February 10th, 2011 — Coin Series
The US Mint recently announced the designs to be used for the obverse and reverse of the 2011 First Spouse Gold Coins. Although this series started off very popular, interest has receded to a smaller, but somewhat stable base of collectors. Some issues featuring a popular design or well known spouse have done better.
The 2011 releases will feature Eliza Johnson, Julia Grant, Lucy Hayes, and Lucretia Garfield. These are the spouses of the 17th to 20th Presidents of the United States.
The Eliza Johnson First Spouse Gold Coin features an obverse portrait of the First Lady and a reverse scene from the children's ball that she hosted for President Andrew Johnson's 60th birthday. The obverse design is by Joel Iskowitz and the reverse is by Gary Whitely.
The release honoring the First Lady during the 18th Presidency is the Julia Grant First Spouse Gold Coin. This issue features an obverse portrait by Donna Weaver. On the reverse is a scene of a younger Julia Dent and Ulysses S. Grant riding horseback. At the time the future President was a West Point cadet.
Lucy Hayes was well known for her role in the Temperance movement, however this is not the subject of her coin. Rather the Lucy Hayes First Spouse Gold Coin shows a scene of the First Lady applauding at the first White House Easter Egg Roll. The obverse portrait is by Susan Gamble and the reverse scene is designed by Barbara Fox.
The Lucretia Garfield First Spouse Gold Coin will be the final release of the year. It highlights her interest in painting. The obverse portrait is designed by Barbara Fox and the reverse image is designed by Michael Gaudioso. The reverse shows the First Lady seated before a canvas with brush and palette in hand.
December 6th, 2010 — Coin Series
The latest release in the one-half ounce 24 karat gold coin series honoring the First Ladies of the United States featuring Mary Todd Lincoln. She was, of course, the wife of the 16th President Abraham Lincoln.
A portrait of Mary Todd Lincoln appears on the obverse with inscriptions indicating her name, the order and years of the Presidency, "In God We Trust", "Liberty", the date and mint mark. The reverse has a scene of the First Lady visiting wounded Union soldiers. The designers of the coin were Phebe Hemphill (obverse) and Joel Iskowitz (reverse).
The Mary Todd Lincoln Gold Coin will be limited to a maximum mintage of 20,000 coins. This is a 33% increase above the level of the previous release, which can be explained by the higher anticipated demand.
It's tough to say whether or not the latest coin might sell out of the maximum mintage. Actually, the last First Spouse to achieve this was back in 2007, but at that point the maximum was double at 40,000 coins.
At the very least, this will be one of the more remembered releases of the series, with a potentially wider collector base from collectors of Lincoln in numismatics.
September 10th, 2010 — Coin Series
Last week, the US Mint began sales of the James Buchanan's Liberty First Spouse Gold Coin. Amidst the broader series issued to honor the First Spouses of the Presidents of the United States, this issue stands out for featuring a Liberty design, taken from a classic coin.
As James Buchanan had served in office without a spouse, the authorizing legislation provides that an image of Liberty from a circulating coin of the era of his Presidency should be used on the obverse. The reverse should feature themes or images representative of his life. In this case, the obverse features a reproduction of the Liberty Head Quarter Eagle designed by Christian Gobrecht, while the reverse features a scene of young James Buchanan working as a bookkeeper in his family's country store.
The James Buchanan's Liberty Gold coin has proved extremely popular with collectors. During the first four days of sales, orders were placed for 6,127 coins, representing slightly more than 40% of the 15,000 coin maximum authorized mintage.
After spending a few years out of the spotlight, will the renewed attention for the First Spouse Gold Coin series last? The next release featuring May Todd Lincoln comes out December 2, 2010.
June 4th, 2010 — Coin Series
The US Mint just released the 2010 Jane Pierce First Spouse Coins, which honor the wife of President Franklin Pierce, the 14th President of the United States. This is the fifteenth release in the broader series since one preceding President had a first and second wife.
The First Spouse Gold Coin series hasn't really resonated with collectors. Some have attributed this to the subject matter, others to the high price tag. The latest coins to go on sale cost $779 for proof versions and $766 for uncirculated versions. The initial releases of the series were actualy priced at $429.95 and $410.95, but the rising cost of gold has caused pricing to be adjusted.
While it will take a strong stomach or wallet to see the series through to the end, it might pay off in the long run. After 2007, sales for First Spouse coins declined substantially, resulting in extremely low mintage levels. Historically, unpopular coins with low mintages have eventually found an audience and price appreciation after the low mintages added a new allure. Will this series prove the same, or provide the first exception?
March 17th, 2010 — Coin News
Tomorrow the United States Mint will release the latest issue of the First Spouse Gold Coin series. The coin will honor the spouse of President Millard Fillmore, Abigail Fillmore. She served as the First Lady from 1850 to 1853.
The obverse of the coin features Abigail Fillmore's portrait, the order of the Presidency, and years served as First Lady. The reverse features an image of her shelving books in the White House Library that she founded. As with other coins of the series, each is struck in one-half ounce of 24 karat gold.
As a change from prior releases, the US Mint has set a maximum authorized mintage of just 15,000 across both proof and uncirculated versions. There will be no household ordering limit in place for the start of sales on March 18, 2010. All previous releases of the series had maximum authorized mintages set at 40,000.
Even though the recent releases of the series have not reached sales of 15,000, I think the lower maximum mintage might inspire higher sales and possibly set up a situation for a sell out.
The issues which have most recently concluded sales (the 2008 releases) have sold around 11,000 to 12,000 coins. By setting the maximum just above this level, the perception of collectors might change. Before a sell out was barely considered, now it becomes a distinct possibility. This might add a new spark to the four year old series.
