The initial sales figures for the US Mint’s 2010 Lincoln Cent Two Roll Set have come in far below sales levels for last year’s 2009 Lincoln Cent Two Roll Sets. From the start of sales on April 8, 2010 through April 11, 2010, the US Mint has recorded sales of 45,483 sets.

I’ve gathered the debut sales figures for each of the 2009 Lincoln Cent Two Roll Sets for comparison. Total sales as of the latest weekly sales report are also included, with sold out sets followed by an asterisk (*). Here’s how the numbers stack up:

2009 & 2010 Lincoln Cent Two Roll Set Sales

As I mentioned in my initial post on the product, the timing of the release could have been better planned. Back in mid-January, when the first 2010 Lincoln Cents started appearing, secondary market prices were $10 or more per roll. Even by mid-February, when the US Mint officially launched the new design, roll prices were still elevated. Now, three months into the game, availability has been increasing and sealed boxes of 50 rolls can be found for $55 to $60 by careful bidders. The segment of the coin collecting population willing to pay premiums to get new coins early have already purchased their rolls.

The other aspect working against this offering is the fact that the Union Shield design will be minted for the entire year. Last year, the four different designs divided already diminished coin production, resulting the 2009 Lincoln Cents with the lowest mintages in decades. Recent US Mint coin production figures suggest that the 2010 Lincoln Cent will have a combined mintage above 2 billion. Paying a premium for last year’s sets was partially justifiable by the low mintages, but this year the situation will be different.

These factors aside, some collectors will still pursue the set as a US Mint packaged Lincoln-related collectible, or as the final component in a complete group of Lincoln Two Roll Sets (LP1 – LP5 product codes). Also, there’s the off-chance US Mint could do something unexpected like cut off sales at 100,000 (like they did for the Birthplace Set) and create a packaged rarity. However, realistically I don’t think this will happen. I think this offering will be available for the rest of the year.

View the complete US Mint Sales report over at Coin Update News.

PCGS Secure Plus and NGC Plus Grading

Separately, I have just published an article related to recently announced “plus grading” by third party coin grading services. I haven’t covered this here, but coin grading company PCGS recently announced a new service known as PCGS Secure Plus. This includes plus grading for coins which verge on the next technical grade level and added security features through laser scanning.

On the same date, NGC announced that they would be implementing plus grading and asked collectors and dealers for recommendations. Where PCGS is limiting the application of plus grading, I think NGC has the opportunity to broaden and define the designation.

Read the full article Recommendations for NGC Plus Grading

The US Mint has released the product details for the 2010 “Preservation of the Union” Lincoln Cent Two Roll Set. The product had previously been announced, but pricing and ordering information were not available until today.

Each 2010 Lincoln Cent Two Roll Set will include one 50-coin roll from the Philadelphia Mint and one 50-coin roll from the Denver Mint of the newly designed Lincoln Cents. The rolls will be packaged in special paper wrappers depicting the new Union Shield design and indicating the mint of origin and face value of the contents.

The two roll sets will go on sale April 8, 2010 at 12:00 Noon ET, priced at $8.95 each. There are no household ordering limits indicated.

The product release comes nearly two months after the official launch ceremony for the 2010 Lincoln Cent, which took place on February 11, 2010. It’s also almost three months since the first 2010 Lincoln Cents entered the channels of circulation (in Puerto Rico) in mid-January 2010. In some ways, it seems like the US Mint has missed the boat with this offering, with the initial excitement and roll prices having already peaked and subsided.

Last year, the US Mint had offered two roll sets for each of the four different 2009 Lincoln Cent designs. The sets for the “Birthplace” design had sold out after two weeks and sales of 96,000 sets. The “Formative Years” design sold out after three months and sales of 300,000 sets. The “Professional Life” and “Presidency” designs remain available and have sold 280,667 and 243,815 sets, respectively.

The 2009 Lincoln Cent Two Roll Sets were each initially offered with an ordering limit of five sets per household. The ordering limit has been removed for the remaining available “Professional Life” and “Presidency” sets.

Coin Update News: March 2010 US Mint Gold and Silver Eagle Sales

Yesterday, the launch ceremony for the 2010 Lincoln Cent was held in Springfield, Illinois. The new reverse of the coin features the Union Shield, intended to represent Abraham Lincoln’s preservation of the United States as a single and united country.

The launch ceremony was held at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum where approximately 400 people arrived for the initial presentation. There was some anticipation and excitement surround the event, as people had began lining up as early 5:30 AM and came from as far as Texas.

The coin exchange following the ceremony had 20,000 rolls available. This is the same number that had been available for the last three penny ceremonies. A special postage cancellation stamp was prepared for the ceremony and available at the Cook Street Post Office.

These details come from a first hand account of the ceremony from Greg Fleckenstein published on Coin Update News.

Read the full story: 2010 Lincoln Cent Launch Ceremony and Coin Exchange

Separately, the US Mint announced the first product specifically highlighting the 2010 Lincoln Cent. Within their press release recapping the event, they mentioned that 2010 Lincoln Cent Two Roll Sets will be available in the spring. A similar product had been available for each of the 2009 Lincoln Cent designs priced at $8.95 per set. The “Professional Life” and “Presidency” Two Roll Sets still remain available for sale at the US Mint.

2010 Lincoln Cent Rolls that have been stamped and canceled with the special launch ceremony cancellation have already found their way to eBay, where they have sold for prices ranging from $20 to $70 per roll. Some of the higher priced sales include the pamphlet from the launch ceremony. Unmakred single rolls continue to sell for about $12 to $18 per roll. Here are the current eBay auctions.

Prices for the unmarked rolls will no doubt decline as more of the new cents are distributed and eventually when the US Mint’s Two Roll Set goes on sale. A similar situation occurred just after the release of the 2009 “Birthplace” Lincoln Cents when regular rolls sold for as much as $50 each.

The United States Mint will host the launch ceremony for the newly designed 2010 “Union Shield” Lincoln Cent later this week. The ceremony takes place after some of the coins have already reached the channels of circulation.

Update 2/10/2010 9:30 PM ET: The Springfield, Illinois launch ceremony will take place tomorrow as scheduled. The Washington DC coin exchanges will not take place as the Federal Government is closed tomorrow due to the blizzard.

The new reverse design features a Union Shield with a scroll draped across, bearing the denomination “One Cent”. The shield has thirteen vertical stripes and a horizontal bar with the inscription “E Pluribus Unum”, representing the original states joined in one compact union in support of the federal government. This design is intended to be emblematic of Lincoln’s preservation of the United States as a single and united country.

The launch ceremony will be held on February 11, 2010, 9:30 AM CT at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum located at 212 N. Sixth Street in Springfield, Illinois. The ceremony will be followed by a coin exchange, where attendees will be allowed to exchange currency for rolls of the new coins. The US Mint has announced a minimum of two rolls and a maximum of six rolls for the exchange (subject to change).

On the same date, coin exchanges will also be available at locations in Washington, DC. The exchanges will be available at the US Mint sales counter located at Union Station and the first floor of the US Mint’s headquarters at 801 9th Street NW.

I haven’t seen as much excitement from collectors about the upcoming ceremony as some of the previous ceremonies for the 2009 Lincoln Cent designs. After the first ceremony in Hodgenville, Kentucky proved to be an incredible boon for attendees who were able to obtain rolls at the coin exchange, the second and third ceremonies had much more buzz and higher attendance. The second ceremony was even called “Numismatic Woodstock” as approximately 3,000 people traveled to Lincoln City, Indiana for the ceremony and exchange.

By the fourth ceremony held in Washington, DC, attendance had declined to just a few hundred people. This may have been partially due to the weather and the fact that the coin exchanges were available at other DC locations, held indoors.

It will be interesting to see how many people attend the upcoming 2010 Lincoln Cent launch ceremony. I think some of the anticipation has been lost due to the fact that 2010 Lincoln Cents have been in the hands of some collectors for nearly one month. As early as January 12, 2010, some examples of the first 2010 Lincoln Cents started appearing in Puerto Rico and quickly found their way to eBay, where collectors throughout the United States could acquire them, albeit at a premium.

The United States Mint is yet to announce any products which specifically highlight the 2010 Lincoln Cent, although it seems likely that something is in the works. For the 2009 Lincoln Cents, the US Mint had offered Two Roll Sets, a separate Lincoln Proof Set, and the Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set.

If any readers do plan to attend the ceremony on February 11 and would like to provide photos or a report of the ceremony, please contact me.

New Coingrader Capsule: NGC Star Designation