2010 America the Beautiful Quarters Circulating and Uncirculated Coin Sets

The two remaining "new" product types for the America the Beautiful Quarters Program were recently released by the United States Mint.

The circulating coin set was released last week on November 19, and the uncirculated coin set was released November 23. These two products, along with the Hot Springs Three Coin Set released on November 17, comprise the three new products that the US Mint has been touting since May.

As discussed in earlier posts, these products seem to contain various America the Beautiful Quarters that are available through other products, such as bags and rolls or the annual sets. The coins are remixed into different sets, with packaging designs representing the US Mint's new brand promise and identity.

The 2010 America the Beautiful Circulating Coin Set contains one "circulating" coin each from the Philadelphia and Denver Mint for each of the five quarter designs released this year. The ten coins are placed into packaging, which allows the quarters to be easily removed for placement into other albums or boards. Sets are priced at $9.95 each.

Released today, the 2010 America the Beautiful Uncirculated Coin Set contains one "uncirculated" coin each from the Philadelphia and Denver mints for the five 2010 quarters. In the past, the US Mint has used the term "uncirculated" to refer to the satin finish used for Mint Sets from 2005 to 2010. The ten uncirculated coins are placed into a folder designed with the new branding. These sets are priced at $21.95 each.

The release of these product types reminds of late 2007 and early 2008, when the US Mint rapidly launched a slew of new products for the Presidential Dollars series. This included separate uncirculated coin sets from the Philadelphia and Denver Mints ($8.95 each), a combined uncirculated coin set from both mints ($15.95), individual proof coins mounted on pocket sized cards ($5.95 each), Presidential $1 Coin & First Spouse Medal Sets (originally $7.95 each), Annual Uncirculated Dollar Coin Sets (originally $31.95 each), and Historical Signature Sets ($19.95).

Ultimately, the individual mint uncirculated coin sets, individual proof coins, and historical signature sets were discontinued, and the annual uncirculated dollar set has been canceled for two years running. Only the combined uncirculated coin set and the Presidential $1 Coin & First Spouse Medal Sets remain. The US Mint also eliminated the 250-coin bags that were initially available for each Presidential Dollar.

Will there be a similar whittling down of America the Beautiful Quarters products if the present releases fail to resonate with collectors?

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