Coin Collecting

I ordered this commenorative coin on 2/13/2009 while it was on backorder and was given a shipping date of 4/1/2009.  I recieved an email from the mint today letting me know that it has been shipped.  Imagine my surprise as I was not expecting it for over a month from now.  These are going to make a nice addition to the boys collections.

Stock photo from US Mint web site.

2009 Abraham Lincoln Commemorative Silver Dollar

The Lincoln Penny is as readily available as a glass of water from your kitchen sink.  With a mint history spanning a century, it is the longest and most produced type coin in US history.  According to the US Mint’s website they produced 5,419,200,000 pennies in 2008.

A few days ago The Mint unveiled the new 2009 Lincoln KY Birthplace Penny in Hodgenville, KY.  My collector friend was able to go and bought a few rolls which he gave me two of for the boys’ collection.  I’m sure he is regretting that now.  Looking around online these rolls are going for anywhere between $20 and $130 a roll.  I saw several boxes for sale ranging between $500 and $750.  So this got me wondering why.

There is a lot of speculation surrounding these coins.  If you look on The Mints website it states that only 294M 2009 Pennies will be produced.  That’s roughly 5% of last year’s production.  What is even more amazing about this drop in production is that they are releasing a total of 4 different reverses on the Lincoln Penny this year (staggered 3 months apart) as part of his bicentennial celebration.

With 294M being produced this year they are certainly no diamond in the rough.  So why are they commanding such a high dollar amount?  The speculation comes in that banks are already so overwhelmed with pennies that they aren’t in need of them.  With the economy tanking many people are turning in their large change collections for cash and banks simply can’t move them.  I heard a story today about a guy going to his local bank to buy a new roll of pennies and when he got home they were from 2007.  He took them back up and asked if they had anything newer (looking for some 2009’s) and they said they are still waiting on 2008’s.  If the banks don’t order them the coins won’t enter circulation.  If they don’t enter circulation it doesn’t matter if they minted 294B pennies, you won’t be able to easily find them.  This coupled around the bicentennial they are being regarded as hot items and anyone lucky enough to get some at the release are sitting around with a big smile on their face.

In my introduction post I mentioned wanting to build Lincoln sets for the boys.  Today I learned of a new Silver Dollar commemorative coin being offered by the US Mint.  I ordered two of the Proof coins today, but they are on backorder and will take a few weeks to get them in.

The coins observe has more of an offset picture of Lincoln rather than side view found on the penny and the Proof finish really makes him stand out.  The reverse contains the following 43 words from the end of the Gettysburg Address: “We here highly resolve that these dead shale not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

I think these coins will make good Christmas presents for the boys.

I’m fairly new to coin collecting.  I have talked about it with one of my friends for a while now but really didn’t think it was for me.  My youngest son has taken a recent interest in coins and wanted to start a collection.  I figured it would be a good way to learn some history about US money and perhaps help him start a hobby that will last him a lifetime.  I also figured if I was going to do this with my youngest son I would drag my oldest along for the ride.

So far our collections are small and mostly made up of circulated coins.  My son’s favorite so far is a 1958 Lincoln Wheat penny he found.  It’s his favorite because it was the last year they produced the Lincoln penny with the wheat stalks on the back.  A friend of mine attended the release party today for the new bicentennial Lincoln penny featuring the Kentucky Birthplace of Lincoln on the reverse side in Hodgenville, KY.  He brought back one roll for each of my boys and they were thrilled.  After doing some reading about the Lincoln penny we found that it is the oldest running coin produced by the US Mint.  We are going to search around to find a 1909, a 1909 VDB, and a 1959 Lincoln penny so we have the first year of each new release of this coin.  It’s apparently rumored that this may be the last year of the Lincoln penny.  I agree that a penny really doesn’t buy much (or anything) these days, but they are so easy to come by and they have been the start of many collections over the year.  I think that the length of its run is proof of how important President Lincoln was to this country and if it is discontinued it would be nice to see him further honored with a new coin in the years to come.