The Royal Canadian Mint has released the third strike in what has become one of its most popular series - the "Exchange $20 for $20" program. The $20 Pure Silver Polar Bear Commemorative Coin continues that series and like its predecessors is struck from 99.99% pure silver and is sold for an amount equal to its face value of $20.
Shown on the reverse of the coin is a design by Emily S. Damstra which depicts the iconic polar bear swimming in water. The head of the creature is just above the surface. To the right are the initials of "ED" for the designer while the inscription of "$20 DOLLARS" and "ARGENT PUR FINE SILVER 9999" are to the left. Below is the inscription of "CANADA." [click to continue…]
The Royal Canadian Mint has issued a new silver dollar emblematic of the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. The War of 1812 Bicentennial Proof Silver Dollar is the first collector coin issued by the Mint this year.
Each coin is struck from 99.99% pure silver and features a maximum mintage of 40,000. The proof coin will also be released as part of two proof sets issued by the Mint. In addition, a War of 1812 Bicentennial Uncirculated Silver Dollar is also available with a maximum mintage of 25,000. [click to continue…]
The United States Mint indicated that new products would be released in 2012 in association with the commemorative coins planned for the year. In addition, the price points of those products as well as the individual coins are now known.
Special commemorative coin packaging or multi-coin sets associated with commemorative strikes have not been issued by the US Mint since 2009 such as the 2009 Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set. However, that is going to change with the pending 2012 Commemorative Coin releases. [click to continue…]
The Royal Canadian Mint has released two new strikes celebrating the Year of the Dragon taken from the Chinese Zodiac. Both the Year of the Dragon 1/10 Oz Gold Coin and the Year of the Dragon 1/2 Oz Silver Coin showcase the same reverse design of the mythical creature and are available now for ordering.
Use of the Chinese Zodiac dates back millennia and features twelve creatures each representing a different year of a twelve year cycle that repeats. Of those creatures, the dragon is believed to be the mightiest and occupies the fifth position of the Zodiac. [click to continue…]
While the United States Mint has yet to offer a complete Product Schedule for 2012 letting the public know when to expect certain products, it has released a list of issue prices for some of those products. Collectors will be happy to learn that many of those 2012 issue prices are lower than their 2011 versions were sold for.
Among the prices announced by the Mint, the 2012 Proof Silver Eagle will see a 9.5% decrease from the highest price point the 2011 Eagle sold at. Other affected products include the United States Mint Uncirculated Coin Set®, several America the Beautiful Quarters® products and some Presidential $1 Coin products. [click to continue…]
The United States Mint yesterday, Thursday, January 12, 2012, released the 2011 Vicksburg Silver Uncirculated Coin. These strikes feature a reverse design emblematic of Vicksburg National Military Park located in the state of Mississippi and are available now for $204.95, plus the US Mint's standard shipping and handling charge.
The 2011 Vicksburg Silver Uncirculated Coin is the fourth 2011-dated strike in the America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin series. This coin also marks the ninth in the program overall which debuted with five 2010-dated releases. [click to continue…]
The fourth release of the popular Famous Battles in Australian History series has been issued by the Perth Mint of Australia. Called the Kapyong 1 Oz Silver Proof Coin, the strike recalls the Battle of Kapyong fought during the Korean War in April of 1951.
Each silver proof coin is struck from one ounce of 99.9% pure silver. The reverse of the strike contains the colorized image emblematic of the conflict. [click to continue…]
The United States Mint will begin accepting orders for the 2012 bullion Gold and Silver Eagles tomorrow, January 3rd, 2012 from its network of authorized purchasers (APs). The announcement of the debut of the 2012-dated coins was made in a memo last week to the APs and also included additional details as well as alluded to anticipated sufficient supplies of the bullion Eagles.
Bullion Gold Eagles and Silver Eagles are not sold directly to the public. Instead, they are offered in bulk to a network of authorized purchasers who pay a small premium above the current spot price of the precious metals contained within the coins. The APs then resell them to coin and precious metal dealers and the public for an additional premium above spot. [click to continue…]
On Tuesday, December 27, 2011, the United States Mint lowered the price on five of its numismatic silver products. The five products affected by the new price points include the uncirculated American Silver Eagles and the four currently available America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins.
These price drops were lead by a continued soft silver market. The precious metal has been down over $18 an ounce from its 2011 high set in late April.
The table below shows the five affected silver numismatic products, their previous price and the price they are now available for: [click to continue…]
The United States Mint stopped selling the 2011 Commemorative Coins at 5PM on Friday, December 16, 2011 in order to allow it time to insure all orders for the strikes were completed before the end of the year. As required by law, the coins could no longer be sold after 2011.
Now that the coins are no longer being sold, we have an idea of what the mintages will be on the ten different varieties of commemorative coins struck during the year by the US Mint. These numbers are not final and may be adjusted based on returns, and accounting corrections, but they are taken from the US Mint's sales figures released early last week (with sales shown through December 19, 2011).
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The Royal Canadian Mint has released the third strike in what has become one of its most popular series - the "Exchange $20 for $20" program. The $20 Pure Silver Polar Bear Commemorative Coin continues that series and like its predecessors is struck from 99.99% pure silver and is sold for an amount equal to its face value of $20.
