 |
| 2012-W Alice Paul Specimen Coin |
When, in 2007, the Presidential Dollar coin made its
debut, it was greeted with considerable enthusiasm by coin collectors and the
public in general – not as a replacement for the lighter, foldable dollar bill,
as the Treasury Department had hoped, but as a new and interesting coin
series. The new dollar coins were the
same size and color as the already familiar Sacagawea dollars. Neither the Sacagawea/Native American nor
Presidential Dollars achieved the hoped for wide circulation to replace the
more expensive dollar bills. Still, a
great many people were interested in this new coin series honoring past United
States Presidents.
Many casual and serious numismatists have been collecting
Presidential dollar coins since the first George Washington coins were
released. But the new coins never became
widely circulated among the general public.
Hundreds of millions of these coins are still languishing in warehouses,
waiting for public demand that may never come.
In 2011, as part of a Federal government cost cutting initiative, the
Treasury Department stopped minting Presidential Dollar coins for
circulation. Today, Presidential Dollars
are minted in smaller numbers for the numismatic market. Many collectors and investors remain
enthusiastic about each new issue.
That same level of interest has been decidedly lacking
for the Presidential Spouse gold coins.
This is in part attributable to the much higher cost of adding First
Spouse gold coins to a collection.
Current prices for a number of First Spouse coins are in the $1,750 -
$2,000 range. Examples of the 2009-W
Julia Tyler with a PCGS certified grade of MS-70, currently the most costly
coin in this series, demand around $2,400 - $2,600. This premium pricing is heavily influenced by
how few coins were minted and sold for some issues. In the case of the Julia Tyler coins, many
collectors had already bought the Letitia Tyler coin, and didn’t budget for the
coin honoring President John Tyler’s second wife. While the first year of
issue, 2007, started out strong, with total sales in the 17,000 - 19,000 plus
range for each of the four spouse coins issued, these sales levels were never
again approached. In the most recent
years, some coins have sold-out with total sales less than 3,000 – by any
standard, this assures that many of the Presidential Spouse gold coins will be rare
in future years.
Each coin is minted of one-half troy ounce of pure gold
(99.99% pure). The face value of $10
means that Presidential Spouse coins are United States legal tender, which may
have implications for how these coins are viewed in an investment portfolio. First Spouse coins are minted in a proof strike
and a special collectors’ uncirculated strike (a “specimen” coin). Experience since 2007 has been that proof
coins minted and sold exceed specimen coins for each issue. While the proof coins are considered by many
to be more attractive, this makes the specimen coins more valuable over time,
since fewer are available. The specimen
coins have a beautiful, satin finish that we find very attractive.
If you decide to collect these rare, U. S. legal tender
gold coins, don’t overlook the coins in MS-69 and PR69DCAM condition (Mint
State 69 for specimen coins and proof 69 deep cameo for proof strikes). The price appreciation for the 69 grade coins
is strong, as well, and one can build a complete set for significantly less
than an all 70’s set. We wouldn’t invest
in anything graded less than 69, and, perhaps it goes without saying, we would
be sure to avoid any coins that have not been graded by one of the reputable large,
third-party grading & certification services. (A good rule of thumb is, if ebay doesn’t
recognize a grading service, neither will we.)
We believe that Presidential First Spouse gold coins are
an under-appreciated and often overlooked opportunity for building a valuable
United States series coin collection.
The prices are influenced somewhat by the precious metals market prices
for gold. However, since these are rare,
numismatic quality coins, they do not move in lockstep with the gold
market. Just as prices for rare Lincoln
cents have no relationship to the market price for copper or bronze, rare
numismatic gold coins will generally have little in common with the spot price
for gold bullion. In our opinion, First
Spouse gold coins have all the ingredients for continuing price appreciation
without regard to the precious metals market for gold bullion. This may make these coins a super investment
for the longer term.
(Disclosure: We collect Presidential First Spouse golf
coins for our personal collection. We
also sell First Spouse gold coins through our online stores at www.okranchcoins.com and www.coinsjewelrymore.com as
well as direct to customers that contact us via email to okranch1@yahoo.com .)
