American Palladium Eagle Study Ready for Congress

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Will investors and collectors be able to purchase American Palladium Eagle coins? That question moves one step closer to getting answered next week.

Weinman's Winged Liberty and 1907 American Institute of Architects medal designs
If American Palladium Eagle coins turns into reality, the obverse will feature a high-relief of Weinman’s Winged Liberty design as it appeared on obverses of Mercury dimes from 1916 to 1945 and the reverse will bear a high-relief of Weinman’s design as seen on the reverse of the 1907 American Institute of Architects medal

Congress authorized Palladium Eagles with the passage of the American Eagle Palladium Bullion Coin Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-303). However, before the U.S. Mint can produce the .9995 pure palladium coins, it had to undertake a market study to determine their feasibility.

The purpose of the study according to the authorizing legislation was to insure "adequate demand for palladium bullion coins produced by the United States Mint to ensure that such coins could be minted and issued at no net cost to taxpayers."

Congress, by law, must also see the results of the study. To that end, the U.S. Mint contracted with CPM Group to complete it. U.S. Mint officials received the results of the research last year. Since then, those results have undergone review and analysis. A final report is apparently now complete:

"The study is due to be delivered to Congress next week," stated U.S. Mint spokesman Michael White.

That report will go to the Senate Banking Committee and House Committee on Financial Services.

Assuming the study indicates sufficient demand and producing Palladium Eagles results in no net cost to taxpayers, bullion versions would appear within a year. A maximum 12-month period from delivery of the report to Congress to the release of the coins was another stipulation of the authorizing legislation.

If American Palladium Eagle coins become reality, the obverse of each will showcase Adolph A. Weinman’s “Winged Liberty” design. It originally appeared on the circulating 1916-1945 Mercury dime. Reverses would depict Weinman’s 1907 American Institute of Architects medal design.

The authorizing legislation only requires American Palladium Eagle bullion coins. However, the Secretary of the Treasury also has the authority to produce collector Palladium Eagles.

Of note, if the U.S. Mint strikes American Palladium Eagle proof or uncirculated coins for collectors, the authorizing legislation requests that the surface treatment of each year’s issues differ in some material way from that of the preceding year.

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Shawn

I like the idea, but couldn’t they come up with a better design than the old mercury dime? It has been done to death by every bullion provider in the country.
An expensive coin that looks like my roll of bullion silver?
The obverse looks great. Where is the originality? Are we just a recycled idea culture?
The Austrian mint comes up with brilliant designs EVERY year in plain metal coins. The designers are out there, has America lost the ability to innovate?

jim

IT’S ABOUT TIME!!! Boy these people are sloooow.

Shawn – the obverse/reverse designs are dictated by the law, blame Congress. Obviously they don’t trust the mint designers to come up with anything as good as was done in the early 1900’s. I think you meant to say the reverse looks great if you’re complaining about the Liberty obverse. And if you like the reverse design so much, it’s older than the obverse.

Shawn

Thought I was pretty clear about not liking the mercury design, sorry about the reverse/obverse confusion. Blame Congress? Did congress provide the designs? Congress approved what they were shown. They approved the idea.

jim

The designs are specified in the bill. Congress voted the bill into law. They could have removed or changed the specifications but didn’t. They didn’t just approve the idea they approved the designs as well.

CW

Most of the 1/10 bullion silver ‘Mercs’ look like garbage.

Shawn

Jim, change them to what? You think they should be banging out the latest designs? They are shown a design and then the cost features associated with it. Have you ever run a business? Understand the concept of delegation?
This is rubber stamp legislation, like state birds or flags.
The mint has a committee that studies, seeks designs and then makes recommendations, you want to absolve them of responsibility? Sounds like you may have been on the committee.

Ed

Merc head is lame.

RonnieBGood

The Gold buffalo has had great success as a copy of the old buffalo nickel, in both Gold and Silver.

A larger version of the Mercury Dime Obverse with a “Walker” style Reverse will do Very Well in any Medium.

Mike

Looking for variation, there are coins for sale from mints all around the world, plain, gaudy, colored, odd shapes, very limited mintage, you name it. Just looking forward to a Palladium coin.

jim

Shawn – read the bill. It was proposed by Rep. Denny Rehberg [R-MT]. Ask him why he specified the designs for the coin rather than having the mint do so. By change I meant rather than specify the design change that part to say the mint should come up with an appropriate American Eagle design. By remove I meant they could have removed the specification altogether and by default let the mint come up with an appropriate American Eagle design. Too bad you missed the boat when the bill was proposed in 2010. You might have made a difference if… Read more »

thePhelps

I actually like the idea of using the classic designs. I especially like the Eagle on this design. Now I have to start digging the copper Lincolns out and count em up to see if I have any chance of buying 1 of these.

Shawn

Jim,
I have read the bill and you are totally correct. My apologies. I guess the representative wanted a coin that would support the Montana state palladium mines and put together a complete package.
It is still an ugly design lacking any imagination in my opinion. Winged liberty is a ridiculous concept in present day Amerika. It is a minority opinion as supposedly, many people love it. I can always vote with my dollars.

jim

Shawn – I don’t doubt that that was his intent. And yes, you can always not buy the coin; however I would suggest you at least buy the first one since the starter coin is always more popular than others and more in demand. Then unless metals prices change dramatically you could cash in when the 10th anniversary coin(s) come out.

CW

‘Winged liberty is a ridiculous concept in present day Amerika.’ I agree. Who needs the Constitution too? It was written by a bunch of dead guys. No wonder this country is screwed. Attitudes like this seem to be becoming mainstream.

Richard

I think the design limitations were a good choice, given the designs the mint comes up with otherwise. Until we start breeding sculptors of the talent of St. Gaudens or Weinman again (which with figurative art making a come-back after 50 years in the trenches, I’m hopeful this may happen), and until the mint stops hiring photographers for engravers, let’s stick with using these real art pieces. Else we get another platinum liberty: an exhorbitantly costly kitch design, obverse resembling a tourist trinket and a reverse that can’t even fill out the field. And again, what’s with them designing directly… Read more »

Richard

Since collecting is not simply a rational action – a need – but a rationalization brought on by our desires, feelings, and opinions – our wants – I just wanted to offer a glimpse into mine… those forming the opinion of a young collector. And I’d love to know if any one feels the same way, because I strongly feel it’s these thoughts that really drive the collector’s markets. PLATINUM
I’ve never been remotely interested in our platinum coins for two reasons:
1) I love the statue of liberty, but on a coin she looks like a cliche – like a tourist… Read more »

Richard

On a related note: To all you collectors out there with more experience and wisdom than I: If you want your collections to hold or grow in value, we’ll need to get the Mint to draw in more young collectors with exotic, new, and exciting coins – even with an old hobby such as this. And I don’t mean all the overabundance of boring that the Mint is issuing since the 50 state quarters program. It was fun until the 50th State when we all realized our collections halved in value at the end and insult was added to the… Read more »

Richard

This is really a shame. We need more quality of quantity. The mint should stop issuing so many variations on pocket change and issue something meaningful and new like a palladium coin.

Jeff Beedham

I hope they stamp the word Palladium on there with the purity like other Government minted Precious Metal coins. This could become a serious problem during resell as Palladium looks very similar to Silver and Platinum.

jim

Why do you think they wouldn’t? Even if they didn’t the designs are unique between the three different metals so that should be sufficient, especially for those who can’t read. I give the mint till 2016 to come out with a palladium coin and if they don’t by then they never will.