Wednesday, February 8, 2012

2011-P Chickasaw Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins

Posted by Mint News Blog | Filed Under: America the Beautiful Quarters

On February 9, 2012 at 12:00 Noon ET, the US Mint will begin accepting orders for the 2011-P Chickasaw National Recreation Area Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins. This will be the tenth release within the numismatic program.

The reverse design of the coin features a depiction of Lincoln Bridge, which was dedicated in 1909 to celebrate the centennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. The bridge has become a favorite scenic designation, and is also the first and oldest developed structure built at Chickasaw. The reverse was designed by Donna Weaver and sculpted by Jim Licaretz. The obverse design of the coin features the 1932 portrait of George Washington designed by John Flanagan.

Each coin is struck in 5.0 troy ounce of .999 fine silver and has a diameter of 3 inches. The coins have an uncirculated finish and carry the “P” mint mark on the obverse.

As with the previous 2011-dated numismatic releases, the Chickasaw coins are limited to a total mintage of 35,000 coins.

For this release, the US Mint will not impose household ordering limits. For the 2010-dated releases an ordering limit of one per household was initially imposed. For the other 2011-dated releases, an ordering limit of five per household was initially imposed.

The Chickasaw Five Ounce Uncirculated Coins are priced at $204.95 each. This is the lowest starting price for any release within the series. The initial pricing for previous releases has been $279.95 or $229.95.

Demand for the series has dropped steadily as the US Mint somewhat rapidly released the first nine designs in the space of less than nine months. During the past few weeks there has been some rekindled interest in the program, as the market price of silver has risen and the US Mint has maintained the same pricing for the coins.

Other Developments for America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Coins

Recently, there has been some news and developments related to both the numismatic and bullion versions of the America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Coins.

As a refresher, the bullion versions of the coin feature a brilliant or often proof like finish and do not carry a mint mark. The bullion coins are sold by the United States Mint to a network of authorized purchasers responsible for distributing the coins to the broader market. The numismatic versions of the coin feature an uncirculated finish created through a vapor blasting technique and carry the “P” mint mark. These coins are sold by the United States Mint directly to the public.

Based on a reading of the authorizing legislation, it had previously seemed that the bullion versions could only be sold to authorized purchasers during the year of release for the corresponding quarter dollar. Refer to this article on Coin Update News which explains the US Mint’s interpretation of the law. Essentially, the Mint’s broad interpretation will allow them to sell their remaining stockpile of 2011-dated bullion versions for many years into the future.

The sales limitation did not come into play for the 2010-dated bullion coins, since the entire 165,000 coins produced were sold by December 23, 2010. For the 2011-dated bullion coins, the US Mint may have produced up to 633,500, but only managed to sell 397,700 by the close of the year. Sales of the remaining inventory it seems may continue for many years to come.

The US Mint has provided an indication of the production levels for the 2012-dated numismatic and bullion coins for the series within this Numismatic News article. They have “penciled in” 45,000 per release for the bullion versions and 25,000 per release for the numismatic versions.

Previous production levels for the bullion versions were 33,000 per release in 2010 and 126,700 per release in 2011. Previous production levels for the numismatic versions were 27,000 per release in 2010 and 35,000 per release in 2011.

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Tuesday, February 7, 2012

El Yunque Quarter Three Coin Set

Posted by Mint News Blog | Filed Under: America the Beautiful Quarters

Today, February 7, 2012 at 12:00 Noon ET, the United States Mint began sales of the 2012 America the Beautiful Quarters Three Coin Set featuring El Yunque National Forest. The product type has undergone two changes for the latest release.

As in the past, the product includes one uncirculated quarter from the Philadelphia Mint, one uncirculated quarter from the Denver Mint, and one proof quarter from the San Francisco Mint. These three coins are mounted onto a plastic card containing a brief description of the coins and the site on the back of the card, along with a certificate of authenticity.

Representing a change from the past releases, the plastic card features a full color illustration of the National Forest on the front of the card. For the first ten releases, this space was blank.

The El Yunque Quarter Three Coin Sets are priced at $9.95 each. This represents a reduction of $5 from the price charged for the product type last year. There are no ordering limits or stated product limits in place.

The previous ten America the Beautiful Three Coin Sets remain available for sale on the US Mint’s website. The pricing for each set remains at $14.95 each. As of the latest sales report issued today, sales for this product type have ranged from a high of 20,436 for the Yellowstone set to a low of 12,162 for the most recently released Chickasaw set.

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Monday, February 6, 2012

Some Things That Other World Mints Are Doing

Posted by Mint News Blog | Filed Under: World Coins

There has been a lot of recent discussion within comments about various non-U.S. coins, so I thought it would be fitting to devote a post to world coins. Specifically, I wanted to outline some of the tactics, strategies, or innovations that mints around the world have employed within their coin offerings.

Generally speaking, many world mints have much greater latitude in producing their coins compared to the United States Mint. In many respects, the US Mint is limited to following the specific requirements set out by Congress. For example, all commemorative coins have their themes, denominations, and maximum mintages established by specific legislation. Even the process for selecting the design is stipulated. However, the Treasury Secretary does have some broad authority to mint and issue gold and platinum coins, which he has exercised infrequently and likely at the specific request of the US Mint. Such authority was used to create the 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle.

Use of Non-Traditional Materials

For many years, world mints have been utilizing non traditional materials within selected numismatic offerings. An interesting one has been the use of a niobium core within an outer silver ring. The Austrian Mint has produced several series of coins in niobium and silver since 2003. The inner core of niobium has shown a broad array of colors, created by the diffraction of light by a thin oxide layer. The Austrian Mint has also produced Latvian coins using the same techniques. Shown below is the Coin of Time II with the core tinted dark purple.

Recently, the Royal Canadian Mint began a series of silver and niobium coins featuring the Algonquin full moons. The inner cores are selectively oxidized to create unique finishes, with no two coins exactly alike.


Besides metals, world mints have incorporated different materials into coins such as gemstones or crystal elements. The Royal Canadian Mint included a diamond within a coin to celebrate the diamond jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. The Perth Mint has just launched a new series of coins showcasing nocturnal animals created in Australian opal (shown below).

Smaller Sized Precious Metal Coins

As precious metals prices have risen, some world mints have introduced smaller sized gold and silver coins. This has served to maintain a low pricing point for certain precious metals coins, providing entry level products for new collectors or products which can still be given as modest gifts.

The Perth Mint was one of the earliest to try smaller sized precious metals gold and silver coins. They released the extremely tiny 0.5 gram (0.016 troy ounce) Gold Kangaroo (above, right) and the 1/10 oz. Silver Koala.

The Royal Canadian Mint has also offered tiny 0.5 gram sized coins. The recently offered Gold Cougar with a face value of 25 cents is shown above, left. Additionally, they have offered 1/25 oz gold coins and 1/2 oz silver coins.

The RCM has also offered silver coins under the “Exchange $20 for $20″ series. These coins are struck in .9999 fine silver and have a weight of 7.96 grams (0.256 troy ounces). Although they are priced at a premium to their intrinsic value, the coins are priced at exactly their face value of $20. The designs for this series have been exceptionally well done. Shown above is the second release. The most recent release features a swimming polar bear.

Limited Production Bullion Coins with Rotating Designs

Many world mints offer gold or silver bullion coins that carry rotating designs and have limited mintages. Most are initially priced based on the precious metal value, but can show later premiums based on the popularity of the design and/or the low mintage level.

The Royal British Mint offers the Silver Britannia, which has been minted in bullion format since 1998. Recently, the annual mintage has been 100,000, although the earlier issues have even lower mintages. Each year features a different design featuring Britannia. The 2012 Silver Britannia re-creates the original depiction of Britannia which was sculpted by Philip Nathan.

The Royal Canadian Mint recently began a new series of one ounce silver bullion coins featuring different species of Canadian wildlife. A total of six different designs will be released over three years, with each one limited to a mintage of one million. These have been initially priced at the same levels as the substantially higher mintage Silver Maple Leaf bullion coins.

The Perth Mint offers several different lines of bullion coins, which include limited mintages for at least some of the sizes. The one capturing the most attention currently is the Australian Lunar Series II, which features the twelve animals of China’s ancient lunar calendar. For the bullion versions of the coin, limited mintages were set for the one ounce gold coin, 10 kilo gold coin, one ounce silver coin, and 10 kilo silver coin. Shown above is the one ounce 2012 Year of the Dragon Silver bullion coin, which was limited to 300,000.

Other bullion series from the Perth Mint include the Silver Koala, which has no mintage limits, the Silver Kookaburra, with a mintage limit for the one ounce size, and the Gold Kangaroo, with limits for each size except 1 kilo.

Extremely Low Mintage Collector Coins

Some world mints have offered collector coins with extremely low mintages, usually targeted towards the high end market.

The Royal British Mint has offered kilo sized gold and silver coins as part of their 2012 Olympic coin program. The silver coin had a mintage of just 2,012 coins, while the gold coin had a mintage of only 60.

The Royal Canadian Mint is in the midst of a platinum coin series featuring prehistoric animals. The coins contain one troy ounce of .9995 platinum and carry a legal tender face value of $300. The first release from 2007  featuring the Scimitar Cat had a mintage of only 200 pieces. The most recent release featured the cougar and was also limited to 200 pieces.

On the less extreme end, the Perth Mint has released numerous collector coins with mintages set at 5,000 or sometimes less. These coins are typically issued for a particular theme such as “Great Composers”, “Ships That Changed the World”, or the most recent “Dragons of Legend.”

Numbered Certificates of Authenticity

Some world mints individually number the certificates of authenticity included with collector coins. While I haven’t made a study of it, there is likely some higher demand and premium for very low numbers, or possibly round numbers and lucky numbers (such as 888).

Programs Targeted Towards Frequent Customers

The Royal Canadian Mint has the “Masters Club.” Anyone who spends $999.99 or more within one year becomes part of this club. The benefits include free shipping and handling on all orders (U.S. and Canada) with no minimum. Advance notice is given for new releases, priority access is given for limited edition coins, and alerts are given for popular coins about to sell out. The program also lists benefits such as free access to mint tours and VIP invitations to special events.

The Perth Mint in Australia offers free shipping (even to the United States) for orders placed which are above $300.

The Royal Australian Mint offers an interesting pre-order program called “Collection by Selection.” Before the start of the year, collectors have a full list of all of the numismatic products that will be offered. Collectors can choose the products they would like to receive, which will be shipped automatically as they are released. Prices are locked in, even for precious metals products. Anyone who uses the program receives a free gift and collectors with orders above a certain level have an exclusive opportunity to order a coin with a limited mintage of 500 or 1,000.

World Coin Coverage

For anyone who found this post interesting, my website Coin Update News provides extensive coverage of new world coin releases. Past coverage can be found under the World Coins category. Featured articles on the site also periodically provide interviews with important figures from various world mints.

Anyone interested can subscribe to receive all Coin Update News articles by RSS or receive new articles daily by email.

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Thursday, February 2, 2012

El Yunque National Park Quarter Bags and Rolls

Posted by Mint News Blog | Filed Under: America the Beautiful Quarters

On February 3, 2012, the United States Mint will begin sales of numismatic bags and rolls for the 2012 El Yunque National Park Quarter. This is the first release of the year for the America the Beautiful Quarters series, and the eleventh release overall.

The reverse design for the El Yunque Quarter depicts the Coqui tree frog sitting on a leaf and the Puerto Rican parrot behind an epiphyte plant with tropical flora in the background. This was designed by Gary Whitley and engraved by Michael Gaudioso. The obverse of the coin features the 1932 portrait of George Washington designed by John Flanagan.

The US Mint will offer two roll sets, which contain one 40 coin roll from the Philadelphia Mint and one 40 coin roll from the Denver Mint. The rolls have special wrappers which indicate the release, mint mark, and face value of the contents.

Pricing for the two roll sets will be $32.95. This is a reduction of from the price of $39.95 charged for the two roll sets offered for the 2011-dated quarters.

The US Mint will also offer 100-coin bags of El Yunque Quarters, either from the Philadelphia or Denver Mint. The mint-sewn canvas bags include labels which indicate the release and mint mark of the coins, with the face value printed on the bag.

Pricing for each bag is $34.95. Once again, this is a reduction from the prior year price, when the 100-coin bags were $49.95 each.

The US Mint indicates that sales of the El Yunque numismatic bags and rolls will continue for one year from the initial product release date.

The bags and rolls for each of the 2011 America the Beautiful Quarters still remain available for sale on the US Mint’s website. The Gettysburg Quarters are actually slightly over the indicated one year availability period. At the current time, pricing for the 2011 bags and rolls remains at the higher levels, rather than the new lower pricing.

Circulation Release Date and Launch Ceremonies

The El Yunque National Forest Quarters have already entered circulation on January 23, 2012, through distribution from the Federal Reserve Banks. For previous releases, the start of sales for the US Mint’s numismatic bags and rolls has been more closely aligned with the circulation release date.

It’s also worth noting that the El Yunque Quarters began circulating without an official launch ceremony. CoinWorld recently reported that these ceremonies remain in limbo as US Mint officials look at the procedures and processes of the events to make sure they are handled efficiently, mostly it seems from a cost perspective.

Launch ceremonies have been held for the first ten releases of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program, nearly all releases of the Presidential Dollar Program, and the four releases of the 2009 Bicentennial Lincoln Cents. The events attracted hundreds or even thousands of attendees and were often preceded by a collector forum hosted by the US Mint. I had been able to provide coverage for many of these launch ceremonies thanks to reports and photos from collectors who had attended the events. (Here is the article for the Hot Springs Quarter.) While the costs of such events must be considered, the launch ceremonies did seem to build awareness of the series and generate excitement within the local communities.

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Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Gold and Platinum Product Price Increases Possible

Posted by Mint News Blog | Filed Under: US Mint

Once again it is possible that the US Mint will increase prices for gold and platinum numismatic products. This would be the third increase of the year for gold products and the second of the year for the single platinum product.

The US Mint uses a flexible pricing policy for gold and platinum numismatic products that allows pricing adjustments to take place as often as weekly. The average market price of the metals is determined based on the London Fix prices from the prior Thursday AM to the current Wednesday AM. If the average moves into a different tier established at $50 intervals for gold and $100 intervals for platinum, and the Wednesday PM price agrees directionally, then a pricing change takes place. These pricing adjustments have usually taken place around mid-morning Wednesdays.

Based on the current pricing data, the average for gold is within the $1,700 to $1,749.99 range. In the most likely scenario, as long as the Wednesday PM London Fix Price is above $1,700, then a price increase would take place. Prices for the remaining Proof Gold Eagles, Proof Gold Buffalo, and First Spouse Gold Coins would be increased by the equivalent of $50 per ounce of gold content.

Previously this year, numismatic gold coin prices were increased on January 11 and January 25.

Based on current pricing data, the average price for platinum is within the $1,550 to $1,649.99 range. In the most likely scenario, as long as the Wednesday PM London Fix price is above $1,550, then a price increase would take place. The price of the 2011 Proof Platinum Eagle would be increased from $1,792 to $1,892.

At the start of the year, the Proof Platinum Eagle was priced at $1,692 per coin, representing the lowest price during the entire course of the offering. At the start of sales on May 26, 2011, the coins were priced at $2,092 each. Based on the latest numismatic sales report just released today, the US Mint has recorded sales of 13,192 of the coin out of the 15,000 maximum. Since the start of the year, sales have moved up by more than 1,200 coins.

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