NGC Certified Original Confederate Cent Leads Spink Smythe November Auction
NGC
Spink Smythe will auction a rare “Original” 1861 Confederate Cent at its auction being held in New York City on November 6, 2008. In 1861 the Confederate States of America contacted prominent Philadelphia jewelers Bailey & Co. regarding the supply of cent coins for the South. Bailey & Co. asked Robert Lovett, Jr. to produce the pieces and he struck twelve in copper-nickel.
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Ron Guth to Head PCGS CoinFacts Division
PCGS
Collectors Universe, Inc. announced today, September 30, 2008, that PCGS President, Ron Guth, would be changing his role effective October 1, 2008 to become President of CoinFacts.com, a unit of PCGS that Guth had originally founded in 1999 that offers a virtual encyclopedia of knowledge about almost all U.S. Coins. As for the President’s role at PCGS, until a new President is named, David Hall and Steve Mayer, Chief Operating Officer for Collectors Universe, will assume Mr. Guth’s duties to allow him to transition to the new position. Guth will oversee the building and maintenance of web-based content for both the PCGS and Coin Facts websites and related publications.
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Collecting Continental Currency
By By William Brandimore, Market Update
Continental currency was first issued under the May 10, 1775 session of the Continental Congress, at Philadelphia. The issues were actually approved on June 22-23 and July 25 when $2,000,000 and $1,000,000 worth of notes were authorized, respectively. The notes went into circulation in August of that year. Denominations issued included $1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 20 and $30.
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Question of Gold Seizure Hits Radar Screen
By David L. Ganz, Numismatic News
With a $700 billion mortgage bailout package on the table, Wall Street investment bank Lehman Brothers in bankruptcy, brokerage giant Merrill Lynch sold and the appearance of economic chaos on at least three continents - North America, Europe and Asia - gold has moved to the forefront and with it issues that parallel 1933-1934, the time of the Great Depression. The question fairly rises as to whether or not the U.S. government is moving to consolidate its economic power by an outright gold seizure or whether they are prepared to allow the free gold market to speak about the dollar bill and a gaggle of other foreign currencies. Some wonder if they are willing to let the dollar’s purchasing power slip away entirely.
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Provence brings back the franc
Times Online UK
French tourist officials are bemused by a scheme to use francs in a village in Provence - and are urging holidaymakers to stick to euros. Shopkeepers in Collobrières, 30km (20 miles) west of St Tropez, began accepting francs this summer after complaints about inflation in the prices of goods sold in euros. People who had not traded in francs when France converted to euros were invited to visit to spend leftover currency.
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