WASHINGTON - At 12:00 noon on April 28, 2008, collectors can begin purchasing 2008-dated Golden Dollar coins bearing the image of Sacagawea. The coins, available in bags and rolls, are of circulating quality and were struck on the main production floors at the United States Mint facilities at Philadelphia and Denver.

Each roll of Sacagawea Golden Dollars contains 25 coins wrapped in distinctive packaging and priced at $35.95. The canvas bags, priced at $319.95, contain 250 coins. Both options bear either the “P” or the “D” mint mark denoting the mint of origin.

The obverse image of the Sacagawea Golden Dollar, designed by sculptor Glenna Goodacre, honors the young Shoshone woman who assisted Lewis and Clark in their exploration of the Pacific Northwest more than 200 years ago. The reverse of the coin, designed by former United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Thomas D. Rogers, Sr., features a soaring bald eagle and 17 stars representing each of the states at the time of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

The United States Mint will accept orders for 2008-dated Sacagawea Golden Dollar coin options at its secure Web site, www.usmint.gov, or at the toll-free number, 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). Hearing- and speech-impaired customers may order by calling 1-888-321-MINT (6468). Domestic orders include a $4.95 fee per order for shipping and handling.

By David L. Ganz, Numismatic News

This is a two part column talking about auction pedigrees (Part I) with a focus on the Mickley-Hawn-Quellar 1804 silver dollar and the Anderson-Dupont-Yoder 1838-O half dollar. Part II tells the fascinating story of tracking down a footnote - a price realized 20 years ago - on a pedigreed piece highlighted in my new book, “Profitable Coin Collecting,” which Krause will publish July 20. Rare coins are white hot. On April 17, Heritage sold the David Quellar family specimen of the 1804 silver dollar for $3.7 million, and the Yoder family 1838-O half dollar (a circulated proof-45) for $276,000. Both coins and all others quoted refer to the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, if any, charged winning bidders.

Both pieces realized prove the state of the market when looked at in the context of the lengthy pedigree that each offers. The 1804 dollar goes back 140 years; the 1838-O half dollar covers a half century of the coin market with its ups, downs, and sideways momentum.

For more than 40 years, I’ve been writing about the rare coin market and auction sale trends, and have charted the path that I called in one book “planning your rare coin retirement.” It’s become more important to me as I get nearer to my own; my 57th birthday (coincidentally my 43rd year as a coin writer) comes up July 28.

Read Mr.Ganz’s Full Article Here

By Gerald McKinstry for The Journal News 

For Jeff Haber and son Danny framing pennies makes sense.

For decades, the elder Haber stashed the often-overlooked or unwanted copper coins. More recently, he decided to put them to good use. “I had a ton of pennies,” Jeff Haber said. “I have 30 years of collected pennies.”

Inspiration came in the form of a portrait of Abraham Lincoln made entirely of pennies that he saw at the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not museum in Florida about eight years ago. He and his son decided they were up for the challenge.

“What we saw in Florida was absolutely incredible,” Danny Haber said.

The first portrait they completed is hanging in their home. A second was purchased by the Ripley’s museum for $500. Now, the two have completed a third portrait, which they are donating to New Rochelle High School.

This one used 2,400 coins, or $24. The Habers said they spent nearly two months positioning and gluing the coins.

Read the full Journal Article 

Gold prices shed more than 2 percent on Wednesday as the dollar gained ground against the euro, prompting bullion investors to liquidate long positions amid weak buying sentiment, traders said.

Spot gold sank to an intraday low of $897.10 an ounce and was at $905.50/906.70 by New York’s last quote at 2:15 p.m. EDT (1815 GMT), well below levels of $920.65/922.05 late in New York trade on Tuesday.

People were unwinding their long positions on gold, after the metal’s recent rally, said analyst Daniel Hynes of Merrill Lynch:

“We’ve seen net long positions on the COMEX decrease recently and I think we’re seeing a continuation of that movement out of gold just at the moment,” he said.

The U.S. active gold contract for June delivery settled down $16.20, or 1.8 percent, at $909 an ounce.

Gold held in New York-listed StreetTRACKS Gold Shares, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell to 623.41 tonnes on Tuesday from 641.82 tonnes the previous day.

The metal hit a three-week high of $952.60 last week, but attempts to stay above $950 were met by profit-taking. Dealers noted some physical demand, but it was not enough to trigger another rally toward last month’s record $1,030.80.

Read Full Guardian Article