Following a delay in release due to production problems, the U.S. Mint on October 11, 2012 released the inaugural 2012 First Spouse Gold Coins honoring Alice Paul and the Suffrage Movement.
Alice Paul was not a First Lady, but the authorizing law for the series of 99.99% fine First Spouse Gold Coins stipulated designs emblematic of her and the suffrage movement because President Chester Arthur’s wife died before he became President. Collectors appear to be fond of the issue as debut sales are the best in the program since coins released in 2010.
Forthcoming 2012-dated strikes do not yet have U.S. Mint published release dates. The Mint’s schedule simply states their releases are "TBD," for To Be Determined. Their delay was earlier described this way by the Mint:
"The United States Mint has encountered problems with producing some of the 2012-dated First Spouse Gold Coins. Once the problems are resolved and final trial strikes approved, the First Spouse Gold Coins will be struck… The West Point facility has production capacity to strike all four coins in proof and uncirculated qualities. As soon as we are certain the quality of these coins meets the standards you have come to expect, we will announce on-sale dates for each one."
The forthcoming coins for this year will honor the first and second instances of Frances Cleveland as the First Lady, and First Spouse Caroline Harrison.
Here is an updated breakdown of all the First Spouse Gold Coins that have been released since the series introduction in 2007. Include beside the names are columns for whether the coins are still sold by the U.S. Mint and the latest sales figures as of Monday, October 15, 2012:
| Latest Sales of First Spouse Gold Coins | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Still for Sale | Sales | Mintages | |
| Martha Washington Proof (2007) | No | 20,000 | 40,000 of 40,000 |
| Martha Washington Uncirculated (2007) | No | 20,000 | |
| Abigail Adams Proof (2007) | No | 20,000 | 40,000 of 40,000 |
| Abigail Adams Uncirculated (2007) | No | 20,000 | |
| Jefferson’s Liberty Proof (2007) | No | 20,000 | 40,000 of 40,000 |
| Jefferson’s Liberty Uncirculated (2007) | No | 20,000 | |
| Dolley Madison Proof (2007) | No | 18,355 | 30,896 of 40,000 |
| Dolley Madison Uncirculated (2007) | No | 12,541 | |
| Elizabeth Monroe Proof (2008) | No | 7,933 | 12,452 of 40,000 |
| Elizabeth Monroe Uncirculated (2008) | No | 4,519 | |
| Louisa Adams Proof (2008) | No | 7,454 | 11,677 of 40,000 |
| Louisa Adams Uncirculated (2008) | No | 4,223 | |
| Jackson’s Liberty Proof (2008) | No | 7,806 | 12,563 of 40,000 |
| Jackson’s Liberty Uncirculated (2008) | No | 4,757 | |
| Van Buren Proof (2008) | No | 7,515 | 11,849 of 40,000 |
| Van Buren Uncirculated (2008) | No | 4,334 | |
| Anna Harrison Proof (2009) | No | 6,250 | 9,787 of 40,000 |
| Anna Harrison Uncirculated (2009) | No | 3,537 | |
| Letitia Tyler Proof (2009) | No | 5,163 | 8,315 of 40,000 |
| Letitia Tyler Uncirculated (2009) | No | 3,152 | |
| Julia Tyler Proof (2009) | No | 4,830 | 7,691 of 40,000 |
| Julia Tyler Uncirculated (2009) | No | 2,861 | |
| Sarah Polk Proof (2009) | No | 5,157 | 8,658 of 40,000 |
| Sarah Polk Uncirculated (2009) | No | 3,501 | |
| Margaret Taylor Proof (2009) | No | 4,787 | 8,217 of 40,000 |
| Margaret Taylor Uncirculated (2009) | No | 3,430 | |
| Abigail Fillmore Proof (2010) | No | 6,140 | 9,629 of 15,000 |
| Abigail Fillmore Uncirculated (2010) | No | 3,489 | |
| Jane Pierce Proof (2010) | No | 4,843 | 8,176 of 15,000 |
| Jane Pierce Uncirculated (2010) | No | 3,333 | |
| James Buchanan’s Liberty Proof (2010) | No | 7,304 | 12,652 of 15,000 |
| James Buchanan’s Liberty Uncirculated (2010) | No | 5,348 | |
| Mary Todd Lincoln Proof (2010) | No | 6,909 | 10,669 of 20,000 |
| Mary Todd Lincoln Uncirculated (2010) | No | 3,760 | |
| Eliza Johnson Proof (2011) | No | 3,907 | 6,812 of 15,000 |
| Eliza Johnson Uncirculated (2011) | No | 2,905 | |
| Julia Grant Proof (2011) | No | 3,969 | 6,930 of 15,000 |
| Julia Grant Uncirculated (2011) | No | 2,961 | |
| Lucy Hayes Proof (2011) | Yes | 3,676 | 5,939 of 15,000 |
| Lucy Hayes Uncirculated (2011) | No | 2,263 | |
| Lucretia Garfield Proof (2011) | Yes | 3,346 | 5,844 of 15,000 |
| Lucretia Garfield Uncirculated (2011) | No | 2,498 | |
| Alice Paul Suffragist Proof (2012) | Yes | 1,808 | 3,202 of 13,000 |
| Alice Paul Suffragist Uncirculated (2012) | Yes | 1,394 | |
First Spouse Gold Coins are made available at a minimum rate of four per year. Weekly updated sales may be found on this first spouse coin page.
