Although counterfeiting techniques keep improving, mintmarks are still added to coins using the same two methods. Skip Fazzari describes how to spot these fakes.

When many things get old, they are discarded and new things, perhaps better made, take their place. Not so with old counterfeit and altered coins. Although some fakes are taken off the market each year and are either put into reference collections or destroyed, others remain to plague another generation and are passed on to one unsuspecting collector after another.

Most will agree that coin alterations consist of the addition or removal of parts of a coin’s design. Interestingly, although techniques of fakery have improved over the years, a majority of the coins with added mintmarks are still made by two methods. For the most common type of alteration, a numeral or letter is applied directly to the surface of the host coin. The micrograph taken at 20x shows an example of a coin altered in this way. In this case, a “D” mintmark has been placed on the reverse of a genuine 1916 Mercury dime to produce a coveted 1916-D coin. Read Full Article

The U.S. Mint wasted no time in rejecting the District’s idea for a commemorative quarter yesterday, saying a proposed inscription protesting the city’s limited representation in Congress would be unsuitable “as an element of design for United States coinage.”

The Mint, which has nearly finished producing quarters with designs for each of the 50 states, received the District’s proposals for its coin Monday — and within 48 hours, it told the city to come up with something else.

“Never have I seen the government move so fast on anything,” said Paul Strauss (D), the city’s nonvoting shadow senator. “You get the sense that no one over there even looked at this in context.”

The problem was not the proposed images for the quarter. The city offered various suggestions, including the three stars and two bars of the District flag and portraits of either jazz legend Duke Ellington or Colonial-era abolitionist Benjamin Banneker. Read Full Story

Elizabeth Monroe First Spouse Gold Coin

WASHINGTON- She was instrumental in refurbishing the White House following its destruction during the War of 1812. The people of France-with whom she and her husband were popular-called her la belle Americaine. A mere visit from her to Madame Lafayette saved the imprisoned woman from the guillotine.

The Nation celebrates the life and work of this woman-Elizabeth Monroe-with the United States Mint’s release of a 24-karat gold coin on February 28 at noon (ET). The Elizabeth Monroe First Spouse Gold Coin will be available in 1/2-ounce proof and uncirculated versions offered at $619.95 and $599.95, respectively. Mintage is set at 40,000 across both product options. Customer demand will determine the ratio of proof to uncirculated coins produced.

Orders for the Elizabeth Monroe First Spouse Gold Coin will be limited to one per product option per household for the first week of sales. The United States Mint will reevaluate this limit following the initial sales period and either extend, adjust or eliminate it.

Bronze medals bearing the likeness of the coin also will be available for $3.50. There is no mintage or order limit for this option.

The obverse of the Elizabeth Monroe First Spouse Gold Coin bears a portrait designed by Artistic Infusion Program Master Designer Joel Iskowitz and executed by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Don Everhart. Inscriptions on the coin are “Elizabeth Monroe” and “1817-1825,” the years she served as First Spouse. Additional inscriptions on the obverse of the coin are “In God We Trust,” “Liberty” and “2008.”

The coin’s reverse features a portrait of Elizabeth Monroe at a reception marking the 1818 reopening of the White House after it had been burned during the War of 1812. Inscriptions are “United States of America,” “E Pluribus Unum,” “$10,” “1/2 oz.” and “.9999 Fine Gold.” The reverse of the Elizabeth Monroe First Spouse Gold Coin was designed by Artistic Infusion Program Associate Designer Donna Weaver and sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Charles Vickers. (more…)

Hackensack, NJ, … Quickly responding to customer inquiries from across the United States, Lighthouse Publications, Inc. has become the first manufacturer to announce production of a coin album page specifically created for the additional six coins following the United States Mint’s 50 State Quarters® Program. The extension of the program was signed into law by President George W. Bush late last year, and the new coins, to be issued in 2009, will feature the District of Columbia and five U.S. Territories.

The Lighthouse album page is designed to fit the company’s popular Statehood Quarter Album. Available in mid-May, the page will feature two slots per coin – one each for the Philadelphia and Denver mints – and will be embossed with the names and 2009 issue year of the quarters honoring the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Lighthouse Publications President and CEO Eric Werner said, “Immediately after the legislation was signed, we received many inquiries from collectors asking for this additional page. I am proud that Lighthouse was able to respond as quickly as it did, and delighted to be the first manufacturer to announce these pages to our market.”

The cost of each page is $4.50, and starting mid-May can be purchased through fine supply dealers or directly from Lighthouse Publications, www.lighthouse.us or 888-269-1513.