By Mike Thorne, Coins Magazine

In Helpful Hints for Enjoying Coin Collecting, Bill Fivaz defines “cherrypick” as follows: “to purchase a coin with a variety on it (unbeknownst to the seller) for the normal price of the coin. The variety usually makes it more collectable or valuable. This term may also apply to purchasing an undergraded coin at the lower price.”

This is something we all want to do, right? Whether we’re buying a new car, groceries at a neighborhood store, or coins at a coin show, we all want to get a bargain. Nobody wants to pay full retail price for anything anymore.

So how is this possible in the case of rare coins? How can you buy desirable coins for bargain prices? The answer, in a word, is knowledge. In order to be able to spot a coin that’s under appreciated and thus underpriced, you need to know more about it (its unrecognized variety, its true grade) than the seller.

Unfortunately, I know of no courses you can take to acquire this knowledge, and you’re unlikely to find someone who will mentor you in this area. Painful as it may sound to those of you who didn’t (or don’t) like studying and homework, that’s what it’s going to take for you to gain the knowledge you need to cherrypick successfully. For openers, you’re going to have to acquire a numismatic library and read and study it diligently.

But what books should be in your library in order for you to learn to cherrypick? Obviously, I need to be much more specific.

To begin, I would advise you to buy copies of each of the major grading guides. These would include the The Official American Numismatic Association Grading Standards for United States Coins, (6th edition), New Photograde, and Official Guide to Coin Grading and Counterfeit Detection (2nd edition). Of course, it should go without saying that you need to study each of these books thoroughly, paying particular attention to the coin series in which you’re most interested.

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By Jeff Starck for Coin World

Collectors interested in United States copper large cents, issued from 1793 through 1857, have numerous ways to collect coins representing each of the six types that constitute the production.

Some coin rarities aren’t as rare as many collectors may have been led to believe.

An 1804 silver dollar is but one coin that collectors of most means should be able to afford.

Skeptics may arise, but bear with us. Collectors desiring a real, historical 1804 silver dollar struck in the Americas, and not one of the myriad copies, can find them at relatively affordable rates.

The same can be said for the elusive 1943 copper cent struck by the U.S. Mint.

Much like a politician’s linguistic two-step, our wording is the key to this particular riddle: if you look slightly south, to Mexico, you can collect a silver dollar, of absolute North American origin, struck in 1804.

As for 1943 copper cents struck by the U.S. Mint, among the many world coins struck at the U.S. Mint in 1943 are cent (or centavo) coins, from five different countries ranging from Cuba to Surinam (Netherlands Guiana).

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By David Ganz for Numimaster

Edward W. Brooke III, who served two terms as junior senator from Massachusetts from 1967 to 1979, has been voted a congressional gold medal by the Senate where he served and the House of Representatives. He will join the ranks of about 185 other men and women with this coveted award.

Now 89 years old and living in Miami, with reported land holdings in Saint Marten, Brooke has had a life of firsts that Rep. Niki Tsongas recently recited: “the first African American elected to the United States Senate by popular vote. I am proud that he accomplished this feat in my home state of Massachusetts, which he represented from January 1967 until January 1979.”

She relates how, “He has been Captain Brooke, Professor Brooke, and Attorney General Brooke. He has fought for civil rights in our country and against apartheid in South Africa. For his many accomplishments, he has received numerous medals and awards, most notably the Bronze Star and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”

What is remarkable is that, “In a political world growing increasingly divisive and polarized, Sen. Brooke has always had the distinct ability to separate the political from the personal. My husband, Paul, ran for the Senate against Sen. Brooke in 1978. Although the race was tightly contested, Sen. Brooke was always respectful, always warm, and Paul, in turn, greatly admired him.”

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By David Ganz for Numismaster

Weighing in on the new reverse design for the Sacagawea dollar mandated by Congress, the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee viewed more than a dozen designs June 18 before selecting a female Indian planting maize (corn) in a field. The design is intended for use on the 2009 dollar coin, which is the first that will host a Native American theme.

Each year thereafter a different Native American design will appear.

The design on the obverse is not necessarily the old Sacagawea design. It is to be chosen by the Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Paulson, after consultation with the Commission of Fine Arts and review by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.

There are two requirements: it must ” contain the so-called “Sacagawea design” and ” the inscription “Liberty.”

Despite recent difficulties with edge-lettering, the law requires that the inscription of the year of minting and issuance of the coin and the inscriptions “E Pluribus Unum” and “In God We Trust” are required to be edge-incused into the coin. The CCAC formally recommended the date movement, too.

There is a specific requirement that the edge-incusing of the inscriptions be done in a manner that preserves the distinctive edge of the coin so that the denomination of the coin is readily discernible, including by individuals who are blind or visually impaired.

There is an additional consultation requirement: designs selected for the reverse shall be chosen by the Treasury Secretary after consultation with the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate, the Congressional Native American Caucus of the House of Representatives, the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Congress of American Indians. They must further be reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.

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