Amidst the excitement of the start of sales for the 2013 West Point Silver Eagle Set, the US Mint also launched another new product on May 9, 2013. This was the 2013 Theodore Roosevelt $1 Coin Cover.

Each cover includes two Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Dollars sourced from the first day of production at the Philadelphia and Denver Mint facilities. These coins are mounted on a display card and placed within an envelope illustrated with a portrait of the President and carrying a 46-cent Patriotic Star stamp. The cover carries a post mark of May 9, 2013, New York, NY, representing the first day the product was available to the public.

The covers are priced at $19.95 each. The product limit is established at 22,000 units. This is higher than the 20,000 product limit established for the previous William McKinley $1 Coin Cover.

Based on the increased product limit, the US Mint seems to expect the Theodore Roosevelt coin cover to be more popular than the others released for this year. Back in 2007, the US Mint had also established a higher limit for the Abraham Lincoln coin cover compared to the other releases for the year.

Now at its 26th overall release, the American Presidency $1 Coin Cover series has seen its product limit continually ratcheted downwards over the years.

The 2007 covers each carried limits of 50,000 units and sell outs were achieved for the first three releases. The limit was lowered to 40,000 units for the 2009 covers, and 32,000 units for the 2010 covers with the exception of the Abraham Lincoln cover which carried a limit of 37,000 units. The limit was lowered to 22,000 for the 2011 covers. For 2013, it seems that the covers will have limits of 20,000 with the exception of Theodore Roosevelt at 22,000.

On April 11, 2013 at 12:00 Noon ET, the United States Mint will begin sales of circulating quality 2013 Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Dollars. This will represent one of the more anticipated releases of the series, as coin collectors have long advocated for the 26th President to make an appearance on a legal tender U.S. coin.

The Theodore Roosevelt Dollar features a portrait of the President, which is indicated as designed by Joseph Menna. Inscriptions include the President’s name, “In God We Trust”,”26th President”, and dates of service “1901-1909″. The reverse of the coin features a rendition of the the Statue of Liberty designed by Don Everhart, with inscriptions “United States of America” and “$1″. The date, mint mark, and “E Pluribus Unum” appear on incused edge lettering.

The US Mint will be offering circulating quality examples of the coins containing either the “P” or “D” mint mark. These will be available in an array of different options.

There are 25-coin rolls priced at $32.95 each, 100-coin bags priced at $111.95 each, 250-coin boxes priced at $275.95 each, and 500-coin boxes priced at $550.95 each. All options can be ordered containing coins with either the “P” or “D” mint mark. All products will have packaging which indicates the name of the President, mint mark, and the face value of the contents.

There are no stated product limits or household ordering limits imposed. The US Mint indicates that these products will be available for one year from the initial on-sale date or until inventory has been depleted.

Preliminary production figures indicate a mintage for the 2013 Theodore Roosevelt Dollars of 3.92 million at Denver and 5.18 million at Philadelphia. In the past, the US Mint has reserved the right to restart production during the year of issue in response to product demand as long as production capacity is available.

The US Mint has previously indicated that a special numismatic product will be issued to honor the life of President Theodore Roosevelt, which would presumably contain the dollar coin and possibly other items. Further details of this product have not yet been announced.


Theodore Roosevelt on Other Coins and Medals

Despite Theodore Roosevelt’s accomplishments as President and his role in bringing about a Renaissance in American coinage, he has never been featured alone on a legal tender U.S. coin. However, he has made some mini appearances on coins and appeared on some widely known medals.

The “mini” appearances are the result of Theodore Roosevelt’s depiction on Mount Rushmore, together with Presidents Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln. The 50th anniversary of Mount Rushmore was celebrated with a 1991 commemorative coin program, which included $5 gold coins, silver dollars, and clad half dollars. The obverse designs of the silver dollar and clad half dollar included an image of the monument, including the sculpture of Roosevelt’s head. A similar situation occurred on the 2006 South Dakota State Quarter.

Augustus Saint Gaudens designed Theodore Roosevelt’s inaugural medal shown above. The President was so pleased with the results that he asked Saint-Gaudens to work on new designs for circulating gold denominations, ushering in the renaissance era of U.S. coinage. The reverse design of this medal was the basis for Saint-Gaudens’ reverse design for the new $10 gold eagle.

Roosevelt’s Presidential Medal created by the United States Mint is shown above. The obverse was designed by Charles E. Barber, while the reverse was designed by George T. Morgan. Bronze versions of this medal have been available for purchase from the Mint for a lengthy period of time, although they are not available currently.

Another widely known medal is the one shown above designed by Victor D. Brenner and issued at the completion of the Panama Canal. The medals were awarded to anyone who had provided two or more years of continuous service working on the canal.

Finally and most recently, Theodore Roosevelt was featured on the obverse design of medals issued to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the National Wildlife Refuge System in 2003. The US Mint offered limited mintage silver medals and bronze versions with no production limit. The silver medals were extremely popular at the time of issue and achieved quick sell outs. I previously wrote about the medals here.

Today, March 19, 2013 at 12:00 Noon ET, the United States Mint will begin sales of the 2013 William McKinley $1 Coin Cover. This now represents the 25th release within the American Presidency $1 Coin Cover Series.

Each  cover contains one 2013 William McKinley Presidential Dollar each from the Philadelphia and Denver Mints, sourced from the first day of production at the facilities. The two coins are mounted on a display card and placed within an illustrated envelope. The envelope includes one of four Four Flags Forever stamps. The postal cancellation is March 19, 2013, Canton, OH. The date marks the first day of availability for the product and the city of Canton is where the William McKinley Presidential Library & Museum is located.

The covers are priced at $19.95, which is unchanged from the price level for the product line last year.

The maximum production for the covers will be 20,000 units. This represents a decrease from the limit of 22,000 established for last year’s covers.

Since the start of the American Presidency $1 Coin Cover series, the maximum production limit has been steadily decreased, following the general trend in declining sales. The 2007 issues began with limits of 50,000 units and sell outs were achieved for the first three releases. The limit was lowered to 40,000 for the 2009 issues, lowered again to 32,000 for the 2008 covers, lowered again to 32,000 in 2009 (except Lincoln), lowered again to 22,000 in 2011, and finally lowered again this year to 20,000 covers.

The most recent sales figures from the report published today show sales for the 2012 covers ranging from a high of 16,029 for Chester Arthur to a low of 12,440 for Grover Cleveland (Second Term).

Today March 7, 2013 at 12:00 Noon ET, the United States Mint will begin sales of the 2013 Presidential $1 Coin Uncirculated Coin Set. This will join the four coin proof set containing this year’s Presidential Dollars which went on sale last month.

The new product will include uncirculated examples of each of the four coins struck at the Philadelphia and Denver Mints. This year’s coins feature the 25th to 28th Presidents, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson.

The obverse design of each coin features a portrait of the President with inscriptions indicating his name, the order of the Presidency, the dates served, and the motto “In God We Trust”. A common reverse design featuring a rendition of the Statue of Liberty appears on all coins. The date, mint mark, and motto “E Pluribus Unum” appear on the edge of the coins.

The eight coins included in the set are packaged in display folder which includes a brief biographical sketch and portrait of each President.

These coins are described as “uncirculated” which has come to mean the brilliant finish used for the various annual uncirculated coin sets. These coins are typically better produced and more carefully handled than the “circulating quality” coins included in the numismatic bags and rolls.

Pricing is $16.95 per set with no product limit and no household ordering limits imposed.

The Presidential $1 Coin Uncirculated Sets from the prior two years still remain available for sale on the US Mint’s website. The 2011 set is priced at $19.95 and has sold 72,591 units to date. The 2012 set was priced lower at $16.95 and has sold 74,844 units to date from a stated product limit of 100,000 sets.

Today, February 19, 2013 at 12:00 Noon ET, the United States Mint will begin sales of circulating quality 2013 William McKinley Presidential Dollars. These will be available in an assortment of rolls, bags, and boxes with the coins containing either the “P” or “D” mint mark.

The William McKinley Presidential Dollar features a portrait of the former President designed and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill. Inscriptions indicate the order of the Presidency, the years served, and the motto “In God We Trust”. The reverse design of the coin features a rendition of the Statue of Liberty designed and sculpted by Don Everhart with the denomination expressed as “$1″. The date, mint mark, and motto “E Pluribus Unum” appear on the edge of the coin.

Products available from the US Mint include 25-coin rolls priced at $32.95 each, 100-coin bags priced at $111.95 each, 250-coin boxes priced at $275.95, and 500-coin boxes priced at $550.95 each. These are available from either the Philadelphia or Denver Mint and come in special packaging which indicates the name of the President, mint mark, and face value of the contents.

A standard shipping and handling charge of $4.95 applies to all orders. There is an extra charge of $7.95 for each 500-coin box in addition to the standard charge. As mentioned in the past, this makes it cheaper to order two 250-coin boxes instead of one of the 500-coin boxes.

The US Mint indicates that these products will be available for one year from the initial on-sale date or until inventory has been depleted. Some of the 2012-dated Presidential Dollar products have sold out prior to the one year time frame.

The US Mint has added this note to the product pages starting this year: “United States Mint coins are rolled by an automated machine process and not by hand; thus, we cannot guarantee that the obverse (heads side) or reverse (tails) of a coin will be at either end of a coin roll.”

President William McKinley has appeared on other United States Coins in the past. Both occur within the early commemorative coin series.

The first appearance was on the 1903 Louisiana Purchase Exposition Gold Dollar designed by Charles E. Barber. This coin had been issued with two different obverse designs, the other featuring Thomas Jefferson. This coin appearance followed McKinley’s assassination in September 1901.

The 25th President also appeared on the McKinley Memorial Gold Dollar issued in 1916 and 1917. The obverse design was by Charles Barber and the reverse design by George T. Morgan. The coins were authorized in order to raise funds for the completion of a memorial for the fallen President in Niles, Ohio.

Numismatic Gold Coin Price Decrease Likely

Based on the available data, it is likely that the prices for the available United States Mint numismatic gold coin products will be decreased tomorrow.

The average price of gold for the weekly period will likely fall within the $1,600 to $1,649.99 range. This is one tier lower than the range used for the prices currently in effect. As long as the Wednesday PM Fix price is below $1,649.99, then the pricing change would take place.

Prices would be reduced proportionally by $50 for each troy ounce of gold content. Pricing changes are usually made effective around mid-morning on Wednesday. The only gold numismatic products currently available are the proof & uncirculated 2012 First Spouse Gold Coins.