Looks Like These 2013 Mint Sets Aren't Going To Sell Out

I don't think sales were impacted by poor quality. I have the Fine Silver Poof Set and the Silver Dollar Specimen Set and think both were executed exceptionally well. I don't own the others, so I will leave it to others to comment.

Though the RCM web site says "83% Sold" for the Uncirculated Set I believe the number is actually quite a bit higher at this point â€" the RCM is not great about keeping these percentages as up to date as collectors would hope. Last year's Uncirculated Set essentially sold out with reported sales of 74,841. I bet this year's set will come close to its maximum limit as well.

Regarding the Silver Dollar Specimen Set, I think it was a case of "one too many." The selling feature of the set was the commemorative silver dollar as the other coins were already available in less expensive Specimen Sets. The problem was that it was the fourth different version of the same design issued by the RCM for the Canadian Arctic Expedition dollar. I think a large number of collectors felt that $100 was too much to pay to get yet another version of the silver dollar and gravitated toward the other (cheaper) Specimen Sets to get the specimen-finish coins they wanted. As a long-time commemorative silver dollar collector, I purchased the Silver Dollar Specimen Set to keep my collection complete and current.

With just a few hundred sets left, the Fine Silver Proof Set has sold about 98% of its stated maximum (again the web site numbers are out of date). I'm guessing it will continue to add to its sales total over the next few days (before it is taken off sale) and possibly become an RCM sell-out.

As far as the two $49.95 Specimen Sets go, I think the "Special Edition" set with come fairly close to being a sell-out by the time sales close later this week. The "Regular Edition" probably won't come as close.

So, I don't think these traditional sets have "had their day" just yet. Overall, their sales matched expectations set by the RCM when it was planning their release. Some sales were definitely lost due to the large number of coins released by the RCM in 2013, but I don't believe the impact on these sets was huge.