June 24th, 2009 — Coin Series
The same legislation that brought us the four different designs for the 2009 Lincoln Cent will provide an additional treat for collectors. The US Mint is authorized to produce pennies with the same composition used when the Lincoln Cent series was intially launched in 1909.
These special coins will be produced for numismatic purposes and will be included in the US Mint’s annual coin sets. The composition of the Lincoln Cents will be 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc.
Where can you find these Bronze 2009 Lincoln Cents?
Currently these special coins are expected to be included in four different sets. The first two are the 2009 Proof Set and 2009 Silver Proof Set, which will include bronze cents produced by the San Francisco Mint with a proof finish. So far the US Mint has released the regular proof set, with the silver version on the way in mid-July.
At an undetermined date, the US Mint will release the Lincoln Coin and Currency Set. This special set will contain the 2009 Proof Lincoln Commemorative and the four different 2009 Proof Lincoln Cents with the 95% copper composition.
Finally, the US Mint will include bronze composition cents in the 2009 Mint Set. These coins will be minted at Philadelphia and Denver and have the satin finish used for Mint Set coins.
June 11th, 2009 — Uncategorized
On June 3, 2009, the United States Mint Director Edmund Moy and Guam Governor Felix Camacho conducted the official launch ceremony the Guam Quarter. The ceremony was held at Skinner Plaza in Hagatna, Guam.
The launch ceremony takes place about a week after the coins were released into circulation and went on sale at the US Mint in rolls and bags. The Guam Quarter mintage has gotten some attention as being the lowest for the new District of Columbia and US Territories Quarters program to date.
Children who attened the ceremony received a free Guam Quarter. Other attendees had the opportunity to exchnage bills for rolls of new coins. A coin forum hosted by Director Moy was held prior to the ceremony.
Some interesting quotes from Mr. Moy during the event:
It’s important for me to be in Guam and important for the mint to produce the Guam quarter because it will bring a lot of attention to Guam and to people who have not given this much thought.
We choose to put a design on the front and a design on the back in order to educate Americans about things that they need to know.
The Guam quarter is a tribute to your rich history and culture, and the inventive and adventurous Chamorro people. Your quarter is as distinctive as the island that it celebrates.
June 3rd, 2009 — Coin News
Another new mintage low has been set for the District of Columbia & U.S. Territories Quarters series. Following the relatively high mintages for the State Quarter series, the six coin follow up had been showing very low numbers. This was due primarily to the economy, which caused an influx of old change into the system, removing the need to produce large amounts of new coins.
The latest data released was for the Guam Quarter. There were only 42,600,000 coins produced at the Denver Mint and 45,000,000 coins produced at the Philadelphia Mint. The total between the mints of 87,600,000 is less than half the number of coins produced for the District of Columbia Quarter.
These low numbers are starting to draw attention, but do they have farther to fall? The next quarters to be released will feature American Samoa, US Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
May 21st, 2009 — Coin News
One of the flagship products of the US Mint will released on June 1, 2009. This will be the 2009 United States Mint Proof Set. Proof Sets in the current format have been offered uninterrupted since 1968.
This set contains one proof coin version of each of the coins issued for circulation during 2009. Because of the programs for the Presidential Dollar, DC & US Territories Quarters, and 2009 Lincoln Cents, the number of coins in the set will be vastly expanded from prior years. A total of 18 coins will be included. This is an increase of 4 from the prior year set which included 14 coins.
I am looking forward to the 2009 proof set since it has become an annual tradition for collectors. These sets make great holiday or birthday gifts. They can also be particularly special gifts for newborns, since it contains all of the coins for the birth year.
May 19th, 2009 — Coin News
Looking ahead to the next major gold coin launch by the United States Mint, there is the Letitia Tyler First Spouse Gold Coin. This continues the series of one-half ounce 24 karat gold coins created to honor the spouses of each President.
The new coin will represent an interesting twist for the series. President John Tyler had a first and second wife, while serving as President. As such, two first spouses will be honored for his presidential term. The Letitia Tyler coin is the first release for such an instance. John Tyler’s second wife Julia Tyler will be honored on a separate coin this summer.
The Letitia Tyler First Spouse Coin features a portrait of the first lady on the obverse of the coin and the years that she served 1841 to 1842. The reverse of the coin shows her with two children on Cedar Grove Plantation. So far the series has released nine gold coins. The Letitia Tyler coin will be the tenth. The release date for the coin will be June 4, 2009. Coins will be available for sale direclty from the United States Mint.