Six consecutive First Spouse coins purchased from the mint, six PF-70 Ultra Cameos!

As a series, the current First Spouse gold coins have a small, but committed following, of which I am one. There are many reasons few people collect these coins; the primary being the cost to assemble a complete set is prohibitive, especially with the current price of gold. In fact, if the price of gold continues to rise, I foresee the Mint discontinuing the series or continuing it with a different base metal. Then for whatever reason, there is just not an enough interest within the hobby to collect these, despite the availability of nearly identical bronze medal versions. Nevertheless, I think the presidential dollar and spouse medal sets, released in special mint packaging are a bit more popular, and at about $9 each, is much easier to collect.

As a collector of First Spouse coins, I see several advantages in collecting them. Among them are low mintages and a base metal of gold. Because of the gold content, these coins will always have value as a commodity and their rarity should give them value as a coin. Unfortunately, because of low demand many are sold at near melt value. This is one reason why my goal is to collect them in PF-70 condition, in hopes of giving my set a little more ?coin value?. Then there are personal reasons to collect these coins. I feel the contributions of our nation?s First Ladies are worthy of commemoration because of their selfless service to their husbands and our country often done within the shadow of their husband?s presidency. These things, combined with my love for history and the diversity of the designs makes this a compelling and interesting series to me.

Just about one year ago, I decided to collect all the First Spouse gold coins in proof condition. My intention then was to continue purchasing them for as long as my finances enabled me. My goal was to buy the coins directly from the Mint and submit them for grading, any coins grading PF-69 or lower, I would upgrade at a future date. As many of you know upgrading your coins can be an expensive proposition, and the First Spouse coins are no different. The Mint is currently selling the coins raw for $729, a bit pricey to be sure, but PF-70 coins are often offered as a ?buy it now? on E-Bay for over $1000. At that price, I am not biting, even though I have a lower grade coin to sell to help finance the purchase. A week ago, I thought to browse through a few dealer web sites to see what they were offering. To my amazement, I found a Louisa Adams PF 70 coin available for almost $200 less than the lowest E-Bay listing! Of course, I scarfed that one up, and to finance it, I will sell the 69. If you want information on the dealer, contact me, and I?ll give you the name.

The cheapest way to build this set is to buy the coins raw and grade as perfect 70?s. In a phenomenal run, the last six coins I purchased from the Mint all graded PFUC-70! Was this good luck or something else? I think it was a combination of both. Coins struck on fresh dies have much finer surfaces than those struck on worn dies. I purchased all these coins on the first day of issue and while there is no way to assure buying coins struck with fresh dies, I think buying them on the first day gives you a better chance.

Finally, with 13 coins to date, I have Andrew Jackson?s Liberty to upgrade and Abigail Fillmore to purchase next month. Income tax refund money will finance Abigail Fillmore, and I?ll see how the finances line up for next time! Happy Collecting all! Please enjoy this photo collage of my last six purchases.

Gary