Placed on sale today, August 7, is the joint BEP and U.S. Mint product containing a 2012-S Proof Silver Eagle and $5 bill.
Officially named the Making American History Coin and Currency Set, it was produced to celebrate anniversary years for the two bureaus — the 150th for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the 220th for the United States Mint.
Limits, Price and Premium
While the U.S. Mint has indicated an initial production of 50,000 sets, the established production limit is 100,000 units. Demand by coin and money collectors will essentially decide if more than 50,000 get produced.
The Coin and Currency Set is priced at $72.95. That represents a premium of $39.81 when factoring in the legal value of the $5 bill and the Silver Eagle’s melt value of $28.14 at the current price for one ounce of silver.
2012-S Proof Silver Eagle from San Francisco
The 99.9% fine 2012-S Proof Silver Eagle, although unique for the year with its San Francisco ‘S’ mint mark, does not physically feature any anniversary elements. It was also placed within another set sold earlier this year, the 2012-S Silver Eagle Two-Coin Proof Set, which has tarnished at least some of its anniversary-intended appeal.
Until news about the Making American History Coin and Currency Set broke, collectors were expecting the proof Silver Eagle to be exclusive to the earlier set. They are now faced with the prospect that the Eagle’s mintage could rise above 351,000 — the 251,302 sold earlier this year coupled with potential sales of 100,000 for the Coin and Currency Set.
For a reference point, the U.S. Mint also offers an individual annual 2012-W Proof Silver Eagle from West Point for $54.95. Its sales hit 526,806 as of July 30, which means that the 2012-S Proof Silver Eagle from San Francisco will be scarcer even if the maximum number of Coin and Currency Sets are sold.
Series 2009 Lincoln $5 Bill
The series 2009 $5 bill marks the BEP’s anniversary by having each serial number start with "150".
"The first $5 note to feature the portrait of Lincoln was the Series 1914 $5 Federal Reserve Note. The portrait of Lincoln appearing on the Series 2009 $5 note was engraved in 1998 by William Fleishell III and Thomas Hipschen," the United States Mint website describes.
"The vignette of the east façade of the Lincoln Memorial featured on the back of the Series 2009 $5 note was also engraved by Thomas Hipschen in 1998."
Each $5 bill bears the signature of Treasurer of the United States Rosie Rios and has a San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank designation.
Order Details
Interested collectors will find the latest set on the U.S. Mint website located here. Orders are also accepted at 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). There is no indication yet as to how long it will be on sale.
This is a comment to Chris. It is amazing your level of ignorance. The Mint sold a 2 piece eagle set for a limited time. Not just your normal proof eagle but a reverse proof eagle (Thus the premium). That was and is the limited time. The fact that you didn’t buy this set just means you missed out on the chance to own a low production reverse proof period. The S mint in its self will be low mintage but the S mint reverse proof will be the one of lowest mintage in the series next to the 95… Read more »