Look to Luster When Grading Foreign
Numismatic News
Foreign coins can present some unique problems for graders. There is a lack of grading guides, different grading standards, unfamiliar coins and an infinite variety of designs produced by different mints. Fortunately, all of these impediments can be overcome with familiarly, study and practice. About 18 percent of the coins we receive at Independent Coin Graders on a weekly basis are from countries other than the United States.
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On Materials Used in Coins and Medals
The E-Sylum
The list of materials given by Tony Clayton as having been used in making coins and medals is extensive and fascinating, but I’ve got a few possible add-ons, particularly where medals are concerned…I can even offer some attached scans as “proof.” Wood is used for many medals, and even for wooden nickels (17th Century German medal of an unknown man). Then, too, there’s sawdust, mixed (it is said) with blood to form Bois Durci (19th Century French medal of Abee L’Epee)
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Liberty Head Nickel Has Many Fans
Numismaster
What coin series come to mind when you think of Charles E. Barber? I suspect it’s the three different series that bear his name: Barber dimes, quarters, and half dollars. But the long-serving Mint engraver was also responsible for the series featured in this article: Liberty Head nickels. Of course, as a designer, Barber doesn’t have the world’s greatest reputation. Walter Breen, in particular, had nothing good to say about the man. Breen once wrote that Barber “was notable for only two things: dullness [in his designs] and adamant opposition to outsiders’ designs.”
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One Ounce Proof Gold Eagle Sold Out
Coin Update News
Following less than a month of availability, the United States Mint has sold out of the individual one ounce 2010 Proof Gold Eagle. The latest US Mint sales report shows total sales of 25,000 units, representing the limit for the product. The remaining product options for the 2010 Proof Gold Eagles showed sales of 373 (one half ounce), 246 (one quarter ounce), 609 (one tenth ounce), and 1,366 (4 Coin Set). The final product includes the one ounce proof coin, so although the individual option has sold out, the coin remains available within the set.
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Numismatic Gold Coins Avoid Another Price Increase
Mint News Blog
For the second week in a row, the United States Mint’s numismatic gold products will narrowly avoid a pricing increase. Prices for the 2010 Proof Gold Buffalo, 2010 Proof Gold Eagles, and First Spouse Gold Coins should remain unchanged today. The US Mint’s basic policy for numismatic gold and platinum coins provides that the prices may be adjusted as frequently as weekly, based on the average London Fix price of the metals from the prior Thursday AM to the current Wednesday AM.
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Pre-1965 Silver Coin Melt Values Hit 30-Year Highs
Silver Coins Today
It takes little recognition to realize silver coin melt values for pre-1965 U.S. coins are surging with each successive push of fresh 30-year high silver prices. However, the level of their gains in even shorter time periods can be shocking. In early October, a poor quality 1963 Franklin half dollar had a melt value of $8.29. A worn out 1964 Washington quarter was worth $4.14. Today, that half dollar is worth 75 cents more at $9.04 and the quarter is up 40 cents to $4.52. More mind-numbing, this year alone their respective melt values have increased $2.89 and $1.45, respectively.
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New Frontier Congressional Gold Medal Designs Reviewed by CCAC
Coin Update News
I attended the October 26th meeting of the Citizen’s Coinage Advisory Committee in the Mint’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., and witnessed the members’ discussions of the obverse and reverse designs for the New Frontier Congressional Gold Medal. The medal honors the space missions of John Glenn aboard Mercury Atlas 6 (first American to orbit the Earth) and of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins aboard Apollo 11 (first and second people to set foot on the Moon, and the pilot of the mission command module).
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SpinkSmythe Sells Sheets
Numismatic News
Andrew Mellon left the office of Secretary of the Treasury in 1932, but now from the estate of his son, Paul, collectors will find uncut sheets of paper money issued during his father’s term of office in a Nov. 20 auction to be conducted in New York City by Spink Smythe. Included will be the third, seventh and 10th uncut sheets printed of the small-size Series 1928 Silver Certificates.
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Pricing Questions: Guides are Just Guides
Numismaster
Price charts are perhaps one of the most confusing part of the coin collecting hobby. Almost every day I get a question or two about the value of a coin—a question that can’t readily be answered. For example, if I quote the value range for an 1873 Trade dollar (from $100 in Good to $12,500 in Mint State-65) guess which figure they will assign to their coin. And, guess how mad they will be if a dealer offers a reasonable price for the actual grade.
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Mystery Surrounds Silver Coin Find
Belfast Telegraph
A Roman coin discovered by a cleaner was struck at the time of Christ by a “Del Boy” forger who could not spell and did not know one emperor from another, it has been claimed. Experts say the coin is a mystery because it is made from solid silver and probably cost the forger as much to make as he received in profit. The silver denarius is based on coins struck to commemorate the Battle of Actium between Octavian and the combined forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra in 31BC.
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The Australian Proof 1930 Penny
The E-Sylum
In our October 17th issue we published excerpts from an article profiling Australian coin dealer Belinda Downie. Mentioned in the article was a Proof 1930 Penny for sale “from the celebrated collection of A.M. Le Souef, former deputy master of the Melbourne Mint.” But the provenance of the coin has been questioned. On the web is a transcript of a July 2009 Australian Broadcasting Corporation program interviewing people familiar with the piece. Here are some excerpts.
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COIN QUIZ: Believe It Or Not!
Stack’s
From your editor’s files here is a little quiz you may find interesting. Give it a try! The late great Robert Ripley’s column furnishes the heading for this quiz. In each instance the answer is rather unlikely, from a logical viewpoint—but it is surrounded with other unlikely possibilities, so this is not as easy as you might think! This is in the line of one of Walter Breen’s favorite comments—that a guinea pig is not a pig or is it from Guinea, etc.
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Branch Mint Half Dimes Start With ‘O’
Numismaster
When the 1838-O half dime was produced it was the first half dime to be issued at a mint other than the main facility in Philadelphia. It would be the start of an interesting group of frequently lesser known coins as the branch mint Seated Liberty half dimes are not heavily collected but they are a fascinating group to study and with limited collector demand they are also a collection of early silver coins that are usually at very affordable prices.
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November 2010 Coin Collecting Calendar
Coin Update News
The following events related to coins and coin collecting will take place during the month of November 2010. The schedule for the month is packed with three different coin shows, two coin launch ceremonies hosted by the US Mint, and a flurry of new US Mint products. The month begins with the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Expo held in Baltimore, Maryland. Grading firms PCGS and NGC will both be available at the show for on-site grading. The official auction for the show will be held by Bowers and Merena.
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Prices Reflect Not Only a Coin’s Grade…Quality Matters, Too
Rare Coin Market Report
New and experienced collectors alike are often confused when they see two coins in the same grade selling for very different prices at auction. Dealers are quick to say that the coins that sell for more are nice for the grade, while those that don’t sell for the high end of expectations are at the low end of the grade. But when it comes to the higher end of the market, the answer can be both supply alongside the merits of the coin itself.
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Disabled Veterans Silver Dollar Commemorative Coins End Dec. 13, 2010
Silver Coins Today
The proof and uncirculated Disabled American Veterans Silver Dollar Commemorative Coins will go off sale on Dec. 13, 2010, the United States Mint revealed Monday. The U.S. Mint placed the remaining 2010 commemorative silver coins on its “Last Opportunity” website page indicating they are to be discontinued at 5:00pm ET on the 13th. The $1 silver commemoratives were authorized by Public Law 110-277 and honor the service of disabled veterans who made enormous personal sacrifices while serving their country.
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ANA Chooses Civil War Theme
Numismatic News
With the Civil War sesquicentennial next year, the American Numismatic Association has selected the theme “Blue, Gray and Greenbacks” for National Coin Week, slated April 17-23, 2011. The beginning of the observance will be almost on the April 12 anniversary date of the 1861 Fort Sumter bombardment, which began the war.
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25 Year-Old French Underwater Gold Theft Resolved
The E-Sylum
Three amateur divers in 1985 stole a dish of Roman coins and gold from the “treasure of Lava. The testimony of one of the robbers, who was arrested last Thursday. After 25 years of investigation, the Department of underwater archaeological research and submarine (DRASSM) of the Ministry of Culture and Communication have laid hands on a dish and Roman gold coins from the “treasure of Lava “.
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