, it's still the lowest mintage since 1932 unless I'm missing something.

Akbeez · April 3, 2013 2:12PM

IF the White Mtn rolls are nearing sellout, it would be surprising. The last mintage report was at 7119 rolls sold as of this week. That compares to 17,000 for the 2012's. Total 2013-S sales are at 1.1M at this time.

I agree with a prev post that more could be struck, but this typically is not the case as the dies/supplies are changed to the next runs of the series. Why go backward? It could be that these were struck months ago with similar mintages in mind. If the case, then these will start selling out shortly.

Overdate · April 3, 2013 3:49PM

<< Unfortunately the number of collectors of these coins is well below 1 million.

In last 20 and in particular last 5-10 years we have seen a real drop off in people collecting modern, non bullion based coinage.

Looking at things like Kennedy mintages, presidential dollars, proof and mint set sales, etc. I believe there are less than 1-3 million collectors left.

Consider that many of those quarters, halves and dollars reside in rolls and bags ready to be broken open if demand ever increases. >>

My outlook for the 2012-S quarters is more optimistic, for the following reasons:

1. Many collectors don't know about them yet. Demand will increase when they do.

2. The value of the 1996-W dime, with a similar 1.45 million mintage, is holding steady at about $13 per coin. The 2012-S ATB quarters are selling at less than $1 per coin. That's a huge disparity, especially considering that it's very likely that more people are collecting ATB quarters than Roosevelt dimes.

3. Many people are collecting ATB quarters by the roll (or bag). Each roll collected takes 40 coins off the market. Each bag collected takes 100 coins off the market. A mere 15,000 roll collectors plus 2,000 bag collectors would be all it would take to remove more than half the mintage of each design from the market. And that doesn't even count speculators hoarding multiple rolls or bags.

4. Now that the "S" quarters are being continued for 2013 and beyond, with additional ordering options, the 2012-S quarters are likely to retain the lowest mintages for the entire series, and thus become the "keys". Few people were paying much attention to these coins when they were first released, but the low mintages for 2012 have raised their visibility. The 2013-S White Mountain quarter is already approaching the mintage of the earlier "S" quarters, and at the current rate of sales it will probably surpass them before long.

Edited to add: 2013-S White Mountain quarter rolls sold to date total 13,645. Single rolls total 7,119 and three-roll PDS sets total 6,526.

Akbeez · April 3, 2013 4:14PM

Thanks OD - this will be a very interesting series to watch if the Mint doesn't resort to greed and over produce. I have made inquiries about holder/folder availability with these and have not yet heard back.

Manorcourtman · April 4, 2013 8:53PM

I think the 2012-S sellouts were due to speculators buying large quantities. There are a lot of people with large amounts of these coins. Until these hoards are dispersed I don't think you will see any large price increases. Someone tried selling 10 rolls of Denali S's on eBay recently and got only a couple dollars above Mint price. There is a demand but a very weak one currently.

Overdate · April 5, 2013 1:00AM

<< I think the 2012-S sellouts were due to speculators buying large quantities. There are a lot of people with large amounts of these coins. Until these hoards are dispersed I don't think you will see any large price increases. Someone tried selling 10 rolls of Denali S's on eBay recently and got only a couple dollars above Mint price. There is a demand but a very weak one currently. >>

Many speculators sitting on hoards of coins with half the mintage of the 1950-D nickel, purchased at less than double face value, are likely not anxious to disperse their hoards at today's weak prices. I suspect that much of the current activity is being generated by short-term traders rather than medium-term and long-term investors and speculators.

johnny9434 · April 5, 2013 2:24AM

<< Anyone heard if a spot is being made for them in folders? >>

i wonder how many will accually do that and go out and get a book.

Kaline6 · April 5, 2013 3:33AM

<< 

<< Anyone heard if a spot is being made for them in folders? >>

i wonder how many will accually do that and go out and get a book. >>

Me for one--I keep checking the Dansco listings on the supply companies' sites but nothing yet. Would love to see them come out with their long-promised line of Canadian albums as well, and an updated 7070, and...

coolest · April 5, 2013 5:04AM

And what I've seen regarding the value of 1932-D quarters is that if it is not a nice uncirculated example it has very little value and probably will not keep up with inflation. So what does that tell you about the 2012-S quarter?

Overdate · April 5, 2013 6:20AM

<< And what I've seen regarding the value of 1932-D quarters is that if it is not a nice uncirculated example it has very little value and probably will not keep up with inflation. So what does that tell you about the 2012-S quarter? >>

Really?

Also this.

Also, many more people are collecting sets of America the Beautiful quarters than are collecting sets of silver Washington quarters.

Akbeez · April 5, 2013 11:48AM

Agreed. The lowest quality 32-D sold for $13 that I could find on eBay. It was so worn you could hardly read the date.

I agree that most of these will remain in MS quality and will never reach the scarcity levels of the MS 32 quarters, but nevertheless the low mintage should be recognized.

razzle · April 5, 2013 12:33PM

Folder spot or not, it is possible to put together a high grade set of these 5 atb s quarters relatively inexpensively. And, if this issue doesn't rise to the leve of "key", I don't know what would. To me, it is easily the most exciting happenstance in the quarter denomination and perhaps since the advent of clad coinage.

Akbeez · April 12, 2013 1:40PM

Will the mint restrike the White Mtn S coins? They've been on backorder for a while now and from a business perspective, it seems the Mint has transitioned to the next (Perry's Victory) series for efficiency sake. Time will tell.

Overdate · April 12, 2013 2:37PM

<< Will the mint restrike the White Mtn S coins? They've been on backorder for a while now and from a business perspective, it seems the Mint has transitioned to the next (Perry's Victory) series for efficiency sake. Time will tell. >>

Only the individual roll is on backorder, both the 100-coin bag and the three-roll PDS set are still available.

Akbeez · April 12, 2013 3:05PM

YES, they are, but the question is the Mint striking more considering the workload of switching presses and dies when they are mandated to move forward with the next in the series.

Have additional strikes in these been confirmed in any of the quarter series?

HalfStrike · April 12, 2013 3:46PM

Nobody probably knows except for the mint employees, but chances are they will strike more.

Overdate · April 12, 2013 4:23PM

<< Have additional strikes in these been confirmed in any of the quarter series? >>

Not sure, but El Yunque was the first "S" quarter of 2012 and it did have a significantly higher mintage than each of the other four (1.7 million vs. 1.4 million), so it may have received additional strikings prior to the end of the year.

In another series, there is one recent example of additional strikings to meet increased demand. The coin was the 2010-W uncirculated Buchanan's Liberty $10 gold in the First Spouse series.

2012-S business strike quarters sub 1.4M mintage lowest since 1932?

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