Ash Lawn-Highland, the estate of President James Monroe in Charlottesville, Virginia, will be the first place in the Nation to obtain James Monroe Presidential $1 Coins, a day before the coins are officially placed into circulation nationwide.

In a brief ceremony before the coin exchange, the new James Monroe Presidential $1 Coins will be presented to the American people, with a ceremonial “pour” of hundreds of shiny, new coins. The Acting Deputy Director of the United States Mint, Dan Shaver, will join Ash Lawn-Highland’s Executive Director, Carolyn Coggin Holmes, James Monroe Memorial Foundation President G. William Thomas Jr. and James Monroe re-enactor Dennis Bigelow for the event.

The news media and public are invited to the ceremony and coin exchange at 11 a.m. Wednesday, February 13, 2008. There will be no entrance fee at Ash Lawn-Highland until noon. (more…)

Coin World is reporting that the U.S. Mint has accidentally struck between 70,000 and 140,000 Monroe Presidential Dollars on planchets (coin blanks) intended for Statehood Quarters! The error coins were detected and intercepted by the contractor (CoinWrap Inc.,) that wraps the Presidential Dollars for the U.S. Mint. During the coin-wrapping process, CoinWrap workers discovered some “irregular” dollars among Monroe coins struck at the Philadelphia Mint facility. Of course, the contractor immediately Did The Right Thing and gathered all of the misstruck coins and returned them to the U.S. Mint, which will (presumably) destroy them.

The Monroe Presidential Dollar isn’t due to hit circulation until February 14, but banks have been able to order the coins from the Fed since the beginning of February. It will be interesting to see how many of these amazing “wrong planchet errors” actually surface, and in what parts of the country they are found. Read Full Article

The U.S. Mint took home three Coin of the Year awards at the ceremony held Feb. 2 during the World Money Fair in Berlin, Germany. Ed Moy, U.S. Mint director, was on had to accept the awards.  Here is how the U.S. fared:

- A commemorative silver dollar depicting Benjamin Franklin as an old diplomat won the Most Historically Significant category. The coin was struck to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Franklin’s birth.

- The Nevada state quarter won judges’ votes for two categories: Best Trade and Most Popular. Best Trade refers to circulating coins, and Most Popular often boils down to mintage numbers. The quarter showcases galloping mustangs, the wild horses native to the state. Read Full Story

Recently, my friend in Washington, D.C., sent me an e-mail article he knew I’d enjoy about a famous bird couple. George and Martha Wilson, a mated pair of bald eagles on the Potomac’s Maryland shore since 1998, were at the heart of a news story once again.

First identified by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that year during a routine, regional flyover, the two eagles were named George and Martha Wilson because they were located near the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. According to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge’s Project Web site, the pair successfully fledged three eaglets that year, two in 1999 and three more in 2000. In the fall of 2000, a strong wind storm blew their nest down, but they rebuilt a year later, further south down the Maryland shoreline and closer to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. They fledged two additional eaglets at that location, but unfortunately, that nest also was lost to a wind storm. Read Full Story

WASHINGTON, D.C. - 24-karat gold coins from the new United States Mint Celebration Series will go on sale at noon on Tuesday, February 5, 2008, in time for the Lunar New Year beginning February 7. The American Buffalo 2008 Celebration Coin is a special numismatic product, featuring a 24-Karat American Buffalo Gold Coin, being introduced in the year 2008 because the number “8″ is traditionally associated with wealth and prosperity in Asian-American cultures.

“In many Asian cultures, there is a tradition of buying gold for loved ones to show how much you care for them,” said United States Mint Director Edmund C. Moy. The United States Mint Celebration Series is an outreach initiative to Americans who are not already collecting coins. The first special numismatic product in the series, the American Buffalo 2008 Celebration Coin, will be available to all interested purchasers.

“The introduction of the American Buffalo 2008 Celebration Coin will be an exceptional opportunity for both first-time Asian-American buyers, as well as our long-term gold coin collectors,” Director Moy continued. (more…)