The US Mint began selling American Samoa Quarter Official First Day Coin Covers Wednesday, Sept. 8, at noon ET for $14.95, plus $4.95 for standard shipping and handling.
The limited 20,000 edition cover includes two American Samoa quarters struck on the first day the coins were minted. One quarter-dollar is from the Mint’s Denver facility while the other was produced in Philadelphia.
The reverse or tails side of the quarter, sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Charles L. Vickers, depicts an ava bowl (“tanoa”), whisk and staff in the foreground with a coconut tree on the American Samoa shore in the background. The ava ceremony is considered the most significant traditional event in the Samoan culture and is used to make the special ceremonial drink for island chiefs and guests, according to the Mint.
An attractive display card housing the two quarters includes a 44-cent Flag stamp and a postmark of JULY 27, 2009, PAGO PAGO, marking the day the quarters were released to the public.
The American Samoa Quarter is the fourth of six coins issued in the 2009 District of Columbia and U.S. Territories Quarters Program. The other five quarter-dollars commemorate the D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
American Samoa quarter mintages and sales figures
Noteworthy to collectors is that American Samoa quarter mintages are the lowest in years, with just 39,600,000 coins struck in Denver and 42,600,000 in Philadelphia. (See American Samoa Quarters Mintages.)
While the figure may seem high to the casual observer, it is a mere shadow compared to any single state quarter mintage.
Additionally, the US Mint offers circulating American Samoa quarters in bags and rolls. The following table shows the latest available sale figures for these compared to the week prior numbers (Aug. 23 vs. Aug. 30).
American Samoa Quarter Sales |
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Old Sales
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New Sales
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Unit Change
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% Increase
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Total
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| 100-Coin Bag (P) | 6,029 | 6,452 | 423 | 7.0% | 12,827 | |
| 100-Coin Bag (D) | 5,937 | 6,375 | 438 | 7.4% | ||
| 1000-Coin Bag (P) | 1,416 | 1,436 | 20 | 1.4% | 2,811 | |
| 1000-Coin Bag (D) | 1,355 | 1,375 | 20 | 1.5% | ||
| Two-Roll Set | 28,610 | 30,404 | 1,794 | 6.3% | 30,404 | |
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US Mint coin information page: D.C. & US Territories Collectibles |
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The first three Official First Day Coin Covers are still on sale at the US Mint for the same $14.95 price.
The DC quarter cover has sales of 14,454, Puerto Rico quarter cover stands at 10,468, and the Guam cover at 5,998, based on the latest sales figures provided by the US Mint with an effective date of Sunday, Aug. 30.
American Samoa quarter cover order information
Orders may be placed online at the US Mint page:
2009 American Samoa Official First Day Coin Cover
The covers may also be purchased through the Mint’s toll-free number, 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). Hearing- and speech-impaired customers may order by calling 1-888-321-MINT (6468).
Original Mint artist renderings and descriptions for each quarter may be found at 2009 Quarter Designs. Additional quarter program information is provided by the Mint here.
