Coin News Daily February 13, 2009

By CoinLink on Friday, February 13, 2009
Filed Under: Coin News Daily

The Proof 1878 Quarter Eagle
By Doug Winter – Raregoldcoins.com
When viewing mintage figures, most numismatists exclaim that a coin is “rare” because only 10,000 or so were produced. But this figure seems almost laughable in comparison to the mintages for Proof gold coins struck prior to 1900. In fact, many of these issues have mintages that were lower than 100 coins. Proof gold was struck for collectors every year from 1858 until 1915. From the 1850’s until the early 1880’s, mintages were incredibly low. In fact, a few issues have mintages as low as twenty coins.
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Shared Group Identity
By Wayne Sayles – Ancient Coin Collecting
Over the past several years I have frequently encountered the view that repatriation of cultural objects is ethically the “right” thing to do. That is a claim loaded with philosophical nuances that have been, are being and will continue to be hotly debated. One might think that the views are consistent and polarized between two extremes, and typically that is true. There are cases, however, where one simply cannot find a logical and consistent thread.
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SONNY HENRY’S AUCTION SERVICE Posts Results
Sonny Henry Auctions
The February 7, 2009 Coin Auction, & Mail Bid of the Jeffrey collection from Illinois, & others conducted by SONNY HENRY’S AUCTION SERVICE of Mendota, IL was held at the Midwest Center for Christian Living Lasalle, IL. It was very fast paced, and exciting. There were over 70 bidders in attendance coming from Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Mail Bids were received from 15 different states. Several coin clubs were represented. There were $1, & $5 Bills given away during the Auction. A number was drawn for 1/10 ounce American Eagle Gold Pc., and several other coins, 1 ounce silver, and money prizes were given away at the end of the Auction. There were over 500 Lots in the Auction.
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Darwin (and relative) on new coin
The Shropshire Star Newspaper
A collectable £2 coin bearing the face of Charles Darwin and an ape has been created by Royal Mint to mark his 200th anniversary year. Struck to ‘brilliant uncirculated’ quality, which is a much higher standard than the coins found in general circulation, only 25,000 of the coins will ever be available. The coin is struck from two metals – cupro-nickel and nickel-brass – and features on its obverse the Ian Rank-Broadley portrait of the Queen. The edge inscription reads On The Origin of Species 1859.
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Rare Roman coins a ‘find of a lifetime’
South Devon.co.uk
A METAL detector who dug up an invaluable hoard of Roman coins in a South Devon field has been told: “You can’t keep them.” The 243 coins were thought to have been stashed away by Roman Britons more than 1,500 years ago just as the Empire was on the verge of collapse. Newton Abbot metal detector enthusiast Geoff Fox, 38, and his friend Shaun Pitts discovered the haul of copper coins in woodland in Denbury and then took them to Exeter Museum on the bus.
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Details Matter When Collecting Type Coins
By R.W. Julian, Numismatic News
One of the most interesting aspects of numismatics is collecting type coins. In this endeavor, collectors naturally strive for the best coin that can be obtained. This also means, however, that such coins as the 1808 Quarter Eagle, a distinct type that was struck in just that one year, bring strong prices at public auction even when not in the highest grades.There is sometimes debate on just what characterizes a type coin as opposed to a variety. It is one that will perhaps never be answered, and individual collectors often have differing opinions on just what criteria are required for a true type coin as opposed to a mere variety.
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Coin dealer giving away 1 million pennies
MarketWatch
A Louisiana coin dealer wants to give away 1 million pennies during the 12 days between Lincoln’s Birthday and the beginning of Mardi Gras. Paul Hollis of Mandeville said just getting all the pennies has been hard work. He arranged for a shipment of 500,000 pennies from the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia by armored car.
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