![]( "2010 American Veterans Disabled=")
The US Mint continues to realize a decent demand for the recently released American Veterans Disabled for Life Silver Dollars which are available in both proof and uncirculated versions.
Debuting on February 25, 2010, the coins immediately surpassed many expectations by selling a very respectable 98,358 in only three days. 66,209 of those were proof and 32,149 were uncirculated, showing that collectors are preferring to purchase the slightly higher priced coin by over a 2 to 1 ratio.
Sales remained at a steady level over the next week with an additional 24,784 of the proof purchased and 8,692 of the uncirculated. This brings the total sold so farto 90,993 proof and 40,841 uncirculated, or a total of 131,834. [click to continue…]
The popularity of the United States' series of 50 State Quarters, issued from 1999 through 2008, probably inspired Japan to launched its most ambitious and most beautiful series of commemorative coins in 2008-commemorating the 47 Prefectures-and the series will run through 2016.
2010 Japanese Prefecture Silver Coin Series
But while the State Quarters were issued in un-circulated condition, made from copper-nickel and issued by the millions, the large Prefecture 40mm. coins are being minted in gem proof quality from 99.9% pure silver, limited to 100,000 of each-and they picture local scenery, flora and fauna, etc. in full color. [click to continue…]
The United States Mint has released high-resolution images of the four upcoming 2010 Presidential Coins. Previously, only line-art imagery was available.
The first coin to be released this year for the series is the Millard Fillmore Coin. It honors the 13th President of the United States who started off life in a poor family and worked his way up to be President. In between he worked the family farm, apprenticed to a cloth maker, studied law under a county judge, practiced as an attorney and served many political posts.
Due to be released in May of 2010 is the fourteenth coin in the series honoring the former Presidents, the Franklin Pierce Coin. Pierce was a elected as a "doughface", which meant he was from the North, but had Southern sympathies. At a time of rising tensions between the two forces, his apparent equality was a welcome sight to many. Unfortunately, owing mostly to personal matters, Pierce was unable to govern with any true power. [click to continue…]
Margaret Taylor Gold Proof
The US Mint has announced plans to begin selling the 1/2 ounce 24-karat gold Margaret Taylor First Spouse Gold Coins on December 3, 2009 at Noon (Eastern). It will be available in both proof and uncirculated versions.
A maximum mintage of only 40,000 has been put in place for the Taylor coins across both product options with the exact proof to uncirculated ratio being determined by demand. Also, the first week the Mint will enforce a 10 coins per product option per household order limit on the coins. It will re-evaluate the order limit after that time and adjust it if needed.
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For those who may have been interested in getting one of the two Transformers coins from the Perth Mint as holiday gifts, it appears that you are too late. The Perth Mint has changed the status for these highly collectible silver coins to "SOLD OUT."
This means that if you would like to get your hands on one (or both), you must now look towards the secondary markets. A quick look at eBay before this posting showed several options available, with most premiums at a reasonable stage for a sold out coin.
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The 24-karat 2009 Proof Buffalos have proved to be extremely popular since their release on October 29. US Mint sales figures show 19,468 one ounce proofs sold in the first few days, which is quite amazing when you compare it to the fact that only 19,591 were sold in all of last year for the 2008 versions.
Of course, last year the Mint offered fractional sizes of the Proof Buffalos as well as a four coin collector set. They were discontinued after a review of product offerings by the Mint. Still, with a price tag of $1,360, those who purchased fractional Buffalos last year did not necessarily upgrade to the one ounce size this year.
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The US Mint launched the 2009 American Buffalo Gold Proof One Ounce coins on Thursday with little hassle to the buying public. Previous to the launch, many had wondered if they would experience ordering issues similar to the Lincoln Coin and Chronicles launch recently.
Other than things moving rather slowly for the initial few hours, both online and the phone ordering systems seemed to work adequately. Of course, demand for the coins is probably not at the frenzied level that it was for the Lincoln Chronicles.
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The Austrian Mint has issued their release schedule for 2010 and it looks to be full of some very nice coins. The Mint also plans a couple of sets.
The first releases for the year celebrates the Winter Olympic Games that will be held in Vancouver, Canada. There are two coins scheduled with one of those highlighting the sport of snow boarding and the other ski-jump. Both coins are to be struck from 80% silver with a face value of 5 Euros. They will be available in both uncirculated and special uncirculated versions.
Next up is a continuation of the successful 'Celebrated Physicians of Austria' series. The 2010 coin will feature Karl Landsteiner who helped to identify the method of blood typing still in use today. His coin is made from 98.6% gold with a face value of 50 Euro. It will only be available in proof with a maximum of 50,000 struck.
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For those that have been waiting patiently (and not so patiently) for the release of the 2009 American Buffalo Gold Proof coin, your time is soon at hand. The US Mint is set to release them 8 days from now on October 29, 2009.
Authorized by the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005, these proof Buffalo coins were first offered in 2006 along with a Buffalo bullion version. Each coin is struck at the Mint's West Point facility from .9999 fine 24-karat gold, making them the purest gold coins ever struck by the United States government. The American Eagle Gold coins are only 22-karat.
Sales of both the bullion and proof versions of the Buffalos were suspended earlier this year by the Mint due to a lack of available gold blanks. However, this problem has been remedied in time for both versions to appear yet this year.
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United States Mint Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set - Click to Enlarge
Those interested in placing an order today for the Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set issued by the US Mint were probably more than a bit irritated, at least if they attempted to do so around the launch time of Noon (Eastern).
Multiple reports have indicated that website users experienced long delays, if they could even get the site to load. An error message of "connection was reset" or "Service Unavailable" greeted many collectors as they attempted to add a set to their cart and then check-out.
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