Heritage will conduct the official American Numismatic Association auction in Milwaukee, and a Platinum Night event will be featured on Aug. 9, during which the first part of the Phil Kaufman collection will be offered.

Kaufman assembled one of the top all-time collections of proof Seated Liberty coins, many of which were earlier in some of the best collections ever. One highlight is Kaufman’s 1853 quarter, with arrows and rays, that is certified Proof-66 Cameo by Numismatic Guaranty Corp.

Kaufman’s collection will be sold in parts, with additional selections tentatively planned to be offered at Heritage’s September Long Beach auction and at the January Florida United Numismatists auction in Orlando. Earlier in this decade, Heritage sold many (or all?) of Kaufman’s proof Seated Liberty coins dating from 1859 to 1891. My impression is that Kaufman then retained his coins dating from the 1830s to 1858. Proofs from the 1838-1858 period are very rare.

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The name Joseph Oberwise doesn’t mean much to the typical coin collector. His modest Los Angeles variety store and coin shop shut its doors more than 40 years ago. Oberwise didn’t write any significant books that would keep his name in current usage, nor did he have an important collection of his own that could be memorialized with a landmark auction catalog. No, Joseph Oberwise is not a name on that rings a bell to most in this hobby, but for a few of us he is something of a legend. His story, and those of his fellow coin board publishers, have now been told in a new book titled Coin Collecting Boards of the 1930s & 1940s: A Complete History, Catalog and Value Guide.

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The latest PNG newsletter has just been posted on their web site. The August edition includes a Q&A with Q. David Bowers, an article entitled “Auction Insights” by Ira Goldberg, several dealer profiles and other information that should prove useful to both dealers and collectors alike.

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SANTA MONICA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Escala Group, Inc. today announced that the American Numismatic Association (ANA) has named Escala’s Collateral Finance Corporation (CFC) as the exclusive official numismatic lender of the ANA. CFC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of A-Mark Precious Metals, Inc., which conducts Escala’s trading operations, provides loans to dealers, collectors and traders in the rare coin and bullion market. These loans, which are offered on monthly, six-month or one-year terms with an origination fee, are secured by the coin and bullion assets of the borrower, whether part of the investor’s collection or in the dealer’s inventory.

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Jeanne Stevens-Sollman is the recipient of the American Numismatic Association’s 2007 Numismatic Art Award for Excellence in Medallic Sculpture. This prestigious award will be presented Aug. 11 during the awards banquet for the ANA’s World’s Fair of Money in Milwaukee, Wis. Ms. Stevens-Sollman has been given numerous honors in her field, including the American Numismatic Society’s J. Sanford Saltus Award for Signal Achievement in Medallic Art in 1999.

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