Second Coin in America the Beautiful Quarters™ Program Available in Bags and Rolls

The United States Mint will begin accepting orders for products featuring the Yellowstone National Park quarter beginning at noon Eastern Time (ET) on June 1, 2010. Available options include a two-roll set priced at $32.95 and 100-coin bags priced at $35.95 each. The coins in the bags and rolls were struck on the main production floors of the United States Mint facilities at Denver and Philadelphia for use in general circulation.

The two-roll set includes one roll each of 40 coins-one each bearing the “P” and “D” mint marks-wrapped in distinctive packaging displaying the name “Yellowstone,” abbreviation “WY” for Wyoming, mint of origin, and “$10,” the value of its contents. Each canvas bag has a tag with “Yellowstone,” the “P” or “D” mint mark, “WY,” and “$25,” the value of its contents.

Orders will be accepted at http://www.usmint.gov/catalog, or at 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). Hearing- and speech-impaired customers may order by calling 1-888-321 MINT (6468). A fee of $4.95 will be added to all domestic orders to cover shipping and handling costs.

The Yellowstone National Park quarter is the second release in the United States Mint America the Beautiful QuartersTM Program, the United States Mint’s new multi-year initiative to honor 56 national parks and national sites in each state, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories.

The coin’s reverse (tails side) design features the Old Faithful geyser with a mature bull bison in the foreground. Inscriptions are YELLOWSTONE, WYOMING, 2010 and E PLURIBUS UNUM. The reverse was designed and sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Don Everhart.

The coin’s obverse (heads side) design features the 1932 portrait of George Washington by John Flanagan, which has been restored to bring out subtle details and the beauty of the original model. Inscriptions are UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, LIBERTY, IN GOD WE TRUST and QUARTER DOLLAR. Each coin in the series will bear the same obverse design.

The United States Mint, created by Congress in 1792, is the Nation’s sole manufacturer of legal tender coinage. Its primary mission is to produce an adequate volume of circulating coinage for the Nation to conduct its trade and commerce. The United States Mint also produces proof, uncirculated and commemorative coins; Congressional Gold Medals; and silver, gold and platinum bullion coins. (more…)

“There was great excitement among both international and Israeli coin collectors on the day of the initial offering of the first Israeli bullion coin,” the Israel Coins and Medals Corp. said in a statement Wednesday. “In the morning, the telephone lines at our order call center crashed because of high demand and interest for the special gold coin.”

The Bank of Israel has issued and aptly named this series “Jerusalem of Gold”. The coins in the series are legal tender. Each contains 1 oz. of fine gold.9999 and has a face value of 20 New Sheqalim (NIS).

These are the very first Israeli gold bullion coins, priced in accordance with the daily international price of gold, plus a reasonable mark up over gold.

These bullion coins are equally valuable as collectors items and as financial investments. The Gold Bullion Coins in the “Jerusalem of Gold” Series will depict a treasured historical site in the eternal city of Jerusalem.

The obverse features the The Tower of David, rising above the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, near Jaffa Gate. The word “Jerusalem” appears above the Tower, again in all 3 languages, the Face Value of 20 New Sheqalim (NIS), mint mark and year. On the right side appear the words “1 oz. fine gold .9999” in Hebrew and English.

The reverse of each coin will depict The Lion of Megiddo, with its stylized curved tail, is taken from an ancient seal excavated in Megiddo (Armageddon) in the Jordan Valley, dating from the 8th cent. BCE. The seal belonged to Shema, the servant of Jeroboam II, Israelite King. The lion is also the symbol of the Tribe of Judah and of the eternal capital of Israel, Jerusalem. The same Lion of Megiddo appeared in the past on the Israeli 5 Lira Banknote (1958), 5 Lira Coin (1978), and on the Half Sheqel Coin (1980). Above the figure of the lion appears the State of Israel Emblem and below it the word “Israel” in English, Hebrew and Arabic..

One coin will be issued annually, starting from 2010 with the “Tower of David”. The 2011 coin in the series, will feature another timeless treasure, “The Western Wall” the last remnant of the Second Holy Temple.

The gold coins are valuable as collector’s items and as financial investments. The Tower of David edition will be limited to 3,600 coins. In addition, there is a strict limit of five gold coins per customer.

The coins in the series are legal tender and are issued by the Bank of Israel.

The numismatic marketplace is a diverse landscape of collectibles and investment opportunities that offers both opportunity and enjoyment to those who venture into some of the less publicized areas.

At CoinLink we tend to focus on classic rarities, major rarities and coins that have both a historical and pedigreed back-story. We love to find unusual items to present to our readers along with “important coins” that stand out in numismatic history and give us a better insight into how and why our coinage was conceived, developed and collected.

However this is just one arena in which collectors pursue their interest in the hobby. Many are drawn to specialties such as Bust Half dollars or Seated coinage, some focus on classic commemoratives or rare date gold. And many concentrate on Modern coins and new mint issues including high grade bullion coins or one of the many commemorative coins produced each year by the US mint.

One area where scant attention has been paid is to the World Collector Coin market. These are generally Silver coins, based around a particular theme and produced by several national mints under the authority of small far away counties such as Tuvalu and The Cook Islands.

The Perth Mint has been a prolific producer of such coins covering Nature, Military History and Famous People to Maritime and Aviation themes.

All these coins are visually striking and most incorporate innovative manufacturing techniques to add Holograms, colorized backgrounds and even revolutionary new design concepts such as the ‘orbital’ coin where the coin rotates around a fixed center.

Mintages for these coins is almost always limited, often to as few as 5000 coins, and are generally Sold out within a very short time after they are introduced.

Cory Maita of Gainesville Coins remarked that they can’t seem to keep these coin in stock. ” The demand is amazing and the collector coins just fly out the door”

Gainesville Coins is a major seller of collector coins and because of their special relationship with many of the mints and suppliers, they often are the first company to have new issues in stock and ready to ship.

The New 2010 Warrior Series has been very incredibly popular. The coin’s reverse portrays a Roman legionary in colour. Tough, courageous and highly-disciplined infantry soldiers, professional legionaries formed the backbone of the Roman army, a formidable fighting force that conquered and controlled Rome’s vast Empire.

The legionary is dressed in a galea, a metal helmet with cheek guards, and a cuirass, body armour comprising overlapping iron plates. The legionary is also wearing an apron of leather strips featuring metal plates hanging from his belt, and caligae, leather sandals with iron hobnails.

This Four coin set will also include the Viking, Knight and Samurai. (more…)