The United States Mint officially confirmed today that the one-ounce 2009 American Platinum Eagle Proof Coin will be available for purchase at noon Eastern Time (ET) December 3, 2009 — the same date it had tentatively provided back in October. As part of the announcement, the US Mint released an image of the new theme for the reverse, which will change annually on platinum coins until 2014.

Platinum Eagles have not been available from the Mint all year and, as it announced in October, no bullion versions will be struck until at least 2010. This makes the one-ounce proof eagle the only coin available to collectors and investors who desire a 2009-dated platinum American coin. (The Mint discontinued all Platinum Uncirculated Eagles and the fractional Platinum Eagle Proofs in 2008.)

The reverse of this year’s coin will feature the first design of a six year series commemorating the core concepts of American Democracy by showcasing six principles of the Preamble of the United States Constitution. Read the rest of this entry »

America the Beautiful Quarters kick off in 2010. During the next 11 years and at a rate of 5 per year, the reverse or tails side of each quarter will feature a design emblematic of a national park or site in each state, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories.

[Read about the US Mint's announcement of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program.]

Nearly twenty art renderings were completed some months back as part of the process to select a final quarter-dollar design per location for next year.

Referred to as "candidate designs," these have also been submitted to the United States Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) for review.

All of the 2010 candidates are below, with the favorites of both groups highlighted along with their comments. Read the rest of this entry »

With gold prices pounding on new highs, many of the US Mint’s gold coins enjoyed stronger sales last week, although $20 UHRs dropped back and proof Buffalo coins continue to slow.

The newly released Lincoln Presidency cent two-roll sets are visible in this week’s report. The initial numbers are solid. Braille Silver Dollars, which will go off sale in less than a month, also picked up nicely. These and more highlights follow:

• 2009 Buffalo Gold Proof Coin sales continue to soften as compared to their first few days following their Oct. 19 launch. Another 4,316 were added, which is down nearly half from last week’s reported increase of 8,487. On the other hand, the bullion one-ounce versions climbed 13,500 versus the prior 11,000.

• American Silver Eagles topped 25 million this week. Their latest seven-day sales rose by 750,000, which is down from the prior 850,000. American Gold Eagles are moving faster. 41,500 were sold in the last seven days compared to the previous 30,000.

• UHR $20 Double Eagles snapped a two-week winning streak. Numbers came in at 1,098 and lagged behind the last gain of 1,453. The year-to-date tally is at 104,862.

• Louis Braille Silver Dollars improved across the board. A combined 208,272 have now been sold for all offerings. The Mint will take the Braille products off sale on Dec. 11 at 5:00 PM ET.

Read the rest of this entry »

The fourth and final redesigned 2009 Lincoln cent launched in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Nov. 12. By the following Sunday and according to the latest US Mint sales report, 153,427 of the two-roll sets were scooped up by collectors. Crunching the numbers and moving the decimal point, that is 15.3 million pennies.

During the same initial days following the launch of the previous two pennies, 15.2 million of the third Professional Life cents sold, and 20 million of the second Rail Splitter pennies sold.

In contrast, it took almost two weeks for collectors to purchase 9.6 million of the first 2009 Lincoln Birthplace cents — although these set the demand tone for the next three cents when the Mint unexpectedly stopped selling them. The following table provides the latest sales data for the Lincoln penny rolls. Read the rest of this entry »

The US Mint today pulled away the drapes and revealed the new 2010 Lincoln Cent reverse design. The 2010 penny is a continuation of sorts of the themed 2009 designs, which reflect four distinct phases of Lincoln’s life: his birth in Kentucky, his formative years in Indiana, his professional life in Illinois, and his presidency in Washington, D.C. 

The 2010 cent theme is "emblematic of President Lincoln’s preservation of the United States of America as a single and united country," and was outlined in authorizing Public Law 109-145.

While this year’s cents were issued to celebrate the bicentennial birth of Abraham Lincoln and are minted for 2009 only, next year’s penny design has no specific end date. It could be seen by generations yet to come. Congress would have to marshal through new legislation for ANY change to occur. Read the rest of this entry »

At the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial located below the west front of the U.S. Capitol Building, the US Mint today launched the last 2009 Lincoln Cent. Known as the ‘Presidency Life in Washington, DC‘ penny, the release brings to a close a year of four redesigned coins which have excited the public and awakened new interests with collectors.

"The fourth and final 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial One-Cent Coin design evokes the historical challenges of Abraham Lincoln’s presidency," said United States Mint Director Ed Moy.  "The image of an incomplete U.S. Capitol symbolizes the unfinished business of a Nation torn apart by slavery and the Civil War."

Donald R. Kennon, Chief Historian of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, and Eileen R. Mackevich, Executive Director of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, joined in the ceremonial launch. 

Similar to the prior cent launches in Springfield, Illinois, Lincoln City, Indiana and Hodgenville, Kentucky, shiny pennies bearing the new design were handed out free to eagerly awaiting children. Read the rest of this entry »

Gold coins are again the major talking points coming out of the latest US Mint sales data. Buffalo gold proof numbers are less spectacular than those from last week’s report. But they are far from shabby and a retreat from the earlier blazing sales was to be expected.

Standing out also were Ultra High Reliefs, bullion Eagles, Braille dollars and the Mint’s traditional annual sets. All improved over the prior week. Our bullet point analysis follows:

• In less than two weeks, collector 2009 Buffalo Gold Proof Coins surpassed the 2008 sales figures of 25,896. Another 8,487 were added, raising the total to 27,955. In the same family, the sister bullion versions are now at 132,000 for an increase of 15,500 in the last seven days. They are 40,000 shy of topping the same sized 2008-dated sales.

• American Silver Eagles climbed 850,00 during the same seven-day period, which was 151K better than the last. American Gold Eagles spurred ahead 30,000 — more than double the prior figure. November is historically one of the better months of the year for bullion coins.

Read the rest of this entry »

In ironic fashion, a single penny will push US Mint collector gold coin prices higher.

The UHR Gold Double Eagle will increase by $50 to $1,489, the newly released 2009 Gold Buffalo Proof Coins will jump $50 to $1,410 and First Spouse Gold Coins will rise $25 to $729 for the proofs and to $716 for the uncirculated options.

The US Mint uses a London Fix weekly gold average to determine whether to keep gold coin prices the same, or adjust them up or down. An upward adjustment seemed unlikely as the several day average as of Tuesday was well below the $1100 threshold that would trigger them. However, the Wednesday AM London Fix came in higher by over a dozen dollars to $1114.75 an ounce, which was exactly enough to tip the balance. Read the rest of this entry »

The US Mint began selling U.S. Virgin Islands Quarter First Day Coin Covers today at noon ET for $14.95.

The 20,000 limited edition cover includes two of the quarters struck from the first day they were minted — Aug. 3, 2009. One quarter-dollar is from the Mint’s Denver facility while the other was produced in Philadelphia.

An attractive display card housing the two quarters includes a 44-cent Flag stamp and a postmark of SEP 28, 2009, CHARLOTTE AMALIE, ST. THOMAS, VI, marking when the quarters were first released to the public.

An outline of the three major islands (St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John) of the US Virgin Islands is featured on the reverse of the quarter. Also shown is the offical bird of the territory the yellow breast, sometimes called the banana quit, as well as the yellow cedar or yellow elder, the official flower. A Tyre Palm Tree appears along with the inscriptions, U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS and United in Pride and Hope, the official motto of the territory. It was sculpted by Joseph Menna. Read the rest of this entry »

The US Mint on Tuesday released circulating production figures from January through to October. Both the Denver and Philadelphia Mint facilities were busier during the month compared to September figures, but that was mostly due to the preparation for the final 2009 Lincoln cent release on Nov. 12.

US Mint Circulating October Coin Production

Other than the new pennies, only quarters, Presidential $1 coins, and Kennedy Half Dollars were minted. No huge revelations were revealed in terms of final mintages for any of the types of coins.

The first three Lincoln penny mintages were made public back in October. Based on those and the latest figures, 266,000,000 of the 2009 Lincoln Presidency pennies have been struck as of last month. Read the rest of this entry »