Coin Blog

The first Presidential Dollar of 2009 featuring William Henry Harrison will be released next week.

The US Mint announced details for the official launch ceremony which will take place at William Henry Harrison's birthplace in Berkeley Plantation, Charles City, Virginia. The ceremony will be held February 16, 2009 at 11:00 AM ET. Festivities will include a coin point of new Harrison Presidential Dollars, a coin exchange for those in attendence, and a free coin for children 18 years old and less. There will also be a tour of the manor by guides dressed in costume.

The William Henry Harrison Dollar will be the ninth release of the Presidential Dollar series, which began in 2007. He served as President for only 30 days in 1841. The new obverse design was designed and engraved by Joseph Menna.

The US Mint recently released the majority of their product schedule for the rest of 2009. Unfortunately, most of the availability dates are listed by season (spring, summer, fall, or winter). It still provides a nice road map for the rest of the year if you are interested in US Mint products.

The most anticipated products with a published release date will be this year's Commemorative coins. This includes the 2009 Abraham Lincoln Commemorative Silver Dollar and the 2009 Louis Braille Commemorative Silver Dollar. The coins will be released on February 12, 2009 and March 26, 2009.

Interestingly, all of the American Eagle collector coins are missing from the scheduled. This includes the gold, silver, and platinum coins. The American Buffalo Gold coins are also missing. Hopefully these will be added later on.

Below is the published schedule to date.

Although there has been no official press release from the US Mint, the 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle gold coin is scheduled for release today January 22, 2009 at 12:00 Noon ET.

Many are predicting huge demand for the coin, which will definitely cause long telephone order hold time waits and might slow down the US Mint's website.

There is some information recently made available about ordering the coin. The price should be $1,189.00 per coin. This works out to a somewhat high premium of about $350 per coin.

The US Mint will be imposing a household limit of one. This limit will be in effect from the start of sales, but will be evaluated on a weekly basis.

The US Mint seems to be experiencing problems obtaining sufficient gold blanks to produce the coins. They are asking customers to prepare for a potential six to nine month wait for delivery!

The United States Mint has released the designs for the 2009 First Spouse Gold Coins. There will be five different coins released, instead of the usual four coins. This is because President John Tyler had a first and second wife while in office. First Spouses honored in 2009 will include Anna Harrison, Letitia Tyler, Julia Tyler, Sarah Polk, and Margaret Taylor.

Anna Harrison First Spouse Gold Coin - first release for 2009. The obverse was designed by Donna Weaver and sculpted by Joseph Menna. The reverse was designed by Thomas Cleveland and sculpted by Charles Vickers

Letitia Tyler First Spouse Gold Coin - second release for 2009. The obverse was designed and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill. The reverse was designed by Susan Gamble and sculpted by Norman E. Nemeth.

Julia Tyler First Spouse Gold Coin - third release for 2009. The obverse and reverse were designed by Joel Iskowitz and sculpted by Don Everhart.

Sarah Polk First Spouse Gold Coin - fourth release for 2009. The obverse and reverse were designed and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill.

Margaret Taylor First Spouse Gold Coin - fifth release for 2009. The obverse was designed by Phebe Hemphill and sculpted by Charles Vickers. The reverse was designed by Mary Beth Zietz and sculpted by Jim Licaretz.

Today the US Mint unveiled the designs for the upcoming DC & US Territories Quarters. This series will follow the popular 50 State Quarters Program and issue six newly designed quarters honoring Washington DC and the five United States Territories.

The obverse of the coin will continue to bear the portrait of Washington which was used for the State Quarters series.

Here are the designs in order of release:

Washington DC Quarter -  features Duke Ellington seated at a piano. His name is inscribed on the piano and Washington DC's motto "Justice For All".

Puerto Rico Quarter -  depicts the sentry box in Old San Juan overlooking the sea. Includes the inscription "Isla del Encanto" translated "Island of Enchantment."

Guam Quarter - includes an outline of the island, a stone latte, and a flying proa. Inscription reads "Guahan I Tanó ManChamorro" translated "Guam, Land of the Chamorro."

American Samoa Quarter - fatures the ava bowl and whisk and staff on teh coastline of the island. The inscriptions read "Samoa Muamua Le Atua" translated "Samoa, God is First."

Virgin Islands Quarter -  features the official bird and flower, with native palm tree. The inscription reads "United in Pride and Hope."

Northern Mariana Islands Quarter -  features a large latte stone with a sailing canoe. Some of the native birds and plants are also pictured.