CoinNews

Since many coin collectors spend their time outside of the hobby during the summer months, US Mint weekly sales can tend to be routine and borderline boring. That is not the case with the latest round of coin figures.

Highlights follow:

• In a single week, August demand for American Eagle Gold Bullion Coins nearly doubled. 23,000 had been sold up through the 12th. By the 19th, 45,000 were purchased. For the year, the total has jumped to 801,500.

• Silver Eagle Bullion Coins continue their blazing sales trail. 17,739,000 have been sold this year. Another 475,000 left US Mint doors in the last seven days alone.

• Collectors purchased 2,901 more UHRs in a week (see UHR Double Eagle Sales Top 80K.)

• 2009 Lincoln Formative Year Cents sold out at 300,000, as inaugural sales of the Illinois Lincoln penny two-roll sets reached 152,146. (See 15.2 Million Professional Life Cents Sold in Four Days.)

• Freshly minted Julia Tyler First Spouse Gold Coins reached 2,087 for the proof and 1,125 for the uncirculated. At the same time, the proof Jackson's Liberty First Spouse Coin sold out. The latest US Mint figures show their total at 7,806.

• And for the final highlights, 2009 Proof Sets are gliding along. The clad set climbed another 19,906 and is heading toward one million. The silver set rose by 17,277 with an eye toward 500,000.

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2009 Lincoln Professional Life Cents have jumped out of the gate with exceptional inaugural sales -- higher than the first Log Cabin design, but lower than the second released Rail Splitter pennies.

The Mint launched the new pennies on Thursday, Aug. 13, to another excited, anticipating public crowd (see Illinois Lincoln Cent launch photos). On the same day, two-roll sets -- one roll of 50 coins for the United States Mint at Philadelphia and one roll of 50 coins for the United States Mint at Denver -- went on sale for $8.95.

As of Sunday, the Mint said 152,146 of the Professional Life two-roll sets have sold. With 50 pennies per roll, that's more than 15.2 million pennies purchased by collectors.

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2009 Ultra High Relief (UHR) Double Eagle Gold coins have topped a new milestone and demand is stronger than ever in the month of August.

New United States Mint sales figures reveal several thousand of the 24-karat gold coins have been sold during the last few days alone. And since the US Mint began offering them on January 22, 2009, a total of 80,700 have been sold.

It is quite an accomplishment and a testament to the popularity of the UHR, given the hefty price tag of nearly $1,300 a piece to acquire one.

The special coin, a digitally reproduced version of Saint-Gaudens' original ultra high relief 1907 Double Eagle gold piece, has been greatly helped by the elimination of the one-coin order limit. On July 27, the UHR limit was raised to ten per household. Since then, weekly sales have more than tripled, as the following table highlights:

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The US Mint has added Jackson's Liberty First Spouse Gold Proof Coin to its sold out list, in a move that will shock collectors of the $10, one-half ounce 24-karat gold coin series.

With the exception of sell outs due to mintage limits met, past First Spouse Coins have been available from the US Mint for a year or until replaced by a following year release.

Jackson's Liberty was launched on Aug. 28, 2008. Since 7,806 proofs and 4,493 of the uncirculated options have been sold as of Aug. 16, 2009 -- well short of the combined 40,000 mintage limit -- the common assumption was that the coin would remain for sale until the release of the Sarah Polk First Spouse Coins on Sept. 3.

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