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APOLLO 11 ANNIVERSARY COINS
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122 posts in this topic

I was wondering what you experienced collectors think about the Apollo 11 coins. Looks like they're going to be curved and they're offering gold and silver coins. Dollars and half dollars too. I'm wondering if you think these will become valuable and be in high demand. I can't seem to find out yet, if they're limiting production or not. Does anyone know if they're limiting production?  I'm guessing that if they don't limit production, there won't be a high demand. Does that sound correct? I don't have a great track record of being able to predict the high demand coins very accurately!! 

Thanks ahead of time for your input.

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Her's a copy of the press release. Better have your bank account in order. They're charging a whopping $10 extra for the $1 - 1 ounce silver coin and $35 for each gold coin. See below for all the coins surcharges.  I'm sure it won't matter. Collectors will probably snatch them up, no matter what the price is. 

United States Mint Unveils Designs for the 2019 Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Program

October 11, 2018

Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin obverse and reverse with apollo module orbiting the moon

WASHINGTON – The United States Mint (Mint) unveiled the designs for the 2019 Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Program today. The obverse and reverse designs will be featured on the four coins in the program: a $5 gold coin, a standard size $1 silver coin, a half dollar clad coin, and a five ounce $1 silver proof coin. In a manufacturing first for the Mint, the five ounce silver proof coin will be curved, as will the other coins in the program.

The obverse design was selected from entries in a juried competition as required by the authorizing legislation, Public Law 114-282. The winning design is by Gary Cooper of Belfast, Maine. It features the inscriptions “MERCURY,” “GEMINI,” and “APOLLO”— separated by phases of the Moon—and a footprint on the lunar surface. The design represents the efforts of the United States space program leading up to the first manned Moon landing. Additional inscriptions are “2019,” “IN GOD WE TRUST,” and “LIBERTY.” Mint Sculptor-Engraver Joseph Menna sculpted the design.

The reverse design is by Mint Sculptor-Engraver Phebe Hemphill. It features a representation of a close-up of the iconic ‘Buzz Aldrin on the Moon’ photograph taken July 20, 1969, showing just the visor and part of the helmet of astronaut Buzz Aldrin. The reflection in Aldrin’s helmet includes astronaut Neil Armstrong, the United States flag, and the lunar lander. Inscriptions are “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” the respective denomination, and “E PLURIBUS UNUM.” Ms. Hemphill also sculpted the design.

The law that authorizes the Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Program also requires the Mint to collect surcharges from coin sales—$35 for each gold coin, $10 for each $1 silver coin, $5 for each half-dollar coin, and $50 for each five ounce silver proof coin. The Mint is authorized to distribute the surcharges as follows:

  • one half to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum’s ”Destination Moon” exhibit,
  • one quarter to the Astronauts Memorial Foundation, and
  • one quarter to the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.

The Mint will announce the release date and pricing for this coin program prior to the opening of sales in January 2019.

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UPDATE:

There is a 400,000 limit for the entire product line. I would imagine that means they'll be sold out in a heart beat. What do you experienced people think?

Specifications

Composition: 99.9% Silver
Diameter: 1.500 inches
Weight: 26.730 grams
Overall Height: 0.243 inch
Mintage Limit: 400,000 across all silver product options

Edited by investinrehabs
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My bad, I thought you were referring to the Apollo 11 Robbins medal reissue.

 

>$1995 for the half ounce gold Apollo 11 reissue coin.

They are limiting production to a quantity of #2018 as I recall.

I’d love to have one, but $1995 for $620 worth of gold is absurd. $1000 would be a more reasonable price in my mind including a good markup. I can only imagine what they will charge when they release the full ounce gold coin.

Edited by Matt_dac
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For them to hit 400,000 in this economy, (non-political statement, I'm talking about savings erosion and discretionary spending) would be near impossible. I'm guessing a little over 100,000 Silver coins across all options. Maybe about 7,000 Gold Coins (UNC. + PF.) because the popular 5 oz. Silver Puck will sell big time, it has that look to it. I do like the designs, but Modern collector Gold numbers keep getting lower and many Government workers are without Pay (non political statement just giving reason for less collectors to be able to purchase). 

Can anyone explain the Apollo 11 half ounce gold coin spoke of above? I missed that? Is that a U.S. Mint issue and $2000 for $620 worth of gold or something? Then a full ounce? Is it a Medal or Legal tender Coin? 

 

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On 1/3/2019 at 5:15 PM, investinrehabs said:

They're charging a whopping $10 extra for the $1 - 1 ounce silver coin and $35 for each gold coin.

That has been the standard surcharge for the commemorative coins since 1983.  I think the standard surcharge on clad halves has been $2.50 so that is up on these.  This is the first 5 oz commemorative "puck" they have ever done.  It's about 6 times as much silver as in the dollar so a $50 surcharge seem like what I would expect.

 

On 1/3/2019 at 5:19 PM, investinrehabs said:

There is a 400,000 limit for the entire product line. I would imagine that means they'll be sold out in a heart beat. What do you experienced people think?

Take a look at the sales figures for previous commems.  There have been 32 commem silver dollars issued in the past 18 years, none of them have been sell outs, 5 of them have managed to crack the 400K level (barely), a few in the 300K to 400K range and most of them less than 200K.  The few that did reach the 400K were for well known historical events.  I doubt these will be a sell out but I would not be surprised if they come close (A LOT of people collecting today remember watching the Appolo 11 moon mission and Armstrong taking the firs step onto the moon.  I know it made a major impression on me at the time.)  If they do sell out I don't expect it to be in a "heartbeat".  If they do sell out that will make the dollar coin one of the more common commemorative silver dollars.

Edited by Conder101
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Personally, I think they're going to be the next numismatic fad, just like the 2014 Baseball coins.  They're going to be hotter than the sun for five minutes, resulting in a high mintage for a modern commemorative and then they're going to tank in value within the next year.  I'd say if someone likes them, go for it, but don't buy them with an investment mindset or looking to profit from them in the long run.  The only way anyone other than the US Mint will profit from these is if they do sell out.  Then flippers right after the sellout is announced will be able to turn a profit, I think.  But if they don't sell out fast, I'd say that they're going to follow the trajectory of any other modern US commemorative coin and that there will be no profit or investment potential.

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Following this with extreme interest.

I suppose I should look back at how NGC graded and encapsulated the baseball glove from several years ago.

Nine days and counting, and a $5 U.S. Gold coin will eventually become available as the capstone to my entire (albeit small) U.S. Gold Collection.

Question:  Would every coin that comes from the Mint direct have a highest possible grade if submitted to NGC for encapsulation?

Time to start strategizing how to obtain a finest, and NCG encapsulated, coin.

Let me just add that I went into my library a second ago and looked at my Life magazine Special Edition from 1969, framed for many, many years, now.

On the cover — the entire-cover — is the upper torso and helmet photo of Buzz Aldrin, the exact photo that the coins will commemorate, and on his right arm is his autograph, that he at first refused when I appeared before him, when the line of people passed by him to get a handshake.  "No autographs, please," we had been admonished earlier, from the head table of dignitaries.  But I pleaded with him when my handshake "turn" occurred, and being a little boy at the time, he relented and took the fine point Magic Marker pen from my hand, placed the magazine before him on his lap (he was seated), uncapped the pen, touched the point to the lower corner of the magazine to insure the "ink" would flow nicely, and signed a beautiful autograph on his right arm in the photo.

Found this image Online:

image.thumb.png.9cab92bf5755eda809234be6dcc3fa06.png

I have room for one more coin in my puzzle box, and this will be it, one way or another.

 

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2 hours ago, USAuPzlBxBob said:

Following this with extreme interest.

I suppose I should look back at how NGC graded and encapsulated the baseball glove from several years ago.

Nine days and counting, and a $5 U.S. Gold coin will eventually become available as the capstone to my entire (albeit small) U.S. Gold Collection.

Question:  Would every coin that comes from the Mint direct have a highest possible grade if submitted to NGC for encapsulation?

Time to start strategizing how to obtain a finest, and NCG encapsulated, coin.

Let me just add that I went into my library a second ago and looked at my Life magazine Special Edition from 1969, framed for many, many years, now.

On the cover — the entire-cover — is the upper torso and helmet photo of Buzz Aldrin, the exact photo that the coins will commemorate, and on his right arm is his autograph, that he at first refused when I appeared before him, when the line of people passed by him to get a handshake.  "No autographs, please," we had been admonished earlier, from the head table of dignitaries.  But I pleaded with him when my handshake "turn" occurred, and being a little boy at the time, he relented and took the fine point Magic Marker pen from my hand, placed the magazine before him on his lap (he was seated), uncapped the pen, touched the point to the lower corner of the magazine to insure the "ink" would flow nicely, and signed a beautiful autograph on his right arm in the photo.

Found this image Online:

image.thumb.png.9cab92bf5755eda809234be6dcc3fa06.png

I have room for one more coin in my puzzle box, and this will be it, one way or another.

 

I think it's luck of the draw as to whether coins from the mint will grade at PF69 or PF70. 

Related...my wife bought me a Monnaie de Paris gold commemorative coin some years ago.  I submitted it to NGC and was pleasantly surprised when it came back PF70.

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PF 69 or PF 70, either will be fine.

Better to acquire on my own with NGC than pay a huge markup to go with a pre-slabbed definite PF 70 coin, that just maybe will have sold out, or have phenomenal demand, jacking up the price.

Anyway, finding out all I can as the "countdown" continues.  T minus nine days and counting, and all systems are go.

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I have another question for you experienced collectors. The mint is selling the Apollo 11 and a Kennedy half in a "set." They want an astounding $54 for the 2 coins. So I looked at the composition of both coins and low and behold, there's not a gram of silver in either coin. IMHO, that price is outrageous! I could understand the price if they were maybe 50% silver or whatever. So I'm really curious to see what you long time collectors think about the price. Maybe I'm missing something here! Thanks in advance. 

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58 minutes ago, investinrehabs said:

I have another question for you experienced collectors. The mint is selling the Apollo 11 and a Kennedy half in a "set." They want an astounding $54 for the 2 coins. So I looked at the composition of both coins and low and behold, there's not a gram of silver in either coin. IMHO, that price is outrageous! I could understand the price if they were maybe 50% silver or whatever. So I'm really curious to see what you long time collectors think about the price. Maybe I'm missing something here! Thanks in advance. 

I personally would not bother with the clad, just no real value there.

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A bit of serendipity for only one of the coins (the only coin I'm after) is that the FIVE DOLLARS gold coin will be minted at West Point, NY, and bear a W mint mark.

The United States Military Academy is located at West Point, NY.  (it's commonly referred to as 'West Point')

Buzz Aldrin graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1951, with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Very fitting.

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For the actual two Ag coins next week, both are 0.999 Ag Fineness.

The $1 coin is 1.5-inch diameter.  Ok, no big deal.

But the other 0.999 Ag coin, that will be a 5-oz coin, and it will be  3-inches  in diameter.

Gigantic coin!  You could maybe shave with it instead of using a mirror!  lol

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On 1/15/2019 at 12:26 PM, USAuPzlBxBob said:

Question:  Would every coin that comes from the Mint direct have a highest possible grade if submitted to NGC for encapsulation?

No.  Coins specially made for collectors do tend to come in higher grades than they did in the past, but a 70 is NOT a given.  Grades below PF-68 or MS-67 are unusual though.  Problem is there are enough PF-70, or MS-70 or 69 to make anything that grades lower a dead item in the market.

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I chatted with the Mint website yesterday… price of the gold coin will be revealed at noon next Thursday.

But, knowing its composition and mass:  90% Au, 6% Ag, and 4% Cu; total mass = 8.359-grams.  Gold content = 7.52-grams.

That then puts things at 7.52/28.35 = 0.2654-oz Au x $1,292/oz. = $343.  So, figure around $400 — $500 dollars per coin.

I figure it will come in just north of $500 after submittal to NGC.

If you are allowed to order more than one coin, and you would want to compare two, to then send the best one off for grading, the way to do it is make two separate orders to the Mint, to receive two separate packages.  Then, the coin you deem as inferior you can send back to the Mint, and I think you have up to one month to make your return.

For returns to the Mint, they only accept total returns, and not partial returns.  So, if you had ordered two coins together, one shipment/package, you cannot keep one and return the other.
 

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2 hours ago, USAuPzlBxBob said:

I chatted with the Mint website yesterday… price of the gold coin will be revealed at noon next Thursday.

But, knowing its composition and mass:  90% Au, 6% Ag, and 4% Cu; total mass = 8.359-grams.  Gold content = 7.52-grams.

That then puts things at 7.52/28.35 = 0.2654-oz Au x $1,292/oz. = $343.  So, figure around $400 — $500 dollars per coin.

I figure it will come in just north of $500 after submittal to NGC.

If you are allowed to order more than one coin, and you would want to compare two, to then send the best one off for grading, the way to do it is make two separate orders to the Mint, to receive two separate packages.  Then, the coin you deem as inferior you can send back to the Mint, and I think you have up to one month to make your return.

For returns to the Mint, they only accept total returns, and not partial returns.  So, if you had ordered two coins together, one shipment/package, you cannot keep one and return the other.
 

Perhaps to avoid just what you described :)

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They aren't going to release the price until they actually go on sale?

Come one in order your coin and then we'll tel you how much it will cost.  (OK I know it isn't quite that bad.)

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My experienced opinion is that the 5 ounce silver will sell out very quickly, and the silver dollar may sell out at the end, and while it feels overpriced, and maybe because it is, eventually the clad half dollar in uncirculated (not proof) may just end up the star of the whole issue at the end. Why? It seems like such a horrible deal that many collectors will say "Not Me!" and as a result, few will be sold. Some day, that low mintage will attract an aftermarket following. The gold pieces? I think their fate is the toughest of all to figure.

Edited by VKurtB
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VKurtB,

Interesting analogy on the clad half dollar. I'm fairly new to the ins and outs of collecting, but why in the world does the mint put out these half dollars and not make them in silver? They're doing a reverse proof Kennedy half, for the half dollar "set" and neither coin is silver. I would think they would sell a ton of them if they were silver! IMO...$54 for 2 halves is a very high price too. Do you think the set is worth buying? They're minting 750,000 of them, so that seems to me that that's a lot of sets. I just don't know if I should bother spending my money on buying the sets. What's your thoughts?

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18 hours ago, investinrehabs said:

VKurtB,

Interesting analogy on the clad half dollar. I'm fairly new to the ins and outs of collecting, but why in the world does the mint put out these half dollars and not make them in silver? They're doing a reverse proof Kennedy half, for the half dollar "set" and neither coin is silver. I would think they would sell a ton of them if they were silver! IMO...$54 for 2 halves is a very high price too. Do you think the set is worth buying? They're minting 750,000 of them, so that seems to me that that's a lot of sets. I just don't know if I should bother spending my money on buying the sets. What's your thoughts?

I think there is more novelty value for commems like this rather than real numismatic value.  If I buy it would be for novelty value (I collect space things in addition to coins) with the added bonus of bullion value (gold or silver only).  I would be very surprised if these commens were worth much more in 20 years than the selling price, and much less if the bullion prices were down at the time you try to sell. 

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