James Buchanan Presidential $1 Coin and First Spouse Medal Set

On September 23, 2010, the US Mint will release the Presidential Dollar Coin and First Spouse Medal Set featuring James Buchanan.

The set will include one uncirculated 2010 James Buchanan Presidential Dollar and one Buchanan’s Liberty Bronze Medal. The coin and medal are mounted on a plastic card illustrated with a portrait of James Buchanan on the front and issuance information on the back. The set is priced at $11.95 plus shipping and handling.

This particular set may see more collector interest than typical for the product type due to the inclusion of the Buchanan’s Liberty medal. A reproduction of Christian Gobrecht’s classic design for the Liberty Quarter Eagle is featured on the obverse.

The previously released Presidential $1 Coin and First Medal Set featuring Franklin and Jane Pierce debuted with sales of only 1,340 sets, although sales have since reached 5,139.

Buchanan’s Liberty Gold Coin Sales

Sales figures for the James Buchanan’s Liberty First Spouse Gold Coin have been closely watched by collectors. The coins had the strongest debut sales for the series since February 2008 and, due to a lower maximum mintage, have the reasonable likelihood for an eventual sell out.

The figures from the latest weekly period indicate sales of 607 proof coins and 562 uncirculated coins for a combined total of 1,169. Sales to date have now reached 8,568, representing 57.12% of the maximum mintage.

The Buchanan’s Liberty Gold Coins now have a higher sales total than any of the other three currently available First Spouse Gold Coins, which have been available for sale for three to nine months longer.

In subsequent weeks, there may be a drop off in the pace of sales for the Buchanan’s Liberty coins. Sales for US Mint products are typically the strongest in the opening weeks and the most recent week may reflect purchases accelerated to avoid the pricing increase. With 6,432 coins of the maximum mintage remaining available, a sell out may still be three to six months out.

Coin Update News: Full US Mint Sales Report

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Comments

  1. Anonymous says

    With a total of 3,540 units sold, the Buchanon Liberty Unc. now has higher sales than any other First Spouse Unc. since the 2008 Van Buren (4,334 uncirculated). With just over 11 months of sales to go, I am sure the Buchanon will sell out.

    TMM

  2. Anonymous says

    Oct ,7 Gold eagle will going on sell…But the prices will skyrocks I think many collectors will get hard time to buy

  3. Anonymous says

    I received my Buchanan FS gold and bronze coins the other day and they are SPECTACULAR! …much better than I expected. The Liberty short set will be a hugely sought-after set in the years to come (imho).

  4. Anonymous says

    I had to abandon my second set of First Spouse proofs after 2008 due to the ever-rising cost. However, since I already had extras of 3 out of 4 of the classic Liberty designs in proof, I went ahead and bought an extra proof of the Buchanan's Liberty for the original issue price. This way the option remains open to sell off my extra proofs in the form of a complete set of classic Liberty designs.

    I thought of selling the extra coins in the form of a 2007 set and a 2008 set, but I still don't know what I'll do. A classic Liberty set and individual sales of the others might fare better.

    If you think about it, despite the higher mintages even the 2007 First Spouse coins are not exactly plentiful. How many have you ever seen in person? I've seen exactly ONE outside of online or printed venues, and that was an Abigail Adams Unc slabbed and graded PCGS MS69 at a local flea market.

    Another factor is that Silvertowne melted a few thousand total of the first three designs in the spring of 2008, so there are not even 20,000 of each in existence anymore. No one knows how many of which were melted, though. Melting them was a mean thing to do, since new collectors in the future would likely have enjoyed the opportunity to buy those!

  5. Anonymous says

    Were they really melted?? i have my doubts. i am guessing that was reported just to gin up some sales and news.

  6. Anonymous says

    For those of you who think that popular coins/designs are going to appreciate in value, think twice.

    Coins that tend to appreciate in value are those that are not in high demand at the time and thus, have low mintages.

    Many of the low mintage First Spouse coins, and not the popular ones (like the Buchanan Liberty) will likely have huge returns in the future.

  7. Anonymous says

    "Coins that tend to appreciate in value are those that are not in high demand at the time and thus, have low mintages." I agree with that only to the extent that a few people eventually decide that they want the complete series and end up having to look for the losers, which by the time the FS series ends will be most of them anyhow. Popular coins tend to stay that way. Also people today are much more careful about keeping their coins in good condition which does more to water down future values than low population alone.

    Jim L.

  8. Anonymous says

    It certainly does LOOK like gold may hit $1,300 today. Silver is also higher now than it was in March 2008, but still a long way off from the artificially inflated 1980 record of $50!

  9. Anonymous says

    "For those of you who think that popular coins/designs are going to appreciate in value, think twice."

    "Coins that tend to appreciate in value are those that are not in high demand at the time and thus, have low mintages."
    If you think 15,000 coins(total) is not a low mintage, think again. As this set(and the subset) moves forward for years to come and with new collectors jumping on board- we have a winner and thus-high demand.

  10. Anonymous says

    Do any of you believe the predictions that Gold could trade between $5,000 ~ $15,000 and ounce? Say it does hit $15,000 and spouse coins are priced $7550 each from the mint, how will you pay for them? Plus the gold price might come crashing down at those levels.

    Consider this buy 1oz gold bars today and sell them as new spouse coins become available. This might be the best way to guarantee you'll have the funds to pay for future spouse coins. Just think if you had bought 25 one oz gold bars in 2007 when the series started, you would have locked in an entire UNC or Proof spouse series for approx. $15,000.

  11. Anonymous says

    This is somewhat off topic but I have a question for all you knowledgeable readers and writers. The quarters, half-dollar and dime in the 2010 US Mint Silver Proof Set are struck in 90 percent silver. How much, in troy ounces, does the silver in these coins weigh? Also, what is the weight in troy ounces of the quarters in the 2010 US Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set? Thanks for any information you can provide.
    Cheers.

  12. Anonymous says

    I seriously doubt the low mintage Anna Harrison will ever be some desired coin for anyone other than the few that already own the coin as part of the complete set. A nice coin like the Buchanan will be a better performer in the long run than the Harrison. Design and eye appeal DOES matter. There are tons of RCM coins that are super low mintages that no one wants.

  13. Anonymous says

    Regarding low-mintage RCM coins, that's not really a fair comparison, since there are MANY collectors of U.S. coins that don't collect coins from other countries.

    I still think the spouses will be winners long-term, but I'm starting to get worried about how expensive they're getting. I can still keep up with my 1 proof and 2 uncirculated sets, but it's getting harder with every release lately.

    Regarding buying gold bars in 2007 to finance today's purchases, you know what they say about hindsight. There's no guarantee that buying gold bars today will be beneficial 3 years from now. It very well could be, but with no crystal ball it would be a gamble. If gold spot falls by then, you will have tied up money in gold bars that you would then have to sell at a loss if freeing up cash is the only way you can keep up with current offerings.

    $15,000/oz. gold? Even I hadn't heard that one yet! No, I'm pretty sure the world will have come to an end if things ever get THAT bad.

  14. Anonymous says

    RE: Silver content.

    The 2010 Silver proof set has a total of 1.33823 oz of silver.

    The Silver Quarters set contains
    .9042 of an oz.

  15. Anonymous says

    What me worry?

    Buy silver coins, that way if you need more ammo in the future you can melt them down and make silver bullets…

    "Hey Tonto they look like friendly indians."

    The Lone Ranger

  16. Anonymous says

    To the first poster at 9:14 a.m. on 9/22/10, thanks for the information on silver content.

    To the second poster at 9:14 a.m, you seem to have mixed Alfred E. Neuman and The Lone Ranger. Alfred E. Neuman is the one who said, "It's a good idea to save your money. One day it might be worth something again!" He also said, "Medical insurance is what allows people to be ill at ease!" Anyway, thanks for the levity.

    Cheers!

  17. Anonymous says

    With the ever rising price of silver, the 2009 quarter silver proof set is almost getting to be a bargain. It contains 6 coins instead of 5 and it sells for $3 less than the 2010 set.

    Those will probably be cut off at 300,000 units (give or take some oddball figure in the hundreds), so they are probably almost gone.

  18. Anonymous says

    If silver goes up about another $6.50 per ounce, the 2009 silver proof quarters set (D.C. and Territories) will be priced at just about the spot price of silver.

    LL

  19. Anonymous says

    I doubt it will go up that much that fast, but it sure would be funny if it did. The Mint has no escape clause on silver coins. They would be selling the sets at no mark-up at all!

  20. Anonymous says

    An Unc roll of silver dimes contain 3.618 Troy OZs of pure silver.

    Unc rolls of quarters and halves are twice that @7.236 OZs per roll.

    Unc Morgan/Peace dollar rolls are twice that again @14.472 OZs per roll.

    Divide by 50/40/20/20 respectively to arrive at the "per coin" pure silver content.

    All bets are off when talking about circulated coins.

    Also…

    28.35 grams = 1 Standard (Avoirdupois) OZ

    31.1 grams = 1 Troy OZ

    12 Troy OZs = 1 Troy Pound

    14.583 Troy OZs = 1 Standard (Avoirdupois) Pound

    16 Standard (Avoirdupois) OZs =
    1 Standard (Avoirdupois) Pound

    5760 Grains = 1 Troy Pound

    24 Grains = 1 Pennyweight

    240 Pennyweights = 1 Troy Pound

    Coincidentally, there are 240 Pence per British Pound…Hmmmm.

    A Troy OZ = 1 cubic inch of distilled water at 17 degrees celsius and at the barometric pressure represented by 30 inches of mercury.

  21. Anonymous says

    Actually a roll of 20 Morgans/Peace dollars has 15.4688 oz's of silver (.77344 oz each)

    I think you just doubled the .36169 oz that a half dollar has, which is incorrect.

    Thanks for the other info though!!

  22. Anonymous says

    I've been purchasing the least expensive proof silver for close to a year now and now own a lot of 2000 silver proof sets that currently still can be found for under $30! I think the melt value must be getting close to this. Still a mystery that mintage #s not much higher than other sets. Anyone have any insights to this?

  23. Anonymous says

    RE; spot vs. '09 silver proof quarters, "I doubt it will go up that much that fast, but it sure would be funny if it did. The Mint has no escape clause on silver coins. They would be selling the sets at no mark-up at all!"

    I bet they could pull them anytime they want, remember, it's the Mint.

    They will make profit as they probably locked that silver in years ago at 5.00 oz.

  24. Anonymous says

    Yeah, I know they can pull them anytime. They will likely be gone within a few more weeks anyway, especially if the price of silver keeps rising. I can't believe they've left them for sale this long.

  25. Anonymous says

    That set is a bargain as Michael noted months ago. Especially compared to this years set. Interestingly, that set w/o the COA has been selling for 19.-26. lately. Those came from broken silver Mint Sets and could also now be considered a "bargain" I think I'm goin' shoppin'!

  26. Anonymous says

    If silver goes up another 2 or 3 dollas them silver sets will be gone like the wild goose in winter.
    No need for the gooberMINT to make up any special rules. Not that they can't or won't. I believe a senator named Alcee Hastings summed it up in a nutshell last year when he said "they just make it up as they go along." I believe he was talking about congress but it applies across the board to all of gooberMENT.

  27. Anonymous says

    If silver goes up another 2 or 3 dollas them silver sets will be gone like the wild goose in winter.
    No need for the gooberMINT to make up any special rules. Not that they can't or won't. I believe a senator named Alcee Hastings summed it up in a nutshell last year when he said "they just make it up as they go along." He was talking about congress but it applies across the board to all of gooberMENT.

  28. Anonymous says

    The US Mint has just posted a further postponement for the Uncirc. Buchanan Libertys:

    "Product will be available for shipping 10/07/2010"

    Jim L.

  29. Anonymous says

    Popular is popular, I mean take a look at the 2001 Buffalo silver dollars, they still fetch $150+ even though they made like 220,000ms of em. Yet the San Frans and Franks can be had for like 30 bucks and they made only 60,000 ms of those.
    The Buchanan I think will be a bit of a standout amoung the ladies, and for a few other numismatic reasons as well…
    such as the fact it was The obverse design on US Mint Gold coinage from 1839 to 1908.
    I think that might just matter alittle bit.

  30. Anonymous says

    ""Product will be available for shipping 10/07/2010"

    Dude, …that is no big deal…tomorrow it will say 10/8, the next day 10/9 ect. It really doesn't mean anything to be concerned about!

  31. Anonymous says

    Well, having the same reverse as a Morgan dollar didn't help the 2006 San Fran dollar much did it? I think that it is overall a pretty sharp looking coin and I have never understood why it has been overlooked as much as it has.

    Jim L.

  32. Anonymous says

    Dude? OK, well I'm not concerned at all, but this does indicate for those who might want to get an uncirc. Liberty that the mint may have underestimated the uncirc demand and are buying some time to estimate how many more, if any, they need to make.

    Jim L.

  33. Anonymous says

    Jim, I mean no disrespect (Dude).

    With over 6000 Buchanan's still available, there will be plenty of uncs left.

    Yes, the Mint may of miscalculated intial demand, but the "available shipping date" moving forward one day each day is a common practice of the Mint.

    However, as we never really know what the Mint is up to lately, I would suggest anyone wanting an unc Buchanan to go ahead and order one…especially with Gold rising in price.

    Thanks for your comments Jim.

  34. Anonymous says

    They're just in the process of minting more. They won't mint them all at once. they will not guess how many of each finish to mint or how many will or will not sell. Just hang tight, I'm waiting for several to be returned and I hope I get some from this new batch.

  35. Anonymous says

    Yea,I think the San Fransico coins
    are sleepers too. The significace of the design and relatively lower mintage should have them heading up in value in future years.

  36. Anonymous says

    i'm short selling GLD and SLV… im gonna make mucho dinero soon.

    maybe not pop pop pop yet, but definately overbought overbought overbought

    🙂

  37. Anonymous says

    Most of these financial wizards mainly on tv haven't got a friggin' clue. They didn't see any bubbles in 2008 and now they see a gold bubble.
    Ooooooo eeeeeee! Hitch up the wagon, Sally, there's a gold bubble about to pop and we is headin' into town tonight to celebrate. We goin' to the Longbranch to get arselves a brew.

  38. The Dude says

    Gold is headed higher dudes! Slow and steady, eventually Gold is set to go parabolic, due to increased global uncertainty.

  39. Anonymous says

    I think we now have a DUAL Currancy
    System at Play ; $Dollars…AND Gold.
    Something to think about.
    Just Wonder'n.
    Kinda looks like its set'n up to be just that…
    Wait a minute thats just what we have now.
    Interesting.

  40. Anonymous says

    It does seem to be working well that way. And it is practical and makes sense. I for one think it will work. So the dollar still does has a role to play after all.
    Yeah this Will be interesting.

  41. Anonymous says

    "Actually a roll of 20 Morgans/Peace dollars has 15.4688 oz's of silver (.77344 oz each"

    I stand corrected.

    In the beginning (1792), there was a one to one correspondence between coin weights and coin values. However, in 1853 (due to an increased value of silver relative to gold), the silver content of coins was reduced by 6.9%.

    This was done to all coins except the Dollar coin and the 3¢ silver (the "fish scale" coin). The reduced silver content coins were identified with "arrows" on either side of the date ( <-1853-> ) from 1853 through 1855.

    "HAD" the silver Dollar coin been reduced by 6.9%…it would have been reduced to .7201 Troy OZs per coin and a roll of 20 would weigh 14.4 Troy OZs.

    My "understanding" is that the 3¢ coin was new at the time and didn't require reduction. The silver dollar had pretty much disappeared from circulation and was simply ignored.

    If anyone has more information about why those coins were exempted, I would be interested to know.

  42. Anonymous says

    This will probably be another week of heavy buying of the Buchanan's Liberty gold coins, due to the spot price hovering around $1,300 now. The danger of yet ANOTHER price increase next week should spur sales, since it appears the price won't be going DOWN anytime soon!

  43. Anonymous says

    Can someone please tell me the silver melt value (currently around$21.30/ oz) plus face value of 2000 mint set and mintage numbers? The 1999's and 2001's sell for a ton more and they don't appear to be rare at all judging by the numbers for sale on e-bay. I was told there was only 20% more 2000s than 1999s. Is this true? You'd think there were 2-3X as many at least. Is there some problem with the 2000 sets? It almost feels like the emperor's new clothes story with everyone saying '00s are so common and '99s and '01s are so rare without numbers (or ebay volume) to back it up. The 2000s are in fact going for under $30 on ebay with the '99s for around $175 or so. Seems like the '99s are due for a fall and the 2000s for a rise. I was reading some threads and became very interested in the subject now that silver seems to be moving steadily ahead.

    JBL

  44. Anonymous says

    Yes, the mind is a POWERFUL thing. That's why placebo medicines actually help people.

    It drives me NUTS how sometimes collector buying patterns defy logic. Sometimes perceptions finally change for certain products, but for the most part if it is first ignored, it will ALWAYS be ignored. Just ask John Tyler (or at least, those of us who were stupid enough to buy his 30,000 P and 30,000 D rolls thinking it would be a repeat of the Harrisons!)

  45. Anonymous says

    JBL,

    The 2002 sets have low mintages, also. An interesting aspect that affects modern coin values is "distribution". Order restrictions reduce concentrations of coins/sets, making them harder to acquire on the secondary market, thus inflating price.

  46. Anonymous says

    All gold and silver investments are not equal.

    A coin is a unique item, it is produced in limited numbers. Some gold and silver coins become more valued than others. The market sets the price, and the market changes every day.

    When people talk about relative value, they should be more specific. Coin and metal are not the same. Each has a "subtle distinction" that identifies it. Please, don't paint all items with the same brush…

    Goldfingers

  47. Anonymous says

    Just got my Liberty unc. It goes back later today. Big brown spot that can be seen with the naked eye from 10 feet on the left obverse looks like Miss Liberty hocked a wad of chewing tobacco that hit edge of field. Is there ANY quality control at the US Mint?

  48. Anonymous says

    I just returned a Liberty proof today. It had a damage mark on the obverse and mark on the reverse where the book is. I agree totally with prior post. Could the mint put some effort into quality control? And if you think this is bad, check out the silver proof sets. I think the word embarrassing is appropriate.

  49. Anonymous says

    What, there's supposed to be a book on the reverse of the Liberty proof? Mine must really be bad! On mine, the young Buchanan appears to be holding an IPad.

    LL

  50. Anonymous says

    "More than 95 respected economists, academics, analysts and market commentators are of the firm opinion that gold will go to $2,500 and beyond before the parabolic peak is reached. In fact, the majority (55) think a price of $5,000 or more -even as high as $15,000 – is actually more likely! As such, just imagine what is in store for silver given its historical price relationship with gold!"

    http://www.kitco.com/ind/Wilson/sep202010.html

  51. Anonymous says

    To 9:48 am "It drives me NUTS how sometimes collector buying patterns defy logic."

    " but for the most part if it is first ignored, it will ALWAYS be ignored. Just ask John Tyler… "

    Ehem, Hmmmm, Nope. Johns second wife Julia(gold) was ignored at 691.00+/-, but now she's not being ignored and won't be ever again. She is now the KEY COIN and can easily fetch 2-3 times that amount and in later years 5 figures. To each his own– Tyler Rolls, or Tyler Gold– I know which one I want.

  52. Anonymous says

    Actually, I meant that if it's first ignored on the SECONDARY market, it will always be ignored. Julia was never ignored on the secondary market after Mint sales ended, but the Tyler rolls were, despite having identical sales numbers to the Harrison rolls that at their peak fetched about $400 each on eBay.

    Sorry for not being more clear on what I meant. But since you brought up Julia, I have been kicking myself for not letting that last minute order for another Unc go through! I guess I just didn't have enough faith.

  53. Anonymous says

    >"More than 95 respected >economists, academics, analysts >and market commentators are of >the firm opinion that gold will >go to $2,500 and beyond before >the parabolic peak is reached. In >fact, the majority (55) think a >price of $5,000 or more -even as >high as $15,000 – is actually >more likely! As such, just >imagine what is in store for >silver given its historical price >relationship with gold!"

    >http://www.kitco.com/ind/Wilson/sep202010.html

    Quoting Kitco for gold advice. OK.

  54. Anonymous says

    Ok, but just remember most of those commentators over at Kitco are in the gold "trading business" and their very existence depends on you, the person buying gold stock(or secret advice) through them. Their job is to sell Gold. Do your homework. Buy the way, I agree(for the most part) in what you said, cheers.

  55. Anonymous says

    Cannot agree more – there is conflict of interest between Kitco and the way they advice. Basically they advertise what they sell .

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