Coin Blog

Have you seen a 2009 Roosevelt Dime? Chances are good that your answer is "no."

Due to a record number of old coins re-entering circulation combined with a general decline in the need to more circulating coins, there has been a glut of coinage at the Federal Reserve Banks. This has caused them to cut orders for new coinage at the US Mint. The US Mint has accordingly reduced production.

Recently the US Mint officially announced that production of the 2009 dimes would end for the rest of the year. This results in final mintages available already. The numbers are low enough to excite collectors looking for a possible key date coin.

The figures shown below are the reported coin production figures for January through April 2009. Most likely these will be the final mintages for the year.

2009 Roosevelt Dime Mintage

The mintage for the 2009 "Birthplace" Lincoln Cent has been revealed. Following the pattern set by several other coins released this year, the coin has one of the lowest mintages in decades. Previously the mintage for the Puerto Rico Quarter was revealed and it had the lowest mintage for a quarter since the 1960s.

The Philadelphia Mint produced 284.8 million of the 2009-P Birthplace Lincoln Cent. The Denver Mint produced 350 million of the 2009-D Birthplace Lincoln Cent. This makes a combined total of 634.8 million.

It looks like the high prices paid for these coins might actually be justified. Since 1975, all Lincoln Cents struck for circulation have had mintages in the billions. You have to go back all the way to the 1968-S Lincoln Cent to find a lower mintage than the 2009-P Birthplace Lincoln Cent.

Will the pattern of low mintages continue? You can follow the 2009 Lincoln Cent Mintages and see for yourself.

The Puerto Rico Quarter was officially released yesterday March 30, 2009, but it will probably be difficult to find the coins in circulation.

Even though the coins have only just been released, the US Mint has posted the final production figures for the coin. They come in at a very low 86 million coins produced by the Denver Mint and 53 million coins produced by the Philadelphia Mint. To put this in perspective, the mintage for a single quarter has not been this low since the 1960s.

The US Mint began selling bags and rolls of the coins directly. This offering includes a two roll set and 100-coin bags and 1000-coin bags from the Philadelphia or Denver Mints. These rolls might be the best chance for collectors to easily acquire examples of the new coin.

An official launch ceremony for the 2009 Puerto Rico Quarter will be held later this week on April 2. The ceremony will take place at La Arcada, Paseo La Princesa #2, Viejo San Juan. It will be attended by Edmund Moy the US Mint Director and Luis Fortuno the Governor of Puerto Rico.

The US Mint recently posted the mintage information for the William Henry Harrison Presidential Dollars. The trend of lower mintages for the Presidential Dollar series continued. Since the start of the series, each subsequent release has shown a lower mintage than the previous, except for the Andrew Jackson Dollar, which showed a small uptick before the trend resumed.

The 2009 William Henry Harrison shows coin production of 43,260,000 at the Philadelphia Mint and 55,160,000 at the Denver Mint. This makes a total mintage of 98,420,000 across both Mints.

While this is the lowest on record for the series, the amount is still relatively high.

Due to the slowing economy, there is a reported glut of coinage, which causes fewer new coins to be produced. This has impacted other denominations to a greater extent. For example, there were only 53 million nickels produced across both Mints though February 2009.

Does it make sense that we need more dollar coins than nickels for circulation?

The US Mint will soon offer the 2009 Anna Harrison First Spouse Coins. This will be the first release for the third year of the program created to honor the First Spouses of Presidents. In 2009 there will be a total of five First Spouse Coins issued since John Tyler had a first and second wife.

The Anna Harrison coin features an obverse designed by Donna Weaver and sculpted by Joseph Menna. The reverse was designed by Thomas Cleveland and suclpted by Charles Vickers. The obverse shows a portrait of the First Lady. The reverse shows Mrs. Harrison sharing her love of education and learning with a group of children.

The coins have been limited to a mintage of 40,000 coins and will be offered in both proof and uncirculated versions. The ratio of proof to uncirculated coins will be determined based on customer demand. The coins are expected to remain on sale for approximately one year or until the coins have sold out. The official release date is March 5, 2009.

Each coin contains one half ounce of 24 karat gold. The next spouse to be honored will be Letitia Tyler, which should be released during the spring.