Monthly Archives: October 2009

The Walt Disney World Resort in central Florida near Orlando has just announced plans it is participating in a pilot program with the US Mint. Under this program, several merchandise and dining locations will now be giving back US Native American $1 coins instead of dollar bills as change.

"Our participation in the circulation pilot is part of a continued commitment to environmentality," states Thomas Smith (Social Media Director, Disney Parks) in the official blog about the launch of the program. "The coin is an environmentally responsible choice -- it's recyclable and lasts decades longer than paper bills."

Dollar coins are not a new idea in American coinage. The US Mint has been producing one version or another off and on since 1794. Some familiar examples that you may recall are the Seated Liberty Dollars, the Morgan Dollars, the Peace Dollars and the Eisenhower Dollars.

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Twenty years ago in 1989 the Austrian State Mint passed from the Treasury into the ownership of the central bank. The mint was given the freedom to produce and sell products in accordance with the demands of the modern numismatic and investment markets.

One of the very first innovations introduced by the new CEO, Paul Berger, was the production of a gold bullion coin for investment purposes: the Vienna Philharmonic.

On 16th October this year a limited quantity of 6,027 Vienna Philharmonic coins, each weighing 20 ounces of fine gold, will go on sale in Europe, America and Japan.

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Demand for newly issued 2009 Gold Buffalo Bullion Coins is proving to be exceptionally hot. From their release on Thursday through to Monday, 71,500 of the one-ounce, 24 karat gold coins have been sold by the US Mint. That represents nearly 42 percent of the total sold in all of 2008.

In contrast, the one-ounce American Gold Eagles Bullion Coins have a sales tally of 63,500 for the first 19 days in October. It's not that this figure is shabby, it's not. They are just not on par with the couple of day sales numbers of the Buffalos.

Of course there is a major distinction between the two gold coins other than their design and composition -- the Gold Eagles are struck from 22 karat gold versus the 24 karat in the Buffalos. While the Gold Eagles have been available all year, the American Buffalos have been suspended for some 10 months. That delay helped foster demand, and there is also a bit of catch-up in the wind.

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