Coin Blog

The United States Mint has released the designs for the upcoming 2010 First Spouse Gold Coins. These issues will cover the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th Presidencies of the United States. The coins will feature three First Ladies and one of the "Liberty" designs issued for James Buchanan who did not marry.

The three spouse coins feature a portrait of the First Lady on the obverse paired with a reverse design featuring a scene or image emblematic of their lives or work.

Abigail Fillmore First Spouse Coin
13th Presidency
1850-1853

The Abigail Fillmore gold coin reverse features an image of her shelving books in the White House Library. She had purchased the first volumes for the White House collection with an appropriation received from Congress. Designer of the obverse was Phebe Hemphill with the reverse by Susan Gamble.

Jane Pierce First Spouse Coin
14th Presidency
1853-1857

The Jane Pierce First Spouse Gold Coin features an image of the First Lady watching Senate debates within the US Capitol Building. She is known to have sat to listen to the heated debates on the topic of slavery. The obverse and reverse designs are by Donna Weaver.

James Buchanan's Liberty Gold Coin
15th Presidency
1857-1861

The James Buchanan's Liberty coin features the image of Liberty used for the Liberty Head $2.50 Gold Quarter Eagle, originally designed by Christian Gobrecht. This represents the fourth coin in the Liberty sub set of coins, issued for Presidents who served without a spouse. The reverse features a young James Buchanan working as a bookkeeper in the family store. This was designed by David Westwood.

Mary Todd Lincoln First Spouse Coin
16th Presidency
1861-1865

The final First Spouse release for the year 2010 will feature Mary Todd Lincoln. This is expected to be a popular issue, as she was the wife of President Abraham Lincoln, a figure popular in history and numismatics. The reverse depicts the First Lady visiting some wounded Union soldiers bringing flowers and books. This was designed by Joel Iskowitz. The obverse was designed by Phebe Hemphill.

The final release of the First Spouse Gold Coin series came last week, when the US Mint released the coin honoring Margaret Taylor. The one half ounce 24 karat gold coins were released on December 3, 2009.

Margaret Taylor was the wife of the 12th President Zachary Taylor. For 30 years, she followed her husband during his military career, even going to hardship outposts and living in tents, cabins, and forts.

The obverse of the Margaret Taylor First Spouse Coin features her portrait, the order of the Presidency, and the years she was First Spouse. The reverse of the coin depicts the First Lady in her younger years as she nursed wounded soldiers returning from the battlefield during the Seminole War.

The coins carried the high issue price of $654 for proof coins and $641 for uncirculated coins due to the higher price of gold. Recent coins in the series have sold only 11,000-12,000 coins across both options. Some collectors believe the low mintages will eventually translate into higher values.

On November 19, the final Presidential Dollar coin of 2009 was released. This coin honors the 12th President Zachary Taylor. The coin release also marked the start of sales for the US Mint's Philadelphia and Denver Mint 25-coin rolls. These rolls come in specially prepared wrappers and contain uncirculated coins.

The obverse of the Zachary Taylor Dollar features a portrait of the President and inscriptions with his name, order of presidency, dates of his presidential term, and the motto "In God We Trust". The reverse features the Statue of Liberty and inscriptions "United States of America" and the denomination as "$1". The coin was designed and sculpted by Don Everhart.

Five days later on November 24, the US Mint hosted the official launch ceremony for the coin. This was held in Taylor Park in Orange, Virginia. The ceremony coincided with the 225th anniversary of Zachary Taylor's birth and was part of Zachary Taylor Appreciation Day. A ceremonial coin pour took place along with special performances.

The US Mint will soon offer the First Spouse Gold Coin honoring Julia Tyler, the second wife of President John Tyler. These coins will go on sale at the US Mint on August 6, 2009.

The coins are produced in both uncirculated and proof versions, both struck at the West Point Mint. Each Julia Tyler First Spouse Gold Coin has a composition of 24 karat gold and contains one-half ounce of gold. The high gold content is responsible for the heafty price tag, expected to be around $629 for the proof and $616 for the uncirculated coin. (The US Mint deteremines actual prices based on the range of the price of gold for the prior week.)

The obverse of the coin features a portrait designed by Joel Iskowitz. The reverse features Julia Tyler dancing with her husband during a White House event, also designed by Joel Iskowitz. The obverse and reverse sculptor was Don Everhart.

The First Spouse Gold Coins have been relatively slow sellers, but the US Mint has an ordering limit of ten per version per household, which will be effective for the start of sales.

The latest quarter in the District of Columbia and US Territories Quarters Program was released on July 27, 2009. This was the quarter featuring American Samoa.

The reverse design of the coin features important items for traditional Samoan events. The ava bowl is used to make a special drink for island chiefs and guests. The whisk and staff symbolize the rank of Samoan orator who delivers speeches during important gatherings. The background of the coin displays a coastline with a coconut tree.

The reverse design of the American Samoa Quarter was designed by Stephen Clark and sculpted by Charles Vickers.

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