Van Buren Dollar Not Part of Direct Ship

The Martin Van Buren Presidential Dollars are available at banks nationwide. Designed by AIP Master Designer Joel Iskowitz, the Van Buren Dollar is the 8th Presidential Dollar in the series, and the 4th and last one to be issued this year. You can buy rolls and bags of these coins in special collectible packaging through the U.S. Mint Web site, in the numismatic sales section. The Van Buren Dollars aren't listed in the Direct Ship Program section, but I did notice that Direct Ship has stock in all seven previous presidents now! The Direct Ship Program had sold out several of these presidents and I don't think any of us really expected them to be restocked. The difference between the Direct Ship Program and the regular Presidential Dollars sold in the Mint's numismatic sales section is that the numismatic coins are in special collectible U.S. Mint packaging (and therefore cost well over face value), whereas the Direct Ship coins are in bank-type wrappers and sold at face value for the purpose of being put into circulation.

An official at the Mint, who requested not to be named because the information is not passing through the Mint's press office, tells me that they are very committed to the Direct Ship Program and are supporting it aggressively. The Mint recently took Presidential Dollar stock that was originally intended for numismatic sales, and transferred it to the Direct Ship Program, which is where the stock for all those previously sold-out Presidential Dollars came from. These are the same coins that would have been sold in collectible bags and rolls (which many collectors think are generally of higher quality than bank-issued coins, because they have fewer bag marks on them.) This also explains why people are finding rolls of coins from the Denver Mint in Direct Ship rolls, which previously were all from Philadelphia. The official says that when these coins sell out, they do not plan to restock the older presidents again. The Van Buren Dollar will probably not be added to the program list until the majority of this older inventory is depleted.

Direct Ship Program Sales Figures

The Direct Ship Program is selling a significant number of coins, according to my source at the Mint. The Direct Ship department currently sells 500,000 to 750,000 Presidential Dollars per week, and total sales since the program began on June 11 of this year have topped 10 million coins! The Mint official told me that they are monitoring banks fairly closely to watch for program abuses, such as large numbers of people buying the coins and then just taking them to the bank after searching through them for errors. Another tactic that might result in a high number of bank returns of Direct Ship coins is explained in my FAQ about the Direct Ship Program, where I explain how to buy these Presidential Dollars below face value. So far, the official says, any program abuse has been minimal and isolated.

Have you been using the Direct Ship Program? If so, are you actually spending the coins or just searching them and then dropping them off at the bank? How many readers are buying the Direct Ship coins to store intact as part of your collection? Please share your comments below.