2010-P Abraham Lincoln Rolls Sold Out

According to the US Mint's website, the 2010 Abraham Lincoln Presidential $1 Coin Rolls from the Philadelphia Mint have sold out. These are the specially packaged numismatic rolls offered by the Mint for each issue of the series. The coins included in the rolls are the same as those issued for circulation.

The Abraham Lincoln Dollar Rolls originally went on sale on November 18, 2010, meaning that they have been available for just over seven months. The 25-coin rolls from Philadelphia have sold 49,300 units according to the latest sales report.

At the time of this post, the Denver Mint rolls remain available for sale, although they have a back order date of July 7. The sales report shows slightly lower sales at 48,770 units.

Numismatic products that feature Abraham Lincoln have always been popular and this product has been no exception. The sales levels are well above of all other Presidential Dollar rolls that are currently offered by the US Mint, several of which have been available for longer periods of time. The longest available rolls are those featuring James K. Polk, which originally went on sale on August 20, 2009.

Of the sold out Presidential Dollar Rolls, the only ones that tend to bring a big premium are those featuring William Henry Harrison. These rolls sold out in less than two months, with final sales of 30,000 from each mint. The continued premium is somewhat perplexing as a few subsequent issues also sold out quickly at the same final sales levels, but do not command a premium.

Coin Update News: Complete US Mint Sales Report

Gettysburg National Military Park Quarter Bags and Rolls

The US Mint will begin sales of numismatic bags and rolls of the Gettysburg National Military Park Quarters today, January 27, 2011 at 12:00 Noon ET. These products contain circulating quality coins that are packaged in US Mint branded wrappers or canvas bags.

The Gettysburg National Military Park Quarter is the sixth release of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program. The reverse design shows the 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry Monument, located at the battle line of the Union Army at Cemetery Ridge. The obverse features John Flanagan's portrait of George Washington with the original details restored.

The US Mint offers 100-coin bags from either the Philadelphia or Denver Mint, or a two roll set containing one 40-coin roll from each facility. Packaging for each product includes the name "Gettysburg National Military Park", the state abbreviation "PA", the mint mark, and face value of the contents. The Gettysburg Quarter bags and rolls are expected to be available for one year after the product release date.

The bags containing a face value of $25 worth of quarters are priced at $49.95 each, and the two roll sets containing a face value of $20 are priced at $39.95 each. Orders are also subject to an additional shipping and handling charge of $4.95.

This pricing represents a significant increase from the levels of last year's comparable products. Throughout last year, the 100-coin bags of quarters were priced at $35.95 each and the two roll quarter sets were $32.95. Considering the difficulty many collectors are having finding the America the Beautiful Quarters at banks or from circulation, the increased pricing seems opportunistic.

Starting in 2010, the US Mint also removed a bulk option that was available to collectors and replaced it with a super bulk option that is only feasible for larger coin dealers and mass marketers. The US Mint used to offer 1,000-coin bags, containing $250 face value worth of quarters, priced at $309.95 each. In June 2010, the US Mint introduced the America the Beautiful Quarters Bulk Purchase Program. Orders could be placed for bulk bags containing 200,000 coins, with a face value of $50,000. The cost would be $51,500 plus pick up by a licensed carrier must be arranged.

Last year, sales of the America the Beautiful Quarters bags and rolls were relatively strong. The first available Hot Springs Quarter products have sold about 46,000 two roll sets and about 9,000 of each 100-coin bag.

Following the price increases, I think more collectors of the series will start evaluating other options. This might include calling more banks until quarters can be located at face value, buying on the secondary market where rolls can be found $15 or less, or getting together with a group to purchase and split up a bulk bag.

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Dollar Rolls

The US Mint will begin sales of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Dollar numismatic rolls today November 18, 2010 at 12:00 Noon ET. Featuring one of the most well known Presidents, the current release should attract more attention than this year's earlier releases.
The obverse of the Abraham Lincoln Dollar features his portrait as designed and sculpted by Don Everhart. Surrounding inscriptions indicate "Abraham Lincoln", "In God We Trust", "16th President", and "1861-1865". The reverse of the coin, also designed and sculpted by Everhart, features an image of the Statue of Liberty common to all issues of the series. Inscriptions include "United States of America" and the denomination "$1". The edge of the coin includes the motto "E Pluribus Unum", the date, and the mint mark.

The US Mint is offering 25-coin rolls of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Dollar from either the Philadelphia or Denver mint. Coins are packaged in specially designed wrappers featuring the US Mint logo, President's name, mint of origin, and face value of the contents. Each roll is priced at $35.95 plus shipping and handling.

Numismatic products featuring Lincoln have typically been strong sellers for the US Mint. Last year, the 2009 Abraham Lincoln Commemorative Silver Dollars and Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set were quick sell outs. The 2009 "Birthplace" Lincoln Cent Two Rolls Set was an unexpected quick sell out, despite the high premium to face value.

This year's Lincoln products include the following:

2010 "Preservation of the Union" Lincoln Cent Two Roll Set
2010 Abraham Lincoln Presidential Dollar Rolls
2010 Mary Todd Lincoln First Spouse Gold Coins
2010 Mary Todd Lincoln First Spouse Bronze Medal
2010 Lincoln Presidential $1 Coin & First Spouse Medal Set
2010 Abraham Lincoln Presidential $1 Coin Cover

Of these products, only two will contain stated product limits, while the remaining products are unspecified or open ended. The Mary Todd Lincoln First Spouse Gold Coins have a limit of 20,000 across both options. The 2010 Abraham Lincoln Presidential $1 Coin Cover would also have a limit, although it has not been specified yet. Other releases of the series for this year have been limited to 32,000 units.

Tomorrow, November 19, 2010 at 10:00 AM ET, the official launch ceremony for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Dollar will be held. This will coincide with the 147th anniversary of the delivery of the Gettysburg Address. The ceremony will take place at President Lincoln's cottage on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington, D.C.

Mount Hood National Park Quarter Bags and Rolls

The United States Mint begins sales of the Mount Hood National Forest Quarter bags and rolls today November 15, 2010 at 12:00 Noon ET. This coin represents the final release of the year for the America the Beautiful Quarters Program.

Looking back over the program so far, the most predominant sentiment has been frustration over the inability to collect the coins through the channels of circulation. Within national publications, one of the few mentions of the series (besides the initial launch) was in this USA Today article lamenting the fact that the quarters are so hard to find. The article attributes this to the slow economy, but I think the bigger factor is that financial institutions do not have the ability to special order the coins in unmixed quantities.

In one of my own articles on Coin Update, I explained this in further detail along with a list of where to find National Park Quarters.

As covered in the past, the US Mint has created the circulating coin bulk purchase program, perhaps as an attempt to solve the distribution problem. However, because of the $50,000 face value minimum purchase, this program would really only serve to let mass marketers or large scale coin dealers to obtain the coins at low premiums. Average collectors are left with the higher premium numismatic bags and rolls program, which leads us to the current product release.

The 2010 Mount Hood National Park Quarter two roll sets consists of one 40-coin roll from the Philadelphia Mint and one 40-coin roll from the Denver Mint. Coins are packaged in specially designed wrappers which indicate the national site, state abbreviation, mint mark and face value. Each two roll set is priced at $32.95.

Bags containing 100-coins are also available from either the Philadelphia or Denver Mint. Tags denote the date, national site, state abbreviation and face value of the contents. Each bag is priced at $35.95 each.

As with prior offerings, the bags and rolls are intended to remain available for sale from the US Mint for one year following the circulation release date.

Preliminary production figures for the Mount Hood Quarter have not yet been specified by the US Mint. However, the number of coins struck so far can be determined by backing out the known production figures by design from overall quarter production within the latest US Mint coin production figures. As of October 31, 2010, the US Mint had struck 34.4 million coins each at the Philadelphia and Denver mint facilities, for a combined total of 68.8 million. The current total is right around the average production level for the first four designs in the series.

James Buchanan Presidential Dollar Rolls

Sales of the James Buchanan Presidential Dollar Rolls will begin at the United States Mint on August 19, 2010 at 12:00 Noon ET.

This will represent the fifteenth release in the ongoing series of Presidential Dollars. The obverse of the coin features a portrait of James Buchanan designed by Phebe Hemphill. Inscriptions include "James Buchanan", "In God We Trust", "15th Presidency", and "1857-1861". The reverse of the coin features a rendition of the Statue of Liberty designed by Don Everhart with inscriptions "United States of America" and "$1". The motto "E Pluribus Unum" along with the date and mint mark appear on the edge lettering of the coin.

The United States Mint will offer 25-coin rolls from either the Philadelphia or Denver Mint. The circulation quality coins are packaged in US Mint branded wrappers which indicate the issue, face value, and mint of origin. The rolls are priced at $35.95 each.

The final mintage of the James Buchanan Dollar is already known, despite the fact that the coins have not yet been released. The US Mint has indicated final coin production of 36,820,000 coins at the Philadelphia Mint and 36,540,000 coins at the Denver Mint. This combined mintage of 72,360,000 represents the lowest mintage for a Presidential Dollar to date.

Presidential Dollar rolls for the last four consecutive releases still remain available for sale at the US Mint. The latest available sales figures indicate the James K. Polk Rolls have sold 41,036 (P) and 39,511 (D), the Zachary Taylor Rolls have sold 38,421 (P) and 36,739 (D), the Millard Fillmore rolls have sold 36,228 (P) and 34,760 (D), and the Franklin Pierce rolls have sold 31,570 (P) and 31,348 (D).

Coin Update News: 2011 First Spouse Gold Coin Designs

Yosemite National Park Quarter Bags and Rolls

Today July 26, 2010, the United States Mint began sales of the 2010 Yosemite National Park Quarter bags and rolls. This represents the third release of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program.

The reverse design of the Yosemite Quarter features a view of El Capitan. This vertical rock formation rises 3,00 feet above the Yosemite Valley floor and is the largest monolith of granite in the world. The reverse was designed by Joseph Menna and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill. The obverse of the coin features a restored version of the portrait of George Washington designed by John Flanagan.

The US Mint is offering 100-coin bags of the newly released quarters from either the Philadelphia or Denver Mint. The bags have tags stating the mint of origin, "Yosemite", "CA" and the $25 face value of the contents. Bags are priced at $35.95 each.

A two roll set is also offered, which includes one 40-coin roll from the Philadelphia Mint and one 40-coin roll from the Denver Mint. The coins are packaged in US Mint branded wrappers, which indicate the mint of origin, "Yosemite", "CA", and $10 fave value of the contents. The two roll sets are priced at $32.95.

According to the US Mint, the Yosemite National Park Quarters bags and rolls will remain available for one year from the initial offering date. This prolonged availability period is a change of procedure from the prior State Quarter and DC & US Territories Quarters Programs. Bags and rolls for each design were only available until the next design was released.

Another change for the America the Beautiful Quarters Program is the introduction of the Bulk Purchase Program. This program allows orders to be placed for bulk bags of 200,000 quarters for the $50,000 face value plus a 3% processing fee. So far, the US Mint has reported 19.4 million quarters sold through the program.

When the America the Beautiful Quarters series first began, the potential for low mintages provided an interesting draw for collectors. Preliminary production figures do show mintages for the new series to be a fraction of the levels for the State Quarters Program. However, since the US Mint is providing prolonged availability for each release, the ability to bulk order, and the prospect that production can be restarted, the low mintages are difficult to get excited about.

2010 Yellowstone National Park Quarter Bags and Rolls

Today June 1, 2010 at 12:00 Noon ET, the United States Mint will begin sales of the 2010 Yellowstone National Park Quarter bags and rolls. This also marks the circulation release date of the coins. A launch ceremony will be held later this week on June 3.

This coin will represent the second release for the America the Beautiful Quarters Program, which honors 56 different National Parks and sites over the next twelve years. The Yellowstone Quarter features an image of the Old Faithful geyser with American Bison in the foreground and background. The obverse of the coin features John Flanagan's portrait of George Washington.

The US Mint will offer a two roll set containing one roll of 40 coins from the Philadelphia Mint and one roll of 40 coins from the Denver Mint. This product is priced at $32.95. Bags containing 100 coins from either the Philadelphia or Denver Mint will also be available, priced at $35.95 each. The products come in US Mint branded packaging, which indicates the park name, state abbreviation, face value, and mint mark.

As a change in procedure from last year, the US Mint intends to keep each quarter's bags and rolls products available for one year after the initial release date. In the past, sales of the bags and rolls had typically ended as a new design was released.

One of the enticements of the new quarter series has been the continuing trend towards lower mintages, especially in comparison to the popular 50 State Quarters Program. The Hot Springs Quarter had preliminary circulating coin production of 59.6 million across the Philadelphia and Denver Mints.

Through the end of April, the US Mint had produced a combined 17.8 million Yellowstone National Park Quarters, although production almost certainly continued into the following month. Updated production figures and perhaps a preliminary production totals for the Yellowstone Quarter should be available soon.

Franklin Pierce Presidential Dollar Rolls

The US Mint will begin sales of the Franklin Pierce Presidential Dollar Rolls later this week on May 20, 2010 at 12:00 Noon ET. This will represent the second release of the year for the series.

Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States and served from 1853 to 1857. The obverse of the coin features his portrait with inscriptions indicating his name, "In God We Trust", "14th President", and "1853-1857". The obverse was designed by Susan Gamble and sculpted by Charles Vickers. The reverse features the image of the Statue of Liberty designed by Don Everhart used for all coins of the series. The date, mint mark, and "E Pluribus Unum" appear on the edge of the coin.

Similar to other recent Presidential Dollar releases, the US Mint will offer 25-coin rolls from either the Philadelphia or Denver Mint. The coins are wrapped in US Mint branded wrappers which indicate the President, mint of origin, and face value of the contents. The rolls are priced at $35.95 each.

In a post from last week, a reader reported already receiving rolls of Franklin Pierce Dollars from the bank, even though the public release date for the coins is May 20, 2010. There have also been several rolls listed for sale on eBay described as "in hand."

Presidential Dollars are the only series that banks currently have the ability to order from the Federal Reserve in unmixed quantities as new coins are released. A special ordering period extends three weeks before the public release date and two weeks after. Officially, the banks are not authorized to release the coins to the public until the release date, but some are either unaware or disregard this condition.

On May 20, 2010 at 10:00 AM ET, the US Mint will also be hosting a launch ceremony for the Franklin Pierce Presidential Dollar. This will take place on the grounds of Pierce Manse located at 14 Horseshoe Pond Lane, Concord, NH. A coin exchange will be available after the ceremony.

Sales End for Northern Mariana Islands Quarters Bags and Rolls

Today, the United States Mint ended sales of 2009 Northern Mariana Islands Quarter bags and rolls. The end of sales coincided with the beginning of sales for the new 2010 Hot Springs National Park Quarter bags and rolls.

The Northern Mariana Islands Quarter bags and rolls first went on sale back on November 27, 2009. The US Mint offered two roll sets, 100-coin bags, and 1000-coin bags. A few days after the start of sales, the mintages for the quarters were revealed to be lowest for a circulation strike quarter since 1960. The 2010-P had a mintage of 35,200,000 and the 2001-D had a mintage of 37,600,000.

One of the interesting aspects of the NMI Quarter besides the low mintage, is the proportion of the mintage that was distributed directly to coin collectors through the US Mint's numismatic bags and rolls. The table below shows the most recent unit sales for bags and roll of Northern Mariana Islands Quarters.

Northern Mariana Quarters Bags and Rolls Sales
	unit sales	quarters per product	total quarters
100-coin bag (P)	7,733	100	773,300
1000-coin bag (P)	1,477	1,000	1,477,000
100-coin bag (D)	7,354	100	735,400
1000-coin bag (D)	772	1,000	772,000
Two Roll Set	33,639	80	2,691,120
Total			6,448,820

The US Mint sold 6,448,820 quarters through their bags and rolls offerings out of the overall mintage of 72,800,000. This means that numismatic sales represented 8.86% of the total mintage.

Breaking the figures down by mint mark shows an even higher proportion of the lower mintage Philadelphia strike in the hands of collectors. Bags and rolls sales included a total of 3,595,860 2010-P Northern Mariana Islands Quarters out of the total mintage of 35,200,000. In this case, quarters sold through bags and rolls represent 10.22% of the mintage.

During the prior 50 State Quarters Program, I don't believe that the percentage of each quarter's mintage sold through numismatic bags and rolls was ever this significant. I was able to find data for a few of the 2008 quarters and calculated the percentages to be around 2%.

I think this will be an interesting trend to watch. If mintages continue to decline for this year's quarters and collectors continue to purchase the same or higher quantities through the US Mint's numismatic offerings, even greater proportions of each quarter's total mintage will be purchased and held by collectors. This could have implications for the values of today's low mintage coins and the notion of circulating coins, as fewer of them ever have the chance to actually circulate.

2010 Hot Springs National Park Quarter Bags and Rolls

The United States Mint will begin selling bags and rolls of the 2010 Hot Springs National Park Quarters on Monday, April 19, 2010 at 12:00 Noon ET. This will represent the first release of the new America the Beautiful Quarters Program.

The circulation release date for the quarters will occur on the same date. An official launch ceremony will be held the following day on April 20, 2010 at the Hot Springs National Park administration building.

The 2010 Hot Springs Quarter reverse design features a depiction of the ornate door of the park headquarters building, with one of the park's many fountains appearing in the foreground. The reverse was designed by Don Everhart and sculpted by Joseph Menna. The obverse of the coin features a portrait of George Washington designed by John Flanagan. The US Mint has restored portrait details that appeared on the original 1932 Washington Quarter.

The US Mint will offer a two roll set containing one 40-coin roll from the Philadelphia Mint and one 40-coin roll from the Denver Mint. The rolls are packaged in custom designed wrappers that indicate the mint mark, name of the park, state abbreviation, and face value of contents. The two roll sets are priced at $32.95 each. This is the same price that was charged for last year's two roll sets of quarters.

The US Mint will also offer 100-coin bags from either the Philadelphia or Denver Mint. The canvas bags will have a tag which indicates the mint mark, name of the park, state abbreviation, and face value of the contents. These bags are priced at $35.95 each. This represents a $3 increase from the price of last year's 100-coin bags of quarters.

At this time, these three products seem to be the only ones offered specifically for the Hot Springs Quarter. Last year, there were three other offerings for each specific quarter. This included 1,000-coin bags from the Philadelphia or Denver Mint and First Day Coin Covers.
The larger sized bags apparently will not be offered, and I have confirmed that First Day Coin Covers will not be produced for the series.

Collectible proof or uncirculated versions of the Hot Springs National Park Quarter will be incorporated into several multi-coin sets released later in the year. This will include the 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters Proof Set, 2010 America the Beautiful Quarters Silver Proof Set, 2010 Proof Set, 2010 Silver Proof Set, and 2010 Uncirculated Mint Set.

Lastly, a duplicate design of the quarter will be used for a 5 ounce silver bullion coin with a 3 inch diameter. The most recent statements from the US Mint suggest that the America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins will be available around mid-year. These will not be sold directly by the US Mint, but distributed through their authorized purchaser network.

Millard Fillmore Presidential Dollar Rolls

The United States Mint will begin sales of the Millard Fillmore Presidential Dollar Rolls on February 18, 2010 at 12:00 Noon ET. One week earlier, the 2010 Presidential Dollar Proof Set had gone on sale, which contains the proof version of the coin.

The obverse of each Millard Fillmore Dollar features his portrait along with the inscriptions "Millard Fillmore", "In God We Trust", "13th President", the years of his term "1850-1853". The reverse of the coin features a rendition of the Statue of Liberty with "United States of America" and the denomination "$1". Both the obverse and reverse were designed by Don Everhart.

The US Mint is offering 25-coin rolls from either the Philadelphia or Denver Mint. These rolls are packaged in custom US Mint wrappers that indicate the President, mint mark, and face value of the contents. The rolls are priced at $35.95 each, the same price as last year's Presidential Dollar rolls.

The two previous roll offerings featuring James K. Polk and Zachary Taylor remain available for sale on the US Mint's website. The latest available sales figures indicate the Polk Rolls sold 39,476 (P) and 38,220 (D) while the Taylor Rolls have sold 36,108 (P) and 34,627 (D).

Coin Update News has the full US Mint Sales Report. This represents the first report in two weeks, as figures were not issued last week.

2010 Native American Dollar Rolls

The United States Mint will begin sales of 2010 Native American Dollar Rolls on January 22, 2009 at 12:00 Noon ET.

The 2010 Native American Dollar design is based on theme "Government - The Great Tree of Peace." The reverse features the Hiawatha Belt, which is a visual record of the creation of the Haudenosaunee, also known as the Iroquois Confederacy. The symbols on the belt and five arrows represent the Onondaga, Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, and Seneca Nations. The obverse features Glenna Goodacre's design of Sacagawea and child.

The US Mint will sell 25-coin rolls from either the Philadelphia or Denver Mint. The coins are wrapped in yellow and black US Mint branded wrappers, which indicate the date, series, face value, and mint mark of the contents. The rolls are priced at $35.95 each.

The US Mint continues to sell the 2010 Native American Dollar Direct Ship Rolls, which went on sale January 4, 2010. These rolls can be ordered in quantities of 250, at face value with no charge for shipping. They are packaged as ten 25-coin rolls in generic red and white wrappers, rather than the US Mint's branded wrappers, and orders cannot be place for coins from a specific mint.

Last year, both numismatic rolls and Direct Ship rolls of 2009 Native American Dollars were available throughout most of the year. Despite the face value priced alternative, collectors still ordered 59,000 Philadelphia rolls and 53,732 Denver rolls from the numismatic offering.

Coingrader Capsule: Hyped Holders on Coin Auction Portals

Northern Mariana Islands Quarter Bags and Rolls

The US Mint will begin sales of the Northern Mariana Islands Quarters bags and rolls on Monday, November 30, 2009 at 12:00 Noon ET. This will represent the final release for the 2009 District of Columbia and United States Territories Quarters Program.

The reverse design of the 2009 Northern Mariana Islands Quarter depicts the natural resources of the islands in the land, air, and sea. Design elements include a Latte stone, coconut trees, wild plants, nature birds, and a sailing vessel. A head lei composed of native plants and flowers borders the bottom. The reverse was designed by Richard Masters and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill.

The US Mint will offer 1000-coin bags from either the Philadelphia or Denver Mint priced at $309.95 each, and 100-coin bags from either mint priced at $32.95 each. A Two Roll Set containing one 40-coin roll from the Philadelphia and one 40-coin roll from the Denver Mint will also be available priced at $32.95.

Sales of this year's quarter bags and rolls started off slow for the first release, but then jumped for the second release. This was probably motivated by the jump in secondary market prices for the sold out District of Columbia Quarter bags and rolls. Sales have trailed off since then, as subsequent releases failed to show similar price appreciation.

The last reported sales figures for all of the 2009 Quarter bags and rolls are shown below. The U.S. Virgin Islands Quarter bags and rolls still remain available for sale at the US Mint.

	1000 (P)	1000 (D)	100 (P)	100 (D)	2 Roll Set
D.C.	653	704	8,304	10,394	31,021
Puerto Rico	1,047	953	20,000	17,295	41,669
Guam	1,487	1,334	13,012	12,337	38,231
American Samoa	1,499	1,434	7,325	7,185	33,865
U.S. Virgin Islands	1,206	1,168	7,019	6,856	31,234

Zachary Taylor Presidential Dollar Rolls

The Zachary Taylor Presidential Dollar Rolls will go on sale at the United States Mint on Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 12:00 Noon ET. This will represent the final release of the Presidential Dollar series for 2009.

Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States who served for 16 months from 1849 to 1850. The obverse of the coin displays his portrait and the inscriptions "In God We Trust", "12th President", and "1849-1850". The reverse of the coin features the Statue of Liberty along with inscriptions "United States of America" and "$1". The date, mint mark and "E Pluribus Unum" are included as incuse edge lettering. Both the obverse and reverse of the coin were designed and sculpted by Don Everhart.

The US Mint's roll offering includes 25-coin rolls from either the Philadelphia Mint or the Denver Mint. The rolls are packaged in custom US Mint wrappers which indicate the President, mint of origin, and face value. The rolls are priced at $35.95 plus shipping and handling charges.

Previous 2009 Presidential Dollar Roll offerings have experienced mixed success. The William Henry Harrison Dollar Rolls sold out unexpectedly, after recording sales of 30,000 rolls for each mint. Secondary market prices jumped with the rolls still selling for prices in the $150 to $200 range. The following John Tyler Dollar Rolls also sold 30,000 rolls from each mint, but currently seem to be selling for below issue price.

The James K. Polk Dollar Rolls still remain available for sale at the US Mint. As of the latest weekly sales report, the US Mint has recorded sales of 36,954 of the Philadelphia rolls and 35,928 of the Denver rolls.

2009 Kennedy Half Dollar Bags and Rolls Approaching Sell Out?

The 2009 Kennedy Half Dollar bags and rolls originally went on sale at the US Mint on January 22, 2009. Now is a good time to revisit the offering since the number of coins sold by the US Mint is approaching the total number of coins they have produced to date.

Since 2002, the US Mint has not minted the Kennedy Half Dollar for circulation, but instead produced a limited number of coins for collectors. "Circulation strike" coins have been sold in various bags and rolls offerings at a premium to face value. Sales have generally fallen over time, prompting the US Mint to produce fewer coins each year.

Last year, the US Mint produced 3.4 million 2008 Kennedy Halves, divided evenly between the Philadelphia and Denver Mint. They ultimately sold 9,701 200-coin bags and 33,413 Two Roll Sets. If you multiply out to individual coins, this represented 3.27 million coins sold.

So far this year, the US Mint has produced 3.4 million 2009 Kennedy Halves, also divided evenly between the Philadelphia and Denver Mint facilities. Figures from this week's Mint Stats show 8,463 200-coin bags sold and 34,934 Two Roll Sets sold. This represents a total of nearly 3.09 million coins sold in bags and rolls.

The current pace of sales indicates that the remaining 300,000 or so coins will not last much longer. Over the past two weeks, the US Mint sold 489 200-coin bags and 1,359 Two Roll Sets. This comes out to 152,160 coins. If sales of the coins continue at this pace, the US Mint's current supply would be exhausted within about a month.

The US Mint will have two options. They can produce more 2009 Kennedy Half Dollars and continue selling them to collectors in bags and rolls, or they can simply end the offering. I think the second option is the more likely.

This year the US Mint seems to be making a concerted effort to avoid over producing products. They have shown a preference to slightly under produce a product and have it sell out early, rather than over to over produce a product and leave it lingering within their product catalog. If the US Mint continues this preference, it seems likely that the 2009 Kennedy Half Dollars will sell out soon.

Thanks to a few anonymous readers who left comments about the 2009 Kennedy Half Dollars, which prompted this post.

U.S. Virgin Islands Quarter Bags and Rolls

Bags and rolls of the U.S. Virgin Islands Quarter will go on sale at the US Mint on Monday, September 28, 2009 at 12:00 Noon ET. This will be the fifth coin released in the District of Columbia and US Territories Quarters Program.

The reverse design of the Virgin Islands Quarter features tyre palm trees, yellow elder flowers, and the banana quit bird. An outline of the three islands floats in the background with the inscription "United in Pride and Hope." The reverse was designed and sculpted by Joseph Menna.

The US Mint will offer Two Roll Sets, which contain one 40-coin roll from the Philadelphia Mint and one 40-coin roll from the Denver Mint. The rolls will come in US Mint branded wrappers that indicate the issue, mint mark, and face value of the coins. The two roll sets are priced at $32.95 each.

The US Mint will also offer 100-coin bags and 1000-coin bags from either the Philadelphia or Denver Mints. The 100-coin bags are priced at $32.95 and the 1000-coin bags are priced at $309.95.

The final production figures for the US Virgin Islands Quarters are still unknown. As I mentioned in a previous post, I think we might see a leveling off or even an increase in mintage for this release. If the mintage rises, it would break the streak of continually declining overall mintages for the 2009 quarters. The mintage figures of the Virgin Islands Quarter will hopefully be available in early October.

When the US Virgin Islands Quarters bags and rolls go on sale, the US Mint will likely end sales of any remaining American Samoa Quarter bags and rolls. The 1000-coin bag from the Philadelphia Mint recently sold out, but the remaining products are still available at the time of this post.

Today on Coin Update

I recently published a post entitled US Mint Products I Am Buying Now. This post was inspired by some of the discussions about various US Mint products which often occur in the comments of Mint News Blog posts. I invite any readers to contribute an article on the same topic for publication on Coin Update News that describes what US Mint products you are buying and why. To contribute an article, please get in touch via the Contributors page.

Martin Van Buren Dollar Direct Ship Rolls Available

Yesterday, the US Mint added Martin Van Buren Dollars to their Direct Ship Rolls Program. This program allows you to purchase dollar coins at face value with no charge for shipping.

The purpose of the program is to remove barriers to the circulation of dollar coins. In theory, businesses, financial institutions, and others can order dollar coins directly from the US Mint without going through the Federal Reserve system. This would make it easier to obtain smaller amounts of dollar coins to use in transactions. The program has provided a side benefit to coin collectors who have been able to obtain rolls Presidential Dollars and Native American Dollars for face value.

The rolls can be purchased in boxes of 250 coins for the face value of $250. The coins are wrapped in rolls of 25 with 20 rolls to a box. The US Mint states that the coins are "non-numismatic, circulation-grade coins," although my own experiences and other reports suggest that most if not all of the coins are uncirculated. The wrappers are generic NF String red and white wrappers, not the red, white, and blue US Mint wrappers used for the premium priced collectors rolls.

I have periodically purchased boxes through the program. Once received, I opened the rolls to search for errors and high grade coins. Any coins I did not want to keep, I slowly spent into circulation. During my searches I found several coins that graded MS67 and a few struck through grease errors.

Other rolls currently available through the program include George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Andrew Jackson Presidential Dollars and 2009 Native American Dollars. All of the Presidential Dollars are limited to two boxes ($500), but the Native American Dolllrs have no limit.

The US Mint's Direct Ship Rolls can be found on their website here.

James K. Polk Presidential Dollar Rolls

The James K. Polk Presidential Dollar Rolls will go on sale at the US Mint on Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 12:00 Noon ET. This will be the third Presidential Dollar coin release of the year.

James K. Polk was the 11th President of the United States and served from 1845 to 1849. The portrait for the obverse of the dollar coin was designed by Susan Gamble and sculpted by Charles Vickers. The reverse of the coin features a rendition of the Statue of Liberty by Don Everhart.

The US Mint will offer 25-coin rolls from either the Philadelphia Mint or Denver Mint. The rolls will be packaged in the custom designed US Mint wrappers that indicate the coin design, mint, and face value. The rolls are priced at $35.95 each.

The prior two Presidential Dollar Roll offerings from this year sold out after sales of 30,000 rolls from each mint. This may or may not be an indication of the total number of rolls to be offered for the Polk Dollars, as the US Mint has kept collectors guessing this year with different production runs for similar products.

In a shift from prior releases, the James K. Polk Dollars are also expected to be available under the US Mint's Direct Ship Program. This program allows customers to purchase $250 boxes of coins at face value with no charge for shipping. The Direct Ship Program is intended to be a method for individuals and small business to obtain dollar coins for circulation, but it has also been a source of BU dollar rolls for coin collectors.

As opposed to the premium priced individual rolls offered by US Mint, the rolls contained in the Direct Ship boxes are in generic coin wrappers. Also, coins cannot be ordered from a specific mint and there is no guarantee that the coins have never been circulated.

The James K. Polk Dollar Direct Ship rolls are expected to be available on the US Mint's website on the same release date as the collector rolls.

Update: James K. Polk Dollars have not been added to the Direct Ship section. I am trying to find out if and when they will be made available through the program.

American Samoa Quarter Bags and Rolls

American Samoa Quarter Bags and Rolls will go on sale at the US Mint on July 27, 2009 at 12:00 Noon ET. This will be the fourth coin released in this year's District of Columbia & U.S. Territories Quarters Program.

The reverse design of the American Samoa Quarter features the ava bowl, whisk, and staff in the foreground. A coastline with coconut trees appears towards the background. An inscription reads "SAMOA MUAMUA LE ATUA" which translates to "Samoa, God is First." This reverse was designed by Stephen Clark and sculpted by Charles Vickers.

Similar to prior releases, the US Mint will offer 100 and 1,000-coin bags and two roll sets featuring the latest quarter.

The 100-coin bags will be available from either the Philadelphia or Denver Mint and will be priced at $32.95 each. The 1,000 coin bags will also be available from either mint and will be priced at $309.95. The two roll sets contain on 40-coin roll from each mint and will be priced at $32.95 each. The rolls will come in custom US Mint wrappers which denote the contents and face value of each roll.

Final production figures have not yet been released for the American Samoa Quarter, but the numbers will be closely watched. For all three quarter designs which have been released so far this year, each subsequent release has had a lower overall mintage than the one before. The most recently released Guam Quarter had a combined mintage of 87.6 million coins, comprised of 45 million Philadelphia Mint coins and 42.6 million Denver Mint coins.

The final production figures for the American Samoa Quarter will likely be available in early August, a few days after the bags and rolls are first released.

Do you have an opinion on the American Samoa Quarter design or its prospects as a collectible? You can rate and review this coin on Coin Review!

Guam Quarter 1,000-Coin Bags Back on Sale

Over the weekend, the US Mint put the Guam Quarter 1,000-Coin Bags back on sale. These options had been unavailable for nearly a month, causing some to wonder whether they would ever return.

The US Mint's Guam Quarter bags and rolls initially went on sale May 26, 2009. Just two days later, the Philadelphia and Denver Mint 1,000-coin bags both went off sale with the message "This product is temporarily unavailable."

The Guam 1,000-coin bags were particularly strong sellers right out of the gate. In the few days of availability, the US Mint had sold 1,431 Philadelphia bags and 1,247 Denver bags. This already exceeded the total number of 1,000-coin bags that the US Mint had sold for the District of Columbia (653 Philadelphia bags and 704 Denver bags) or Puerto Rico (1,047 Philadelphia bags and 953 Denver bags).

The Guam Quarter has the lowest mintage of the DC & US Territories Quarters series to date with only 45,000,000 coins minted at Philadelphia and 42,600,000 coins minted at Denver. This also represents the lowest mintage for a quarter since 1962. The US Mint's 1,000-coin bags represent the lowest premium method for buying the Guam Quarters directly from the US Mint. The US Mint also offers 100-coin bags from each mint and two roll sets, which contain one 40-coin roll from each mint.