A new line of Presidential $1 Coin products are in store for 2012 while all but one of the existing products will have their prices lowered. (Jump to table of Presidential product changes.)
The news comes from a document the United States Mint had published Friday on the Federal Register, the official source for notices by government agencies.
Ranging from $1 to $7, price reductions include the dollar-filled medal sets, coin covers, proof set and uncirculated set.
Added products include options for ordering the dollars in bags and boxes in quantities of $100, $250, and $500. These were likely added to help in distributing the coins to collectors since new issues will no longer be available through Federal Reserve Banks, and thus local banks and stores. Promoted as a part of President Obama’s Campaign to Cut Government Waste, Treasury Secretary Geithner in December had the U.S. Mint halt circulating dollar production since $1.4 billion of them have been stockpiled in Federal Reserve vaults.
Another numismatic 2012 product addition is a five-coin set which will presumably contain the four 2012 Presidential dollars and the 2012 Native American $1 Coin. The price for the five-coin set is listed at $12.95.
The following is a table of added products and the new prices.
2012 Presidential Product Changes – New Offerings and Prices
| 2012 Presidential $1 Coin Products | New? | Price | Price Cuts* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Presidential $1 Coin & First Spouse Medal Set | No | $9.95 | -$5 |
| American Presidency $1 Coin Cover Series | No | $19.95 | – |
| Presidential $1 Coin Proof Set | No | $18.95 | -$1 |
| Presidential $1 Coin Uncirculated Set | No | $16.95 | -$3 |
| Presidential $1 25-Coin Rolls | No | $32.95 | -$7 |
| $1 Coin Five-Coin Set | Yes | $12.95 | n/a |
| Presidential $1 Coin 100-Coin Bags | Yes | $111.95 | n/a |
| Presidential $1 Coin 250-Coin Box | Yes | $275.95 | n/a |
| Presidential $1 Coin 500-Coin Box | Yes | $550.95 | n/a |
*Differences are based on 2011-2012 prices.
Aside from the Presidential $1 Coin Proof Set which is expected to launch on February 23, release dates for the other products have yet to be published by the Mint. The designs and images of the 2012 dollars were only revealed Thursday. This year’s dollars honor Presidents:
- Chester Arthur,
- Grover Cleveland (first term),
- Benjamin Harrison, and
- Grover Cleveland (second term)
Given the Mint’s historic pattern of issuing other coin rolls and bags, it seems likely that the 2012 dollar rolls, bags and boxes will have staggered launches corresponding to the previously planned $1 circulation dates — the release dates published prior to the dollar’s aforementioned production suspension. If so, the Chester Arthur products would be released on February 16, the first term Grover Cleveland products on May 17, the Benjamin Harrison products on August 16 and the second term Grover Cleveland products on November 15.
This year is the sixth for the Mint’s program of Presidential $1 Coins. The series launched in 2007 as a means to honor former Presidents of the United States. At a rate of four releases each year, twenty Presidents have already been celebrated by the order in which they served.
A complete listing of all American Presidents to be honored is available from the United States Mint release schedule.
Very cool…!!
This is what they should have done all along. Love the price reductions on the 25-coin roll & the First Spouse medal sets. These should be great sellers, especially if they package the 100-250-500 count boxes attractively. Just wait until we get into Presidents like TR, FDR, Ike, Kennedy…..these will be real winners for the US MINT
Not sure why anybody would want to pay more than what a coin is worth other than for collecting purposes. This is a boon for dealers but nobody else. Another case where the mint is supporting dealers and not the collectors.
I agree with you Jim, I have been buying 4 rolls of the P’s at the bank and a friend of mine that happens to live in Denver has been getting 4 rolls of the D’s for me there, thats from the 2007 until now, I guess I will have to live with half a set, they can count me out wanting to charge me for a coin that is nothing more than currency is nuts. It’s still to bad the mint isn’t smart enough or tough enough to drop the paper dollar, some people will cry but they would… Read more »
Dave, the Mint doesn’t really have anything to say about eliminating the dollar bill. Any such decision has to come from higher up in the Treasury AND make it past the drones and buffoons in Congress who have already shown themselves to be both clueless and utterly self-serving about most coinage issues – witness the fiascoes with the Westward Journey nickel designs and how long it took to add color to paper currency. I don’t know how other countries handle such things but in my travels I get the impression that other nations do a better job of keeping politicians… Read more »
Well, I’m not sure I’d consider the 2012 & beyond Presidential Dollar coins as “circulating” money anymore. I did when I could get them from my local bank for “free”. I loved annoying people when I paid for stuff with 15 or 20 dollar coins. But now, just like the annual proof sets, I’ll think of them as collector’s items to be admired for their aesthetic appeal and numismatic value. Think about it – proof sets don’t contain any more than a few bucks of pocket change if you consider them to be just that, but as unbroken sets, they… Read more »
Post-2012 Presidential Dollars will be forgotten by many in the present and much more valued in the long term, especially the more popular modern Presidents. George is totally right.
Related topic: maybe the mint can run off 26mm versions of the existing presidential medals, so we can fill our albums out with the living presidents who likely won’t be dying “on time” to be in the dollar program: Carter, Bush41, Clinton, Bush43, Obama.