Julia Tyler First Spouse Gold Coin
2009-W Julia Tyler $10 Gold Coin
One of two coins issued for the 10th Presidency is the Julia Tyler First Spouse Gold Coin. This is an important issue for the broader series, as it represents the lowest mintage coin amongst those no longer available for sale from the US Mint. Both the proof and uncirculated versions trade at premiums on the secondary market.
Following the untimely death of his wife in 1942, the 10th President John Tyler remarried on June 26, 1844 to Julia Gardiner Tyler. She acted as the First Lady for the last eight months of his Presidency. The First Spouse Gold Coins series honors both his first and second wife with separately issued coins. Another similar situation will occur in 2013 when coins are release for the first and second wives of Woodrow Wilson.
The Julia Tyler First Spouse Gold Coin includes the First Lady’s portrait on the obverse designed by Joel Iskowitz and sculpted by Don Everhart. The obverse inscriptions include “Julia Tyler”, “In God We Trust”, “Liberty”, the order of the Presidency “10th”, the years she served as First Lady “1844-1845″, and the date and mint mark “2009 W”.
On the reverse of the coin is a scene of Julia Tyler dancing with her husband John Tyler at a White House Ball. She had introduced the polka at a White House event, leading the dance to have widespread national popularity. The reverse inscriptions read, “United States of America”, “E Pluribus Unum”, “$10″, and “1/2 oz. .9999 Fine Gold”. The reverse of the coin was also designed by Iskowitz and sculpted by Everhart.
The United States Mint began sales of the Julia Tyler Gold Coin on August 6, 2009. Both proof and uncirculated versions were available with a maximum mintage of 40,000. The initial pricing for the coins was $629 for proofs and $619 for uncirculated coins. On several occasions, the prices would be raised to account for the higher market price of gold. When last available for sale, the prices were $779 and $766.
Sales of the coin unexpectedly concluded on June 3, 2010 to coincide with a new release honoring Jane Pierce. Typically, First Spouse Gold Coins had remained available for sale until the maximum mintage had been sold or for approximately one year. In this case, the sales period was about ten months.
The Julia Tyler First Spouse Gold Coins ended up with the lowest mintage for the series to date. The last reported sales figures indicate 4,830 proof and 2,861 uncirculated coins were sold, for an overall total of 7,691.
Julia Tyler First Spouse Gold Coin Specifications
Date: 2009
Mint: West Point (W)
Mintage: 4,830 (proof), 2,861 (uncirculated)
Designers: Joel Iskowitz
Composition: 0.9999 Gold
Weight: 0.5000 troy oz. (15.554 g)
Diameter: 1.041 inches (26.49 mm)
Thickness: 0.074 inches (1.88 mm)
More 2009 First Spouse Gold Coins
Anna Harrison First Spouse Gold Coin
Letitia Tyler First Spouse Gold Coin
Sarah Polk First Spouse Gold Coin
Margaret Taylor First Spouse Gold Coin
