(Irvine, California) – The Eliasberg specimen 1927-D Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle has been sold for “in excess of $1.9 million” by North American Certified Trading (N.A.C.T), a division of Spectrum Numismatics (an Escala Group Company, NASDAQ: ESCL). The coin is graded PCGS MS-66.The buyer is described as “an anonymous East Coast collector,” according to Andrew Glassman, President of N.A.C.T.“Time and again over my 15 years in the numismatic marketplace I’ve seen how the true rarities continue to gain value over the years. Numismatic history has been made; this is the highest price ever paid for a 1927-D Saint, in excess of $1.9 million,” Glassman said.

Corfu museum traces the course of Greek currency from 1822 to its replacement by the euro - Before the euro came along, facilitating transactions and symbolizing the idea of a unified Europe, a country’s banknotes reflected the economy of the country while also portraying its history and traditions. This multifaceted aspect of European banknotes from the past is one of the thoughts likely to occur to someone visiting the Banknote Museum of the Ionian Bank of Corfu. One of the rarest holdings in the Banknote Museum of the Ionian Bank of Corfu is this 1860 ‘colonata.’

The Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune each featured stories this morning on the proposed designs for Utah's state quarter. The Deseret News reports that members of the design selection committee received entries that included depictions of UFOs in the desert, a quarter featuring a hole in the middle (ten percent taken out), and skiers going through Delicate Arch.The Tribune sought out critical reaction from local coin dealers and an art center director. Terry Wilson, a Salt Lake City coin dealer, identified the golden spike/trains design as most attractive to collectors.

A Wisconsin man has come across what is only the second-known No Shoulder Fold 1954 Canada five-cent. Jerry Crain, of Janesville, Wis., reported his find to World Coin 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.

Mixed in with the collectors ogling an ultra-rare doubloon worth $6 million at America's largest coin show were some of the underworld's most discriminating thieves. Striking at least five times, they trailed victims up to 100 miles from the Florida United Numismatists coin show in Orlando before pouncing and getting away with about $450,000 worth of gold pieces, silver dollars and "Hobo" nickels, police records and interviews show."We haven't seen anything of this scale or this violent in years," Coin World editor Beth Deisher said of thefts and a robbery linked to the Jan. 5-7 gathering at the Orange County Convention Center.

WASHINGTON — The release of thousands of flawed Wisconsin state quarters that set off a buying frenzy, and speculations of foul play, was a mistake stemming from an ill-timed meal break, a government investigation has found.As many as 50,000 of the faulty coins, 50 times the amount earlier thought, entered circulation in 2004 after the coins were produced and bagged during an operator's break, according to the Treasury Department's Office of Inspector General.

With time running out before the official re-opening of the Coptic Museum, Jill Kamil is guided through the state-of-the-art, tourist-friendly structure that accommodates the richest collection of Coptic antiquities in the world. "The two wings of the museum are now connected by a corridor," says Gawdat Gabra, Egypt's foremost Coptologist and former director of the Coptic Museum, as he hurries me across the garden. We had met by appointment at the still-closed gateway, and he spoke as he sped ahead of me and sprinted down the stairs in front of the museum entrance.

(Newport Beach, California) - Jon Bruce Amspacher, a co-founder of the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) and respected dealer and influential newsletter writer, passed away January 18, 2006 of complications from diabetes. He was 63. "His passing is a loss for his friends and the numismatic community," said PCGS Founder, David Hall, President of Collectors Universe, Inc. Amspacher was born on February 25, 1942 in Oklahoma, grew up in Norman, and received a degree in English from Oklahoma University. He was an avid Oklahoma sports fan, and loved bowling, the television program "Jeopardy," and all his many dogs and cats, recalled Hall.

There are two important factors indicating that the Precious Metals sector is at a near-term top and that a significant correction is beginning, or will soon. The 1stfactor is that many gold stocks have become seriously overbought over the past few weeks and very extended relative to their moving averages. The 2 nd factor is that silver has refused to confirm gold's break to higher levels this year, and has instead sat below an important resistance level, forming a potential double-top.

Historian and numismatist who amassed the world's greatest collection of medieval coins - Philip Grierson, historian and numismatist, had a lifetime of exceptional stability. He went as a student to Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge in 1929; in 1935 he became a Fellow and lived in the college from then on, from 1945 in the same set of rooms overlooking the Market Place.Thither came history students to be taught medieval history, and a wider circle to enjoy his gramophone records and science fiction

Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Michelangelo, who painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, made more money than his rivals, Titian and Da Vinci, according to an exhibition at the British Museum. ``Michelangelo: Money and Medals,'' which runs through June 25 in London, is a rare move by a museum to talk about the market value of art in history. Artists were in demand in Renaissance Italy to decorate churches and palaces that illustrated the glory of God, or displayed their owners' wealth. Michelangelo hooked into that need, as architects and some artists do today.

Celebrations to mark the 500th anniversary of the founding of the Swiss Vatican Guard have taken place in Fribourg and the Italian capital, Rome. Swiss Defence Minister Samuel Schmid took part in the local festivities, praising the guards for their loyalty throughout the years.Pope Benedict XVI did not attend the proceedings in person but he was in Fribourg in spirit: he sent his blessing to participants via a satellite link-up from the Vatican. He also blessed the 110-strong band of brothers stationed by his side who are responsible for his security.

One of the most important collections of Irish coins and medals ever offered will be sold at Spink on Wednesday 22nd February. There are numerous rarities in the sale, as well as outstanding examples of coins that are usually only found in poor condition. Many of the coins were bought from earlier major auctions and the provenance of nearly every lot is recorded. The sale immediately follows the Dublin coin fair, which will be held the preceding weekend, to give people interested in the series the opportunity to attend the auction.

(Fallbrook, California) – The Professional Numismatists Guild, a nonprofit organization composed of many of the country’s top rare coin and paper money dealers, has kicked off its second half-century with a new look and marketing plan that emphasizes consumer protection.The old PNG logo, dating back to the group’s founding in 1955, depicted the organization’s name, a magnifying glass, a book and PNG’s motto, “Knowledge, Integrity, Responsibility.”

Is the volatility in the gold price a sign that the market is topping out? Classic Business Day gets Neil Meader, senior analyst at GFMS, on the line from London about their outlook LINDSAY WILLIAMS: The last 25 tons of gold the Bank of England sold was at $252 dollars an ounce five or six years ago. In the last few days the gold price seen a high of $564.40, a low of $539.50, and is currently $552.50. Some people are saying the volatility of the last few days is indicative of the top of the market

BUFFALO, N.Y., Jan. 22 (UPI) -- A New York man and his son have been charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument and criminal impersonation for using Liberty $20 coins. Daniel Buczek and Shane Buczek, both of Derby, N.Y., are believed to be the first people in western New York arrested for trying to make purchases with the Liberty dollar, the Buffalo (N.Y.) News reported Sunday. The privately minted Liberties are viewed by some as an alternative to the U.S. government's monetary system. It's claimed that some $15 million worth of the $20 coins are in circulation throughout the nation.

An Internet-based bank in Florida is offering an innovative way of tapping into the rise in gold prices without exposure to the traditional volatility of commodities. For a minimum investment of $1,500, Everbank in Jacksonville is offering a five-year certificate of deposit with the yield pegged to gold prices. This offers the metal's upside potential as well as its value as a hedge against inflation and geopolitical uncertainty. If gold prices reverse course, Everbank limits investors' risk by returning their initial investment if they hold the CD to term.

Fake euro notes can be detected quickly and accurately by a non-destructive infrared spectroscopic technique, say Spanish researchers. Europol, the EU’s criminal investigation bureau, claims that forgeries of euro paper currency are less common than those of national currency forerunners. Nevertheless, the European Central Bank confiscated 579 000 counterfeit notes – mostly €20 and €50 – in 2005 out of a total of 10.4 billion notes in circulation

Whether there is, or ought to be, a difference in meanings attached to the terms "die state" and "die stage" could probably remain an unresolved question in all-night discussion among advanced numismatists. The chief distinction cited by some can be useful in regard to some coins, or it can be confusing and somewhat pointless in other circumstances. The discriminating student will say, with Alan Herbert in his Official Price Guide to Mint Errors, that "die state" should be used in reference to the amount of wear, possibly excessive use, and possibly even abrasion from "cleaning" that a die has endured.

Full-strike details are often sought after when collecting Mint State, or Uncirculated, coins. Weakly struck areas on a coin are often mistaken for wear, especially for some circulated coins in the Extremely Fine or About Uncirculated grades. Many, but not all, of these details have designations that, when present, add greatly to a coin's value. You may be familiar with many of these designations. The most popular are found on 20th century coins: "full steps" for Jefferson 5-cent coins, "full bands" for Winged Liberty Head dimes, "full head" for Standing Liberty quarter dollars and "full bell lines" on Franklin half dollars.

Consignments of U.S. gold coins from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries highlight Bowers and Merena’s first auction of the new year, the Rarities Sale.Scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 4, at the Loews Beverly Hills Hotel Los Angeles, the sale will be conducted in a single session beginning at 6 p.m. in the hotel’s 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.”

MONEY MAY make the world go 'round, but it's also pretty good at sending thousands of different types of bacteria from one person to the next. Studies in North America have shown that paper bills carry a wide variety of germs and bacteria -- even salmonella and E. coli. Some stats show 42% of bills have fecal germs on them. In northeast India, it's said the money is so dirty you can pick up diseases like tuberculosis from it. But ever think of washing your money?