US Mint News Quick Updates

I was away for a quick two day vacation, and in my absence there have been a few US Mint related news items. This post will summarize these items before the Labor Day weekend.

2009 Uncirculated Mint Set

The release date for the 2009 Mint Set has just been posted as October 1, 2009. The preliminary price for the set is $27.95, an increase of $5 from the prior year. This set contains a total of 36 uncirculated (satin finish) coins from the Philadelphia and Denver Mints. A notable highlight will be the 2009-P and 2009-D Lincoln Cents for each of the four designs. These coins will be struck in a special composition of 95% copper.

The Mint Set has typically been released much earlier in the year (last year's release was July 30, 2008). This year, the US Mint delayed the release to resolve "unique tarnish issues" for the 95% copper Lincoln Cents.

First Spouse Gold Coins

As expected, the Sarah Polk First Spouse Gold Coins went on sale yesterday. The coins were priced at $654 for the proof version and $641 for the uncirculated version. The release of the coins followed a price increase for all of the US Mint's current gold numismatic products.

Also as expected, sales of the uncirculated version of Andrew Jackson's Liberty Gold Coin ended on Thursday. The proof version had sold out more than two weeks beforehand. The latest sales statistics indicate that 4,754 uncirculated coins and 7,806 proof coins sold. The figure for the uncirculated version probably does not take into account sales from the final few days. These numbers are both above the sales levels of the prior Louisa Adams coins.

2009 Lincoln Cents

The Formative Years Two Roll Sets (LP2) have sold out once again. The coins had initially been offered from May 14, 2009 to August 12, 2009 with a sales tally of 300,000. Order cancellations and invalid credit card numbers had reduced the actual number of rolls sold, so the US Mint to put the coins back on sale for the past three weeks.

Separately, the first sales figure for the 2009 Lincoln Cent Proof Set has been reported at 66,350. This separate set containing only the four 2009 Proof Lincoln Cents went on sale August 26, 2009 priced at $7.95. These four Lincoln Cents were already available within the 2009 Proof Set and 2009 Silver Proof Set.

John & Julia Tyler Presidential Dollar Coin & Medal Set

A reader has reported in comments that a Presidential Dollar Coin & First Spouse Medal Set for Julia Tyler has been received with a packaging error similar to the one reported for some Letitia Tyler Sets. This time around, the sets have the Julia Tyler medal affixed to a display card with a portrait of Letitia Tyler.

This is now the third "same last name spouse mix up" from the US Mint. The first was the Abigail Adams/Louisa Adams Medal mule error. The second and third are the Letitia Tyler medal/Julia Tyler card and the Julia Tyler medal/Letitia Tyler card packaging mistakes.