The Wild Ride of Numismatic Research
PCGS Blog
Numismatic research is a never-ending journey full of twists, turns, side-roads, dead-ends, and new discoveries.  Much of the fun of numismatic research is that you’re not alone: you can utilize the findings of those who have gone before or bring current experts along to help you navigate.  The following is a quick run-through of steps involved in research of the undated Templeton Reid $10. Reviewed census of the three pieces listed in Walter Breen’s Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins. Tried to find images off all three examples: the Smithsonian’s best piece is plated in Breen; the other Smithsonian piece is illustrated on PCGS CoinFacts; the third piece was missing.
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Coin Market Heat Wave
Stella
We’re selling a higher dollar volume every month in about half the coins. This has allowed us to concentrate on each customer better and the results are paying off. In 2010, we have steadily averaged over $2 million in sales EACH month. So, why are other dealers saying the market is “red hot” and “we can’t buy enough coins”, etc, etc.? I suppose it’s just good marketing. Of course it’s hard to buy great coins. It’s always hard to buy great coins. Usually if prices are too low (as they are getting these days) sellers hold on to the better coins until the prices go up. When prices go up, up, up (like they did in 2005-7) then sellers unload but uneducated buyers enter the market and overbid for coins.
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Japan’s 2,000-Yen Note Popular in Okinawa
Banknote News
The Bank of Japan began issuing the ¥2000 bill on July 19, 2000 to commemorate the Group of Eight summit in Okinawa, but this bill didn’t catch on with the general public and remains unpopular. There are around 110 million ¥2,000 notes in circulation, about 1% of all Japanese currency. Okinawans have good reasons for loving the bill; the Okinawan symbol ’Shureimon’ is printed on one side of the bill. The Shureimon Gate in Naha was built in the 16th century as the main gate to Shuri Castle. Shureimon Gate is a symbol of peace, and Okinawans say they want “to promote the spirit of peace from Okinawa” with the ¥2,000 note. Local Okinawa businesses have begun a campaign to promote use of the currency, with local banks converting ATM machines to accept them and shopping malls now giving change in ¥2,000 notes.
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Readers Pick Best 2010 U.S. Coin Designs (So Far)
MInt News Blog
A little over a week ago, I created a poll where Mint News Blog readers could vote on what they believe is the best US Mint coin design for the year so far. A total of 725 votes were cast across the eleven different coins issued during 2010, which featured a new design on at least one side of the coin. Two coins received more than 50% of the total votes, signaling two strong favorites. The third highest number of votes were cast for a medal honoring the Women Airforce Service Pilots. In the end, the 2010 Native American Dollar edged out the 2010 Lincoln Cent by a margin of 21 votes.
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All Dressed Up and Ready to Go … To the 20th Century
Numismatic News
The U.S. Mint is all dressed up and ready to go. The problem is it is ready to go to a 20th century destination. A decade into the 21st century we have to ask ourselves where it should be heading to be relevant to our futures. The Mint as it currently exists was organized, and its productive capacity built to meet the astronomical coin demands ushered in by the age of vending machines and the replacement of silver coins with copper-nickel clad coins. After the massive coin shortage of the 1960s, no Mint official ever wanted to be caught short again.
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The World’s First Coin Auction?
PCGS
A number of years ago, I came across into a tiny booklet in a bookstore. Opening the cover, I discovered it was a coin auction catalog… from 1786! I don’t know how long coin auctions have been taking place, but this surely is among the first auctions dedicated only to coins. The auction was the property of the late Sir Charles Frederick, Knight of the Bath, and was sold by Mr. Gerard at his House in Litchfield Street, St. Anne’s Soho. It consisted of Greek, Roman, Saxon, English, Anglo-Gallic and other coins and medals. While it was a four-day sale, held from May 17-20, it consisted only of 365 lots, sold at a pace of roughly 90 per day. As one would expect, the sale was made up almost totally of ancient and British coins.
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The Carnegie Hero Fund Medal
Stack’s News
Medals awarded by the Carnegie Hero Fund are the aristocrats of life-saving. Established in 1904 and named for Scots-born industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, the medals recognize extreme heroism in saving the life of an individual or individuals to whom the rescuer is not related. The recipient cannot be a professional such as a lifeguard, police officer, or fireman, however heroic, as the Carnegie Fund specifies that such rescuers are only doing their jobs. Saving the life of a complete stranger at risk of one’s own does the trick. From 1904 until the early 2000s. these medals were struck by J.E. Caldwell & Co. of Philadelphia. Most seen on the numismatic market are bronze but a silver, 75.8mm, 181.8 grams piece in our upcoming Philadelphia Americana Sale is sure to seize bidder attention.
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Should U.S. Bullion Blanks be Made in the U.S.?
Dave Harper
Blanks for the American Eagle program made in Australia for the U.S. Mint was a topic raised by Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Melvin Watt and Rep. Ron Paul Tuesday at the subcommittee’s hearing. Watt asked U.S. Mint Director Ed Moy if it was efficient to send American gold to Australia to make blanks. Moy’s reply was that “this is the easiest way to get blanks to our specifications.”
Rep. Paul wondered why the Mint can’t make its own planchets. He asked what a businessman would do. Moy explained that it was a matter of capital investment. He noted that an average year’s output was eight million ounces of production. Last year was 28 million and this year it will be 32 million. These totals are for silver blanks as silver American Eagles also entered the discussion.
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Gold Coin Sellers Angered by New Tax Law
ABC News/ Money
Those already outraged by the president’s health care legislation now have a new bone of contention — a scarcely noticed tack-on provision to the law that puts gold coin buyers and sellers under closer government scrutiny. … This provision, intended to mine what the IRS deems a vast reservoir of uncollected income tax, was included in the health care legislation ostensibly as a way to pay for it. The tax code tweak is expected to raise $17 billion over the next 10 years, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. Taking an early and vociferous role in opposing the measure is the precious metal and coin industry, according to Diane Piret, industry affairs director for the Industry Council for Tangible Assets. The ICTA, based in Severna Park, Md., is a trade association representing an estimated 5,000 coin and bullion dealers in the United States.
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American Palladium Eagle Bullion Coin Proposed
MInt News Blog
At the July 20 House of Representatives subcommittee meeting on “The State of U.S. Coins and Currency,” Michael Clark, President of Diamond State Depository, expressed his industry’s belief that the American Eagle Bullion Coin Program should be broadened with the addition of palladium bullion coins. The US Mint’s bullion coin program originally included only gold and silver coins, but was broadened in 1997 with the introduction of the American Platinum Eagle. This might set the precedent for another broadening of the program with the American Palladium Eagle. Statements provided at the hearing cited potential demand for Palladium Eagle bullion coins from both collectors and investors. The coins were presented as an interesting pricing point for precious metals investors at $450 per ounce, compared to higher priced gold and platinum.
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Commission of Fine Arts Promotes Coin Design Simplicity
Numismatic News
Members of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts prefer their presidential portraits in profile. In consequence, on July 15 when the CFA reviewed the design proposals for the four 2012 Presidential dollars, they withheld a recommendation on the Benjamin Harrison design. CFA members also prefer simpler designs to more complicated ones and this affected their judgments of the four 2011 First Spouse gold coin design proposals Thomas Luebke, CFA secretary, said he would be conveying the members’ views in an official letter that would go to the Treasury Department. Though the letter’s text was not yet approved, Luebke said Presidential profiles were preferred because they are the most traditional and “time-honored way to depict a person.”
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Proof U.S. Silver Eagles Returning?
Coin Update News
A statement by United States Mint Director Edmund Moy indicates that 2010 Proof Silver Eagles may be minted and issued later this year, following a possible amendment to existing law. The status of the popular collector coin has remained uncertain due to the continued high demand for the bullion version of the coin. The American Silver Eagle has been produced since 1986. Each coin contains one troy ounce of .999 fine silver, with the weight, content, and purity guaranteed by the United States Government. Traditionally, Silver Eagles have been offered as bullion coins, distributed through a network of authorized purchasers, and as collector coins, sold directly to the public. Existing law requires that the United States Mint produce the bullion coins in quantities sufficient to meet the public demand, but there is no requirement to produce the collector versions of the coin.
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Famous Roman Coins You Can Collect
NGC
Roman Republican Denarius, after c. 211 B.C. This coin breaks with our guiding theme since it was struck long before famous individuals began to issue coins of their own, but it is worth taking the opportunity to recognize the approximately 350 years of Roman coinage before the empire. The coinage was quite varied in this period, and included gold, silver and base metal coins in a wide range of denominations. Shown here is a “typical” early denarius, struck starting in about 211 B.C. Many of these denarii bear the names of moneyers, the officials in charge of coinage in any particular year. This happens to be an anonymous piece from about 207 B.C. It shows on its obverse the helmeted head of the goddess Roma, and on its reverse the Dioscuri, riding into battle with lances at the ready.
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The Market Today, The Market Twenty Years Ago
Stack’s News
Market study is always worthwhile. Many years ago financier Bernard Baruch stated that he made his money by purchasing bargains in the stock market when other people were ignoring issues, and when everyone was madly scrambling to pay record prices for stocks, selling out. Buy low, sell high, as the saying goes. In numismatics a lot of people do this. Do a bit of reading, and you can start getting more value for your money than ever before. What a great way to start a new specialty! And, apart from that, you’ll find a large panorama of coins in series that have had evergreen popularity, more or less, with few ups and downs. Copper coins, most early “type” coins in all metals, and other specialties beckon. On balance, most series have appreciated in value since 1990, reinforcing the philosophy that a carefully formed collection can be a great store of value.
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World Paper Money Errors
Banknote News
While there are several catalogs covering United States paper money errors, this book is the first attempt at a systematic approach to describing, documenting, and pricing errors on world banknotes. As such, it’s an important new addition to the world’s numismatics knowledge base, but it suffers from some shortcomings I hope will be addressed in future editions. Author Morland C. Fischer does a very good job of explaining the various types of errors found on banknotes and has distilled them down to an eight-point FEN (Foreign Error Note) ranking system in which higher numbers correspond to more significant errors. Reasonable people might disagree over whether a missing overprint is more dramatic an error than an inverted back (FEN 4 and 7, respectively), but the codification of the taxonomy of errors is a welcome improvement to a subjective field of study.
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U.S. Mint Numismatic Gold Prices to Decline?
MInt News Blog
After spending more than two months at the highest levels on record, the prices for US Mint numismatic gold coins should be reduced this week. The gold numismatic products currently available include the 2010 Proof Gold Buffalo and the First Spouse Gold Coins featuring Sarah Polk, Margaret Taylor, Abigail Fillmore, and Jane Pierce. Under the US Mint’s pricing policy for numismatic gold and platinum coins, the prices of products may be adjusted as frequently as weekly in response to changes in the average price of the metals. Each week, the average of the London Fix prices from the prior Thursday AM to the current Wednesday AM is calculated.
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The Top 5 Worst Coin Investments
Susan Headley
(See Disclaimer) Number One on my list is the TV shopping show dealers and premium “Mints” out there that sell nice looking commemorative coins for premium prices, but that have no value beyond their bullion (if they have any) when you must eventually sell them. Some of these “Mints” sell on the TV and cable-based shopping channels, and the prices they charge when they do sell genuine U.S. Mint coins are nearly always several times higher than the price the coins would cost from a normal coin dealer! These shows rarely sell anything that can’t be acquired elsewhere more cheaply, so don’t impulse buy from these shows! Do a little research and you’ll see the same Silver Eagles at $2 to $4 over spot price from major traditional coin dealers.
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German Micro-Currencies
The E-Sylum
The Havelbluete, the Augusta and the Chiemgauer might sound like the names of locally brewed beers, but they are in fact micro-currencies which, like micro-breweries, are in abundance in Germany. There are more than two dozen local currencies in circulation, and 40 or so initiatives are about to start printing their own banknotes. These notes are not gimmicks. They’re recognized legal tender — at least within each local region. Artisanal pork and organic fruit and vegetables aren’t the only locally made products exchanging hands. The regional currency, the Kingower is as well. Walburger Zanbugler(ph) is a local beef and pork farmer. At the front of her refrigerated stall, prominently displayed near the regional delicacy, Weisswurst, a sign in German reads, Kingower accepted here.
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