New Orleans’ Old U.S. Mint, closed since it was heavily damaged in Hurricane Katrina, is facing an unexpectedly golden future.

“Gold,” an American Museum of Natural History exhibition featuring hundreds of gold nuggets, ingots, coins, pieces of jewelry and other objects, will open this fall at the

Esplanade Avenue building where more than 400 million gold and silver coins were minted between 1838 and 1909.

The Old Mint is part of the Louisiana State Museum, and museum Director David Kahn told the system’s board of directors last week that the exhibit will be there from Oct. 20 to Jan. 2.

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The Royal Canadian Mint’s new $20 silver coin — which went on sale yesterday around the world — has evoked one of the darkest moments in the history of polar exploration and rankled Canada’s main Inuit organization. The coin was struck to mark the 125th anniversary of the International Polar Year scientific studies and features a “world first” metallic-blue finish meant to mimic the Arctic’s icy hues.

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A simple test will measure your abilitiy to select the proper coin for import restriction. The recently approved import restrictions on coins of Cypriot Types include the following: 3. Provincial and local issues of the Roman period from c. 30 B.C. to 235 A.D. Often these have a bust or head on one side and the image of a temple (the Temple of Aphrodite at Palaipaphos) or statue (statue of Zeus Salaminios) on the other. The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol is now tasked to identify and detain such coins to assure that they have not been imported into the United States in violation of this agreement.

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Twenty-two sponsors contributed a total of $90,500 in support of the American Numismatic Association’s 2007 World’s Fair of Money®, Aug. 8-12 at the Midwest Airlines Center in Milwaukee, Wis. “We are thrilled by the strong show of support,” said David Truesdell, ANA sales and sponsorship manager. “Our sponsors ensure that the many wonderful programs and exhibits in Milwaukee are kept free for the public.”

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