The U.S. Mint took home three Coin of the Year awards at the ceremony held Feb. 2 during the World Money Fair in Berlin, Germany. Ed Moy, U.S. Mint director, was on had to accept the awards.  Here is how the U.S. fared:

- A commemorative silver dollar depicting Benjamin Franklin as an old diplomat won the Most Historically Significant category. The coin was struck to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Franklin’s birth.

- The Nevada state quarter won judges’ votes for two categories: Best Trade and Most Popular. Best Trade refers to circulating coins, and Most Popular often boils down to mintage numbers. The quarter showcases galloping mustangs, the wild horses native to the state. Read Full Story

Recently, my friend in Washington, D.C., sent me an e-mail article he knew I’d enjoy about a famous bird couple. George and Martha Wilson, a mated pair of bald eagles on the Potomac’s Maryland shore since 1998, were at the heart of a news story once again.

First identified by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that year during a routine, regional flyover, the two eagles were named George and Martha Wilson because they were located near the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. According to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge’s Project Web site, the pair successfully fledged three eaglets that year, two in 1999 and three more in 2000. In the fall of 2000, a strong wind storm blew their nest down, but they rebuilt a year later, further south down the Maryland shoreline and closer to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. They fledged two additional eaglets at that location, but unfortunately, that nest also was lost to a wind storm. Read Full Story

WASHINGTON, D.C. - 24-karat gold coins from the new United States Mint Celebration Series will go on sale at noon on Tuesday, February 5, 2008, in time for the Lunar New Year beginning February 7. The American Buffalo 2008 Celebration Coin is a special numismatic product, featuring a 24-Karat American Buffalo Gold Coin, being introduced in the year 2008 because the number “8″ is traditionally associated with wealth and prosperity in Asian-American cultures.

“In many Asian cultures, there is a tradition of buying gold for loved ones to show how much you care for them,” said United States Mint Director Edmund C. Moy. The United States Mint Celebration Series is an outreach initiative to Americans who are not already collecting coins. The first special numismatic product in the series, the American Buffalo 2008 Celebration Coin, will be available to all interested purchasers.

“The introduction of the American Buffalo 2008 Celebration Coin will be an exceptional opportunity for both first-time Asian-American buyers, as well as our long-term gold coin collectors,” Director Moy continued. (more…)

WASHINGTON - The 2008 United States Mint Presidential $1 Coin Proof SetTM will be available at 12:00 noon (ET) today. The set, priced at $14.95, contains the coins for 2008 in the Presidential $1 Coin Program and honors James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren.

The Presidential $1 Coin Program, launched in 2007, pays tribute to the Presidents of the United States in the order in which they served. The multi-year program, authorized by the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005, features four new obverse designs annually. (more…)

Representatives from the U.S. Mint spoke with Oklahoma coin collectors in an open forum on the eve of the Oklahoma state quarter launch.

The collectors gathered Sunday afternoon at the Oklahoma History Center to discuss the new quarter and ask questions relating to the minting of American coinage with Daniel P. Shaver, acting deputy director of the mint.

What did hobbyists learn?
Shaver said that there will be between 500 and 550 million Oklahoma quarters made and that the popularity of the state quarters series has made thousands of new coin collectors.

Shaver fielded questions and dispelled rumors about the proposed Ronald Reagan dime and the reasons behind the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin issued in 1979. Read Full Story