Coins

Thousands of First Spouse Gold Coins Melted

According to an article in the March 10, 2008 issue of Coin World, thousands of First Spouse Gold Coins have been melted. While this has implications about current demand for the series, it also has implications about the future of the series.

The coins were melted by SilverTowne, a coin dealer and private mint. According to the article, SilverTowne has melted between 5,000 and 7,000 Martha Washington and Louisa Adams coins, including both proof and uncirculated versions. An unspecified number of Thomas Jefferson’s Liberty coins were also melted. In addition, the firm has melted thousands of other recently issued gold commemoratives coins.

According to the president of SilverTowne, the coins were melted after his firm identified little or no retail demand.

I think it’s actually quite saddening that SilverTowne would choose to melt these coins. If they had offered them for sale at melt value prices, I think they would have readily found buyers to deplete their entire inventory. From the firm’s perspective this would have accomplished the same task of liquidating the inventory at the prevailing price of gold without destroying the coins.

As for the implications of the melt, in the short term it seems to indicate a lack of short term demand. In my opinion there is plenty of demand for the coins, as evidenced by the dozens that sell each day on eBay for prices well above the melt value. Perhaps there was just not the kind of bulk demand needed to quickly sell thousands of the coins.

As for the future implications of the melt, a single source has just removed almost 10% of the entire mintage. Mintage figures for these coins will be misleading future collectors, who may find the coins are more scarce than the mintages indicate.

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