Coin Blog

Production figures for the latest release of the Presidential Dollar series have just been published by the United States Mint. The Martin Van Buren Presidential Dollar had 51,520,000 coins produced at the Philadelphia Mint and 50,960,000 coins produced at the Denver Mint.

The combined total of 102,480,000 marks a new low for the Presidential Dollar series. The next lowest mintage was for the John Quincy Adams coin at 115,260,000.

In total, the US Mint produced 464,480,000 Presidential Dollars for 2008. This compares to a total of  940,870,000. See the complete Presidential Dollar mintages.

Unfortunately, it looks like the slide in production will continue for 2009, especially with the line up of relatively lesser known presidents.

Yesterday on November 25, 2008, the US Mint released the latest coin in the ongoing First Spouse Gold Coin Series. This release honors the presidency of Martin Van Buren.

Because Van Buren did not have a spouse while serving his term as President, the coin utilizes the design of one of the circulating coins from his era. Prior First Spouse Gold coins that have used this strategy have included the coins honoring Andrew Jackson and Thomas Jefferson.

Martin Van Buren's Liberty features the obverse design of the Liberty Seated Dime. This coin was produced between 1837-1891 and was designed by Christian Gobrecht. The reverse design features a rendition of young Martin Van Buren reading under a tree. This was designed by Thomas Cleveland and sculpted by Jim Licaretz.

Each coin contains one-half ounce of 24 karat gold. Total mintage will be limited to 40,000 coins. Proof coins are priced at $549.95 and uncirculated coins are priced at $524.95. There is a limit of ten coins per option per household.

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!