Will Queen’s visit help sell commems?

The paparazzi watch Queen Elizabeth II and her family closely to see what they say and do. Now collectors of U.S. coins will see if her presence at the 400th anniversary celebrations in Jamestown, Va., May 3-4 will help the U.S. Mint sell extra Jamestown commemorative silver dollars and $5 gold pieces.

Obviously a royal visit is not a U.S. Mint coin sales trip, but the nonhobby media is picking up on the theme. It is a familiar one to collectors. Olympic program supporters always maintained beforehand that fans would buy the coins. Afterwards the sales analysis showed that collectors bought nearly all of them.

Will the queen?s presence boost sales closer to the 500,000 silver dollar maximum mintage and 100,000 $5 gold piece maximum mintage and bring in a significant number of buyers not already on the Mint?s client list?

Current sales figures stand at 189,494 proof dollars and 70,984 uncirculated dollars for a total of 260,478. This is more than half of the authorized mintage.

Sales of proof gold $5 coins stand at 40,239 and the uncirculated number is 16,012 for a total of 56,251.

Barring a sellout, the coins will remain on sale through calendar year 2007.