The 1796 half cent is the classic rarity of the denomination from a mintage of just 1,390 coins. Perhaps 10% of those coins still exist today, nearly all in very low grades. We estimate the existence of about 25 No Pole coins and perhaps 120 With Pole coins.

Certain issues, such as the 1796 half cent and the 1901-S quarter, are known in high grade and low grade, but virtually unknown between these extremes. Nearly all known 1796 half cents, of both varieties, exist in Mint State and also below Fine. Those that grade VF, XF, and AU, such as this piece, are extremely rare.

Walter Breen described two subvarieties for the With Pole pieces, struck on rolled copper planchets or on spoiled cents. His spoiled cent subvariety, like the thick planchet 1795 coins, should weigh at least 100 grains, compared to the 84 grain standard for the issue. To date, we are only aware of a single thick planchet piece, discussed in Breen’s Half Cent Encyclopedia.

The  example Heritage is offering in their upcoming Long Beach Signature Auction on May 28-31 has reflective fields on both sides, with excellent luster. Aside from the usual minor abrasions resulting from brief circulation, the surfaces are exceptional. Slight weakness is evident at the center of the reverse, but all other design elements are bold. This coin is struck from an early die state with repunching of the 9 clear. The existing population of 1796 half cents is too small to clearly establish distinct die states or a suitable emission sequence.

This coin is a part of the Col. Steven Ellsworth Collection of Half Cents, one of our outstanding featured collections at Long Beach.

Article from the Filipino Numismatist website with no notation as to its Author.

Recently, I was surprised to know that the Philippine Numismatic and Antiquarian Society, (Founded on March 16, 1929 and One of the oldest Numismatic Clubs in the World
) is bombarded with political controversy. Two factions emerged, a newly set of elected officers facilitated the establishment of a new governance mostly composed of younger members while the other faction, the incumbent officers, who declined to submit to the majority, remained and decided to continue their own version of the organization. So now, there are two Philippine Numismatic and Antiquarian Societies. Both are competing against each other and have concluded their respective auctions both on same set of dates. The incident started when last December, the organization held its annual election. Majority of the officers who won the election elected their pick for presidency. However, the minority of the group did not accept the mandate. Thus, started the creation of two organizations. The first one is headed by Tomas De Guzman, Jr. or “Temboy” as he is known to fellow numismatists. On the other hand, Atty. William Villareal leads the other faction and installed himself as president otherwise.

It’s a disgust to see how greed took over on this once prestigious and respected organization. If Gilbert Perez and other pioneers are here to witness such debacle, they could have scolded these members as if they are just five-year-old kids. It’s a pity how PNAS devolved rather than evolved, since most dealers now control the organization’s interest. Nowadays, online auction such as Ebay became available to local dealers, agents, and collector. The market of coins, ephemera, and other antiquities are big business especially that the market of silver, gold, and other strategic metals is on the rise. Greedy officers in order to protect their interest have manipulated the organization for so many years that they resorted to every corrupt means just to maintain and stay in power. I myself had campaigned for the organization’s reform. But since I have realized that the people whom I trusted my faith with were also dealers who just wanted to replace their competitions and push for their own version of monopoly, I have decided to throw the towel and leave the fight between them inside their own ring. Meanwhile, I can campaign for reform in my own turf, through the Internet. (more…)

PRECLUDES MILLER FROM SEEKING STATUTORY DAMAGES OF $10.5 MILLION

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Collectors Universe, Inc. reported that on April 23, 2008, the California Supreme Court denied William Miller’s petition for review of the Appellate Court’s decision, issued in February 2008, that Miller is not entitled to statutory damages of $10.5 million against Collectors Universe.

As previously reported, Miller had argued that he was entitled, under California law, to statutorily prescribed damages of $750 for each alleged use of his name by Collectors Universe without his consent and that, since a jury at the trial of the case found that Miller’s name appeared on 14,060 authentication certificates issued by Collectors Universe, he was entitled to statutory damages of $750.00 times 14,060, or approximately $10.5 million in total. The Appellate Court ruled, instead, that the use of his name constituted, at most, a single violation of the statute in question and, therefore, Miller was entitled to no more than $750.00 in statutory damages. Miller then filed a petition with the California Supreme Court seeking a review by that Court of the Appellate Court’s decision.

As a result of the Supreme Court’s action to deny a review of the Appellate Court’s decision, if Miller decides to pursue his claims once again, his only option would be to file, on or before July 7, 2008 for a new trial to reinstate his statutory and common law claims as well as his claim for punitive damages. In any such new trial he would first have to prove that Collectors Universe violated his statutory or common law rights and, even if he succeeded in doing so, he would have to show how, if at all, he was damaged. He would not, however, be entitled to multiply $750.00 by the number of times, if any, that Collectors Universe used his name without his consent, as his measure of damages. The Company cannot predict whether Miller will seek a new trial.

By Jim Fehr - North American Certified Trading

Which are the best markets today? With all the touting that goes on, it’s important to always keep in mind that no one knows which coins will perform best. Based on the history of the certified rare coin market, however, some areas appear more promising than others.

You probably already know which coins have been doing exceptionally well over the past five to ten years but lets take a look at them again.These are series that are widely collected by date or have such a strong collector or numismatic appeal that they have risen repeatedly over the past decade and still seem to be a good value today.

1. Key Date Coins; XF to MS65.

The best performing area of the rare coin market for the past nine years running. Think maybe they are topping out? Prices seem a bit silly relative to other coins? Acquisition cost relative to bids are too high? Well it doesn’t matter. These coins are the best, rarest, most known and most sought after, and they are being bought up by coin buyers with the deepest of deep pockets. They are desirable, rare, and not often seen for years at a time.They rarely go down and if they do it’s proportionally less to the rest of the market. This all translates to plenty of upside.

2. Early Walking Liberty Halves, MS64 and higher.

Rare date Walkers prior to 1929 have seen modest price increases over the last three years, but have done very well over the last ten. Rare dates from 1916 to 1928-S in gradesMS64 and higher are constantly in demand and are always on dealers want lists. Among the earlier dates, 1917-D , 1917-S , 1918-S, 1919-D, 1919-S, 1920-D, 1920-S, 1921-P, D and S, 1923-S and 1928-S are dates that inMS63 and higher grades have seen the strongest demand and the biggest price jumps in the series over the last nine years. A 1921-D in MS65 now trades for two half times more than it did in 2002 (more…)