Today, the United States Mint will begin selling at noon ET its $5 pink gold, $1 silver and 50c clad 2018 Breast Cancer Awareness Commemorative Coins.
Struck in uncirculated and proof collector qualities, the highly anticipated commemoratives honor those who have been impacted by the disease and the effort to prevent it through research.
The pink-hued gold coins are a first for the U.S. Min with their color symbolizing breast cancer awareness.
Designs for the commemoratives were unveiled in October following a judged competition that was won by Emily Damstra. Two designs are shared across all six coins.
Damstra’s obverse (heads) design features a butterfly and two women. The older woman has her hands on her chest and a relieved expression on her face. The younger woman, with a scarf on her head, holds one hand over her chest and the other raised in a fist as if she is ready to fight. U.S. Mint Sculptor-Engraver Phebe Hemphill sculpted the design.
Reverses depict a Tiger Swallowtail butterfly in flight, a symbol of hope. U.S. Mint Sculptor-Engraver Renata Gordon sculpted the design.
Product options, limits, prices, and specifications follow.
| Commemorative Coin | Mintage Limits | Household Limits | Introductory Prices* | Regular Prices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breast Cancer Awareness Proof Silver Dollar | 400,000 | None | $51.95 | $56.95 |
| Breast Cancer Awareness Uncirculated Silver Dollar | $48.95 | $53.95 | ||
| Breast Cancer Awareness Proof Clad Half Dollar | 750,000 | $27.95 | $32.95 | |
| Breast Cancer Awareness Uncirculated Clad Half Dollar | $25.95 | $30.95 | ||
| Breast Cancer Awareness Proof Gold $5 Coin | 50,000 | 1 | $431.00 | ** |
| Breast Cancer Awareness Uncirculated Gold $5 Coin | 1 | $421.00 |
*Introductory pricing is in effect until April 16, 2018. **Prices for the two $5 pink gold coins can change weekly depending on gold market conditions and the U.S. Mint’s pricing schedule.
| Weight: | 7.931 grams nominal |
| Composition: | 85% gold, 14.8% copper, balance zinc |
| Edge: | Reeded |
| Mintage Limit: | 50,000 across all product options |
| Diameter: | .850 inch (±0.003) or 21.59 mm (±0.08) |
| Mint Marks: | ‘W’ for West Point – Proof and Uncirculated |
| Weight: | 26.730 grams nominal |
| Composition: | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Edge: | Reeded |
| Mintage Limit: | 400,000 across all product options |
| Diameter: | 1.500 inches (±0.003) or 38.10 mm (±0.08) |
| Mint Marks: | ‘P’ for Philadelphia – Proof and Uncirculated |
| Weight: | 11.340 grams nominal (± 0.454) |
| Composition: | 8.33% nickel, balance copper |
| Edge: | Reeded |
| Mintage Limit: | 750,000 across all product options |
| Diameter: | 1.205 inches (±0.002) or 30.61 mm (±0.05) |
| Mint Marks: | ‘D’ for Denver – Uncirculated; ‘S’ for San Francisco – Proof |
Surcharges Support Breast Cancer Research Foundation
As directed by the coins’ authorizing law (Public Law 114-148), the prices include surcharges of $35 per gold coin, $10 for each silver dollar, and $5 per clad half-dollar.
Surcharges will be paid to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (www.bcrfcure.org) to further its efforts in breast cancer research.
Ordering
2018 Breast Cancer Awareness Commemorative Coins may be ordered upon their release from the U.S. Mint’s online store for commemorative products, or by calling 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468.
Both gold with pink hue coins should sell out within minutes, due to the low mintage of 50,000 apiece! Good luck beating the household limits of 1 coin per family for the 2 gold, and more good luck beating the coin dealers; trying to get your orders in before the certain to be quick sellout, due to the first, and last pink hue colored gold!!!
I believe the limit is 1 for each coin and total mintage is 50,000 coins for Proof and UNC combined.
Article headlines scared me. I thought it was already for sale. It is March 15th in China 8:28pm.i just set my alarm. Not sure if I should get the proof or UNC. Yes it is 50,000 combined. I don’t think at 1 household limit will sell out in minutes though. I guess I can buy both and return 1 if needed. Haha. Me return something that will be the day. Even if bad quality I am to afraid to send back. With my luck it would be an error coin 🙂
Rhonda (Kay) Unser – Your article says the surcharges on these coins will be paid to the BCRF charity, but that is not guaranteed per the BCA coin legislation. Surcharges are only paid out if the entire 3-coin program makes a profit after ALL expenses from start to finish of the commemorative coin program. Also, the legislation on this BCA coin program also states the BCRF charity only gets any surcharges, if there is a profit on the total program, if they raise matching funds in the amount of any surcharges the Mint may pay them. A donation of the… Read more »
Can someone help me out, does NGC/PCGS no longer allow sealed and unopened mint boxes to be submitted and still get the early release designation even if the coins are submitted past the early release cutoff? Is this a change in policy?
under two (2) minutes for order acceptance.
Order placed at noon and confirmed at 12:13.
Glad to support a worthy cause and get unusual coins as well.
I do wonder why it was decided to downsize the coins so that they are 1/5 oz not 1/4 oz like all other $5 gold coins.
-Tim
Picked up both Golds and both silvers very cool idea.
Seth Riesling – Thank*s for pointing out the *donation process once again, for *comm’s! It’s not, but it’s as close to >false add’s< as it gets! Very misleading, if you do*not read it 2 or 3 times. Dan*- If you sea* this, go to NGC* & PCGS* web*page, get their 800# & call them, all the grading *co.s *rep's are very nice & well informed, they can answer all your ?*s.
Hey Dan. If I remember correctly NGC said at a coin show that sealed boxes from the mint was not elegable for the first strike/early release designation. Which sucks because I have a 2015 platinum eagle still in the box I wanted to submit. Funny thing is the coin sold out in under 10 minutes so shouldn’t every one then be automatically given at least early release labels lol. I ordered the uncirculated Breast cancer coin. Just because I only have proof commemoratives figured I would like to see one in person. And usually they have lower mintage. Although they… Read more »
Wow, this joint is jumpin’!
Can always count on a coin release with a twist to get hearts pumping fast and wallets emptying even faster!
Old Collector
This whole “combined mintage of 50,000” makes me think these are going to be made to order
These aren’t going to be flying off the shelves, I picked up the gold proof at 1:30 pm without issue. Gold from the mint is overpriced to begin with, add to that the 85% gold content and this is certainly no bargain. I don’t think we have seen a gold coin sell out quickly since the gold dime.
You can wait & buy a dip, no way they sell 50,000…..heck they coild not sell 100k gold walkers…..or SLQ’s …. I would give the $ to BCRF direct IF I was looking to make a contribution. As for the coinS… not my cup o’Joe pass… & Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I’m looking forward to seeing the first day sales stats for the coins. Very interesting indeed.
Not a buy for me as there are to many coins in that price range on my wish list.
Mouse
Buford McKenzie – Fear not; next up, chartreuse. Carl S – I do believe that you are indeed correct. Adam – Sometimes the error is simply either buying or not buying the coin. Seth Riesling – I’m glad you pointed that out. Unless I’m sorely mistaken, it’s been quite some time since one of the Mint’s dedicated-purpose coins achieved the legislatively-mandated minimum sales numbers required for it to be able to deliver on its declared charitable promise. chuck – Way to go! Tim – If you mean just the gold content of the coin, you are right in your assessment.… Read more »
Dan – It was the case at one time that some grading services let some Mint-sealed boxes from the first 30 days be graded with special “early release” & similar labels. NGC still allows its NGC-authorized dealers to submit sealed U.S. Mint boxes up to 5 years later for such special labels according to the 2012-dated message on their current website. But, the back of most slabs state, “Delivered within 30 days of initial release” (starting from the Mint’s first day of issue) & that is supposed to be the standard for all coin submitters. It seems NGC may have… Read more »
Mouse,
I didn’t leave you out of my “universal reply commentary” on purpose…your message wasn’t yet visible to me when I hit the Submit button!
Anyway, I’ll be interested in the 24 hour sales figures also. I have to admit, I’m may not be jumping on this bandwagon either; that decision, after all, will require much more “deep thought.” 🙂
Old Collector: I’m with you on this one. My flag tends to go up when I see both world grading companies jumping to the pump / releasing multiple labeled slabs for the coin. I do appreciate both NGC / PCGS as they have given back to the numismatic community (for a fee) lol but I never forget / buy the coin, not the label. I will wait and see how the sale stats go as well as populations of graded coins. I hope the mass release of graded coins pre-post release doesn’t kill the long term value of the coin.… Read more »
Mouse, It’s good to see you’ve got your numismatic microscope focused on those coin grading enterprises; after all, sometimes it appears that rather than merely jumping on the bandwagon they are actually the ones pulling it. As you so correctly pointed out, it is the coin that should influence – in effect be in control of – what goes on the (slab) label and it should never be the other way around. After all, while no one is going to deny the grading services their right to make their share of the money to be had in the coin world,… Read more »
The 1 gold Proof coin & 1 gold Unc. coin per household limit will be lifted tomorrow at noon Eastern time according to the Mint. Dealers may grab them up then. But, not much interest or excitement on this coin blog website for this pink/rose gold coin.
-NumisdudeTX
Seth Riesling,
Perhaps that’s at least partly due to the fact that it comes with such a relatively upscale price for such a downscale precious metal content coin. Just thinking.
Old Collector (& Gold Prospector)
Old Collector –
The Mint has lifted the 1 coin per household limit the next day after the first issue day on two previous coins that didn’t have good first day sales this year already. Not a good sign for sure.
-NumisdudeTX
Seth Riesling, After taking another good, long hard look at the U.S. Mint coins sales figures over the past decade, it’s pretty clear to me that if those published numbers were placed on a graph the indicator of performance line would be set at a fairly steep downward angle going forward. I know this is some more of beating the same old drum – or a dead horse, if you will – but one can’t help but wonder exactly how long this declining trend can go on before the very possibility of the Mint continuing its mission as a financially… Read more »
Old Collector – our mints profitable or not will never close their doors. Both the US / RCM’s numismatic divisions do not sustain them. Circulation and bullion divisions run the show and are both profitable. New modern numismatic coins are a tough sell in this market. Established collectors / investors are very experienced and selective with what they purchase. Trying to cater to a new market of young collectors is a long term journey. This new generation expect modern coins that yield an immediate profit / not how it works in the world of coins. I hope our mints scale… Read more »
Mouse, Those are some truly excellent, very relevant points, and I admit I had totally overlooked them – including the business of minting circulating coinage – in my prior analysis. Also, since I’m not a bullion collector I tend to see the coin world through a very different lense than I would if I were. On the other hand, I’m not worried about the future value of my Mint purchases either as I have no intention of ever selling any part of my collection: consequently, that particular aspect of is of no concern to me either. I suppose it all… Read more »
Great conversation but I have to call BS on this statement.
“Tim – If you mean just the gold content of the coin, you are right in your assessment. If on the other hand you take into account its total weight, it is in fact a 1/4 ounce “gold” coin.”
The Breast Cancer $5 gold coin weighs 7.931 grams of which 85% are gold. This means 6.741 grams of gold, or 0.2168 oz.
Right?
Jeff
Never mind, after re-reading, I get what you are saying.
Jeff
JB,
Thanks; you just gave me a really great laugh with the “Never mind” in your follow-up comment. It reminded me of the late, great comedian Gilda Radner in the role of her unforgettable “Emily Litella” character doing one of her totally-off-topic, absolutely hilarious “opinion pieces” on Saturday Night Live, in which these monologues of hers always concluded with the phrase “Never mind!” 🙂
Old Collector
Old Collector, I remember Gilda Radner and all of her characters well. Though I was only 9 when SNL started in ’75, I watched it regularly.
JB,
I’m glad my little reminiscence resonated with you. I just happened to have been a little bit older – 28 – when SNL first appeared, and of course it immediately became appointment television. Who could have possibly wanted to miss a single moment of those absolutely priceless “Coneheads”, “Wild And Crazy Guys” or “Pepsi, No Coke, Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger ” routines?
Old Collector
Right on “Pepsi no coke!” Great skit & RIP John B you were greAT but the party got you…..Never Mind is what some folks put on here worrying about a BC sellout….not likely surprised 12% of AU coins sold already, but the rest will take a long time, I’d say 2 months to sell another 12k ……
The ‘pink’ coins arrived and I am somewhat disappointed in that the color is less pink than I had expected. With 14.8% copper and a Krugerrand with 8.33% the Krugerrand appears to have more copper when compared side by side. I would like to hear if others share my opinion.
Carl S
Carl, I’ve heard of others commenting the same, that the pink hue does not appear all that pinkish
I’ll pick mine up on Thursday and will post if I see the same
Sending my back. Very disappointed with pink hue.
I agree gentlemen – this is NOT a pink hue gold coin! The photos looked pink on the website & the brochure in the mail. But I have viewed mine under incandescent light, LED light & halogen light & it doesn’t look pink or rose at all. Sad! I am keeping them though for the good cause & pretty butterflies.
-NumisdudeTX
I have a proof coin in my hand now, and it certainly isn’t the rouge of rands, but is pink. I am not a sophisticated coin buyer, but I like the design and artistry and aesthetic retention which some modern coins fall short of. I won’t be sending mine back.