American Samoa quarters are the fourth of six coins to be issued in the 2009 District of Columbia and U.S. Territories Quarters Program, and they are notably the most scarce quarter-dollar in years.
Despite that, they are not the most sought after by collectors. They rank #3 in 2009 sales after Guam and Puerto Rico quarters.
If the United States Mint follows its own precedent, it will stop selling rolls and bags of the American Samoa quarters on Monday morning with the launch of the next commemorative in the series (the US Virgin Islands quarter). Is now the time to buy? Reviewing 2009 quarter mintages and recent sales figures may help answer that question. Read the rest of this entry »
The US Mint began selling American Samoa Quarter Official First Day Coin Covers Wednesday, Sept. 8, at noon ET for $14.95, plus $4.95 for standard shipping and handling.
The limited 20,000 edition cover includes two American Samoa quarters struck on the first day the coins were minted. One quarter-dollar is from the Mint’s Denver facility while the other was produced in Philadelphia.
The reverse or tails side of the quarter, sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Charles L. Vickers, depicts an ava bowl (”tanoa”), whisk and staff in the foreground with a coconut tree on the American Samoa shore in the background. The ava ceremony is considered the most significant traditional event in the Samoan culture and is used to make the special ceremonial drink for island chiefs and guests, according to the Mint. Read the rest of this entry »
Coin collectors aggressively purchased bags and rolls of American Samoa Quarters during the initial launch week, but totals are slightly lower than the inaugural several day sales of the prior Guam quarter-dollars.
That could change. The US Mint just posted new coin production figures on Monday. American Samoa quarter mintages are actually lower than those of Guam. In fact, they are lowest of any single quarter design in generations, which should make them more desirable to collectors who eye relative scarcity levels.
Coming back to the sales numbers, two-roll sets are shining with 17,539 sold. Philadelphia 100-coin bags are selling slightly better than their Denver counterpart while the opposite is true for the 1000-coin bags. Read the rest of this entry »
2009 American Samoa Quarters enjoy the distinction of having the lowest mintages of any quarter for many, many years, new US Mint production figures released Monday reveal. Coin collectors will revel in the news, making the territories’ quarter products ever more desirable.
2009 Quarter Mintage Figures
| 2009 Quarters |
Denver
|
Philadelphia
|
Total
|
| District of Columbia |
88,800,000 |
83,600,000 |
172,400,000 |
| Puerto Rico |
86,000,000 |
53,000,000 |
139,200,000 |
| Guam |
42,600,000 |
45,000,000 |
87,600,000 |
| American Samoa |
39,600,000 |
42,600,000 |
82,200,000 |
| U.S. Virgin Islands |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Northern Mariana Islands |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
2009 Total Quarter Production: 481,400,000
|
Surprisingly, the figures are not as low as perhaps expected. They nearly mirror the extremely low Guam levels. 82,200,000 American Samoa quarters were produced, with 42.6 million of those struck in Philadelphia and 39.6 million at Denver.
That accounts for nearly 94 percent of the Guam production. But for the starkest contrast, it represents just 47.7 percent of the mintage totals for the District of Columbia quarter. And comparing the total against any single state quarter is laughable. Read the rest of this entry »
American Samoa Quarters in bags and rolls went on sale Monday at noon ET and may be ordered directly from the United States Mint online store.
The two-roll set offering includes 40 commemorative quarters minted in Philadelphia with the "P" mint mark and 40 coins from Denver with the "D" mint mark. The price is $32.95. Also available are 100-coin and 1,000-coin bags from each Mint facility for $32.95 and $309.95, respectively.
2009 quarter production has plunged during the recession as the public has been feeding loose change back into the banking system, instead of the other way around. As a result, finding 2009 coins in circulation is quite challenging and has made US Mint rolls and coin bags all the more popular. For a perspective of demand for the last issued Guam quarters, the most recent US Mint sales figures show 24,848 of the 100-coin bags, 2,874 of the 1000-coin bags and 37,106 of the two-roll sets were sold. Read the rest of this entry »
The United States Mint on Tuesday, May 19, will issue the 2009 District of Columbia and U.S. Territories Quarters Program Map for $12.95, plus shipping and handling.
Designed as a teaching aid to identify the locations for each commemorative coin, the program map also includes coin holders for each of the six 2009 quarters.
The map, according to the US Mint, features "colorful photos of scenes from the District of Columbia and the five U.S. territories on the cover and facts about each location on the back panel."
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The United States Mint will offer the 2009 DC & US Territories Quarters Silver Proof Mint Set at noon ET on Monday, March 23. The six-coin set has a price tag of $29.95, plus shipping and handling.
Traditional annual coin sets are always very popular with collectors, but unlike the standard 2009 Quarters Proof Set, which launched on Jan. 5 and is priced at $14.95, the six quarter-dollars in the silver set are struck in 90 percent silver.
The set includes the honoring coin reverse designs:
- District of Columbia (DC) - Duke Ellington
- Puerto Rico - Isla del Encanto (Island of Enchantment)
- Guam - Guahan I Tanó ManChamorro (Guam, Land of the Chamorro)
- American Samoa -Samoa Muamua Le Atua (Samoa, God is First)
- U.S. Virgin Islands - United in Pride and Hope
- Northern Mariana Islands - Latte stone on an island with a Carolinian canoe
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The United States Mint will begin selling 2009 District of Columbia and U.S. Territories Quarters Proof Sets for $14.95 each on Monday, January 5, at noon (ET).
The set includes the six proof 2009 quarters with reverse designs honoring the District of Columbia (D.C.), the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Demand for this annual set is typically strong. According to the latest sales figures, the US Mint sold 672,004 of the 2008-dated version. Current eBay auctions have prices listed that are nearly double that of what the Mint charged. Read the rest of this entry »
Three American Samoa commemorative quarter finalist designs have been prepared by the United States Mint and will now receive their final reviews in Washington DC from the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) and, today, by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC).
With the conclusion of the successful 50 State Quarters® Program in 2008, the quarter design “baton” has changed hands from the states and moved to honor the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories with their six new quarters in 2009.
After seeing the three design renderings, American Samoa Governor Togiola Tulafono commented,
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The American Samoa people submitted 55 design ideas for their new U.S. commemorative quarter, according to Lt. Gov. Ipulasi Sunia of the American Samoa government.
With the conclusion of the successful 50 State Quarters® Program in 2008, the quarter design "baton" has changed hands from the states and moved to the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories for their six new quarters in 2009.
The quarter design narratives already given to the United States Mint by Guam and the District of Columbia were publicly more specific than American Samoa’s, but the end result will be the same. The narratives are used as templates of sorts for the creation of artistic quarter renderings by the U.S. Mint, which are then used to narrow down and select the final quarter design for minting.
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