You're gonna kick yourself in the ass if you don't get the 25th Anniversary SAE set

[TomD]

They went on sale on the US Mint website at 12:00 EST today and won't last the day. If you try to order, better have some patience because their server is SLAMMED and the phone is BUSY. I was about to go nuts but finally made it to get my 5 set limit at $300/each. Sales are to individuals only, no dealers so there are dealers offering your cost + postage + labor + $100 per set if you will sell your sets to them. That's not the best deal though, check out this print screen from completed listings at ebay. The sets are selling for a 50% premium.

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x229/TomD77/temp%20stuff/25th.gif

[ximmy]

I've been sitting online all morning trying to get in... :(

[TomD]

I've been sitting online all morning trying to get in... :(

There's a trick, every time you get kicked out and it says you lost contact with the server, just keep hitting reload, don't start over. The phone is useless.

[ximmy]

There's a trick, every time you get kicked out and it says you lost contact with the server, just keep hitting reload, don't start over. The phone is useless.

;D I know... I just have to get started... ohh it just logged on... hehee

[ximmy]

I gotta get me a 5oz montana too... ;D

[TomD]

If you haven't ordered by now, too late. The Mint sold out in less than 5 hours.

[ximmy]

I got mine... http://images.paraorkut.com/img/emoticons/images/p/pooh_bear_dancing-233.gif

[willie pete]

If you haven't ordered by now, too late. The Mint sold out in less than 5 hours.

...I'm going on the waiting list.....::)

[madfranks]

Whoops! I missed it, :(. In situations like this I normally configure my firefox to blast through and get what I want. Here's how to do it, but make sure you have broadband internet, otherwise you don't have enough speed to make it matter.

1.Type "about:config" into the address bar and hit return. Scroll down and look for the following entries:

network.http.pipelining
network.http.proxy.pipelining
network.http.pipelining.maxrequests

Normally the browser will make one request to a web page at a time. When you enable pipelining it will make several at once, which really speeds up page loading.

2. Alter the entries as follows:

Set "network.http.pipelining" to "true"

Set "network.http.proxy.pipelining" to "true"

Set "network.http.pipelining.maxrequests" to some number like 30. This means it will make 30 requests at once.

3. Lastly right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer. Name it "nglayout.initialpaint.delay" and set its value to "0". This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it recieves.

If you do this, you will be able to make thousands of requests while other people are making one at a time. This is how I also get my sports/concert tickets when I know there's going to be lots of demand.

[TomD]

I got mine... http://images.paraorkut.com/img/emoticons/images/p/pooh_bear_dancing-233.gif

Good for you! I was cussin' but I got some too.

[ximmy]

Review.

Earlier today October 27, 2011 at 12:00 Noon ET, the United States Mint began sales of the hotly anticipated 25th Anniversary Silver Eagle Set. In approximately 4.5 hours, the Mint has apparently received customer orders for the entire maximum production limit....

The five coins are packaged in a highly polished, lacquered hardwood presentation case and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. The 2011-S Uncirculated Silver Eagle and 2011-P Reverse Proof Silver Eagle have not been offered in any other products....

http://news.coinupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/25th-anniversary-set1.jpg

Collectors reported difficulties placing orders by phone and website once sales officially began earlier today at 12:00 Noon ET. These issues continued for the entire duration of the offering. Around 4:30 PM ET, a waiting list notice was posted on the US Mint’s online product page indicating that orders had been received to meet the maximum limit for the product....

This represents the fastest sell out for a US Mint numismatic product in several years. In 2009, the Mint offered the Lincoln Coin & Chronicles Set, which was limited to 50,000 units and carried an ordering limit of one per household. These sets sold out within 30 hours of availability.

The most recent one-day sell outs occurred in 2007 for the initial releases of the First Spouse Gold Coin series. These were limited to 40,000 across proof and uncirculated versions. Collectors were able to order a maximum of five of each version.

http://news.coinupdate.com/us-mint-receives-orders-for-all-anniversary-american-eagle-sets-1023/

[TomD]

Told you, the sets have already sold for near $900 (a triple) each on ebay.

[ximmy]

Opportunity to flip for profit fuels temptation to speculate
By Beth Deisher-Coin World Editor | Nov. 16, 2011 10:01 a.m.
Article first published in 2011-11-28, Opinions section of Coin World
Have the U.S. Mint’s marketing practices turned modern coin collectors into greedy speculators?
In the modern numismatic vernacular, perhaps instead of “turned” we should say “flipped,” because “flipping” 2011 American Eagle 25th Anniversary Silver Coin sets is the sport of the day....

Today, collectors who do not even collect a modern series such American Eagle bullion coins can’t resist the temptation to profit. The rationalization goes like this:
“Why not? It’s perfectly legal. There’s nothing wrong with profit.”

....The frustration of dealing with the Mint’s antiquated, slow online ordering system, it can be well worth the effort. For example, one who successfully ordered the limit of five 25th Anniversary sets had $1,504.70 charged to his credit card. But before his credit card bill was due, he could have “flipped” (sold) the five sets for double or triple his cost, reaping a tidy profit.
Many who never had any intention of keeping even one set will sell their five sets, rationalizing that the easy profit can be used to buy more of the coins they really collect or something else needed or desired.
The “numismatic crime,” so to speak, was one of opportunity, made possible by the comparative ease of e-commerce, which was not available 20 years ago. Although the Mint’s website was slow on the day of the offering, all 100,000 sets were sold in approximately four-and-a-half hours. With confirmation of orders, speculators were already selling into the secondary market. In fact, some had “pre-sold” sets on eBay weeks before the noon Oct. 27 on-sale offering by the Mint.

....Mint officials have so far only apologized for the antiquated website. They have not made any commitment to examining their marketing practices or explained why the mintage was set at a third of what logically should have been considered given the sales history of the series, which they should have had in hand. There has to be more accountability. If senior Mint officials lack the leadership skills and courage to seek solutions, then they should be replaced. The level of speculation they have set in motion, if continued, will eventually destroy the market.

http://www.coinworld.com/articles/opportunity-to-flip-for-profit-fuels-temptati/

[DMac]

I had a lot of work going on that day, I sat for about 40 minutes trying to get through the mint site. Failed. Now I have no coins :/

[TomD]

I had a lot of work going on that day, I sat for about 40 minutes trying to get through the mint site. Failed. Now I have no coins :/

It took me right at 1-1/2 hours of simultaneously redialing and on the web site. Despite hundreds of tries, never made it through on the phone. The secret on the website turned out to be never start the order over, when the system froze or kicked you out, hit page back and resubmit. It took 10-15 tries at each of the roughly 4-5 pages of the checkout process. If you restarted the order process at each freeze or kick out, you were screwed.

Lots of people in your boat. Sorry.

[1970 silver art]

I did not get the 25th Anniversary SAE set and, so far, I am not kicking myself in the ass for not getting it. :) My reason for not buying it was that I was not interested in buying it. I am probably wrong on this but I must be one of the very few collectors that had absolutely no interest in buying a 25th Anniversary SAE set.

[Twisted Titan]

That was a awesome peice of action if you could have gotten yourself in the mixx of it.

I will be sure to see if i can play ball next time