Gold and silver coins featuring the late Sir Edmund Hillary against a backdrop of Mount Everest were released in New Zealand on Thursday, the 55th anniversary of his historic ascent of the world’s highest peak with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay.

New Zealand Post, which issued the commemorative coins, said part of the proceeds of their sale would go to the Himalayan Trust that Hillary established for the Sherpa people of Nepal.

One of New Zealand’s best loved national heroes, Sir Edmund Hillary’s life was filled with many great achievements that earned him worldwide fame.

The first man to conquer Mount Everest in 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary went on to devote much of his life to improving those of others, especially the people of his beloved Nepal.

Following his passing in January 2008, and with the exclusive support of Sir Edmund Hillary’s family, this very special New Zealand coin release pays tribute to this extraordinary but humble man who will be remembered for ever. (more…)

By Kevin Bogardus for The Hill

American coin collectors and art dealers say a rule under consideration at the State Department could dramatically decrease the importation of goods from China, crippling a booming antiquities market in the United States.

The State Department has not yet imposed any restrictions, but officials are considering requiring shippers to provide documentation of ownership when moving goods from China to the United States. Chinese officials, who asked the State Department for the change in 2004, argue the rule is a way to protect China’s cultural heritage and prevent the trafficking of stolen goods.

Coin collectors and art dealers fear more than a receipt will be required. Instead, they expect to have to track an item’s lineage under the new rule.

That could dramatically scale back what is a growing, multimillion-dollar antiquities trade with Asia and foist an unmanageable amount of paperwork on small-business coin collectors, critics claim.

Without the necessary paperwork, customs inspectors could seize the artifacts.

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In a sale totalling £176,000, lot 190, a unique and unrecorded 1863 English Penny with a die number 5 below the date, was sold in Tennants Auctioneers specialist Coin Sale in Leyburn, North Yorkshire on Wednesday, 21st May 2008 for a record £17,500 plus buyers premium. It was sold to a private collector from Scotland.

In the early 1860’s the Mint introduced numbering dies on a number of coins, although the purpose of this remains unclear. Die numbers 2, 3 and 4 have already been recorded by Michael Freeman in ‘The Bronze Coinage of Britain’ and Michael Gouby in ‘The British Bronze Penny’, however a penny with a number 5 die number has so far not been recorded.

This coin had been inspected by Royal Mint authorities including the Chief Engraver, who shared the view that the figure beneath the date was indeed a 5, thus making this find numismatically important.

HIGH PRICES FOR GOLD COINS

A large collection of proof gold coins made over £100,000 in the sale with gold prices currently high. Lot 198, an 1887 J.H Proof Set of 11 coins (comprising a £5 coin, a £2 coin, a sovereign and half sovereign in gold, a crown, a double florin, a half crown, two shillings, a shilling, a sixpence and a threepence in silver, in their original red and gold leather case) sold for £4,200 (hammer).

In addition to coins, tokens and medallions, the sale also included bank notes with lot 459, an 1891 Lancaster Banking Company Note selling for £650 and lot 464, a Kendal One Pound Bank Note selling for £750.

Entries are being invited for Tennants next Coin Sale in Autumn 2008. For more information please contact Jeff Gardiner at Tennants on +44(0)1969 623780

Early Anglo-Saxon coins from the De Wit collection to be displayed at the Fitzwilliam Museum

The period of the Conversion in the 7th-8th centuries was a vibrant time artistically, inspiring such treasurers as the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Franks Casket and the famous High Crosses. Yet these give mere glimpses of a much larger body of lost art. New finds of coinage and ornamental metalwork of this period have provided us with an alternative source of images which are artistically and intellectually outstanding.

This exhibition will show for the first time early Anglo-Saxon coins from the De Wit collection, recently purchased by the Fitzwilliam Museum with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Art Fund. These gold shillings and silver pennies display the most innovative range of pictorial and geometric designs drawn from Classical and Germanic sources.

Despite the small scale, their bold images of people, animals, plants and geometric motifs are both rich in detail and sophisticated in concept. The exhibition will juxtapose them with contemporary ornamental metalwork drawn from other museums in the region.

Fri 23 May 2008 to Sun 7 September 2008
Octagon Gallery (Gallery 10) (more…)

Ira and Larry Goldberg coins and collectibles are preparing for what is to be the most important auction in their over 50 years of numismatic experience. The Pre-Long Beach Auction, May 25-28, 2008 will feature The Millennia Collection, a world-class collection of ancient and world coins, on May 26^th. This auction is generating intense world-wide interest, with extremely high-end, sought-after rarities in all categories of world and ancient coins, as well as in United States gold coins.

The Millennia Collection, Monday, May 26^th, 2008

The Millennia Collection reflects not only over a thousand years of the world’s history, but also the Goldberg’s passion and knowledge of half a decade of numismatic experience. “We’ve never before handled a collection of this magnitude,” says Larry Goldberg. Working dedicatedly with a private collector for over five years, the Goldbergs have carefully sought and selected over a thousand coins, choosing each for its beauty and historical significance.

These magnificent coins were the basis of the recently NLG-Awarded Whitman book Money of the World - Coins That Made History. Many rarities, pedigrees, and finest-known specimens abound in this collection, with the overall quality unmatched anywhere else. The selection of coins ranges from Ancient Rome to the New World, from coins minted for the 87^th Olympiad to the first dollars of the orient and the New World.

Top lots of interest include an extremely rare 42 BC About Uncirculated Gold Aureus of Brutus (possibly the finest of 8 known) a 223 AD About Uncirculated Gold Aureus depicting the Coliseum (perhaps the finer of 2 known), an NGC MS-61 AR penny of Analf V (the only specimen of the only coin known under this king, c.1029 ) a rare 1703 “VIGO” Anne 5 Guineas of Great Britain in MS-61 (perhaps the finest known of this extremely sought-after coin), a Russian 1705 Peter I Gold Ruble in NGW MS-63 (one of 2 known), a 1645 Crown of the East Indies (the first round dollar of the Orient and the finest of 6 known ), and the (1535-5) Carlos & Johanna Mexico 8 Reales, the “Discovery Dollar” of the New World (struck by Francisco del Rincon, one of only 3 known).

Serious collectors of all aspects of ancient and world coins are expected to attend. The auction of this collection is a truly special, exciting, and historic numismatic event. (more…)