Fifty years after the Russian satellite Sputnik launched the international space race, the New Zealand Mint is facing astronomical demand for its commemorative coin to mark the anniversary.

Russian ambassador Mikhail Lysenko, who checked out the coin yesterday, said of Sputnik’s venture into space on October 4, 1957: “It was not just the launch of a piece of metal, but the launch of a new era of space technology.”

The anniversary was celebrated throughout Russia, Mr Lysenko said.

New Zealand Mint general manager Mark Sutton said sales of the coins had been successful, with buyers from as far afield as the Ukraine, Germany, the United States and Australia.

More than 5100 of the 6000 coins had sold in a week - with more than 3000 coins sold in Russia, one of the company’s largest markets. (more…)

Even though Halil I??ko?lu has amassed marks, franks, dollars and sterling in the millions, he leads a modest life working in the Grand Bazaar where he has run his small shop for decades. He is a collector of foreign currencies from 200 countries and the author of two books on the science of currency, numismatics. The Ottoman coins belonging to the periods of the last six Ottoman sultans and coins of 62 British and French colonies are among many in the collection that worth a fortune. I??ko?lu says there was a limited number of coins minted for colonies, so they are of great value.

By Greg Reynolds For CoinLink

A 1921 Saint Gaudens Double Eagle ($20 gold coin) was the main attraction of the September auction by the firm of Ira and Larry Goldberg. It is one of only four privately owned gem quality 1921 Saints. This coin ‘came on the block’ on Tuesday, Sept. 25. The Goldberg’s sale lasted several days, Sept. 23-26, and was held at the Beverly Hills Crowne Plaza, just prior to the beginning of the Long Beach (CA) Coin, Stamp and Collectible Expo.

It is the finest quality 1921 Saint to become available since Nov. 2005, and it is unlikely that any of the other three privately owned gems of this date will be ‘on the market’ in the near future. As Saint Gaudens Double Eagles are among the most popular of all collecting specialties, a gem 1921 Saint is truly a prize.

I estimate that fewer than one hundred 1921 Saints exist in all grades. Next week on CoinLink, there will appear my analytical article on 1921 Saints in general. There is more information regarding this 1921 below.

Goldberg’s September auction included a wide variety of coins, from many nations and time periods, plus other numismatic items. U.S. and foreign coins consigned by Robert Hesselgesser, MD, were featured. His collections of Russian and British coins, now mostly dispersed through Goldberg’s auctions, were among the finest of all time, in terms of quality. (more…)

Bill Eckberg’s research article in this issue, on the “Science of Half Cent Values,” struck a particular chord with me, because it reminded me of how differently market values are determined in different U.S. coin series.

Demand alone can explain the high values spread across the Morgan dollar series, for example. The scarcest date in the series, the 1893-S, commands a price of $7,500 in VF-20: for an R1, on the Sheldon scale!

The 1889-CC, of which a couple of original bags are still credibly attested, will cost the aspiring owner $25,000 in baggy MS-60! In my opinion, it’s a matter of familiarity breeding demand. Every corner coin shop and flea market will display dozens of Morgan dollars. Buy a few common dates, and you may aspire to go after the scarcer ones. But there’s never any lack of supply. If you’ve got the dollars to spend, someone will have the coins - even an Unc. ‘89-CC.