WARNING: First Spouse collectors

It is a bit scary to think that people are putting tens of thousands of dollars into first spouse gold on the basis of low mintages. When the program stops and the after market has popped up do not be surprised if the mint pulls a bunch of the low mintage dates out of the vault and killes the value of your investment.

http://mintnewsblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/2009-formative-years-two-roll-sets-back.html

 

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I don't see this as being a big deal... it's still 2009 and the mint figures they can make a ton of money selling more 2009 coins... I seriously doubt they put the older First spouse coins up (which were available for a full year). Don't really see this news as being applicable to First Spouse coins at all.

 

I have looked at them as bullion only, and have purchased them as such. Not very often, but they do on occasion make their way to my table and used in trade.

I consider no modern coin rare or scarce, not with the mintage these days. The scarcity only exists in the hype, not the coinage.

Spouse gold is MS70 shmeventy to me. Same thing. Hype.

An interesting series to collect no doubt, but dont fall into the raritys game like the Panda folks did.........

 

I agree. I don't this this will be an issue for the FS coins.

 

Sure it is. They will still have the legal right to sell up to 40K of each design. If the after market price is based on sub-5K mintage, that will certainly kill value.

http://mintnewsblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/full-list-of-us-mints-last-chance-sale.html
this link is from 2008 and look at the number and dates of those producte they offered. They go back to 1999 (almost a decade). There are hundreds of products offered here, it is naive to discount the possibility that such a sale will happen again.

 

I still disagree that the article is applicable to the First Spouse series. Based on your post, do you think the Mint could bring back any coin that hasn't sold out its maximum mintage?? how about the Jackie Robinson gold commems or the Atlantic olympic gold coins or any other commemorative coin issued in the past 20 years or so that sells at a decent premium?? just not sure why you pick on only the collectors of the First Spouse series with your WARNING??? just seems to be a lot of haters of the series, which is fine i guess, because there is also a lot of hype as Jack pointed out.

I don't remember them selling 2003 nickels in 2008, but I remember the Mint sold some mint sets from a few years ago earlier this year in their inventory liquidation sale. But not enough to have any significant impact on the market price. Similarly, the coins listed in the link you provided are just a bunch of business strike coins, 50 state quarters collectibles and a few annual mint/proof sets. But has the Mint ever started reselling a commemorative coin after it has been made unavailable??? I don't think so.

It seems that your WARNING regarding the First Spouse series also suggests that the Mint may have already minted the full 40,000 run of coins and has them in storage right now waiting for a theoretical future sale. With the price of gold and the demand for the gold planchets, that seems doubtful. And I can't imagine them pulling the dies out of storage in a few years to start minting up more of them... they'll be too busy working on the two Wilson Spouses and the rest of this seemingly neverending series.

That said, there is always a possiblity the Mint will start reselling any coin that hasn't sold out its maximum mintage, but that seems to be a very very remote possibility in the case of the First Spouse coins, and I find it far from naive to discount this possiblity since to my knowledge the Mint doesn't bring back any old commemoratives for sale.

In any event, while I agree that there is a lot of hype surrounding this series and their relatively low mintages (aka low sales), there is also a ton of haters out there that seem to get off on bashing this series any chance they can get. I'm collecting this series so far because I like gold and I like the designs on them, pretty much that simple... seems like a win-win. And if some of them end up being low mintage coins, then that is fine with me as well.

I do agree that it's risky for folks not really interested in the series to buy the lower mintage ones just because they are low mintage, not because I think it's a reasonable possiblity the Mint will make more in the future, but because I think there's a reasonable possiblity that there will never ever be great demand for the coins, even the ones with low mintage as there will be likely many of them with low mintages.

 

Question: What would make you think the Mint would tie up "material" (i.e. Gold Bullion) in "inventory form" (i.e. Coins)?

Surely after the year is gone, that they'd remelt the unsold mintage back and mint fresh new coins.

 

They would look half as smart and cunning if gold was dropping like a rock.

Somebody tells you he know where the price is going, RUN.

 

Well said.........:thumb:

 

Well, I have not been around long and I know it is still a 2009 coin, but what about the new Lincoln comm?? They sucker sold out earlier this year and has been selling at a premium, now the mint is about to offer it again with the pennies in the "chronicles" set or whatever they call it...

Not saying it would happen with the spouses, but I wouldn't put it past them...

 

I got a Lincoln after "sell out".

 

Good analysis. I agree.

 

The Mint held back 50,00 to go with the new cents, this has been known since the first of 09. You sound like chicken little, if you collect, so what if the sky falls, if you invest, then I suggest you get into collecting first.

 

It looks like they are starting to bring back spouses that we thought were off the market. The Jackson unc went back on sale.

http://catalog.usmint.gov/webapp/wc...ctId=14602&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=41505

 

So far the last three have mintages under jackie Robinson, but with gold going higher I think mintages can drop even further now.

 

ArizonaJack,

What was the deal with the pandas?

 

Don't they mint these to demand? They probably estimate the initial demand, in this case maybe the mint 5K or 10K, if they don't sell then I could see bringing the left over back but I certainly don't think they make the full limit and I certainly don't think they will be making more a year or more from now.

 

This should concern spouse collectors. The mint are doing exactly what I said they would.

 

I spoke with the mint last night (they forgot my coa on a spouse coin), the lady said that they would "get a coa from a coin in the warehouse". They clearly do not mint these as they go.

 

Looks Sold Out to me, must have sold out early today.