These past few weeks have seen much excitement about the Lincoln Coin and Chronicles set. The set was released by the U.S. Mint on Oct. 15 at a price of $55.95 and sold out quickly.

Those who have followed the Mint's recent offerings – including the first day of the 2009 Ultra High Relief gold $20 double eagle release – assumed that the ordering process would be slow and tedious, but that their patience would be rewarded with quick, easy profits.

While the Mint first reported to Coin World that the ordering limit would be five per household, officials quickly changed their minds and moved to a limit of just one set per household.

The result may have been good for speculators because such a strict limit prevents wholesalers and retailers from purchasing the substantial quantities necessary to launch a promotion.

The result is that dealers who want to assemble quantities are left with two choices.

First, they can ask their employees to each purchase one, and to ask their friends to do the same. Or, second, they can purchase them directly from collectors on the secondary market.

At the time of ordering, several major dealers were offering around $100 for pre-orders and paying immediately for later delivery. A pre-order is when a collector gets a confirmation from the Mint that an order went through, but the buyer does not have the item in-hand.

On Oct. 21, one dealer was offering $150 per set for up to 50 sets (the dealer successfully filled that order).

On eBay, more than 20 sets sold Oct. 21 for between $150 and $175 each. On Oct. 22, the lowest “Buy it Now” price for the set on eBay was $169.

For a collector who purchased a set for $55.95, and paid $4.95 for shipping, a nice $100 profit could be in store. Not quite the $400 that the first purchasers of the Ultra High Relief double eagle made, but this quick profit came without the $1,189 cost of the UHR.

Will these premiums hold up? Each of the coins in the set – one Proof 2009-P Lincoln silver dollar and four Proof 2009-S Lincoln cents – is available in other packaging options, but the set is handsome and well-distributed. Time will tell.