Lincoln Chronicles Set - Sold Out

In the previous issue of the eCollector we informed you of the Lincoln Chronicles sets which had a production limit of 50,000 sets. We also mentioned that the sets were expected to sell out really quickly, and in fact they did.

The sets initially went on sale on October 15, 2009 for $54.95 each plus $4.95 for shipping and handling. On that same day, individuals with confirmed orders who wished to sell their sets for a profit managed to sell their sets for about $150 and even up to $300 on eBay.

The following day, the Mint finally announced that it had sold out the allocated 50,000 sets but was still taking orders on a waiting list in case some orders were canceled. By the second day, sets were selling in the $150 to $200 range. The sets were anticipated to sell out within the same day. However, since many customers had to wait for hours to get their orders in because of the increased traffic to the Mint's web site, a lot of collectors appeared to give up as it was just not worth their time to wait to order a $55 set.

The Lincoln Chronicles Set contained a proof Lincoln Commemorative dollar and the four different Lincoln cent proofs from 2009. All of these coins were initially offered by the U.S. Mint earlier in the year and within several weeks, the Lincoln Commemorative dollar with a production limit of 450,000 for both the proof and uncirculated versions also sold out within a couple of weeks.

There are no differences in the coins released earlier in the year from the coins which were sold in the Lincoln Chronicles Set. The only difference is in the packaging of the coins since the Chronicles Set comes in a nice display case which contains a reproduction photograph of Abraham Lincoln, a reproduction of Lincoln's handwriting of the Gettysburg address, and with a certificate of authenticity.

Therefore, the premiums being paid for the sets are mainly due to the presentation case and the reproduction documents contained in the sets. We hope that some of our readers who liked the sets managed to secure a set for themselves.