More On the Bishop’s Wood Hoard of Roman Coins
The E-Sylum
The lots drew worldwide interest amongst the ancient numismatic community prior to the auction as the expertly cleaned and preserved coins had remained out of circulation and in the family of the landowner since their discovery in 1895. Serious pre-sale interest came mainly (and encouragingly) from UK based dealers and collectors but also from some important UK institutions. Bidding was frenzied and busy, both in the room and on the book, but in the end the lots were all won by the same bidder. Baldwin’s are very happy to report that this part of the hoard remains intact. In total the 11 lots (lots 1152-1162) achieved £46,964, well over pre-sale estimate. Baldwin’s Ancient expert Paul Hill commented after the auction ‘the sale of this hoard was an unprecedented success, it sold well beyond any of our expectations and the vendor is absolutely delighted with the result.’
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American Delegation Holds Reception at FIDEM 2010
Numismaster
Participants from 22 countries registered today for the 31st FIDEM conference which is being held in Tampere, Finland from Wednesday to Saturday. Participants were given brown canvas bags containing a hard cover conference catalog with color photographs of one medal from each sculptor exhibiting. For the first time, a DVD is included with a photograph of every medal on exhibit. A program, listing of participants and the FIDEM 2010 conference medal is also placed in the bag. The FIDEM 2010 conference medal is designed by Assi Madekivi, cast bronze, 2009. It has the image of a nude male in motion with his arms stretched out reaching the edges of the medal on the obverse with the inscription,” FIDEM XXX1” around the border. The reverse features an image of a familiar Tampere scene with the words, “Tampere, 2001” around the border.
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How Does CAC Fit Into Today’s Coin Market?
Coin Dealer Newsletter
Many dealers thought PCGS and NGC solved the grading problem nearly 25 years ago. Others still want nothing to do with either and deal exclusively in raw coins. Still others have dealt in certified coins for many years, but have become concerned about “gradeflation.” Then, in 2007, CAC was formed. CAC, which stands for Certified Acceptance Corporation, was founded by John Albanese, a seasoned coin dealer who was also involved in the start-ups of both Professional Coin Grading Service and Numismatic Guaranty Corporation in 1986 – unique qualifications, for sure. CAC is a private business that is owned by 20 to 25 numismatic shareholders with Albanese holding all the voting shares. Its mission is to screen coins graded by PCGS and NGC to identify those that are, at a minimum, solid for the grade, in CAC’s opinion. Albanese is no longer affiliated with either NGC or PCGS. He was a founding partner in the California Gold Marketing Group which purchased the SS Central America treasure for a price that exceeded $100 million. He was also chief marketing strategist for the coins recovered from the SS Republic shipwreck. Among other endeavors of note, he founded Numismatic Consumer Alliance in 2005 to assist consumers in getting refunds from unscrupulous coin dealers.
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Here and There in the Marketplace
Stack’s
Here in the United States, gold remains a focal point for many people seeking diversity in their portfolios. Indeed, a little pile of gold coins is certainly “warm and fuzzy” in terms of the emotional comfort it offers! And, look at that 1884-CC Morgan dollar from the Carson City Mint. Not rare, not expensive, but incredibly historical and romantic—and, unless I miss my guess (which doesn’t happen often) it will be worth more ten years hence than now. Given a proverbial soapbox, I could discuss the 1884-CC for at least a half hour, perhaps even an hour, without running out of information. As to the “owl” I am much less qualified, but certainly I could stand up for, say, five minutes. In the marketplace I am not aware of even the slighted amount of “distress” selling of coins, tokens, medals, and paper money. One reason for that is the solid foundation upon which most numismatic holdings have been built.
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Franklin Pierce Coin and Medal Set Available June 24
U.S. Mint
Sales of the United States Mint Presidential $1 Coin & First Spouse Medal Set (Franklin Pierce) will begin at noon Eastern Time (ET) on June 24, 2010. The set, priced at $11.95, includes an uncirculated Franklin Pierce Presidential $1 Coin and a bronze medal bearing the likeness of Jane Pierce that is featured on the First Spouse Gold Coin.  The coin and medal are encased in a durable plastic card enhanced with beautiful representations of the President’s and first spouse’s portraits, with issuance information on the back. Orders will be accepted at the United States Mint’s Web site, http://www.usmint.gov/catalog, or at the toll-free number, 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468).  Hearing- and speech-impaired customers with TTY equipment may place orders at 1-888-321-MINT (6468).  A $4.95 shipping and handling charge will be added to all domestic orders. 
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NGC Certifies Rare 1795 Reeded Edge Cent
Numismatic Guaranty Corporation
Among early United States cents one of the rarest and most mysterious is Dr. William H. Sheldon’s variety number 79 having a reeded edge, an example of which has just been certified by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. Only eight pieces are confirmed to exist, and this one has been off the market for some 30 years. Its last public appearance was in a 1977 auction by the now-defunct Numismatic and Antiquarian Service Corporation of America (NASCA). NGC has graded and encapsulated this remarkable coin as having Fine Details with corrosion. Aside from its rarity, S-79 is an intriguing variety on several counts. It possesses a reeded edge, the only large cent of any type to have such an edge device. Its obverse is unique to this die marriage, though it is similar in most respects to those of other 1795 cents. Where things really get odd, however, is that this cent variety was coined using a reverse die shared only with several varieties of 1796-dated cents.
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The Royal Mint Restoration of the Monarchy Coins
The Royal Mint
Charles II made several attempts to regain the throne of England. He had been crowned king in Scotland on 1 January 1651 and when Oliver Cromwell’s forces gained control of southern Scotland that summer, he opted to take the war to England, reaching Worcester on 22 August. Here his forces were crushed by Cromwell’s men on 3 September, and Charles spent the next six weeks on the run in England – hiding, on one occasion, in an oak tree at Boscobel in Shropshire, sheltered on another by the Catholic priest Father John Huddleston – before finally escaping to France. The reverse of the commemorative coin recalls his escape with oak leaves featuring prominently, as well as oak apple flowers. The latter refer to Oak Apple Day, a national holiday celebrated on 29 May. The heraldic crown is a very simplified version of St Edward’s crown, newly made for the king using gold from the original, and the floral design beneath it includes an English rose of the period and thistles to represent Scotland.
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Coin Dealers Robbed After Leaving Texas Coin Show
Times Record News
A couple who stopped at a Wichita Falls fast food restaurant following a coin show in the Dallas-Fort Worth area found themselves the victims of a robbery Sunday afternoon, Wichita Falls police said. Police urged anyone with information that could help solve the case — which involved the theft of more than $44,000 worth of cash and checks — to contact Crime Stoppers. The emergency call came in at 5:02 p.m. Sunday and sent officers to the Taco Bell at 4600 Bel-Air, said Sgt. Joe Snyder, public information officer for the Wichita Falls Police Department. The man told officers he and his wife were returning home from a coin show in Grapevine and stopped at the restaurant in Wichita Falls, Snyder said. According to the police report, they are coin dealers. The two got out of their vehicle and went inside the Taco Bell. When they got ready to leave, the woman walked out of the building first. The man said when he walked out, he saw another man holding his wife by the neck. The suspect threw her to the ground and began to walk toward her husband.
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The Close Relationship Between Buttons and Coins
The E-Sylum
Button collectors divide the field in two categories: Uniform buttons, and Dress-wear buttons. Scovill had produced uniform buttons for nearly 200 years, dominating the field. Scovill had also produced tokens as well, virtually all the Hard Time tokens of the 1830s, and tons of Civil War tokens three decades later. It had also supplied the U.S. Mint with blanks. It made the planchets for the 1856-58 Flying Eagle cents when U.S. converted from large cents to small cents, and blanks for nickel coins. It struck coins for foreign governments a hundred years before Franklin Mint did. When the Philadelphia Mint learned it could not produce the tens of thousands of award medals for the Columbian Exposition it turned to Scovill to produce what it could not do — a medal with an insert die to create raised lettering of the recipient’s name. Scovill was America’s secret mint. It was the leading metalworker of New England, perhaps of all America for most of the 19th century.
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Littleton Coin Company Gives Away $6,000 in Coin Folders
Numismatic News
Littleton Coin Company donated more than $6,000 in coin folders to help school children discover American history and the joy of coin collecting. The giveaway took place at the Franklin Pierce Manse in Concord, N.H., during the official launch of the Franklin Pierce Presidential dollar May 20. At the event, which was co-hosted by Franklin Pierce College and the Pierce Brigade, the new Pierce coins were handed out to children along with Littleton folders to house the coins of the series. “We love taking part in events like this,” said Jill Kimball, Littleton representative. “It’s so nice to bring a smile to children’s faces and introduce them to a hobby they can enjoy for a lifetime.”
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Error Coins: Flips and Trips
Heritage Blog
Error coin enthusiasts are one of the great traditions of U.S. numismatics, if a relatively recent phenomenon compared to, say, collectors of large cents. The two specialties are not completely separate, but intersect on occasion; after all, if 21st century Mint technology wasn’t enough to keep this proof Ohio Statehood quarter from looking like a saucer, what are the chances that things would be error-free in the late 18th century? A pair of dramatic errors in the July 2010 Summer FUN Auction tell the tale. Error-free? Not even close. Both of these errors are large cents dated 1796. The first, graded VG10 by NGC, shows the last two digits of the date three times, indicating three distinct strikes (at least!), and the date only appears on the obverse once. The other two appearances are on the back, or reverse, with one of them on the interior of the coin, not at the rim. The progression must have gone as follows: the first strike was off-center, the second strike centered, the coin flipped over, and finally a third strike on-target. The result is a terribly wrong yet oh-so-right coin, somewhere between an attractive curiosity and a beautiful trainwreck.
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Old Japanese Coins Return to Circulation
Numismaster
Most world coin and bank note collectors understand that currency issued by a nation’s previous governments or prior to a currency reform are usually no longer legal tender. The coins and bank notes may have intrinsic or collector value, in some situations both, but you can no longer spend them. The city of Kononji is rolling back the numismatic clock literally, with merchants in this town in the Seto Inland seaport in western Japan recently announcing it will accept coins that last circulated in 1871 as legal tender. The coins are not rare or particularly valuable, but the copper or brass composition 1- and 4-mon kanei tsuho coins are one of those items many people may have gathering dust somewhere around the house. The Krause Standard Catalog of World Coins typically values these coins at modest prices.
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U.S. Mint Ends 2009 Annual Sets and Lincoln Set Sales
Mint News Blog
On June 15, 2010, the United States Mint will end sales of the 2009 Proof Set, 2009 Silver Proof Set, 2009 Uncirculated Mint Set, and the 2009 Lincoln Cent Two Roll Sets for the “Professional Life” and “Presidency” designs. The impending close of sales has been known since mid-May, when a “Last Opportunity” section was added to the US Mint’s website. The 2009 Proof Sets and Mint Set each contain the four different 2009 Lincoln Cents struck in a special composition of 95% copper, rather than the standard predominantly zinc composition. In the future, this may help the sets hold distinction and elevated demand. 
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Recent Movie Features Coin Collecting
Dave Harper’s Buzz
I watched a movie on DVD called “Dear John.” It wasn’t one of those box office major hits and will not likely be a movie with a large fan base. I was startled by it because coin collecting played a major role in it. It was the one true connection between the lead character and his father. It was a remarkably good representation of coins offered in a non-hobby context, though the public probably won’t see it that way because the father character was portrayed as being somewhat autistic. The coins weren’t stolen, phenomenally valuable like a 1913 nickel, and the plot did not hinge on what they were so much as the life of a collector.
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Whitman Warns of Baltimore Expo Hotel Booking Scam
Coin Collecting News
Whitman Coin & Collectibles Expo has partnered with Visit Baltimore Housing Services as the official housing vendor for the Baltimore Expos. We have also partnered with Courtyard Philadelphia Downtown and Hampton Inn Philadelphia Center City as the official housing for the 2010 Philadelphia Expo. We do not endorse or have a relationship with any other housing company or hotels. Whitman Coin & Collectibles Expo was alerted of a scam in which a company called Global Housing Management Travel contacts Expo dealers by phone, and poses as Whitman Coin & Collectibles Expo staff offering special discounted hotel room rates for upcoming shows. All show dealers should beware of ANY individual who calls and claims to be a representative of Whitman Coin & Collectibles Expo. Whitman Coin & Collectibles Expo, Visit Baltimore Housing Services, Courtyard Philadelphia Downtown, and Hampton Inn Philadelphia Center City do NOT solicit show dealers directly by telephone for hotel bookings or special discounts.
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Society of Paper Money Collectors Author’s Forum
The E-Sylum
All bibliomaniacs and readers of books are invited to the 7th Annual Society of Paper Money Collectors Author’s Forum. The event, which annually brings together book authors, publishers, hobbyists and wannabe authors, is unique in the numismatic hobby. Topics this year run the gamut of U.S. and international paper money topics. This year’s event will be held this Friday, June 18th, 2010, at the Memphis Marriott Downtown Hotel, Memphis, TN at noon-2 p.m. in Heritage Ballrooms 3 & 4 during the Memphis International Paper Money Show. The forum includes book presentations by published authors of new works, and a chance for authors and readers to interact, purchase books and have them signed. “This forum was conceived as a way for authors and prospective authors of paper money books to exchange ideas, ‘tricks of the trade,’ and form mutual support on the long road between conception and publication of a worthwhile book,” SPMC President Mark Anderson noted.
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Royal Canadian Mint Catches FIFA World Cup Fever
Royal Canadian Mint
As the world cheers the kick-off of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa today, the Royal Canadian Mint is proud to announce that it has become the exclusive Canadian retailer of gold and silver coins produced by the South African Mint in celebration the most anticipated and watched soccer tournament on earth.  Soccer fans and coin collectors alike can choose from a series of three gold and one silver collector coin, as well as a Silver Premium Edition Set of five different 1oz silver coins and a 40 mm diameter silver medal.  Any product from this selection is sure to immortalize the thrilling exploits of the world’s best footballers in exquisitely crafted, limited-edition gold and silver coins.  “The Mint appreciates the passion of Canadians for soccer and the majestic FIFA World Cup tournament and we are pleased to offer them the South African Mint’s beautiful gold and silver coins as worthy tributes to the world’s best players of the beautiful game,” said Ian E. Bennett, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint.
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Internet Coin Site Becomes a Museum
Coins Weekly
It started in 1999 with 500 coins on the Internet. Only one year later, in October 2000, the MoneyMuseum owned its first physical location at the Swiss National Museums. There, visitors could use computers in order to go to the MoneyMuseum’s Internet sites and listening points to listen features about money’s history. In 2001 the MoneyMuseum developed its first exhibition also in cooperation with the Swiss National Museums. It was entitled “Images of Power and Vanity” and presented the most beautiful coins from the Swiss National Museums starting with Charlemagne and ending with Napoleon. In 2002 the MoneyMuseum had its own exhibition room at the Bärengasse museum, a branch of the Swiss National Museums. Until 2008, you found there a permanent exhibition on the monetary history of Zurich. Another product of this cooperation was an exhibition opened in 2006 named “Zurich people and their money”.
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