From the Aug. 16 Numismatic News E-Newsletter:
Do you plan to purchase a gold Thomas Jefferson First Spouse coin?
Here are some answers sent from our e-newsletter readers to Editor Dave Harper.
Yup! If I can, I will. Since I have to work that day, I will probably miss out, but this coin will be a one-of-a-kind copy of old time gold and I?ll try to purchase it.
Bob Klippstein
Greensboro, N.C.
You recently asked your readers if we felt that the Mint should make available the Sacagawea dollars in a gold option. (I think possibly in the silver sets). Well, thanks to an answer Alan Herbert made to a reader earlier this year in his Coin Clinic column I realized that a coin lightly plated with gold can actually be sold for a very affordable price ? even cheaper than the tenth of an ounce bullion coins. So, that?s my suggestion: Lightly plate the dollar coins and offer them individually and in the silver sets. Also the Mint should offer the First Lady and Buffalo coins this way. Many of us aren?t rich!
By the way, I just received my four-coin Presidential proof set recently and they do look like they?re made of gold. The Mint did a nice job.
Iric B. Fox
Pasadena, Texas
Will I buy one? Yes, I will. The proof and the BU. This coin for some unknown reason to me is one of the most beautiful coins out of the Spouse coins so far. I just have to figure out how to buy both since the Mint will only sell one per household. I guest that I can have someone else to buy it from me. I will defiantly buy a set for my raw coin collection
Weston Lawrence
Fort Worth, Texas
I would definitely buy one if it had Sally Hemmings portrait on it.
Roland C. Gauvin
Cumberland, R.I.
Yes, I plan on purchasing the Thomas Jefferson First Spouse coin.
I am also very pleased the U.S. Mint has limited the purchase to one per household for the first week.
This gives true collectors an opportunity to purchase the coin.
I?ll be waiting patiently on-line Thursday to order my coin !
John C. Pusateri
Baton Rouge, La.
First off we wish to congratulate you on the Anderson Memorial Award for Excellence. We enjoy all of your articles, they are well written. We were told some time back about the three rules for writing:
1. Keep it bright
2. Keep it brisk
3. Keep it brief
So much for my comments. As for the First Lady gold coins. Not interested at this time and furthermore I don?t believe we will be interested in this series at all. It was botched up with the first two issues. We as well as many other?s on the Mint?s mailing list were never informed. Rather they sell off the whole issue in two hours.
Thank you for your time and interest, keep up the excellent work.
Edward J. Moschetti
Pittsburgh, Pa.
I will not spend any money on Presidents? Spouses silver or gold coins. The U.S. Mint is just making too many commemorative coins to purchase. They are really making money on all these new coins! There are the new nickels, IKE dollars, SBA dollars, Sac dollars, Presidential quarters, the Presidential dollar coins, not to mention proof sets. What?s next?
Martin Chan
Sacramento, Calif.
As far as I am concerned, I would not purchase any gold dollars featuring the spouses of the presidents.
I really think this is just some ploy by the mint to just garner some profit from collectors.
We might as well mint coins for the governors of each state as part of the State quarter program. I am sure each governor would really like that a lot (history in the making).
I?m not trying to be a thorn or a stick in the mud, but it does become taxing to the average collector of coins or currency.
I?m just an average collector just trying to elke by in life collecting what I think is of some value to me and hope that someone who has an interest in my collection will pay something that I will be satisfied with.
Well, enough said. By the way, congratulations on the award you received at the ANA convention in Milwaukee. You really deserved that one.
Ed Ciechanowski
Oak Creek, Wis.
I plan on getting a gold Jefferson because it will be one of the few of the series that will have the traditional Liberty on the front instead of a First Lady. ?IN GOD WE TRUST? is just how I like it, nice and BIG! I really like the 1800s style, especially in gold. I believe there are many more who feel this way. Mark my words, Jefferson will become 2007?s most in-demand coin. True collectors, even ones who might ouch a bit with the cost, are going to go out on a limb for this one. There will be more in collectors hands and much less on the secondary market. It?ll be so cherished that collectors won?t sell it for some time. Unless, of course, the price is right?!
I?m excited! Can you tell?
Steve K.
Pembroke Pines, Fla.
I do not plan to purchase a Jefferson First Spouse coin. The collecting field holds no interest for me. The risk versus the opportunity to make a few dollars holds no interest either.
Robert R. Maisch
Mobridge, S.D.
Yes, Dave, I do intend to buy the coin. I have not spotted in my dollar coins purchased from the U.S. Mint any error or would-be errors. I can only afford to buy a roll of coins from one mint at a time. I usually buy the Philly mint coins. In times past, that particular mint always seems to have error coins in their productions.
Dianne Hardin
Burlingame, Calif.
I will not buy a Jefferson spouse coin. I?m not even sure that Jefferson had a spouse.
Halbert Carmichael
Raleigh, N.C.
First, thank you for asking us, the readers, our opinions. I have zero intentions in participating in the U.S. Mint?s newest money grab. I started collecting as a child and returned to collecting in 2006. I quickly noticed the U.S. Mint?s never-ending offerings were interfering with the relationship with my local coin dealer in Gainesville, Fla. I decided not to join the ANA due to all of the public washing of dirty laundry. I don?t need drama in my enthusiastic hobby. I joined both PCGS and NGC so I could submit coins myself to save money. Out of 56 U.S. Mint coins recently submitted to NGC, only ONE coin came back MS-70. So the moral of this is just to buy the coins already graded from my local coin dealer. Since I am neither a large coin dealer nor a television shopping network, I don?t see myself getting fair treatment anytime soon from a grading service. Many thanks for a great publication.
David A. Jones
Live Oak, Fla.
Yes, I want one.
Richie Schultz
Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
No, I will not buy one. I have stayed away from gold since 2000 when I got hurt.
Name withheld
Sierra Vista, Ariz.
I will buy one if I can get on the Web site in time!
Robert Bell
Patterson, N.Y.
If I can get through to the Mint, I am going to try to buy a proof coin. I might have a chance now that the coin dealers and eBay profiteers can?t get everyone in their families to buy all the coins up, 20 at a time. I talked to one guy on eBay who was bragging about how he had his son in college, his wife, uncles and friends buying up the coins for him. He claimed to have over 200 Washington and Adams in proof and unc. I saw over 35 coins for sale on eBay by him before I stopped watching. I hope things get better.
Terry Basham
Ekron, Ky.
I am still keeping my fingers crossed on receiving an Adams back order from the Mint. Depending on the results, I may try t he Dolley Madison. I will definitely not purchase any coins from the hoarders and will let the market level down on this series.
Alberto Pico,
San Juan, Puerto Rico
I plan to buy a roll of Jefferson dollar coins whenever they show up at local banks (none as of Aug. 21). I?ll keep one for my granddaughter?s collection and one for my grandnephew?s. The other 23 I?ll give out as rewards in a voluntary math class I teach. Regarding the associated spouse coin, a half ounce of gold is a little expensive for my taste, but I will order the ?cheapo? bronze version. It?s cool that they are using a version of young liberty from the early U.S. coinage for the Jefferson ?spouse? coin. I?m striving to add a 1790s large cent to my U.S. type collection, and this spouse bronze will be a good companion piece.
Robert H. Ball Jr.
Detroit, Mich.
Yes I will try to get spouse coin.
Gary Williams
Mason, Texas
No I do not plan to buy any.
Dwight Sellers
Mebane, N.C.
I will probably buy a roll of the Jeffersons. I will distribute most of the roll as change. The looks I have received doing this on the Washingtons and Adams have been more than worth the effort.
Ludy E. Langer
Sacramento, Calif.
I do not plan to buy one. The only first lady dollars I will buy is a Jacquie Kennedy (and I?m not a Kennedy supporter), Barbara Bush and Laura Bush if they are deceased when the time comes.
John Hamer
Bradford, Mass.
Yes, I plan to buy four rolls from my bank, just as I did with the Washington and Adams versions. At face value, of course.
Billy Hoovler
Fredericksburg, Va.
I do not plan to purchase ANY presidential coins, Presidents or Spouses! I am fed up with all of these new U.S. Mint programs geared toward the collectors and their excessive charges over face value, packaging and postage. I am continuing with the older, standard sets and programs but not buying any new coins. I can?t wait until the state quarters program is completed so I can stop buying those as well. The U.S. Mint gets enough of my hard earned money, and I am not being suckered into purchasing any more.
Garry Kramchak
Houston, Texas
Yes. I plan on buying one proof and uncirculated. My order for the first two pair in the series was posted at 12:40 p.m., June 19. I received the two Adams spouse coins this week. The Washington pair I got over the proceeding two weeks. I am glad to see the order restricted to one each of proof and unc. This will give the collector, instead of the eBay quick-money speculators, a better chance of getting one at face. HSN coin show estimates that they bought 10% of the first issue.
Pat Ryan
Manchester Township, N.J.
Yes! I definitely plan to buy one. I think they?re very interesting, and beautiful!
Joe Kube
Florissant, Mo.
I am buying one of each at two different addresses.
Gerald C. McKelvey
Lake Worth, Fla.
Yes, several rolls!
G. Allen
Bowie, Md.
Those thing are too high-priced for me. You buy them all. Then send me one. I know you can, moneybags.
George Furr
High Point, N.C.
Yes, I definitely plan to buy the proof and the uncirculated Jefferson Spouse dollar on Aug. 30. I am very disappointed that the Mint has changed its initial policy of maximum purchase from five for each option to one for each option. I understand the intent to spread the coin to more collectors, but if that was the intent then they should have instituted that policy from the beginning instead of after the first two coins in the series had already gone on sale with the five for each option limit. Now I have five of each option for both the Washington and Adams and no way to economically obtain five each for the remainder of the series unless I try to beat the system by having others buy them for me. It is unfortunate that the Mint puts us in such a position that we are almost forced to ?cheat.?
Dave Waller
Ridgecrest, Calif.
Yes, I will try to get one since I have the extra money. I was going to buy a ?09 S VDB that I need to complete my Lincoln cent collection, but I can hold off on that a little longer in favor of the Jefferson First Spouse gold.
J. McFadden
Clearwater, Fla.
Although I do buy some items as a single thing, I usually put things into sets. Now, aside from the expense of this being a gold coin that most collectors cannot afford, we have the fact that the first of these spouses sold out before who wanted them could get them. So much for putting together a set! With such limited editions, how can the average collector think of buying these? If money were no object, fine. But the way things are going, how many will we be able to purchase from the Mint at issue prices in years to come? Why not take orders for a specific amount of time and then strike that many? The Mint took my order for a Franklin comm., but then changed it to a waiting list after sending a confirmation that I had ordered them, so I rely nery little on the Mint to follow through on what they promise anymore.
No, I will not be trying to order this coin.
Brad Ream
Rockville, Ind.
Although I do buy some items as a single thing, I usually put things into sets. Now, aside from the expense of this being a gold coin that most collectors cannot afford, we have the fact that the first of these spouses sold out before who wanted them could get them. So much for putting together a set! With such limited editions, how can the average collector think of buying these? If money were no object, fine. But the way things are going, how many will we be able to purchase from the Mint at issue prices in years to come? Why not take orders for a specific amount of time and then strike that many? The Mint took my order for a Franklin comm., but then changed it to a waiting list after sending a confirmation that I had ordered them, so I rely nery little on the Mint to follow through on what they promise anymore.
No, I will not be trying to order this coin.
Brad Ream
Rockville, Ind.
Nope, I don?t plan on buying any Jefferson dollars on Aug. 30 because I already bought a roll on August 19th!
Matt G. Juppo
Bothell, Wash.
I probably will buy one. The Draped Bust design is one of my favorites, and this coin will be a nice companion piece to the older type coins.
Ginger Rapsus
Chicago, Ill.
Just wanted to let you know that I received my Abagail Adams and Martha Washington First Spouse gold Proof coins from the U.S. Mint today, Aug. 22! It was frustrating to get letters stating back order status with fulfillment to take place on a targeted date, only to have that date pass over and over again.
On June 19, I placed my order online one hour and six minutes after they were made available. I thought I would get the orders sooner than this, but better late than never. Also, I applaud the U.S. Mint?s decision to begin limiting the orders to 1 coin type per household. I know the eBay heads and the big retailers like Shop At Home want to sell the hot coins, but some of us just want to buy a ?raw? coin in order to have a collection. I plan to purchase the Jefferson and the Dolley Madison coins when they come out as well.
Tom Howze
Anaheim, Calif.
