2008 American Gold Eagle Proof Coins Available March 4

The 2008 American Gold Eagle Proof Coins will go on sale at the U.S. Mint on March 4, 2008 at 12:00 Noon ET. These are the collectible proof versions of the popular gold bullion coins featuring Augustus Saint-Gaudens' classic design.

As in prior years, the coins will be available in 1 ounce, 1/2 ounce, 1/4 ounce, and 1/10 ounce sizes, as well as a Four Coin Set which includes one of each size coin. The U.S. Mint has set a production limit for each of the product options.

Coins will come in a blue velvet, satin-lined presentation case. A Certificate of Authenticity signed by the Director of the US Mint will also be included.

Scheduled pricing for the sets as well as the production limits are in the table below.

	Product Limit	Price
1 oz.	25,000	$1,199.95
1/2 oz.	15,000	$ 609.95
1/4 oz.	16,000	$ 329.95
1/10 oz.	30,000	$ 149.95
4 Coin Set	35,000	$2,199.95

The Mint's individual product pages can be found at the following links. Ordering options will not be available until sale begin on March 4, 2008.

2008 American Gold Eagle Proof Coins

• 1 ounce
• 1/2 ounce
• 1/4 ounce
• 1/10 ounce
• Four Coin Set

U.S. Mint Website Down

Some portions of the U.S. Mint's website have been unavailable since at least 7:00 AM ET this morning.

When trying to access the home page the following server error is displayed.

Server Error

The server encountered an internal error and was unable to complete your request.

JRun closed connection.

However, I have found that certain internal pages of the website are still available if you have a direct link to the location. For example, if you directly navigate to the Online Catalog, the website appears to be functioning normally.

No word yet on the cause of expected duration of the problem, but hopefully it will not be a repeat of the seven day outage in January.

Update: As of 10:00 AM ET, the website is back up.

The Price of Elizabeth Monroe vs. Dolley Madison First Spouse Gold Coins

The 2008 Elizabeth Monroe First Spouse Gold Coins will go on sale at the Mint today February 28, 2008 at 12:00 Noon ET. This is the fifth coin of the First Spouse Gold Coin Series and the first of 2008.

As mentioned in a previous post, the coins are priced several notches higher than the first three coins of the series, and one notch higher than the previous coin honoring Dolley Madison.

As of this morning, the Dolley Madison coins are still available for sale at the Mint at the offering prices. This creates an interesting disparity. Collectors can buy the Dolley Madison coins for $529.95 (proof) and $509.95 (uncirculated). Or they can buy the next coin in the series honoring Elizabeth Monroe for $619.95 (proof) and $599.95 (uncirculated).

Both coins are part of the same series and both have identical specifications as to metal content, one-half ounce of 24 karat gold, yet they are both available at prices approximately 17% apart.

Anyone looking to purchase the Elizabeth Monroe coins can't help but feel they are getting a bad deal. Anyone who thinks the Dolley Madison coins are a good deal may have already purchased the coin anyway.

Over the past year, the Mint's curious pricing around precious metals fluctuations has caused many interesting situations. The 2007-W Burnished Gold and Platinum Eagles have had relatively low sales since they spent so much time with sales suspended. At various times, commemoratives and other issues containing precious metals have been better or worse relative values based on the ever changing "coin premium" above the value of the metal content. And now, there is a significant price difference between two coins of the same series on sale at the same time.

The Mint's pricing procedures clearly were not created with the current volatile precious metals market in mind. Since the metals markets show no signs of calming down, I am sure this will continue to create odd situations in the future.

Related:
Elizabeth Monroe First Spouse Gold Pricing
Dolley Madison First Spouse Gold Pricing
First Spouse Gold Blog

James Monroe Individual Proof Coins on Sale Today

The James Monroe Individual Proof Coin will go on sale at the U.S. Mint today February 28, 2008 at 12:00 Noon ET. The coins are placed in an individual "pocket-sized" card.

The coins are offered for $5.95 each. The Mint has placed an order limit of 5 units per household. The Mint's product page is available here.

This is part of the array of individual ordering options that the Mint has been providing for the Presidential Dollar series. The individual coin is already available as part of the 2008 Presidential Dollar Proof Set priced at $14.95 for all four coins. There is no ordering limit on the sets.

Oklahoma First Day Coin Covers on Sale Today

The 2008 Oklahoma Official First Day Coin Cover will go on sale at the Mint today, February 27, 2008 at 12:00 Noon ET.

The cover will include two Oklahoma State Quarters (one each from the Philadelphia and Denver Mints) from the first day of mintage. The card will have a 41 cent American Flag postage stamp with the postmark of January 28, 2008, the day Oklahoma Quarters were released.

The covers are priced at $14.95 and are limited to a production of 35,000. The Mint's product page is available here.

These covers have not traditionally been strong sell sellers, but may present a longer term value. Earlier State Quarters had much higher production limits than the 2007 and 2008 State Quarter Coin Covers. In 1999, productions were set at 100,000, but declined steadily as the series moved on.

Also of interest, NGC has been encapsulating and grading these First Day Coin Covers. The entire cover is placed in a special holder with a separate grade for each coin. Full details and instructions for submission are here.

2007-W Burnished Silver Eagles Sold Out?

As of yesterday, the 2007-W Burnished Silver Eagles are no longer available at the Mint. These are the special collectible versions of the American Silver Eagles that are struck on burnished blanks and carry the "W" mint mark.

Many will remember that these coins seemed to have sold out in late November, however, they reappeared for sale in late December. Apparently, the Mint had run out of packaging for the coins and had pulled the offering, only to resume sales when the packaging issues were resolved.

This time around, it does seem to be a sell out, however at this point it is still uncertain especially after prior apparent sell outs. The price of silver has been making new recent highs, now trading at $18.17 per ounce. The coins were priced at $21.95, so it is possible that sale have just been suspended due to metals prices.

It should also be noted that although this ordering option for the coin is no longer available, the 2007-W Burnished Silver Eagle is still available from the Mint as part of the 2007 Annual Uncirculated Dollar Coin Set. This set contains the four 2007 Presidential Dollars, a 2007-D Sacagawea Dollar, and the 2007-W Burnished Silver Eagle for a price of $31.95.

Related:
100 oz Silver Bars
Junk Silver

2008 State Quarters Silver Proof Sets on Sale Today

Sales of the 2008 State Quarters Silver Proof Set will begin today February 25, 2008 at 12:00 Noon ET.

This set will include 90% silver versions of the 2008 State Quarters featuring:

• Oklahoma Quarter - "Scissortail Flycatcher"
• New Mexico Quarter - "Land of Enchantment"
• Arizona Quarter - "Grand Canyon State"
• Alaska Quarter - "The Great Land"
• Hawaii Quarter - "King Kamehameha I"

The sets are priced at $25.95, which is the same price as last year's State Quarter Silver Proof Set. The Mint's product page is located here, although ordering won't be available until later today.

The 2007 State Quarter Silver Proof Sets are still available for sale here.

Elizabeth Monroe First Spouse Gold Pricing

The US Mint recently posted the pricing, ordering options, and maximum mintages for the Elizabeth Monroe First Spouse Gold Coins. Prepare for some sticker shock.

The proof version of the coin is priced at $619.95. The uncirculated version of the coin is priced at $599.95.

The maximum mintage will be 40,000 across all product options. The ratio of proof and uncirculated coins will be determined by demand within the 40,000 maximum.

Initially there is a limit of one coin per product per household.

These prices are a leap and a bound above prices for the prior and first three coins of the series. The Dolley Madison coins were recently offered at $529.95 and $509.95. The Washington, Adams, and Jefferson coins were offered at $429.95 and $410.95.

Notably, the Dolley Madison coins are still available for sale on the US Mint's website even though these prices will be significantly below the prices for the Elizabeth Monroe coins.

The reason behind the continued rise in offering price for the series is the corresponding move in gold. Since each First Spouse coin contains one-half ounce of gold, the Mint must continue to mark up prices as the metal rises. This is without a doubt having an impact on sales.

The first three coins of the First Spouse Gold series each sold out within one day. It is becoming apparent that this performance will not be repeated. The natural waning of interest as the series moves on combined with the escalation of the prices is turning many collectors off the series. Some collectors who had intended to assemble a complete set of the coins may be getting priced out of the market. Others may have moved on to the next series like the Bald Eagle Commemorative Coins.

Long term this may create some opportunities through lower mintage coins. Short term, don't expect any more sell outs.

Related:
First Spouse Gold

Five Popular Coin Forums You Should Check Out

Several weeks back, I took a look at five coin blogs you should be reading. For some time I have wanted to do a few follow up posts on similar topics. There are many excellent resources for coin collectors on the internet and many more surfacing each day. Today I will highlight five popular coin forums.

Forums can be a great place to meet like minded collectors and discuss coin related issues in an open format. Membership on the forums is free and usually only takes a few minutes. On all of the forums, you will have the opportunity to find a lot of knowledgeable people with incredible collections. If you don't already regularly visit a coin forum, here are five of the most popular that you can check out.

Collector's Universe Forums - Collector's Universe is the parent company of PCGS. The U.S. Coin Forum is probably the most active of the coin forums with new threads popping up every few minutes. If news is breaking, its already being discussed here.

Collector's Society Message Boards - Collector's Society is run by Certified Collectibles Group, the parent company of NGC. This forum is not as active, but there is a useful "Ask NGC" section where you can get quick answers from NGC related to submissions.

Coin Talk - Quality forum with a smaller but active membership. Discussions are usually thought provoking and insightful. They offer a free advertising section for members.

Coin People - Another quality forum with smaller membership ranks. They offer numerous specialized numismatic forums for country specific coins, exonumia, errors and varieties.

Coin Community Forum - Part of the Coin Community Family, centered around education and family friendly interaction. This is a fairly active forum with a larger membership.

Elizabeth Monroe First Spouse Gold Release Date February 28

The US Mint recently published February 28, 2008 as the release date for the new Elizabeth Monroe First Spouse Gold Coin.

This will be the fifth coin of the First Spouse Gold Coin Program and the first to be released in 2008. The obverse of the coin features a portrait of Elizabeth Monroe who served as First lady from 1817 to 1825. The reverse of the coin features the First Lady at the reopening of the White House on January 1, 1818 following its burning at the hands of the British in 1814.

Following the specifications of the prior coins in the series, the coin will have a $10 face value and contain one half ounce of 24 karat gold.

So far, the Mint has not published the offering prices or ordering limit for the Elizabeth Monroe coin.

The Dolley Madison coin, which was the fourth coin of the series is still available for sale at the US Mint. The prices are $529.95 for the proof version and $509.95. When the coin was first released, the Mint had imposed an ordering limit of one coin per household, although this limit has now been raised to ten.

Related:
Elizabeth Monroe First Spouse Prices
First Spouse Gold

Platinum at All Time High, Mint Suspends Platinum Eagles

Platinum has been on a tear lately, yesterday exceeding $2,000 per ounce for the first time, and today trading at $2,056 per ounce. The reason behind the recent rise is lowered output from platinum producers due to power cuts in South Africa.

Year to date, platinum has now risen over $500 per ounce. Dave Harper, I think astutely, advises caution for anyone seeking to jump into the market at this point.

Here's a chart of platinum's move over the past year.



The US Mint has once again suspended sales of platinum products in response to the latest rise. The Burnished Platinum Eagles had only been on sale for 4 days last week before being pulled. The Proof Platinum Eagles and 10th Anniversary Platinum Eagle Set later followed. The one platinum product still for sale is the 1/10 ounce Proof Platinum Eagle for $269.95.

The Mint is displaying their standard increasing market value message on the product pages:

Due to the increasing market value of platinum, the American Eagle Platinum Proof Coins are temporarily unavailable while pricing for these options can be adjusted; therefore, no orders can be taken at this time.

James Monroe Dollar Bags and Rolls Available Tomorrow

Tomorrow, February 14, 2008 at 12:00 PM ET, bags and rolls of the James Monroe Presidential Dollars will go on sale at the US Mint.

The coins are specially packaged in canvas bags or specially packaged rolls which bear the US Mint logo. 250 coin bags are priced at $319.95 and 25 coin rolls are priced at $35.95. Coins are available from either the Philadelphia or Denver Mints.

Tomorrow will also mark the date that the Monroe Dollar enters circulation. Collectors should be able to obtain coins from banks and financial institutions. This release will be particularly interesting due to the possibility of finding Monroe Dollars struck on quarter planchets. Although the US Mint has stated that all of the error coins produced have been recovered, there is definitely a chance that some escaped notice.

More information on Presidential Dollar Errors.

Reduced Pricing for Bald Eagle Commemoratives Ends February 14

On February 14, 2008 at 5:00 PM ET, the introductory pricing for the popular Bald Eagle Commemorative Coins will end. After that time, coins will be available at the higher regular prices.

The following tables shows the current introductory prices and the impending regular prices.

	Current Price	Regular Price	Increase
$5 Gold Proof	$ 294.95	$ 319.95	$ 25.00
$5 Gold Unc	$ 284.95	$ 309.95	$ 25.00
$1 Silver Proof	$ 39.95	$ 43.95	$ 4.00
$1 Silver Unc	$ 35.95	$ 37.95	$ 2.00
50c Clad Proof	$ 9.95	$ 10.95	$ 1.00
50c Clad Unc	$ 7.95	$ 8.95	$ 1.00
3 Coin Proof Set	$ 369.95	$ 369.95	N/A
Young Collector's Set	$ 14.95	$ 14.95	N/A
Coin and Medal Set	$ 44.95	$ 44.95	N/A

If you were considering ordering these coins, doing so before the price increase could save some money.

Related:
Bald Eagle Commemorative Sales Figures
Bald Eagle Commemorative Ordering Limits
Bald Eagle Coins

Should We Make Cents? on 60 Minutes

On Sunday, Morley Safer of 60 Minutes took a look at the question "Should We Make Cents?"

I think the story was skewed towards the opinion that cents are unnecessary, but it still makes for some interesting watching and discussion whatever your opinion of the penny.

The story included interviews with Edmund Moy US Mint Director, Stephen Dubner Freakonomics Co-Author, Mark Weller of Americans for Common Cents (also a lobbyist for a zinc company), and Jeff Gore M.I.T. Scientist.


Some points from the story:

• Each penny costs almost 2 cents to produce and each nickel costs almost 10 cents to produce. Overall this works out to 8 billion pennies worth $80 million produced at a cost of $134 million; and 1.3 billion nickels worth $65 million produced at a cost of $124 million.
• The cost of making paper money is only 6 cents each.
• According to studies for countries who have removed their lowest value coin, there is always at least a one time inflationary hit.
• According to Americans for Common Cents, rounding up to the nickel will cost Americans $600 million per year.
• According to Jeff Gore's calculations, pennies cost Americans $10 billion per year in lost productivity.
• Next year will be the 200th Anniversary of Lincoln's birth and the 100th Anniversary of the Lincoln Cent.

Some quotes from the story:

"Inflation has rendered the penny valueless. If you can't buy anything with the penny... then that individual unit just doesn't serve much good."
"It's like having a fifth and a half finger."
-Stephen Dubner

"If you don't have the penny and you round transactions to the nickel, that's a loser for charity groups, that's a loser for the American public."
-Mark Weller

"We're each wasting over two hours every year just because of pennies."
-Jeff Gore

"As a public official, I have no private opinions. But I do know that a lot of people are attached to the penny. And as long as they continue being in demand, the Mint has an obligation to continue making them."
-Edmund Moy


Links to the complete videos:

Main Story- Should We Make Cents?
US Mint Tour with Morley Safer


Some related destinations on the web that might be of interest:

Americans for Common Cents - Pro Penny Group

Freakonomics Blog - Stephen J Dubner

Coinflation - track the melt value of US coins.

Statement from the US Mint on Storm Imact to Deliveries

As mentioned briefly in an earlier post, severe storms in the South have caused damage to the U.S. Mint's fulfillment center in Memphis, Tennessee. This will cause shipments to be delayed for one to two weeks during clean up operations.

Here is the statement from the Mint via Dave Harper:

Severe Storm Impact On United States Mint Order Fulfillment
February 8, 2009

The severe weather that struck five Southern states on Monday, February 5, caused severe damage to the United States Mint’s contractor-operated fulfillment center in Memphis, Tenn.

Although the roof of the facility sustained damage from debris, luckily no one working in the building was injured.

The fulfillment center, as well as surrounding buildings, is still without power.

Clean-up operations inside and outside of the facility are ongoing.

The United States Mint’s assets are secure and are being protected 24/7.

Because of the tornado damage, we expect that the United States Mint will be unable to ship products from its fulfillment facility in Memphis for the next one to two weeks.

We believe we are fortunate that this disaster will mean only a short period of inconvenience to our numismatic customers, and we extend our deepest sorrow and support to those whose lives or loved ones have been more seriously affected by this catastrophe.

The Call Center in Plano, Texas, was not affected by the severe weather and continues to operate. We will continue to take orders through all channels while shipping is suspended.

Bald Eagle Commemorative Sales Figures

Bald Eagle Commemorative Coins have been on sale for just over 3 weeks. The coins have been selling briskly despite a major glitch that coincided with the initial start of sales. During the first 8 days of sales, the US Mint's online catalog was unavailable and coins could only be ordered by telephone. In addition, the coins are still subject to ordering limits which may be curbing some bulk demand.

As of February 7, 2008, the 3 Coin Proof Set, which contains proof versions of the $5 Gold, $1 Silver, and 50c Clad was approaching sell out levels. The $1 Silver Bald Eagles have reached nearly 39% of the maximum authorized mintage. The $5 Gold Bald Eagles have reached over 52% of the maximum authorized mintage. (These percentages include coins sold as part of sets.)

Below is a complete table of sales as published by Numismaster.

	Proof	Uncirc	Both
$5 Gold	20,227	9,610	29,837
$1 Silver	108,522	45,431	153,953
50c Clad	77,242	41,530	118,772
3 Coin Set	22,588	n/a	22,588
Young Collectors Set (50c Clad)	n/a	13,339	13,339
Coin and Medal Set ($1 Silver)	n/a	17,997	17,997

Update: Including this message on shipping delay from the Comments in the main post. Thanks Chris.

February 7, 2008 - Due to the severe weather in the Tennessee area, the United States Mint is currently not shipping from its fulfillment facility in Memphis for the next one to two weeks. Expedited shipping will not be available until further notice. We apologize for this inconvenience. Please be assured that we will ship your orders as soon as possible.

Don't forget to check out Coin Update for a daily round up of coin collecting news from around the web!

Related:
Bald Eagle Commemorative Ordering Limits
Bald Eagle Coins

2007-W Burnished Platinum Eagles Sold Out?

Have the 2007-W Burnished Platinum Eagles finally sold out at the US Mint? As of the writing of this post, the 1 ounce, 1/2 ounce, 1/4 ounce, and 4 coin set are no longer on sale with the message "Product is Not Available." The 1/10 ounce coin remains on sale at the adjusted price of $229.95. The 2007 Proof Platinum Eagles and 10th Anniversary Platinum Eagle Set also remain on sale.

The Burnished Platinum Eagles went back on sale late Sunday of this week at adjusted prices following a suspension due to the rising price of platinum. At that time, I had speculated that the Mint was selling off the remainder of its 2007 inventory. More gains in the price of platinum this week probably helped fuel the final sales.

While the final mintage figures won't be known for a while, the sale figures were tracking sufficiently low to expect some secondary market price appreciation. The 2006 Burnished Platinum Eagles had risen in price significantly after some shockingly low mintage figures were revealed.

Update: The Mint recently added the "increasing market value of platinum" message to the product pages, so it looks like once again sales are just suspended.

Due to the increasing market value of platinum, the American Eagle Platinum Uncirculated Coins are temporarily unavailable while pricing for these options can be adjusted; therefore, no orders can be taken at this time.

Related:
2007-W Burnished Platinum Eagles Back on sale

Monroe Dollars Struck on Quarter Planchets

CoinWorld has recently published a story about a major new Presidential Dollar Error. The US Mint apparently struck between 70,000 and 140,000 Monroe Dollars on State Quarter planchets. Instead of using the manganese-brasss clad dollar planchet, the copper-nickel clad quarter planchets were used.

Although a large number of the error coins were struck, they were detected during the coin wrapping process by a private contractor of the Mint. Once the irregular coins were spotted, the private contractor immediately contacted the Mint. The irregular coins were subsequently collected and returned returned to the Mint to be destroyed.

The Mint released the following statement regarding the Monroe Dollar Errors:

In mid-January, the United States Mint's coin-wrapping contractor alerted the agency when it found some irregular James Monroe Presidential $1 Coins. The coins in question were immediately returned to the United States Mint. The United States Mint has performed an internal inquiry and presently has no evidence to indicate that any irregular James Monroe Presidential $1 Coins have been sent to the Nation's banks. The United States Mint expects to make an estimated 103 million James Monroe Presidential $1 Coins.

According to the above statement, none of the error coins have been released to banks, however, it is certainly possible that a few may have escaped notice. Monroe Dollars will start to be available from banks on February 14, 2008. If you are looking for the errors, they will appear silver-gray instead of golden. They will also be thinner and lighter in weight than normal dollar coins.

If any of these new errors do find their way into circulation, they will add to the interesting variety of Presidential Dollar error coins such as "missing edge lettering" and "double edge lettering" coins.

2007-W Burnished Platinum Eagles Back on Sale

In addition to the 2007-W Burnished Gold Eagles going back on sale, the 2007-W Burnished Platinum Eagles also went back on sale last night. These collectible versions of the platinum bullion coins are struck on specially burnished blanks and carry the "W" mint mark. Sales were recently suspended due to the rising price of platinum.

The coins are shown as available for purchase here. Note, prices listed on this page are not correct. Once you begin to move through the check out process, the higher adjusted prices will be shown. The table below shows the former prices, new prices, and change:

	Old Price	New Price	Change
1 oz.	$ 1,630.95	$ 1,869.95	14.65%
1/2 oz.	$ 830.95	$ 949.95	14.32%
1/4 oz.	$ 435.95	$ 499.95	14.68%
1/10 oz.	$ 204.95	$ 229.95	12.20%
4 coin set	$2,976.95	Not Avail.	N/A

As with the Burnished Gold Eagles, it seems likely that the Mint is finally selling of the remaining inventory of 2007 coins at adjusted prices. So far, sales figures of the 2007-W Burnished Platinum Eagles have been relatively low, but have exceeded the extremely low sales figures of last year. The follow table shows the sales figures as of January 24, 2008 from Numismaster:

	2007 (as of 1/24/08)
1 oz.	1,518
1/2 oz.	1,269
1/4 oz.	1,218
1/10 oz.	3,083
4 coin set	2,741

Similar to my comments on the Burnished Gold Eagles, these may present an opportunity for appreciation if the final mintage figures are low enough. Last year's Burnished Platinum Eagles saw some great appreciation after the final numbers were revealed to be at record lows.

The 2007-W Proof Platinum Eagles also went back on sale. The 2007 10th Anniversary Platinum Eagle Set remains on sale at the same price as issued.

Related:
2007-W Burnished Gold Eagles Back on Sale

2007-W Burnished Gold Eagles Back on Sale

As of last night, it looks like the 2007-W Burnished Gold Eagles are back on sale at the US Mint. These are the collectible versions of the popular bullion coins. They have been struck on specially burnished blanks and carry the "W" mint mark. Sales have been suspended for several months due to the fluctuating price of gold.

The coins are shown as available for purchase. Note that the prices currently listed on the page are not correct. When you complete the check out process, the Mint's adjusted higher prices will be reflected. The table below shows the former prices and the newly adjusted prices.

	Old Price	New Price	Change
1 oz.	$ 831.95	$ 1,045.95	25.72%
1/2 oz.	$ 424.95	$ 529.95	24.71%
1/4 oz.	$ 219.95	$ 279.95	27.28%
1/10 oz.	$ 99.95	$ 119.95	20.01%
4 coin set	$ 1,559.95	$ 1,939.95	24.36%

Based on some reports and comments that I have received, I would speculate that the Mint is selling off its remaining inventory of 2007-W Burnished Eagles. Once these have been sold, no more 2007 coins would be produced. Since this series spent so much of the later half of the year under sales suspension due to the fluctuating price of gold, there are currently some very low sales figures. The following tables shows the sales figures as of January 24, 2008 from Numismaster:

	Sales as of 1/24/08
1 oz.	11,159
1/2 oz.	3,818
1/4 oz.	4,928
1/10 oz.	13,976
4 coin set	6,619

Provided that there is not a huge amount of remaining inventory to be sold (and the price of gold remaining stable or up), this series may present a good opportunity for appreciation. Final mintages won't be known until all of the coins are officially sold out. If the numbers are low enough, these coins may be viewed as the new "keys" to the series.

Related:
2007-W Burnished Platinum Eagles Back on Sale
Burnished Gold Eagles for sale

Fractional Gold Buffaloes and Lucky Buffalo Coins

Yesterday Numismaster broke two stories about new Gold Buffalo coin products. You can read their articles here and here.

The Gold Buffalo is a .99999 fine gold coin issued by the US Mint. The more popular American Gold Eagle coins use an alloy of .9167 gold. Gold Buffalo coins were first offered in 2006. Uncirculated Bullion Coins have been available from authorized gold bullion dealers. A proof version of the coin has been offered directly by the US Mint.

Starting in 2008, Fractional Gold Buffalo Coins will now be offered in 1/10 ounce, 1/4 ounce, and 1/2 ounce sizes. Proof versions of the fractional coins are also expected to be offered directly by the US Mint this summer.

On February 5, 2008 at Noon EST, the US Mint will begin selling the 2008 Lucky Buffalo. This is a specially packaged one ounce Uncirculated Buffalo Gold Coin which celebrates the lucky numeral "8." The coins will be priced at $1,018.88.

Update:
The Mint has now announced the pricing and details for the Fractional Gold Buffalo Coins.