Sedwick Treasure auction No. 8 realizes $1.3 million
Coin Values
All prices here reflect the 18 percent buyer’s fee, which is discounted to 15 percent for cash payments. The auction offered shipwreck-recovered coins and bars, as well as Mexican and other Spanish colonial coins, plus English, world, U.S. and ancient coins. The 2,789-lot auction was called the firm’s “biggest yet.” Three hundred thirty-six lots, or 12 percent, did not sell.
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Early coin from China’s first-ever modern mint is estimated at $60,000
Paul Fraser Collectibles
An historic piece of Chinese numismatic history is auctioning in Hong Kong, and online. A late-19th century Chinese coin is expected to sell for the equivalent of tens of thousands of dollars in Hong Kong, tomorrow (December 1), at Champion Hong Kong’s auction. The piece is question is an undated Hina-Kwangtung coin from 1889 from the first set of coins ever made at China’s first modern mint.
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Canadian 2010 Crystal Snowflake Silver Coins Near Sell Out
Silver Coins Today
Two recently released 99.99% pure silver coins featuring a unique crystal snowflake design are almost sold out, the Royal Canadian Mint advised customers late last week. Sales of the Mint’s $20 Blue Crystal Snowflake and $20 Tanzanite Crystal Snowflake have each passed 90% of their maximum mintage, which is 15,000 across both options. The two silver coins were released by the Royal Canadian Mint in October along with its other final 2010 issues.
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CFA Review of 2012 America the Beautiful Quarter Designs
Coin Update News
Although the America the Beautiful Quarters Program just completed its first year of release, design candidates have already been prepared and reviewed for the third year of the series. The 2012 America the Beautiful Quarters will feature El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico, Chaco Culture National Historic Park in New Mexico, Acadia National Park in Maine, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii, and Denali National Park in Alaska.
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New Coins from Latvia and France
The E-Sylum
Latvia has issued a coin containing a small piece of amber. The coin was issued on Nov. 15. The coin has a face value of 1 lat. France has issued 100 Euro circulating coin. It is being issued at face value hence it can be truly called a circulation coin. This is the third and last year for an innovative concept: renewing usage of precious metals as circulation coins. This tradition was started in 1960 with the silver 5 Franc coin, and was abandoned with the demise of the Franc.
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Micro Nations Prosper in Coins
Numismaster
Numismatic Guaranty Corporation ancient coin authenticator David Vagi has joked with me about a fictitious country he calls Gurkistan. World coin dealer Allen Berman is well known for promoting the mysterious kingdom of Bermania. There are more places than you might think that exist in someone’s mind, but their physical existence may be limited to fantasy coins or perhaps to some place that may only be visible at low tide.
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OLYMPIA, WA. November, 2010 — Lovers of classical Rome along with legions of coin collectors helped drive 2005’s “Encyclopedia of Roman Imperial Coins” to an unlikely Top Ten position in the most sought after out-of-print books in America according to Bookfinder.com the news of which was then brought to national attention in an article in the Christian Science Monitor. These fans were pleased when noted numismatist Rasiel Suarez announced the availability of the long-awaited second edition just days later.

Customers who had been on the preorder queue, many for several months, were instantly impressed with the heft and sheer beauty of the book which tips the scales at just short of ten pounds. Amazon and Facebook fan page reviews continued praise in monolothic response with the common denominator being the breathtaking scope of the information covered and the eye candy of so many thousands of rare coins reproduced in high resolution color photography; a welcome departure from the customary fuzzy gray images otherwise so prevalent in numismatic literature.

The sizzle may sell but ultimately it’s the steak that feeds. ERIC II’s content catalogues a dizzying 60,000+ coin varieties far outclassing all previous Roman reference works in this critical metric then adds current market pricing and rarity data in an innovative approach that is considerably more accurate than the vague price guides published up until now.

Besides the text dealing directly with the coinage, the author has crammed every nook and cranny with biographical and historical notes relevant to each of the reigns. Even in this capacity, where photographs are not essential, the author nevertheless spares no opportunity to include even more of them in a bid to make each of its almost 300 sections a tidy, self-contained database of all the knowledge pertinent to that domain thus earning it the encyclopedia status of its namesake title.

First printing limited to 3,000 units, $149.95. Autographed and numbered copies of ERIC II: The Encyclopedia of Roman Imperial Coins may be ordered from the publisher’s website at dirtyoldbooks.com

About the Author

Rasiel Suarez is owner and co-founder of Dirty Old Coins, LLC, a company founded in 2002 with the vision of bringing the hobby of ancient coin collecting to a broad demographic largely unaware that owning genuine ancient coins was both possible and affordable. 2005 saw the release of his first book, The Encyclopedia of Roman Imperial Coins, which broke new ground in making the subject much more accessible to those entering the hobby.

By 2007 the company had sold over one million Roman coins by way of retail-ready coin kits that taught thousands of families how to restore these ancient artifacts using the same methods museums use. His success as an author and recognized expert in the field of Roman numismatics was cemented by the release of the second edition of his Encyclopedia in the Fall of 2010. An avid traveler and photographer, Rasiel lives with his family in Olympia, Washington.

US Mint Deletes 2010 Proof Silver Eagle Orders in Error
Coin Update News
The United States Mint has discovered that an estimated 2,700 orders placed online have been deleted in error. Approximately 2,200 of these orders were for the 2010 American Silver Eagle proof coins. The Mint has been attempting to contact the customers whose orders have been affected. The deleted orders were placed between Friday, November 19 at 12:00 Noon ET and Sunday, November 21 at 7:30 PM. During this time, the Mint had processed more than 35,000 online orders.
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Many Coins Undergraded
Numismaster
For the last two months, I’ve been writing about my efforts to get the most out of a very odd accumulation of coins. In addition to such oddities as a large number of 20-cent pieces and Territorial gold, the collection included long runs of half cents, large cents, and Indian Head cents. Because these coppers (and copper-nickels) were housed in less than optimal holders (2- by 2-inch cardboard staple-type with soft plastic for the windows) in a suboptimal environment (high heat and humidity), most of the coins were quite dark and often corroded.
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$180,000 for a Chinese coin series missed by even the best collectors
Paul Fraser Collectibles
For numismatists, Ponterio’s upcoming auctions in Hong Kong mean the year will end on a high. Early next month, Ponterio Coins is set to kick off a major sale of World Crowns and Minors, with some other gold coins on offer too. Whilst there are coins from all round the world on offer, the Hong Kong Division of Bowers and Merena begins with the Wa She Wong Collection of China and Hong Kong Coins, which includes some spectacular examples amongst the 478 lots.
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Donald Ariel, Overseer of Israel’s National Coin Collection
The E-Sylum
When he was a senior at Brown, Donald Ariel took a graduate-level class in ancient coins in which the professor assigned cataloguing a coin collection at Wheaton College in nearby Norton, Massachusetts. The collection consisted of 250 coins, all of them minted during the time of ancient Greece or Rome. “We were told to do the full Monty,” Ariel says. “Learn how to organize the collection, how to identify the coins, how to find the relevant reference material, and how to write up a catalog describing each one and its significance.”
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Where’s the beef?
PCGS Blog
The beef these days is in Plus + grades. Yes that’s right; while lots of people are asking how to value Plus graded coins others are out there making them and selling them for huge increases over regular grades. When PCGS introduced Plus grading last March most people thought it was a good idea. We had been beseeched by collectors over the years to do something to recognize coins that were superior for the grade. Our Plus standards have been very strict and not many coins achieve this distinction.
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Final 2010 First Spouse Gold Coin and Bronze Medal
The United States Mint
The final 2010 coin in the First Spouse Coin Program, struck in honor of Mary Todd Lincoln, will be available at noon Eastern Time (ET) on December 2. The one-half ounce 24-karat gold coin is produced at the United States Mint at West Point in proof and uncirculated qualities. Pricing for the coins will be based on the United States Mint’s pricing structure for precious metals products. For current pricing information, visit http://usmint.gov/pressroom/index.cfm?flash=yes&action=goldplat. Bronze medals that bear a likeness of the gold coin will be available for $5.50 each.
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