The United States Mint announced via its online news room the upcoming releases of the 2011 Proof Gold Eagles and the 2011 America the Beautiful Quarters Uncirculated Coin Set™. These two releases were briefly discussed in the April 2011 product releases article.
The quarters uncirculated set will be available Tuesday, April 19, at 12:00 noon Eastern Time for $21.95, according to the US Mint press news release. The set includes numismatic brilliant uncirculated versions of this year’s quarters — five minted in Philadelphia and five minted in Denver. These coins honor Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania, Glacier National Park in Montana, Olympic National Park in Washington, Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi, and Chickasaw National Recreation Area.
The uncirculated quarters are the same as those included in the more encompassing 2011 Mint Set ($31.95) which, in addition to the quarters, also includes uncirculated versions of all four Presidential $1 coins, the Native American $1 coin, Kennedy half-dollar, Roosevelt dime, Jefferson nickel and the Lincoln cent. The 2011 Mint Set was released on February 8.
Available Thursday, April 21, at 12:00 noon Eastern Time are the 2011 Proof Gold Eagle coins. Buyers will have the option to order four different sized Gold Eagles and a four-coin set which includes each of the sizes.
Price ranges for the 2011 Proof Gold Eagles are known, but exact prices will not be available until Wednesday, April 20, as the Mint uses the trending price of gold to determine prices for its numismatic gold coin products. The US Mint averages the London fix gold prices between the previous Thursday to the following Wednesday in its gold coin pricing calculations.
The US Mint press news release provided the mintages for each of the Proof Gold Eagles.
| PRODUCT |
PRODUCT LIMIT |
MINTAGE LIMIT |
| One-Ounce Proof Gold Eagle | 30,000 | 70,000 |
| Half-Ounce Proof Gold Eagle | 15,000 | 55,000 |
| Quarter-Ounce Proof Gold Eagle | 16,000 | 56,000 |
| Tenth-Ounce Proof Gold Eagle | 30,000 | 70,000 |
| Four-Coin Set Proof Gold Eagle | 40,000 | N/A |
The obverse of the 22-karat gold Proof Gold Eagles features Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ rendition of Liberty holding a torch in her right hand and an olive branch in her left. The reverse portrays sculptor Miley Busiek’s design of a male eagle carrying an olive branch, flying above a nest containing a female eagle and her eaglets.
To acquire the numismatic proof finish, the US Mint uses special polished dies and strikes the coins multiple times. This manufacturing process produces a frosted foreground and mirror-like background.
The coins and quarters set, when available, may be ordered at http://www.usmint.gov, or 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468).
