By Amy Wilson - HERALD-LEADER.COM

Worley Charles’ grandfather told the story of when, as a boy, he marked timber somewhere along the Licking River and then rode the logs down the river. Somewhere along upper Devil’s Creek, 12 feet up on the ridge, he saw a hole in the ledge.

He climbed out of the water, cut a pine tree into a ladder and made his way up to look inside.

There, he found a set of hinged money molds in a bundle of leather. He had heard many times the story of Kentucky’s lost silver treasure, and how a man named John Swift had found or hid or smelted thousands in glistening nuggets and coins somewhere in these woods named now for Daniel Boone. But the man who hid the vast cache had gone blind. Blind!

Superstitious, Worley Charles’ grandfather never went back for more.

But his grandchild Worley was not so easily scared. He has been looking for John Swift’s silver since he started reading the copies of the 40 different Swift journals he’s gotten his hands on. He’s been looking for 35 years.

There’s a lot of cinematic hullabaloo this weekend about an intrepid archaeologist named Indiana Jones and a treasure of crystal skulls (which are real things, apparently.) Because movies require it, there’s lots of derring-do and a big finish.

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By IANTHE JEANNE DUGAN

The government rationed food during World War II and gasoline in the 1970s. Now, it’s imposing quotas on another precious commodity: 2008 dollar coins known as silver eagles.

The coins, each containing about an ounce of silver, have become so popular among investors seeking alternatives to stocks and real estate that the U.S. Mint can’t make them fast enough. In March, the mint stopped taking orders for the bullion coins. Late last month, it began limiting how many coins its 13 authorized buyers world-wide are allowed to purchase.

“This came out of nowhere,” says Mark Oliari, owner of Coins ‘N Things Inc. in Bridgewater, Mass., one of the biggest buyers of silver eagles. With customers demanding twice as many as they did last year, Mr. Oliari would like to buy 500,000 a week. But the mint will sell him only around 100,000.

The coins have a face value of $1. But the mint sells them for the going price of silver, plus a small premium, to a handful of wholesalers, brokerage companies, precious-metals firms, coin dealers and banks. The dealers mark the coins up a bit more and sell them to the public. Currently, the coins are fetching about $19 apiece, with some sellers seeking more than $20.

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(Fallbrook, California) – The Professional Numismatists Guild will continue its year-long series of PNG Share the Knowledge educational seminars at major numismatic conventions in June and August. Programs will be conducted by PNG member-dealers at the Whitman Baltimore Coin and Currency Convention, June 6; the American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money® in Baltimore, August 1 and 2; and at the Whitman Coin and Collectibles Atlanta Expo, August 22, 2008.

A complimentary light lunch will be available for audience members at each seminar. The seminars are free and open to collectors and dealers as a way for some of the hobby’s top experts to share their knowledge.

PNG Immediate Past President Jeff Garrett of Lexington, Kentucky will present a program about “United States Gold Coins and The Smithsonian Collection” at Noon on Friday, June 6, in room 303 of the Baltimore Convention Center.

“While doing research for the book, Encyclopedia of United States Gold Coins, I had the opportunity to study one of the greatest collections of gold coins ever assembled. During my seminar I’ll discuss the history of the collection, the museum and many of the incredible highlights that make the National Numismatic Collection one of the finest in the world,” said Garrett.

Two PNG seminars will be presented at the ANA convention starting with Donald Kagin, Ph.D. of Tiburon, California who will discuss “Pioneer Gold Pattern Coinage” at 11 a.m. Friday, August 1, in room 319 of the Baltimore Convention Center.

“It’s the story of our nation’s first entrepreneurs who created and made impressions from coinage dies primarily in contemplation of making coins from the gold in our country’s first three gold rushes. There were more than 30 different companies, but 11 of them never made gold coins,” Kagin said.

The second PNG seminar at the ANA’s annual summer convention will be presented by PNG President Gary Adkins of Edina, Minnesota, “Collectors Are From Venus, Dealers Are From Mars!,” at Noon, Saturday, August 2, also in room 319 of the Baltimore Convention Center.

Adkins will discuss expectations on both sides of the bourse table when attending a coin show, including preparation before the show; travel and security; show hours and management; dealer and collector etiquette; buying and selling; expectations of the transaction; and enjoying the experiences of a coin show. (more…)

Ira and Larry Goldberg coins and collectibles are preparing for what is to be the most important auction in their over 50 years of numismatic experience. The Pre-Long Beach Auction, May 25-28, 2008 will feature The Millennia Collection, a world-class collection of ancient and world coins, on May 26^th. This auction is generating intense world-wide interest, with extremely high-end, sought-after rarities in all categories of world and ancient coins, as well as in United States gold coins.

The Millennia Collection, Monday, May 26^th, 2008

The Millennia Collection reflects not only over a thousand years of the world’s history, but also the Goldberg’s passion and knowledge of half a decade of numismatic experience. “We’ve never before handled a collection of this magnitude,” says Larry Goldberg. Working dedicatedly with a private collector for over five years, the Goldbergs have carefully sought and selected over a thousand coins, choosing each for its beauty and historical significance.

These magnificent coins were the basis of the recently NLG-Awarded Whitman book Money of the World - Coins That Made History. Many rarities, pedigrees, and finest-known specimens abound in this collection, with the overall quality unmatched anywhere else. The selection of coins ranges from Ancient Rome to the New World, from coins minted for the 87^th Olympiad to the first dollars of the orient and the New World.

Top lots of interest include an extremely rare 42 BC About Uncirculated Gold Aureus of Brutus (possibly the finest of 8 known) a 223 AD About Uncirculated Gold Aureus depicting the Coliseum (perhaps the finer of 2 known), an NGC MS-61 AR penny of Analf V (the only specimen of the only coin known under this king, c.1029 ) a rare 1703 “VIGO” Anne 5 Guineas of Great Britain in MS-61 (perhaps the finest known of this extremely sought-after coin), a Russian 1705 Peter I Gold Ruble in NGW MS-63 (one of 2 known), a 1645 Crown of the East Indies (the first round dollar of the Orient and the finest of 6 known ), and the (1535-5) Carlos & Johanna Mexico 8 Reales, the “Discovery Dollar” of the New World (struck by Francisco del Rincon, one of only 3 known).

Serious collectors of all aspects of ancient and world coins are expected to attend. The auction of this collection is a truly special, exciting, and historic numismatic event. (more…)