Gold rose after an emergency cut in U.S. borrowing costs reduced the value of the dollar, boosting the appeal of the precious metal as an alternative investment.

The Federal Reserve slashed its benchmark interest rate 0.75 percentage point to 3.5 percent after global equity markets tumbled on concern the slumping U.S. economy will drag down the growth rates of other nations. Gold rallied 31 percent in 2007 after the Fed cut rates by 1 percentage point, sending the dollar down 9.5 percent against the euro.  Read Full Story

The Royal Mint has announced the availability of three new commemorative coins for 2008; The Elizabeth I Anniversary Crown, The 4th Olympiad London Anniversary £2, and The Prince of Wales 60th Birthday Crown.

The Elizabeth I Anniversary Crown

This £5 coin features a specially designed reverse celebrating the 450th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth I. On 17 November 1558 the 25-year-old Elizabeth, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, was proclaimed Queen of England.

The Reverse of this Brilliant Uncirculated crown-sized coin was inspired by the magnificent ‘Armada’ portrait of Elizabeth by George Gower, the Queen is crowned and set within a mandorla created by four decorative arches. The obverse features the portrait of Her Majesty The Queen by Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS. The coin display is an attractive folder rich in imagery and background information on the reign of one of the best-loved British monarchs. (more…)

At the Heritage 2008 FUN sale it was the Attack of the 1839-C Quarter Eagles as there were no less than a dozen (!) examples of this popular Classic Head issue available for sale. How did these coins do and what nuggets o’ information can be gleaned from the auction results?

The 1839-C quarter eagles in question ranged in grade from a low of PCGS VF30 to a high of NGC MS61 and included ten coins in NGC holders, one in a PCGS holder and one orphan in an ANACS net AU50 holder that had been cleaned.

Two interesting things can be determined right away from the statement made in the paragraph above. The first is that 1839-C quarter eagles are pretty difficult to define as “rare” if eleven examples appear in one sale (although if you read the rest of this blog I contend that a certain type of 1839-C quarter eagle is, in fact, quite rare…) and that secondly, NGC seems to have the market cornered on this date. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions about this (cue raised brow…)

One last thing before we analyze. If I were a consignor I’m not sure I’d be thrilled that my 1839-C had to share the spotlight with eleven of its cousins. But, to Heritage’s everlasting credit, these giant auctions continually prove to me that there are enough people looking at the coins that quality typically trumps quantity. (more…)

Daniel Cressey for Nature.com

Acoustic method could quickly catch counterfeit coins.
You might assume that counterfeiters only bother with high-value bank notes, but there is a chance that some of the coins jangling around in your pocket right now are fake. If Mototsugu Suzuki gets his way, it may be that jangling that gives them away.

Suzuki, a researcher at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Laboratory in Japan, has developed a way of examining coins based on the sound they make.

The traditional method of spotting a fake coin is to look at it — very closely. While this requires equipment no more specialist than a reasonable microscope, says Suzuki, it is time consuming and can cause “a lot of trouble” if the coins are heavily worn or when a large number of counterfeit coins are in the system. Read Full Story