US Gold Coins Abigail Adams First Spouse $10 Dollars Gold Coin
First Lady of the United States, 1797–1801
The obverse of the Abigail Adams Gold Coin featured a portrait designed and sculpted by Joseph Menna. Abigail Adams had served as First Lady from 1797 to 1801 during the Presidency of her husband John Adams. The obverse inscriptions on the coin include “Abigail Adams”, “In God We Trust”, “Liberty”, the order of the Presidency “2nd”, the dates of the Presidential term “1797-1801″, and the date and mint mark “2007 W”.
The reverse of the coin depicts Abigail Adams writing a memorable letter to her husband while he was in Philadelphia. She requested that he “Remember the Ladies” while crafting the framework for the new Republic. She was known for her political insight and intellectual vigor. The reverse inscriptions include “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA”, “E PLURIBUS UNUM”, the quote “Remember the Ladies” in script, with the denomination $10, gold content 1/2 OZ, and purity .9999 FINE GOLD. The reverse of the coin was designed by Thomas Cleveland and sculpted by Phebe Hemphill.
Date: 2007
Mint: West Point (W)
Mintage: 17,149 (proof), 17,142 (uncirculated)
Designers: Joseph Menna (obverse), Thomas Cleveland (reverse)
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)
Although the Abigail Adams First Spouse Gold Coin is considered the second within the broader series, it was actually released simultaneously with the Martha Washington coin on June 19, 2007. Collectors scrambling to place orders for the first issues of the new series, bought the maximum mintage for both coins on the opening day of sales.
After the sell out, coins quickly began changing hands for premiums on the secondary market. The household ordering limit of five coins per option per household had prevented any mass ordering by individuals. Despite the initial excitement, prices eventually receded to a level just above the gold value, which resulted in a well known firm melting thousands of coins.
Abigail Adams First Spouse Coins were offered in both proof and uncirculated versions at original prices of $429.95 and $410.95, respectively. On the starting day of sales, the market price of gold was $656.30 per ounce.
The United States Mint had set the maximum mintage for this issue at 40,000 coins. The same figure would be used for the first three years of the series. The Abigail Adams Gold Coins achieved a full sell out on the first day of sales, although final audited mintages came in at 17,142 uncirculated coins and 17,149 proofs.
Coin Specifications and Mintages
Abigail Adams
Abigail Adams (née Abigail Smith was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts; November 22 [O.S. November 11] 1744 – October 28, 1818) was the wife of John Adams and the mother of John Quincy Adams. She is now designated the first Second Lady and second First Lady of the United States, although these titles were not in use at the time. As was customary for the time, Abigail did not receive formal education, but her quick mind and her curiosity for the world around her were nurtured in her family's library, and her desire to read and learn was encouraged. She married John Adams, a young Harvard-educated attorney in 1764, and lived with him in Braintree, Massachusetts, while he built a successful law practice.
She joined him in Europe from 1784 to 1788 as he served as an American diplomat in France and as the first United States Minister to Great Britain. The couple returned to Massachusetts in 1788. After her husband became President, they were the first couple to live in the White House after they arrived in Washington in November 1800. Abigail returned to Braintree in 1801, now called Quincy, where she lived until her death in 1818.
Because of John Adams' commitment to the cause of colonial independence, he and Abigail were often separated for lengthy periods of time — she in Massachusetts, and he in Philadelphia. Letters they wrote to each other during the Revolution and the formation of the United States are a mirror of the intellectual vigor of the times.
He himself acknowledged that she had as much political insight as any of his colleagues, and that he valued her counsel above all others, combined with the affection and loyalty of her friendship. In one of her most memorable letters, Abigail Adams requested that her husband John "remember the ladies" when creating the framework for the new Republic.
US Gold Coins
First Spouse Gold Coins Program
2007 First Spouse Gold Coins
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2012 First Spouse Gold Coins
2013 First Spouse Gold Coins
2014 First Spouse Gold Coins
2015 First Spouse Gold Coins