US Mint 2009 Lincoln Cent "Professional Life" Two Roll Sets

To round off coverage of the next 2009 Lincoln Cent release, here's a look at the US Mint's offering for the 2009 Lincoln Cent "Professional Life" Two Roll Sets.

The product includes one roll of 50 coins from the Philadelphia Mint and one roll of 50 coins from the Denver Mint that have "never been circulated". The rolls are packaged in custom US Mint wrappers that indicate the design and mint of the coins.

The coins will officially go on sale August 13, 2009 at 12:00 Noon ET. Each roll set is priced at $8.95 and the US Mint has indicated an ordering limit of 5 per household. The product page is already available on the US Mint's website here.

On the release date for the prior two roll set featuring the Formative Years design, the US Mint's website was slowed to a crawl and became inaccessible for many. Collectors were rushing to place orders after the unexpected sell out of the first two roll set. The Birthplace design had sold out in less than two weeks with a sales total of 100,000 units (later adjusted to 96,000). The Birthplace Two Roll Sets quickly began selling for high premiums on the secondary market and still fetch about $100 per set. (current eBay auctions)

This quick sell out for the first Two Roll Set created the assumption that only the same number of sets would be available for the second release. This turned out not to be the case. Well over 100,000 Formative Years sets were sold from the release date through the opening weekend. The sets still remain on sale and have sold 297,520 units and counting.

The US Mint has not confirmed the total quantity that will be available for the Professional Life sets other than indicating that they are available "for a limited time only." Based on their treatment of the prior release and other similar offerings, it seems likely that the Professional Life Sets will remain on sale until the next design is released, making the low run for the first design a one time occurrence.

On a related note, it seems likely that sales of the Formative Years Sets will end on August 13 to coincide with the release of the next design.