Speculation is rampant among professionals in the hobby as to the total amount of business transacted during 2005. Most agree it's at least a few billion dollars, but until someone qualified conducts a competent study, any answer is just a guess. New Mint products are creating at least thousands of serious new collectors each year. In addition, experienced collectors and some long-lost familiar dealer faces are returning to the market after dropping out of the scene during slower times. As this bull market has continued during the past three-plus years, various market segments have stepped up to take the lead. We've seen modern coins, registry collecting, rare gold, key-date coins, State quarter dollars and other areas drive the market.

One of the latest Eurobarometer surveys looks at public perceptions of the euro, four years after the introduction of banknotes and coins. Taking in the 12 Eurozone countries, the poll considers practical aspects like fees and benchmarking, future expectations, and perceived pros and cons. Let's focus on the last of these. So what are the main advantages of having the euro? Some 39% of those interviewed mentioned easier and cheaper travelling, followed by more straightforward price comparisons (27%) and strengthening Europe's status in the world (23%).

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (ResourceInvestor.com) -- There are six platinum group metals (PGMs) - three of them are universally and widely used in automotive emissions catalysts. These are platinum, palladium and rhodium. Platinum and palladium are produced respectively almost entirely in the Republic of South Africa and in Russia. Most of the rhodium produced is a byproduct of the mining of one or both of the other major PGMs. Until 1975, the first year that U.S. law required that all cars manufactured or imported into the U.S. have limited emissions of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and unburned fuel, the platinum group metals were used primarily in chemical operations, jewelry and electrical and electronic contacts.

OTTAWA, Jan. 5 /CNW Telbec/ - The Royal Canadian Mint rang in the New Year today by introducing its flagship products for 2006. Building on the continued appeal of its silver dollar, its specimen set, and its lunar and shinplaster series, the Mint expects to drive sales through customer-driven continuity and limited mintage. "We have made a conscious effort, for 2006, to build on products that have been of keen appeal to collectors last year and to carefully assess mintages in an effort to increase the value of our coins for collectors", said Marguerite F. Nadeau, Q.C., Acting President and C.E.O. of the Royal Canadian Mint. "We remain committed to maintaining our customer-driven focus"

Heritage-Currency Auctions of America will ring in 2006 with its four-session, 4,759-lot sale at the Florida United Numismatists convention. A pair of large-size 1882 Gold Certificates highlight the sale, a $50 1882 Gold Certificate with a red spiked seal, Krause-Lemke number 696, Friedberg 1191, illustrated here and the matching $100 1882 Gold Certificate with a red spiked seal, KL-816, Fr. 1204, shown on the cover of Bank Note Reporter last month. HCAA’s sale is the official currency auction of the FUN convention, taking place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings along with Friday afternoon, Jan. 5-7, 2006, at the Orange County Convention Center, 9400 Universal Blvd., Orlando, Fla.

DALLAS - An ordinary fruit sticker that mysteriously ended up on a $20 bill could spur collectors to bid up to 1,000 times the bill's face value at an auction Friday. The "banana note" bears a bright red, green and yellow Del Monte sticker next to Andrew Jackson's portrait. The flawed bill originated at a U.S. Treasury Department printing facility in Fort Worth, but just how the fruit tag found its way onto the greenback is unknown. "I've collected for probably seven years now and nothing comes close to the way people react to it — their eyes pop out," said Daniel Wishnatsky, a Phoenix currency collector who paid $10,100 for the $20 bill in a May 2003 eBay auction.

By Q. David Bowers and David Sundman - The latest entry in Whitman's "100 Greatest" series, 100 Greatest American Currency Notes is a beautifully illustrated, full-color coffee table book that explores one of the hobby's hottest collectible fields. Expert dealers, collectors, researchers, and historians have all weighed in on their opinions of the 100 all-time greatest examples of American paper money, including colonial, Confederate, private, and federal issues of large-size and small-size types.

THE higher gold price has increased the popularity of gold coins among investors and collectors alike. The gold coin is no longer money in the pocket whose price is fixed, but a commodity on which the investor can win or lose. The gold coin business has evolved into five main sectors: investments in numismatic (rare) coins, commemorative coins, coins from the gold standard era (early 19th century) like the Napoleon, Sovereign, Double Eagle and Swiss Vreneli, newly minted coins and modern collector coins, which are proof issues of bullion coins or special limited issues.

NEWTOWN, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 6, 2006--Sovereign Exploration Associates International, Inc. (OTCBB: SVXP), announces plans to begin operations on site CBNS-3 containing the wreck of a British grand square-rigger pay ship, the H.M.S. Tilbury believed to be one of twenty ships in the British fleet sent to Halifax in 1757 to attack the fortress of Louisburg which was fortified by the French. Under an official Treasure Trove licensing agreement with the Nova Scotia provincial government, Artifact Recovery & Conservation, Inc. (ARC), a portfolio company of SVXP, anticipates surveying the site this spring and, weather permitting, initiate recovery operations.

CEO Silvano DiGenova to Discuss Winning Numismatic Investment Strategies - BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.- Jan. 6, 2006--Superior Galleries, Inc. ("Superior") (OTCBB:SPGR ) announced today that its Chairman and CEO Silvano DiGenova will appear on CNBC's "On the Money" tonight, Friday, Jan. 6th at 7p.m. Eastern Time (4:00 p.m. Pacific). In his interview, DiGenova will discuss the rich history of rare coin collecting as an investment strategy and Superior Galleries' own investment thesis, which is grounded in the core principles of supply and demand. Rare coins have consistently outperformed the stock market over time, with the standard-bearer 12 Piece Gold Set outperforming the Dow Jones Industrial Average by five to one since 1970.

The special pre-order discount period for the two Benjamin Franklin commemorative silver dollar starts Jan. 17 and runs to March 14. During that time, the proof versions of the silver dollars will be offered at $35 each, with the uncirculated versions going for $33. A young portrait called “Scientist” is on one coin and an older portrait called “Founding Father” is on the other.No more than 500,000 of all of these two designs in proof and uncirculated and in other packaging options will be minted.

DALLAS - A $20 bill printed on paper that mysteriously had an ordinary fruit sticker on it sold Friday for $25,300, an auction company official said.The flawed note bears a red, green and yellow Del Monte sticker next to Andrew Jackson's portrait. The buyer at the auction in Orlando, Fla., did not want to be identified, said Dustin Johnston, director of auctions for Heritage Galleries and Auctioneers of Dallas.The 1996 bill originated at a U.S. Treasury Department printing facility in Fort Worth, but how the fruit tag found its way onto the paper of the greenback is unknown.

FUN 2006 was strong. We can't say it was our best show ever-but when we got home we spent much longer than we thought we’d have to adding up sales figures. Our sales were well in excess of $1,000,000.00! Attendance was strong and people came to buy coins. The auctions were strong. Activity started early with the auctions. The very first auction we attended was Jan 1-the Superior sale. Prices were really strong, especially due to the fact they had major fresh set of killer colored coins. We did our best to buy as many as possible. The highlights we bought included the beyond monstrous 1899 PR SET (all PCGS graded which had a dollar to die for) which sold for $73,600.00 and the 1878 Trade Dollar PCGS PR68 (which many people, including us felt were UNDERgraded) for $120,750.00.

U.S. collectors pay close attention to Mint marks on coins, because they may make a big difference in the value of coins of the same type and date. But why we use Mint marks, and what they have meant historically, are often neglected questions.A Mint mark is a letter, letters or symbol denoting the particular Mint at which the coin was made. Variations or additions that indicate origin include mintmasters' marks and assayers' marks, but a Mint mark represents the enduring institution.Coins of many countries, both today and in older times, have borne no Mint marks, usually because there is only one Mint or the country has contracted for coinage elsewhere but does not want to blare the fact.

At the firm Landqart (unlike the city itself, the firm spells its name without a "u"), only three individuals know the precise formula used to produce paper for Swiss-franc bills. Landqart is the first stage in the banknote production process, supplying the blank sheets of paper that are used as the raw material. This much is revealed, however: The bills are not made from either pulp or wood fiber, but from cotton fiber. Strictly speaking, then, paper money is not made from paper at all – it's actually fabric. The cotton fiber used is a by-product of the spinning industry. "In terms of tear resistance and foldability, it's superior to paper," explains Andreas Stock, Head of Training at Landqart.

(Irvine, CA) -- Bowers and Merena’s first auction of the New Year will be an important Rarities Sale scheduled for Saturday, February 4, 2006 at the Loews Beverly Hills Hotel Los Angeles. The sale will be conducted in a single session beginning promptly at 6:00 PM in the Screening Room. “We have a spectacular Rarities Sale planned for Beverly Hills,” stated Bowers and Merena President Steve Deeds. “More than 600 lots of absolute and condition rarities will be crossing the auction block at the Loews Beverly Hills, including several consignments of important U.S. gold coins from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries.

On the first day of precious metals trading during 2006, gold made another solid gain to hold steady at well more than $525 per ounce. Prices for common-date gold coins, often referred to as "generic gold" by dealers, have been updated in Coin Values to reflect the current market. These common-date coins grade from circulated condition to Mint State 65. A rising gold bullion price boosts enthusiasm throughout the whole coin market, and this was evident at the two pre-Florida United Numismatists convention auctions, conducted Jan. 2 and 3 by Superior Galleries and American Numismatic Rarities, as well as on Jan. 4, set-up day at the FUN show. O

(Dallas, Texas) – The finest known of the five 1885 Trade Dollars, previously in the collection of legendary “King of Coins” banker, Louis E. Eliasberg Sr., was purchased for $3.3 million in a private sale made by Heritage Galleries and Auctioneers of Dallas, Texas (www.HeritageGalleries.com), Wednesday, January 11, 2006. “The anonymous buyer is a financial services executive and sophisticated art collector who is putting together one of the finest coin collections in the country. The seller was John Albanese of Far Hills, New Jersey,” explained Greg Rohan, President of Heritage.

Looking back upon 2005, if you are a coin dealer and did not have your best year ever (or reasonably close), you may want to consider another profession. Last year was simply an historic event in itself. Collectors have become so enamored with numismatics that all you have to do is find the “right collector” for the coins you have and make the price appropriate for the grade. There are buyers for just about everything and the Internet has made it possible for you to find the “right collector” that much easier.

Treasury Secretary John W. Snow named Larry R. Felix as the director of Treasury's Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP). The Bureau produces U.S. currency and other government securities and documents at its two facilities in Washington, D.C., and Fort Worth, Texas. As BEP director, Felix will work to meet the challenges of the advancements in technology that pose evolving threats to our nation's currency and other security documents – to stay ahead of counterfeiters, and to protect the integrity of U.S. currency. In addition, Felix will work to ensure that the bureau's resources are appropriate to meet requirements of customer agencies.

Only the second-known Canadian 1954 five-cent No Shoulder Fold coin has apparently been found. Jerry Crain, of Janesville, Wis., reported his find to Numismatic News and it has been slabbed PL-55 (Prooflike-55) by Numismatic Guaranty Corp. The regular Canadian 1954 five-cent coins have a distinct shoulder fold on the profile of Queen Elizabeth. Also, there are differences in lettering, especially noticeable on the letter “I” in the legend “ELIZABETH II DEI GRATIA REGINA.” The lettering on the No Shoulder Fold (NSF) variety have pronounced flared tips.

The Asian single currency, which so far only exists in the minds of economists and officials with international organizations, will take on more concrete reality soon. The Asian Development Bank plans to publicize the Asian currency unit (ACU), a notional unit of exchange based on a "basket" or weighted average of currencies used in the 10 ASEAN member countries plus South Korea, China and Japan, the Yomiuri Shimbun and others reported Friday.