How about $21 for a fifty cent piece that contains less than a dollars worth of base metal. Stooopid too, right? But we collectors do it all of the time......
Don't know if you were around for these back in 2003, but ya might want to check them out. No longer available at the mint but they can be had at certain auction venues........ http://news.coinupdate.com/national-wildlife-refuge-system-centennial-medals-1442/
SportsDen - I completely agree! My criticism was for the one dollar coin. The half and $5 coins are pretty nice. I would have liked the $5 Gold coin even more if they had not included John Muir. Also, for anyone who really likes the $1, I'm happy for them. There's always plenty of room for other opinions. The last commemorative that I really loved was the 1994 Prisoner of War issue (obverse). I've sort of gotten to a point where I don't really expect stellar designs from the US Mint, and they, very rarely, fail to meet my, very low, expectations. Like Pere, I don't like the numerical dollar that seem to be seeing more, and more of. I also wanted to say WELCOME to CoinTalk. Glad you're here! Jack
Usually, all commems go on sale at ALL US Mint retail counters on Day 1, as well as at Mint HQ sales counter in DC.