If you mean the US Mint's Platinum American Eagles, they haven't announced the 2005 series yet. At their site the 2004 set is listed at $2,495, a $205 discount from purchasing the four coins individually. For this type of struck bullion, the after-market price normally hovers in the range of bullion value+/-10%. I'm not a bullion investor, but I've never heard of any particular premium for "first strikes". If I'm wrong, I'm sure someone will correct me.
The U.S. Mint produces a series of platinum coins with the official name "American Eagle", in 1, 1/2, 1/4, and 1/10 troy ounce sizes. The obverse has a large head of the Statue of Libertty with the date, the word "LIBERTY", and the motto "IN GOD WE TRUST". On the reverse an eagel with outstretched wings is flying away from the sun, under the legend 'UNITED STATES OF AMERICA", with additional legends of ".9995 PLATINUM" and the weight. At the bottom is the nominal denomination, $100, $50, $25 or $10. Those are the coins referred to in my original response. They have been produced since 1997 at the Philadelphia Mint (issued as uncirculated coins singly, and available through selected dealers only) and at the West Point Mint (issued as proof coins singly and as sets, available directly from the mint through its website). If that is not a description of the coins your wife has, then hers are the product of a private mint, worth the current bullion value of their platinum content +/- 10%, with perhaps a small additional discount as they lack the government's assurance of content. A Google search turns up numerous dealers in bullion coins such as the Platinum American Eagles. They all tell you to contact them for pricing, which is based on the fluctuating bullion value of the gold, silver or platinum content. Platinum closed today (2/9/05) at $851/oz., down $6 from yesterday. The Mint prices for proofs are significantly higher than their bullion value. TV and mazazine ads to the contrary notwithstanding, there is no numismatic premium for so-called "first strike" coins, especially in view of the small mintages, and since there is no way to determine what order any particular coin was struck in.
