Increasing Prices for German Coin Sets: Is This The End of Proof Coin Collecting?
by Sebastian Wieschowski, translated by Anna Velten
Normally, Münze Deutschland presents itself colorful on the smartphone application “Instagram”, making use of opulent designs of the latest collector coins as well as appealing headlines. On 1 January 2024, the official Instagram channel of the German coin umbrella brand greeted collectors with a particularly taciturn message: merely the word “information” could be read on the title line. Those who took the effort to read the small print beneath the graphic learned the following:
Content
Collectors of German coins will now have to calculate carefully whether they can still afford sets of circulation coins or commemorative coin sets with 2 euro coins. Collage: Canva / Münze Deutschland.
“We must give you some important piece of news today: in 2024, the mintage fees of our mint, which are part of the cost calculation for our collector and commemorative coins, will increase. We are not able to mitigate this cost increase in any other way, which means that we unfortunately find ourselves obliged to raise the issue price for some coins this year. Of course, we will continue to endeavor to always keep costs and issue prices as low as possible. Thank you very much for your understanding.”
Performance on the Secondary Market Considerably Below the Initial Issue Price
Those who have been buying German commemorative coins by subscription from Münze Deutschland for some time and have been comparing the issue prices to offers in the coin market, will have already known before the end of 2023/24 that only shortly after their appearance on the secondary market, the official collector coins of the Federal Republic of Germany, including BU and Proof coin sets are frequently available at prices well below the original selling price. Briefly said: those buying from Münze Deutschland paid more compared to those who bought coin sets from trusted dealers.
Here is just one example: the “2-euro prooflike collector coin set” was offered for 34.95 euros in 2023. The market value of the 2022 issue from Thuringia currently costs between 25 and 35 euros on the market. Similarly, the prooflike coin sets from 2023 were offered for 144.75 euros, whereas sets from 2022 on well-known online platforms are available for around 100 to 120 euros.
Prices for PR Coin Sets to Rise Considerably
The gap between the initial issue price and the market price is expected to increase even further from 2024 onwards: prices for the 2-euro collector coin set in prooflike quality will be raised to 46.95 euros, corresponding to an increase of 34 percent. For the PR coin sets from Germany, an increase to 41.95 euros per mint and 209.75 euros per set is planned from 2024 onwards, equivalent to a price increase of 44 percent. Thus, it is particularly the price of the “proof quality” issues which is to increase disproportionately.
For many collectors of the German coin sets, this will be above their pain tolerance. Over many years, PR coin sets have been comparatively stable in price development. Between 2006 and 2013, they were sold at 22 euros per mint. The price was raised to 24.50 euros in 2014 and most recently to 26.50 in 2021, and then to 28.95 euros in 2023. With a price of 41.95 euros, a PR coin set now costs almost twice as much as it did eleven years ago. Prices for brilliant uncirculated coin sets have also almost doubled – in 2006, they were still sold at 12 euros and by now they have a 21.95-euro price tag. It is a similar situation with 2-euro collector sets. They rose from 29 euros in 2006 to 32.25 euros in 2014 and to 34.95 euros in 2023 – and in future they will cost 46.95 euros.
Diminishing Mintage Figures for Years
Looking at the mintages, it becomes clear why the manufacturing of PR coins is apparently becoming of little interest to mints – issue numbers of German coin sets have continuously diminished for years. While there were approximately half a million coin sets manufactured in proof quality in 2002, this number declined to roughly 68,800 until 2022. The decrease in issued numbers is thus very likely an indicator of changes taking place in the collector market and collector’s preferences – and the price coin enthusiasts have to pay if they want to possess German “proof quality” coin sets from five mints is declining year by year.
