By Ken Potter on Numismatic News

A Spiked Head die crack on a proof 2007-S Thomas Jefferson Presidential dollar has been reported by a San Francisco Bay area collector. It was found in a four-piece 2007 Presidential dollar proof set. The coin exhibits a significant die crack on the reverse running from the second ray from the right in Miss Liberty’s crown up into the field, through the “E” of AMERICA continuing on through the rim. It is the first significant die crack reported on a proof Presidential dollar that runs from a portion of the design all the way through the rim.

The piece also represents the very first major die crack reported on any proof coin dated 2007. The owner (who wishes to remain anonymous) said that he ordered several sets directly from the Mint on June 21 and received them on July 5. Read Full Story

By Henry T. Hettger on Numismatic News

I was the underbidder on a raw unidentified 1796 U.S. large cent. It was advertised on eBay and closed Oct. 19. It was advertised as very fine, not mentioning the corrosion, and for Early American copper purposes, it might grade good or AG, depending on removal of crud and verdigris.

The very fine details help to clearly identify the variety as 1796 NC-7 Stemless Wreath. The date position seemed to match, and the lowest point of the “7” appeared to point directly to a dentil below. The reverse was clearly of the stemless type, first seen, although extremely rare on the 1796 cent. It is believed this 1796 large cent was actually coined in 1797 as it is paired with the stemless reverse die of 1797 S-143, a scarce number in 1797-dated cents. The S-143 stemless reverse appeared to match precisely in the eBay auction photograph. Read Full Story

Yes, you can still find valuable coins. Professional Coin Grading Service has certified a recently discovered modern rarity, a 1969 San Francisco Mint doubled die obverse Lincoln Cent. It’s graded PCGS Mint State 64 Red and tied for the finest known!

The coin was discovered by Michigan collector, Michael Tremonti, who was examining two rolls of uncirculated 1969-S cents on October 3. After consulting with well-known error-variety expert, Ken Potter, Tremonti submitted the coin to PCGS.

“I was totally amazed that this coin could turn up out of nowhere. The coin is completely original and full mint red. It’s a beautiful near-Gem example,” said David Hall, PCGS co-founder and president of Collectors Universe, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLCT). “What an incredible find! This could be a six-figure coin.”

Including this latest discovery piece, the PCGS Population Report indicates only 23 1969-S doubled die cents from Very Fine to MS-64, and only two are graded Mint State Red.

The coin discovered by Tremonti has strong doubling on the obverse in the date, 1969, and the words, LIBERTY and IN GOD WE TRUST. It’s described by Potter as “a Class I Rotated Hub with counter-clockwise doubling.”

A1969-S doubled die cent, graded PCGS MS-64 Red Brown was sold for $85,100 in the Bowers and Merena Auctions sale in August. The Tremonti coin is full red, tied for finest known with one other MS-64 Red, and with no higher grade examples in the PCGS Population Report. (more…)

IRVINE, Calif. – Bowers and Merena Auctions, America’s leading rare coin auction house, will auction the first known uncut sheet of Nationals from a rare McDowell County, W.Va., issuer. The sheet of four $5 1902 Plain Backs is from the First National Bank of Kimball, an institution previously represented in the census by only a single large size and a lone 1929 series survivor. Bowers and Merena is the Official Auctioneer of the Baltimore Coin and Currency Convention scheduled for November 14 to 17, 2007, at the Baltimore, Md., Convention Center. The Kimball sheet is one of more than 1,000 currency lots and 3,000 coin lots that will cross the block.

Kevin Foley, Senior Numismatist – Rare Currency for Bowers and Merena, noted that the sheet has been in the consignor’s family since the time it originally was received by his grandfather when he went to the First National Bank to cash his paycheck. Foley said, “Our consignor’s grandfather operated a jewelry store and four-table billiard parlor in Kimball, and when he wrote his weekly paycheck to himself he would go to the bank to cash it. One day the teller handed him the sheet we’ll be selling in Baltimore as part of the transaction. Observing what had happened, a bank officer approached him and tried to get the sheet back, telling him that they weren’t supposed to hand it out to the public. He declined to return it, figuring that if the bank wanted it back, it must be special. As it turns out, it was more special than he ever could have realized.”

“This will be a real trophy item for any collector of National Bank Notes,” said Steve Deeds, Bowers and Merena President. “We are thrilled to say that the November Baltimore auction will be our largest auction ever, and that includes almost 1,100 currency lots. To have this uncut sheet of West Virginia Nationals that is so rare as the centerpiece of our currency section is really quite prestigious.” (more…)

LISBON, Portugal: Archeologists in Portugal have found more than 4,500 Roman coins bundled together inside the wall of a blacksmith’s house dating from the fourth century.

Antonio Sa Coixao, who is leading excavations in Coriscada in northeastern Portugal, said Wednesday by telephone the 4,526 copper and bronze coins were inside a hollow wall and covered by dirt and tools. The coins had apparently been put in a sack which had mostly disintegrated, he said.

“It looks like someone was trying to hide them, but they never went back to get them,” Sa Coixao said.

Archeologists excavating the site, which is believed to be a Roman village, came across the coins Friday, he said.

Sa Coixao said he expected to send the coins to the University of Lyon, France, to be cleaned and catalogued.