By Nicole Garrison-Sprenger
It could double as a shot put, but it’s worth a little too much to chuck in the dirt.

A 22-pound gold coin commemorating the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing is waiting in Burnsville for someone to plunk down $1 million for a piece of history. Now, if you’re a big fan of the Olympics, you could fly to Beijing, stay for a week, watch the Games live and buy a T-shirt for considerably less. But a million dollars for a coin that isn’t even old?

It turns out, a solid-gold coin that weighs as much as a 1-year-old child doesn’t come along every day.

The coin released by the China Mint is the biggest Olympic coin made to date, said Douglas Mudd, a curator at the American Numismatic Association money museum. “Twenty-two pounds — that’s a lot of gold,” he said. At present, Mudd said, “The coin market is very hot. We’re seeing record prices at practically every auction.”

Gold is selling for about $928 an ounce, which would make the jumbo coin that Burnsville-based GovMint.com is selling worth roughly $245,000 melted down. (Precious metals are measured in troy pounds, which contain 12 troy ounces.) Plus, the coin — with the Beijing 2008 Games logo on one side and an image of a Chinese temple towering above Olympic athletes on the other — is one of only 29 issued, and the only one released for sale in the United States. Seven inches in diameter, it comes in an ornate carved box of African Blackwood with a 35-pound carved stone dragon perched on top.

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By David Ganz for Numismaster

Weighing in on the new reverse design for the Sacagawea dollar mandated by Congress, the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee viewed more than a dozen designs June 18 before selecting a female Indian planting maize (corn) in a field. The design is intended for use on the 2009 dollar coin, which is the first that will host a Native American theme.

Each year thereafter a different Native American design will appear.

The design on the obverse is not necessarily the old Sacagawea design. It is to be chosen by the Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Paulson, after consultation with the Commission of Fine Arts and review by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.

There are two requirements: it must ” contain the so-called “Sacagawea design” and ” the inscription “Liberty.”

Despite recent difficulties with edge-lettering, the law requires that the inscription of the year of minting and issuance of the coin and the inscriptions “E Pluribus Unum” and “In God We Trust” are required to be edge-incused into the coin. The CCAC formally recommended the date movement, too.

There is a specific requirement that the edge-incusing of the inscriptions be done in a manner that preserves the distinctive edge of the coin so that the denomination of the coin is readily discernible, including by individuals who are blind or visually impaired.

There is an additional consultation requirement: designs selected for the reverse shall be chosen by the Treasury Secretary after consultation with the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate, the Congressional Native American Caucus of the House of Representatives, the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Congress of American Indians. They must further be reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee.

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The Japanese government is creating 94 types of commemorative 500 and 1,000 yen coins, including special coins for each prefecture. The designs for Kyoto and Shimane (pictured) were announced by Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga.

The 1,000-yen coins for Kyoto and Shimane will be sterling silver, weigh 31.1 grams and measure 40 millimeters in diameter. The government will mint a total of 100,000 of each coin.

The Kyoto coin features a scene from the classic work penned by Murasaki Shikibu (Lady Murasaki), depicting romances among members of the court in medieval Kyoto.

It will be issued before the millennial anniversary Nov. 1 of the Tale of Genji, which first appeared in recorded history in 1008.

The Shimane coin will be minted to celebrate the addition last year of the centuries-old Iwami silver mine to the World Heritage List of the U.N. Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization.

The reverse side of the coins will have a uniform design for all 47 prefectures, featuring snow crystals, cherry blossoms and a crescent moon.

These will be among 94 types of 500- and 1000-yen coins for each of Japan’s 47 prefectures that will be released over the next eight years to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the going into force of the Local Autonomy Law, according to the Finance Ministry.

The government decided on the design of the two coins after releasing the Hokkaido coin in time for this year’s July 7-9 Group of Eight summit to be held in the Lake Toya resort area there. (more…)

Canada may have the largest Gold coin, but the Austrian Mint has just released the Worlds Largest Silver Coin, the Europe Talar. Weighing in at 20.08 kg (aprox. 44 lbs.), and with a diameter of 36 cm (14 inches); it is big!

The obverse of the taler features a classic look and corresponds to the time of Maximilian in 1508. It shows the newly crowned emperor mounted in armour on a horse; in his hand he holds a banner with the imperial symbol, the double eagle.

The reverse has a more contemporary look and depicts a montage of famous europeans including religious icon Martin Luther, and continuing with composer Antonio Vivaldi, inventor James Watt and Nobel Peace prize winner Bertha von Suttner.

The Europe Talar will be limited to Special Orders. Prices have not been announced yet.

However, Region Hall-Wattens and the Austrain Mint have set up a website for additional information on the Europe Talar in addition to offering a collectors version of the coin, weighing in a at 120 grams of fine silver with a diameter of 6cm. The collectors coins will cost € 108.– + VAT.

Visit the website at http://www.europataler.at

This new site also provides some background on the Europe Talar.

The design of the coin and the realization of the coin images originate from the medallion maker Herbert Wähner, who is also very well-known in expert circles. The packaging of the “silver giant” will be produced by the Hall master wood turner Werner Nuding from 500-year old wood from Castle Hasegg, which was unearthed during renovations in 2007.

The United States Mint has chosen the nation’s largest coin show in Baltimore, Md., this summer to unveil the much-anticipated 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle gold coin-a modern version of what many call the most beautiful gold piece ever created. United States Mint Director Ed Moy will participate in the Opening Ceremony of the American Numismatic Association’s World’s Fair of Money on Wednesday, July 30, 2008, at 9:30 a.m. and then officially open the United States Mint exhibit. The display at the United States Mint booth will show the development of this modern masterpiece-a one-ounce 24-karat (.9999 pure) gold Ultra High Relief Double Eagle.

Aided by advancements in technology, the United States Mint now can produce in quantity the ultra high relief coin envisioned, but never fully realized, by renowned sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens in the early 20th century. The collectible coin will be about 50 percent thicker than other United States Mint one-ounce gold coins to achieve the greater depth and relief to which Saint-Gaudens aspired. Visitors will be able to feel the ultra high relief on a plaster of the coin that will be featured at the exhibit.

The 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle gold coin exhibit will remain on display throughout the week at the United States Mint booth on the bourse floor at the World’s Fair of Money.

The United States Mint will make these coins available for sale to the public in the beginning of 2009. There will be no mintage limit. The coins will only be sold in 2009. Like the original Double Eagles, the new coin will have a denomination of $20. The sales price will depend on prevailing world gold prices in 2009. (more…)