Because the United States Mint lost $1. 3 million on the 2017 American Palladium Eagle Bullion Coin Program, it did not issue another bullion coin in 2018 and instead released the first collector version—the 2018-W Proof Palladium Eagle (Buy on eBay)—a coin that had been widely and eagerly anticipated by collectors for years.
On September 6, 2018, the Mint offered the Proof coin for $1,387.50 per coin with a household order limit of one coin and a mintage limit of 15,000 coins. By this time, the 2017 bullion coin was selling for around $600 over spot a year after its release, or at least $1600 with the spot price of palladium at this time at about $1,000.
The Proof coins sold out in no more than 7 minutes at the Mint, when they became “temporarily unavailable”. The Mint said the following morning that first day sales were 14,782 coins. Given the over $400 premium of the coins over the spot price of palladium, that meant the Mint would do much better with these coins.
The retail market for the Proof coins was immediately very strong with sales of ungraded coins bringing $1,800 or more the day of the sell-out. Soon, pre-sales for Proof 70 coins were going for $3,000 and more.
Although a mintage of 15,000 coins is not that low for a modern U.S. precious metal coin, demand for the 2018-W Proof Palladium Eagle has remained quite strong in the years since its release.
In addition, the spot price of palladium has been very strong in recent years, reaching as much as $3,000. At the time of writing, it was about $1,900 per ounce, and the 2018-W Proof has been selling for about $2,700 raw and $3,000 and more in Proof 70.
2018 Palladium Eagle Specifications
- Designer: Adolph A. Weinman
- Composition: 99.95% platinum
- Diameter: 34.06 mm (1.34 inches)
- Weight: 31.120 grams (1.005 oz)
- Edge: reeded
- Mint Mark: West Point
2018 Palladium Eagle Mintage:
- Proof: 14,986
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