Performance of US Mint Gold Coins

Sales of US Mint gold coins slipped a little over 14% in the first half of 2011. The main reason for this was the soaring prices gold prices, experts said. The US Mint placed various Eagle gold coins weighing a total of 576,000 ounces in the retail market. Activity among gold traders and investors picked up towards the end of June.

The sales figures of US Mint gold coins for the first six months of 2011 were as follows:

• American Gold Buffalo 1 oz – 78,000
• American Gold Eagle 1 ounces – 503,500
• American Gold Eagle 1/2 ounces – 55,000
• American Gold Eagle 1/4 ounces – 64,000
• American Gold Eagle 1/10 ounces – 250,000

US Mint Gold Coins: Julia Grant First Spouse

The US Mint debuted the 2011 September 11 National Medal and the Julia Grant First Spouse Gold Coins, both of which performed well in the market. The US Mint reported that 50,998 orders were placed for the 2011 September 11 National Medals within ten days of the release of the coin on June 20. Among the collection are coins with the West Point "W" mint mark, which have proved to be the most popular. Sales of these were recorded at 33,046. Sales of the medals with the "P" mint mark (produced in Philadelphia) reached 17,952.

The US Mint launched the Julia Grant First Spouse Gold Coins on June 23. The debut sales, i.e. sales from June 23 through June 26, reached 2,598, with ordered for 1,581 proofs and 1,017 of the uncirculated Julia Grant First Spouse Gold Coins. These debut sales figures compare favorably with the figures recorded for the previous First Spouse Gold Coin debut. The sales figures for the Eliza Johnson First Spouse Gold Coins, launched on May 5, 2011, stood at 2,108. The debut sales of the Julia Grant First Spouse Gold Coins were also higher than the First Spouse Gold Coin debut sales in the same period a year earlier. The debut sales of the Jane Pierce First Spouse Gold Coins, launched on June 3, 2010, stood at 2,434.

First Spouse US Mint Gold Coins

The United States issues the First Spouse coins to honor the nation’s first spouses. These US mint gold coins are one-half ounce $10 gold coins and feature the image of the first spouses in the order that their husbands served as President. The schedule of issuing these First Spouse coins is the same as that of the Presidential $1 coins, which the US Mint issues to honor the nation’s Presidents. In 2011, the US Mint issued four First Spouse Gold Coins, featuring Lucy Hayes, Lucretia Garfield, Eliza Johnson and Julia Grant.

The obverse of these First Spouse Gold Coins feature the first spouses, along with their names, the order and years in which they served as the first spouse. The obverse of the coins also bears the year of minting or issuance as well as the words “In God We Trust” and “Liberty”. The reverse of the coins have unique design each time, featuring something related to the life and work of the spouse. The reverse also has the words “The United States of America” and $10, 1/2 OZ. and .9999 Fine Gold.

For Presidents who have served without a first spouse, the US Mint issues a gold coin with the emblematic image of Liberty, while the reverse features something related to the life and work of that President’s life.

For cases when a President has more than one wife during his service, the US Mint has issued two First Spouse coins. The Julia Grant First Spouse Coins issued in June 2011 was an example of such a coin. Julia Grant was the second wife of John Tyler, whose first wife Letitia passed away died during his term as President.