The very first reverse proof Presidential dollar coin will be the centerpiece of the Harry S. Truman Coin and Chronicles Set that will go on sale June 30.
But rather than price this desirable innovation as aggressively as you might expect, the U.S. Mint is actually holding the issue price to the same $57.95 figure applied to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt set, which includes just an ordinary proof dollar.
And get this: the mintage of the new Truman set will actually be 3,000 fewer than the Roosevelt set at 17,000.
Both sets contain a one-ounce .999 fine silver Presidential medal, which ordinarily would be viewed as the piece that lends the most value to the assemblage because it is precious metal.
The Roosevelt set also contains a bronze medal with no counterpart in the Truman set as well as a proof clad Roosevelt dime.
Where the Roosevelt set has four postage stamps in his honor, the Truman set has just one stamp.
So far, the Roosevelt set has not been setting any sales speed records. Collectors have purchased 12,473 of the possible 20,000 sets. It has been on sale since Dec. 22, or more than four months.
Can you imagine a new set containing the Truman reverse proof dollar selling as slowly as the Roosevelt set?
Just in case, the Mint has established a 5-set household order limit.
In December a purchasing frenzy surrounded the 2014 American $1 Coin and Currency Set. That set featured just an enhanced uncirculated finish on the Native American dollar paired with a Series 2013 $1 Federal Reserve Note.
It was the different coin finish that took the hobby by surprise. The 50,000 mintage was snapped up in a rapid sellout. Price was $13.95.
The Truman mintage maximum is just a third as much.
The U.S. Mint will also sell 2015 Coin and Chronicles Sets for Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.
Issue prices and sale dates are yet to be determined for these. Maximum number of sets available will be an identical 17,000 each except for the Kennedy set, which will have a 25,000 sales limit.
