Coin News Daily January 26, 2009

By CoinLink on Monday, January 26, 2009
Filed Under: Coin News Daily

Context is Truth — or maybe not
By Wayne Sayles – Ancient Coin Collecting Blog
In perusing the blog of one archaeologist today I noticed an interesting comment. The blogger and a commentor were questioning the accuracy of the reported “find” location of some objects reported in the British Portable Antiquities Scheme. They were, in fact, criticizing the PAS itself. Both implied that professional archaeological excavation was the only way to guarantee the origin of an object (i.e. not “looted”) and its authenticity.
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Final Papers Filed in 1933 $20 Court Fight
By David L. Ganz, Numismatic News
Circling the wagons, both sides put their final papers before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania as the U.S. Mint defended against an action brought by Joan Langbord, daughter of deceased Philadelphia coin dealer Israel Switt to recover 10 1933 double eagle gold coins authenticated by the Mint and then seized by the government. It will take the judge months to sift through them and then to decide whether to grant summary relief to either party in the lawsuit. The papers, though, offer some interesting reading.
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In the Midst of Recession, U.S. Mint Releases $1,000 Coin
U.S.News & World Report
Admittedly, I don’t know much about coins. But it seems odd that the U.S. Mint today released a 24-karat, one-ounce gold coin that’s currently selling for more than $1,000 in its online catalogue. This Sacramento Bee story claims that’s affordable. It is gold, after all, and in collectors’ eyes, it may be a steal. One commenter writes: “That’s a pretty low price since most are expecting the spot price of gold +40%.”
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Dems want Noe to address lingering questions
Toledo Blade
If some Ohio Democrats have their way, Tom Noe could find himself testifying at the Statehouse about the origins of “Coingate.” For more than three years, as a state and federal task force has looked into the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, investigators have asked legislators to hold off on their own investigations.
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Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee Meets January 27
US Mint
The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) will hold a public meeting at 10:30 a.m. (ET) on Tuesday, January 27, 2009, at United States Mint Headquarters, 801 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20220. The purpose of the meeting is to conduct business related to the CCAC’s responsibility to advise the Secretary of the Treasury on themes and designs pertaining to United States coinage.
Agenda (subject to change): Review reverse design candidates for the 2010 Presidential $1 Coins honoring Presidents Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan and Abraham Lincoln
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Collectors Universe Approves Stockholder Rights Plan (poison pill)
Collectors Universe
Collectors Universe, Inc. (Nasdaq: CLCT), announced that, on January 9, 2009, its Board of Directors unanimously adopted a limited duration stockholder rights plan. The Plan has an initial term of one year ending in January 2010, but may be extended for two additional years if the Plan is approved by the stockholders on or prior to the end of that initial one-year term.
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The Sounder Collection
Pinnacle-Rarities
The Sounder Collection is one of the finest type collections to ever be assembled. It spans the first official coinage of our nation in 1793 all the way to today, in every denomination, design type and metal except for gold. It even includes the controversial 1792 Half Disme (pronounced “dizmee”), which though struck outside the U.S. Mint is considered by some to be the first “real” coin made by our fledgling government. Whenever possible, the collector bought coins with a story, like his 1856 Proof Flying Eagle cent, which is the first- year-of-issue and the rarest of the short-lived design.
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The Golden Horn Collection and Moneta Imperii Romani Byzantini
Stacks
These two remarkable collections went up for sale by public auction on January 12, 2009, and realized over $5 million in total sales. The Golden Horn Collection featured Ancient, Medieval, and World coins, in addition to an excellent selection of World Medals and Orders and Decorations. Moneta Imperii Romani Byzantini, a highly advanced and specialized collection of coinage from the Late Roman Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire and Byzantium, and their successor states from the Germanic Invasions to the Russian Empire, was offered as part of this sale, though published in a separate catalogue.
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