CoinNews

James Monroe Presidential Dollars were ceremoniously launched yesterday at Ash Lawn-Highland, the estate of the President Monroe.

Today at 12:00 noon (ET), Bags and Rolls of new $1 coins went on sale through the United States Mint and the dollar coins officially entered circulation through banks.

Finding presidential $1 coins in circulation or in banks has proven to be a difficult task in many areas of the U.S. and, although a premium is paid, many coin collectors purchase the coins directly from the United States Mint.

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The CoinNews Saturday eNewsletter and the short post Sunday morning included information about the Sunday night 60 Minutes news segment titled, Should We Make Cents?

Morley Safer reports on how the penny and nickel are worth less than the U.S. government cost to manufacture them - the penny almost two cents and the nickel almost a dime.

The largest portion of the segment, as the 60 Minutes title suggests, revolves around the various points of view on whether the government should stop making Lincoln pennies.

Why is the manufacturing cost of the 1-cent penny and 5-cent nickel up so much? United States Mint Director Ed Moy summed it up:

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The British Royal Mint has released a new 2008 commemorative £5 coin celebrating the 60th birthday of His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales. The limited edition coin comes in Brilliant Uncirculated and Proof versions. The commemorative design is rather unusual in that both sides of the coin bear a prominent head portrait, making it a "two-headed" coin.

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