Inspirational Australian Steve Irwin Uncirculated Coin Issue
The Royal Australian Mint is now offering the 2009 $1 Inspirational Australian Steve Irwin Uncirculated Coin. This coin is the second in a series of Inspirational Australians that last year featured Mary MacKillip, who was beatified by Pope John Paul I in 1995.
Steve Irwin was a well-known celebrity who met an untimely fate in 2006. Host of the popular Crocodile Hunter series, Irwin was enthusiastically supportive of Australia's wildlife.
His parents started the Australia Zoo and Irwin grew up around exotic creatures. He is attributed with wresting with his first crocodile at the age of nine. Not content with merely putting on a show, Irwin was adamant about educating the public about wildlife as well.
His Crocodile Hunter show won him international attention and he was quick to capitalize on it to foster more interest in his home country and what it had to offer.
US Mint Product Release Schedule Update for Early October
US Mint Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set Debut
The United States Mint introduced the Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set to its online store on Monday, in preparation for its launch on Oct. 15, 2009, at noon ET.
The much anticipated set includes proof versions of the four 2009 Lincoln Cents and a proof Lincoln Silver Dollar -- the same commemorative dollar that sold out earlier this year under the pressure of enormous collector demand.
The Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set is priced at $55.95, with just 50,000 available to buy. The price is a current steal considering single silver dollars are going for more on the secondary market. (See proof Lincolns Silver Dollars on eBay.)
The 50,000 limit is mandated given the act authorizing the silver dollars permitted a total of 500,000 across both proof and uncirculated options. Collectors already scooped up 325,000 of the proof and 125,000 of the uncirculated Lincoln dollars earlier in the year, forcing the US Mint to halt sales and list the individual coins as "sold out" just six weeks after their launch.
With such anticipation for this offering, the Mint has set an order limit of 1 per household. Even with that in place, many expect the set could sellout on the first day of issuance, leaving many collectors empty-handed.
US Virgin Islands Quarter Bags & Rolls
The United States Mint began selling U.S. Virgin Islands quarter bags and rolls on Monday, Sept. 28, at noon ET. On the same day, the quarter-dollars officially entered circulation.
The US Mint's two-roll set offering includes 40 commemorative coins with the "P" mint mark for Philadelphia and a roll of 40 coins with the "D" mint mark for Denver. The set price is $32.95.
Each is wrapped in specially designed paper coin wrap," the Mint states. "The packaging is marked with a "P" or "D" representing the mint of origin, "$10" representing its dollar value and "VI," the United States Postal Code for the United States Virgin Islands."
Also available are 100-coin and 1,000-coin bags from each US Mint facility for $32.95 and $309.95, respectively.
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American Samoa Quarters: Lowest Mintages, Yet Lower Sales
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.
Gold, Silver, Metal Prices: Friday Commentary (9/25)
