The US Mint on Thursday launched the 2009 Letitia Tyler First Spouse Gold Coins. The 24-karat, $10 denominated commemoratives are available in two options — proof for the price of $629 and uncirculated for $616. A bronze medal bearing a likeness of the gold coins is also available for $3.50.

The coins are the tenth in a series and the second issued in 2009 to honor American First Ladies.

Having suffered a stroke two years prior to her husband becoming President in 1841 (due to the death of President William Henry Harrison), Letitia Tyler assumed all but the ceremonial duties of First Lady — at least for a short several months. Letitia suffered another stroke in 1842, and passed away peacefully on September 10 at the age of 51. Read the rest of this entry »

Standing out in the latest batch of US Mint sales figures is an eyebrow raising increase for the 18-coin clad 2009 Proof Set.

After a double-take, the numbers were verified as true. Another 106,987 were purchased during the prior seven days ending on Sunday.

The new total stands at an impressive 684,412 sold in the first 28 days. The increase was the best ever, with the exception of launch week. Why the jump? Look to Mint marketing. Postcards advertising the sets hit collector mailboxes en masse last week, reminding the public to buy. They did.

Demand for the 2009 Lincoln Formative Years cents had softened of late. While nothing to scream home about, sales of the two-roll sets actually climbed a smidgen last week. 8,704 more were purchased, raising the new tally to 276,234. There was a gain of 7,912 during the prior week. Read the rest of this entry »

Demand is lower for bullion coins? Poppycock. US Mint sales figures released Wednesday say otherwise.

Marking the third best month of a record setting pace year, demand in June for American Eagle Gold and Silver Bullion Coins jumped aggressively over May.

Silver eagle sales soared in June, rising 340,500 higher than May figures. 2,245,000 silver bullion eagles were sold. The total is now 13,824,500 for an annualized rate that is easily on track to smash last year’s 20,583,000 record. Read the rest of this entry »

The Louisa Adams First Spouse Gold coins launched in May 2008 to mark the sixth release in a commemorative program to honor American First Ladies.

Thursday morning is the last opportunity for collectors to purchase these coins from the United States Mint, based on past Mint policy and practice. Further, they could be the scarcest in the series to date.

Since the 24-karat, $10 denominated gold series began in 2007, only eight coins depicting First Ladies have been available from the US Mint at any given time. When a new release occurs, the Mint has pulled the eldest, prior year spouse offering from its store. Read the rest of this entry »

Tuesday is the deadline for a US Mint offering dubbed the "Last Opportunity" — a sale that includes nearly twenty products from the Mint’s about to be discontinued 2008-dated coin series.

The last chance sale began more than a month ago with an assortment of State Quarter Greeting Products, First Day Coin Covers, Presidential $1 Coin Covers and Denver or Philadelphia Coin and Die Sets.

The products are being sold at their original price points, but without household limits. A 7-day return policy is in effect for each although the Mint said it will not accept returns unless a product was delivered damaged.

The last chance sale has not caused a collector frenzy by any means. However, several thousand more coin covers have been purchased in recent weeks according to US Mint figures. Read the rest of this entry »

John Tyler $1 Coin Covers will be available on July 2 at 12:00 noon (ET), the US Mint announced Thursday.

These limited edition covers include two Tyler Presidential $1 coins that were minted on the first day of production. One dollar is from the Mint’s Denver facility and was struck on Feb. 17. The other is from Philadelphia and was minted on Feb. 23.

The presidential covers have a price tag of $14.95, plus $4.95 for standard shipping and handling. No household order limits are in place, but the covers do have a maximum production set at 40,000.

In addition to the two $1 coins, the display card carries a 44-cent Flag postage stamp with a postmark of May 21, 2009, Charles City, VA, which is when the Tyler $1 coins were released to the public. Read the rest of this entry »

Collector action was mostly lackadaisical when it came to purchasing coins last week, the latest US Mint sales figures reveal. Despite that, a few milestones were achieved as we so often like to point out in our weekly heading.

2009 Proof Sets again retreated from their launch week highs, which is naturally normal. They did reel in a new total of 577,425 sold. At $29.95 for each set, the Mint has grossed more than $17.2 million in 21 days.

2009 Lincoln Rail Splitter pennies also pulled away from their peaks and are now caught in the valleys. But the bicentennial coins continue to amass dizzying numbers. In just over a month’s time, collectors have purchased 267,530 of the two-roll sets. For the curious minded, that’s more than 26.7 million pennies. With collector’s spending 8.95 cents for every one, that’s nearly $2.4 million for the Mint. Read the rest of this entry »

The remaining two redesigned 2009 Lincoln Cents will be available Wednesday through the US Mint Online Subscription Program, the Mint announced in a press statement.

A subscription provides the same $8.95 two-roll set pricing and five-set limit per coin design as that of first two cent offerings. However, subscribing to receive the third Lincoln Professional Life cent and fourth Lincoln Presidency cent can eliminate the initial launch hassles and long wait ordering times — as many collectors experienced first hand with the Lincoln Formative Years penny release on May 14.

A subscription can also guarantees delivery without fears of experiencing a sellout, as happened to many collectors with the first Lincoln Birthplace cent. Read the rest of this entry »

The US Mint during the last two days has been updating the release schedule for 2009 collector products.

The last major update occurred in the beginning of June when the Mint rescheduled the launch of the Letitia Tyler First Spouse Gold Coins to July 1. The latest schedule has shifted the coins and related product releases to the 2nd.

Most of July issues appears to be firmed with the addition of the much anticipated US Mint Silver Proof Set, the American Samoa quarters and the Guam First Day Coin Cover. The John Tyler $1 Cover Cover was also added. Read the rest of this entry »

US Mint sales generally declined last week, but several products ranked surprisingly strong.

In summary: 2009 Proof Sets sales retreated from their launch week highs but action was robust in week two, Braille Silver Dollars recovered from their prior negative showing, Guam quarter demand more than halved, and Lincoln Rail Splitter pennies are set to pass 26 million.

In finishing a second week of availability, 81,947 more of the 18-coin 2009 US Mint Proof Sets were purchased by collectors. The new total is 519,125, which represents a 18.7 percent increase in week-over-week sales.

Uncirculated Braille Silver Dollars climbed into positive territory following their recent reversal. The Mint reports a pick up of 499. In contrast, 1,399 of the proof options were sold. Together, the series has reached 151,599. Read the rest of this entry »