United States Mint Uncirculated Coins Get a New Look in 2011
United States Mint
The United States Mint today announced that it is discontinuing the satin finish on numismatic uncirculated coins produced for the United States Mint Uncirculated Coin Set® and other products. Instead, beginning in 2011, uncirculated-quality coins will feature a brilliant finish. The United States Mint began using the satin finish for its uncirculated coins in 2005 to be consistent with other products in its portfolio, such as commemorative coins. The satin finish, however, highlights surface marks that inherently result from the coin-handling systems.
[ Read Full Article]

The Mint coins a new phase: After 50 years, Lincoln Memorial gone from the penny
The Washington Post
You may have noticed a small change in your small change. More likely, you haven’t. “Now, when did they do that?” asked Victor Schubert, a lawyer from Racine, Wis., squinting at a freshly minted 2010 penny. “And why?” Schubert and other tourists on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial one recent afternoon were surprised to see a brand-new look to that most familiar of coins.
[ Read Full Article]

The Recovery of Julian Leidman’s Stolen Inventory
The E-Sylum
Court papers filed in New York identify the son of a Diamond District jeweler as the man who allegedly bought a multi-million dollar collection of coins and currency stolen in October 2009 from a Maryland coin dealer’s van as he dined in a Montville restaurant. What the papers don’t show is who the FBI believe was responsible for the theft. A complaint filed by FBI Special Agent Daniel X. McCaffrey, Jr. details how Yan Kandinov allegedly bought the cache for $80,000 from an unidentified individual who said they had “something for him to look at.”
[ Read Full Article]

Napolitano named Bowers president
Numismatic News
Bowers and Merena Auctions, a subsidiary of Spectrum Group International Inc., announced Dec. 1 that numismatic professional Chris Napolitano has joined the 27-year-old auction house as president. A collector since childhood, Napolitano decided to make numismatics his life’s career in 1989 with the founding of Summit Rare Coins, Inc., serving as president and CEO since its inception. Under Napolitano’s leadership spanning more than two decades, the company has handled in excess of $250 million in rare coins. In 2001, Napolitano co-founded American Rare Coins and Collectibles with locations in St. Paul and Minneapolis, which he helped to grow into a $20 million business.
[ Read Full Article]

France Seizes Lava Treasure Coins
Numismaster
France recently seized an unannounced number of third century A.D. Roman gold coins as well as an ancient gold plate allegedly with a pedigree linking the material to the Lava Treasure, according to an Oct. 27 announcement. The Lava Treasure, consisting primarily of ancient Roman gold coins, received its name because the find was discovered accidentally by fishermen diving in the Gulf of Lava. The gulf is off the west coast of Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea. Corsica belongs to France.
[ Read Full Article]

Coins Honoring Nation’s Oldest Military Branch Unveiled at Army/Navy Game
United States Mint
Designs for the 2011 United States Army Commemorative Coin Program were unveiled today during the annual Army/Navy football game played in Philadelphia, PA. Public Law 110-450, the “United States Army Commemorative Coin Act of 2008,” authorizes the United States Mint to mint and issue $5 gold, $1 silver and half-dollar clad coins to recognize and celebrate the founding of the United States Army in 1775.
[ Read Full Article]

How Peru Became the Counterfeit-Cash Capital of the World
The E-Sylum
Back in the 1980s, Peru’s government ran the printing presses as an answer to the country’s massive economic crisis, but churning out currency only made things worse and hyperinflation topped off at 1.2 million percent by the end of the decade. The printing presses have returned, but this time it is not the government cranking out bills, and the currency coming out is not necessarily the Peruvian nuevo sol.
[ Read Full Article]

Peter the Great rules Russian Coins and Currency sale with a $234,000 gold piece
Paul Fraser Collectibles
The commemorative medal marking the Battle of Riga led the way in Bonhams’ spectacular sale. Bonhams completed their sale of roughly 550 lots of rare Russian coins and currency last week with nearly 100 coming from the Tsarina collection. We felt confident in predicting that many of the best lots would shoot past their estimates given the rapidly increasing power of the Russian collectibles markets which certainly has numismatics at its head. We weren’t disappointed.
[ Read Full Article]

Hobby Popularity Boosted Dime Saving
Numismaster
Perhaps it is time we take a second or even a first look at some of the lower-mintage Mercury dime dates like the 1938-D. Right now the 1938-D seems fairly stable in terms of price, but you have to think that $34 for an MS-65 and $62 for an MS-65 with full split bands is awfully inexpensive when you consider its mintage and the potential for demand for a coin that is now more than 70 years in age. The 1938-D Mercury dime had a mintage of 5,537,000. It seems unlikely that a coin with such a mintage would be overlooked, and especially overlooked for seven decades.
[ Read Full Article]

Morgan dollars in high demand after silver surge
Rare Coin Market Report
Gold and silver continued their assent Dec. 6, with gold hitting a record $1,432.50 and silver reaching a 30-year high of $30.73 during trading on Dec. 7. Investors continue to be worried about the financial stability of Europe, the potential for a weak U.S. dollar, and the possibility that the Federal Reserve will expand its latest stimulus package to buy more U.S. bonds. These factors, combined with increased demand associated with the holidays, means there is a strong likelihood that bullion prices may keep increasing.
[ Read Full Article]

Mint delays sale of America the Beautiful 5 Ounce Coins
Numismatic News
A flood of complaints about high prices caused the U.S. Mint to postpone the beginning of sales of the 5-ounce America the Beautiful silver bullion coins. The Mint was supposed to begin selling 165,000 of the new 3-inch diameter pieces to its Authorized Dealer Network on Dec. 6. However, before the day was finished, the Mint issued a statement saying it was not confirming any sales that day.
[ Read Full Article]

Pinoy’s design chosen for 2012 Olympic coin
ABS-CBN News
A Filipino graphic designer based in London has brought a rare and distinct honor for the Philippines. Roderick Enriquez could not believe to this day that his coin design would become one of the treasured mementos for the 2012 London Olympics. His sporting design was chosen to be printed on millions of 50-pence, the biggest coin circulating in Great Britain. Enriquez submitted four entries, but his design for the wrestling sport got the nod of the International Olympic Committee.
[ Read Full Article]

Commentary requires discerning eye
Numismatic News
Early this morning I was reading some overseas commentaries on precious metals and one presented what appeared on the surface to be a very logical argument for the price of gold to approach infinity. Is this plausible? Well yeah, if you believe in the tooth fairy. The problem with 98 percent of those who write about precious metals is that they are in the business of selling it. They use fear and greed to promote their business. So one must sift through articles for the real and credible information. Now don’t misunderstand me.
[ Read Full Article]

Coins Depict Controversial Shroud of Turin
Numismaster
The remarkable Sindone di Torino, aka Suaire de Turin, aka Shroud of Turin is on of the more controversial artifacts of Christendom. It is certainly one of the most studied. Many dismiss it as a hoax created in the Middle Ages, but millions of Christians venerate it as the burial shroud of Jesus Christ, believing it to bear the imprint of his crucified body. All four Gospels refer to Joseph of Arimathea wrapping the body of Jesus in a linen cloth before placing it in the tomb. Several pieces of cloth have been claimed to have been used in the burial, but none has gathered the religious following of the Shroud of Turin.
[ Read Full Article]

2010 Proof Silver Eagles at 707,704
Mint News Blog
The total reported sales for the 2010 Proof Silver Eagle have now reached 707,704. After less than three weeks of sales, this amount has already exceeded the final mintage of the last available issue of the series. The US Mint did not provide sales data last week, so the latest report available on Coin Update News reflects two weeks worth of new sales data. The Proof Silver Eagle had debuted with sales of 273,212, so the latest total represents an increase of 434,492.
[ Read Full Article]

The Story of the Truman Library Collection
The E-Sylum
In the late 1940’s Joseph B. Stack, my uncle, became friends with John W. Snyder, Truman’s Secretary of the Treasury. John W. Snyder was a coin collector and we at Stack’s assisted him in forming a collection, different than others we had help develop. The collection was in honor of all the Presidents’ and featured one coin of each denomination that might have been issued during his Presidency. For example, for George Washington, you would need a Half Cent, large Cent , Half Dime, Dime, Quarter , Half Dollar, Silver Dollar, a Quarter Eagle, Half Eagle and Eagle.
[ Read Full Article]