US Mint price gouging?
WayneCa
Posts: 4 ✭
I found out today that the Uncirculated Coin Set for 2026 is going to be $124.50. Last year's set was $33.25. That's a 274.44% increase over last year. The price for the 2026 American Innovation Reverse Proof set is $60.00. Last year's set was $32.25. That's a 86.05% increase over last year.
Is it supposed to be because this is the semiquincentennial? I don't think that justifies the price increases. What do you think? Is the US Mint gouging us now?
2
Comments
we have no idea
and it is price gouging
Throw a coin enough times, and suppose one day it lands on its edge.
Yes. But they make the money and the rules. Like it or lump it like they used to say. Sad for young people and new collectors.
Yes, the mint has been price gouging for a long time. They are taking advantage of their natural monopoly. They don’t sell anything that is priced within the range of most young collectors.
My solution is buy as little from them as possible. I want to keep up my date run of Proof sets, but I have given up on everything else. There an many older coins, tokens and medals for me to collect.
I am also getting really tied of privy marks. To me they belong, well in the privy.
No clue, that's something to take up with the mint
While we can file complaints with mint and Congresspeople, your choice is very simple. Pay the money and get the set or don't. The EBay prices on just bank wrapped rolls of everything so far has been exceptionally high. I expect that enthusiasm to continue, so yeah prices of the mint and proof sets will be quite high. 2027 mint sales will likely collapse from 2026.
Just say ... NO!
I wouldn't call it gouging.
They have a mission, sometimes it's derailed by Congress. How would you fare with Congress forcing unprofitable earmarking and the spoils of office politics, local special interests etc?
Try balancing that and crafting value perceived merch. It's gotta be tough. I give them credit for some decent collectibles lately.
It's not gouging. Gouging implies you have no choice or other place to go. Closing the wallet is an option.
USAF veteran 1984-2005
The mint is creating tomorrow’s rarities today. Their pricing assures this.
``https://ebay.us/m/KxolR5
What an odd 1st post...
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
Price gouging.
Einstein’s view of God was non-traditional and pantheistic, focusing on the harmony, order, and intelligibility of the cosmos rather than a personal deity. His quotes reveal a profound respect for the universe’s mysteries, a belief in rational laws, and a moral philosophy grounded in compassion and understanding, bridging science and spirituality.
“My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind.”
Albert Einstein (14 March 1879--18 April 1955)
"Price gouging" = "Seller is charging more than I want to pay"
I close my wallet. Others who won't close their wallet get gouged. Works for me.
Einstein’s view of God was non-traditional and pantheistic, focusing on the harmony, order, and intelligibility of the cosmos rather than a personal deity. His quotes reveal a profound respect for the universe’s mysteries, a belief in rational laws, and a moral philosophy grounded in compassion and understanding, bridging science and spirituality.
“My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind.”
Albert Einstein (14 March 1879--18 April 1955)
A leading collector in my hometown ordered 100 proof sets from the mint in 1964. He sold a few of his sets to us young collectors. I don't remember exactly how much I had to pay for my proof set, face value 91 cents, but I thought I had gold when my set was delivered to me. I mean, the President of the United States had been slain and was honored on the half-dollar coin yet those 1964 proof sets were priced no higher to collectors than in the years before.
Einstein’s view of God was non-traditional and pantheistic, focusing on the harmony, order, and intelligibility of the cosmos rather than a personal deity. His quotes reveal a profound respect for the universe’s mysteries, a belief in rational laws, and a moral philosophy grounded in compassion and understanding, bridging science and spirituality.
“My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind.”
Albert Einstein (14 March 1879--18 April 1955)
"yet those 1964 proof sets were priced no higher to the collectors than in the years before."
Four Years Later...
After being discontinued for the past 3 years, proof sets were once again issued. There was no silver in the dime and quarter and reduced silver in the half dollar.
The issue price was over double what it was in 1964.
What was the issue price of the1964 proof set? I've got a 1962 Red Book somewhere but don't want to spend the time to track it down.
Einstein’s view of God was non-traditional and pantheistic, focusing on the harmony, order, and intelligibility of the cosmos rather than a personal deity. His quotes reveal a profound respect for the universe’s mysteries, a belief in rational laws, and a moral philosophy grounded in compassion and understanding, bridging science and spirituality.
“My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind.”
Albert Einstein (14 March 1879--18 April 1955)
$2.10
edited to add... and there were no lack of comments at the time when the issue price was bumped up to $5 in 1968.
How much was a '64 unc 90% quarter worth in 1964?
How about a burger & shake, a gallon of gas, a new car or house? How much did those things cost?
Spare me the Mint complaining already. One might consider thanking the Mint for all those years of cheap unc/proof sets.
a quarter
I'm sorry that you're finding out about this belatedly. The price increases are obscene. There is no justification for a $124.50 price tag on new coins that have so little intrinsic value.
Yours truly has bought Mint Sets for over 50 years in order to keep my modern sets up to date. Not to sound morbid, but I had always thought that my death would stop that long streak, but no, instead the Mint that has ended my streak.
Call it gouging if one collects the mint-packaged sets, or wants the 2026 cent. EBay sellers, at this moment, offer pennyless sets of 2026 (with one quarter) for ≈ $35.00 (w/plastic case)
eBay sellers compete.
Singles
PD nickels $2.89
PD dimes $4.84
PD quarters Mayflower $2.90
Revolution 4.94
PD halves $5.99
This was a cursory search of current auctions/offers, a penny-pincher could do better.
How can EBay be selling 2026 Unc. Mint sets when they haven't been released by the Mint yet? That seems a bit odd to me.
Presales. If you buy one, you’re not getting it until the Mint releases it in June.
Sellers reserve one for the buyer.
The "value" is in the 2026 Lincoln Cent
My speculation is in the 190k max minted 1776~2026 P & D Cent pair. I am still on the hook for a few sets at no cost to me. Still have 7 weeks to decide. Helps to see fleabay presales plus tax plus delivery are popping to about $200. Makes $124.50 out the door & delivered seem ok.
Considering what people have been paying for bank wrapped rolls of nickels, dimes, quarters, and halves so far I don't think that the Mint would even think about cutting prices.
Next year when they sell almost none, they will have to reconsider, unless they include another cent (hope they don't).
I’d much rather the mint price their items appropriately, even if people call it price gouging. The alternative is for flippers to buy them out instantly and make everyone’s life hard. Rather the mint make the money than flippers.
Successful transactions with: wondercoin, Tetromibi, PerryHall, PlatinumDuck, JohnMaben/Pegasus Coin & Jewelry, CoinFlip, coinlieutenant, bigjpst, and joebb21.
When I got back into collecting a few decades ago i bought mint products. I lost my taste for modern offerings soon enough (Except for ASEs which I collected up until the hideous, to me, eagle reverse redesign)
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working" Pablo Picasso
They are determined to kill modern collector coins the way USPS destroyed the stamp market.
I remember when that market tanked 😳☹️
I collected stamps at the urging of an elderly Uncle in the early 1970s. As my 20’s approached, life took me in many directions and stamps fell to the wayside. When did the USPS make moves that destroyed the stamp market? I’ve been away from all of that for so long.
Maybe there’s still time for the Mint to avoid the same mistakes?
Don't know for sure, but self-adhesive stamps probably didn't help.
We shall see
There were a lot of things wrong with the stamp market, but I think blaming USPS is exaggerated. Yes, they increased the number of annual offerings. That could have and might have killed the market for new releases. But how did that destroy the classic stamp market?
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
I'm out. Might take a few decades but the price in the secondary will be much more reasonable. I'm patient.
I like the "benefits charity". Fools.
I'm sure it does. You only get that if a portion is being sent to a charity. If course, it isn't 100%. Lol
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
An explosion of new issues made it cost prohibitive to keep complete sets of stamps, and many gave up collecting them all together.
Just as the new issues became expendable and the goal was no longer a complete set so too were older stamps which were equally common and just as expendable. It’s a domino effect. The last hold outs were the truly rare issues.
The USPS also started selling First Day Covers for new issues. They didn't have cachets, but they were in competition with the few large makers of FDCs that were left. The USPS also started issuing stamps with licensed images on them (cartoon characters, movie characters, etc.) and the private FDC makers couldn't create cachets that actually showed the exact subject on the stamps.
None of this singlehandedly caused the collapse of stamp collecting, but it helped contribute to the downfall as FDCs makers went out of business. Their demise was largely a reflection of what was going on, but it also contributed to it.
Thanks to those of you who gave their thoughts. The mention of stamp collecting made me go dig for that long buried album I had from the 1970s. Looks like I went to 1979 when I gave up and life took me elsewhere.
The “too many issues” makes a lot of sense. Can’t tell you the number of times in recent years when I’ve been standing at the PO and a person in front of me will ask for stamps and the cashier will say “do you want ducks, hearts, flags, trucks, planes, trains, automobiles, the latest person we are honoring, flowers, rocks and on and on”. Who could keep up?
I stopped collecting every new stamp issue in 2001 when the USPS's issues proliferated. I continued for a while with selected types, like air mail and Duck stamps. A few years ago, USPS started requiring buying a block of 4 stamps just to get the expensive Priority Mail stamps and I stopped collecting them too.
No the seller is charging high prices because of their monopoly position. Yes, close your wallet is the best solution supported by the availability of the older, more attractive items which are available. > @mbr33 said:
The stamp business has been in trouble for a long time. “Too much stuff” was a big part of it. The mint is headed down the same path. The big difference for the mint is that their products are often made on silver and gold, not worthless paper. The stuff from the mint will have a melt value.
If you kill off the influx of new collectors to replace the old ones, you are killing off the market for the classics. That’s why the mint’s policy of over pricing everything is so detrimental.
It should be as it was in 1975-6. The coins were put into circulation and every citizen got to see and use them. These roll and bag sales undermine the intention of the legislation which authorized the coins. It’s supposed to be a national celebration, not an orgy of greed for the mint.
The secondary market will respond. Next year the coins in these rolls and bags the lemmings are rushing to buy will be worth face value.
I still like the duck stamps
Our dollar is being devalued, and this is not the only thing that has gone crazy. I bought a bottle of water from a vending machine for $3.00 last week...I still remember when it cost .25¢ for a can of soda. Our groceries are getting more expensive and the packages are getting smaller as well...that's a double edged sword. This has been a gradual change over years, but has taken off lately to new heights. Another example, regular sized Oreos which were $3.99 not too long ago are now priced $10.69....and there are less Oreos in the package!
So looking at this mint set, yes it appears more expensive, because it is, but.....it has some very interesting coins in there... New designs, dual dating, a new cent (after it was discontinued), and might be more expensive in the years to come.