The 99.99% pure silver CN Tower collector coin is the second issue in the Royal Canadian Mint’s Architectural Treasures series. The CN Tower image featured on the collector coin was designed by Royal Canadian Mint artist, Jianping Yan. The image was transferred onto the coin using a unique photographic hologram technique, which produces a three-dimensional image, that can be seen without special viewing devices.

SANTA MONICA (MarketWatch) -- Maybe it's the fact that silver and gold prices have zoomed. Or maybe it's the fact that the Internet provides a higher degree of transparency so people know a market exists for them to buy and sell. Whatever the case, coins and currency collectibles are garnering lots of interest and seeing big sales.Last fall, Heritage Auction Galleries, which says it's the world's largest auctioneer of collectibles, sold two coins for more than $1 million. It re-sold both again last month for about 15% more.

The Scottish Twenty Pound piece of James VI is the heaviest hammered gold coin ever struck in the British Isles. Struck to the standard of one Scottish ounce, it is approximately 12% heavier than the famous Oxford Triple Unite of Charles I. There are believed to be seven examples of each of the two known dates, 1575 and 1576, in private hands.

“It is easier to trace old Indian coins sitting in London,” says Nicholas Rhodes, secretary-general of Oriental Numismatic Society. The scholar, on yet another trip to Calcutta, specialises in coins of Northeast India, many of them collected from families in Europe that lived here during the Raj. The soft-spoken man reflects on the hurdles that collectors here face. “The antiquity laws have made things difficult in India.” He has a bigger grouse against some local museums.

You have heard of postdated cheques. Now you have postdated Kenyan currency notes. This is the bizarre occurrence that Kenyans have been treated to over the past few days as many currency users discovered that they were holding bank notes dated April 1, 2006 — a date that is nearly two weeks away.

Theft, laundering of millions alleged - A Lucas County judge yesterday set a trial date for former GOP power broker Tom Noe, and prosecutors and defense attorneys outlined a lengthy and complex criminal trial that could render a verdict as Ohio voters go to the polls on Nov. 7. Prosecutors said it will take an estimated four weeks and more than 100 witnesses for them to put on their case against the former coin dealer who is accused of stealing millions from the state funds he controlled.

Two ultra-rare proof coins, a Half Eagle and Quarter Eagle both dated 1845, will be among the lots featured in our upcoming Atlanta ANA Signature Auction, to take place on April 6-7. Both coins boast a grade of Proof 66 Ultra Cameo, and each is considered the finest among an extraordinarily small number of pieces known of the date. At the time these coins were struck, the Mint did not keep records of proof coinage, thus we cannot be certain of an exact mintage for either coin. Based on the number of pieces surviving today, we can be certain that the quantity coined was extremely small.

Legend Numismatics Market Report - THE ANR SALE - What an unexpected "event" this sale turned out to be. As we predicted, many of the fresh and incredibly rare pieces brought "beyond moon money". Not only was the room packed for the entire sale, but several new collectors attended and spent significant sums (one gentleman spent almost $1,000,000.00!). Activity was strong in most areas at the sale. Many veteran dealers who are accustomed to paying top dollar left the room shaking their heads in disbelief as to what some of the coins brought.

(Santa Monica, CA) – A-Mark Precious Metals, Inc. of Santa Monica, California, the largest full-service precious metals dealer in North America, has opened a new subsidiary firm, Collateral Finance Corporation (CFC), to provide fast, short-term loans to dealers“ Loans from $50,000 to $5 million or more can be made on coins that are in the dealer’s inventory or in the process of being certified by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation or Professional Coin Grading Service,” said Thor Gjerdrum, Chief Financial Officer of CFC, a licensed California lender.

Irvine, CA: Conducted in three sessions on March 16 and 17, Bowers and Merena's Official Auction of the March 2006 Baltimore Coin & Currency Convention realized more than $4 million. "While we witnessed strong prices realized for all U.S. coin series," stated Bowers and Merena President Steve Deeds, "there were two types of consignments that performed exceptionally well in our Baltimore Auction: those with fresh material and/or seldom-offered types, and those with classic numismatic rarities."

Ponterio & Associates, Inc., of San Diego, Calif., will hold its Public Auction No. 138 Friday and Saturday, March 31 and April 1, in conjunction with the Chicago International Coin Fair at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 5540 N. River Road, Rosemont, Ill. The auction begins at 6 p.m. Friday with a selection of specie recovered from the shipwreck of the Dutch East Indiaman Rooswijk. This section consists of 379 lots, primarily coins minted in Spanish Colonial Mexico between 1720 and 1738.

New York Connoisseur's Collection Soars, Fresh Material Makes "Best Sale Yet"

(WOLFEBORO) American Numismatic Rarities of Wolfeboro, New Hampshire completed its largest - and many said best - sale ever last week in Baltimore, Maryland, as the offerings of the New York Connoisseur's Collection, the Dale Friend collection of Liberty nickels, the Richard Jewell collection of commemorative coins, and other properties soared to a grand total of $12,837,735.20.

Although I can?t take credit for inventing the concept of Market Premium Factor (MPF), it is something that I have discussed before and find very interesting. The basic concept of MPF is that in a specific series of coins, certain dates trade for premiums over the common (or basal) issues. An interesting series to explore the concept of MPF is Indian Head eagles. In this series, basically any coin not dated 1926 or 1932 (the two basal issues) is considerably scarcer than a basal issue.

The year is 1920, and there were some very exciting events that occurred in Canada. Joe Malone of the Quebec Bulldogs set an NHL record of seven goals in a single game; the Royal Canadian Mounted Police form as the Royal Northwest Mounted Police then merge with the Dominion Police; the Ottawa Senators beat Seattle 3 games to 2 winning the Stanley Cup; and the Royal Canadian Mint released its new small cent into circulation.

About a year ago it was discovered that 40 percent of a delivery of 9.5 million 1 shekel coins manufactured in Holland are faulty - The Bank of Israel suspended an order of shekel coins from the Royal Dutch Mint until it becomes clear how millions of faulty 1 shekel coins arrived in Israel.At the coins department they were amazed, refused to accept the delivery and returned it to Holland where faulty and fine coins were separated.

Everybody knows that New Orleans was founded by the French. But the area where we stand in Alabama also used to be part of the French North American empire in the 18th century. Not far from here, north of Montgomery, was a military fort called Fort Toulouse. The French controlled one third of the continent at the time.The reason why I have to deliver this presentation in English today, however, is of course that the French lost most of their empire in 1763, at the end of the Seven Years' War — or what Americans call the French and Indian War.

Treasure hunters at a Shropshire metal detector rally really did strike gold when they unearthed a clutch of 600-year-old Spanish coins. The five solid gold “doblas” date from Castile in the 1350s, during the reign of King Pedro the Cruel, and are believed to be the first of their kind ever discovered in the UK. The coins were found at a secret location in Myddle on September 4 last year, by a pair of metal detecting enthusiasts from Bolton.

Some say state requirements eliminate average collectors - Rare-coin dealers say Ohio's ongoing "auction" of coins and currency once managed by Tom Noe is an odd affair, including the videotaping of potential buyers at a secret state highway patrol facility where the coins are located. It's a long way from traditional venues for high-dollar auctions, such as a posh New York hotel or a staid New England auction house, where letters of credit are honored and the press is allowed inside.

A treasure trove of archaeological relics, the ancient city of Jaffa has yielded another rare find. An archaeological team from the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), headed up by Martin Peilstöcker and Amit Re’em, unearthed an extremely rare coin in Jaffa’s flea market. It dates to the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem (1099-1291), the feudal state created by the first Crusaders.Staff from the IAA Coin Department identified the artifact as a Frankish silver half drachma, minted during a brief six-year period between 1251 and 1257. It was found in the remains of a 13th century house, along with ceramics from the same period.

NGC Discovers Two Proof Silver States Quarters Die Crack Errors - NGC recently identified die cracks on two issues of silver proof States Quarters. The first discovery was on a 2005-S Silver West Virginia Quarter, where a thin crack emerges from the rim at approximately 4:00 and enters the frosted devices. The second error, seen on a 2006-S Silver Colorado Quarter, is slightly more dramatic. It starts at the rim just past 1:00 and runs diagonally through the mirrored field, which makes it readily visible.