Headlines of $30 million rare coin transactions flash across crawlers streaming news on TV broadcasts. Blurbs such as these provide a breath of fresh news to viewers who have grown weary reading the endless drivel concerning Britney Spears, Barry Bonds, and O. J. Simpson. But what is the average TV viewer with no prior knowledge of the rare coin market to make of announcements about multimillion-dollar coin deals?

It would indeed be difficult for a person outside the hobby of coin collecting to comprehend why anyone would pay so much for small discs of metal, with numbers, letters, and images imprinted in relief on them. Those individuals inside the hobby view the upward trend in prices as a long overdue phenomenon. For it has always been acknowledged by those who call themselves numismatists, that rare coins tend to appreciate in value over time. But for a period of approximately twelve years, between 1990 and 2001, the faith of these diehard coin collectors was severely tested. Now, however, their patience has been rewarded, and rare coin prices are ascending at a rate comparable to Alex Rodriguez’s rising popularity. But why is this occurring? What awakened the sleeping coin market out of its decade-long slumber? There are reasons; and in this brief report I will mention the most significant of them.

From 1990 through 2001, the rare coin market, also referred to as the field of numismatics, experienced a severe bearish environment, which resulted in plunging values, tapering off into a lengthy plateau period, in which coin sales were sluggish. The recent rebound, which began around 2002, is a normal cyclical reaction to this bear market. Prices had declined to the point that many buyers who had been sitting on the sidelines decided that the deals were too good to pass up. This, along with a variety of factors, triggered the market we are now experiencing. Here are a few of the more obvious causes to consider: (more…)

A twenty-cent piece from the Carson City Mint dated 1876 is for sale in an auction in New York City in October( Stacks) ; and the estimated sale price is $250,000. Author, and Carson City coin expert, Rusty Goe says that the bidding will be fierce for this special piece.

“It is one of only 18 or 19 examples known,” says Goe and it “is one of the most celebrated coins in the history of coin collecting in the United States.” So, why is this particular coin so special, and what makes it so valuable? The answer to both questions says Goe, is “the increasing popularity of the Carson City Mint.”

Collectors are obsessed with coins from this legendary Nevada mint, primarily says Goe, because there are just enough of the coins to make a game of it, but not so many as to ever flood the market. Additionally, the Carson City Mint operated during what is referred to as America’s Gilded Age, evoking romantic sensations of nostalgia.

The mint is also associated with Nevada’s historic Comstock Lode, one of the greatest mining discoveries of all time, and also the Old West era, with its images of stagecoaches, Ponderosa ranches, Mark Twain, and gunslingers. (more…)