This is comforting and happy news for coin collectors who have practically been on the edge of their seat waiting for information of the numismatic strikes. Collectors have been unable to obtain these proof quality Eagles since they were last available in 2008.

The US Mint was forced to cancel production of the Proof Eagles in 2009 because of the intense demand it was experiencing for the bullion versions of the strikes. That marked the first time the Mint did not strike an annual version of the Proof Gold Eagles since they were first introduced back in 1986.

According to the way the law was written authorizing the Eagles, the Mint must strike the bullion Eagles to meet demand. Unfortunately, as they were not able to procure enough gold blank planchets, that demand was never fully satisfied. As such, the numismatic versions were not produced.

Many wondered if the Mint was not in the same predicament this year as the Gold Eagles were still selling quite well. However, their numbers have not been record-setting and apparently the Mint was able to set aside enough blanks to strike the Proof Eagles.

Indications are that the Mint will strike one-ounce, half-ounce, quarter-ounce and tenth-ounce proofs. The Mint will also release the 4-coin set which includes all four sizes of the Eagle.

These coins will be available directly from the Mint, slated for sometime in October. The price for each option will be set shortly before the coins are released as the Mint bases its numismatic precious metal coin prices on a matrix which ties it to the recent market spot prices.

Unfortunately, collector's good luck has apparently not rubbed off on the Proof Silver American Eagles. They fell victim to the same fate as the Gold Eagles last year and were canceled due to overwhelming bullion demand. However, the Silver Eagles are still on track to break the all-time annual record for the number of strikes sold indicating that demand for them remains quite high.

The Mint indicated in August that likely the only chance for the Silver Proof Eagles to be released this year was for Congress to intervene and to make an exception for their production even though the Mint has not yet met demand for the bullion Silver Eagles. As of yet, Congress has not yet acted.

The James Buchanan products tend to deal mostly with the related First Spouse coins. Typically, this series honors the spouses of the former Presidents of the United States. However, as Buchanan (the 15th President) never married, the Spouse strikes contain his image on the reverse instead and are known as the Buchanan's Liberty Gold Coins. The name is derived from the fact that each contains an image of Liberty on their obverse.

The Buchanan Presidential Dollar honoring him was released back on August 19th, but the First Spouse Coins were only issued on September 2, 2010. Each of the Spouse Coins are struck from 1/2 ounce of 24-karat gold. They are available in either proof or uncirculated condition and currently are on sale for $779 for the proof and $766 for the uncirculated. This price may be adjusted weekly as the Mint links the precious metal coins to the average spot price of gold the previous week.

Also available is a bronze medal replica of the Buchanan Liberty Coin. It is 1 5/16" inches in diameter and sells for $5.50.

The end of the month finds the James Buchanan $1 Coin Cover released on September 30th. This product will include two circulation quality James Buchanan Presidential $1 Coins with one struck at the US Mint's facility in Denver and one struck at the US Mint's facility in Philadelphia. Each are from the first day of production and come mounted on a display card which has been cancelled by the US Post office with August 19, 2010, Lancaster, PA, - the day the coin was released into circulation. Price is slated to be $15.95.

In between the Buchanan releases, the Mint will start offering the Grand Canyon National Park Quarters. The official release ceremony is scheduled for September 21 at 1:30 p.m. (MST), on the park’s South Rim, between Hopi House and Verkamp’s Visitor Center.

The day before, the Mint will have the related products available for sale. This includes the Two-Roll Sets and the 100-coin bags. The Two-Roll Sets contain 40 circulation quality Grand Canyon Quarters struck at the US Mint's facility in Denver and 40 struck at the US Mint's facility in Philadelphia. Each roll is wrapped in special mint wrapping showing the value and contents. The set will sell for $32.95.

Also offered is 100-coin bags of the new quarters. They are also circulation quality with buyers having the choice of Philadelphia or Denver strikes. The Mint lists $35.95 each as the price.

The Grand Canyon Park Quarters are the fourth of five inaugural year strikes for the new America the Beautiful Quarters™ Program. The new series will see five new quarters released each year with one quarter honoring a site of national interest from each state, the District of Columbia and the five territories of the United States.

Marking the fourth of five strikes to be released under the program this year, the Grand Canyon Park Quarter honors the national park which is located in Arizona.  It follows the release of the Hot Springs Park Quarter representing Arkansas, the Yellowstone Park Quarter representing Wyoming and the Yosemite Park Quarter representing California.  Due to be released yet this fall is the Mount Hood Forest Quarter which represents Oregon.

All five of the coins serve as the inaugural year strikes for the America the Beautiful Program which is set to have five new quarters issued annually as part of it.  Each of these quarters represent a different site of national interest from around the United States.  One site was chosen from each state, the District of Columbia and the five territories of the United States.  The release order for the quarters is linked to the date in which the honored site came under the direct control of the federal government.

The US Mint has indicated that the official release ceremony for the Grand Canyon Quarter will be on September 21, 2010 at 1:30 PM (MST).  As with all of the typical release ceremonies, there will undoubtedly be some speeches by noted individuals.  Following the official function, children 18 and under who attended the event will be given a free Grand Canyon strike to commemorate their attendance.

Adults will also be given the chance to get their hands on some of the new quarters.  The standard exchange will be offered where cash may be used to purchase rolls of the new strikes.

The ceremony is scheduled to be held at the park's South Rim, between Hopi House and Verkamp's Visitor Center.  Those wishing to attend the function are highly recommended by the Mint to park at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center or the Backcountry Information Center and ride the park's free bus system as parking will be extremely limited near the ceremony.

A Collector's forum is scheduled for the night before the ceremony.  These forum's provide an excellent opportunity for the public to be able to ask questions of Mint Directory Ed Moy who will host the forum.

For more information on the new strike, see World Mint Coin's Grand Canyon Park Quarter page or our sister site of America the Beautiful Quarters.

First, the James Buchanan $1 Coin Rolls were released by the US Mint recently on Thursday, August 19th, 2010. Buyers have their choice of a roll of 25 coins struck to circulation quality at either the US Mint's facility in Denver or a roll of 25 coins struck to circulation quality at the US Mint's facility in Philadelphia. Either choice is available for the price of $35.95, plus the Mint's standard handling charge of $4.95 per order.

Featured on the obverse (heads side) of the Buchanan $1 Coin is a portrait of the former President.  It was designed by United States Mint Sculptor / Engraver Phebe Hemphill.  The reverse (tails side) of the strike contains the standard design found on the reverse of all of the Presidential $1 coins - the Statue of Liberty.  It was the work of United States Mint Sculptor / Engraver Don Everhart.

Premiering this coming Thursday (September 2, 2010), is the Buchanan Liberty First Spouse Gold Coin. Typically, the First Spouse series honors the spouse of a former president.  However, as Buchanan never married, the coin tied to his administration features an image of Liberty on the obverse of the coin instead.

This Liberty was designed by Christian Gobrecht and was originally featured on the Liberty Head Quarter Eagle from 1840-1907.  The reverse shows a scene from the life of Buchanan - in this instance, a young Buchanan working as a bookkeeper in his family's small store.  It was designed by David Westwood and sculpted by Joseph Menna.

A price has not yet been set for the release of these Buchanan Liberty Coins. That is because these coins are struck from one half ounce of .9999 pure gold.  As with all of the precious metal numismatic strikes from the Mint, the debut price will be linked to the Mint's pricing matrix which ties the cost of the precious metal coins to the previous week's average London Fix.  For reference, the current price of Spouse Coins available now stands at $779 for the proof coins and $766 for the uncirculated varieties.

This set is always popular with collectors and comes a month after the Mint released the even more popular standard 2010 Proof Set. Both sets offer special proof versions of the fourteen circulating coins of the United States.  However, making the Silver Proof Set unique is the fact that half of the coins included are struck from 90% silver.

Included in the set are the following coins:

• (4) 2010-S Presidential $1 Coins (Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, and Lincoln)
• (1) 2010-S Native American $1 Coin
• (1) 2010-S Kennedy half-dollar (struck from 90% silver)
• (5) 2010-S America the Beautiful Quarters (Hot Springs National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, Grand Canyon National Park and Mount Hood National Forest) (struck from 90% silver)
• (1) 2010-S Roosevelt dime (struck from 90% silver)
• (1) 2010-S Jefferson nickel
• (1) 2010-S Lincoln cent

As indicated above, the seven coins to be struck from silver are the five America the Beautiful Quarters, the Kennedy Half-Dollar and the Roosevelt Dime.  Combined, those coins equal a total of 1.338 ounces of silver which has an intrinsic value of $24.41 based on the current August average spot price of $18.25 per ounce.

Also, making the set unique is the fact that eleven of the coins feature designs that have never before been available in a Silver Proof Set.  These include the five new strikes of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program, which debuted just this year.  It also includes the 2010 Native American $1 Coin which features a new design called "Government—The Great Tree of Peace."

Next, the four Presidential Dollar Coins featuring the former presidents Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, and Lincoln are new and unique for the year.  Finally, the 2010 Lincoln Cent featuring a Union Shield on the reverse side is also new for the year.

Probably the most exciting coin to be included in the set is the Lincoln Presidential Dollar which is sure to drive up interest in the set as a whole.  Lincoln is considered to be one of the most popular presidents in history and the circulating version of his coin has not yet been released by the US Mint.

Sale price of the Silver Proof Set is set at $56.95 plus the Mint's standard shipping and handling charge of $4.95 per order.  Those interested in placing an order may do so via the Mint's website of www.usmint.gov or by calling their toll-free number of 1-800-USA-Mint.

The coin was first offered to the public on Thursday, August 12, 2010 at Noon (Eastern).  Initial price of the strike was $1,892 each, with a household limit of 5 in place.

Jump ahead just a few days and the Mint indicated it had sold an amazing 8,268 of the coins from its release through to the following Sunday. This accounted for 82% of the total mintage of 10,000 put in place by the Mint.

Just a few days later, on Thursday, August 19th, the Mint indicated the entire mintage of the 1-ounce .9995 fine platinum coins had been sold, but was accepting new orders to be placed on a "Waiting List."  The Mint would only fulfill these orders if one of the previous orders had been canceled or returned for some reason.

The Mint is now beyond that point and by placing the Platinum Eagle on the No Longer Available list, indicates they have more than enough waiting list orders to guarantee a complete sell-out.

The 2010 Eagles continue the Platinum Program which debuted back in 1997.  Making the strike even more collectible is the fact that the reverse of the 2010 Eagle contains a special design which is the second of six to be issued in a series honoring the six principles of the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States.

Those six principles and the year of their release are shown below:

• 2009 – To Form a More Perfect Union
• 2010 – To Establish Justice
• 2011 – To Insure Domestic Tranquility
• 2012 – To Provide for the Common Defense
• 2013 – To Promote General Welfare
• 2014 – To Secure the Blessings of Liberty to Ourselves and our Posterity

Both last year's "To For a More Perfect Union" and this year's "To Establish Justice" strikes sold out making the remaining Platinum Eagle's due to be released over the next four years even more desirable.  Be sure to see World Mint Coin's 2010 Platinum Eagle for more information on the coin.

Technically, the Mint placed the Eagles on a "Waiting List" option which means that the entire mintage of the strikes has already been spoken for.  However, by offering the waiting list, the Mint can insure all of the Eagles are sold even if some of the previous orders are canceled or returned.  This has been standard practice for the Mint as of late.

Those wishing to be placed on the waiting list may do so via the Mint's website of www.usmint.gov or by calling their toll-free number of 1-800-USA-MINT.  It is important to keep in mind that it is for the waiting list only, so previous orders need to be canceled for some reason for the new orders to be fulfilled.

The official terminology used by the Mint is shown below:

Waiting List Notice: The number of orders we have taken meets the maximum limit for the 2010 American Eagle One Ounce Platinum Proof Coin. You may still place an order for this product, which will go on a waiting list. If a product becomes available due to an order cancellation, we will fulfill orders from the waiting list on a first-in, first-served basis.

The Platinum Eagles went on sale only last week at Noon (Eastern Time) on Thursday, August 12, 2010.   They initially sold for $1,892 each and still managed to sell extremely well in their first few days.  By the following Sunday, 8,268 of the coins had been sold leaving just 1,732 from the mintage cap of 10,000.

Sales were undoubtedly helped this past Wednesday when the price of the Proof Platinum Eagles was adjusted downward by $100 due to the Mint's precious metal pricing matrix which ties the price of its numismatic products to the previous week's London Fix.  Those putting themselves on the waiting list will only pay the new price of $1,792 per coin (if their order is fulfilled).

For more information on this and other highly collectible 2010 coins from the US Mint, be sure to visit the 2010 US Coins page via the link at the top.

This comes as welcome news to collectors who have been anxiously waiting for any information on the new series of bullion coins.  Up to this point, the Mint has only alluded to several issues it had in striking the coins, most notable of which is the fact that the authorizing legislation requires the bullion coins fineness and weight to be edge-incused on each strike.

Preliminary testing resulted in a "crumpling effect" as the process of incusing the edge proved too much for the coins.  Mint Director Ed Moy described some of the related issues earlier this year:

"… the law was very specific, they said it had to be a certain diameter and it had to be 5 ounces. Well, there isn’t a 5 ounce blank out there, so we had to get this custom made, " explained Mint Director Moy on the issues of the America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins.

"Then, because it was 3 inches in diameter, well we’ve got a 5 ounce piece of silver and we stretch it out to a 3 inch diameter, it’s paper thin. And then congress mandated that we had to edge letter it. So when you edge letter a paper thin coin, you get crumples."

Moy continued that the Mint tried to get Congress to change the requirements in some fashion, but no action was ever taken leaving the Mint to overcome the challenges.  It apparently did with U.S. Mint spokesman Michael White stating that the develpment stage has been completed and that the Mint was ready to place an order for the special blanks from its supplier Sunshine Minting, Inc. in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

With that order, the Mint will also go to the Treasury Secretary for approval on the final mintage figures which is anticipated to be in the 500,000 range as stated earlier. Once it receives the blanks, the Mint will start striking the new coins and will set a release date.

For those unfamiliar with these new strikes, the America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins are to be issued in association with the new America the Beautiful Quarters Program.  In fact, the bullion coins are to feature identical imagery as to what is found on the circulating quarters.

Consequently, five new bullion coins are due yet this year along with the five new quarters.  Three of the quarters have already been released, the Hot Springs National Park Quarter, the Yellowstone National Park Quarter and the Yosemite National Park Quarter.  The two quarters yet to be seen are the Grand Canyon National Park Quarter and the Mount Hood National Forest Quarter, both of which will find their way into circulation over the next few months.

Collectors will note that the bullion coins will not be available directly from the Mint.  For all of its bullion products, the Mint uses a network of authorized purchasers which receive the bullion coins in bulk from the Mint and then resells them in smaller quantities for a small premium above the spot price of the precious metal contained within them.

Available as of noon yesterday (Thursday, August 12, 2010), the 2010 Platinum Eagle sells for $1,892 each with a maximum household limit of five per household. The coins themselves continue the series of platinum coins which debuted back in 1997 and have been available annually since.

Making these coins even more unique and collectible is the fact that they also mark the second of six newly designed Platinum Eagle special reverse coins issued by the Mint which are emblematic of the six principles found in the Preamble of the United States Constitution.  The US Mint asked Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court John G. Roberts, Jr. to write narratives based on those six principles and the reverse of the Platinum Eagles have been used to portray the themes of those principles.

Last year's Eagle was based on the theme ""To Form a More Perfect Union," with this year's strike using "To Establish Justice."  Four more principles will be used in the next four annual Eagle releases and are slated to be as follows: 2011--To Insure Domestic Tranquility, 2012--To Provide for the Common Defence, 2013--To Promote General Welfare and 2014--To Secure the Blessings of Liberty to Ourselves and our Posterity.

The reverse design of this year's "Justice" coin features a blindfolded Justice holding the traditional scales and a branch of laurel. It ships in a custom-designed portfolio presentation case with the specifications of the coin on the right and a copy of Chief Justice Gates' narrative on "To Establish Justice" printed on the left. The coin itself is in the center of the case with an image of the obverse of the coin printed above it.

A sell-out of this Eagle would not be unexpected.  Last year's Platinum Eagle sold out in less than a week with only a mintage of 8,000 in place.  The US Mint has established a maximum mintage of 10,000 for this year's coin.

Of course, the circulation of the coins will be handled by the Federal Reserve System and the local banks and not by the Mint. The Mint just strikes the coins and makes them available for the Federal Reserve to distribute as needed based on demand.

The official launch ceremony, however, is completed in conjunction with the Mint and will be held at at Wheatland, the former President's home, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The function will start at 10AM, Eastern Time.

Of interest to most collectors, the ceremony will also include the traditional coin exchange in which attendees will be able to exchange cash for some of the new strikes. Each new coin contains a portrait of James Buchanan on its obverse (heads side). The portrait was designed by United States Mint Artistic Sculptor-Engraver Phebe Hemphill and also includes the inscriptions JAMES BUCHANAN, IN GOD WE TRUST, 15TH PRESIDENT and 1857-1861.

The reverse (tails side) contains United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Don Everhart's image of the Statue of Liberty which is featured on the reverse of all of the Presidential Coins. This side also includes the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 2010, E PLURIBUS UNUM and the Mint of origin are edge incused on each coin.

These coins mark the fifteenth for the program as a whole which debuted in 2007. They are also the third strikes to be released this year following the Millard Fillmore Coin and the Franklin Pierce Coin. It will be followed yet this year by the Abraham Lincoln Coin, which is sure to be extremely popular.

More information on the Buchanan Presidential Dollar can be found on World Mint Coin's James Buchanan Coin page.

The official ceremony introducing the Yosemite Quarter to the public occurred three days after the coins were released into circulation by the Mint on July 26th.  On that same day, the Mint also started offering bags and rolls of the strikes for purchase via its website.

Struck to circulation quality, the coins in the bags and rolls offer buyers the chance to get their hands on some of the strikes which have proven to be problematic to obtain through local channels.  With the economic conditions currently being experienced in the United States, local banks are not ordering as many new coins from the Federal Reserve which in turn is not ordering as many from the Mint meaning fewer of these strikes are reaching circulation.

The 100-coin bag option sells from the Mint for $35.95 and contains the buyer's choice of 100 circulation quality strikes from the Mint's facility in Denver or 100 circulation quality strikes from the Mint in Philadelphia.  The two-roll sets sell for $32.95 and contain one roll of 40 circulation quality quarters struck in Denver and one roll of 40 circulation quality quarters struck in Philadelphia.  The Mint adds a shipping and handling charge of $4.95 per order.

Attendees of the release ceremony, which was held at the Valley Visitor Center in Yosemite, California were also offered an opportunity to obtain some of the new strikes.  Children were given one free as a memento of being there for the historic event while adults were offered the opportunity to purchase rolls of the quarters for face value at an exchange setup by the Yosemite Credit Union.

As the third release of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program, the strikes followed the Hot Springs National Park Quarter and the Yellowstone National Park Quarter which debuted earlier this year.  Still slated to be introduced later this year are the Grand Canyon National Park Quarter and the Mount Hood National Forest Quarter.

This will complete the inaugural year for the program which will include a total of fifty-six strikes when completed in 2021.  A complete list of the locations to be honored and when can be seen on this quarters release schedule offered by World Mint Coin's sister site of ParkQuarters.com

The 2010 Platinum Eagle features the second of six new unique reverse designs that are emblematic of the six major principles of the Preamble of the Constitution of the United States.  All six of the designed to be used on the Platinum Eagles were inspired by narratives prepared by the Chief Justice of the United States, John G. Roberts, Jr.

The list of the six principles and the year they will be honored are:

• 2009--To Form a More Perfect Union
• 2010--To Establish Justice
• 2011--To Insure Domestic Tranquility
• 2012--To Provide for the Common Defence
• 2013--To Promote General Welfare
• 2014--To Secure the Blessings of Liberty to Ourselves and our Posterity

If history is any indicator, the Mint is sure to experience intense demand for these strikes.  The 2009 "Perfect Union" Eagles were available for less than a week before collectors had purchased the entire mintage of 8,000 coins.  And this was with a household order limit of five in place and a purchase price of $1,792.

Adding flame to the fire is the fact that the Mint is experiencing record demand for its bullion gold and silver Eagles.  If that demand holds pace, it is entirely likely that the Mint will be forced to cancel the 2010 Proof Gold and Silver Eagles making this Platinum Eagle the only non-bullion version to be struck during the year.

Of note, the Mint has increased the total mintage for this coin versus the prior year's.  While 2009 only saw 8,000 of the Platinum Eagle's made available, 2010 will have a mintage cap of 10,000 in place.

No price on the Eagle's has been announced as of yet.  The US Mint will use its precious metal coin pricing matrix to determine the cost to buyers.  This matrix ties that cost to the average of the spot price of platinum the previous week.

The Mint indicates that the Platinum Eagle's will become available on August 12th, 2010 at Noon (Eastern Time).   Orders may be placed via the Mint's website of www.usmint.gov or via their toll-free number of 1-800-USA-MINT.

This set includes a total of fourteen coins representing the circulating coinage from the US Mint for the year, but these coins are struck to proof quality at the mint's facility in San Francisco.  As such, each coin carries the appropriate 'S' mintmark.

Proof Sets have proven to be extremely popular with collectors in the past.  Typically, more of these sets are sold each year by the Mint than any other set offered. According to unaudited figures from the Mint for last year, 1,477,967 of the 2009 version of the set were ordered.

While that number is impressive, it is nothing compared to the number of sets ordered in some of the previous years.  Going back as recently as 2006, over 2 million of that year's dated sets were ordered.  In 2000, an amazing 3,082,572 sets were sold by the Mint.

Still, these sets are sure to be a big hit with collectors.  Included inside is a total of fourteen coins, all struck to proof quality so that they feature mirror-like backgrounds and enhanced detail.

The fourteen coins are encased in three different protective lenses allowing the holder to view both the obverse (heads side) and reverse (tails side) of each coin.

Included in the set are:

• (4) 2010-S Presidential $1 Coins (Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, and Lincoln)
• (1) 2010-S Native American $1 Coin
• (1) 2010-S Kennedy half-dollar
• (1) 2010-S Roosevelt dime
• (1) 2010-S Jefferson nickel
• (1) 2010-S Lincoln cent
• (5) 2010-S America the Beautiful Quarters

Of note, a majority of the coins in the set represent versions of coins  never before seen in a previous Proof Set.  Only the Kennedy Half Dollar, the Roosevelt Dime and the Jefferson Nickel contain designs already present on a strike of a previous year.

The four Presidential Dollars (Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, and Lincoln) are new and unique to this year as are the five  America the Beautiful Quarters™ (Hot Springs National Park Quarter, Yellowstone National Park Quarter, Yosemite National Park Quarter, Grand Canyon National Park Quarter and Mount Hood National Forest Quarter) and the Native American Dollar. The Lincoln Cent features a new design as well, but the cent is slated to use this design for the foreseeable future.

Orders for the Proof Set may be placed at the Mint's website of www.usmint.gov or via their toll-free number of 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468).

Additional information on the specific coins included in the set may be found via World Mint Coins 2010 US Coins page.

This will come as welcome news to those who seek out the Silver Eagles as part of their coin collecting hobby.  The Proof Eagles were first struck back in 1986 when the Eagle Program debuted and were available annually until 2009.  Up to that point, many added the proof coins to their collection each year.

However, last year, the Mint was forced to cancel the Proof Silver Eagle production due to what it called "overwhelming demand" for the bullion version of the coin.  By law, the Mint is required to strike the bullion coins to meed demand and last year that demand was at record levels.

Consequently, Proof Eagle collectors were left with a blank spot representing 2009.  And, so far this year, it appears the 2010 will also be a blank as bullion demand remains high.

In an effort to return to Proof Eagle production despite not being able to adequately strike the bullion versions to meet demand, Congress is considering an amendment to the law.  In the amendment, the Treasury Secretary would be allowed to authorize the striking of Proof Eagles.

In his testimony to the House Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology, US Mint Director Ed Moy had the following comments about the possibility of being able to strike the Proof Eagles.

"American Eagle coin collectors and our many other customers who purchase these products as gifts would likely welcome such a change," stated Mint Director Moy.  "Indeed, such a change would be one of the most positive customer satisfaction measures that could be taken to benefit your coin collecting constituents without having an effect on American’s ability to acquire investment-grade silver bullion."

Continuing on, Moy informed the subcommittee of the urgency of their action if the 2010 Eagles were to be possible:

"...however, such a change needs to be enacted soon," continued Moy. "We can mint 200,000 per month, and if we can begin by September, we will be able to produce about 830,000 one-ounce silver American Eagle coins to meet collector demand for this product in the remaining months of 2010."

No further action was taken, as of yet.  However, if Congress acts soon, there still will be a possibility of 2010 Proof Silver Eagles being struck by the US Mint.

Struck to honor the scenic national park in California, the Yosemite strike marks the third release of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program which debuted earlier this year with a strike honoring Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas.  That coin was followed up in early June with a quarter featuring Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.

The release of the bags and rolls of the Yosemite Quarter is marked for three days before the US Mint officially launches the strike during a ceremony held on the grounds of the honored park.  As announced earlier, that ceremony will be held on July 29th at 11 AM (Pacific Time) in Yosemite National Park at the Valley Visitor's Center, located in Yosemite Village Loop, Yosemite, California.

When released, the two-roll sets of the Yosemite National Park Quarter will feature one roll of 40 coins struck to circulation quality at the US Mint's facility in Philadelphia and one roll of 40 coins struck at the US Mint's facility in Denver.  Each roll will be wrapped in special mint wrapping and be printed with the strike of "YOSEMITE," the abbreviation "CA" for California, the face value of each roll "$10" and the mint of origin for that specific roll.  The US Mint will sell the two-roll sets for $32.95 each, plus the Mint's standard shipping and handling charge of $4.95 per order.

The bags containing Yosemite Quarters will contain 100-circulation quality strikes of the coin from either the Denver Mint or the Philadelphia Mint, buyer's choice.  Each bag will be imprinted with the mint of origin, "Yosemite," "CA" and the face value of the contents - "$25."  Sale price of the bags will be $35.95 each plus the Mint's shipping charge per order.

Featured on the obverse of each strike is a portrait of George Washington, the first President of the United States.  Originally designed by John Flanagan, the Washington portrait has been on the quarter dollar since 1932.

The reverse of each Yosemite Quarter features a design emblematic of the national park.  In this case, a view of El Capitan, the largest granite monolith in the world which rises 3.000 feet above the valley floor and is found inside the park.  It was designed by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Joseph Menna and sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Phebe Hemphill.

To order either the 100-coin bags or the two-roll sets of the Yosemite National Park Quarter, visit the Mint's website of www.usmint.gov or call their toll-free number of 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468).

Through to 2020, the U.S. Mint will issue five different quarter-dollar designs each year. Each will honor a specific national park or other national site ever every U.S. state, territory and the District of Columbia.

As the program debuted earlier this year, two of the coins have already been released and are making their way through everyday change. The Hot Springs National Park Quarter ceremonial launch was in April, while Yellowstone's ceremony happened in early June.

The 2010 Yosemite National Park Quarter release ceremony is on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 11:00 AM PT at the Valley Visitor's Center, located in Yosemite Village Loop, Yosemite, California.

The 2010 Grand Canyon National Park Quarter launch ceremony is on Tuesday, September 21, 2010 at 1:00 PM PT at the grounds adjacent to El Tovar Hotel located in Grand Canyon, Arizona.

The 2010 Mount Hood National Forest Quarter release is scheduled for Wednesday, November 17, at 10:00 AM PT at the World Forestry Center located at 4033 SW Canyon Road, Portland, Oregon.

The launch ceremonies are open to the public and include a coin exchange at which visitors can obtain rolls of newly minted quarters bearing the design that honors the featured site. Children 18 and younger receive a free new quarter to commemorate the event.

Visit this site's 2010 US Coins page for more information on each quarter, or sister site National Park Quarters.

There were 33.6 million Yellowstone coins produced in the U.S. Mint's Philadelphia facility and 34.8 million coins produced in its Denver facility. Together, the production totals 68.4 million.

Before letting those numbers sink it, it should be noted that the mintages are preliminary as they can shift should buyers purchase the quarters in bulk later this year. The Mint said in such cases that it "may produce additional coins to satisfy orders throughout the year for the first few designs if time and resources permit." Thus, the numbers could potentially rise.

Although the Yellowstone quarter ranks at the top for most produced in the new America the Beautiful series, its mintage is still lower than prior quarter-dollars dating way back to the 50s. Hot Springs quarter mintages remain scarcest given their 59.6 million total, with 30.6 million from Philadelphia and 29 million from Denver.

The Hot Springs quarter entered circulation on April 21, 2010, while the Yellowstone quarter was released for circulation on June 1, 2010. The next Yosemite National Park Quarter will be issued July 26, 2010.

Many collectors will wait in interest for next month's published figures to discover whether preliminary Yosemite levels are revealed and higher. Hot Springs coins currently have an edge in desirability with their lowest mintages.

Both bullion coins would have inched higher on the leader board had it not been for May sales that were even hotter. Still, their sales were impressive since summer months are usually among the slowest for the American Eagle series.

The following table provides U.S. Mint coin figures. The first column is for June 2010 and the third for sales through to June 30, 2010. Before looking at it, two things should be noted. One, the totals are in coins sold and not ounces of them sold, and two, they are bullion coins only. To date, the U.S. Mint has not offered numismatic/collector 2010 proof or uncirculated America Eagle versions (the 2009s were canceled due to the enormous demand of the bullion versions).

Prominent in the table are fractional 2010 Gold Eagles, which became available June 10, 2010. Initial sales of the coins exploded, although they have since slowed. The 1/10 ounce sizes have already passed the 260,000 sold in years 2008 and 2009.

In terms of ounces, Mint buyers snapped up 185,000 ounce of gold -- 151,500 ounces of American Gold Eagles and 33,500 ounces of American Buffalo Gold coins.

Demand for the Buffalo bullion coins actually more than halved from May when 70,500 were sold, and are less than April's 56,500. The introduction of the Eagle fractionals likely contributed to their falling numbers.

Switching to American Silver Eagles, the more than 3 million for June marks the fourth time in 2010 the level has been topped. As mentioned, June sales ranked six all-time. The month trailed December 1986, May 2010, January 2010, March 2010 and March 2009 -- in that order. The 18+ million sold during the first half of the year is extraordinary. If that number is doubled by year's end, 2010 will easily earn the title as the best ever for the coins. The current annual record was hit in 2009 with 28,766,500.

In terms of new bullion offerings left for the year, there will be five 2010 bullion America the Beautiful 5 oz Silver Coins that are expected to start debuting later this summer. These are the .999 fine, 3-inch diameter coins that are duplicates of the America the Beautiful Quarters.

The Mint has not indicated whether the platinum bullion American Eagles will be released. The collector proof version will launch on August 12, 2010.

This year's bullion coin sales pace again places pressure on the collector American Eagles. As the Mint is required by law to produce bullion versions to meet demand, the proof and uncirculated coins may again get canceled.

2010 Mint Set, One of the Two Most Popular Annual Sets to Launch in July

The US Mint has announced the official release dates for two of its most popular annual sets - the 2010 United States Mint Uncirculated Set® and the 2010 United States Mint Proof Set®, both of which will occur in the next few weeks.

Anticipation is usually high among collectors for these sets and they always prove in demand. Of interest, the Proof Set is appearing slightly later than last year's version which debuted on June 1, 2009. The 2010 Uncirculated Mint Set, however, will find its way into collectors hands much earlier than last year. The 2009 Set appeared only on October 1, 2009.

Making these sets even more unique is the fact that a majority of the coins included in them represent new designs that have never been featured before in one of the annual sets. New strikes include the four Presidential Dollars, the 2010 Lincoln Cent and the five debut strikes of the America the Beautiful Quarters™ Program.

2010 United States Mint Uncirculated Set

The US Mint will be releasing the 2010 United States Mint Uncirculated Set on July 15, 2010 at Noon (Eastern Time) for a listed price of $31.95.

Included in the set will be a total of 28 satin-finished coins, with 14 struck at the US Mint's facility in Philadelphia and 14 struck at the US Mint's facility in Denver. Each are minted using special presses using more force than used on circulation quality strikes resulting in coins with a higher level of detail.

The set represents all of the circulation quality strikes issued by the Mint. Each coin is sealed in a blister and displayed in one of two folders depending upon which mint facility it was struck at. Typically, the Mint uses a blue folder for those coins struck in Philadelphia and a red folder for those struck in Denver.

Coins included in the set are:

• 2010 P & D Fillmore Presidential Dollar Coins
• 2010 P & D Pierce Presidential Dollar Coins
• 2010 P & D Buchanan Presidential Dollar Coins
• 2009 P & D Lincoln Presidential Dollar Coins
• 2010 P & D Native American Dollar Coins
• 2010 P & D Kennedy Half Dollars
• 2010 P & D Roosevelt Dimes
• 2010 P & D Jefferson Nickels
• 2010 P & D Lincoln Cent
• 2010 P & D Hot Springs National Park Quarters, representing the state of Arkansas
• 2010 P & D Yellowstone National Park Quarters, representing the state of Wyoming
• 2010 P & D Yosemite National Park Quarters, representing the state of California
• 2010 P & D Grand Canyon National Park Quarters, representing the state of Arizona
• 2010 P & D Mount Hood National Forest Quarters, representing the state of Oregon

2010 United States Mint Proof Set®

The US Mint will be releasing the 2010 United States Mint Proof Set® on July 22, 2010 at Noon (Eastern Time) for a listed price of $31.95.

Included in the set will be a total of 14 proof-quality coins struck using special highly polished dies which create strikes that are brilliant with enhanced detail and a mirror-like background. All of the coins in the set are minted at the US Mint's facility in San Francisco and bear the appropriate 'S' mintmark.

Coins will be sealed in three different protective lenses allowing holders to view the obverse and reverse of each coin, but still protect the coins finish.

Coins included in the set are:

• 2010 S Fillmore Presidential Dollar Coin
• 2010 S Pierce Presidential Dollar Coin
• 2010 S Buchanan Presidential Dollar Coin
• 2009 S Lincoln Presidential Dollar Coin
• 2010 S Native American Dollar Coin
• 2010 S Kennedy Half Dollar
• 2010 S Roosevelt Dime
• 2010 S Jefferson Nickel
• 2010 S Lincoln Cent
• 2010 S Hot Springs National Park Quarter, representing the state of Arkansas
• 2010 S Yellowstone National Park Quarter, representing the state of Wyoming
• 2010 S Yosemite National Park Quarter, representing the state of California
• 2010 S Grand Canyon National Park Quarter, representing the state of Arizona
• 2010 S Mount Hood National Forest Quarter, representing the state of Oregon

Annual Set Ordering

Both of these sets will be available from the US Mint on their respective release dates at Noon (Eastern Time). Those wishing to place an order may do so after the release time by calling the Mint at 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468) or via the website of www.usmint.gov.

The Mint also offers both sets as part of its Online Subscription Program. Through the program, interested individuals can sign up to automatically be charged for and sent selected items without the need to have to place an order manually. For more information, contact the Mint.

Collectors and investors should not have that much longer to wait for a new series of bullion coins to be released from the United States Mint. Known as the America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coin™ Program, these new strikes are due to be issued before the year's end.

Many should already be aware of the sister series called the America the Beautiful Quarters™ Program as coins from it have already made their way into circulation and consequently into the collectors market. Under this program, five new circulating quarter dollars are to be struck annually featuring reverse designs emblematic of selected sites of national interest from around the United States and its territories. Chosen locations include national parks, national forests, national monuments, etc. with one site selected from each state, the District of Columbia as well as one from each territory.

If this new program sounds slightly familiar, it should. It follows the same basic principles that were applied to the previous 50-State Quarters Program ,which debuted in 1999, and was immediately followed-up in 2009 by the D.C. & US Territories Quarters Program. The only appreciable difference is that the reverse designs must feature sites of national origin whereas the previous programs just required a location within the boundaries of that jurisdiction.

Obverse designs on the new circulating quarters, still feature a portrait of the first President of the United States, George Washington, just as they did during the previous two quarter dollar programs. In fact, Washington has been on the quarters since 1932.

The new series of quarters made their debut earlier this year with the release of the Hot Springs National Park Quarter honoring Hot Springs National Park located in Arkansas. The Mint held a ceremony launching the strike on Tuesday, April 20, 2010.

Following that, the Mint released the Yellowstone National Park Quarter on Thursday, June 3, 2010. It honors the national park of the same name which is located primarily in Wyoming. Due up next is the Yosemite National Park Quarter honoring the site in California with a release ceremony scheduled for Thursday, July 29, 2010.

America the Beautiful 5 oz Silver Bullion Coins

Authorized in addition to the circulating quarters by the America's Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-456), was a new series of bullion coins. As indicated earlier, the United States Mint is now in the process (or shortly will be) of striking these bullion pieces.

Each America the Beautiful Silver Coin is to feature identical imagery on both its obverse and reverse sides as what is found on the quarter dollars. That means an obverse showing the portrait of George Washington and a reverse emblematic of the selected national site. The bullion pieces are also to be issued in the same year as the associated quarters are released.

The five bullion coins due out for 2010 include:

• 2010 Hot Springs National Park 5 oz Silver Coin representing Arkansas
• 2010 Yellowstone National Park 5 oz Silver Coin representing Wyoming
• 2010 Yosemite National Park 5 oz Silver Coin representing California
• 2010 Grand Canyon National 5 oz Park Silver Coin representing Arizona
• 2010 Mount Hood National Forest 5 oz Silver Coin representing Oregon

Problems were encountered in initially striking the bullion coins according to previous comments from the Mint. Those problems are undoubtedly due to several factors.

The first of those factors is the America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coin's massive size. The authorizing law dictates that each be struck from five ounces of .999 fine silver to a diameter of three inches. These large strikes are much bigger than any other coin typically produced by the Mint. For reference, the One Ounce Silver American Eagle Bullion Coin only has a diameter of 1.598 inches making the new strikes almost twice as big.

Second, the Mint is required to edge incuse the coin's fineness and weight. This proved to be problematic and test strikes resulted in a "crumpled effect."

Finally, in order to strike the new coins, the Mint had to invest $2.2 million in a new Graebener coining press. As with all new equipment, its setup and initial test runs undoubtedly added time to the mix.

Still, the Mint indicates that it will be striking the new America the Beautiful Bullion Coins in the third quarter of the year (July, August and September) and should begin releasing them in intervals so as to insure they have been made available by years end as is required by the authorizing law. Following years should see a more expanded window of striking and release as the Mint would have most of the kinks worked out by then.

Buying the Bullion Coins

As with all Mint bullion products, those interested in obtaining them must do so through a network of authorized purchasers, or through the secondary market. The Mint does not sell bullion directly to the public, although it has not ruled out creating numismatic versions of the strikes for sale directly to collectors.

Another option for obtaining the America the Beautiful Bullion Coins was created by the authorizing legislation for them. In the text of that legislation a provision was added allowing the National Park Service to buy the coins directly from the Mint and resell them at its sites around the country.

Future Releases of the America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coin Program

America Silver Coins Release Dates

Collectors interested in the 2009 District of Columbia Official First Day Coin Cover have less than two days to make their purchases directly from the US Mint.

At 5:00 PM Eastern Time on June 30, 2010, the US Mint will pull the covers from availability forever. After that point, collectors interested in obtaining the cover will have to look to the secondary markets to buy them.

Currently, the asking price for the covers from the Mint is only $14.95 (plus the Mint's standard shipping and handling charge of $4.95 per order). However, a quick look at the online auction site eBay already shows a few enterprising individuals selling the covers for an average of $10 over their initial sale price.

The D.C. Covers have an extremely limited mintage of only 25,000 and were first released back on April 24, 2009. They were joined later in 2009 and early in 2010 by First Day Coin Covers of the Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands Quarters.

Each District of Columbia First Day Coin Cover contains a total of two circulation quality quarters - one from the US Mint's facility in Philadelphia struck on the first day of mintage (December 10, 2008) and one from the US Mint's facility in Denver struck on the first day of mintage (December 8, 2008). They come on an illustrated display card that has one of the four U.S. 42-cent Flags 24/7 postage stamps on it. The stamps show a US Post Office cancellation across it of January 26, 2009, Washington D.C. - the day in which the quarters were released into circulation.

While interest in the Coin Covers has not been stellar, mintages should end up over 20,000 which is actually quite high considering the total mintage of the circulating District of Columbia Quarters only ended up at 172,400,000.

The obverse of the strikes show a portrait of George Washington, the first President of the United States. His image has been on the quarter dollar since 1932.

The reverse shows one of the District of Columbia's favorite sons - Duke Ellington. Born in D.C. in 1899, Ellington grew up to become one of America's favorite musicians.

Those intersected in ordering the First Day Coin Covers may do so directly from the Mint via either phone of 1-800-USA-MINT or their website of www.usmint.gov.

See World Mint Coin's page on the District of Columbia Quarter for more information on the specific strike.

The set marks the fifteenth such release since the program began in 2007 and the second for this year.

Included in the set are an uncirculated  2010 Franklin Pierce Presidential $1 Coin and a 1 5/16” bronze medal likeness of the 2010 Jane Pierce First Spouse Gold Coin.

Franklin Pierce was the fourteenth President of the United States.  The Presidential $1 Coin honoring him shows his portrait on the obverse (as designed by Susan Gamble and engraved by Charles Vickers).  The reverse of the coin shows an image of the Statue of Liberty designed by Don Everhart. The Statue of Liberty is actually found on the reverse of all of the Presidential $1 coins.

The Jane Pierce Bronze Medal features a portrait of the former First Lady on the obverse.  It was designed by Donna Weaver and sculpted by Don Everhart.  On the reverse, Jane is shown sitting in the visitor’s gallery of the Old Senate Chamber in the U.S. Capitol Building listening to a debate.  It was also designed by Donna Weaver but sculpted by Charles Vickers.

Those interested in purchasing on of the Pierce Coin and Medal Sets can do so directly from the US Mint via either their toll-free number of 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468) or the Mint's website of www.usmint.gov.

The Mint is charging $11.95 for the set ($3 more than it charged for the Presidential Coin and Spouse Medal Sets last year).  Of course, the Mint's typical $4.95 per order shipping and handling charge also applies.

Taking much longer than most had anticipated, the 2010 Boy Scouts of America Centennial Proof Silver Dollar sold out late last week from the US Mint.

The coins originally launched on March 23, 2010 along with an uncirculated version counterpart. Total mintage of both was set at 350,000 by the Boy Scouts of America Centennial Commemorative Coin Act (Public Law 110-363) which was signed by President George W. Bush on October 8, 2008.

It should be noted that technically the US Mint has not declared the coins a sell-out, as of yet. What it has done is placed any additional orders for the proof coins on a waiting list. The Mint will use the list on a first-come first-served basis if additional coins become available. This means that all of the coins in the authorized mintage have been sold, but if some of those orders are cancelled or returned, then those on the list have a shot at their orders being fulfilled.

The waiting list procedure is not uncommon from the Mint. In fact, it used the same method for the Uncirculated Scout Silver Dollars earlier this year when it placed them on a waiting list only option on April 26, 2010.

Initial ordering for the Scout coins when first available was quite high. In less than one week, over 200,000 of the coins had been sold, accounting for over 60% of the total mintage. However, interest declined rapidly taking over a month before the uncirculated coins reached their sell-out level of an estimated 105,000 coins.

Add on another almost three months before these proof coins reached their total mintage estimated at 245,000. These numbers represent a 70/30 split of proof to uncirculated coins.

See World Mint Coin's page on the Scout Proof Coins for more information.

In just the first five days of sales, 310,000 of the strikes have been ordered from the Mint showing the public is still extremely interested in the gold bullion coins.  Fractional Gold Eagles have not been available since December of 2009 when they appeared for a limited time before reaching a sell-out status that same month.

This year's 2010 versions of the fractional Eagles were released on June 10 and sales have been brisk - in total, 28,000 of the 1/2 ounce coins have been ordered along with 42,000 of the 1/4 ounce coins and 240,000 of the 1/10 coins.  This totals a decent 48,500 ounces of gold just in the fractional sizes.

Of course, the one ounce Gold Eagle Bullion Coins have also been selling quite well since they were released back in January.  In total, 565,000 of those have been sold year-to-date putting them roughly on par with last year when the ounce Eagles sold over 1.3 million for the year.

Bullion coins like these are not sold directly to the public.  Instead, a network of authorized purchasers are allowed to buy the coins in bulk from the Mint.  The network then resells the coins for a small premium over the spot price of the precious metal contained within them.

For more information on the Gold Eagles, see World Mint's America Eagle Gold Bullion page.

Not surprisingly, the proof coins did quite well, however, not quite as well as they did last year.

According to the Mint, the 2010 Buffalos sold 15,071 orders in their premier week.  Calculating it out with the sales price of $1,510 per coin, and the Mint took in $22,757,210 gross on the coins. Comparatively, last year the Mint recorded sales of 19,468 units, and in only the first four days of sales.  Doing the math and plugging in the opening sales price of $1,360 per coin and the gross for 2009 initial week sales was $26,476,480.  Quite a bit higher than experienced this year.

Of course, the two might not be completely valid comparisons.  Last year the Mint was forced to hold off issuing the Proof Buffalos until late in the year.  Extreme demand for gold bullion coins meant the Mint did not have the resources to strike the Proof Buffalos earlier as it would have done in a normal year.

By late October 2009, the Mint had built up enough blank inventory to strike the one ounce Buffalos, which it did.  Demand proved quite high at that time for the coins, no doubt owing to several factors.

One of those factors was undoubtedly the late appearance of the coins - Collectors who were unsure of how long the strikes would be available had to purchase fast to avoid a sell-out.

Second, numismatic interest is always higher in the fall and winter months than in the summer months, which is probably hurting the initial sales of the coins this year.

Third, gold prices were much lower last year making them more attainable.

See World Mint Coins 2010 Gold Buffalo page for more information on the coin.