First Spouse Gold Coin Series: Abigail Fillmore Available March 18

By US Mint on Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Filed Under: Just Released - New Coins, Mint News, Modern US Coins, US Coins, US Mint

The United States Mint will begin accepting orders for the Abigail Fillmore First Spouse Gold Coin and Abigail Fillmore First Spouse Bronze Medal on March 18, 2010, at noon Eastern Time (ET).

The one-half ounce 24-karat gold coin, struck at the United States Mint at West Point, will be available in proof and uncirculated conditions.

Pricing for the coins will be based on the United States Mint’s pricing structure for precious metals products. Click Here For current pricing information. The bronze medals, which bear a likeness of the gold coin, will also be available for $5.50 each.

The coin’s obverse (heads side) features a portrait of Abigail Fillmore by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Phebe Hemphill. Inscriptions on the obverse are ABIGAIL FILLMORE, IN GOD WE TRUST, LIBERTY, 2010, 13th and 1850-1853, the period during which she was the spouse of the President.

The coin’s reverse (tails side), by United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program Master Designer Susan Gamble, depicts Fillmore shelving books in the library she established at the White House. Inscriptions on the reverse are UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, E PLURIBUS UNUM, $10, 1/2 OZ. and .9999 FINE GOLD.

The maximum mintage for the Abigail Fillmore First Spouse Gold Coin is 15,000 across all product options. Customer demand will determine the ratio of proof coins to uncirculated coins produced within the total maximum mintage.

Abigail Powers Fillmore was born in 1798 in Saratoga County, New York. She developed a passion for learning early in life. Financial circumstances forced her to begin working at the age of 16 as a teacher while she continued her own education.

While teaching at the New Hope Academy in Sempronius, New York, she met future husband, Millard Fillmore.

After their marriage, she continued to teach for another two years until their first child was born, making her the first presidential spouse to hold a paying job after her marriage. Throughout her life, she continued her zeal for self-improvement by reading voraciously, attending lectures and Congressional debates, and participating in political discussions.

Perhaps her most lasting contribution as first lady was her work in establishing a permanent White House library, for which President Fillmore asked Congress to appropriate funds. With $2,000 authorized for the project, Fillmore acquired several hundred volumes to start the collection in a second floor oval parlor, where she enjoyed entertaining such guests as authors Washington Irving, Charles Dickens and William Makepeace Thackeray. She also spent many hours selecting and arranging books for the library.

Orders for the Abigail Fillmore First Spouse Gold Coin and Medal will be accepted at http://www.usmint.gov/catalog, or 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). Hearing- and speech-impaired customers with TTY equipment may order at 1-888-321-MINT (6468). A shipping and handling fee of $4.95 will be applied to all domestic orders.

Tags: Abigail Fillmore, First Spouse, gold coins, US Mint

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Since Congress created the United States Mint on April 2, 1792 the primary mission of the United States Mint is to produce an adequate volume of circulating coinage for the nation. As a self-funded agency, the United States Mint turns revenues beyond its operating expenses over to the General Fund of the Treasury.Other responsibilities, include: Maintaining physical custody and protection of the Nation's $100 billion of U.S. gold and silver assets, Manufacturing and selling platinum, gold, and silver bullion coins,Overseeing of production facilities in Denver, Philadelphia, San Francisco and West Point, as well as the U.S. Bullion Depository at Fort Knox, Kentucky.