A few weeks after the U.S. Mint started the sale of the Mark Twain gold $5 coin, the Mark Twain silver dollar coin goes on sale today. The delay in issuing the silver coin was due to an error in the certificate of authenticity.
Four recipient sites will equally divide the net surcharges from the sales of the coins. The beneficiaries are The Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford; University of California, Berkeley, Calif., (for the benefit of the Mark Twain Project at the Bancroft Library); Elmira College in New York (Center for Mark Twain Studies); and the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum in Hannibal, Mo.
The enabling legislation, the Mark Twain Commemorative Coin Act, Public Law 112-201, authorizes the production and sale of up to 100,000 gold $5 coins and up to 350,000 silver dollars.
The purchase price of each gold coin will include a $35 surcharge and each silver dollar a $10 surcharge. The net surcharges, after the U.S. Mint has recouped its production and related costs, will be distributed equally to the four beneficiaries designated in the enabling act. The net surcharges that The Mark Twain House & Museum will receive will support the continued restoration of The Mark Twain House and grounds and ensure continuing growth and innovation in museum programming.
The coins can be bought directly from the United States Mint at www.usmint.gov or from two local dealers: Universal Stamp & Coin, 304 Broad Street, New Britain or Olde Towne Coin Company, 2600 Berlin Turnpike, Newington.
