Monthly Archives: May 2009
Gold Unchanged, Silver Jumps, and Stocks Fall
US Mint Ends Puerto Rico Quarter Sales in Bags and Rolls
US Mint sales of Puerto Rico quarters in bags and rolls ended Tuesday with the release of the Guam quarters.
Impressive tallies from the latest US Mint sales report show that 37,295 of the 100-coin bags, 2,000 of the 1,000-coin bags and 41,699 of the two-roll sets were sold.
Puerto Rico quarter sales surged when news spread of their relative scarcity compared to other modern quarters. Registering lows that have not been seen in over 40 years, the 2009-P has a mintage of just 53.2 million and the 2009-D has a mintage of 86 million.
The Mint's quarter-dollar products were launched on March 30. In a week's time, the 1,000-coin bags sold out. Then the 100-coin (P) bag sold out late last week with 20,000 purchased by collectors.
World’s Fair of Money to Feature Smithsonian Exhibit
Lincoln Penny Rail Splitter Sales "Normalizing"
2009 Lincoln Penny Rail Splitter coins sizzled at launch, with more than 20 million cents sold in the first four days. On a sister site dedicated to the Lincoln bicentennial coins, we humorously (but aptly) named an article on the subject: "Lincoln Rail Splitter Penny Sales Steaming Like a Locomotive."
The most recent US Mint sales figures show a punctured engine with escaping steam. Well, at least from a self comparative standpoint. While 200,055 of the two-roll Lincoln sets had been sold up through Sunday, May 17, the US Mint now reports a total of 222,826 sets have been sold up to Monday, May 25.
Gold, Silver Decline as Stocks Rally
Puerto Rico First Day Coin Cover Launched
Numismatic News: China Counterfeiting, Walking Liberty Values, Nicaraguan Currency
US Mint 2009 Proof Set
The US Mint on Monday launched the 2009 Proof Set. The annual set is priced higher this year at $29.95, but it also includes specially minted pennies and four more coins.
The 2009 proof set is highlighted with redesigned Lincoln cents that celebrate the bicentennial birth of Abraham Lincoln. And unlike the circulating penny versions, each is composed of alloy matching the original 1909 Lincoln cent -- 95% copper, 3% zinc and 2% tin.
The pennies alone are likely to make the 2009 sets more popular than past years, and that is saying much. The annual sets are always a favorite with collectors -- each proof coin strike features the San Francisco "S" mint mark. More than 1.4 million of the 2008 proof sets were sold. Over 1.7 million of the 2007 proof sets were purchased.