Shipwreck treasure adds to CICF buzz
World Coin News - 03-18-2006
Ponterio & Associates is adding more excitement to the 31st Chicago International Coin Fair with its auction that includes coins from the shipwrecks from the 1715 Plate Fleet wrecks found off of Florida, the Cazador shipwreck off Louisiana waters and the Dutch East Indiaman Rooswijk..

Santa Clara features Pan-Pac set
Numismatic News - 03-18-2006
A set of 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition commemorative coins, valued at $700,000, is returning to California’s Bay area for the first time in 91 years..

Gold May Rally on Concern About Iraq War, Iran's Nuclear Plans
Bloomberg - 03-19-2006
March 20 (Bloomberg) -- Gold prices in New York may rise for a second week as investors grow concerned that the Iraq war and Iran's nuclear ambitions may disrupt securities markets, a Bloomberg News survey shows..

A Fantasy Starter Set Of Carson City Coins
CDN - 03-19-2006
Perched atop the pantheon of prized numismatic pieces comprising a complete set of coins issued by the Carson City Mint is the Unique 1873-CC Without Arrows Dime. All of the other 110 representatives in this prestigious collection pale in comparison in terms of scarcity and stature: a one and only in any collectible field commands respect..

Aberdeen: Ringneck Coin, Stamp Winners Announced
Red Orbit - 03-19-2006
Mar. 19--At the 38th annual Ringneck Coin & Stamp Club All-Hobby Show, Vernon Jensen won first place in the Senior Coins category for his exhibit "Susan B. Anthony Dollars." Jensen's exhibit also claimed Best of Show. Mark Zimmerman took second place in coins for his "U.S. Silver Dollars" exhibit. .

New gold standard is online
TMCnet - 03-19-2006
(Orange County Register, The (CA) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Mar. 18--Sergio Siderman has the Midas touch. One day in December, he sat down at his computer and, with a few clicks of the mouse, he had his own cache of gold..

Shop's coin mural sets size record
St Paul Pioneer - 03-19-2006
100,000 pennies make up giant flag - t's almost official: The largest permanent mural made of coins is in Minneapolis. On Saturday, Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer measured a mural inside a coin shop at Seventh Street and Marquette Avenue in downtown Minneapolis and, at 209.5 square feet, pronounced it larger than the previous record holder in Ranchero, Calif..

Chicago Board of Trade Moving to be #1 In Gold Trading
DiamondVues - 03-20-2006
The Chicago Board of Trade, pleased with growth in its gold and silver contracts, might pursue a broader presence in metals derivatives, company executives said on Thursday. The No. 2 U.S. futures exchange has built market share with its electronically traded gold contracts by siphoning some volume away from New York's Comex..

Legal tender
Huddersfield Daily Examiner - 03-20-2006
N the letter "Sterling values" (Letters March 18), the writer repeats the mistaken idea that Scottish bank notes are legal tender in England. Under the Currency and Bank Notes Act 1954, not only are Scottish notes not legal tender in England - they are not even legal tender in Scotland!.

Outlook Remains Bullish For Gold
AIR - 03-20-2006
The gold price continues a trend of rallying then consolidating, rallying then consolidating, but as industry consultants GFMS note in their quarterly survey the prognosis for further gains in the metal remains good. GFMS executive chairman Philip Klapwijk suggests the probability gold is in the middle of what he calls a once in a generation rise has risen, with an ending unlikely before the gold price has hit a new all-time high..

ANACS stakes claim in Austin
Numismatic News - 03-20-2006
A move to Austin, Texas, is in the offing for the grading service ANACS. On April 2, ANACS will be moving from Dublin, Ohio, to a high-rise office building in the center of Austin’s high-tech district. The new facility more than doubles the grading firm’s space. According to ANACS, it offers significant room for future expansion..

Bribery ensures spoils go to the treasure hunters
Jakarta Post - 03-20-2006
During the last 20 years, there have been dozens of legal and illegal salvage operations to recover ancient treasures from shipwrecks in Indonesian waters. Experts estimate that hundreds of thousands of pieces of ancient ceramics, gold coins and glassware, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, have been removed from the country's seas. .

State accepting ideas for NM quarter design
Las Cruces Sun - 03-20-2006
Las Crucens have varied ideas about what should appear on the face of New Mexico's quarter, but there's one matter they seem to agree on: Choosing a design to represent the whole state will be difficult..

Bicentennial blues
SJ-R.com - 03-20-2006
Panelist hopes to increase Illinois' role in celebrating Lincoln's 200th birthday - A Springfield member of the federal Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission wants to make sure the city gets more than a bit part in the three-year national celebration..

China to open gold theme park
FIN24 - 03-20-2006
Beijing - Gold-hungry China plans to open what it has billed the world's first theme park dedicated entirely to the precious metal, state media reported on Sunday. Construction of the theme park kicked off on Saturday near a working mine at Rushan city, east China's Shandong province, the Xinhua news agency said. When the 3.6m², 200-million-yuan ($25m) park is completed, it will allow visitors to watch gold being mined and processed. .

Bundesbank gold snub to Merkel
Financial Times - 03-21-2006
The Bundesbank, the German central bank, on Tuesday rebuffed the Berlin government by announcing that it had decided against substantial gold sales before at least September..

Profitable promotions - Cereal promotions offer numismatic collectibles and sometimes even some cash
Coin World - 03-21-2006
In the year 1906, breakfast, the most important meal of the day, was forever changed. W.K. Kellogg had entered the cereal business and his light, crispy Corn Flakes introduced America to what Kellogg promoted as a healthier start to the day..

State's identity - Recent State quarter designs discard stereotypical ideas about states
statequarters.com - 03-21-2006
dentity is defined in Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary as "the distinguishing character or personality of an individual." While the pandemic of identity theft is something most Americans have heard or read about, we rarely think about identity beyond an individual. .

Heritage to conduct ANA National Money Show™
Press Release - ANA - 03-21-2006
Highlights Include Exceptional Gold Pieces from Dahlonega Mint - Heritage Numismatic Auctions, official auctioneer of the ANA National Money Show will offer some show-stopping items from the Dahlonega Mint including a spectacular 1858 gold $1 and the finest-known 1841 2 ½ dollar gold piece at its signature auction April 7-9 in Atlanta..

Stack's March sale total results bring almost $7 million
Coin Values - 03-21-2006
Stack's realized nearly $7 million for 4,066 U.S. numismatic lots offered March 7 to 9 in New York City. All prices here include the 15 percent buyer's fees..

Popularity of coin series often strong determinant of value
Coin Values - 03-21-2006
After about four years of a total market upswing, we're beginning to see a few series slow down and even suffer mild price corrections. But even so, the U.S. coin market in general remains extremely bullish. Obviously, most participants in today's market don't want to go through a crash, and there's no sign of one anywhere on the horizon..

Special coin helps crown Queen's 80th
Evening Times UK - 03-21-2006
A SPECIAL commemorative £5 coin for the Queen's 80th birthday was unveiled today. The coin, designed by artist Danuta Solowiej-Wedderburn, has ceremonial trumpets with banners as a salute to the Queen. .

Coins acquired by Noe to be auctioned; at least $7.5 million sought for 3,400 items
Toledo Blade - 03-21-2006
COLUMBUS — Coin dealers will get their first public shot today to buy the coins and currency acquired with state money by Tom Noe. An estimated 3,400 items will be on display in an undisclosed Columbus location where bidders can check out pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, dollars — even $10,000 bills. Sealed bids are due March 29..

Why the commodities boom is different this time
Money Week - 03-21-2006
Investors in commodities have done extraordinarily well in recent years. Gold has risen 117 per cent since its trough, copper 274 per cent and oil an amazing 560 per cent. The soaring share prices of oil and mining companies have reflected those higher values. Last year all the capital growth in the US stock market as a whole came from commodity stocks..

CPMX blazing hot
Numismatic News - 03-21-2006
To say the paper money market was red hot at the Chicago Paper Money Expo would be an understatement. Blazing hot comes closer. The associated Lyn Knight Currency Auctions sale realized a strong $2.9 million, and dealers of U.S paper money knew by midday Friday of the March 9-11 event that the market was really hopping. .

US Treasury Brings $1 Billion Display To Atlanta
Press Release - 03-21-2006
(Atlanta, GA) -- The U.S. Treasury Department will have a $1 billion public exhibit and many of the world’s most famous and valuable rare coins will be displayed in Atlanta for the first time during the National Money Show™ in the Cobb Galleria Centre, Halls C & D, 2 Galleria Parkway, April 7 – 9, 2006..

International stocks distinctive collectibles
Bank Note Reporter - 03-21-2006
International stock certificates and bonds are usually distinctly different from American stocks and bonds. While frequently referred to as foreign stocks and bonds, many worldwide collectors refer to them as international securities..

Royal Mint's £5 fanfare for the Queen's 80th birthday celebrations
News Telegraph - 03-22-2006
A holographic medal, a £150 limited edition teddy bear and a new £5 coin were unveiled yesterday by the Royal Mint to commemorate the Queen's 80th birthday..

Silver ends lower after tapping fresh 22-year high
Forex News - 03-22-2006
SAN FRANCISCO (AFX) - Silver futures closed lower Wednesday, retreating from a 22-year high after failing to extend a 2 pct gain from the prior session even as a proposed silver exchange-traded fund came closer to a launch..

A rare collection
Chandigarh Newsline - 03-22-2006
Government Museum & Art Gallery gets richer with its coins & inscriptions - MINDS and parachutes only function when open. The worldly words on a little piece of paper shining under the glass table top in three different fonts and colours catch our attention while Dr VN Singh, lists out his five-point theory on the latest addition to the Government Museum and Art Gallery..

The problem with change
Jamaica Observer - 03-22-2006
The business community is not ordering the one-cent coin, but it is still in circulation - IT has become commonplace for shoppers anywhere in Jamaica to be short-changed after paying the full price for goods, because of the absence of 'coloured' money. There is even a general disdain for the treatment of these coins at the commercial banks, that only take them on certain days..

Women tell EEOC Federal Mint is hostile workplace
Post Gazette - 03-22-2006
DENVER -- The U.S. Mint in Denver turns out 32 million coins a day, and it is heavily guarded against intrusion. But it's the situation within, say some employees, that is worrisome. Stashes of sex magazines. A secret attic room where male employees could hide out to peruse them. The "fresh-meat syndrome," .

ANA National Coin Week - April 16-22, 2006
ANA - 03-22-2006
The 83nd Annual ANA National Coin Week is a time for individual collectors, clubs and dealers to educate the public about the coin collecting hobby. But, most of all, it's a time to let the world know that collecting coins can be educational, inexpensive and -- fun..

Stacks of paper, trio of rare tokens highlight March NUPHILEX sale
Canadian Coin News - 03-22-2006
A nice selection of Canadian banknotes and tokens are featured in the upcoming 455-lot NUPHILEX sale in Montreal. Conducted by Lower Canada Auctions, the single-session sale kicks off on March 4 at 6:30 p.m. with a dozen ancient Roman coins, followed by 46 Canadian tokens and medals. The latter section is highlighted by three very rare pieces..

Gold: Historic spike ahead?
Daily Reckoning - 03-22-2006
The Treasury sold 395 tonnes of gold from July 1999 to March 2002 at an average price of $275 per oz. The sale raised $3.5bn. Why? The Treasury claimed that gold was expensive to store and keep secure. It was also inconvenient to trade if transactions involved a change of storage location. But in other words gold was too traditional and old-fashioned, an anachronism for New Labour..

Stella tops Stack's sale
Numismatic News - 03-22-2006
Crimson turned green at Stack’s March 2006 sale as an 1879 Flowing Hair Stella went for $230,000, pushing total prices realized near the $9.6 million mark.The Stella, graded gem proof brilliant by the cataloger, was part of the Crimson Collection portion of the sale, held March 7-9. The auction total does not include the 15 percent buyer’s fee..

ANA Journal - Advanced Numismatic Studies
ANA - 03-22-2006
April, 2006 marks the debut of ANA Journal (ANAJ), the American Numismatic Association's new quarterly publication devoted to advanced studies in numismatics. The inaugural Spring 2006 issue highlights the proceedings of the Maynard Sundman/Littleton Coin Company Lecture Series (named in honor of the founder of Littleton Coins, Maynard Sundman) presented at the ANA World's Fair of Money® in San Francisco in July 2005..

10 AND 20 ANM BANKNOTES ON CIRCULATION
AZERTAC - 03-22-2006
New 10 and 20 ANM banknotes have been put into circulation. The first banknote depicts the history of the statehood of Azerbaijan. It reflects the ancient Baku, the Palace of Shirvanshahs.

Panel wants your 2 cents on Arizona's 2-bit piece
AZstarnet - 03-22-2006
The Arizona Quarter Commission is accepting ideas for the design of the U.S. Mint's upcoming state coin, and if you think the Grand Canyon is the runaway winner, you haven't spoken with our youngest commissioner..

150th coins receive approval
Ashland City Times - 03-22-2006
A new coin commemorating the 150th anniversary of the birth of Cheatham County is a step closer to being delivered after gaining approval from the Ashland City Council last week. Marie Pickett, chairman for the Cheatham County Sesquicentennial, asked for final approval to order the coins, which will be stamped with a design created last year by a local student..

Newly Designed 2006 American Eagle Platinum Proof Coins Available March 24
Press Release US Mint - 03-23-2006
WASHINGTON - The United States Mint announced today that the 2006 American Eagle Platinum Proof Coins will be available for sale on March 24, 2006, at 12:00 noon (ET). The new 2006 reverse design is the first in a three-year series entitled The Foundations of American Democracy which celebrates the branches of government in the order they appear in the United States Constitution..

Hawaiian bank note sells for $268,000 at New York auction
Newsday - 03-23-2006
NEW YORK (AP) _ An 1880 bank note from the Kingdom of Hawaii sold for $268,000 on Thursday in an auction of coins, medals and bills from the estate of Samuel Mills Damon, a banker whose father settled in Hawaii as a missionary..

The Canadian Coinspiracy
satire - 03-23-2006
OTTAWA-- Is Canada trying to subvert the American economy? That's what many worried Americans believe, and they may be right. It's quite possible that Canadians, and their ridiculous money, are infiltrating the U.S. currency a few cents at a time..

Rare Berwick coins expected to fetch over £3000
Berwick Today - 03-23-2006
FOUR rare coins made in Berwick more than five hundred years ago are expected to fetch a total of £3150 when they are auctioned at Spink in London on March 29. The most valuable of these coins, tipped to sell for up to £1200, is a silver groat made in Berwick during the reign of King James III of Scotland in or around 1467.

Voting on quarter design hits snag
Great Falls Tribune - 03-23-2006
HELENA — Got strong feelings about how Montana's new quarter should look? Want to cast your vote for one of the four proposed designs?Hold the thought — at least for awhile. Although Gov. Brian Schweitzer originally had planned to announce the new design by the end of the month, the U.S. Treasury Department has yet to approve the four finalists, according to Schweitzer spokesman Adam Pimley..

TRADE IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDS VIA WEB CLOSED DOWN
AGI - 03-23-2006
Rome, Mar. 23 - An illegal trade in archaeological finds by way of the e-Bay site has been closed down by Palermo Carabinieri, who have concluded the first part of an operation called ARCHEOWEB. The soldiers have seized 8853 finds and reported 25 individuals to judicial authorities. The operation involved carabinieri over the last six months in a complex activity of analysis and checks over the web.

A Quarter for Your Thoughts?
Hawaii Reporter - 03-23-2006
Hawaii Commemorative Quarter Advisory Commission is Looking for the Best Design for the State Quarter - HONOLULU – The Hawaii Commemorative Quarter Advisory Commission (HCQAC), established by Gov. Linda Lingle through an executive order, is accepting themes and narrative submissions for Hawaii’s Commemorative Quarter through the month of April. Sunday, April 30, 2006, will be the last day to submit ideas. .

Knight auction hits $2.9 mil
Numismatic News - 03-23-2006
A serial No. 1 National Bank Note from Oklahoma Territory sold for $86,250 in a March 10-11 sale by Lyn Knight Currency Auctions. The full sale, held in conjunction with the Chicago Paper Money Expo, realized $2.9 million. .

Damon Estate's currency collection fetches $3.8M
Honolulu Advertiser - 03-24-2006
Hundreds of rare coins and currency collected by Hawai'i banking pioneer Samuel Mills Damon were auctioned off yesterday for more than $3.8 million, or about double the estimated sale price. The sale of the Damon Estate's coin collection far exceeded the expectations of Doyle New York, the auction house that conducted the sale. .

Gold is Not another Currency
Gold Seek - 03-24-2006
With gold prices rising against all of the world‘s fiat currencies, some have suggested that gold now trades as if it were an alternative currency, on par with the dollar, euro, and yen. However, this observation reveals a basic lack of understanding of the difference between money and currency. .

New buyers bid up prices of paper money
Bank Note Reporter - 03-24-2006
This has been an interesting period for the paper currency market, with trends that are likely to persist for the remainder of the year becoming more apparent with each passing week. While the market’s overall tone is certainly firm, certain segments appear to be considerably outpacing the market as a whole. .

Smythe sale hits $1 mil
Numismatic News - 03-24-2006
R.M. Smythe’s March 7 sale hit the $1 million mark, with a 1795, B-1, Flowing Hair dollar realizing $218,500. Held at Smythe’s offices in New York City, the sale featured 1,127 lots of U.S. Colonial, copper, silver and gold coins..