Collecting First Day Coin Covers

The philatelic community has long cherished the creation and collection of First Day Stamp Covers. By simply placing a newly introduced stamp on an envelope and having it shipped to an address (therefore having the stamp canceled on the first day of the stamp's release), a collector has created a philatelic collectible that honors the artistry and symbolism behind the stamp. In more recent times, this practice has been revised and updated in numismatic circles with First Day Coin Covers (FDCC). These items are similar collectibles to the stamp covers, however, they commemorate the first strike and/or circulation release of a newly minted coin.

For the typical First Day Coin Cover, the coin (or coins from multiple mints) is mounted in a special holder that allows both sides of the coin to be visible. This holder is then placed in a specially designed envelope that has appropriately placed openings to allows one to view the coin(s). The envelope is then stamped (usually with a stamp whose value equals the standard first class mail rate for that day) and officially canceled by the post office on the day of the release of the newly minted coin. In some instances, the stamp used on the cover may be associated with the design of the coin. Additionally, a special cancellation image related to the coin might be used for ceremonial releases of some new coins.

Some collectors are not fans of FDCCs with the reasoning that the "First Day" moniker means little in relation to the quality of a coin's design, the grading of the coin itself, or the stated mintage for the coin. However, on the contrary, FDCCs can be intriguing, beautiful and educational in their own right. They are created and sold as much for their informational highlights and presentation aesthetics as they are for any special status the first day of release may portend to the coin itself.

A number of countries have created officially sanctioned coin covers for quite a while now. In the US, collectors and dealers have created their own private FDCC products for many years as well. It has only been in recent times, that the United States Mint has produced official first day coin covers, starting in 1999 to coincide with the beginning of the 50 State Quarters Program. These covers displayed both a P and D mint first day strike of each state quarter with the envelope describing facts related to the origin of the images on the quarters' reverse and how they relate to the state.

The State Quarters Coin Covers were followed by the P-minted Sacagawea Dollar Coin Cover in 2000, for which the Mint became more creative about the details found on the envelope. In this case, the front displays a beautiful portrait of Sacagawea aiding Lewis and Clark during their journey across the Louisiana Purchase and the reverse describes details of her contribution to the exploration of the American west. From 2004 to 2006, five other first day coin covers were introduced to honor the new Jefferson Nickel reverse designs. In 2007, the Mint continued the tradition of First Day Coin Covers by making one for each new Presidential Dollar coin that was minted.

In 2009, with the release of the six additional quarters to honor the District of Columbia and the United States Territories, the Mint created some of the most beautiful First Day Coin Covers by portraying expansive scenic images of each location on the envelopes.

Unfortunately, we have yet to see any further production or evolution of the First Day Coin Covers besides the continuing issuance for the coins of the Presidential Dollar series. No covers were created for the four new Lincoln cent designs in 2009. And as of this date, no coin covers have been scheduled to be produced for the new 2010 Lincoln Cent design or the upcoming America the Beautiful Quarters. We can only hope that the Mint corrects this oversight and for future coins, continues the production this great collectible. But of course, this is also a perfect opportunity for private collectors and dealers to make their own FDCCs for the next set of coin designs.

Source: coinupdate.com

Money Show DVDs available

DVDs of the educational presentations delivered at the Money Show of the Southwest, held Dec. 3-5, are now available for purchase.

Among the speakers whose presentations are available on disc are former football great Greg Bingham with “Collector’s Approach to Collecting,” historian and teacher Ricardo DeLeon with “Coins of the Mexican War of Independence,” collector Sebastion Frommhold with “Ways to Store Your Coins and Currency,” coin promoter and lecturer Mike Fuljenz with “Gold Coin Market Today,” coin fund manager Bob Higgins with “Ways to Include Gold in Your Portfolio,” Money Show chairman Carl Schwenker with “Have You Ever Really Looked at a Dollar Bill?” and PCGS president Don Willis with “Benefits of Third Party Grading.”

The educational presentations are sponsored by the Greater Houston Coin Club.

Also for sale is a DVD containing highlights of the 2009 Money Show. It includes a report from Chairman Schwenker, a display of proof-like Morgan dollars, news from the American Numismatic Association’s executive director and information on a new Texas currency book.

The videos are produced by David Lisot, founder of Cointelevision.com. He has been involved in video and television production since the 1980s.

The Money Show DVDs retail for $24.95 plus $4 shipping and handling. A complete list of hundreds of other available DVDs on coin collecting can be found at www.coinvideo.com.

Source: numismaticnews.net

Saving for vacation, then savoring the memories

This is how it was: Every day, after work, my father would put his quit-smoking money into a bank, which he kept on top of his dresser. He’d walk straight into his bedroom and empty his pockets. The bank was big, some kind of mongrel dog, a porcelain thing my mother shook her head at. On her dresser sat an Infant of Prague.

When the bank was full, and this took a long time, a year, sometimes two, when my father couldn’t squeeze in one more dime, he would shout for me and say, “It’s time!’’ And I’d come running, no matter if I were watching the “Mickey Mouse Club’’ or “American Bandstand,’’ because this was the Big Day.

My father quit smoking when I was 8, so how often did we do this? Two, three, four times?

We’d sit on the bed and he would ceremoniously remove the black rubber stopper from the bank’s bottom and out would pour a stream of nickels and quarters and dimes and dust.

We’d hoot and holler and breathe in the twin smells of copper and cash, and my father would grin and say things like, “Wait ‘til your mother comes home. Wait ‘til she sees all this,’’ as if we were sitting on a pile of gold in the middle of Ali Baba’s cave and not in the small bedroom of a humble house with a 30-year mortgage.

We made piles of coins on the chenille bedspread, then counted and added. The sum was always around $300. This was our vacation money, and once it was determined exactly how much we had, we were good to go.

Mostly we went to New Hampshire, because my mother loved Echo Lake, and my father loved making my mother happy. It was that simple.

But maybe it wasn’t.

Maybe they wanted to go to New York, but $300 wasn’t enough. Or to Disneyland, but they could never afford that. Maybe he couldn’t get time off when she could. Maybe they had problems getting me out of school. Maybe they planned the trip around motel deals and the lowest rates of the season

I’ll never know. To me it seemed as if one day we were giddily counting change, and a few days later we were standing on top of Mount Washington posing for pictures.

But that’s a child’s perspective.

The child is a grown-up now, and the adult she’s become has been salting away money, not in a bank on a bureau like my father, but in a bank in my town. I did the math a month ago. Let’s go on vacation, I yelled.

And sure enough everyone yelled back. A vacation? Great! But when and where? Everyone is busy. Everyone works. Everyone has kids. Everyone has commitments and appointments and obligations. And no one can just pack up and go.

“February’s not good for us,’’ my son said. “We’re moving.’’

“March isn’t good for me,’’ my daughter said. “It’s ‘Cabaret’ month and there are shows every weekend.’’

“April’s out for me,’’ my husband chimed.

May? It’s a possibility but, not the second and third week.

Two years ago, on our first and only family vacation, we went to Walt Disney World, some of us for four days, some of us for two. It was magical even though half of us were felled by a 24-hour bug.

I want to go back to Disney World, but someone says beach and someone else says golf and someone else says, “Where can we go that is all-inclusive?’’

Back in the day when rolled coins could finance a trip, there were just three of us. And I didn’t have a vote. It was New Hampshire or New Hampshire.

Now there are eight adults and seven children.

“Just pick a week, Mom, and put it out there. Then we can decide the place.’’

I vote for Echo Lake. It’s a car ride. We can go to Story Land. And Santa’s Village. We can hike and fish and swim and ride horses. And we can go in June or July or August.

And when we’re all together, what I’d really like to do is drive to the top of Mount Washington and pose for a picture with this sprawling, hard-to-get-under-one-tent, amazing family that I love.

Source: boston.com

U.S. Coin Shipments, Beer Sales Both Fell Sharply In 2009

The number of brand-new quarters supplied to American banks by the U.S. Mint fell 61.55% from 2008 levels. The number of brand-new coins of all types shipped by the Mint -- pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and $1 dollar pieces -- dropped 48% last year.

These figures were among those issued by the Mint, indicating that the severity of America's economic recession has caused the U.S. Federal Reserve System to experience a sharply lower need to replenish inventory and fulfill commercial demand for coins in 2009.

Shipments of new quarters fell from 2.5 billion in 2008 to just 965 million in 2009. Deliveries of new dollar coins fell 3.37% from 475 million in 2008 to 459 million in 2009. Total shipments of coins from the Mint to the Federal Reserve were 5.2 billion coins for calendar 2009 (which is fiscal year 2010), compared with 10 billion units the year prior.

A separate statistical report also reflects the deep recession and its impact on the coin machine industry. The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. beer sales volumes declined in 2009 by the highest rate seen in over half a century. Beer sales dropped 2.2%, the sharpest one-year drop since the 1950s. Figures represent both take-home sales and on- premise consumption.

The paper said demand was especially soft in the final few months of 2009. Anheuser-Busch InBev NV and MillerCoors LLC are the leading U.S. breweries, following mergers for both companies. Beer prices from the two leading suppliers rose about 5% last year, contributing to weak sales.

Source: vendingtimes.com