It’s not really news. It was expected. The Jefferson Liberty First Spouse Coins sold out. And fast! Both the 1/2-ounce proof and the 1/2-ounce uncirculated versions were hot items. Like the previous Martha Washington and Abigail Adams Spouse coins, they were gone within hours. 40,000 coins taken in a blink of an eye!
Well, not quite a blink. Many who ordered them would say it seemed like an eternity.
For those who were lucky enough to get in on the rush and buy one of the coins, the ordering experience wasn’t exactly fun. Although, you could say the anticipation was exciting!
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The blazing rush to order the new Thomas Jefferson’s Liberty Spouse Gold coins begin today at 12:00 noon (ET).
The 1/2-ounce proof and the 1/2-ounce uncirculated coins are both made of .9999-fine, 24-karat gold. Even better, only 20,000 coins of each version will be minted!
Will they sell out? Very Likely! This isn’t the first series in the batch. Back in June, both the Martha Washington and Abigail Adams Spouse versions were said to have sold out within 2 hours.
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It’s not exactly unusual to find free offers. They’re everywhere - TV, direct mail, e-mail, and all around the Internet.
Usually it’s clear or least understood that anything "free" comes with some sort of sacrifice. You’re likely to spend your time, money or both BEFORE you get ANYTHING for free.
There are many examples of free offers in the coin dealer and collector market. Some are good giveaways, some are absolutely terrible and, worse, some are very misleading.
The pros of free coin offers
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Curiosity and enthusiasm gets jolted into overdrive when an always changing coin series comes out. You don’t need to look further than the 50 State Quarters® Program. It helped create a booming-hot collector market that’s still going strong. Better, the new quarters soundly made it as "replacements" to older circulating quarters.
The quarters program started in 1999 and ends in 2008. Will the new Presidential $1 Coin series, scheduled to last through 2016 pick up the slack? Will it continue the coin collecting momentum? And, more importantly, will the dollar coin REALLY get used in daily circulation?
Or will the new coin suffer near extinction and virtual boredom like previous $1 coin runs?
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CoinNews.net drives further forward in continuing efforts to improve its services for collectors and those interested in coins. Today, a new online coin store was added. The store is a gateway for choice coin books and magazines hand-picked by CoinNews.net and always open for additions by recommendations from our readers.
By having the store online at CoinNews.net, you won’t have to wade through a ton of different web sites or unrelated products to find great coin books and magazines. The store also includes simple coin folders that are good for children who collect circulating change.
The professionally designed store was added through an association with Amazon.com, relying on its proven experience, top-notch content and its online ordering security. CoinNews.net visitors can browse from a dedicated shopping area by clicking on the ‘Coin Store’ button, located toward the top of the web site. Without leaving CoinNews.net, you can select current store categories of:
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Today the U.S. Mint released their latest offer, the 2007 United States Mint Silver Proof Set™. The brother to this set, the clad (non silver) proof set, was officially released just slightly over month ago.
As of last week, the mint reported slightly over 650,000 units sold of those so far. It’ll be interesting to see how the silver series goes. It’s not much of a barometer but the 2006 clad proof set sold slightly over 2 million sets while the 2006 silver proof set sold, as of last week, a little over 1 million. Or, the 2006 clad had about a 2 to 1 advantage of the 2006 silver sets. That’s interesting, but maybe that’s as far as it goes…
But wait… What is a proof set? An "official definition" from the mint’s sales site:
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A week ago from today, August 15, the United States Mint held a release ceremony for the new Thomas Jefferson Presidential $1 Coins. A video of the event sure would have been nice!
But wouldn’t it be great if you could at least see photos from the ceremony? Well, now you can and right here! Fortunately, someone in the news media was taking photos and looking out for those of us who couldn’t attend.
If you’ve never been to a U.S. Mint event before, these photos give you an idea of some of the ceremony trappings and details. By far, the absolute best photos are those showing the kids having a great time. Of course, all the kids received a free, sparkling Jefferson Presidential $1 coin. You can bet that helped bring smiles to their faces.
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Are the new Jefferson Presidential $1 Coins really released into circulation? Have you seen any? Or was the United States Mint ceremony announcing their release just marketing hoopla and a government cover story?
Well, there’s no question the U.S. Mint’s ceremony the other day had its fair share of marketing, but there’s nothing wrong with that. And I expect it’s not their fault that trying to get freshly minted Jefferson dollars seems as impossible as tracking down a flying saucer around Area 51!
Getting the new $1 coin rolls from a bank in my city wasn’t easy. In fact, I couldn’t! I spent Saturday trying to track down some of the Jefferson $1 coin rolls and, wow, what a pain and what an experience.
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Giving coins for gifts on birthdays, graduations, Christmas and other special events has exploded in recent years. The 50 State Quarters© Program started back in 1999 helped nudge up coin collecting and coin gift giving. The new Presidential $1 Coins program started this year will likely continue the momentum.
Many coin dealers and their websites showcase "Gift Idea" products. With all the choices out there, what makes a good coin gift? When should you start? Can coin gifts start someone down the path to coin collecting? How much should you spend? Let’s tackle these questions and more!
Giving Complete Coin Collections as Gifts
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And freshly United States minted silver no less! Imagine walking alongside railroad tracks looking for firewood and instead sighting an interesting rectangular box. It’s green, sealed with two plastic bands and marked with symbols, saying "Treasury - United States Mint". Hmm…
You cut the two bands, open the box and 25 green plastic tubes stare you in the face. Finally, with heart beating, you open one of the tubes and find… 20 American Silver Eagles! Oh yea!
That’s pretty much what happened to Russell and Rennie Herron, as described by The Paris News in Texas. The Herrons are an honest family and turned the coins over to authorities. Their honestly paid off. Yesterday they were awarded the lot since no legal claims existed.
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