The United States Mint will begin accepting orders for its 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial One-Cent Proof Set on August 26, 2009, at noon Eastern Time (ET). A household order limit of five sets will be in effect.

The sets, priced at $7.95 each, contain proof versions of the four redesigned one-cent coins struck in honor of the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth and the 100th anniversary of the first issuance of the Lincoln cent. The reverse (tails side) bears designs emblematic of Lincoln’s birth and early childhood in Kentucky; his formative years in Indiana; his professional life in Illinois; and his presidency in Washington, D.C. The obverse (heads) features Victor David Brenner’s image of Lincoln that has graced the coin since 1909. These coins contain the exact same metallic content as the 1909 Lincoln Cent – 95 percent copper and five percent tin and zinc.

Source: CoinLink

Update (2009-0902): the Mint Web site lists the proof cent as “backordered” with a shipping date of 11/30/2009.

New York gold and silver are rising sharply again. Let’s look at the recent price increases:

• 04 June 2008 – Gold – $876 per ounce, Silver – $16.72 per ounce.
• 23 June 2008 – Gold – $887 per ounce, Silver – $16.79 per ounce.
• 28 June 2008 – Gold – $920 per ounce, Silver – $17.40 per ounce.
• 01 July 2008 – Gold – $940 per ounce, Silver – $18.09 per ounce.

Gold is up $64 per ounce (6.8 percent), and silver is up $1.37 per ounce (7.6 percent) since our last meeting.

Keep up with daily prices at Kitco.