2009 Proof Platinum Eagle and Margaret Taylor First Spouse Gold On Sale Today
Today December 3, 2009 at 12:00 Noon ET, the United States Mint will begin sales of the 2009 Proof Platinum Eagle and the Margaret Taylor First Spouse Gold Coin. These will be two of the final major product releases for the US Mint this year.
2009 Proof Platinum Eagle
The last time I wrote about the 2009 Proof Platinum Eagle, the projected price of the coin was $1,692. Since the average London Fix price of platinum has moved into a higher range, the price of the coin will be $1,792.
The coins will be packaged differently than in prior years. Based on images posted on the US Mint's website, the one ounce proof coin will be placed in a tri-fold binder. One side will display the narrative "To Form a More Perfect Union" by Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., which inspired the reverse design. The other side will have the certificate of authenticity and the coin specifications.The 2009 Proof Platinum Eagle will be limited to 5 coins per household for at least the first week of sales. After this time, the US Mint will re-evaluate the limit and extend, adjust, or remove it. The maximum authorized mintage for the coin is set at 8,000 coins.
Prospects for the 2009 Proof Platinum Eagle seem mixed. It does represent the only platinum coin that will be issued by the United States Mint this year, which adds a unique aspect. The maximum mintage of 8,000 means that if the entire amount is sold, there would be three one ounce proof Platinum Eagles with lower mintages. This would limit the coins status within the broader series. The lowest mintage is the 2008 Proof Platinum Eagle at 4,769 coins.
Is a sell out possible? Back in 2007, the US Mint released the 10th Anniversary Platinum Eagle Set, which was initially priced at $1,949.95 with a maximum mintage of 30,000 sets. This product managed to sell 14,862 sets in the first week. However, this was hot on the heels of the secondary market success of the 20th Anniversary Gold and Silver Eagle Sets. More recently, the US Mint sold 19,468 of the one ounce 2009 Proof Gold Buffalo in the opening three days. However, the Gold Buffalo coins definitely have a wider collector base than the Platinum Eagles.
Personally, I am leaning towards a sell out for the 2009 Proof Platinum Eagle, but not an immediate one. Opening sales figures should provide a better indication of whether a sell out is possible and when it might occur. This information should be available by Tuesday and will be posted on Mint News Blog.
Margaret Taylor First Spouse Gold Coin
The Margaret Taylor First Spouse Gold Coin will be the final release of the year for the series and carry the highest initial offering price. The one half ounce proof coin will be priced at $754 and the one half ounce uncirculated coin will be priced at $741.
In September, the prior release of the series featuring Sarah Polk carried initial prices of $654. and $641. This will make the Margaret Taylor coins priced a full $100 higher.The US Mint has placed an initial ordering limit of ten coins per option per household for the first week of sales. This limit will be re-evaluated and extended, adjusted, or removed. The maximum authorized mintage for the coin across both proof and uncirculated options is 40,000. Recently, First Spouse Gold Coins have been reaching around 30% of the maximum.
Due to the higher price of the coin and continuing attrition to the collector base of the series, some have suggested that the Margaret Taylor coin might eventually end up with one of the lowest mintages for the series. To make a counter argument, it's starting to seem that higher gold prices are actually starting to spur additional sales. In the prior weekly reporting period, the US Mint sold 661 First Spouse Gold Coins. This is double the number of coins sold four weeks ago and triple the number of coins sold six weeks ago. The coins were offered at prices $50 and $75 lower during those periods.
On a final note, to coincide with the release of the Margaret Taylor coin, the Van Buren's Liberty First Spouse Gold Coin will go off sale today. The last reported sales indicate 7,515 proof coins sold and 4,334 uncirculated coins sold.
Labels: First Spouse Gold Coins, Platinum Eagles
posted by Mint News Blog @ 5:41 AM
53 Comments:
I changed my mind about waiting on the Margaret Taylors. Even though it PAINS me to pay so much, I'll be buying one of each finish today. It appears likely that the prices will jump by $25 each next week.
I believe that others are thinking the same way I am, and will also be buying their coins today as well. Since the sales have not dropped off despite higher prices in recent weeks, I really don't see this one being any different.
I still enjoy collecting this series. I just hope that I'm not eventually priced out of the market!
Does anyone know if they have released the 2009 fractional gold American Eagle coins as scheduled? Has the mint said if they will produce them past January 1?
Michael, are you buying a Platinum Proof today ?
"Does anyone know if they have released the 2009 fractional gold American Eagle coins as scheduled? Has the mint said if they will produce them past January 1?"
From what I have heard, the US Mint will release the fractional Gold Eagle bullion coins on schedule, i.e. today.
Production of 2009 dated bullion coins will continue until the end of the calendar year. Usually the US Mint will switch to producing 2010 dated coins before the end of the year.
"Michael, are you buying a Platinum Proof today ?"
After a lot of deliberation.....Yes.
Michael, do you have any idea on when the next first spouse will be released in 2010? thanks
I got in my order for two of the one ounce platinum coins at 12:03 pm and have a order number.
Quick question... if I want to order more... will I be able to go back and order another pair later? I know it's a five piece per family limit... but is it a one ORDER limit or can I add up till I get five pieces assuming they do not sell out.
No word yet on the schedule for the 2010 First Spouse coins. In 2008, the first coin was released Feb 28. In 2009, the first coin was released March 5. This year will probably be something in this time frame.
"if I want to order more... will I be able to go back and order another pair later?"
Yes, that shouldn't be a problem as long as you don't go over the 5 max across all orders.
There's a new pricing grid posted for Gold and Platinum coins that ups the brackets to cover higher prices than the last one. Here's the link:
https://catalog.usmint.gov/wcsstore/ConsumerDirect/images/catalog/en_US/PlatinumCoinGrid.pdf
Unless the mint drastically improved their systems performance, today's new products do not appear to be selling that well. I can navigate pretty easily through the catalog. Usually the mass rush slows their system to a crawl.
Michael,
I placed my order for 2 as close to noon as possible. Told they are on backorder but this was not reflective of volume. I wonder if they will take orders through YE and then mint the quantity necessary without much excess, so that total may eventually be less than 8000 (as opposed to recent past practice of offering vintages well into subsequent year).
I have given this a lot of thought and I am still torn, but I think I will hold off on purchasing the 2009 American Eagle Platinum Proof. I had originally budgeted to purchase two of the coins but I think I will pass for now. I will wait until next week and reevaluate after the initial sales figures come out. I think the coin might turn out to be a decent investment but it is hard for me to get excited about the coin itself. The Eagle privy mark seems like such an afterthought.
Ordered my one coin each, proof and uncirculated, of Margaret Taylor First Spouse this morning at about 9:30 a.m. Order Number:3355****
The lack of interest in this series is palpable -- I had no problem whatsoever placing the order, unlike with the Lincoln Coin & Chronicles set.
It is also a trip to see, for the first time in some time, no mention of Van Buren's Liberty, and, for Jackson's Liberty, just the bronze medal being available.
That means that, for the time being, the only First Spouse gold coins available are those commemorating specific, not very memorable, individuals. That fact, combined with the bubbly price of gold, should cause interest in the series to drop even further.
BTW, I would like to offer a suggestion for the end of the year: an open thread forum for collectors to express their opinions regarding the offerings by the U.S. Mint in 2009 -- their quality, quantity, what was not offered that should have been (and vice-versa), the quality of customer service, delivery, how Moy has performed as director, etc.
I am sure everyone has some strong opinions on at least some of these issues, and I believe this blog would be a great forum in which to express them, provided of course that the discussion is carefully monitored to delete out profanity, personal attacks, and irrelevant, off-topic political discussions.
I think everyone in the world is buying any 08 fractionals they can get their hands on. Look at what has happened to the prices.
political coins = political discussions
The fractionals prices are insane. I bought a few $5 Unc Buffs a few months back and they've appreciated a couple hundred dollars each. I bought them because I like the buffs and knew fractionals weren't likely to be minted again. Glad I got'em when I did.
The four coin 'Liberty Series' within the First Spouse will be a tremendous sleeper. These 4 coins are actually Presidential Liberties rather than First Spouse. If these coins were issued alone as a set they (the first three) would have sold out instantly (granted Jefferson's Liberty did but the other 2 have very low mintages. Look for huge premiums in the future and interest especially if the 4th Liberty design is based on the $2.5 dollar classic liberty.
the 08 fractionals are hot... no matter if they are buffs, gold eagles or plat eagles. As long as they are W's or proofs I've been scooping them up.
I started buying what I could last winter (say FEB MARCH timeframe). I've lost count a bit but I know I have at least ten each of the $5 W unc and $5 proof gold eagles all graded NGC 70.
I've only bought seventies in these fractionals. I picked up two $5 W buffs for $375 (in first issue holders) and at the time thought myself nuts.
And I've scooped up a bunch of the $10 MS70 plats... for a while I was getting these (after Bing) for about $195 each.
2008 was THE magical year for collectors.
The gold eagle tenth ouncers in pf70 I was getting for $180 each. But I think those days are gone... so I am just happy I had the discipline to tuck some money away and "invest" in some of these pm's.
I agree. The liberty spouses should command premiums. Looking forward to see the van buren totals. I like the spouse proofs except my van buren unc looks very classic!
Picture this in your mind's eye. The four Liberty Proofs placed in two of the Double Prosperity display boxes. All fo the holders are the same size except for the Jefferson (a tad smaller). I had no problem coming up with a new holder for it. So I also can't wait for the last Liberty.
Now, if the next president is single, they should be able to produce their Liberty coin right away. Which Liberty would it be? Hmmmmm
I believe it is the one on the gold coronet
I wonder if those who said they didn't like the platinum proof because there isn't a white male depicted on the reverse will avoid buying it.
Beside political and racial agenda, even the price is little high, I am going to buy the 2009 platinum coin for various reasons:
1.Mintage is only 8000, and there are few millions coin collectors and dealers out there. All it needs is 1600 coin collectors or dealers max out the limit, the coin will be sold out.
2.This is the only and only platinum Coin for 2009
3.Base on current economy, our US dollar is losing value
4.China and India keep buying precious metal
5.People do not trust and invest in Wall Street
Please free to comment if you agree or disagree.
I was lucky to buy 2008 four coins platinum proof and uncirculated set when the price was low.
I ordered 5 each of the 09 fractionals and an email from Apmex says they will be shipped around the 11th. Bought when gold was at $1043. Hey, those were the days !!
The 8000 mintage is actually rather high for a coin that has a poor following.
If you have $1800 laying around, and think that the price of precious metals will rise enough to give you a decent profit, consider investing in Zhu Zhu hamsters instead. At $8 each, you could get a couple thousand of these, sell them on ebay, and net about $60,000 by Christmas.
Anon wrote:
:::If you have $1800 laying around,...
...consider investing in Zhu Zhu hamsters instead. At $8 each, you could get a couple thousand of these,...
who's your math teacher? Glen, Sarah, Rushie?
$1800 divided by $8 would equal 225 Zhu Zhu's not thousands of hamsters.
Let's see. I can buy two gold spouse coins from the mint (or on e-bay) and AND ten proof sets (or ten unc sets with some nice linclon cents) or I can buy an $1800 diversity platinum coin with a tiny tiny eagle on it.
Hmmmm
This may be the bubble.
Gold now free-falling.
Down to $1207!
May fall into the high 1100s soon!
Quick, sell while you can!!!
The bubble is popping!!!
Pop....Pop....Pop
Which is a better investment? Buying more 2008 w buffs, or the 2009 proof platinum. Have the 2008 w buffs maxed out in price?? Will the 2009 platinum be a sleeper? Has the "bubble" popped? It's hard being a responsible middle class long term collector with a sappy vision of having a stellar collection in +30 years.
Of all the 20+ '08 $10 1/4 gold eagles for sale on ebay right now, there is only one proof version represented, the rest are all the 'ever so rare' ms version. Thats like a 1/20+ ratio.
Kinda makes me wonder which ones
really the rarest coin???
Just Wonder'in
Its all about the fractionals. Not only are they hot but it makes sense as well. Their is a small chance that the mint might start making the 1 oz coins again but the fractionals are definately out. Second, the fractionals are more affordable to the masses vs the 1 oz coins. Third, the mintages are extremely low for all these coins. Lastly, any coin from anywhere in the world always has a great appreciation if it is the last year that the coin is being produced. But the buffalo 08 UNC and PR's are going to be the real winners in my mind.
"who's your math teacher? Glen, Sarah, Rushie?"
Naw...sounds like the same idiots that are doing the math on the financial benefits of a socialist healthcare system which will "make money for the government". What a joke. Mind you, this is the same government that is selling gold SPOUSE coins and racist diversity coins. Ha!
I'm holding off until next week hoping the price drops on the Platinum Eagle. I having my doubts about this purchase. It would be nice if the Mint would limit this Platinum proof series to a maximum of 8000 per year, but instead they'll probably mint 5 times the amount next year making this one the most valuable. If they came out and said only 8000 per year, I wouldn't hesitate purchasing one. In my opinion It would boost the value of the complete series and not just one. ARE YOU LISTENING MOY?
I just buy what Michael says he's buying. That way I know who's to blame.
T0 1:54
Don't make tp much conclusions from gold going down by 10$. There will be some profit taking along the line. There is not much support for the value of the dollar out there. As it stands now foreign central banks intervining to actually hold the dollar's value. In current situation with talks about second stimulus , keeping money in the bank for almost 0% interest is not logical to me.
"Lastly, any coin from anywhere in the world always has a great appreciation if it is the last year that the coin is being produced."
This is NOT true at all!
The 1921 Morgan Dollar was the last year produced, and almost 90 years later it is worth only slightly more than melt value in circulated condtion! You would have been a complete fool to hold onto '21 Morgans in 1921 (or for years to come). They haven't even kept up with inflation until recently!
The best bet as an investment (regardless of gold prices) now I believe are the Liberty Spouses. I think the Van Buren, Jackson and even Jefferson will soar in value due to #1-low mintage #2-beauty of coin #3-historical value (nice remakes of the original Liberty's of the age) #4-half ounce of fine gold.
I'm putting #4 at #4 since the other three points should spark the collectability value over time.
I've always been in awe of the Goldbrecht seated Liberty. Very rare and pricy to find in mint condition. Now I own a perfect Goldbrect produced from the USMint called the Van Buren Liberty!
Any thoughts Michael?
I agree with the post about the Liberty Spouses. Many of the Jefferson Liberties were purportedly melted so the number out there is hard to know. Both Jefferson and Jackson were well known and the coins should eventually do well. Van Buren and Buchanan are more or less unknown, but the images on the obverse of these coins is outstanding. I've got a few Jeffersons I purchased when the price dipped, and a couple of the others (except obviously Buchanan which won't be released until around September 2010).
It's a long way off, but if gold and the economy are where they are today, Buchanan will be the low mintage of the Liberty series by far.
I'm going to go way out there on a limb and predict that the spouse series will be prematurely concluded by congressional authority. Cutting the AGE and ASE proofs and leaving this spouse series going is just crazy to me. This series on the whole is a money loser.
This is anon 1:01PM again.
Ooops. I knew that I shouldn't have trusted my public education. Just like I don't trust my (future) public health care system.
You get my (off by a factor of 10) drift. If you are seriously interested in making money fast, PC platinum is not the way.
The Spouse series might seem like a loser right now, but think about how impressive it will be to have the entire collection at the end! I intend to have a complete set of both Proof and Uncirculated, unless gold gets so ridiculously high that I simply can't afford to buy them anymore. I hope that day never comes.
I sat down the other day and gave this a long hard thought. At first I was going to buy one without even thinking about it but now after looking at the mintage, etc I think I am going to pass on this plat eagle for 2009. The mintage really is not that low compared to other years and I would still rather save my money and keep looking for a Burnished Uncir 2008 set of Plats. I might be making a mistake by not buying this coin, if so I will kick myself next year..lol
It will be interesting to find next Tuesday when Mike will give us an update on this Platinum coin and the word is "sold out".
I know a few people in my office who were buying 5 coins. And my office is relatively small (about 60 ppl). Most of them were carried away with the non-existent eagles proof gold or silver. This plat could have a potential.
Gold is down below $1200 as predicted. It's too bad numismatists are so focused on the price of precious metals.
My suggestion: Buy and sell bullion if you want to follow precious metals (you'll do far better) and get off of these blogs!
If you really like coins, then please focus on their beauty (or lack thereof), design, mintage and the things we have been doing for years.
The platinum proof is a loser because of its poor design and extreme high price. I don't care if it has a white man or not, but the design is not very aethetic. Why not a large bald eagle with smaller figures of multiculture folks below it?
An $1800 coin will always have a way higher downside than upside.
I'd like to see some inteligent posts by Michael daily instead of these off topic blogs.
Maybe he should require us to not post anonymously.
I think there are no great options now to buy in precious metals.
Buff: too expensive and not the most pleasing obverse mintage far beyond the'08 now.
UHR: way too expensive and hate the 1/2 ounce diameter look (give me an unc St.G anyday over this!)
Proof Plat: Enough said.
Gold spouse: May be the best bang for your buck. The Liberties (only avail on aftermarket) are currently the best "deals".
The lincoln cents may be sleepers, but the '96 w dime as a comparison "coin of interest" has only done ok.
Anon 6:57 again:
History teaches us lessons:
The old commemorative silver coin value had little to do with the price of silver (and still doesn't).
The Antietam had higher mintage than the Albany or Vancouver, but it had a more pleasing design (check it out yourselves if you haven't seen them). The Antietam has always commanded a premium for this. The Pan-Pac had a low mintage, but higher than many, but for many reasons including its beauty commands a nice premium.
The unattractive balding white guy on the low mintage Bridgeport kept the values down, while the historic and pleasing obverse and reverse of the Gettysburg (with a higher mintage than the Bridgeport) commands much higher premiums.
Overall, the lower mintage classic commemoratives no matter what they looked like had a higher value than higher mintage productions, but aethetics/ historical interest have always played a role in value.
If you carefully study the classic silver commemoratives it can teach you a lot about choices for today.
APMEX used to sell all of their First Spouse gold coins for small markups regardless of mintage, but those days are gone. Last summer, I bought 5 uncirculated coins (3 Elizabeth Monroes and 2 Louisa Adams) for only $555.55 each.
The other day, they had a proof Elizabeth Monroe for a considerable mark-up over spot (I don't remember the exact number), and it sold anyway.
Don't write-off the First Spouse series just yet. The coins bought early on in the series are providing nice returns presently. Granted, this is mostly because gold was much cheaper then, but the "Liberty" designs are breaking away from the gold value tie-in on their own. Also, the lower-mintage non-liberty 2008's are performing much better than melt as well.
The 2009's will likely have mintages similar to the 2008's. They've still been selling quite well despite the continually rising prices. Logic would dictate that sales would suffer because of this, but the continuing sales could be indicative of a more loyal collector base than the series is given credit for.
Just keep an eye on the mintages and the trends. If you have the extra money to pick some of these up, (and you won't suffer should gold spot head way south) you might want to consider it.
Wow, talk about gold heading "way south"! It's down to about $1,150 now! I sure hope that carries over to the Monday London Fix prices! Maybe we'll get a price DECREASE next week for a change!
What!!?? It has been over a day, and the Platinum Pseudo-eagle is still available. Come on!!! There have to be 8000 liberals out there that are in love with this coin and are willing to take out a third mortgage to buy up the rest of these!!
If you're hoping to get rich quick from flipping coins on the precious metals market, think twice...
Last year (2008), the price of gold dropped from the $900s to high $700s. Then it shot up to the $1200s recently.
Aside from this volatile blip, it took about 5 years for the price of gold to double from $600 to $1200.
There are other investments other than precious metals that will give you a much better return on investment. If you're willing to take risks, then precious metals are for you. There are fortunes that can be made, and disasters that can be faced. Ask any gold miner from the California Gold Rush days....
Ask any financial advisor about investing in gold. Don't be swayed by speculators on this blog who want you to invest your hard-earned money that will serve to profit them.
Collect coins primarily for fun, not for profit. Any profits that accrue will be an added benefit.
I look at this beautiful coin. And men, I like it muy muy mucho. There are even some ladies on the coin!!
I buy one of these nice shiny coins right away! Thank you US Mint for diversity.
If it took nearly a year for some of the first-spouse gold coins to only sell between 4K-7K units (depending on finish), no way will the 2009 plat proof be a sellout even with a somewhat-low mintage of 8K units. Gold will always outsell platinum due to historical demand, more pleasing color, and lower cost.
The almost universally-reviled reverse design of the plat coin has been well-documented in this blog. As I see it, this coin has only one thing going for it: it's the first issue of a six-coin series (plus it has special packaging), so eventually there may be enough collectors who will seek it out to complete the set, but not until long after it's gone off-sale from the mint. I'm thinking sales in the 4K-5K range, which would make it a relatively low-mintage issue, but again: no demand = no increase in value.
I should say, low-mintage issue of 4K-5K coins assuming the remainder are melted, and increase in value only as tied into the spot price of platinum.
- Raul
Against my own better judgement I snuck in at the 11th hour and bought one of each finish of the Van Buren first-spouse gold; even though it was the highest price yet for this series, the prices the Jackson Liberties are fetching persuaded me to get in before the VB's went off-sale. I've only been collecting the Liberty sub-series, primarily because of the designs ... needless to say I will be all-in for the Buchanan Coronet design in 2010.
such an ugly coin..They should call it American Union instead of American Eagle.
The US Mint is directed by congress to acquire necessary gold from the Treasury if needed. Why then does the Mint claim a shortage of gold when the Treasury claims it has 8,100 tons?
see:http://www.izagg.com/WealthBuilding/Postings/goldinfo3.htm
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home