When it comes to modern collectibles, I am into the “oh, neat!” of collectibles. I collect American Silver Eagles, silver Chinese Pandas, and British Britannias because they are neat! One neat collectible I discovered are First Day Coin Covers sold by the US Mint.
For those who do not collect philatelic items, First Day Covers are envelopes with stamps that are canceled on the first day of issue. Coin covers, also called Philatelic Numismatic Covers (PNC), are covers with coins or medals encased and usually postmarked on the first day of issue of the numismatic item. I have come to learn that PNCs are popular in Europe. The Royal Mint and Royal Mail partner to create wonder PNC collectibles in the United Kingdom.
The Mint has participated in the production of PNCs in the past but did not produce their own products until the 50 State Quarters program. Since 1999, the Mint as produced covers for all special circulated issues including the 50 State Quarters, Sacagawea Dollar, and the Westward Journey nickels. I have collected these covers from the beginning.
I was perusing the Mint’s online catalog to see what products are on the horizon. There, I found that the Mint will be issuing The American Presidency $1 Coin Cover Series. These covers will feature uncirculated Presidential Dollars from the Denver and Philadelphia mints from the first day of manufacturing. The coins will be attached to an envelope that will include a portrait of the President being honored and a paragraph describing his term of office. The envelope will have the prevailing stamp of the day and will be postmarked on the first day of issue in the president’s hometown. The Mint limits the production to 50,000 covers and cost $14.95—a bargain compared with similar offerings from other sources.
As opposed to the First Strikes or Early Releases coins designated by the third-party grading services, the coins included on the cover are from the first day of production for the coins. This makes them true first day of issue coins as guaranteed by the US Mint. This will be another interesting way to collect the new Presidential Dollar coins. I am looking forward to seeing these covers!
Image from the US Mint.