US Gold Coins Lucy Hayes 2011 10 Dollars First Spouse Gold Coin
First Lady of the United States, 1877 — 1881
The Lucy Hayes First Spouse Gold Coin represented the twentieth overall release within the series of 24 karat gold coins honoring the First Ladies. Significantly, the uncirculated version of the coin sold out at an extremely low mintage level, capturing the attention of collectors.
The obverse design of the coin features her portrait, surrounded by the required inscriptions. These include her name “Lucy Hayes”, the motto “In God We Trust”, “Liberty”, the order of the Presidency “19th”, the years of the term “1877-1881”, and the date and mint mark. The obverse was designed by Susan Gamble.
Lucy Hayes was the spouse of the 19th President of the United States, Rutherford B. Hayes.
Lucy Ware Webb Hayes was born on August 28, 1831, in Chillicothe, Ohio, and attended Wesleyan Female College in Cincinnati, where she met Rutherford B. "Rud" Hayes. They married in 1852 and lived in Cincinnati until the Civil War. The future President grew to share her deep opposition to slavery.
President Hayes and the first lady celebrated their silver wedding anniversary at the White House in 1877. The East Room was decorated in white flowers, with a great floral wedding ball beneath which the couple repeated their marriage vows. They exchanged portrait cameos as anniversary gifts to one another before a large crowd, many of whom had attended their original nuptials in Cincinnati.
Mrs. Hayes was a temperance advocate, and alcohol was banned at the White House during her husband's administration. However, her famous nickname "Lemonade Lucy" was apparently only used after she left the White House.
The reverse design represents Lucy Hayes' participation in the first Easter Egg Roll held at the White House. The First Lady cheers on two children participating in the event. Inscriptions include “United States of America”, the motto “E Pluribus Unum”, “$10″, and “1/2 oz. .999 fine gold”. The reverse of the coin was designed by Barbara Fox.
In 1878, President and Mrs. Hayes began the tradition of hosting the Easter Egg Roll on the White House grounds after learning the U.S. Capitol Building grounds were no longer allowed for the popular event. Staff members, parents and other onlookers watched in fascination as the children rolled both their hard-boiled eggs and themselves down the sloping south lawn.
The Washington Evening Star newspaper reported that children "rolled eggs down the terraces back of the Mansion, and played among the shrubbery to their hearts' content." It estimated that "several hundred" children were at this first White House Easter Egg Roll, thus starting a custom that endures today.
The release date for the Lucy Hayes First Spouse Coins was September 1, 2011. On this date, the proof and uncirculated versions went on sale at the United States Mint priced at $1,054 and $1,041, respectively. This was based on the average market price of gold leading up to the release and represented the highest starting prices for any releases of the series to date. During the course of the offering, the market price of gold declined, bringing the US Mint’s prices as low as $954 for proofs and $941 for uncirculated coins.
The US Mint had established a maximum mintage of 15,000 across both versions of the coin, but apparently did not produce coins to the full extent of the maximum mintage based on customer demand trends.
On August 6, 2012, the uncirculated version of the coin unexpectedly sold out at the United States Mint and recorded a final mintage of just 2,196 pieces. At the time, this amount represented not only a new low for the series, but also the lowest mintage level for any modern United States gold coin.
The proof version of the coin would continue to remain available until the conclusion of sales on December 31, 2012 as part of a “Last Chance” sale. The final mintage for the proof version was 3,868 pieces.
Coin Specifications and Mintages
Date: 2011
Mint: West Point (W)
Mintage: 2,196 (uncirculated), 3,868 (proof)
Designers: Susan Gamble (obverse), Barbara Fox (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)
US Gold Coins
First Spouse Gold Coins Program
2007 First Spouse Gold Coins
2008 First Spouse Gold Coins
2009 First Spouse Gold Coins
2010 First Spouse Gold Coins
2011 First Spouse Gold Coins
Eliza Johnson Julia Grant Lucy Hayes Lucretia Garfield
2012 First Spouse Gold Coins
2013 First Spouse Gold Coins
2014 First Spouse Gold Coins
2015 First Spouse Gold Coins