Freedom 250 Race Medal on USM site

I ordered a few, thought they would sell more than they did so far. I would imagine that many don't even know about this medal since they just popped it up on the Mint website this week. I believe the demand is there, but the awareness of the product may not be yet.

@mbr33 said:

@U1chicago said:

@mbr33 said:

@DotStore said:

@mbr33 said:

@Survivor50 said:

@mbr33 said:
It may take awhile to sell 15,000 of these. 12,473 ATS after 10 minutes. Was an initial rush but now the numbers not dropping very quickly.

They may not need to sell through 15,000, only as many as pre order through September 4.

Good way to look at it. Wonder what would happen if the Mint used this method in the future for most (or all) of their future products?

It would be interesting if they adopt this "mint-to-order" model. Get a 2-week ordering window, and then print to order.... After I already purchased a few, I'm now hoping they only sell about half (or less) of the available 15K -- that would make them even better (in terms of scarcity). Although they are just medals -- but look at those 2014 FS Medals that went nuts after they were suddenly marked as Unavailable. I think they even still carry a premium due to lower mintage than prior year FS Bronze Medal Sets.

Forgot about those 2014’s. This may end up being interesting after all.

As for the mintage idea, that could be something to experiment with. Collectors would have two weeks to decide if 15,000 (for example) of the 2027 Buffalo Gold Oz was worth spending $5500 on and decide. If only 4,000 of them sold based on collector interest, then you’d have a rather rare coin (mintage-wise). The possibilities are numerous. Some might like the idea….some would hate it.

The Mint did try this “mint to demand” method back in 2012 with the Eagle set. It had mixed results. Everyone who wanted a set was able to get one but the mintage ended up being high so there was no increase on the secondary market (which people didn’t like).

https://coinweek.com/2012-american-silver-eagle-san-francisco-proof-set-a-collectors-guide/

That's what I meant by the two camps of thinking. A pure "collector-only" would like it, as he would be able to get what he wants almost all the time. Secondary folks wouldn't like it because it would be difficult to predict winners and losers until all orders were in. If the Mint stuck to a "we are willing to mint up to THIS number and NOT beyond" it would have some interesting winners and losers, based on your own perspective.

I do see how certain items would disappoint based on that article you shared. Thanks, btw!

A lot of collectors won't like it because they'll see an immediate drop in value below the initial sales price.

Not a fan. I'm not buying.
Once the one day of FOMO is over, you'll be able to buy this cheaper than the selling price from the mint.
But glad to see it's add to bag for everyone else. Great for race fans. Now, maybe if it was "Fast and Furious" with Vin Diesel on the back!

.

@Survivor50 said:
Does anyone know if they sold or promoted these at the race yesterday? Would someone please update on the ATS number, I don't know how to check it. Thanks.

Current ATS = 9,731

Current ATS: 9,682

I'm guessing these were NOT advertised or promoted during the race based on the sales numbers not even moving by 1000 yesterday. I saw no mention on the TV broadcast.

@mbr33 said:

@1776Coins said:
Still available? Gotta hurt the flippers. This isn't an investment, this is a donation to the Mint.

2/3 still available. Won’t hurt the flippers at all. Theyll cancel and move on….dropping the mintage further. Wouldn’t be surprised to see the ATS rise tomorrow at 7:30.

I doubt many flippers were involved. This was obviously not going to be popular.

I imagine Penske Corporation will try to finagle first dibs at buying up the remainders (15,000 minus the quantity sold at midnight of the close of the ordering window). They'd be foolish not to, when the entire mintage has a retail value of just $900,000. Jonathan Gibson, Penske Corporation’s Executive Vice President of Marketing and Business Development, spoke on behalf of Roger Penske at an August 6 meeting of the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee when the proposed designs were made public. Mr. Gibson leads all marketing, brand, and business development initiatives for Penske Corporation. He oversees corporate communications processes and messaging across the entire company and its subsidiaries. This medal is like a nineteenth-century merchant token, but with the benefit of being an official product of the United States Mint with the full imprimatur of the federal government. Where else can you buy that kind of advertising for sixty bucks a pop?

It’s unclear what the 89-year-old Roger Penske was promised or led to believe about this national medal. But a remark from Mr. Gibson to the CCAC is suggestive: “It’s my privilege to be here and speak on behalf of Roger Penske this afternoon as we consider him for this distinguished special ceremonial medal from the United States Mint.” And further: “He is very humbled and very proud to be considered for this humbling opportunity. We are very proud as you consider recognizing someone whose life work reflects the very best of the American spirit. Thank you again for this amazing opportunity.”

An amazing opportunity, indeed.

@JBK said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@mbr33 said:

@1776Coins said:
Still available? Gotta hurt the flippers. This isn't an investment, this is a donation to the Mint.

2/3 still available. Won’t hurt the flippers at all. Theyll cancel and move on….dropping the mintage further. Wouldn’t be surprised to see the ATS rise tomorrow at 7:30.

I doubt many flippers were involved. This was obviously not going to be popular.

I guess I'll have to get one, then.

The Bicentennial had the Tall Ships, and the 250th has the IndyCar race through DC.

Just you wait. 50 or 100 years from now these might potentially be in demand, possibly.

LOL. Have you recently sold the Tall Ship medals? 50 years isn't long enough.

@illini420 said:
I ordered a few, thought they would sell more than they did so far. I would imagine that many don't even know about this medal since they just popped it up on the Mint website this week. I believe the demand is there, but the awareness of the product may not be yet.

I hear what you are saying. And normally would agree. But I believe with the huge interest in Mint products this year, there is no shortage of knowledge by those who collect modern coins. In this case, the market has spoken.

@Dentuck said:
I imagine Penske Corporation will try to finagle first dibs at buying up the remainders (15,000 minus the quantity sold at midnight of the close of the ordering window). They'd be foolish not to, when the entire mintage has a retail value of just $900,000. Jonathan Gibson, Penske Corporation’s Executive Vice President of Marketing and Business Development, spoke on behalf of Roger Penske at an August 6 meeting of the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee when the proposed designs were made public. Mr. Gibson leads all marketing, brand, and business development initiatives for Penske Corporation. He oversees corporate communications processes and messaging across the entire company and its subsidiaries. This medal is like a nineteenth-century merchant token, but with the benefit of being an official product of the United States Mint with the full imprimatur of the federal government. Where else can you buy that kind of advertising for sixty bucks a pop?

It’s unclear what the 89-year-old Roger Penske was promised or led to believe about this national medal. But a remark from Mr. Gibson to the CCAC is suggestive: “It’s my privilege to be here and speak on behalf of Roger Penske this afternoon as we consider him for this distinguished special ceremonial medal from the United States Mint.” And further: “He is very humbled and very proud to be considered for this humbling opportunity. We are very proud as you consider recognizing someone whose life work reflects the very best of the American spirit. Thank you again for this amazing opportunity.”

An amazing opportunity, indeed.

According to the Mint, the medal will be produced to demand. . .there won't be any remainders. I'm guessing if the Penske Corporation wants a large quantity for advertising and promotion purposes, they will be able to strike some sort of deal with the USM. Current ATS = 7,408 with a week to go. Expected in-stock date is 9/28.

ATS = 3,306

So I am trying to purchase one and am stuck in a loop on both my phone and computer. I add to bag and go to check out, and it says there is a problem with my 3 digit CCV ("We're sorry, there was an issue processing your payment. Please check your information or try another form of payment"). I type that back in and retype my CCV and get back to the place order page and get "We couldn't verify that you are human. Please refresh the page and try again."

I just ordered something a couple of hours ago without issue and have several order this year. Anyone else running into this issue on this or other items?

@JBK said:
Maybe clear your cookies and try again. I had password issues on the day of the dollar sale. And a friend still has no order history displayed.

Tried multiple devices, multiple browsers on those devices....I also tried a different wifi network. I am stumped and hoping its not a me problem.

@JBK said:

@jshaulis said:

@JBK said:
Maybe clear your cookies and try again. I had password issues on the day of the dollar sale. And a friend still has no order history displayed.

Tried multiple devices, multiple browsers on those devices....I also tried a different wifi network. I am stumped and hoping its not a me problem.

Your other option is to log out of your account and go in as a guest and check out that way. But if you check out as a guest you'll have to pay the 9.99 shipping even if you've earned free shipping in your account.

It is super weird. I am getting the same issue with paypal as well, but doesn't even make me login to paypal, just says problem with payment just like the credit card. I wish someone else would say they are having issues, but it appears to be just me.

@jshaulis said:

@JBK said:

@jshaulis said:

@JBK said:

@jshaulis said:

@JBK said:
Maybe clear your cookies and try again. I had password issues on the day of the dollar sale. And a friend still has no order history displayed.

Tried multiple devices, multiple browsers on those devices....I also tried a different wifi network. I am stumped and hoping its not a me problem.

Your other option is to log out of your account and go in as a guest and check out that way. But if you check out as a guest you'll have to pay the 9.99 shipping even if you've earned free shipping in your account.

It is super weird. I am getting the same issue with paypal as well, but doesn't even make me login to paypal, just says problem with payment just like the credit card. I wish someone else would say they are having issues, but it appears to be just me.

It sounds like an issue with your mint account. If you're getting the same errors as a guest then it's presumably something else.

I ordered one successfully a little over three hours ago.

I ordered a different mint product this morning without issue. I was on the fence on this one so I guess this is the universe telling me not today. I didn't try to do it as guest because of the ~$10 shipping. Just tried again, with the same issue. I will just pass but hope it doesn't continue to happen.

I was on the fence and the universe told me to buy it. 😡

I think this universe thing is playing us.

@Some_of_it said:
Anyone catch the ATS before the close?

This morning @cptbilly posted:

ATS = 3,306

These were supposed to be minted to order with a deadline of today at 3pm EST, so I'm not sure what the ATS represents. Is it the "mintage" of 15,000 from the product description, minus what was ordered? Who knows. I guess we'll find out soon, once they mint them.

A total of 8,242 were pre-ordered.