2010 Mint Sets

Late last week, the US Mint sent email alerts about the new 2010 uncirculated sets (more commonly called “mint sets”). The Mint now has the sets available for purchase.

Their email included a picture of the set: 

2010 uncirculated coin set

As they say, “it takes two to tango.”

Each uncirculated set contains two sleeves of coins, one from the Philadelphia Mint (blue) and one from the Denver Mint (red).

Each of the two sleeves contains fourteen coins:

Five of the coins include the first five “America the Beautiful” quarters. Those five quarters correspond to Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Yosemite National Park in California, Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon.

As for circulating the new quarters, both the Hot Springs and Yellowstone quarters are already available. Yosemite will be available on July 26, Grand Canyon on September 20 and Mount Hood on November 15.

Four coins include the fourth year of the Presidential $1 coins. This year, the thirteenth through sixteenth presidents are honored with their own golden dollar. These presidents are:  Millard Fillmore who served from 1850-1853, Franklin Pierce: 1853-1857, James Buchanan: 1857-1861 and Abraham Lincoln: 1861-1865.

Circulating versions of both the Millard Fillmore and Franklin Pierce coins are already available. The Buchanan dollar becomes available on August 19 and the Lincoln dollar on November 18 in circulation coinage.

A fifth golden dollar has the recognizable image of Sacagawea and her infant on the obverse, but this year’s coin has a new reverse. The design shows the Hiawatha Belt around five arrows and states “GREAT LAW OF PEACE” and “HAUDENOSAUNEE” on the image.

One of the coins in the fourteen is the new Lincoln penny with the shield on the reverse. Unlike the four different reverse designs introduced in 2009 for only one year, this new shield design will be continued in subsequent years.

Next in the uncirculated set is the nickel which has the off-set portrait of Thomas Jefferson that was first seen on 2006 coins. The reverse of the nickel contains the iconic Monticello design.

The last two coins, the dime and the half dollar, remain with their portraits of Roosevelt and Kennedy. The dime’s reverse includes the familiar torch, olive branch and oak branch, and the half dollar shows the heraldic eagle recognizable from the presidential seal. 

Though several of these coins are not yet available in circulation, the uncirculated set is obtainable and includes twenty-eight coins – fourteen coins each from Philadelphia and Denver.

If you have difficulty finding the new coins in circulation in relatively unharmed condition (meaning minimal nicks and scratches), the uncirculated set provides a beautiful example of the coins that go into circulation each year. 

You can order the set from the Mint or from other internet sources. If you prefer to review prior to purchasing, dealers will soon have versions available at their shops and at coin shows.