DES Browne yesterday rejected attempts to get Scottish banknotes designated legal tender in England. The Liberal Democrats had appealed to the Scottish Secretary to change the law and reclassify Scottish notes, which are currently not officially legal tender anywhere in the United Kingdom.

They are accepted generally as payment but do not have the legal backing that Bank of England ones enjoy. The term legal tender is only used in contract law and provides protection in limited cases where debtors have paid debts using “legal tender”.

In every other way, the legal tender of a banknote does not affect its use. But the Lib Dems say there have been instances when traders in England have refused Scottish notes, claiming they were not “legal tender” and this could not happen if the notes were given the same legal backing as Bank of England ones. Read Full Story

By Susan Headley, About.com:Coins

The U.S. Mint offers a bewildering variety of coin sets each year, ranging from the old stand-by’s such as Proof sets and Uncirculated (year) sets, to the special commemorative sets and coins that have limited mintages. Learn which ones typically skyrocket in value right away, and which ones are usually the duds.

A. The answer, in a nutshell, is the limited mintage sets that have a unique coin in them that cannot be gotten in any other way are the sets that make the smartest buys. For example, the Twentieth Anniversary Silver Eagle 3-Coin Set that came out in late 2006 had a coin that could only be acquired as part of the set - the Reverse Proof Silver Eagle. This set had a mintage of 250,000 maximum sets, and the Reverse Proof immediately doubled the set’s value. As of January 2008, the set sells for around $400 in PR-68 (a low-end grade for the set.) The issue price was only $100. Read Full Article

WASHINGTON-The United States Mint announced today that sales of the 2008 United States Mint 50 State Quarters Proof SetTM will open on January 24 at 12:00 noon (ET). This year’s set, still priced at $13.95, contains the five commemorative quarter-dollars honoring Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska and Hawaii in proof condition. These are the final quarters in the popular 50 State Quarters® Program, which introduced the joy of coin collecting to millions of Americans.

The term “proof” refers to a manufacturing process in which specially-treated coin blanks are struck multiple times using specially-polished dies. Proof coins-unlike coins produced for general circulation-are extraordinarily brilliant, with sharp relief and a mirror-like background. A frosted, sculpted foreground gives these coins a special cameo effect. (more…)

by Greg Reynolds for CoinLink

More than $50 million of U.S. coins were auctioned in just one week, by four different auction firms, in Orlando, before and during the Florida United Numismatists (FUN) Convention. Millions of dollars worth of other numismatic items, especially paper money, were auctioned as well. For U.S. coins, though, the ten days from Jan. 4 to 13 of auctions and private transactions constitute the leading event of the year.

Heritage’s Platinum Night at the FUN Convention is probably the most awaited auction session of the year. It is packed with very rare U.S. coins, many of which are of high quality. While a few coins sold on Platinum Night will be discussed below, many will be discussed in additional articles that will appear on CoinLink.

The Platinum Night event was held on Jan. 10. Superior Galleries conducted an auction on Jan. 5 & 6. Stack’s held one on Jan. 7, and B&M did on Jan. 8. I will devote a separate article to the Bowers & Merena sale.

Although the most important coin in the Superior sale was the Proof 1876-CC dime, it has already been the subject of an article on CoinLink. Among other highlights of this Superior auction are three octagonal $50 gold coins. (more…)