Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) is offering a new service, the Roll Certification Program, for rolls of Brilliant Uncirculated coins. Certified rolls are encapsulated in a new PCGS product, the clear, durable CrystalVue™ holder, which enables easy viewing of the obverse and reverse designs as well as the coins’ edges.

“In 1986, PCGS revolutionized the coin market by establishing the standard for third-party grading of individual coins. Now, with so many people collecting coins such as Presidential dollars by the roll, PCGS is revolutionizing coin collecting again with the Roll Certification Program. It gives collectors a safe, effective method of protecting their coins for future generations while guaranteeing the authenticity and Brilliant Uncirculated grade of an entire roll,” said Ron Guth, PCGS President.

PCGS now is accepting for roll certification Presidential dollars submitted in Mint-sealed boxes of government-wrapped rolls, and American silver Eagles in Mint boxes. Acceptance of additional coin denominations and series will be announced in the coming weeks. (more…)

In the 2008 release of the “Insider’s Guide to U.S. Coin Values” Mike Fuljenz, President of Universal Coin & Bullion, once again assisted author Scott A. Travers in placing values on gold coins. This is a leading coin price guide published by Bantam Dell, a division of Random House, Inc. Collectors anxiously await this guide across the country considered “The most up-to-date comprehensive Coin Book in America” to evaluate their collections.

The most prestigious numismatic authorities in America assign the values to the coins covered in this guide. Mr. Travers is often sought by publications such as The Wall Street Journal and Business Week, and has served as a coin valuation consultant to the Federal Trade Commission. He has surrounded himself with other leading experts to provide coin collectors the most accurate coin values available. In his acknowledgements Travers give recognition to those numismatic experts he depends on to give him the values for his publication. His acknowledgement for Mike Fuljenz, read “Michael R Fuljenz” of Universal Coin & Bullion in Beaumont, Texas updated the values for gold eagles through double eagles. He is one of the Nation’s highest profiled and most esteemed gold coin authorities. His contributions, like the metal, itself, glitter.”

In past issues Fuljenz, the President of Universal Coin & Bullion has served as the gold coin price coordinator. Mr. Fuljenz is also a well-known numismatic author who has written numerous books relating to coin collecting, such as “The Collector’s Guide to Indian Head Quarter Eagles” and just recently, “The Collector’s Guide to $10 Indian Head Eagles.” Mike Fuljenz is also the recipient of a 2002 NLG Book of the Year Award for his “Type II Double Eagles: 1866-1876″ book.

The “Insider’s Guide to U.S. Coin Values 2008″ is available on Amazon.com and in most local bookstores.

It seems that I discovered the existence of Die Variety News #11 just in time, because reader Danny Chapman dropped me a line earlier this morning to tell me that Die Variety News #12 has just come out! Die Variety News is a bimonthly variety coin magazine published free of charge in PDF format by variety coin expert Billy Crawford. If you enjoy hunting through pocket change to find rare and valuable coins, you don’t want to miss Billy’s great magazine, which is loaded with photos showing you exactly what to look for.

The lead story in Die Variety News #12 is about the recently discovered 2000-P Lincoln Memorial Cent doubled die obverse which shows an extra section of Lincoln’s beard, rotated about 40 degrees and then offset a ways onto the neck. The doubling can be seen with the naked eye, which makes this variety an important type. Billy provides several photos that will help you find your own specimen in your pocket change (or you can just take the lazy man’s way and buy it on eBay.) Read Full Story