first spouse prediction

no 2012's will be made available- they will push it through congress or something (maybe find a loophole) but they will not roll with the 2012's. The last 2011 (Lucretia Garfield) is taking a long time to ship; the 2012's are not on the schedule; this thing is over - stick a fork in it.

 

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While I appreciated the fact we had a coin series not about dead presidents, this series was nearly as bad. I cannot help to think there were 40 American women more deserving of being on a coin rather than a series of women whose primary achievement was who they married.

 

so will Garfield be the key?

 

Sounds very possible. I mean, what's worse than coins with government officials' heads on them? Coins with Their wives' heads on them. The whole idea is a bit silly to me.

 

I always found it strange that the first lady got the gold coin while the presidents got some strange alloy that turned an ugly brown very quickly.

 

If marriage is a partnership, then I would say the 40 presidents they were married to, would have never made it to that position without a lot of sacrifice from these women.

I find the First Spouse coins particularly interesting because they explore a part of the White House history that is rarely talked about. Each of these coins are reminders of a bit of Americana and from that perspective do what coins are suppose to do beyond being just a currency token. That is, give us a link to the place they are from.

It's fascinating that so many coin collectors have cast huge disgust at these coins such as calling them fuglies, uglies, etc and routinely predicting their demise yet I don't understand why any collector would wish for "less" selection from the mint. Simply don't collect them if you don't want them and if you you want the mint to make something else, then petition your congressman or senator to push for whatever series floats your boat. We all have that ability to influence what the mint produces. This is exactly how the First Spouse coin series came into being in the first place.

IMO, this series will not be canceled.

 

Does anyone know for sure if they are required by law to make these? It is possible that the mint purchased the gold blanks before the recent plunge in PM prices, and is waiting for it to rebound so to maximize profits. TC

 

I think the series would have been more popular if the coins weren't so ugly. It wasn't the subject matter that hurt them as much as the design. As things stand, they are second rate bullion coins.

 

I'd have to say I generally agree, but can say that some of these women did do good things while they're husbands were in office. Most were complete failures for sure or did absolutely nothing (well, I'd say when one boasted they're primary and favorite job was to just plan the expensive parties at the White House, I can just think of more productive things the First Spouse could do).

I think they'll complete the series since it's started already (just weird to end something almost in the middle to make a series incomplete), but something like this, they should have made it very limited, say 5000 instead of the 15,000 mintage numbers.

 

They are required by law.

 

I agree like Martha Washington and Dolly Madison, but the point is they weren't even IN office. They just happened to be married to a man in office. If I were a woman I would find it insulting to be honoring women solely based on who they were married to versus their own achievements. Harriett Beecher Stowe, Amelia Earhart, etc all deserve to be on a coin far more than any of these women.

I hope this doesn't sound sexist, as I believe its the complete opposite. I think its sexist to have wives on coins, and not honor all of the great women of this country based upon their own merits instead. Plus, its just another series honoring the political elite of this country.

 

It probably would have been more productive to send this opinion to your congressman & Senator BEFORE the bill was signed into law. I might be wrong but I seem to remember there was some period where the public could give input to the general program that authorized these coins. It's probably too late to let them know how you feel now.

 

I did, just sharing now with CT.

Point taken.

I doubt they will stop the program now, as it would probably now be seen as sexist to do so. Maybe the point about price of gold is the real reason for the delay.

 

A number of these coins have offered a considerable return on investment for their owners. A graded Julia Tyler (2009) proof for example sells for ~$1900 when you can find one. This coin originally issued by the mint for $629 just 3 years ago. For "second rate bullion coin" this is a 202% return during that time. I'll take this anytime.

 

Just for clarity, though, you say graded. What grade? Also, shouldn't you consider, if you are talking about the price of a 70, the fact you could have sent it in and gotten a lesser grade?

Also, how much of that price appreciation is gold value versus numismatic? Was gold similar pricing then?

 

Oh I would never send a coin to be graded. It's a bad gamble of my time & money. But I'm not opposed to buying one already graded especially if it is a lower grade and I can get the metal in it for spot price or less. The trick with modern coins is to get it already slabbed during the period when the mint is still issuing the coin. It's a huge damper on the price and it lets someone else take all the risk.

I bought a PF 70 Julia Tyler for $735 from a mail order coin dealer, mid 2010. There was nothing spectacular about this at this time because they were readily available. I believe the gold value at the time was $615 or so. Today the gold value is around $800.

So for a $1900 coin this means $185 was gold value appreciation and $980 numismatic appreciation. So for the 2 years I've had this coin, I've see 159% appreciation. Not bad for 2 years. I'll take it any time.

 

I agree. Thank you for the clarification.

 

they are slooooow on shipping these out- slower than I have ever seen. Also they are months behind schedule. Something big is up with these. I sincerely doubt that we will see any 2012's and they will probably cut all 2011's this summer.

 

The first two, Washinton, Adams had NO purchase limits and sold out quickly.
The $415/$435 cost was "chicken feed" as the 70s sold for $2,000-$3,500+.

THEN......the Mint put a 1 per address limit on the Jefferson. After these sold out in a few weeks the series went down hill fast. What happened was the limit of 1 per address showed the true # of collectors. The Washington and Adams had no limits and were gobbled up by flippers causing a false demand. Gold prices and not so great designs also contributed to their low mintages. I think the collectors of these will do well in years to come...low MS mintages will help.

I don't own any of the gold ones but I do have the POOR MANS version...


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Uncirculated Proof Total
2007 Martha Washington 20,000 20,000 40,000
2007 Abigail Adams 20,000 20,000 40,000
2007 Thomas Jefferson's Liberty 20,000 20,000 40,000
2007 Dolley Madison 12,541 18,355 30,896