2007-P James Madison

Philadelphia struck 84,560,000 Madison dollars in 2007, the lowest circulation total of the four inaugural Presidential Dollars from any mint that year. The shortfall is modest in absolute terms, but it makes the 2007-P Madison the scarcest first-year regular-issue Philadelphia strike of the program, a fact that gets lost behind the much-publicized 2007-D Washington edge errors. Joel Iskowitz drafted the portrait and Don Everhart sculpted both the Madison obverse and Statue of Liberty reverse, with release on November 15, 2007 closing the inaugural year. Edge lettering carries the date, mintmark, E PLURIBUS UNUM, and IN GOD WE TRUST, applied in a separate post-strike pressing.

The 2007 issues are the run to check for edge varieties. All four designs produced Plain Edge errors at low rates, the result of dollars bypassing the third pressing that applied the lettered edge. Madison examples are well-documented and worth the inspection, but they remain considerably scarcer than the Washington Plain Edge coins that drew most early collector attention. Beyond the edge, examine strike quality on Madison's collar and lapel and on the high points of Liberty's torch and crown. The manganese-brass alloy strikes up softly under the best dies, and well-struck examples with full detail in those areas are the ones that earn MS67 and above. PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, has filled out the population reports thoroughly for this date, and the curve drops sharply past MS66.

The 2007-P Madison is a regular issue with no key-date pressure, but its position as the lowest-mintage 2007 Philadelphia dollar gives it a quiet edge over its three sister designs in year-set and first-year-of-issue collecting. Satin Finish business strikes from the 2007 Mint Set form a parallel collecting track and are best preserved in their original government packaging. Prices have stayed steady rather than climbing, which keeps the entry point reasonable. For the program's full structure and authorizing legislation, see the Presidential Dollar series history.