The Coin Collecting Den

The US Mint has released a preliminary product schedule for 2010. Currently, exact dates have been set for three 2010-dated products: Northern Mariana Islands Official First Day Coin Cover, 2010 Native American $1 Coin Rolls, and 2010 Kennedy Half-Dollar Bag and Two-Roll Set. The remaining products have release dates listed by month.

The preliminary schedule includes most of the same core products that were offered last year with the new 2010-dated coins. This includes quarter bags and rolls for the new America the Beautiful Quarter series, dollar rolls, coin covers, the Presidential Dollar and First Spouse Medal sets, and the usual annual sets. Also included are the 2010 First Spouse Gold coins and bronze medals.

The 2010 Proof Platinum Eagle is listed on the schedule with a release date of August. The US Mint has shown that they are more committed to the collectible Platinum Eagle offering than other collectible precious metals coins. The proof Platinum Eagle is in the midst of a six year “Foundations of American Democracy” reverse design series.

The collectible 2010 Gold and Silver Eagles and proof Gold Buffalo coins are not listed in the schedule. The US Mint has links to information on the availability of the coins, but these just lead to the product pages with the previously released information on the 2009 coins

The Mint has released production figures for circulating coins through November 2009. Total production for the month was only 76.06 million coins, a decrease of nearly 80% from October and the lowest production in years.

These figures include the final mintages for the Zachary Taylor Presidential Dollar and the Northern Mariana Islands quarter. Only Lincoln cents, Presidential Dollars, and NMI quarters were produced during November. Cents and dollars were produced at the Philadelphia Mint, while the Denver Mint produced cents and quarters.

The table below shows coin production for both November and year to date.

November 2009 US Mint Coin Production Figures

Three denominations (Lincoln cents, Presidential dollars, quarters) featured multiple reverse designs that rotated over the course of the year. The table below breaks down the total production figures for the year by reverse design. Of note: It has not yet been confirmed if production of the Lincoln cent Presidency design has ended, so the table only lists totals for the first three Lincoln cent designs. By subtracting the totals for these first three designs from the totals through November given above, possible mintages for the Presidency Cent come in at 198.00 million Denver Mint coins and 129.60 million Philadelphia Mint coins, assuming no further production in December. These totals are substantially less than the first three designs.

So you’re interested in starting a coin collection? Great! Collecting can be a fascinating, and potentially profitable, lifelong hobby. But for many would be collectors, including myself, while the spirit is willing, the wallet is weak. In this post, I’m beginning a series on ways to get into the coin collecting game on the cheap.

One popular and easy way to start collecting coins is the U.S. State quarters. This series began in 1999 and continues through the end of 2008, with each state getting its own unique design. In 2009, six additional quarter designs were released for Washington D.C. and the US territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the US Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

The US quarters set is a great way to start for several reasons.

• Since the quarters were introduced in the order of states joining the Union, they are a great educational opportunity for kids to learn about the 50 states, as well as the often overlooked territories.
• The quarters are recent, so they are all in circulation. This makes them much easier to find compared to older collectibles. A quick search of your change or a roll of quarters from your bank is all you need to start!
• While easy to start, there are still enough different quarters to collect that the set won’t be completed in a day or two. Part of the enjoyment of collecting is finally finding the piece to complete a set, and collecting all 56 designs will take long enough to feel satisfying!
• Budget: 56 quarters is only $14. Double that to $28 if you decide to collect one from both the Denver and Philadelphia mints. Add a few more dollars for a nice folder to keep them all in, and you’ve started a great new hobby for less than $40!

US quarters are only one way to get started collecting on a budget. My next post will cover another great beginner set: the Presidential Dollars.

The Mint launched the US Virgin Islands quarter on Friday with a ceremony on the island of St. Thomas. The reverse design includes: an outline of the territory’s three major islands; the Bananaquit, the official bird of the United States Virgin Islands; the Yellow Cedar or Yellow Elder, its official flower; and a Tyre Palm Tree.  Inscriptions on the coin’s reverse are U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS and United in Pride and Hope. The Virgin Islands quarter is the fifth of six in the series of US territories and Washington, D.C. The sixth and final design, honoring the Northern Mariana islands will be released in late November.

If the previous four issues in the series are any indication, this will be another tough one to find in circulation, at least for a while. Total mintage of 82 million ties the American Samoa quarter for lowest production this year, less than half of the 172 million Washington, D.C. quarters produced to begin the series.