Coin News Daily November 10, 2008

By CoinLink on Monday, November 10, 2008
Filed Under: Coin News Daily

What Old Coins Are Worth
iantiqueonline.com
I collect old coins. I remember it was a hobby of my grandparents when I was younger. They started sending my siblings and I coins at our birthdays and Christmases. Slowly my brothers and I began to take on the hobby ourselves. Now, after several years, I’ve started wondering: what are all my old coins worth?
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Labourers unearth gold coins in Maharashtra school
Calcutta News
Labourers digging at a school campus in Maharashtra stumbled upon a minor treasure — a cache of 847 gold coins of an unknown period, bearing inscriptions in Greek and Urdu, and worth roughly Rs.4.2 million, the police said Saturday. The labourers tried to keep secret their find but were apprehended. The treasure trove weighs 2.47 kg and is worth about Rs.4.20 million, an investigating officer told IANS.
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Numismatic Bibliography Set to Go Digital
By World Coin News
Plans are being made to release a digital version of the definitive research work on Canadian numismatics. The print edition of the Canadian Numismatic Bibliography is in short supply, and the CD version will be made available to buyers of the hard copy of the compilation that debuted in 2007, according to its authors.
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The Proof Condition
Posted by Skip Fazzari, Authentication Consultant to NGCCoins
Skip Fazzari delves into the complicated task of grading Proof coins, and narrows down the mystery to one major factor. A majority of collectors are familiar with modern US Proof coins that are seen with highly reflective, mirror-like fields and frosty devices. While the Mint issued Proofs with other finishes in the past, for the sake of simplicity, I’ll deal with the mirror-surfaced examples here. Proof coins are special in that they are carefully struck, more than once, on polished planchets in order to bring out the utmost beauty of each coin’s design. Proofs represent the high point of the minter’s art. As they leave the coining press, they are generally as perfect as humanly possible.
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2008-W One-Quarter Ounce Platinum Eagle Sold Out
MintNewsBlog
The second of the re-offered 2008-W Platinum Eagles has sold out at the US Mint. The sold out coin is the 2008-W One-Quarter Ounce Uncirculated Platinum Eagle. This joins the one-tenth ounce version of the coin as one of this year’s early sell outs. After more than two and a half months of suspension, the 2008-W Platinum Eagles went back on sale October 17 at reduced prices.
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Mint Shoots for the Stars with 2009 Coins
Royal Australian Mint
Alongside telescopes looking up into the night sky, the Royal Australian Mint launched its newest collectible coins at a unique event on Friday 7 November 2008. The Mint joined with the Canberra Astronomical Society to create a night of star-gazing in celebration of the 2009 year set theme which commemorates the International Year of Astronomy (IYA). An amazing light show of local astronomer’s photography was also projected across the walls of the Mint building. “In 2009 the world celebrates the exploration of our universe. It marks the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei’s first use of the telescope and recognises his revolutionary discoveries that began modern astronomy,” said Janine Murphy, Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Australian Mint.
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On Second Thought
Ancient Coin Collecting Blog by Wayne Sayles
After reading the latest Elkins and Barford blog posts, I was inclined to consider the source and ignore them. But, having slept on it, I have to ask myself WHY? Why should I have spent more than 40 years of my life learning about ancient coins, and the cultures that produced them, just to have some star-gazer with a fixation on academic supremacy characterize me personally as a rank amateur with nothing but $$$ for a motivation?
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The Reality of Presidential Dollars at Banks
By Susan Headley – About.com
I just read an essay on the NumisMaster.com Web site that I wanted to share with you. A 20 year-old coin collector by the name of Jarrett Briscoe has a part-time job working in a bank, and he provides some interesting facts about the reality of what banks face when dealing with Presidential Dollars. For example, unlike the State Quarters, which are popular and move out the door very quickly (in part because the bank can distribute them in normal transactions), the Presidential Dollars are not very popular at all.
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