Bureau of Engraving and Printing Prepares Public for New $100 Note
U.S. B.E.P.
The U.S. government released the first in a series of educational videos, amplifying public education efforts for the new $100 note, which will begin circulating on February 10, 2011. The public education program kicked off in April with the unveiling of the new design for the $100 note and the launch of a new educational website. “The educational video series we are launching today is but one among a diverse array of educational tools designed to meet the needs of U.S. currency users the world over,” said Dawn Haley, Chief, Office of External Relations at the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Globally, there are approximately 6.5 billion $100 notes in circulation, and the Federal Reserve Board estimates that up to two-thirds of those notes circulate outside of the United States.
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H.M.A.V. Bounty Gold Collector’s Set
New Zealand Mint
For the first time, a commemorative coin – the first to be issued from Pitcairn Island, where the descendants of the mutineers continue to live today. This set includes the 1/4oz gold and 1/25oz gold Coins. These will be specially packaged in a handmade wooden collector box, fashioned in the shape of a sea chest. They also come complete with a small working sextant, the instrument used by seafaring navigators of the time. The sextant, together with a chronometer to mark noon, was used to mark the sun’s position in the sky in relation to the horizon, in order to determine the vessel’s latitude. History has it that these were given to Lieutenant Bligh when he was cast adrift, enabling him to find his way back to Timor and safety.
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Battle of Trafalgar Medal to be Offered
Paul Fraser Collectibles
Among the highlights will be 94 Naval General Service medals dated to 1793-1840. Of these, it is one belonging to a “Boy Third Class” that could be especially sought-after by collectors. In 1805, James Folley had been in the Royal Navy for just six months when he was sent to the Battle of Trafalgar. Little did he know then that it would become the last resting place of Lord Horatio Nelson, and that his own involvement in the battle would garner a medal - and not just any medal. This was a special silver Naval General Service decoration dated to 1793-1840. However, Folley would have to wait over 40 years until 1847 to receive his honour due to the scarcity of the metals used in its design.
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When Is Upside Down Presidential Dollar Edge Lettering an Error?
Susan Headley
The U.S. Mint produces two types of coins. Normal coins, called business strike coins by minting experts, are produced in vast quantities with little attention to individual coin detail and quality (although the Mint does strive to produce high quality coins overall.) Proof coins are the other type of coins made by the U.S. Mint, and they are carefully made with a focus on quality over quantity. Whether or not the upside down edge lettering on a Presidential Dollar has been applied in error depends on the type of coin you have.
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Counterfeit Detection: 1924-S Standing Liberty Quarter
NGC
While the origins of this 1924-S Standing Liberty Quarter are not precisely known, it’s believed to be a Depression-era counterfeit, made to circulate at its face value. In other words, it’s an old fake. Many such contemporary fakes are seen in average circulated grades and have fairly obvious flaws that don’t fool collectors, but wouldn’t have caused any hiccup in daily commerce. While 1921 and 1923-S quarters, among other dates, can be worth several hundred dollars in fine condition, the 1924-S is worth only about $40. Usually, it’s just not worth a counterfeiter’s time to focus too much effort on replicating a circulated 1924-S quarter — although uncirculated copies and coins altered to appear full head do exist for this date.
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Collecting Walking Liberty Half Dollars
PCGS Blog
The early set, from 1916-1933, is where it gets really interesting. Supposedly all the dates can be found in gem although the 1919-D is nearly impossible. When I assembled my set in the late 80s – early 90s I could not find a 1919-D or a 1921-S in full gem. Based on my experience, in gem condition the 1919-D and 1921-S are followed in scarcity by the 1918-D, 1917-S Obverse, 1917-D Reverse and 1919-S. Also, many early dates are rarely seen fully struck. It has been speculated that there was a period of time during which the Denver mint deliberately spaced dies slightly farther apart in an effort to prolong their useful life. The 1918-D, 1919-D and 1920-D all are typically very poorly struck. The only nearly fully struck 1919-D that I have ever seen was a PCGS AU58.
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The World’s Most Beautiful Coins
Telegraph
A copper-plated one Afghani coin. Prior to the US Invasion, the Taliban and tribal warlords often produced their own money of varying values. These coins were only introduced in 2005 as a measure to help standardise the currency and to encourage Afghans to use a national currency rather than US dollars or Pakistani rupees. The Australian one dollar coin, showing five kangaroos. All Australian coins have Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse, and show a variety of traditional images on the reverse, ranging from the Superb Lyrebird to the Australian coat of arms and a Gwoya Jungarai Aboriginal elder. The Canadian two dollar coin, affectionately referred to as a “toonie”. There was an urban myth that you could pop the centre out, which was in fact partially true – defective coins struck in 1996 could be separated if struck hard or frozen, since the centre piece shrunk more in the cold than the outside. The defect was however remedied within a few months of detection.
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Pulling the Plug on the Cent … In Canada
The Star
Is Canada facing a penniless future? While Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has openly mused about the end of the one-cent coin, documents reveal that officials from his department have been in discussions with the Royal Canadian Mint to prepare for the day when the penny finally drops. They’ve talked to officials in both Australia and New Zealand — two countries that have axed the one-cent coins — to learn about their experience in a penny-free society. They considered how the end of the penny would affect cash purchases. And they’ve mused about plans to convince Canadians to part with the stock of 30 billion pennies produced since 1908, many of which are rattling around bedroom drawers, piggy banks, kitchen jars — and weighing down pockets and purses.
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Interesting Coins Lead the Market
Coin Values
The continued drought of major rarities in the auction marketplace was evident at the Florida United Numismatists summer show, held July 8 to 10 in Orlando. Yet, despite absence of six-figure coins, the sale realized a healthy $7.39 million, although that number is bound to grow as Heritage counts after-auction sales in the total amount realized for an auction. Eight bidders competed for a 1867 Shield 5-cent coin, graded Proof 65 Cameo by Numismatic Guaranty Corp. It sold for a healthy $57,500, although a similarly graded example crossed the auction block in January 2009 for $63,250. Among the top lots were the usual pieces: rare early gold coins, 1907 Saint-Gaudens, High Relief double eagles and tough Proof gold. But interesting collector coins did very well, too.
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One of the First Coin Forgers in History
CoinsWeekly
Giovanni da Cavino belonged to that new generation of craftsmen that evolved into artists. He was the son of a goldsmith. Up to the death of his father he was trained by him, after that he became an apprentice of a master called Andrea Riccio. Cavino’s first work, mentioned in contemporary documents, was two silver candlesticks he delivered between 1527 and 1529 for the Padua Cathedral. The young man also devoted himself to the rising art of medal production. In 1554, Cavino made and signed a medal with the portrait of Pope Julius III, in 1565 two medals with the image of Christ. Amongst collectors of Roman coins, however, Cavino is famous for other products. Allegedly, he is one of the first coin forgers in history.
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Numbers Don’t Lie But They Can Be Wrong
Heritage Blog
In the case of certified coin populations, such as the NGC Census Report, there are a couple of ways the numbers can be wrong. Clerical errors are easily corrected, but another source is more insidious: the re-submission. Imagine a coin in an AU55 NGC holder. For whatever reason, the owner thinks it’s undergraded. A relatively common practice (best left to professionals) is to remove the coin from its sealed holder, voiding the service’s guarantee (also known as a “break-out” or a “crack-out”), and then submit the coin to NGC again. Resubmissions can be costly, but when a difference of one grade point can mean tens of thousands of dollars in added value, there is plenty of incentive to try.
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Low Mintages As Far As the Eye Can See
Dave Harper’s Buzz
Just about every collector knows that mintages ran very high during the state quarter program. It was popular with collectors and it was noticed by the general population. But just how high is high? I decided to do a little bit of calculation this morning to come to a conclusion to that question. During the 10 years (1989-1998) that preceded the state quarter program, the U.S. Mint produced 14.8 billion quarters. Now presuming that this 10-year stretch was a representative time and production matched just what the economy demanded, we can compare this number to the next 10-year period in which the state quarter program was conducted (1999-2008). Any guesses as to the number of state quarters struck? It was 34.8 billion.
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An Overlooked Series: Half Dollars from 1794 Through 1807
Stack’s News
One area of numismatics is greatly overlooked today—the series of early half dollars from 1794 through 1807. While the later Capped Bust half dollars from 1807 to 1836 remain widely collected and have strong numismatic club support, the higher base price of earlier pieces has left them poor older sisters to the later coins. Another factor which has played into this of late is the passing of several advanced collectors in the series; the coin market has been awash in these early coins from estates. Being able to obtain many Condition Census coins in the last six years provides a tremendous opportunity for astute collectors. While the entire span of die varieties from 1794 to 1807 includes some virtually impossible coins to obtain—unique die pairings and formidable rarities too—there remains a broad sweep of coins that encompasses all the follies and foibles of the early Mint that can be had for a song today.
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Cracking Out Coins (With Disclaimer)
Coin Update News
If you’re wondering why such a strong disclaimer is posted with this column, you probably have never cracked open a third party coin grading holder before. So many things can go wrong. Shards of plastic can fly across rooms or in your eyes or at another person or pet in the room. A screwdriver used to pry open holders can scrape and ruin a coin. You can pick up a coin the wrong way without wearing white cotton gloves and/or breathe on it, devaluing your possession. These are but a few outcomes of cracking open a coin from its holder. I’m sure readers will share their bust-out stories in the comment section. To make matters worse, there are myriad ways to do the deed–some more reliable than others.
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Philadelphia Mint Grows With the U.S.
Numismaster
It was 1792 when our Founding Fathers decided it was time for the United States to mint its own coins. With Philadelphia as its home, the first federal minting facility occupied three buildings built between 6th and 7th streets on Independence Mall and on the site of the current mint facility. “Legend has it that Martha Washington donated the family silverware for melting to make the first coins,” said Tim Grant, exhibits and public services manager at the Philadelphia Mint. In fact, the Mint displays an oil painting, “Inspecting the First Coins,” painted in the early 1900s depicting Martha Washington examining the first coins minted, Grant said. Those 1792 half dismes were actually produced in the celler of John Harper, a saw maker. The first Mint didn’t start coinage operations until 1793.
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Morgan Dollars Back in the Day
PCGS Blog
I remember was when I had a friend in 8th grade who’s father was a silver dollar collector. This was in the early 60s when Morgan and Peace dollars were still in circulation and they were in every teller’s tray at the banks. My friend’s father would cash his weekly paycheck at the bank and take the whole thing in silver dollars. He’d take the dollars home and go through them every Friday night, keeping the few he might find that he needed for his collection and then using the rest for what they were at the time…money. About 1966 or so, I was hanging coins on the local coin shop bid boards. I’d buy Morgans by the roll and pick out the cherries for the bid boards. I had to pay $28 a roll ($1.40 a coin) for the P and O Mints, but the S Mints cost $30 ($1.50 a coin) because they came with a lot more Gemmy coins.
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2010 Silver Eagle Proofs at Risk of Cancellation?
Gold and Silver Blog
One of the consequences of the record pace of United States Mint silver bullion coins might be the cancellation of the popular Proof American Silver Eagle for the second year running. The Proof Silver Eagle had been issued each year from 1986 to 2008. During this period, it has sold between 372,168 and 1,092,477 coins per year and had firmly established itself as one of the United States Mint’s most popular products. The offering was abruptly canceled for 2009 to the dismay of many collectors. The US Mint explained that it was legally required to produce the bullion version of the American Silver Eagle in quantities sufficient to meet public demand. They were not under any legal requirement to produce the collectible proof or uncirculated versions of the coins. Because demand for silver bullion coins apparently outweighed production, the US Mint sourced all incoming blank supplies towards the production of bullion coins.
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Prices for 2009-W Julia Tyler First Spouse Gold Move Higher
Mint News Blog
Secondary market prices for 2009-W Julia Tyler First Spouse Gold Coins have moved substantially higher, following the conclusion of US Mint sales on June 2, 2010. Recently completed auctions show prices for uncertified coins ranging from a low of $960 for an unopened proof coin to a high of $1,595 for an unopened uncirculated coin. For certified examples, prices range from a low of $795 for an example graded PCGS PR68DCAM to a high of $1,727 for an example graded PCGS MS70. These prices come from a total of 11 completed eBay auctions from the past 15 days. The date, selling price, and basic details of each auction are shown.
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