By Edward Elmer for Lew Rockwell.com

Governments are inveterate despoilers of the freedom, wealth, and lives of their citizens. As consolation, the citizens usually receive little more than lofty words and pretentious sentiments from the political leaders in charge of the looting, murder, and enslavement. Less commonly, governments produce something concrete, such as a marble palace for the ruler or an alabaster temple for the commemoration of some supposedly noble public goal.

However, one of the few universal, tangible products of government which citizens experience directly is their government’s medium of exchange. Even this government product usually offers a lopsided exchange for the citizen. Base metals and paper are usually offered to the subject in return for his much more valuable and often unjustified faith in the validity of his government.

At the outset, the numismatic history of the United States is as singular as its political history. Just as the new government was remarkable for the powers its Constitution did not permit, so the new U.S. coinage was unusual for what it did not depict. There were no representations of any political figures, ancient or contemporary. Odd as it may seem to modern Americans, the faces of Washington, Franklin, and Jefferson did not make it onto America’s earliest coinage. Such bygone greats as Caesar and Alexander were also notably absent.

Our early American predecessors seem to have bypassed the rich symbols that abounded on the coinage of preceding nations. There were no gods or goddesses, nor was the mint impelled to create a mythological parallel to the Roman she-wolf nursing Romulus and Remus. Though the new nation was rich in folklore, none of its earliest coins depicted traditional examples, such as Washington’s felling a cherry tree or Franklin’s flying a kite.

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The year 2008 marks the 200-year anniversary of Henrik Wergeland’s birth. On Thursday 8 May, Norges Bank will issue a silver commemorative coin to mark the occasion.

”We hope that this coin will be a reminder of one of Norway’s most significant cultural figures,” says Trond Eklund, Director of Norges Bank’s Cashier Department. He also mentions Wergeland’s importance to the manner in which Norway celebrates its constitution day, 17 May, with a children’s parade.

The obverse of the coin features the portrait of King Harald V, which has been used on special edition circulation coins in recent years. This motif has been designed by Ingrid Austlid Rise, a designer at Det Norske Myntverket AS (Mint of Norway). The motif on the back of the coin was designed by Enzo Finger and depicts Henrik Wergeland’s glasses and signature.

In connection with the issue of the coins, Norges Bank is cooperating with Wergeland 2008, which is a collaborative project between the National Library, the National Archives and the Eidsvoll 1814 foundation. The project was commissioned by the Ministry of Culture and Church Affairs to plan and carry out the official anniversary celebrations.

On 8 May 2008, the National Library will mark the 200-year anniversary of Henrik Wergeland’s birth with a special exhibition and the publication of a book. The silver commemorative coin will be launched in connection with the opening of this exhibition. (more…)

The Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) will display the only complete grading set of “Hot Lips” dollars, one of the most interesting of all the different varieties in the popular Morgan dollar series (1878 - 1921), at the Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectibles Expo, May 29 - 31, 2008.

“Some Morgan dollars were struck at the New Orleans Mint in 1888 with a doubled die obverse that produced significant doubling of Miss Liberty’s lips, nose and chin. A faint second eyelid is also visible,” explained Ron Guth, PCGS President.

The unusual variety is listed as 1888-O VAM-4 (for the “VAM” reference book created by Morgan dollar researchers, Leroy C. Van Allen and A. George Mallis), but many collectors refer to it simply as “Hot Lips.”

PCGS will display the Ashmore “Hot Lips” grading set during the show in the Long Beach, California Convention Center. The 21-coin set is owned by Ash Harrison, President of the Society of Silver Dollar Collectors and owner of Ashmore Rare Coins in Greensboro, North Carolina, who has assembled examples of this unusual variety in grades ranging from Poor-1 to Mint State-61, according to BJ Searls, Manager of the PCGS Set RegistrySM program.

Only two are certified PCGS MS-61, and none in higher grade by PCGS. The MS-60 coin in the set formerly was in Van Allen’s personal collection, and is the only Hot Lips variety example certified as Deep Mirror Prooflike (DMPL). With the recent acquisition of this unique coin, Harrison completed the years-long hunt to assemble the first-ever “Hot Lips” set for all reported grades. (more…)

By Doug Winter - www.RareGoldCoins.com

If you collect a set (or sets) and are competing in the Set Registry, the chances are good that you’ve struggled with the Dilemma of the Placeholder. Let’s examine the Pros and Cons of buying a placeholder coin and try to decide whether this is a smart collecting strategy or not.

First off, let’s define what a “placeholder coin” is. I view a placeholder coin as one that you buy as a stop gap. As an example, say that you are assembling a set of Indian Head eagles. One of the few dates that you are missing is a 1911-D. One comes up for sale at auction in a grade lower than what you really want. You decide to buy it anyway because of the fact that it a) fills a gaping hole in your set and b) gives you a sufficient number of Registry Set points that you move up a notch and pass Collector X. Was this is a smart purchase or not?

Let’s look at the pros of buying a placeholder coin. The first is the measure of satisfaction that filling a really nagging hole can give. There is nothing more frustrating for our hypothetical collector than seeing a big ol’ ugly blank every time he looks at his set inventory - especially if he has a nice date run before and after the missing coin. Coin collecting is a very emotional hobby and the Karmic Value of filling a hole is hard to put a value on.

Another pro is the fact that a Placeholder coin might grow in appeal on the owner. I’m going to assume that as a collector you are smart enough to not buy something truly hideous and to at least hold out for a moderately attractive placeholder. You might learn that your placeholder is actually so rare that it represents the only coin that you are likely to have a shot to buy. (more…)