1874-CC Half’s Mintage its Detriment
Numismatic News
Some coins would probably receive a lot more attention were it not for the fact that they were produced at a time when they did not stand out. That seems to be the case with the 1874-CC Seated Liberty half dollar, which is really a very good date, few seem to know. One of the first problems the 1874-CC had when it comes to getting attention is that it came from Carson City.
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James Buchanan’s Liberty Gold Coin Debuts
Coin Update News
The latest report of the United States Mint’s numismatic product sales includes the debut for the 2010-W James Buchanan’s Liberty First Spouse Gold Coins. Featuring Christian Gobrecht’s classic design for the Liberty Head Quarter Eagle struck in one-half ounce of 24 karat gold, this offering was eagerly awaited by many collectors.The James Buchanan’s Liberty Gold Coins went on sale at the US Mint on September 2, 2010 with the uncirculated versions priced at $766 and the proof versions priced at $779.
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‘Psychic’ Octopus Paul Gets Coin
Numismaster
It was only a matter of time. Paul, that octopus gifted with uncanny second sight who lives in a tank at Sea Life Oberhausen, has made it to a coin. Liberia has suckered-up and the eight-armed wonder is now featured on the reverse of a silver-plated, colorized copper-nickel proof-like 40 mm $5. He is accompanied, of course, by a soccer ball and Spanish flag. For those who were resident on Planet Mars in July, Paul is the critter who correctly predicted the outcome of all of Germany’s seven matches in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, including their loss in the final.
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Defining “Nostalgia” in Numismatics
Stack’s
How does one define nostalgia? Remembrance of things past? Visions of “the good old days”? Or? Recently, a correspondent sent a letter (a real letter, on paper with a stamp on the envelope) reminiscing about collecting coins in the 1950s, and what a wonderful era that was. The narrative was fascinating, and I sent a detailed reply—perhaps both of possible use for a future column.However, can something earlier than our life experience evoke nostalgia?
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Malaysian Muslims Turn to New Gold Dinar Coins
The E-Sylum
Umar Vadillo bounds into a hotel room here in northern Malaysia with several stacks of gold and silver coins in his hands and slaps them down on a coffee table. “This,” Mr. Vadillo says, “is what it means to be free.” A quarter century ago, this Spanish-born Muslim convert set to work with other European Muslims to find a substitute for the U.S. dollar and other paper currencies. Pricing goods in greenbacks, they argued, was unfair.
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New British Coin Composition Called ‘A Disaster’
The E-Sylum
Changing the metal composition of any coin should only be accomplished with great care. The British Royal Mint is learning this the hard way. A news story in today’s Sunday Telegraph points to the proposed composition of a nickel coated steel where steel is replacing the price increasing copper in the nation’s 5 and 10 pence coins. The new composition is magnetic and, it is rightly expected, to play havoc with the country’s half million vending machines.
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Bourse Etiquette
PCGS Blog
Even the smallest coin show offers something new and exciting. Every show begins with the promise of the unexpected, what you might find, what you might learn, chances to buy and sell. For both collectors and dealers coin shows are a great opportunity to meet and greet fellow hobbyists and conduct business. Even in today’s Internet driven society coin shows are an integral part of the business. If coin shows are so important, why is it that so many people are unaware of how a bourse operates and of the unwritten rules.
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‘Almost Brilliant’ Prince Adolf I German Coin Could Bring €9,000
Paul Fraser Collectibles
This uncirculated rarity bearing the Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe’s likeness is going to auction. German auction house Teutoburger’s upcoming two-day numismatic sale, Auktion 51, is scheduled to start this Friday (September 10-11). Among the coins, medals and jewellery on offer is this historic coin from the reign of Adolf I, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe from 1860-1893.
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Some Years Only ‘S’ Walkers Struck
Numismaster
The Walking Liberty half dollar was an exciting new design when it was introduced in 1916. It was also a coin with too high a face value for many to collect. That helped keep the survival rate for high grades fairly low. These factors make it a challenging collection especially in top grades.Many examples that were saved were saved much later than their time of issue after they had circulated for years.
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2010-W Proof Platinum American Eagles Enter Market
The Rare Coin Market Report
The fast sellout of the Proof 2010-W American Eagle 1-ounce platinum coin has led to a robust secondary market for the issue and easy profits for some collectors. The continued absence of Proof 2010-W American Eagle gold and silver coins has created a void in the market that the platinum coins seem to have filled, at least for the time being.As reported in the Sept. 9 issue of Coin World, the Proof American Eagle platinum coin went on sale Aug. 12 with a mintage limit of 10,000 coins and an ordering limit of five coins per household.
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Unearthed Treasure Proves Early East-West Trade Route
Spiegel Online
It’s not often that archeologists find ancient coins with Arabic engravings in Germany. A recent such discovery, however, may prove that the Baltic Sea coast had trading ties to the Middle East as far back as the 7th century.Finding old coins in the ground is no great trick in Germany. Indeed, there are small armies of hobby historians who, armed with handheld metal detectors, comb fields and forests for bits of old metal, often flouting laws prohibiting such treasure hunting. Roman coins, a bit of Celtic spare change and the occasional thaler of more recent provenance are hardly a rarity.
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1099 Fight Back in Congress
Numismaster
IRS reporting on rare coin purchases of $600 or more was approved by Congress and signed into law by President Obama as part of health care reform last March. The measure goes into effect Jan. 1, 2012, but not if the Industry Council for Tangible Assets, the Professional Numismatists Guild and the American Numismatic Association have anything to say about it.
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Giorgione 10€ Silver Coin from the Italian State Mint
Coin Update News
The Italian State Mint (Instituto Poligrafico e Zecca Dello Stato) will issue a new collector coin in September to mark the 500th anniversary of the death of Giorgione (Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco 1477–1510) noted artist during the high renaissance era with just an estimated six known paintings accredited to him as his actual work. The coin includes an obverse portrait of Georgione from an engraving by W. Hollar along with detail from “Hand holding orange” and the text “REPUBBLICA ITALIANA”.
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Newly Discovered $20 to be Auctioned
Numismatic News
An 1856-O $20 coin recently discovered in Ohio and graded XF-45+ by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation is the main attraction in Heritage Auctions’ September 2010 U.S. Coin Auction to be held Sept. 22-25 in conjunction with the Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectibles Expo. “The 1856-O double eagle is a very rare date,” said Greg Rohan, Heritage president. “No more than two dozen are known, and the real number is probably smaller.”
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Malaysian Muslims Go for Gold, But It’s Hard to Make Change
The Wall Street Journal
Umar Vadillo bounds into a hotel room here in northern Malaysia with several stacks of gold and silver coins in his hands and slaps them down on a coffee table. “This,” Mr. Vadillo says, “is what it means to be free.” A quarter century ago, this Spanish-born Muslim convert set to work with other European Muslims to find a substitute for the U.S. dollar and other paper currencies. Pricing goods in greenbacks, they argued, was unfair.
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2011 Koala Silver Coins
Silver Coins Today
The Perth Mint of Australia will release next year’s bullion 2011 Koala Silver Coins beginning on October 4, 2010. The 99.9% pure silver coins feature a new design depicting the koala, one of Australia’s most popular animals. The Australian Koala Bullion Silver Coin series was first introduced in 2007, and has been a popular offering ever since. The 2011 issues include four different sizes — 1 kg, 10 oz, 1 oz and 1/2 oz.Each size has an unlimited mintage with demand dictating production. But each is limited to a single year of issue and will be discontinued when the 2012s with their new koala design are issued.
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The Art of Money
ARTINFO
“The mystery of the art market is that some people would rather possess an object of marginal utility than the ultra-usable money they exchange for it,” the critic Dave Hickey wrote in his 1993 book of essays, “The Invisible Dragon.” Perhaps the even greater mystery, however, is that some people would rather have un-usable money than usable money. Such is the paradox of numismatic collectors, who spend their hard-earned cash to buy currency, usually woefully out of date, whose value has nothing to do with purchasing power.
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