The United States Mint will release the 2009 Silver Proof Set on July 17, 2009 at 12:00 Noon ET. This year's set will feature 18 different coins, including 8 coins struck with a composition of 90% silver.

The sets are priced at $52.95 each. This represents an increase of $8 from the price of last year's set. The increase can be attributed to the increased size of the set from 14 to 18 coins. There are no ordering limits anticipated and the US Mint's product page can be found here.

Each set will contain the following coins:

2009-S Lincoln Cents - All four designs will be issued including Birthplace, Formative Years, Professional Life, and Presidency. As with the regular (clad) proof set, each Lincoln Cent will be struck with a composition of 95% copper, 3% zinc, and 2% tin. (Also referred to as bronze.)

2009-S Proof Jefferson Nickel

2009-S Proof Roosevelt Dime - stuck with composition of 90% silver.

2009-S Proof DC & US Territories Quarters - All six designs will be included featuring the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, US Virgin Islands, and Northern Mariana Islands. Each coin will be struck with a composition of 90% silver.

2009-S Proof Kennedy Half Dollar - struck with composition of 90% silver.

2009-S Proof Presidential Dollars - All four designs will be included featuring William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk, and Zachary Taylor.

2009-S Proof Native American Dollar

The Silver Proof Set has actually become a bit of a redundancy in recent years since the US Mint issues such a wide range of component proof sets. The 2009 Silver Proof Set will only include two coins which have not yet been released in other annual sets. These two coins are the 2009-S Silver Proof Kennedy Half Dollar and 2009-S Silver Proof Roosevelt Dime. All of the other coins in the set have already been released in one or more of the following sets: 2009 Presidential Dollar Proof Set, 2009 DC & US Territories Silver Proof Set, and the regular 2009 Proof Set.

For this reason, the release of the 2009 Silver Proof Set might be met with less enthusiasm than the regular 2009 Proof Set or the still unreleased 2009 Mint Set. The 2009 Mint Set has been delayed until the US Mint can resolve "unique tarnishing issues" with the Lincoln Cents.

It's worth noting that in the recent past, the release date for current year annual sets has usually marked the end of sales for the prior year set. As such, it seems likely that sales of the 2008 Silver Proof Set will end when this year's set goes on sale. This set is currently for sale on the US Mint's website for $44.95.

Contrary to earlier reports from Coin World, the US Mint will be issuing 2009 American Gold Buffalo bullion coins during 2009.

CoinWorld had published a story in their July 6, 2009 issue stating that the offering was canceled based on information received from the US Mint. This information was not correct and the Mint has already received the 24 karat gold planchets necessary to produce the coins.

The US Mint added this statement to their press releases page:

2009 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coin Update — Annual production of the United States American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins is required by law. As a result, the United States Mint is presently developing a production and launch schedule to determine the earliest possible release of these coins through the Authorized Purchaser network.

The US Mint first released the 24 karat American Gold Buffalo coins in 2006. The coins were offered as one ounce gold bullion coins and one ounce proof coins for collectors. The same line up was offered in 2007. In 2008, the number of collector offerings ballooned to included fractional proof and fractional uncirculated coins. These additional offerings were announced discontinued before the end of the year.

Based on current information, the US Mint will offer one ounce 2009 Gold Buffalo bullion coins and one ounce 2009 Gold Buffalo proof coins. Last year, the US Mint sold 189,500 of the one ounce bullion coins and 19,591 of the one ounce proof coins.

Release dates for this year's offerings have still not been provided.

The US Mint recently posted their latest production figures for circulating coins. These numbers have received more attention this year because of the significant decline from prior years.

The table below lists the US Mint's coin production during the month of June 2009. The numbers are produced by subtracting last month's year to date production figures from this month's year to date production figures.

US Mint Coin Production June 2009
	Philadelphia	Denver	Total
Cents	64.40 M	164.40 M	228.80 M
Nickels	0	0.48 M	0.48 M
Dimes	0	0	0
Quarters	42.60 M	26.60 M	69.20 M
Halves	0	0	0
Presidential Dollars	41.02 M	14.28 M	55.30 M
Native Amer Dollars	0	0	0
Total	148.02 M	205.76 M	353.78 M

Production was concentrated in three denominations, the cent, quarter, and dollar. The production for the nickel also moved up slightly. The US Mint had previously announced that they had ended production of nickels and dimes for the rest of the year, so perhaps this was just a slight adjustment to the previously reported figures. Overall the US Mint produced 353.78 million coins during June. This was in line with the prior month when 352.92 million coins were produced.

The additional table below shows the total year to date coin production for each denomination, and where possible, each coin design. For Quarters and Presidential Dollars, the US Mint posts production figures for each separate design once production for that design has ended.

2009 Coin Production January 2009 to June 2009
	Philadelphia	Denver	Total
Lincoln Cent	660.40 M	714.00 M	1,374.40 M
Jefferson Nickel	39.84 M	39.84 M	79.68 M
Roosevelt Dime	96.50 M	49.50 M	146.00 M
District of Columbia Quarter	83.60 M	88.80 M	172.40 M
Puerto Rico Quarter	53.20 M	86.00 M	139.20 M
Guam Quarter	45.00 M	42.60 M	87.60 M
Kennedy Half Dollar	1.70 M	1.70 M	3.40 M
W.H. Harrison Dollar	43.26 M	55.16 M	98.42 M
John Tyler Dollar	43.54 M	43.54 M	87.08 M
Native American Dollar	27.30 M	23.80 M	51.10 M

The US Mint did not post any new "final" mintage figures for 2009 Presidential Dollars or 2009 DC & US Territories Quarters. The figures for the Guam Quarter and John Tyler Presidential Dollar had been available in last month's update. During 2009, the overall mintage for each quarter and dollar release has been lower than the previous release. The US Mint's next coin production update will be closely watched to see if this trend remains intact.

The year to date production figures for the one cent denomination yield an interesting observation. Assuming that the US Mint has not yet begun production of the third design representing Lincoln's Professional Life, the implied mintage for the Formative Years design is now above the mintage for the Birthplace Design. The Birthplace design had a final mintage of 350.4 M Denver coins and 284.4 M Philadelphia coins. Backing these numbers out of the total above results in possible Formative Years mintages of 363.6 M Denver coins and 376 M Philadelphia coins.

Update: The US Mint is done producing the Formative Years design. The possible mintages quoted above are the final mintages.

The US Mint will offer the Presidential Dollar Coin and First Spouse Medal Set for John and Letitia Tyler starting on July 14, 2009 at 12:00 Noon ET.

Each set will contain one uncirculated 2009 John Tyler Presidential Dollar and one Letitia Tyler Bronze Medal. These will be mounted on a custom designed display card featuring images of the President and First Spouse. Issuance information is included on the back of the card. The sets will be priced at $8.95 with no household ordering limits.
The US Mint has already posted the product page, which can be found here.

John Tyler had a first and second wife while serving as President. A separate Coin and Medal Set will be released later this summer featuring the his second wife Julia Tyler.

The Presidential Dollar Coin and First Spouse Medal Sets have been an interesting product line to watch over the past few years. The sets were released amidst a conglomeration of other Presidential Dollar related products including the now canceled Historical Signature Sets and Individual Proof Coins, as well as the still offered annual Presidential Dollar Uncirculated Set and Proof Set.

The Coin and Medal Sets started showing up on more collector's radar screens after the set featuring Thomas Jefferson started consistently selling for over $200. Prices have settled since then, with the sets released in 2007 seeming to sell for around $50, and the sets released in 2008 selling for around double or more than the original offering price. Here are the current eBay auctions.

Things have been relatively quiet on the US Mint news front. Yesterday, the Letitia Tyler First Spouse Gold Coins and John Tyler Presidential Dollar Coin Cover were launched. Coinciding with this release, the Louisa Adams First Spouse Gold Coins went off-sale.

As mentioned, I am currently on vacation, but will continue to monitor US Mint products and news and provide periodic posts. For now, here are some recent articles which might be of interest to Mint News Blog readers, as well as some of my other sites to check out over the weekend.

US Marshals High Relief Gold Coins - Legislation was introduced which would create one-ounce $5 Gold Commemorative Coins for the 225th Anniversary of the US Marshals. The coins would be struck in high relief and feature edge lettering. The one-ounce size, high relief, and edge lettering are all unique or uncommon aspects for gold commemorative coins. If the legislation is approved, the coins would be issued in 2014.

Fair Treatment for Precious Metals Investors Act - Legislation was recently introduced which would have an impact on coin collectors and precious metals investors. Gains from the sale of gold, silver, and platinum are currently classified as collectibles gains and subject to a maximum tax rate of 28%. This compares to a long term capital gains tax rate of 15% for stocks and other assets. If the bill becomes law, precious metals investors would be allowed the same preferential rates available to investors of other asset classes.

Gold Buffalo Bullion Coins Canceled - The US Mint announced that the bullion version of the Gold Buffalo Coin will not be issued for 2009. The 24 karat one ounce gold bullion coins had been issued since 2006. The US Mint still plans to release a one ounce 2009 Proof Gold Buffalo Coin for collectors later in the year.

Gold, Silver, and Platinum Second Quarter Performance - For the second quarter of 2009, gold, silver, and platinum all posted single digit gains. Precious metals performance for the year to date shows platinum in the lead with a gain of more than 32%.

July 1, 2009 Coin Update - A round up of recent coin collecting news including the undated 20p UK coins, the results of an external audit at the Royal Canadian Mint, the next 2009 Lincoln Cent launch ceremony in Springfield Illinois, and more.

Click Coins - Stay up to date with the latest coin related articles and blogs from a variety of sources. Make this site your home page and get an instant snapshot of current coin news every time you go online.

Coin Review - A site where anyone can provide their ratings and reviews on US coin designs. The site has been updated to include the latest releases for 2009, as well as some of the proposed designs for 2010 coins. Over 200 reviews have been provided to date.