2008-W Gold First Spouse 1/2 oz Louisa Adams Proof
The Nation's First Ladies are being honored on a series of one-half ounce 24 karat gold coins. Typically, four different designs are released per year featuring the spouses of the Presidents in the order served. The First Spouse Gold Coins represent the first time that the United States Mint has featured women on a consecutive series of coins. This 2008-W Gold First Spouse 1/2 oz Louisa Adams Proof coin is a stunning commemoration of Louisa Adams' time as she served as First Lady during the years of 1825–1829.
Highlights
- 2008-W Gold First Spouse 1/2 oz Louisa Adams Proof.
- Contains 1/2 Troy oz of .9999 gold content.
- Face value 10 Dollars.
- Obverse: Features a beautiful portrait of Louisa Adams. Inscriptions include " LOUISA ADAMS," the years she served, the order of the Presidency, issue date, mint mark, "IN GOD WE TRUST" and "LIBERTY."
- Reverse: Louisa Catherine Johnson met John Quincy Adams while he was serving in a diplomatic post in London and they married in 1797. Her first time on American soil came in 1801 when John Quincy was called back from diplomatic service by President Jefferson. For nearly six years, from 1809 to 1815, Louisa and John Quincy Adams lived as American diplomats in the Russian capital of St. Petersburg. In 1814, John Quincy was summoned to The Hague to participate in peace talks to end the War of 1812.
In 1815, she and her 8-year-old son Charles began an arduous journey across much of Europe to join her husband in Paris. While alone in Russia, Louisa not only managed the family’s affairs, but her courage and linguistic talents helped the two of them find safe passage through unfamiliar and often dangerous lands. The scene depicted on the coin's reverse is drawn from these times when Louisa's courage and resolve show so brightly! Inscriptions include "The UNITED STATES OF AMERICA," "E PLURIBUS UNUM," the denomination, and the weight and purity of the gold content.
- Comes in the original US Mint packaging.
History
The series received an extremely enthusiastic response from collectors when it launched in 2007. The first three releases of the series featuring Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, and Thomas Jefferson's Liberty achieved rapid sell-outs of their entire authorized mintages. The final releases of the series featuring better known, modern First Ladies have served to bring renewed attention to the series. The release honoring Jacqueline Kennedy was one of the highest-selling in the series.
First Spouse Gold Coin Program
The program was authorized under Public Law 109-145 The Presidential $1 Coin Act. In addition to authorizing the Presidential Dollars series, which features the former Presidents in the order served, the law also provided for the issuance of gold coins featuring the President's spouses.
The order of release for the First Spouse coins follows that of the circulating dollar series, with some modifications. For Presidents who served in the office with a first and second wife, two gold coins are issued for the Presidency. For Presidents who served in office without a spouse, a depiction of Liberty is presented on the obverse of the coin for four instances, with Suffragist Alice Paul depicted for the final instance.
First Spouse Gold Coins each contain one half ounce of .9999 fine gold. The coins are considered numismatic items and have a nominal face value of $10. The gold used to mint the coins must be obtained from newly mined domestic sources.
First Spouse Coin Designs
The obverse of each First Spouse coin features a portrait of the spouse being honored. Inscriptions include the name of the spouse, the years served, the order of the Presidency, date and mint mark, the motto "In God We Trust", and "Liberty."
The reverse design of each coin contains images emblematic of the spouse being honored. Some of the reverse designs so far have included memorable scenes from the spouse's life, or images representative of their major contributions, themes, or accomplishments. The required inscriptions on the reverse include "The United States of America," "E Pluribus Unum," the denomination, and the weight and purity of the gold content.
Release Dates and Mintages
The First Spouse Gold Coins have typically been issued following the circulation release date of the corresponding Presidential Dollar. During the course of the series, there have been a few years where production problems and other issues have delayed the release of the coins. These instances have served to compress the release schedule and impact the overall availability period for certain releases.
At the onset of the series, the coins were offered at fixed prices based on the market price of gold when the coins were first released. Later in the series when gold prices became more volatile, the US Mint adopted a flexible pricing policy, which allowed adjustments to prices as frequently as weekly based on the average market price of gold.
For the first three years of the series, the United States Mint established maximum authorized mintages of 40,000 coins for each design. Although the first three releases attained the maximum mintage, subsequent releases did not, prompting the maximum mintage to be lowered starting in 2010. In subsequent years, the mintage level was reduced further until reaching the low of 10,000 pieces established for many of the later releases of the series. Certain issues have had higher maximum mintage levels established in anticipation of greater public demand.
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