Most coins I puchase because I am collecting or assembling a series or to add to my core collection of traditional products. I also like to buy coins that I both enjoy and believe have a good chance to increase in value over the medium to long term. This post will describe the US Mint products that I have recently purchased which fall into the latter category and the reasons why I believe the products might appreciate in the future.
First Spouse Gold Coins
I have been purchasing at least one of each of the First Spouse Gold Coins, usually managing to time my purchases during periods when the US Mint's gold coin prices are low. I have been accumulating gold in other forms, but I also like the extra potential premiums that could develop for low mintage coins.
Despite the popularity of the first three issues of the series, First Spouse Coins have fallen from most collectors radar screens. Some are unimpressed with the designs or the format of the series, or are turned off by the high prices or high premiums above spot gold. Eventually these factors may work in favor of the series on the secondary market.
Historically, some of the US Mint's most unpopular products have turned out to be the biggest winners for the collectors who purchased them. Once sales of the coins officially end at the US Mint, the reasons for the initial unpopularity are often cast aside in favor of the new allure are a rare, low mintage coin.
There are numerous examples from modern commemorative coins. The 1995 to 1996 Olympic Commemorative Coins experienced a lot of collector backlash due to the over saturation caused by the sixteen different issues of the program. Most of these coins now trade at significant premiums to the issue price. The 1997-W Uncirculated Jackie Robinson Gold Commemorative sold a scant 5,174 coins when available from the Mint. The coins now fetch several thousand dollars each, compared to the original individual issue price of $180.
2009 US Territories Quarters Two Roll Sets
I have been purchasing Two Roll Sets for each of the 2009 US Territories Quarters, motivated primarily by the low mintages of the coins. The latest release featuring American Samoa had a combined mintage of 82,200,000 coins, made up of 39,600,000 Denver minted coins and 42,600,000 Philadelphia coins. Combined or individually, mintages for an individual quarter have not been this low for several decades.
The mintages for the Territories Quarters also pale in comparison to every release in the prior State Quarter series. Eight different releases for the series had combined mintages in excess of one billion coins. Even the lowest mintage State Quarter had a combined mintage of just over 400 million, which is still about five times the level of some of the current Territories Quarters.
One potential drawback of the US Territories Quarters is that a large portion of the mintages are being retained by collectors. This is facilitated by the fact that the US Mint sells the coins directly in bags and rolls. Taking the recently released Guam Quarter as an example, the US Mint sold 38,231 Two Roll Sets, 25,349 100-Coin Bags, and 2,821 1000-coin bags. These sales represent about 8.4 million quarters or nearly 10% of the total mintage. In the past, the values of some would-be key dates were kept low because of the large number of coins available due to hoarding.
2009 DC & US Territories First Day Coin Covers
I always had the impression that the US Mint's Coin Covers were overpriced and did not purchase any of these products in the past. Numerous comments on Mint News Blog slowly changed my perception of the coin covers released this year.
For the 2009 Quarters, the US Mint has redesigned the covers to have colorful photographs from the territory represented. This actually makes them more enjoyable as a collectible. Second, the US Mint has lowered the number of coin covers that can be produced. The latest release for American Samoa has a maximum production of only 20,000 covers. Third, the US Mint has been shortening the availability period for the products. In the past, some products would linger in their catalog until the maximum production was sold. Now, products come and go in much shorter time frames.
While the products do have a low intrinsic value of 50 cents per cover compared to the issue price of $14.95, there is definitely a sizable audience that collects and appreciates these products. Most of the prior 50 State Quarters Coin Covers have retained their value and in some cases prices for the less available covers have risen dramatically.
This year I am willing to give the product a chance as a low production, unique US Mint product that in the worst case will display well in my collection.
What US Mint products are you buying right now? Coin Update News invites other collectors to share views on their current favorite products and their reasons for purchasing them. To contribute an article to this series, please contact us via the Contributors Page.
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Michael,
I’ve been a longtime reader of your posts on Mint News Blog, and I comment on almost all of them regularly. I used to leave my name, but now have mostly been commenting anonymously. At any rate, we seem to collect quite a bit alike, as all three of the products you mention here are also being purchased by me for the same reasons. I guess my comments that have been “singing the praises” of this year’s quarter covers were the ones that influenced you to buy those. Trust me, those will be AWESOME collectibles next year when the Mint stops selling them after June 30th. I’ve bought 25 extras of each design thus far, and am considering increasing that to 50 extras of each. I could have made a KILLING on the 2007 Wyoming and Utah covers if I had not settled for the $25-$30 each I sold all 25 of my extras of those for earlier this year. When I saw they were sometimes fetching over $175 each in recent weeks, I almost felt sick that I didn’t have any extras left!
It’s obvious inflation has made coins meaningless, for lack of purchasing power. The Mint must resort to endless design changes and marketing to stay in business. The collector is stuck with over-priced scrap metal, and storage costs. Credit cards and electronic payments assure us that this trend will continue. the Mint’s cupidity is well matched with the gullibility of the naive public, which the government exploits to cover operating cost.
Thanks for your blog. I have also been collecting the first spouse series. However, money is tight this month so I hope I can get the current spouse later in the year. I do have a question concerning 2009 offerings from the mint. I noticed that rolls of nickels and dimes are hard to find and there is a huge mark-up on ebay for them. Do you think there will be a huge demand for the uncirculated sets because of the nickels and dimes? I can see these sets at a huge premium in years to come. Just wondering what you think.
Thanks.
David
Regarding the 2009 nickels and dimes in the Mint Sets-
These coins will be minted with the satin finish that the US Mint has used for Mint Set coins since 2005. For the most part, collectors (and all grading services) are treating these are separate issues than the circulation strike coins. In the past, I haven’t really seen the value of the circulation strike coins impact the value of the satin finish coins
This year might be a bit different since circulation strike nickels and dimes are scarce. I could definitely see more collectors getting their P and D coins for their album collections from Mint Sets, creating additional demand for the Mint sets and individual satin finish coins.
An even bigger source of demand for the 2009 Mint Set will be the 95% copper satin finish Lincoln Cents. There are a lot of people collecting the 2009 cents, and these will be viewed as very special coins because of the composition and finish.
Brad-
Thanks for your comments here and on Mint News Blog. It was definitely some of your comments that caused me to re-examine the First Day Covers. We’ll both hope for the best with the 2009 issues!
I’ve been buying the U.S. Gold dollars ever since they came out, especilly the Presidential issues. I buy 10 rolls at a time and use them for gifts to my grand children for birthdays and Christmas. Recently I went to my local BofA branch here in Arizona where I always made my previous purchases to buy the new James Polk issue. I was told they wouldn’t be getting any since their supplier wouldn’t sell them any? I find this very strange and I wonder if anyone else has run into this problem? I’m at a loss as to where I can buy some without getting them from the mint and having to pay the expensive shipping charges.
I have also been collecting the proof spuse gold coins, although they are getting quite expensive with the run up in gold prices. I realize the uncirculated versions have even lower mintages, but I much prefer the appearance of the proof spouse coins since the details are much more pronounced. Do you see any run up in the presidential spouse series? I know the early releases fetch a nice premium. I am a small time collector, so I really try to pick coins with potential nice returns, although so far I have never sold anything. Your blog is awesome and something that I can never wait to read. Thanks, Craig
The US Mint was supposed to have the Polk Dollars in their Direct Ship Program. (This program allows you to buy $250 or $500 worth at face value with no charge for shipping.) However, they still haven’t appeared on the website and I haven’t managed to get any response to inquiries about it.
Just a thought- Maybe they will be added to Direct Ship after sales of the “numismatic” rolls end?
Michael,
Back in the 2005/2006 timeframe, I had the opportunity to take part in a study the US Mint paid to have done. The purpose of the study was to see what the Mint was doing well, where they were struggling, and what coins would be of interest to the collecting public. There were approximately 15 people in this particular study, but I’m sure it was also conducted in other cities across the USA.
Anyway, one of the topics that came up was the US Mint’s presidential dollar and spouse gold series. It was nearly unanimous by we participants that a gold spouse series did not make sense and would not be highly sought after. We suggested that perhaps having silver spouse coins and using the gold for the presidential coins would be more logical (and profitable). A year or two later when the gold spouses came out and the first few sold out quickly, I thought I must have completely misjudged what the collecting public was interested in as well as my own sensibilities where coins are concerned.
Fast-forward a couple years after the initial offerings of the spouse gold coins, and the very limited demand is very apparent. Even Silvertowne is melting these things down for scrap on a large scale (which is unheard of during normal times). While I do appreciate the beauty of those few spouse coins that do not have an actual person on the obverse (Jefferson, Jackson, etc.), the rest just don’t do it for me. I realize that the Congress dictates what the mint produces, so perhaps it’s time to elect representatives that have BOTH numismatic and economic sense (instead of none of either).
As one person quoted on another coin forum, “The first spouses are the numismatic equivalent of fat girls at a bar in a desert military base. Scarcity is key to respect!”
Post Script:
While I am not a huge fan of the gold spouse series, I do want to congratulate the US Mint on the Gold Buffalo Coin Series. This series (along with the UHRGE) is probably my favorite modern series. They are absolutely beautiful, but as we all know ‘beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.’
I am / have been buying 2008 and 2009 JFK P&D Sets as a speculative investment. In just a few short years, it will be 50 years since JFK passed away and nearly 50 years that the JFK half-dollar has been produced without any significant design changes. I am speculating that the 50th year event may be a ripe opportunity for the mint to change the design or perhaps discontinue producing the half-dollar altogether, thereby stimulating renewed interest in collecting the series. Given that the coin has not been released into circulation for some 10-years, and with 2008 and 2009 being the lowest mintage years on record I am hedging that 2008-2009 may very likely become the most sought after coins in the whole series. I would be interested to hear anyone else’s perspective on this “theory”. Thanks.
I have a question about the 2009 Uncirculated Mint Sets….
As I understand it, the sets will have satin finish 95% copper P and D Lincoln cents for all four designs. Since the 2009 Lincolns intended for regular circulation will lack the satin finish and will be made of the non-copper alloy, will this make the Mint Set pennies more collectible/valuable?
The change in metal composition did not appear to make much of a difference with the 1982 Lincoln cents.
I would like to hear what others think about this matter.
The change in composition is not as important as the limited nature of the 95% copper satin finish 2009 Lincoln Cents.
I think that the US Mint will sell about 1 million or so of the 2009 Mint Sets, which makes for a very low mintage Lincoln Cent compared to the collector base for the series.