Prices Likely to Increase for First Spouse Coins

Prices for the United States Mint's First Spouse Gold Coins are likely to rise tomorrow, based on the latest available gold price data. Under the US Mint's current policy, gold coin prices may be adjusted weekly if the calculated weekly average price of gold moves across pricing threshholds set at $50 increments.

The average price of gold is calculated based on the London Fix gold prices from the prior Thursday AM to the current Wednesday AM. The prices for this period are shown below. Note that Monday was a UK bank holiday.

Thurs AM, Apr 29	1,170.00
Thurs PM, Apr 29	1,166.75
Fri AM, Apr 30	1,175.25
Fri PM, Apr 30	1,179.25
Mon AM, May 3	N/A
Mon PM, May 3	N/A
Tue AM, May 4	1,184.25
Tue PM, May 4	1,185.00
Wed AM, May 5	?

The average of the above prices comes to $1,176.75. Although one more price remains, it is highly likely that the final average will remain above the $1,150 mark, which will result in higher prices.

The proof versions of the First Spouse Gold Coins would increase from $729 to $754 and the uncirculated versions would increase from $716 to $741. Price changes are usually made around mid-morning on Wednesday.

After the increase, prices will be back to their highest levels ever. Coins were previously priced at these levels from late November to mid-December and then for a one week period in mid-April.

Although the First Spouse Gold Coins are not as popular as some of the US Mint's traditional collector gold coins, the series has developed a following of collectors who are often focused on the extremely low mintages. Some collectors have also taken focus on the "Liberty subset" of the series. This consists of four coins issued for Presidents who served without a spouse, which feature classic coin designs from the era in which each President served. The last coin in the subset will be issued this year for James Buchanan.

The latest sales figures for the available First Spouse Gold Coins are shown below. A full US Mint sales report is available on Coin Update News.

Letitia Tyler Proof	5,078
Letitia Tyler Uncirculated	3,164
Julia Tyler Proof	4,713
Julia Tyler Uncirculated	2,779
Sarah Polk Proof	4,545
Sarah Polk Uncirculated	2,721
Margaret Taylor Proof	3,607
Margaret Taylor Uncirculated	2,168
Abigail Fillmore Proof	3,827
Abigail Fillmore Uncirculated	2,140

Sales activity from the latest week shows that buyers have been focused on the uncirculated Letitia Tyler coins, uncirculated Margaret Taylor coins, and both versions of the Abigail Fillmore coins.

The Letitia Tyler coins will be the next coins to go off-sale at the US Mint. Generally, the Mint has ended sales of the oldest coin once a newer coin is released. This year the procedure may have to be altered since there were five releases during 2009, rather than the typical four. The next coin in the series featuring Jane Pierce is expected to go on sale in June.

The Margaret Taylor coins may be attracting attention as a possible low mintage point for the series. As of last week, sales levels for the more recently released Abigail Fillmore coins exceeded total sales of the Margaret Taylor coins. A strong week for the Taylor coins has narrowed the gap and put the uncirculated version back ahead.