The hot coin market in China is producing record prices for rare Chinese coins and paper money. Champion Galleries Hong Kong Auction sale of 22 June 2008 offered a modest 352 lots of Asian coins and paper money, of which 317 lots sold for a total of US $1,894,539. Over 100 bidders filled the packed room at the Holiday Inn Golden Mile that Sunday, generating nearly a dozen world record prices. The strongest bidders in this sale were actually from Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Chia.

The star of the sale was Lot 216, the 1867 Hong Kong and Shanghai Tael pattern (K911a), certified PCGS Proof-64, and the finest known example, which sold for US $195,500 – a world record price for a Hong Kong coin (all prices in this review include the buyer’s fee). This coin went to a phone buyer in Singapore. Lot 198, a Peiyang Tael of 1907 (K938a), estimated at $70,000, went for $120,750 (to buyer in Taiwan), topping the $97,500 price obtained for another example in Champion’s April 2008 sale. This too is a world record price for this coin. Lot 201, an undated (1897-1898) Hunan Dragon Half Dollar, which was unknown until 1975 and is not recorded in the Kann catalog, one of about 6 known pieces, brought $92,000. Lot 184 was a 1903 Hupoo Tael (K927), NGC certified Specimen-64, which sold to a Taiwan buyer for $80,500. Lot 205 was a stunning Kiangnan 50 cent dragon coin struck in 1897 (K67), certified NGC Proof-67 Cameo, undoubtedly the finest known example, which went to a buyer in Singapore for a world record price of $78,200. A set of 1936 Small Size Dollar and Half Dollar patterns, with sailing junk on the reverse (K634 & 635), went to a collector in China for $36,800 (a world record price) and $18,400 respectively. Lot 217, a regular issue Sun Yat Sen Dollar of 1912 (Y318; K600), NGC certified MS65 and estimated at $3,000, realized $14,950 – another world record price.

Among the gold coins in the sale, a 1906 Gold Tael Pattern (K1540), Lot 181, sold to a buyer in Hong Kong for $80,500. A pair of 1926 Shantung Gold $20 and $10 coins (K1535 & 1536) were obtained by a Singapore collector for $69,000 and $51,750, respectively, both world record prices. A Peoples Republic of China 1995-dated 5 ounce gold piece, honoring Hsu Pei-hung (Xu Beihong), said to be a 500 yuan coin, but unlisted in the Krause Standard Catalog of World Coins, with mintage of only 100 pieces, sold to a buyer in China for $43,700 on an $18,000 estimate; another world record . (more…)

Three new DVDs filled with thousands of listings and prices for coins and paper money have been released by Krause Publications.

They are the official DVDs of 2009 U.S. Coin Digest, 7th Edition, $9.95; 2009 Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 36th Edition, $44.95; and Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, Modern Issues, 1961-Present, 14th Edition, $44.95.

Each disc contains the exact pages from the same-named print publication in PDF form. They can be read with Adobe Acrobat Reader, which allows for a full search function and the ability to enlarge images and text 400 percent.

2009 U.S. Coin Digest, 7th Edition features 1,800 color photos and complete listings for U.S. Mint issues, commemoratives, bullion coins, sets and rolls, Colonial and early coinage, Territorial gold and coins of Hawaii, Philippines and Puerto Rico.

2009 Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 36th Edition features 50,000 actual-size illustrations and 1 million updated price listings. All of the information contained in the 2,208-page book is on the DVD.

Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, Modern Issues, 1961-Present, 14th Edition contains 40,000 updated price listings and 12,000 images. Three grades of condition are listed. All of the information in the 1,088 book is on the DVD.

“We have received tremendous response from collectors who like the convenience of having all of the information contained in the books in a small, portable and searchable disk,” said Krause Publications Numismatics Publisher Dean Listle. “It’s easy to access at the office or on the road.”

The DVDs may be ordered at www.fwmagazines.com.

Archeologists at a dig near the southern shore community of Ferryland have unearthed the first whole gold coin ever found in Newfoundland.

The Scottish coin, a Sword and Sceptre dated 1601, was found at the Colony of Avalon archeological dig on June 10. It went on display at the Colony’s interpretation centre on Friday.

According to a news release, the coin was issued during the reign of King James VI of Scotland two years before he ascended the throne of England as King James I following the death of Queen Elizabeth I.

The coin is about the size of a loonie, weighs about five grams and is made of 22 karat gold. It had a value of six pounds (120 shillings), which represented a lot of money at the time.

“If you do it based on wages, that amount … would be about four months wages for the person who did all the marketing for the King’s household,” archeologist Jim Tuck told CBC Radio.

The coin, discovered on the second day of this season’s digging season, was found on top of a footing that Tuck thinks dates from the very early years of the Colony.

“We were exposing that footing and scraping off the top layer … scraping the dirt and leaves and bottle caps and junk off the top where we had stopped last year and lo and behold, here was this gold coin which I thought first was the inside … the liner for a bottle cap or something like that, but within a few seconds it was pretty obvious that it was real gold and that it was something we had never seen before,” he said.

Even though the coin has a split in it, Tuck said it’s in very good shape, and he wonders how it survived not only 400 years, but how it remained hardly worn between 1601 to 1621 - the time between when the coin was struck and the settlement was established. (more…)

By Doug Andrews, World Coin News

Remaining competitive internationally, leveraging off technology and exploiting opportunities as world metal prices continue to rise will be the objectives of the Royal Canadian Mint, says its president and chief executive officer, Ian Bennett.

The Mint recently announced a record C$30.1 million profit for 2007.

“Our target had been growth, now it is growth and profit,” Bennett said. “We doubled our profit last year, which was a great achievement,” Bennett noted in an exclusive interview with World Coin News.

The mint’s use of its multi-ply plating process for circulating coinage is essential to attracting contracts from foreign governments.

“This allows us to produce coins at much lower cost than other mints, and it is part of our medium term plan, to exploit our competitive advantage as much as we can. Our goals are tough to achieve in this economy and with the rising Canadian dollar, but it’s something that we have to strive to do,” Bennett said.

Part of the RCM strategy is to invest in replacement of all the presses in its Winnipeg production facility with higher speed equipment, and to expand plating capacity. Since 2005 the plant has doubled its plating volume and has licensed its patented technology to leading suppliers, including Jarden Zinc Products Inc. of Greeneville, Tenn. The Canadian Mint is aggressively pursuing other partnerships in its quest for more foreign business.

Read Full Numismaster Article Here

The Swiss Confederation is launching a new gold commemorative coin as part of the UN Year of Planet Earth celebration. The gold coin has a face value of 50 Swiss francs, and the mintage is limted to 6000.

International Year of Planet Earth
The United Nations have declared the year 2008 as the “International Year of Planet Earth”. World-wide activities on the subject of earth sciences will be co-ordinated by UNESCO, the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) and other UN or-ganisations.

What do earth sciences mean to our society? How does the exploration of the earth contribute towards a safer and wealthier world? Geophysicists and scientists will be looking into the answers to these questions during the years 2007 – 2009. In Switzer-land, the Science et Cité Foundation and the Swiss Academy for Natural Sciences are organising BaseCamp09, a road show that will visit six Swiss cities and is in-tended for the general public. The BaseCamp consists of a basic exhibition on envi-ronmental changes and explains the work of the research community. BaseCamp09 visitors will experience the gradual climate change with their own eyes and ears.

The designer of the “International Year of Planet Earth” gold coin is artist Claude Sandoz from Lucerne, who has a wealth of experience in designing coin motifs from past projects for Swissmint. For the Planet Earth, he places mankind in the centre of three globes. The Earth lays at man’s feet and one stands on his head. Man also car-ries it gently in his hands. The gold coin with a face value of 50 Swiss francs is avail-able in “proof coin” minting quality

The proceeds form the sale will go to promote cultural projects throughout Switzer-land, and can be purchased directly from the Swiss Mint