By Kathleen Duncan - Pinnacle Rarities

One of the most frequent questions we’re asked is which series present the best values. There has been plenty written on those sectors of the market on the rise…seemingly most right now. We can, however, list quite a few which are excellent bargains. For the most part, these are coins that have not seen much, if any, price appreciation in the past two decades. Acquire a single coin, or collect an entire series. High quality, attractive coins from these areas should outperform the general market.

Red-Brown Indian Cents: We see many coins certified Red by PCGS or NGC that we believe are actually a Red-Brown. Buy those coins, instead, that are certified Red-Brown, which are near Red, and pay a fraction of the price.

Three Cent Nickels: This is a modest 23 coin series that has only a few stoppers (1883, 84, 85). The Proof series is only a bit longer (26 coins) but is easier to complete. Most proofs are available in cameo for a reasonable premium.

Seated Liberty Half Dimes: Capped Bust half dimes have charted nice gains, but this series is still asleep. The business strikes present a challenge to complete, with several exceptionally difficult dates. Legend Obverse Proofs (1860-73) present a much more collectible endeavor. (more…)

By Elizabeth Blunt BBC News, Addis Ababa

Twenty-six people are under arrest over the discovery of 90kg (14 stone) of fake gold in the vaults of Ethiopia’s central bank, a senior official says.

The fraud was discovered after some of the supposed gold was sent to South Africa, where it was found to be gold-plated steel. Those held are expected to be charged in the next couple of weeks.

Rumours have been flying around the capital Addis Ababa about what happened to the real gold and who was to blame. Those being held include officials of the national bank, said Berhanu Assefa, a spokesman for Ethiopia’s Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission. The commission has been investigating the case for three months along with Ethiopian police and intelligence officials.

“Around 26 are under arrest - seven from the national bank of Ethiopia, four from the Ethiopian Geological Survey and 15 businessmen and their collaborators have been arrested,” Mr Assefa said.

“No-one has yet been charged - we expect that… our prosecutor will charge them.”

The value of the missing gold was around 158m Ethiopian birr, or $16m for just one of the missing cases, he said, adding this was a huge amount for a poor country such as Ethiopia.
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 Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) is offering a new service, the Roll Certification Program, for rolls of Brilliant Uncirculated coins. Certified rolls are encapsulated in a new PCGS product, the clear, durable CrystalVue™ holder, which enables easy viewing of the obverse and reverse designs as well as the coins’ edges.

“In 1986, PCGS revolutionized the coin market by establishing the standard for third-party grading of individual coins. Now, with so many people collecting coins such as Presidential dollars by the roll, PCGS is revolutionizing coin collecting again with the Roll Certification Program. It gives collectors a safe, effective method of protecting their coins for future generations while guaranteeing the authenticity and Brilliant Uncirculated grade of an entire roll,” said Ron Guth, PCGS President.

PCGS now is accepting for roll certification Presidential dollars submitted in Mint-sealed boxes of government-wrapped rolls, and American silver Eagles in Mint boxes. Acceptance of additional coin denominations and series will be announced in the coming weeks. (more…)

The following announcement/alert was posted to the PCGS Website :

In recent days, counterfeit coins in counterfeit PCGS slabs have begun to appear on eBay, the online auction site. All of the counterfeit coins/holders seen so far are coming out of China. Alert members of the PCGS Message Boards were the first to notify PCGS of the counterfeit coins/holders.

The coins themselves range from poor-quality counterfeits to well-made fakes. The counterfeit PCGS holders are well-executed, but with minor differences from a genuine holder. PCGS anticipates that authentic coins will eventually be placed into counterfeit PCGS holders in the future, perhaps with elevated grades and/or inappropriate designators (Full Bell Lines, Prooflike, etc.), although none have been seen to date.

The on-line PCGS Certificate Verification is a method for confirming that a particular certificate number matches the information in the PCGS database, but the counterfeiters are aware of this detection method and are now using valid certificate numbers (see below).

PCGS has contacted U.S. governmental agencies, including the FBI, U.S. Customs, the Secret Service, and US Postal authorities, to enlist their assistance in pursuing enforcement or legal remedies against these counterfeiters. Also, PCGS is a member of eBay’s CCW Group, which monitors eBay for fraudulent listings and asks eBay to discontinue auctions of suspicious coins and/or suspend violators.

PCGS has called for eBay to stop accepting listings of any rare coins from Chinese sellers. Ebay recently pulled several auctions of counterfeit coins/holders at the urging of PCGS. (more…)

The Santa Clara Coin, Stamp & Collectibles Expo to be held on April 10 - 13, 2008, will be displaying the finest 1915-S Panama-Pacific International Exposition 5 coin set known.

The historic coins and accompanying documents related to the famous 1915 exposition will be exhibited by Steven L. Contursi of Rare Coin Wholesalers of Dana Point, California.

The display includes the original Shreve & Co. copper and glass frame and original box that housed the coins when they were sold. In addition a $200 invoice to a buyer in Kansas dated July 29, 1915, signed by Farran Zerbe, chief of the Coin and Medal Department for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, along with the June 8, 1940, signed letter and $575 invoice from Texas dealer, B. Max Mehl, who resold the set to a Los Angeles buyer.

The coins in the set in the exhibit are certified by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation as follows:

• 1915-S silver half dollar, NGC Mint State 66
• 1915-S gold dollar, NGC MS-67
• 1915-S gold $2.50 quarter eagle, NGC MS-67
• 1915-S gold $50 octagonal coin, NGC MS-65
• 1915-S gold $50 round coin, NGC MS-67

“The octagonal $50 denomination gold coin is one of five superb condition Panama-Pacific gold and silver San Francisco Mint coins that were registered by Panama-Pacific officials as the sixth of only 24 complete coin sets produced for the event in 1915,” said Ronald J. Gillio, Expo General Chairman. “The ‘Pan-Pac’ set that will be displayed at the show includes the original $200 invoice, but the coins and their original copper and glass frame are valued today at about $700,000.” (more…)