Introducing a specially designed keepsake for newborns and marking a first product of its kind, the United States Mint on Tuesday released the 2012 Birth Set for $19.95.
Included with the Birth Set are five collector coins struck at the U.S. Mint facility in San Francisco, California. These coins are mounted on a baby-themed folder which includes spaces for a personalized message, the baby’s date and time of birth, and length and weight, a three-by four-inch photograph area and a lock of hair.
Each coin is struck to proof quality which is a production process that results in especially attractive coins.
"United States Mint proof coins feature sharp relief and a mirror-like background. Their frosted, sculpted foregrounds give them a special cameo effect," described the Mint. "Proof blanks are specially treated, polished and cleaned to ensure high quality strikes. The blanks are then fed into presses fitted with specially polished dies and struck at least twice to ensure sharp relief."
The resulting appearance is favored among coin collectors.
The five coins within the U.S. Mint 2012 Birth Set include:
- a 2012-S Lincoln cent,
- a 2012-S Jefferson nickel,
- a 2012-S Roosevelt dime,
- a 2012-S El Yunque National Forest Quarter, which was the first America the Beautiful Quarter released this year, and a
- 2012-S Kennedy half-dollar
An "S" mint mark is found on each which denotes their production at San Francisco.
For more information or to place an order for the five-coin set, visit the U.S. Mint online catalog site at http://www.usmint.gov/catalog or at 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468).
91 cents for $19.95 really? Must be some folder they come in. Way to go US Mint.
They’re proofs, which accounts for some of the added cost. But yeah, it’s still a heck of a markup for a set that only includes 1 ATB quarter and no dollars.
I usually give a proof silver eagle for a keepsake. Has a lot more going for it in my opinion.