New Book: 100 Greatest Error Coins
The E-Sylum
In this richly illustrated coffee-table book, three of America’s best-known error-coin specialists take the reader on a personal guided tour of the remarkable misstrikes and other oddities produced by the U.S. Mint. 100 Greatest U.S. Error Coins is the seventh entry in Whitman Publishing’s 100 Greatest™ library. It follows books that showcase coins, paper money, medals and tokens, comic books, and stamps. “Each of the 100 Greatest error coins was voted into place by leading coin dealers, collectors, researchers, and historians,” said Whitman publisher Dennis Tucker. Inside, the reader will find prized and seldom-seen rarities—the unique and high-valued pieces that collectors dream about.
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U.S. Mint, Army and Air Force Exchange Service Promote $1 Coins
U.S. Mint
The United States Mint and the Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) are teaming up to encourage regular use of $1 coins in everyday cash transactions at military exchanges.  Retailers at Fort Sam Houston, Texas; Fort Huachuca, Arizona; and Fort Carson, Peterson Air Force Base and the Air Force Academy in Colorado have been selected by AAFES to participate in a $1 coin launch initiative to begin on July 4.  The goal of the initiative is to expand $1 coin usage to all 1,703 AAFES locations throughout the country.  Exchanges are retail stores located on military bases and facilities that serve active duty and retired members of the Armed Forced and their families. 
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CCAC in Search of Coin Design Excellence
Numismatic News
The U.S. Mint has some great artists, so why aren’t we getting great coin designs? The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee wants to know. Three years ago Mint Director Ed Moy called for a “neo-Renaissance for coin design” and “a new level of design excellence.” But that hasn’t happened, said CCAC Chairman Gary Marks when the group met June 28 in Colorado Springs, Colo. “Something must be done to ignite the renaissance,” Marks said. To that end, he appointed a Subcommittee on Coin Design Excellence tasked with developing recommendations addressing design quality regarding all future theme and design proposals. Marks said the goal is not to lay blame or point fingers. The goal is for the U.S. to attain a “level of excellence in coinage design that is simply unmatched in the world.”
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Looking for an Oak Tree, Finding a Willow
Heritage Blog
I had the coin on my desk. Massachusetts silver. The holder said “Oak Tree Shilling, Good Details.” It wasn’t much to look at, or rather, there wasn’t much to look at on it, as worn as it was. Even so, I figured I would be able to match it to a die pair and give it an attribution. I couldn’t attribute it. Nothing matched. It showed parts of designs from at least two strikes, so I was expecting the attribution to be complicated, but still… Two runs through reference books later and about thirty seconds after I went from frustrated to flat-out vexed with the coin, I admitted defeat and showed it to Senior Cataloger Mark Borckardt. He went through the same stages I did, until he had a brain-wave: what if this “Oak Tree Shilling” wasn’t an Oak Tree at all? “Maybe it’s a Willow Tree.”
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The Grand Plan for PCGS CoinFacts
PCGS Blog
Imagine with me for a few minutes… Imagine if you will… Every U.S. coin…all regular Mint issues, all proofs, all varieties of those issues, and include Colonials, Territorials, and Patterns. In other words…imagine the entirety of U.S. numismatics. Now imagine a photo…an image online…a great image…of the finest known example of all of those coins. Imagine a variety guide…a guide which has detailed images, including close-ups, of each variety. A guide on how to distinguish each variety. Imagine all the technical info for every coin: mintage, metal content, size, designer, etc.
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Afghanistan War Medals Auctioned
Paul Fraser Collectibles
Two particularly interesting medals with modern resonance are two Second Afghan War medals awarded to British soldiers for service during 1878-80. Both men were members of the 72nd Highlanders, and both sadly met their deaths in the conflict. The first of these was Colour-Sergeant John Yule. Mentioned in despatches by Lord Roberts for being ‘first man up’ in the assault on the Takht-i-Shah, he captured two enemy standards in a daring attack, but was killed the very next day at Conical Hill. Again leading a charge, he killed the first enemy soldier, but was then killed by a gunshot.
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Banknote Update Adds to Standard Catalog of World Paper Money
Banknote News
I began publishing The Banknote Update in late 2007 as an independent addendum to Krause’s Standard Catalog of World Paper Money. Since that time, it has been constantly revised, updated, and expanded into a book containing detailed information and hundreds of full-color images of brand new notes and new note varieties from over 140 countries, which are either not included nor illustrated in the latest SCWPM, Volume III, 16th edition. I guarantee it is the most comprehensive, authoritative, and reliable source of information about new notes you can buy anywhere, at any price. The cost of The Banknote Update as a PDF file purchased directly from me via PayPal is US$15. The Banknote Update is also available in printed form via Lulu.com, an online company that creates professional-quality books on demand.
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Examine All the Coins You Can
Dave Harper’s Buzz
I just found another reason to go to the American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money in August in Boston. It is not as if I need another reason, but it adds to the appeal of the event. The U.S. Mint has set Aug. 12 as the day it will release the new one-ounce platinum proof American Eagle. I would like to take a look at it. It is part of the Preamble series. This year the theme is to “Establish Justice.” Last year’s was to “Form a More Perfect Union.” Am I planning to buy? No, not at all. Platinum is $1,500 an ounce today. The idea of committing to a six-part series at that price level doesn’t appeal to me. I don’t know anybody on staff who is planning to buy one either, so I won’t get a look at the coin in the office. Boston it is.
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Mint Engravers Embrace 21st Century Technology
Numismatic News
It’s the stuff movies are made of. Really. The same technology that brought “Shrek” to life gives design detail to U.S. coins. Forget paper and pencil, plaster and clay. Today’s artist/sculptor/engraver at the United States Mint in Philadelphia works with sophisticated (and expensive) computer software to create coins and medals. Chief Engraver John Mercanti has seen and done it all. From the days of mixing plaster to create molds to sculpting with a computer, Mercanti has been a part of the design evolution, and a strong advocate of  new technology. “In the old days, we would model the image and then I would actually make lines where the type was going to go, and I would go into a negative plaster and cut lettering by hand,” Mercanti said. “It could take longer to do the lettering than the artwork.”
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Alabama Sunrise Collection Offered
Stella
Two weeks ago at the Baltimore Whitman Expo, we at David Lawrence Rare Coins, received a rather exciting collection named the “Alabama Sunrise Collection of Toned Coins”. To be included were many beautifully toned commemorative half dollars, and some extremely attractive type coins. Much to our delight, the collection also included some extremely rare key date coins such as the 1886 Type 2 Indian Cent in NGC MS 65, an 1880 Shield Nickel in NGC MS 65, and several condition rarity pieces such as the 1938-D/S Buffalo Nickel in NGC MS 68. Last (but not least!) there were also some tougher Standing Liberty Quarters and some unusually attractive Franklin Half Dollars.
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Release Date Set for 2010 Proof Platinum Eagle
Coin Update News
A release date for the collectible proof version of the 2010 American Platinum Eagle has recently been established by the United States Mint. This coin will feature the second in a series of six different reverse designs which explore the core concepts of American democracy as found in the Preamble to the Constitution. The projected release date for the coin has been set at August 12, 2010, although it remains subject to potential change. Despite setting a release date, the final design for the 2010 Proof Platinum Eagle has still not been announced. This year’s design will be based on the theme “To Establish Justice,” as inspired by a narrative written by John G. Roberts, Chief Justice of the United States of America.
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History of U.S. Coinage
San Francisco Chronicle
Before the first coinage act in the United States, citizens of the U.S. exchanged goods and services through the barter system. At this time no coins were available except for various foreign coins such as the widely traded and trusted Spanish real dollars. With the signage of the constitution and with a newly formed nation that allowed Congress to coin money, the first coinage act was proposed and passed Congress under the Presidency of George Washington. This article will cover a brief history of coins and events that surrounded changes made beginning in 1792 and ending in 2005.
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Coin Archives Pro Celebrates One Year
CollectorsWeekly
CoinArchives Pro is a searchable, illustrated database of past coin auctions extending back as far as 1999. With more than 1.1 million sales records from over 40 participating auction firms, the site is by far the largest resource of its kind. Its major benefit is that it aggregates auction records from many sources, giving its subscribers access to high quality numismatic data and market information in a single location. The subscription-based CoinArchives Pro service grew from the success of CoinArchives.com, a free research tool available since 2002. Building on its well established predecessor, CoinArchives Pro focuses on commercial users by including features that are more relevant to their needs.
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The $100,000 Cent
Numismatic News
First there was one, then three and now there are four 1969-S Doubled Die Obverse No. 1 cents that have been found by collectors within just the past three years. Such a find is financially rewarding. One of them sold for $126,500. The valuable variety shows strong hub doubling on the date, LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST. In a telephone interview with the finder of the latest specimen, I learned that he had found it in a roll of 1969-S cents that he had put together from tens of thousands of cents that he had pulled from $25 bank boxes of predominantly circulated cents from 1998 through 2005. According to Brian, a 60-year-old disabled American Vietnam Veteran, (who prefers to go by his first name only), he began saving all cents minted prior to 1982 when he learned that the value of the copper contained within them exceeded the face value of the coin.
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2010 U.S. Mint Uncirculated Set Available July 15
U.S. Mint
The 2010 United States Mint Uncirculated Coin Set contains two folders of 14 coins each, one with coins from the United States Mint at Denver and the other with coins from the United States Mint at Philadelphia, for a total of 28 coins. Each folder includes uncirculated versions of the following 2010-dated coins: (5) America the Beautiful Quarters™ (honoring Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas; Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming; Yosemite National Park in California; Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona; and Mount Hood National Forest in Oregon); Presidential $1 Coins (honoring Presidents Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan and Abraham Lincoln); (1) Lincoln cent; (1) Jefferson nickel; (1) Roosevelt dime; (1) Kennedy half-dollar; (1) Native American $1 Coin.
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1954-S Dime Has Potential to Move
Numismaster
When you look at today’s MS-65 price of the 1954-S Roosevelt dime, you find that it is $10, just $4 more than the 1964-D, which had a staggering mintage. You have to think that just maybe the 1954-S will see a price increase at some point in the near future. Talking about Roosevelt dime price increases in recent times has been a bit like talking about world peace. It might be a good idea, but the general view is that it is not going to happen any time soon. Actually, Roosevelt dimes have had a few dates move to higher ground recently, so it is not a case where the entire set is absolutely dead in the water. However, you can probably attribute at least some of the interest to the fact that silver has been rising in price since 2001.
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What Is a Collection?
PCGS Blog
There’s a fine difference between an accumulation of coins and a collection of coins.  Perhaps the biggest differences are focus, attention, and intent.  A jar of coins from pocket change is an accumulation.  That same jar of coins, properly sorted and identified, becomes a collection.  The “intent” part follows lines of thinking similar to these: “I’m going to obtain one Proof Set from every year since my birth”; “I’m going to collect as many different 1909-dated world coins as I can”; or, I’m going to put together a collection of Barber Half Dollars”. The meaningfulness of a collection depends on two things: you, and other people.  A collection that is meaningful to you may not be meaningful to others.
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The Making of the New $100 Bill
CNET News
I’m staring at $38.4 million in cash, and it’s hard not to drool. I’m here at the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which, as is probably best described by its official Web site, is America’s “money factory.” More specifically, this is where the U.S. Treasury Department prints its paper money, and as part of Road Trip 2010, I’ve come here to see how the bureau makes the brand-new, next-generation $100 bill. The bureau’s mission is emblazoned in red, white, and blue neon on a wall near where I came in: “We make money the old fashioned way, we PRINT it.” But jumping ahead of that process a little bit, I’ll say it again: At the end of my behind-the-scenes tour, I’ve come face to face with two giant piles, or “skids” of perfect, clean, crisp $100s, all packaged up and ready to be shipped out, exactly 384,000 of them, and I can only shake my head and think, “what if.”
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