Louisa Adams First Spouse Gold Release Date May 29

The release date for Louisa Adams First Spouse Gold Coins has just been posted on the US Mint's website as May 29, 2008. This will be the sixth coin in the ongoing First Spouse Gold Coin Program and the second release of 2008.

The obverse of the coin will feature a portrait of Louisa Adams. The reverse design depicts the First Lady and her 8 year old son making an arduous journey across Europe to join her husband in Paris. Following the format of the series, the coins contain 1/2 ounce of 24k gold and carry a $10 face value.

Pricing and ordering options have not yet been announced for the offering, and it will definitely be interesting to see this information.

The pricing for coins in the series has been a point of contention this year. Two coins from the program are currently available at the US Mint, but at different prices. The Dolley Madison coins are available at $529.95 and $509.95, while the Elizabeth Monroe coins are available at $619.95 and $599.95.

See my prior post on the price of Dolley Madison vs. Elizabeth Monroe.

This pricing disparity has contributed to slack sales of the Monroe coins. The following table shows the latest sales statistics according to Numismaster.

	Proof	Unc	Total
Madison	17,458	10,885	28,343
Monroe	6,307	3,573	9,880

Ordering options will also be interesting to note. The most recent release of Elizabeth Monroe coins were initially limited to one per household. Sales data shows that this limit was not really necessary. The limit was recently raised to ten per household.

The First Spouse Gold Program was a hot ticket for the US Mint, but started to fizzle with the fourth release. Enthusiasm was further doused by the fifth release due in part to the pricing. For the sixth release, the pricing and ordering options may again play a part in the coin's performance.

Related:
First Spouse Gold Coins Release Schedule
First Spouse Gold Coins