Gold and other precious metals tumbled Thursday as traders in the currency market reversed course and bid up the dollar in the wake of the previous afternoon’s statement from the Federal Open Market Committee.

Technically oriented selling was triggered as gold fell to its weakest level since the last day of 2007.

“We’re having margin selling and liquidation,” said George Gero, vice president with RBC Capital Markets Global Futures. “That usually follows after you’ve had a severe downturn like this without a rally.

“It seems to be hitting platinum. It’s hitting palladium. It’s hitting silver. And it’s hitting the crude oil, which is down to $110 (after challenging $120 early in the week). We’re having a general liquidation in commodities, mainly due to the strength in the dollar and a better outlook in the credit markets and the stock markets.”

As gold was closing, crude oil was down roughly $2.50 a barrel, which in its self tends to weigh on the metals.

June gold lost $14.20 to $850.90 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. As pit trade was closing, the June contract at the Chicago Board of Trade was down $14.60 to $850.60.

Comex July silver fell 38.8 cents to $16.205. As it was closing, CBOT July silver was down 39 cents to $16.191.

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Designs for 2009 First Spouse gold coins and bronze medals were considered at the Citizen Coin Advisory Committee meeting April 22.

Images of the First Spouse coin designs viewed at the meeting can be seen on Page 23, identified by codes used by the committee.

For the Anna Harrison coin, CCAC preferred designs AH-O-02 for the obverse and AH-R-02 for the reverse. First Lady Harrison was a supporter of education and an avid reader, and the reverse design reflects these attributes.

The committee selected LT-O-04 and LT-R-03 for the Letitia Tyler coin. She suffered ill health and spent most of her time on the family’s plantation caring for their eight children. She died in 1842, about a year and a half into her husband’s Presidency.

President John Tyler wed again while in office, in 1844, marrying a woman named Julia Gardiner. For the Julia Tyler coin, the CCAC singled out designs JT-O-03 and JT-R-01. The reverse design shows President Tyler handing the First Lady the gold pen he used to sign papers annexing Texas to the United States, an action she had helped achieve. Read Full Numismaster Article

Lyn Knight’s Chicago Paper Money Expo bank note auction March 28-29 drew 592 bidders who together helped push the overall total price realized to about $2.7 million dollars. Among the 478 successful buyers is new owner of a four-note uncut sheet of Original Series National Bank Notes from Montana Territory, issued by the First National Bank of Helena.

The sheet consists of three $1 notes and a single $2 note with the very popular “Lazy Deuce” design. This sheet surfaced in 2004, the first time it left the hands of the family that acquired it around 1870.

Knight said only three uncut sheets of any type are known from Territorial national banks, excluding the District of Alaska. One is the in the American Numismatic Association museum, leaving two available for collectors.

He graded this sheet very fine, and it sold for $299,000 dollars, including 15 percent buyer’s fee.

Other highlights of Knight’s 2,700-lot auction were an 1864 $50 Interest Bearing Note dated April 20, referenced as Friedberg 203 and graded fine by catalogers. It brought $54,625 dollars.

Another Interest Bearing Note, a $20 dated March 18, 1864, Fr. 197, graded Apparent VF-25 Net by PCGS Currency, crossed the block for $33,350.

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Stack’s sale of the Michael S. Tallent and the Alicia and Sid Belzberg Collections took place last Thursday, April 24 at the Doubletree Hotel in Rosemont, Illinois. With standing room only, this jam-packed auction room witnessed the extraordinary sale of $6,592,516 worth of world coins and medals.

Lawrence R. Stack noted, “In speaking to the three highlighted consignors from this sale, Michael Tallent, Alicia and Sid Belzberg, and the owner of the Chinese kilo coins, everyone was very happy with the overall results, which goes to show that specialized collections bring out the crowds as well as financial rewards.”

The auction began with the Tallent Collection, starting with English Hammered coinage, and took off at an exciting pace, with the two Henry VIII Sovereigns fetching $37,375 and $29,900 respectively. A majestic Mary Tudor Fine Sovereign weighed in at $25,300 and a stunning Elizabeth I Pound brought $23,000, bolstering the House of Tudor’s legacy as one of the most famous (or infamous!) English royal families.

The highly specialized collection Charles I silver coins saw serious bidding (both live and via telephone) and fierce competition. The sheer quantity of types and high end quality of the coins made this dramatic collection a rare opportunity for collectors. A gorgeous Type 5 Tower Mint Crown was highly sought after and fetched $20,700, while soon after, a fabulously pedigreed 1643 Triple Unite sold for $29,900. Only minutes after that, a tremendous 1643 Oxford Mint Crown surpassed all expectations when it sold for $20,700. The seven lots of siege coinage were also the focus of intense bidding, with the Octagonal Shilling of Pontefract climbing to $14,950.

The dozen or so examples of Ormonde coinage were also well received, exceeding estimates on all fronts.

The Alicia and Sid Belzberg Collection opened with a stunning group of select Polish rarities, and their performance indicated that the robust Polish coin market is in no present danger. The epic Battle of Chocim 1621 Gold 50 Ducat commemorating the Polish victory finally weighed in at a whopping $431,250, the highest realization in the sale, after intense bidding. Excitement abounded when, minutes later, the exceedingly rare 1614 Gold 5 Ducat soared to $115,000 and the 1624 Gold 5 Ducat made its way to $63,250. All paddles were in the air when the magnificent and extremely rare 1617 Silver Double Talary crossed the block, topping out at $184,000. Polish patterns also performed brilliantly, with the breathtaking 1766 Pattern Talar encountering aggressive bidding and culminating in a winning bid of $138,000. The unique 1925 Gold Pattern 5 Z?otych opened at $36,000 and climbed to an astounding $218,500. (more…)