First Spouse Gold Coins- Thousands are Melted

According to a recent article in Coin World, thousandsonline auction venues for prices well above the melt
of First Spouse Gold Coins have been melted. Thisvalue. Perhaps there was just not the kind of bulk
represents a significant portion of the overall mintagedemand needed to quickly sell thousands of the coins.
and carries both current and future implications for theIn the long term, there are implications about scarcity
series.and demand of the current and future coins of the
The coins were melted by SilverTowne, a coin dealerseries. Since up to 10% of the mintage for two coins
and private mint. Between 5,000 and 7,000 Marthaof the series has just been eliminated, mintage figures
Washington and Louisa Adams coins were melted,will be misleading for future collectors. This may lead to
including both proof and uncirculated versions. Anreconsideration of prices based on scarcity rather than
unspecified number of Thomas Jefferson's Libertymintage figures alone.
coins were also melted. According to the president ofSecondly, the melt signals that early speculative
SilverTowne, the coins were melted after his firmdemand for the series has ended. Much of the early
identified little or no retail demand.demand for the series may have been fueled by
The total mintages for these coins were 40,000 each.companies like SilverTowne seeking quick profits. With
As such, the coins melted may represent nearly 10%them and other similar speculators out of the picture,
of the overall mintage for at least two of the coins.future issues may end up with significantly lower
In the short term, the implication of the melt is thatmintages. Eventually there might be extremely low
there is a lack of short term demand for the series. Inmintage coins like the $5 Gold Jackie Robinson Coin
my opinion there is plenty of demand for the coins, aswhich will become worth far more than their weight in
evidenced by the dozens that sell each day on populargold.