Today the US Mint announced the pricing and ordering information for the upcoming Louisa Adams First Spouse Gold Coins. This will be the sixth release of the First Spouse Gold Coin Program, and the second coin released during 2008.

The coins will go on sale at the US Mint on May 29, 2008 at 12:00 Noon ET.

The proof version of the coin is offered at $619.95.  The uncirculated version of the coin is offered at $599.95.

There is an ordering limit of one coin per household for the first week of release.  After that time period the Mint will re-evaluate and either increase or remove the ordering limit.  Total production of the coins is limited to 40,000.  The split between proof and uncirculated coins will be determined based on sales demand.

The pricing for the latest release of the series matches that of the previous coin honoring Elizabeth Monroe.  The Monroe coins were released on February 28, 2008 when spot gold was trading at $972 per ounce.  Today, spot gold is at $924 per ounce.   The premium for the coins is a bit higher, but at least the Mint seems to be getting back to consistent pricing for the series.

The First Spouse Gold Coin series launched in 2007 with much fanfare.  The first two coins released sold out within the first day of sales at the US Mint.  This built up anticipation for the third coin of the series, which also sold out on the first day.  However, by the fourth coin of the series, enthusiasm had clearly diminished.

This post will take a look at the mintage figures (or sales figures to date) for the all of the coins released so far in the First Spouse Gold Coin series.

The table below is accurate as of May 22, 2008. The figures come from those reported by Numismaster.

2007 & 2008 First Spouse Gold Mintages

There were numerous factors that have caused the decline in popularity of the series.  I think that the primary reason is the increase in prices.  When the coins were first offered fro sale, they were priced at $410.95 and $429.95 for uncirculated and proof coins respectively.  The price for the latest release was $599.95 and $619.95, an increase of nearly $200.

Further exacerbating the increasing price was a recent sharp decrease in the price of gold.  Even though the price of gold dropped by almost $200 per ounce the Mint did not readjust prices to lower levels.  This definitely had a negative impact on sales.

Other reasons for the declining sales statistics may include: the tendency for a series to lose interest as it moves on, the appearance of other popular series such as the Bald Eagle Commemorative, and the diminishing premiums paid for the prior sold out First Spouse Gold Coins.

At the end of the day, the decreased mintages may actually present an opportunity.  Everyone will recall one of the modern rarities is the 1997-W Jackie Robinson Gold Coin.  This coin had a mintage of only 5,174 and is considered quite scarce today.  Something to keep in mind as we watch the First Spouse Gold Series continue.

On April 22, the Citizen Coin Advisory Committee (CCAC) made their selections for the designs to be used on the 2009 First Spouse Gold Coins.

The 2009 coins will honor five First Spouses, since President John Tyler remarried while in office. The spouses honored will be:

• Anna Harrison
• Letitia Tyler
• Julia Tyler
• Sarah Polk
• Margaret Taylor

Images of the design choices can be found here.