In preparation for the move to new premises later this year, the ANS will be holding a sale of duplicate books, sales catalogues and periodicals. Lists of available catalogues and periodicals will shortly appear on the ANS website, with prices and instructions for ordering. Shipping and handling will be charged to purchasers.

Duplicate books, together with unsold catalogues and periodicals will be offered for sale on the ANS premises from Saturday, March 8th, 2008. Opening hours will be posted on the ANS website.

Only duplicates of items in the library are being sold. no books or duplicates from the rare book room are included. all proceeds from sales will benefit the ans library.

In addition to the sale of material by the ANS, a mail bid auction of duplicate books is being held on behalf of the ANS by Charles Davis.

The catalogue is available online: http://members.aol.com/numislit/daviscatalogue.pdf Selected lots are also illustrated: http://members.aol.com/numislit/ Inquiries may be addressed to: Numislit@aol.com

by Greg Reynolds for CoinLink

Bowers & Merena, a division of Spectrum Numismatics, conducted an auction on the evening of Jan. 8, just before the start of the Florida United Numismatists (FUN) convention in Orlando. An impressive number of choice U.S. coins were packed into a relatively small 670 lot auction. The room was almost full at 6:30 PM, shortly after the bidding started. Although this auction did not include Great Rarities or epic collections, the quality and aesthetic characteristics of many of the choice and gem grade, scarce U.S. coins are impressive.

The evening ended on a strong note when a 1931 Saint Gaudens Double Eagle ($20 gold coin) sold for $101,200. All prices realized include the 15% buyer’s fee that is standard at all major coin auctions. Generally, participants factor this 15% fee into the calculations of their bids.

This 1931 Double Eagle is graded MS-65 by the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS). Charles Browne was the successful bidder. He is a grader, analyst and buyer for a Mid-Atlantic coin firm. Browne says that this “is a nice, flashy coin,” and its grade “is a mid range 65.”

Matt Kleinsteuber was not quite as enthusiastic as Browne about this 1931 Saint. He concluded that “it makes the 65-grade, mostly due to its originality and freshness.” (more…)

As most people are aware, the U.S. Mint Web site’s Ecommerce section was down for a little more than a week recently. Mint Director Ed Moy issued an apology, which struck me as being sincere, but there were still a few loose ends to wrap up before letting this matter take its place in “old news.” In particular, people wanted to know how it was possible that a major entity like the U.S. Mint could lose its Ecommerce functionality for so long a period of time.

There was speculation that a Mint Web services subcontractor had withheld the computer code and/or order data from the Mint in retaliation for being fired by the Mint. Another rumor claimed that the whole outage was a manipulation on the Mint’s part to justify some price increases. Some rumors I heard were very bizarre conspiracy-theory type explanations that are so absurd as to not be worth repeating. Read Full Story

Dallas, TX. The Official Auction of the February 2008 Long Beach Coin Expo has been posted by Heritage Auction Galleries on their HA.com website. Combining the lots in the Signature, Husak, and Final Session catalogs of U.S. coins, more than 5,500 lots will be available for viewing and bidding in Long Beach. The Auction dates are February 14-16, 2008, and the auction will be held at the Long Beach (CA) Convention Center.

“This Long Beach has three stars,” commented Heritage President Greg Rohan, “one coin and two collections! The first star is an absolutely classic numismatic rarity. The 1838-O half dollar is one of the most celebrated properties in America’s numismatic history, and mystery surrounds its rich history. The generally accepted mintage figure is 20 coins, based upon a handwritten note that accompanied the 1838-O half dollar sold in June 1894 by Edouard Frossard: “The enclosed specimen coin of the U.S. branch mint at New Orleans is presented to Pres. Bache by Rufus Tyler the coiner. It may be proper to state that not more than 20 pieces were struck with the half dollar dies of 1838.” Eleven examples have been traced, most with significant pedigrees including Boyd, Empire, Hawn, Norweb, Boyd, Green, Anderson-Dupont, Parmalee, Eliasberg, Newcomer, and Atwater (this coin). This may also be the finest known survivor.” (more…)