Sarah Polk First Spouse Gold Coins Launch
At 12 Noon (Eastern) today, the United States Mint launched the Sarah Polk First Spouse Gold Coins. Struck from 24-carat gold, these commemoratives honor Sarah who served as First Lady to James Polk, eleventh President of the United States.
Marking the twelfth design in the series of First Spouse coins, the Polk coins are available in either proof or uncirculated condition. The proof will start selling for $654 with the uncirculated available for $641.
These prices are subject to change weekly based on the Mint's pricing policy which links the market price of gold to the selling price for the precious metal coins. (For more information, see First Spouse Coins Price Grid.) A bronze medal in the likeness of the Sarah Polk gold coins will also be available for $3.50.
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Silver Eagles Sales Score Best August Ever, Gold Eagles Fourth
The United States Mint sold 2.13 million Silver Eagles and 82,000 Gold Eagles during the month of August. Pretty impressive. Still, if these numbers seem lower than those from July or June, that's because they are.
From that fact alone, it would be easy to conclude that gold and silver eagle coin demand is on the retreat. But that wouldn't exactly be accurate.
An analysis of the historical record shows that August often tends to be a weaker month for bullion American Eagles. Any decline, should therefore be almost expected and certainly not a surprise.
What every investor or collector of the series should be studying is not just the 2009 monthly trends, but the historical performance of the coins during a given month. That offers a clearer and more complete performance picture.
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Polk Presidential Dollar Rolls Pass Harrison and Tyler Sales
In less than two weeks, James K. Polk Presidential dollar rolls shot past this year's William Henry Harrison and John Tyler same roll sales.
The US Mint launched the Polk rolls Thursday, Aug. 20. As of Sunday, Aug. 30, collectors purchased a total of 31,915 Philadelphia rolls and 30,920 Denver rolls.
By contrast, the first two 2009 rolls of Harrison and Tyler dollars reached 30,000 from each Mint facility. Is this a fair comparison? No. Unlike prior Presidential roll offerings and the latest Polk $1 rolls, the Mint stopped selling each when they reached the 30,000 figure.
The unavailability of Harrison and Tyler rolls has resulted in interesting secondary market premiums. (See current eBay auctions as examples.) Resellers are sure to be disappointed in the Mint's decision to continue offering the Polk dollars. And collectors as a group are left to wonder what controls how long certain coins will be sold in a particular product line.
Last Days for Jackson’s Liberty First Spouse Gold Coin
Sarah Polk First Spouse Gold Coins launch Thursday morning at 12:00 noon ET. Before then, expect the uncirculated Jackson's Liberty First Spouse Gold Coin to go off sale. Why? US Mint practice with the gold series has been to discontinue the oldest offering immediately before launching the newest issue.
While that likelihood is exceptionally strong, it is not a 100% certainty. Take for example the Jackson's Liberty proof sell out in mid August. The proof coin did not reach its maximum mintage, yet the Mint placed it in their "sold out" category weeks prior to the upcoming Sarah Polk coin debut. Mint practice can be fluid.
In a side note, the unexpected move proved to be a shot in the arm for the remaining coin. Uncirculated Jackson's Liberty sales spiked the following week, rising 261 compared to the previous 34. These are not exactly blazing sales figures for US Mint coins. But they are rather impressive for the First Spouse Gold Coins series where many mintage figures will likely be considered scarce years from now.
