Coin Blog

Coinstar has recently started a great promotion which runs now until December 7th.

Coin counting is absolutely FREE when you accept a gift card instead of money. Plus if you turn in at least $40 worth of change, you will receive a $10 holiday bonus. The gift cards are available for stores you probably shop at already like Starbucks and Amazon.com.

This is a great deal considering they usually charge 8.9% for returning change. Instead of getting $36.44 in cash, you get $50 worth of gift cards.

Here are the details on Coinstar’s website.

To coincide with a move to a new fulfillment center and a vast product discontinuation, The United States Mint announced a special “Last Chance Sale” to clear its warehouse shelves. There will be some bargains available.

The sale will begin November 15, 2008 at 12:01 AM and conclude on December 19, 2008 at 5:00 PM.

Here is a listing of the products that will be available for sale:

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The US Mint recently published the production figures for the Alaska State Quarter on its website.The figures only indicate production of circulating coins, including coins for the Bags & Rolls program. Coins minted for proof and mint sets are not included.

A total of 505.8 million Alaska Quarters were produced, comprised of 254 million at the Denver Mint and 251.8 million at the Philadelphia Mint. This is down slightly from the totals for the previous Arizona Quarter, but above the levels for the other 2008 State Quarters.

Nearly 2 billion State Quarters have been produced for 2008. The total number of State Quarter produced for the entire 10 year program has now exceeded 34 billion.

See full State Quarter Mintages.

On November 13, 2008, the Martin Van Buren Presidential Dollar will be released. This will mark the final Presidential $1 Coin release of 2008 and the eighth release overall for the series.

The obverse design of the coin features a portrait of Van Buren designed by Joel Iskowitz and engraved by Phebe Hemphill. The reverse design of the coin features the rendition of the Statue of Liberty designed by Don Everhart which has been used for all coins of the series.

The obverse inscriptions include “Martin Van Buren,” “8th Presidency,” and the years of his presidential term “1837-1841.”

The official launch ceremony will take place on December 5, 2008 at the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site in Kinderhook, New York.

The US Mint will sell bags and rolls of the new dollar coin at a premium. However, if you ask around at local banks, you can probably obtain the coins at face value.

The final coin of the popular 50 State Quarters Program will be released in less than one week! It’s the Hawaii State Quarter scheduled for release on November 3, 2008.

This latest release will cap off the 10 year series which is credited with bringing a new influx of coin collectors to the hobby. It will also have a lasting impression on the way that American think about coins and states.

The design for the Hawaii Quarter features a famous figure from Hawaiian history known as King Kamehameha I. In the early 1800’s he unified the governance of the various islands which make up Hawaii. He was able to navigate through modern changes while still preserving traditional ways of island life. The coin shows a statue of the ruler with a hand outstretched to the eight main Hawaiian Islands.

An inscription is included, “UA MAU KE EA O KA ‘AINA I KA PONO.” This translates to “The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.”

Look for the final coin of your State Quarter collection soon!