Hot Springs Quarter Launch Ceremony
Yesterday, the United States Mint held the launch ceremony for the Hot Springs National Park Quarter. A Mint News Blog reader was in attendance and relayed some pictures and details of the event.
A recap of the event and plenty of pictures can be found in a separate article on Coin Update News:
Hot Springs National Park Quarter Launch Ceremony and Coin Exchange.
In this Mint News Blog post, I will provide some additional details about the coin exchange and some information about the America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins that was revealed at the coin collector forum held the evening before.
The coin exchange was conducted by Bank of America and the coins had the "D" mint mark for Denver. Prior to the event, the limit for the exchange was stated as $100 per person, with multiple passes through the exchange line allowed. At the actual event, attendees were able to exchange for greater amounts than the limit. The exchange was eventually stopped even though there were still quarters left available, with the remaining coins retained by Bank of America.
Other than the ceremony program and some cardboard fans, the park did not create or offer any type of special commemorative product. Before the ceremony, I was hoping that the park might create something unique incorporating the coins, but unfortunately they did not.
A special USPS cancellation designed by Chuck Taylor was available. The cancellation was only offered for the day of the launch ceremony. This was a change from the special cancellation created for the 2010 Lincoln Cent launch ceremony, which remained available for 30 days after the event.
So far eBay sales activity seems to be relatively subdued for Hot Springs Quarter Rolls, with less than 50 active listings. Unmarked rolls are selling for around $15 each. There is a stamped and canceled roll listed with a Buy it Now price of $18.50, but most canceled rolls are priced higher. Here are the current eBay auctions.
Update (4/22/2010): Here's a close up picture of the new Hot Springs Quarter. Click for larger size. Photo contributed by Gene Clayton.
At the coin collector forum held the evening before the ceremony, US Mint Director Edmund Moy provided some updated details on the America the Beautiful 5 oz. Silver Coins. These over-sized bullion coins will have a diameter of 3 inches and feature designs that are exact duplicates of each quarter.
The US Mint was having difficultly applying the legislatively required edge lettering to the extremely thin coins, but they have now "figured it out" and are back on track. The anticipated release date provided at the forum was "mid-summer."
There is one final piece of information that I wanted to provide related to the Hot Springs America the Beautiful Quarter bags and rolls offered by the US Mint. A reader "JA" noticed that the product pages state that the bags and rolls will be available for one year after the initial release date.
This is a major change from previous practice for quarter bags and rolls. In the past, as each subsequent quarter was released, sales of bags and rolls would end for the previous quarter. In order to keep each release available for an entire year, the US Mint must be holding back a big portion of the mintage to ensure adequate supplies for numismatic sales. I will try to get more information on this for a future post.
More Coin Update News:
New $100 Bill Design Unveiled
Labels: America the Beautiful Quarters
posted by Mint News Blog @ 1:09 PM
34 Comments:
I want an eagle!
Anyone can recommend where I can get my hands on the cheapest price on 500 1 oz Silver Eagles i.e. a moster box?
TIA
Oh my!!I can't believe TIA is MIA!! Can anybody else see what he wants on the right side of the column when you go to this website???--or am I the only one who sees this? Thanks Mike, it must take a long time to produce your blog --hats off for your info.
I am honored by the mention in the article of my discovery that the state coins will be available for a year. Thanks Michael!
JA
Jaime Aguirre
Has anyone been able to get these quarter rolls from their local Bank of America?
I was at a Bank of America Tues. afternoon and I didn't even know they might be available.
I think I'll check my BOA office tomorrow to find out.
I want the 5oz coins "mid-NOW"...
I know this is stupid comment, but the thick border around the reverse takes the beauty away from the designs.
RE: "Has anyone been able to get these quarter rolls from their local Bank of America?"
I went to a local branch of Bank of America on Wednesday evening. They didn't know what I was talking about. I showed them the article along with the comment that the quarters would be available from BoA branches. The bank staff said they would keep an eye out to see if any became available but they hadn't heard anything that indicated they would.
Maybe someone else had better luck somewhere else. BTW, I'm in Maryland in a suburb of Washington, D.C.
I thought it was fishy when I heard that Bank of America was supposed to have the coins available at it's branches. Bank of America never had a SINGLE Territories quarter or 2009 Lincoln cent in my area at all, so I was wondering why the sudden switch for this new series that from what I've read will be even tougher to locate than the 2009 coins were.
Maybe the remark at the ceremony about the coins being available at BOA branches meant the branches in ARKANSAS, not nationwide.
If the Mint plans to have the coins available to sell for an entire year in bags and rolls, then the only coins that were released for other purposes were those at the ceremony and those sold at Union Station. Trying to find these at local banks will prove nearly impossible, unless the mintage was stepped up DRASTICALLY in April before production of Yellowstone began. Certainly that has already happened by now, since the release of that quarter is only 5-1/2 weeks away!
I today looked at the 2010 Uncirculated President set I ordered and must say, they (the mint) is not careful how they treat the coins while they are being packaged. Scratches, scratches, and this may be nothing, out of the 8 coins, 6 have the edge lettering readable on the obverse side up, 2 coins have them upside down on the obverse side. When that process is done evidently however they land is how that get stamped. A set of the 2010 pennies are all scratched up as well.
I never paid attention in the past if the satin finish Presidential Dollars always have the same edge-lettering orientation or not. You might want to look at past sets and see if they are all the same. If so, you might actually have an error there.
It's not too likely, but it is possible. The proof Presidential Dollars not only have the same orientation on each coin, the edge-lettering is actually in EXACTLY the same place on each coin. The least the Mint could do for the satin finish uncirculated versions is make sure they are all stamped with the edge lettering up, readable from the obverse side!
I did a search on this and according to a few sites, this is normal for circulation strikes. Oh, well !
I checked my 07,08,09, and this is quite common, I have a Jackson that has a edge that looks horrible. More thrown together junk. This is why most of my money now goes North to the RCM.
In the Mint's defense, at least I've noticed over the past few months they are much quicker at fulfilling orders than they used to be. I ordered 2 more Unc Anna Harrison coins shortly before they went off-sale, and from placing the order until I had the coins in my hand only 6 days had elapsed. I ordered a few more of the remaining 2009's and some Abigail Fillmores on the 14th before the price increase, and 8 days later (today) they arrived in my mailbox.
Gone (at least for now) are the days of the annoying instant backorder status that would delay your order shipment for several weeks.
I agree, we are getting orders very quickly.
I'd like to order a 2010 Proof Silver Eagle, can someone provide a link?
Very funny. You ARE joking, right?
Looks like the Lincoln Chronicles continues to rise in price and/or value.
Added a close up picture of an actual Hot Springs Quarter provided by someone who attended the ceremony.
To Anonymous April 22, 2010 6:26 AM
Do you have the link to "the article along with the comment that the quarters would be available from BoA branches"?
I went to a couple of BOA offices today and didn't have any luck either.
Thanks for the nice close up on the quarters. I quess these are okay for circulation grade. I think I am going to wait for the silver proof set and maybe the bullion version.
The picture of the actual coin looks even more like a toilet. I'm renaming this quarter the Bidet.
Help! I need some clearification on the mintages numbers of the 2008-w 1/2 oz. burnished Buffalo.
One set of numbers states 16,908 and a different source states 10,142.
Does anybody have the correct number and if so, how did this happen? thanks Bob
This first quarter is as bad as the Boy Scouts coin. Evidently they could not come up with something that doesn't look like a toilet? What a waste, another reason to be concerned about our country, I bet when people in other countries see this quarter, they will laugh themselves silly at the Late, Great, America.
that's a cool looking toilet that they put on the back of this quarter.
I think some of the later coin designs might look good on the 5oz. bullion coins.
I think I might try to put together a complete collection of the bullion coins (unless silver prices get too high in a few years).
That way I'll have the numismatic value of a probably low mintage US Mint coin plus the increasing intrinsic value of a large (probably rather stunning in most cases) unique 5oz US Mint silver bullion coin. Collectable for both reasons.
These coins might turn out to be a much better investment than the Gold Pres. spouse coins.
Per collecting the bullion versions,
I think you're right. It probably will be a better investment than the Gold Spouse coins AND relatively cheaper.
Also, it's a product that is not as easily obtained since you have to go through an authorized dealer to get it. Those who already go to authorized dealers for bullion are usually your common investors. And I'm assuming, they will most likely stick with the Silver Eagle for pure investment reasons.
Though, keep in mind, "collecting" bullion is somewhat against the nature of what bullion is SUPPOSE to be. That is, its not suppose to be a numismatic item. Though, I think this may be an exception.
To commenter 8:11 re: 1/2 oz. burnished buffalo aka W mint mark unc. These coins were sold as individual coins, as part or the 4 coin set with the 1, 1/4 and 1/10 oz coins, and as part of the double prosperity set which contained this coin plus a 1/2 w mint mark unc. gold eagle. So there may be 2 or 3 different mintage numbers floating around. The total for all three is probably the larger number. Mr. Zielinski has postedt mintage numbers under one of his gold buffalo posts so you could serch for the break down there. It seems to me like the break down was around 3000 of the 4 coin set minted, around 7000 individual and another 7000 or so in the double prosperity set. That would give a total somewhere over 16 large.
The toilet quarter has to be some inside joke the Mint is playing. It's just too obvious. Maybe a suggestion at the direction the economy will be going. How appropriate.
Let's get down to brass tacks here:
Despite all the snide toilet/bedet comments what America really wants to know is whether are not the HS quarter has more BUMPS!
Jim L.
I wish you observant commenters had not planted the idea that this first quarter had a likeness to a royal toilet on the reverse. Now I cannot see anything else but a fancy toilet on the coin.
royal comod or royal toilet both reflects the ugliness of this coin. The door and the fountain depicted should have never been chosen to represents the national park. It needs lots of imagination to figure out the meaning of the coin.
If the Mint had chosen another design, you guys who talk about a toilet would have found something to complain about/poke fun of about the other design too. There's just no pleasing some people!
I just got several of these coin in a local McDonalds. I was not aware of these new coins. Well, to my surprise this morning, one of the is an error coin. The coin has a hallo right smack in the middle of the edge lettering.
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