Coin Blog

Today, the US Mint releases the 90% silver proof versions of the 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters. These coins are released in a five coin set, which closely follows the release of the five coin proof set featuring the regular clad composition versions of the coins.

From 1992, the US Mint has struck dimes, quarters, and half dollars in the traditional silver composition for sale to collectors in specially issued sets. This has included an annual Silver Proof Set since 1992 and separate Quarters Silver Proof Sets since 2004.

The 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set will contain the Hot Springs National Park Quarter, Yellowstone National Park Quarter, Yosemite National Park Quarter, Grand Canyon National Park Quarter, and Mount Hood National Forest Quarter. Each coin will be struck in proof format at the San Francisco Mint and carry the "S" mint mark. The coins will have a composition of 90% silver and 10% copper.

The five coins are packaged in a protective plastic lens and illustrated cardboard box. The sets aren't cheap, priced at $32.95 each. This is a $3 price increase over the price of last year's silver proof quarters set, which contained six coins.

The first of the 2010 Jefferson Nickels were produced by the United States Mint during April 2010. So far production has been limited to a scant 1.68 million coins from the Philadelphia Mint facility. Is this a potential key date in the making?

Last year, the 2009 Jefferson Nickel had a relatively small circulation production of 39,840,000 coins from the Philadelphia Mint and 46,800,000 coins from the Denver Mint. These numbers caught the attention of collectors since they were the lowest circulation mintages since 1959. The coins were also unusually elusive in the channels of circulation.

The 2010 Jefferson Nickel just might have a chance to set even lower mintages. There has been recent talk about changing the composition of cents and nickels due to the fact that it costs the US Mint more to produce the coins than they are worth. The nickel actually contents copper and nickel that are worth more than the face value! I think this is part of the reason for the restrained production of nickels.

So far, none of the few 2010 nickels produced have surfaced. This appearance of the first nickels and the ongoing production figures for the denomination will be something to watch this year.

Today the US Mint released the 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters Proof Set. This set contains all five of the quarters that will be released this year, even though four of them still have not been released for circulation.

The five quarters for 2010 feature Hot Springs National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, and Mount Hood National Forest. The set includes the proof versions of the coins, which are struck at the San Francisco Mint and carry the "S" mint mark.

The coins of the 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters Proof Set are housed in a single plastic lens and placed in an outer cardboard box, packaged with a certificate of authenticity.

The set is somewhat costly at $14.95. In the past, I have usually waited for the full annual set to be released to get the proof quarters for each year. The 2010 Proof Set is due for release in July and should be priced at $31.95. The set will include a total of 14 coins, including proof versions of the newly designed Lincoln Cent, the Jefferson Nickel, Roosevelt Dime, Kennedy Half Dollar, Native American Dollar, and the four Presidential Dollars.

The first coin in the new America the Beautiful Quarters series was released on Monday. The coin features Hot Springs National Park located in Arkansas.

The Hot Springs National Park Quarter depicts the door of the main park building with a fountain before it. The obverse of the coin carries a portrait of George Washington as it appeared on the 1932 Washington Quarter.

An official launch ceremony was held at the park and coins were offered for sale on the US Mint's website in bags and rolls.

The US Mint will release five different quarter designs each year (a la 50 State Quarters Program) with a total of 56 different parks and sites featured. The authorizing legislation actually includes a provision for the extension of the program for a second round of designs, would would make it 112 different quarters over 24 years.

Last week, the United States Mint began selling the 2010 Presidential Dollar Uncirculated Set. This set contains the uncirculated versions of each of the 2010 Presidential Dollars from the Philadelphia and Denver Mints.

If the US Mint stays with past practice, the coins in the set will be minted with a special satin finish. This type of finish has been used for Mint Sets and some other collectible products since 2005. The satin finish makes the coins different than the regular business strikes.

The eight coin set is priced at $18.95 each. Even though I plan to purchase the 2010 Mint Set, which will also include these coins, I decided to purchase this set to get an earlier look at the Presidential Dollars for this year. I ordered the set on the opening day of sales and hope it arrives soon.