Proof Packaging To Show New $1 Edge

Proof packaging to show $1 edge

U.S. Mint Director Edmund C. Moy said Nov. 16 that inclusion of the Presidential dollars in the annual clad Proof set and Silver Proof set will require the addition of a third plastic lens to accommodate the new coins.
The packaging in this third lens (containing the Presidential dollars only) will allow the edge of each coin to be viewed through the packaging. The date, Mint mark and the mottoes E PLURIBUS UNUM and IN GOD WE TRUST will be struck incuse on the dollar's edge.
Circulation production of the Presidential dollar coins for 2007 will be accompanied from the U.S. Mint by a plethora of numismatic products, incorporating the coins struck in various finishes and including the possibility of a Proof silver version. (See related story on this page.)
The numismatic products will also be housed, in some instances, in newly designed and composed packaging to accommodate each option incorporating the additional dollar coins.
The third plastic lens is necessary for the 2007 clad Proof set and Silver Proof set since the current two-lens packaging style lacks space to hold the four Presidential dollars.
One of the other two plastic lenses will have the five State Quarter dollars; the other will house the Lincoln Cent, Jefferson 5-cent coin, Roosevelt dime, Kennedy half dollar and Sacagawea dollar.
All of the Proof coins are struck at the San Francisco Mint.
The 2007 Uncirculated Mint set will also require completely new packaging to accommodate the addition of eight Presidential dollars, bringing the total number of coins in the set to 28. The specific packaging configuration has not been disclosed, but Moy indicated the current Mylar packaging used to house the coins would be replaced with packaging made from another type of non-PVC (polyvinyl chloride) enclosure for long-term storage protection.
Both Denver Mint and Philadelphia Mint versions of circulation- strike Presidential dollars will also be offered in bags and rolls. Pricing hasn't been determined for these options. Nor have Mint officials decided whether to keep the same 25-coin roll size and 250-coin bag options that are used for the Sacagawea dollars. The Mint will offer Sacagawea dollars in bags and rolls in 2007.
The 2006-P and 2006-D 25-coin rolls of Sacagawea dollars are currently offered at $35.50 per roll ($71 for a roll from each Mint). Each bag (containing coins from just one Mint) is priced at $347.
According to Moy, the Mint will also offer first-day coin covers incorporating circulation strikes of each Presidential dollar release from the Denver and Philadelphia Mints. The Mint will also develop additional special sets incorporating the Presidential dollars and other coins or numismatic items, to be sold for educational purposes.
Moy said in the interview: "Coins are not only used for commerce, but they are also teaching tools. What we're doing now is working with a few people to see what the best combinations are, what the best packaging is, and what [are] the best support materials that we can put together. We want to have the best educational impact."
The Mint will also offer various products devoted to the First Spouses half-ounce .9999 fine gold $10 coins, which will be struck in Proof and Uncirculated versions, but not in bullion versions, Moy said. The Uncirculated versions will have a similar finish to a bullion release, except that the planchets are burnished.
The First Spouses coins are an additional component to the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005.
Moy said the Mint has received a number of inquiries about the Mint's plans for the four First Spouses coins. The coins will depict portraits of first ladies Martha Washington, Abigail Adams and Dolley Madison. Since Thomas Jefferson was a widower when he took office, per terms of the legislation, the coin from his presidency will depict Liberty on the obverse and the achievements of the president, instead of the first lady, on the reverse.
The Mint is in the design and manufacturing development process for the First Spouses coins. No date has been set for unveiling the final coin designs to the public. The coins will be struck at the West Point Mint with the W Mint mark. CW