Monthly Archives: August 2009
Gold, Silver and Metals: Prices and Commentary – Aug 19
15.2 Million Lincoln Professional Life Cents Sold in Four Days
2009 Lincoln Professional Life Cents have jumped out of the gate with exceptional inaugural sales -- higher than the first Log Cabin design, but lower than the second released Rail Splitter pennies.
The Mint launched the new pennies on Thursday, Aug. 13, to another excited, anticipating public crowd (see Illinois Lincoln Cent launch photos). On the same day, two-roll sets -- one roll of 50 coins for the United States Mint at Philadelphia and one roll of 50 coins for the United States Mint at Denver -- went on sale for $8.95.
As of Sunday, the Mint said 152,146 of the Professional Life two-roll sets have sold. With 50 pennies per roll, that's more than 15.2 million pennies purchased by collectors.
2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Sales Top 80K
2009 Ultra High Relief (UHR) Double Eagle Gold coins have topped a new milestone and demand is stronger than ever in the month of August.
New United States Mint sales figures reveal several thousand of the 24-karat gold coins have been sold during the last few days alone. And since the US Mint began offering them on January 22, 2009, a total of 80,700 have been sold.
It is quite an accomplishment and a testament to the popularity of the UHR, given the hefty price tag of nearly $1,300 a piece to acquire one.
The special coin, a digitally reproduced version of Saint-Gaudens' original ultra high relief 1907 Double Eagle gold piece, has been greatly helped by the elimination of the one-coin order limit. On July 27, the UHR limit was raised to ten per household. Since then, weekly sales have more than tripled, as the following table highlights:
Gold Gains with Dollar’s Fall, Silver Declines
Coin News: Doubled 2009 Cents, Chinese Coin Hoard, Brasher Doubloon
Jackson’s Liberty First Spouse Gold Coin Sold Out
The US Mint has added Jackson's Liberty First Spouse Gold Proof Coin to its sold out list, in a move that will shock collectors of the $10, one-half ounce 24-karat gold coin series.
With the exception of sell outs due to mintage limits met, past First Spouse Coins have been available from the US Mint for a year or until replaced by a following year release.
Jackson's Liberty was launched on Aug. 28, 2008. Since 7,806 proofs and 4,493 of the uncirculated options have been sold as of Aug. 16, 2009 -- well short of the combined 40,000 mintage limit -- the common assumption was that the coin would remain for sale until the release of the Sarah Polk First Spouse Coins on Sept. 3.