2011 Native American Dollar Rolls

The next US Mint product to go on sale will be the 2011 Native American Dollar Rolls. Sales will begin on March 28, 2011 at 12:00 Noon ET.

The reverse design of the 2011 Native American Dollar represents the initiation of the first written peace alliance between the Wampanoag Tribe and European settlers with a depiction of the hands of the Massasoit and Governor John Carver exchanging the ceremonial peace pipe. The obverse of the coin features the depiction of Sacagawea and child introduced in 2000 and used for the Sacagawea Dollar series.

The US Mint will offer 25-coin rolls from either the Philadelphia or Denver Mint facility. The coins are packaged in wrappers bearing the US Mint logo along with the date, mint mark, and face value. Each roll is priced at $39.95 plus applicable shipping and handling. This reflects a $4 per roll increase from the pricing effective for last year's issue.

One week ago, the US Mint began selling 2011 Native American Dollars through the Direct Ship Program. This program allows the coins to be ordered in boxes of 250 at face value with no charge for shipping.

While personally, I would opt for the Direct Ship coins available at face value, the US Mint continues to sell a relatively high number of the numismatic rolls, priced at a premium. For the 2010 Native American Dollar numismatic rolls, sales have reached 39,138 Philadelphia rolls and 38,818 Denver rolls.

The arguable benefits of the numismatic rolls are availability in smaller quantities (lower pricing point), the ability to select a specific mint mark, and the US Mint's custom wrapper, which sometimes yields a premium on the secondary market.

2011 Native American Dollars Added to Direct Ship

Rolls of the 2011 Native American Dollars are now available through the United States Mint's Direct Ship Program. The program allows $1 coins to be purchased at face value for the intended purpose of introducing them into circulation.

The 2011 Native American Dollar is the third year of the series which celebrates the accomplishments and contributions of Native Americans. A different reverse design is used each year, paired with the obverse portrait of Sacagawea by Glenna Goodacre. The theme for this year's design is "Diplomacy - Treaties with Tribal Nations." The design by Richard Masters shows the hands of the Supreme Sachem Ousamequin Massasoit and Governor John Carver exchanging the ceremonial peace pipe.

Availability through the Direct Ship Program comes ahead of the launch ceremony for the coin, as well as the numismatic roll offering. The official launch ceremony for the coin is planned for March 25 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The 25-coin numismatic rolls, which are sold at $39.95 per roll, will not be available until March 28. The 2011 Native American Dollars have already been released within the US Mint's annual sets released in January and early February. The coins in these sets feature a proof or brilliant finish.

The Direct Ship Rolls are available in boxes containing ten 25-coin rolls, for a total $250 face value. The coins may be purchased at face value with no additional charge for shipping and handling. By placing an order, the customer agrees that they will comply with the intended purpose of the program.

There is a limit of 4-boxes ($1,000 face value) for every 10 day period.

Other designs available through the Direct Ship Program include 2001 Sacagawea Dollars, 2010 Native American Dollars, and the Presidential Dollars featuring George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Andrew Jackson, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, and Abraham Lincoln. The US Mint product page can be accessed here.

Coin Update News: 2011-W Gold and Silver Eagles

2011 Kennedy Half Dollar Bags and Rolls

Sales of the 2011 Kennedy Half Dollar bags and rolls will begin at the US Mint on February 15, 2011 at 12:00 Noon ET.

A 200-coin bag will be available, which includes 100 coins each from the Philadelphia and Denver Mints. The bag is marked with the date, mint marks "P" and "D", and the $100 face value. The US Mint price is $134.95, which represents an increase of $4.00 from last year's price.

The available two-roll set will include one 20-coin roll each from the Philadelphia and Denver Mints. A change has been made to the wrapper design. Previously it was blue colored and included an image of the coin's obverse. The new wrappers seem to just include "2011 Kennedy Half Dollar $10" and the mint mark. Perhaps the US Mint's new logo also appears on the other side. Pricing is $34.95 per two roll set, representing an increase of $2 from the previous year.

This will be the tenth year that the half dollar denomination has not been issued for circulation, but only distributed through numismatic products. The production levels for Kennedy Half Dollars from 2002-2011 are shown below.

2002-2011 Kennedy Half Dollars

	P	D
2002	3,100,000	2,500,000
2003	2,500,000	2,500,000
2004	2,900,000	2,900,000
2005	3,800,000	3,500,000
2006	2,400,000	2,000,000
2007	2,400,000	2,400,000
2008	1,700,000	1,700,000
2009	1,900,000	1,900,000
2010	1,800,000	1,700,000
2011*	1,700,000	1,750,000

*Production for the year to date.

Although these mintages are low when compared to other circulating coins, the thing to remember is that virtually the entire amount was originally distributed to coin collectors or coin dealers. With this kind of targeted distribution at a premium to face value, the coins are much more likely to remain available when compared to coins that were broadly distributed for circulation.

New Coingrader Capsule: Artificial Toning

The First 2010 Jefferson Nickels

The first of the 2010 Jefferson Nickels have now surfaced in the channels of circulation.

Circulation strike nickels and dimes have gotten a lot of attention in the past few years. This is due to the extremely low mintages compared to typical levels, which routinely had been in the hundreds of millions or billions. Also, nickels and dimes are currently the only circulating coins that are not offered directly by the United States Mint through their numismatic bags and rolls program. This means that there is no easy or ready source to obtain the coins for the average collector.

Anyone lucky enough to be able to obtain the newly minted nickels and dimes directly from a bank or depository institution has been able to sell them for big premiums above the face value.

Coin production figures through the end of May 2010, indicate that 29.28 million of the 2010-P Jefferson Nickels produced for circulation. This is still below last year's total production of 39.38 million. There have not been any 2010-D Jefferson Nickels produced yet. Last year's total was 46.8 million.

The First 2010 Roosevelt Dimes

The first 2010 Roosevelt Dimes have apparently started showing up in the channels of circulation. At least two eBay sellers have individual 2010-P Roosevelt Dimes listed for sale at auction.

As of the last available production figures from the United States Mint, only 19 million of the 2010 Roosevelt Dimes have been produced, with the entire amount coming from the Philadelphia Mint facility. There have not been any 2010 Roosevelt Dimes produced at Denver. Additionally, there have not been any 2010 Jefferson Nickel produced at either mint facility.

Completed eBay auctions show that one of the first listed individual 2010-P Roosevelt Dimes sold for $31.00. That was for a single dime. There are currently 25 different listings for individual 2010-P Dimes on eBay. See the current auctions.

The listings seem to come from just two sellers, both located in Ohio. If you are in the area, it might be worthwhile to check out some banks to see if any additional rolls are available.

Last year, the first 2009-P Roosevelt Dimes started appearing in late May, located in Texas. In early June, more 2009-P Dimes and the first 2009-P Jefferson Nickels surfaced in Puerto Rico. Only recently, some 2009-D Roosevelt Dimes have surfaced, but the 2009-D Jefferson Nickels still remain elusive. (For all of the preceding, I am referring to circulation strike coins, not the satin finish versions which are found in the 2009 Uncirculated Mint Set.)

The 2009 nickels and dimes have attracted attention and high premiums because of the significantly lower mintages and the fact that they had remained elusive in the channels of circulation. The final production figures from last year were the following:

2009-P Roosevelt Dime	96,500,000
2009-D Roosevelt Dime	49,500,000
2009-P Jefferson Nickel	39,840,000
2009-D Jefferson Nickel	46,800,000

As a cautionary note to the current prices being paid for the 2010-P Roosevelt Dimes, an article in Coin World from earlier this year reported that the Federal Reserve had ordered 224 million dimes from the Mint. If the US Mint produces coins to fulfill the order, the total mintage would be above the last year's combined mintage for the denomination.

Also, prices for "firsts," such as this, tend to drive premiums irrespective of the rarity, simply for being the first available. These premiums shrink as time passes or more of the item becomes available.

2010 Kennedy Half Dollar Bags and Rolls

The United States Mint will begin sales of bags and rolls of 2010 Kennedy Half Dollars today January 29, 2010 at 12:00 Noon ET.

The rolls will be offered as a two roll set that contains one 20-coin roll of coins from the Philadelphia Mint and one 20-coin roll of coins from the Denver Mint. The rolls are packaged in special US Mint branded wrappers which indicate the face value, date, and mint mark of the coins. The 2010 Kennedy Half Dollar two roll sets are priced at $32.95 each.

There will be one option available for coins packaged in a mint sewn bag. This bag will include a total of 200 of the 2010 Kennedy Halves, with 100 from each Mint facility. The bags are priced at $130.95 each.

These price levels remain unchanged from the prior year.

Since 2002, the United States Mint has not produced the Kennedy Half Dollar for circulation, but has produced the coin in limited numbers for sale directly to collectors in numismatic bags and rolls. During this period, the highest mintage attained was 3.8 million for the 2005-P Kennedy Half. The lowest mintage occurred for the 2008-P and 2008-D halves with 1.7 million produced for each. For 2009, the US Mint produced 1.9 million halves at each facility.

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

2001 Sacagawea Dollar Direct Ship Rolls

On January 4, 2010, the United States Mint began selling rolls of 2001 Sacagawea Dollars through their Direct Ship Program. Because the offering was unusual, unexpected, and priced at face value, I ordered a box. I received the coins today and wanted to provide a brief report.*

The Direct Ship Rolls are sold in quantities of 250 coins at face value with no charge for shipping. These are packaged in ten 25-coin rolls placed within a cardboard box. In previous instances when I had ordered Direct Ship rolls, they had been packaged in N.F. String & Son red and white wrappers. These types of wrappers are commonly encountered on rolls of coins obtained from banks.

When I opened the box of Direct Ship Rolls which arrived today, I was surprised to see that the wrappers were the yellow and black style that the US Mint has used for their premium priced numismatic rolls.


When the 2001 Sacagawea Dollar was initially released, the US Mint had sold bags and rolls of the coins for collectors. The 25-coin rolls were available from either the Philadelphia or Denver Mint and priced at $35.50 each. Today, these original rolls can sell for a significant premium on the secondary market. This premium is driven solely by the packaging since 2001 Sacagawea Dollars has a high mintage can be easily found.

At first, I thought that the rolls I received might have been remnants of the US Mint's old inventory. Upon doing some further research, I found that the style of packaging on the Direct Ship rolls differs from the original 2001 Sacagawea Dollar rolls sold by the US Mint.

The original have a small image of the obverse and reverse of the coin on the wrapper and include the mint mark "P" or "D". (See this eBay auction.) The rolls from the Direct Ship program display the US Mint logo and do not indicate the mint mark. It is very odd that the US Mint would use the premium style of packaging for Direct Ship rolls, but at least in this case there is still a way to differentiate the offerings.

The 2001 Sacagawea Dollars that I received all appear to be from the Philadelphia Mint. I have opened one roll so far, and the rolls displaying at least one heads-side have the "P" mint mark. The condition of the coins contained in the rolls was uncirculated, but nearly all of the coins displayed spotty discoloration. See images below with scanner and camera.



*Note that the coins received will be spent into circulation in accordance with the intended purpose of the program.

2010 Native American Dollar Direct Ship Rolls Available

Today, the United States Mint began sales for their first 2010 dated product. The 2010 Native American Dollars are being offered through the Direct Ship Program.


The 2010 Native American Dollar features a portrait of Sacagawea and child on the obverse and the Hiawatha Belt on the reverse. This belt is a visual record of the creation of the Haudenosaunee or Iroqouis Confederacy in the early 1400s. This is the second reverse design for the series celebrating the accomplishments and contributions of Native Americans.

The Direct Ship Program was created to make dollar coins more available to the public and encourage their use in circulation. Since the program was introduced in June 2008, the US Mint has distributed more than $130 million in dollar coins through the program. After some widely reported abuses, the US Mint added messages to the product pages which state that by ordering the coins, customers must understand and comply with the intended purpose of the program and not immediately deposit the coins at a bank.

The 2010 Native American Dollars are available in boxes of 250 coins. The coins are wrapped in rolls of 25, with ten rolls to a box. The $250 boxes may be ordered at face value with no charges for shipping and handling. There is a limit of 20 boxes per household. The mint mark of the coins cannot be specified. At various times the US Mint has issued either Philadelphia or Denver Mint coins through the program. You can find the US Mint's product page here.

Update: The US Mint has unexpectedly added 2001 Sacagwea Dollars to the Direct Ship Program as well. The 2001-P Sacagawea Dollar had a mintage of 62,468,00 and the 2001-D had a mintage of 70,939,500. This was the last year the Sacagawea Dollar was struck for circulation- in subsequent years the coins were produced only for sale in numismatic bags and rolls or annual sets.

Native American Dollar Rolls Sold Out

The United States Mint has sold out of the individual 2009 Native American Dollar Rolls. The Denver rolls sold out yesterday, followed by the Philadelphia rolls today.

The rolls first went on sale on the US Mint's website on January 15, 2009, priced at $35.95 for the 25-coin rolls. As of the last weekly sales report, the US Mint sold 59,000 of the Philadelphia rolls and 53,732 of the Denver rolls.

For much of the year, the premium priced individual rolls have been on sale along side the Native American Dollar rolls offered through the US Mint's Direct Ship Program. This program allows individuals or businesses to order $250 boxes of coins at face value with no charges for shipping and insurance. The Direct Ship Boxes for the Native American Dollar finally went off sale in late October.

On the topic of the US Mint's Direct Ship Program, I have wanted to mention an article published this week in the Wall Street Journal. It describes how enthusiasts of frequent-flier mileage programs have used the US Mint's program to rack up huge amounts of rewards with zero net cost.

The article provides accounts of a few people who purchased $10,000 or $15,000 worth of coins and immediately cashed them in at the bank. They paid their credit card bill with the proceeds and earned rewards in the process. One man claimed to have purchased $800,000 in coins through the program.

The US Mint has since added this statement to the Direct Ship Dollar pages:

The purchase of $1 coins under the Circulating $1 Coin Direct Ship Program is a cash equivalent or cash-like transaction. Ordinarily, such purchases are not eligible for credit card rewards, cash-back, cash rebate, and similar programs. Check with your card issuer for its terms and conditions.

The article also states that the US Mint sold a total of $130 million in coins through the program since it began in June 2008. This is frankly an astonishing number and represents a sizable proportion of the overall production. The total dollar coin production for the year to date is $423 million. How much of this production was prompted by the huge demand for dollar coins coming from the Direct Ship Program?

Coin Update News Articles:
2009 Presidential Dollar Mintages
2009 DC & US Territories Quarters Mintages

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.

The First 2009 Jefferson Nickel

The first 2009 Jefferson Nickel has surfaced! There has been a lot of buzz around 2009 nickels and dimes since they have historically low mintages and have remained completely elusive until recently.

Coin collector and Mint News Blog reader Emmanuel Rodriguez made the lucky find. After hearing about the low mintages for this year's nickels and dimes, he contacted a bank to ask whether they had any 2009 coins. As luck would have it, the bank had 2009 nickels and dimes, but would only sell them in complete $500 or $200 bags of pre-rolled coins. At the time of purchase, he was still unsure about whether the rolls would contain 2009 coins, but examination revealed solid 2009 rolls. The location of the bank was within a US Territory.

Single coins and rolls have been put up for auction on eBay. The 2009-P Roosevelt Dime roll has been bid up to $46 and the 2009-P Jefferson Nickel roll has been bid up to $76. You can view all of the auctions here.

Interestingly, all circulating 2009 coins except for nickels and dimes have been or will be available directly from the US Mint via their bags and rolls sales. The US Mint's 2009 Products include 2009 Lincoln Cents in two roll sets, all of the 2009 DC & US Territories Quarters in bags and rolls, 2009 Kennedy Half Dollar in bags and rolls, and all of the 2009 Presidential Dollars and Native American Dollars in rolls.

Since the 2009 Nickels and Dimes cannot be easily acquired from the US Mint, this should ultimately reduce the number of coins that collectors are able to acquire and hoard. In the long run, this may bolster the prices for nickels and dimes compared to other low mintage 2009 coins.

The latest Production figures for the 2009 nickels and dimes appears below. These numbers come from the US Mint's most recent production figures.

2009-P Roosevelt Dime	96,500,000
2009-D Roosevelt Dime	49,500,000
2009-P Jefferson Nickel	39,840,000
2009-D Jefferson Nickel	39,360,000

As I have mentioned in the post about the 2009 Roosevelt Dime, the US Mint did officially announce the end of production for 2009 nickels and dimes, however, they subsequently announced the possibility of creating a strategic coin reserve, which might entail producing and stockpiling nickels and dimes.

The First 2009 Roosevelt Dime

The first 2009 Roosevelt Dime that I have seen has turned up on eBay. A Mint News Blog reader left a comment with a link to the auction. The single circulated dime has already been bid up to $30 with two days remaining in the auction.

See the 2009-P Roosevelt Dime on eBay.

I wrote previously on the low production and unavailability of 2009 Nickels and Dimes. The denominations received some increased attention after Coin World reported that the US Mint had officially ended production of nickels and dimes for the remainder of the year. The US Mint's coin production figures through April 2009 indicate the following mintages:

2009-P Roosevelt Dime	96,500,000
2009-D Roosevelt Dime	49,500,000
2009-P Jefferson Nickel	39,840,000
2009-D Jefferson Nickel	39,360,000

The location of the seller of the 2009-P Roosevelt Dime is listed as Friendswood, TX. The description mentions that seller was able to get his hands on "a few of them." The seller has just listed second 2009-P Roosevelt Dime in a one day auction.

The price of the single dime has already reached a ridiculous level. At this point, the bidding is being driven by the desire to have the first (or one of the first) 2009 dated dimes. It shouldn't be taken as an indication of the value of 2009 Roosevelt Dimes. Nonetheless, it will definitely be interesting to see where the final price ends up in two more days.

Perhaps the upside of this auction is that collectors will start checking their change and hounding their local banks, searching for other 2009 nickels and dimes. The sooner a greater supply is located and comes onto the market, the sooner prices can descend to more reasonable levels.

Another development in the 2009 nickel and dime situation that I wanted to mention. There is a chance that the US Mint might produce more 2009 Nickels and Dimes even though they officially announced the end of production. Dave Harper recently interviewed US Mint Director Edmund Moy, who mentioned that the US Mint is considering creating a strategic coin reserve. The US Mint would produce and stockpile an extra supply of coins that could be tapped during periods of high coin demand or supply disruption. The prospect of striking additional nickels and dimes for the coin reserve was specifically mentioned in the interview. The US Mint hopes to make a decision on the coin reserve this year.

2009 Jefferson Nickels and Roosevelt Dimes

I am just returning from a brief vacation. While I was away, several readers left comments about a surprising development reported in Coin World. The US Mint announced that they have ended officially production of 2009 Jefferson Nickels and 2009 Roosevelt Dimes.

According to the article, no more Jefferson Nickels or Roosevelt Dimes will be struck for circulation at either the Denver or Philadelphia Mints for the remainder of 2009. The production of remaining circulating coins will continue, but "in reduced numbers."

The most surprising aspect of the story is that the US Mint is announcing the end of production in April. Many collectors have been expecting drastically lower coin production, but I don't think anyone thought production for two denominations would officially end this early in the year. There must be an enormous stockpile of coins at the Federal Reserve, which literally ensures that no new coins will be needed for at least the next eight months.

The US Mint's coin production page indicates that 36.00 million 2009-P Jefferson Nickels and 33.36 million 2009-D Jefferson Nickels have been produced. There has not been a nickel struck for circulation with a mintage this low since the 1959 Jefferson Nickel with 27.248 million. Last year's production figures were 287.76 million and 352.80 million for Philadelphia and Denver, respectively.

Coin production figures indicate 78.50 million 2009-P Roosevelt Dimes and 41.50 million 2009-D Roosevelt Dimes have been produced. The Denver mintage represents the lowest mintage since the 1958 Roosevelt Dime which had a mintage of 31.91 million. Last year's production figures were 413.00 million and 637.50 million for Philadelphia and Denver, respectively.

In a previous post exploring 2009 Coin Production, I specifically mentioned dimes and nickels as denominations to watch for 2009. It seemed very likely that the mintages would be the lowest in years. The coins also seemed less likely to be retained by collectors as opposed to the other denominations which feature rotating designs.

This new announcement will bring greater attention to the denominations, but no matter how much collector's scramble to acquire and hoard the coins, I still don't think they will be retained in numbers as large as the other denominations. Circulation strike cents, quarters, half dollars, and dollar coins from each mint and for every design have all been (or will be) sold by the US Mint in bags or rolls. Nickels and dimes are the only 2009 circulation strike coins that the US Mint will not offer for sale directly to collectors.

The 2009 nickels and dimes also do not appear to be showing up in banks or in circulation yet. For the past several months I have been watching eBay auctions and contacting roll sellers to see if I could locate the coins. So far, I have come up completely empty.

Has anyone found any 2009 Jefferson Nickels or Roosevelt Dimes?

2009 Kennedy Half Dollar Bags & Rolls

On January 22, 2009 at 12:00 Noon ET, the US Mint will begin sales of the 2009 Kennedy Half Dollar Bags and Rolls.

The rolls will be available in two-roll sets. The set will include one twenty-coin roll from the Philadelphia Mint and one twenty-coin roll from the Denver Mint. The price for the set will be $32.95, the same price as last year.

The bags will be available in 200-coin bags. Each bag contains 100 coins from the Philadelphia Mint and 100 coins from the Denver Mint. The price for the bags will be $130.95. This is also the same price as last year.

The US Mint has not yet posted product pages for these new offerings.

Related: Kennedy Half Dollars

2009 Native American Dollar Rolls

The US Mint will begin sales of 2009 Native American Dollar Rolls on January 15, 2009 at 12:00 Noon ET.

The offering will consist of 25-coin rolls of the new dollar coins from either the Philadelphia or Denver Mint. Each roll is wrapped in specially designed yellow and black US Mint branded paper. The rolls are priced at $35.95.

The individual product pages are already online, although sales options will not be available until the official start of sales.


Readers of this blog may recall that the US Mint has already begun selling rolls of Native American Dollars in a different format. On January 2, 2009, the US Mint began selling the coins through its Direct Ship Program. Through this program, the coins are available at face value with no charge for standard shipping.

The only differences between the Direct Ship Native American Dollars and upcoming rolls offering are the following:

1. With the upcoming roll program, you can purchase rolls individually. The Direct Ship Program requires you to order $250 or $500 worth of coins.
2. The roll program allows you choose coins from a specific Mint. The Direct Ship Program does not allow you to specify the Mint. In the past, I have received coins from the Philadelphia Mint.
3. The coins in the upcoming roll offering have "special" wrappers. The Direct Ship rolls have standard wrappers.
4. The coins in the upcoming roll offering are explicitly described as "never circulated." The Direct Ship rolls are described as "circulation grade." However, experience has proven that coins from both offerings are of equal quality.

In most cases I don't think these differences are worth the extra premium.

2008 Sacagawea Dollars Sold Out

The pace of sell outs at the US Mint continues to surprise me. Two coins that I recently mentioned as potential Sleeper Hits have sold out for most ordering options. Additionally, two bullion related products have gone on backorder, which recently has been a precursor to the official sell outs.

The sold out products include the following:

2008 Sacagawea Dollar 25-coin rolls- Philadelphia
2008 Sacagawea Dollar 25-coin rolls- Denver
2008 Sacagawea Dollar 250-coin bags- Philadelphia
2008 Sacagawea Dollar 250-coin bags- Denver
2008 Kennedy Half 200-coin bags (Philadelphia & Denver)

The recently backordered products include the following:

2008 Annual Uncirculated Dollar Coin Set
2008 Proof Gold Eagle 1 ounce individual coin

As written in my "sleeper hits" post, I see some good potential for the 2008 Sacagawea Dollars and 2008 Kennedy Halves. Business strikes for these coins were not minted for circulation and only sold in bags and rolls. Based on the most recent US Mint production figures, these coins will both have the lowest (business strike) mintages for each respective series. The 2008 Kennedy Half P&D Roll Set is the only option still available, but I think these will sell out soon.

Regarding the backordered products, so far the 2008-W Uncirculated and Proof Gold Eagles have taken a back seat to the excitement around the 2008-W Unc & Proof Gold Buffalo coins. With the Gold Buffaloes gone and the price of gold rising daily, I think there will be a pick up in interest for the Gold Eagles. I will be taking a closer look at the 2008-W Gold Eagles tomorrow.

Direct Ship Native American Dollars

The US Mint has announced the availability of the 2009 Native American Dollar under the Direct Ship Program. The coins can be ordered starting on January 2, 2009.

The US Mint's Direct Ship Program was launched in June 2008 as a way to remove barriers and improve circulation of dollar coins. Consumers and business are able to order quantities of 250 or 500 dollar coins directly from the US Mint at face value, with no additional charges for shipping. Traditionally, dollar coins have been distributed by the Federal Reserve Banks in bulk quantities to depository institutions. This bulk distribution may prevented some retailers and smaller banks from obtaining smaller quantities coins.

Coins ordered through the Direct Ship Program come in 25-coin rolls in bank style wrappers. The coins are not separated by mint mark and are "circulation grade." Based on experiences so far, the coins have been uncirculated. This makes the rolls very similar to those offered under the US Mint's Bags and Rolls Program. These coins are sold for a premium, but the only difference seems to be the US Mint branded packaging and the fact that you can order coins from a specific Mint.

The first dollar coin offered under the program was the John Quincy Adams Presidential Dollar. The offerings were later expanded to include all prior releases of the Presidential Dollar program, and subsequently the Andrew Jackson Presidential Dollar.

To date, the Martin Van Buren Presidential Dollar has not been offered under the program. Direct Ship rolls for John Quincy Adams and James Monroe are currently shown as unavailable on the US Mint's website.

2009 Native American Dollar Design Released

On Friday, The US Mint released the reverse design for the upcoming 2009 Native American Dollar.

The new series will feature the obverse design of the Sacagawea Dollar and rotating reverse designs which recognize the contributions and history of Native Americans. The reverse designs will be changed once per year. The coins will be issued for circulation each year, along with the four releases of the Presidential Dollar series. It will be required that at least 20% of all dollar coins minted each year will be Native American Dollar coins.

The design for 2009 features a Native American woman planting seeds in a field of corn, beans, and squash, representing the Three Sisters method of planting. The reverse was designed by Norman E. Nemeth and appears below.


Discuss the new Native American Dollar design on Coin Network.

2008 Sacagawea Dollar Bags and Rolls Officially Announced

The US Mint has now officially announced the availability and pricing of the 2008 Sacagawea Dollar Bags and Rolls. Coins will go on sale April 28, 2008 at 12:00 Noon ET. I had a previous post when the availability date was first known here.

The ordering options and pricing are as anticipated. The Sacagawea Dollars will be available in 25 coin rolls in official US Mint wrappers or 250 coin mint-sewn bags.

The 25-coin rolls are available from either Philadelphia or Denver Mints for $35.95 per roll. 250-coin Bags are available from either Philadelphia or Denver for $319.95 per bag.

You can view the Mint's product pages for the coins at the following locations:

• 2008-P Rolls
• 2008-D Rolls
• 2008-P Bags
• 2008-D Bags

In my opinion, this offering definitely is worth a look. The 2008 Sacagawea Dollars are not being struck for circulation so the rolls and bags from the US Mint will be the only way to obtain them. This will keep the mintage of the coins low.

(Note: 2008 Sacagawea Dollars will be contained in the annual mint and proof sets, but these will be different versions of the coin. Mint sets will contain a version with a satin finish. Proof sets will contain the proof version.)

Other factors may also come into play to keep initial interest in the coins low, which will result in lower mintages.

First, there was an initial delay for the offering that may have damped collector interest. The 2008 Sacagawea Dollars were first announced and scheduled for release in January, but were pulled when the Mint realized that they did not have the legal authority to produce and sell the coins.

Second, collectors may overlook this offering as it seems to be getting overshadowed by the Presidential Dollar series and the impending Native American Dollar series.