Always a great selection of U.S. collector coins

November 2006

2007 DOLLAR DESIGNS GO ON DISPLAY

Designs for the four Presidential dollar coins to be issued during 2007 will be unveiled at a November 20 ceremony at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. Following review and recommendations of potential designs by the Commission of Fine Arts and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, final selections have been made by Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr.

Pursuant to Public Law 109-145, which was enacted by Congress and signed by President Bush in late 2005, a dollar coin for each deceased former President of the U.S. will be issued in the order in which they served at the rate of four coins per year. The Statue of Liberty will appear on the reverse side of each Presidential dollar. Various inscriptions normally appearing on the obverse or reverse side of U.S. coins will instead appear on the edge. These include the date and mintmark and the phrases E PLURIBUS UNUM and IN GOD WE TRUST.

Presidential dollars will be the same size, weight and manganese-brass alloy as the Sacagawea dollar. The Sacagawea dollar was introduced in 2000 but has not been released into circulation through the Federal Reserve Bank system since 2001. The legislation authorizing Presidential dollars requires that Sacagawea dollars continue to be struck each year to provide one-third of the total dollar coin mintage.

The George Washington dollar will be released on or about February 16, 2007. Tentative dates for release of the John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison dollars are May 18, August 17 and November 16, 2007, respectively.

CURRENT SPECIAL

Through November 22, prices have been further reduced on a dozen great books covering U.S. and world coins, paper money and tokens. Take advantage of this sale to add to your numismatic library or to save on a sure to be appreciated gift for the collector on your holiday shopping list. The specific books and their sale prices are posted on our Current Special page.

2007 AMERICAN EAGLES AND BUFFALOES

Each fall we receive inquiries about the availability of gold and silver American Eagles and other coins with the next year's date. By law, the U.S. Mint cannot ship coins dated in the future. It does begin striking coins in advance and typically begins shipments of uncirculated gold and silver American Eagles on the first business day of each year.

For the first time in the history of the program, the U.S. Mint began selling uncirculated American Eagles directly to the public during 2006 (see the September and October issues of our newsletter). These coins have a 'W' mintmark, are individually packaged, and are priced at a considerable premium above the value of the precious metal they contain. While similar collector versions may eventually be offered during 2007, we anticipate the Mint will also continue to sell "bullion" American Eagles in bulk quantities through its authorized purchaser network. It's likely that 24 karat gold buffaloes (which were introduced during 2006) will again be available during 2007 in at least the one ounce size and may also be introduced in smaller sizes.

Authorized purchasers will place orders for 2007 dated U.S. bullion coins that can be picked up on January 2, 2007. Like other dealers, we purchase these coins from one or more of the approximately 20 authorized distributors. We usually receive our first shipment of the new year's silver eagles by January 10 and our first shipment of gold eagles not long thereafter.

Because bullion coin prices are tied to the spot prices of the precious metals they contain, which sometimes change dramatically over the course of a few days, we will begin quoting prices and accepting orders for 2007 bullion coins only after we've locked in prices with one of the authorized distributors, which will occur in mid to late December. If you're interested in 2007 silver eagles, gold eagles and/or gold buffaloes, please check our web sites for price quotes at that time.

Sales of proofs and possibly other collector versions of American Eagles and Buffaloes, which can be purchased directly from the U.S. Mint, will begin later in the year.

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