‘First example’ of the 1882 Gold banknote sells with $500,000 estimate
Paul Fraser Collectibles
Limited to just 14,000, this note, appearing for sale for only the second time, is the star at Heritage. Heritage Auctions, the official auctioneer of the Florida United Numismatists (FUN) Show, will present a substantial number of rare and exceptional notes as part of its Signature Currency Auction. The sale is being held on January 6-10 in Tampa, Florida.
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Dealers Confused by New America the Beautiful Sale Rules
Numismatic News
Dealers say new rules imposed by the U.S. Mint on the sale of 5-ounce silver bullion coins are far from clear. “I think there is some question on exactly how those rules apply, and we don’t have answers to the questions,” said Michael Haynes, CEO of American Precious Metals Exchange, one of 11 companies authorized by the Mint to sell the new America the Beautiful coins. APMX has ordered 3,000 sets, the maximum allowed per distributor.
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Yoko Donates Gold Lennon Coin
Numismaster
A unique 22-karat gold version of the new John Lennon £5 coin of Alderney has been donated by Yoko Ono to Great Britain’s Alder Hey Hospital’s Imagine Appeal for auction next year to raise money. Ono is the widow of the famous Beatle songwriter/singer/musician. The coin is part of the British Royal Mint’s Great Britons series of £5 silver Alderney coins. Lennon was chosen to accompany in the series such luminaries of history as Winston Churchill by choice of the British public.
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Interview with the Central Bank of Ireland’s Coin Department Head of Marketing
Coin Update News
One of the most innovative sets of national coinage of its day (many would say they can still hold their own against some of the most innovative coinage concepts today) were the designs which came to be affectionately known as the “Barnyard” series. They are once again resurrected as Ireland issues the first of three coins in a new series of silver collector crowns. In 1926, a commission organized to decide the themes for circulation coins of the newly established Irish Free State came into being and was headed by the poet (and later Senator) W. B. Yeats.
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The 1962 Seattle World’s Fair Million Silver Dollar Exhibit
The E-Sylum
One of the many committees working on the 1962, six-month-long, Seattle World’s Fair, which would live on in the Space Needle and Monorail, was responsible for producing, promoting and selling souvenir medals for the exposition. The committee, with Northwest Historic Medals, was also charged with producing a venue for medal sales and was thus attracted to an advertisement for Behlen buildings. The committee also conceived of the display of a million silver dollars to attract medal purchasers and thus contacted Gerry Joseph, Behlen’s sales manager, to see if they might be interested in a package promotion.
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US Mint Sales: Silver Coin Products in Demand
Silver Coins Today
The United States Mint welcomed a newcomer to their America the Beautiful product portfolio. The five ounce 2010 America the Beautiful Silver Bullion Coins began with debut sales of 75,000 from Authorized Purchasers. That is 375,000 ounces of silver in a single day on their launch Friday.As for the other US Mint bullion product, demand for Silver Eagle bullion coins picked up compared to the first week of December. The .999 fine bullion Silver Eagles advanced 1,005,000 in the last seven days, which totals 1,422,000 in the first half of December. Annual sales rolled in at 34,312,500.
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United States Mint Uncirculated Coins Get a New Look in 2011
United States Mint
The United States Mint today announced that it is discontinuing the satin finish on numismatic uncirculated coins produced for the United States Mint Uncirculated Coin Set® and other products. Instead, beginning in 2011, uncirculated-quality coins will feature a brilliant finish. The United States Mint began using the satin finish for its uncirculated coins in 2005 to be consistent with other products in its portfolio, such as commemorative coins. The satin finish, however, highlights surface marks that inherently result from the coin-handling systems.
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The Mint coins a new phase: After 50 years, Lincoln Memorial gone from the penny
The Washington Post
You may have noticed a small change in your small change. More likely, you haven’t. “Now, when did they do that?” asked Victor Schubert, a lawyer from Racine, Wis., squinting at a freshly minted 2010 penny. “And why?” Schubert and other tourists on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial one recent afternoon were surprised to see a brand-new look to that most familiar of coins.
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The Recovery of Julian Leidman’s Stolen Inventory
The E-Sylum
Court papers filed in New York identify the son of a Diamond District jeweler as the man who allegedly bought a multi-million dollar collection of coins and currency stolen in October 2009 from a Maryland coin dealer’s van as he dined in a Montville restaurant. What the papers don’t show is who the FBI believe was responsible for the theft. A complaint filed by FBI Special Agent Daniel X. McCaffrey, Jr. details how Yan Kandinov allegedly bought the cache for $80,000 from an unidentified individual who said they had “something for him to look at.”
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Napolitano named Bowers president
Numismatic News
Bowers and Merena Auctions, a subsidiary of Spectrum Group International Inc., announced Dec. 1 that numismatic professional Chris Napolitano has joined the 27-year-old auction house as president. A collector since childhood, Napolitano decided to make numismatics his life’s career in 1989 with the founding of Summit Rare Coins, Inc., serving as president and CEO since its inception. Under Napolitano’s leadership spanning more than two decades, the company has handled in excess of $250 million in rare coins. In 2001, Napolitano co-founded American Rare Coins and Collectibles with locations in St. Paul and Minneapolis, which he helped to grow into a $20 million business.
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France Seizes Lava Treasure Coins
Numismaster
France recently seized an unannounced number of third century A.D. Roman gold coins as well as an ancient gold plate allegedly with a pedigree linking the material to the Lava Treasure, according to an Oct. 27 announcement. The Lava Treasure, consisting primarily of ancient Roman gold coins, received its name because the find was discovered accidentally by fishermen diving in the Gulf of Lava. The gulf is off the west coast of Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea. Corsica belongs to France.
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Coins Honoring Nation’s Oldest Military Branch Unveiled at Army/Navy Game
United States Mint
Designs for the 2011 United States Army Commemorative Coin Program were unveiled today during the annual Army/Navy football game played in Philadelphia, PA. Public Law 110-450, the “United States Army Commemorative Coin Act of 2008,” authorizes the United States Mint to mint and issue $5 gold, $1 silver and half-dollar clad coins to recognize and celebrate the founding of the United States Army in 1775.
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How Peru Became the Counterfeit-Cash Capital of the World
The E-Sylum
Back in the 1980s, Peru’s government ran the printing presses as an answer to the country’s massive economic crisis, but churning out currency only made things worse and hyperinflation topped off at 1.2 million percent by the end of the decade. The printing presses have returned, but this time it is not the government cranking out bills, and the currency coming out is not necessarily the Peruvian nuevo sol.
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Peter the Great rules Russian Coins and Currency sale with a $234,000 gold piece
Paul Fraser Collectibles
The commemorative medal marking the Battle of Riga led the way in Bonhams’ spectacular sale. Bonhams completed their sale of roughly 550 lots of rare Russian coins and currency last week with nearly 100 coming from the Tsarina collection. We felt confident in predicting that many of the best lots would shoot past their estimates given the rapidly increasing power of the Russian collectibles markets which certainly has numismatics at its head. We weren’t disappointed.
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Hobby Popularity Boosted Dime Saving
Numismaster
Perhaps it is time we take a second or even a first look at some of the lower-mintage Mercury dime dates like the 1938-D. Right now the 1938-D seems fairly stable in terms of price, but you have to think that $34 for an MS-65 and $62 for an MS-65 with full split bands is awfully inexpensive when you consider its mintage and the potential for demand for a coin that is now more than 70 years in age. The 1938-D Mercury dime had a mintage of 5,537,000. It seems unlikely that a coin with such a mintage would be overlooked, and especially overlooked for seven decades.
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Morgan dollars in high demand after silver surge
Rare Coin Market Report
Gold and silver continued their assent Dec. 6, with gold hitting a record $1,432.50 and silver reaching a 30-year high of $30.73 during trading on Dec. 7. Investors continue to be worried about the financial stability of Europe, the potential for a weak U.S. dollar, and the possibility that the Federal Reserve will expand its latest stimulus package to buy more U.S. bonds. These factors, combined with increased demand associated with the holidays, means there is a strong likelihood that bullion prices may keep increasing.
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Mint delays sale of America the Beautiful 5 Ounce Coins
Numismatic News
A flood of complaints about high prices caused the U.S. Mint to postpone the beginning of sales of the 5-ounce America the Beautiful silver bullion coins. The Mint was supposed to begin selling 165,000 of the new 3-inch diameter pieces to its Authorized Dealer Network on Dec. 6. However, before the day was finished, the Mint issued a statement saying it was not confirming any sales that day.
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