Dropped Letter on State Quarter
By Ken Potter, Numismatic News
Tracy Miller of Florida found a 2005-P West Virginia state quarter with a “Dropped Letter” showing as a letter “T” dropped out in the field. This is the result of the “T” of WEST being clogged with debris that was packed in so tight that when it eventually fell out of the die cavity of the “T,” like Jello from a mold, it was struck into the field of the coin leaving behind this very interesting incuse “T.” Another of his neat finds is his 1988-P Jefferson five-cent piece that is described as an in-collar flip-over double strike. It was struck normally on the first strike and then re-entered the collar flipped over and rotated in relation to the first strike and struck within the collar again.
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Investors losing faith in the dollar hunt for Buffalo gold coins
TXCN.com
His customers are looking for coins – gold coins, to be precise. “People are buying it as an investment because of the stock market,” Toupard said. He’s not the only one finding gold hard to come by. With stock prices falling, the price of gold is going up, causing a gold rush so frantic the U.S. Mint can’t even keep up. The American Buffalo gold coin is being hunted down so enthusiastically there are only a few remaining on the open market.
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Where will coins head?
By Mark Ferguson - COIN VALUES
Don’t panic! Take a deep breath and enjoy the moment. Then you can think about the economic turmoil we’re all trying to find our way through. These are unprecedented times, and there are no rules as to what the values of coins are going to do during the near future. A case can be made for overall coin values to fall with the rest of the economy. Another case can be made to show that rare coins serve as a safe haven from inflation, which might send coin values higher.
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Mastering the penny
Advance - Titan
Every American is familiar with the penny. The little copper coin bearing a bust of President Lincoln resides in many a wallet and penny jar across the country. Most Americans use coins every day, but they probably don’t think about the process of designing and minting the coins. Richard Masters, an art professor at UW-Oshkosh, was the same way for a long time. He said, “You know, when we were kids collecting coins, you never thought about the artist behind the design on there. You thought the coin gods are doing this, or somebody you never heard of. And when you see your own work on something like that it just seems to make the world smaller.”
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Mint resurrects Fraser’s Indian Head 5-cent designs
By Paul Gilkes - COIN WORLD
The 1913 Indian Head, Bison on Mound, 5-cent coin, as issued by the United States Mint, did not represent the designs and finish as sculptor James Earle Fraser had intended for the circulating coins.The designs as seen on the 22-millimeter, Uncirculated 2008-W American Buffalo .9999 fine gold $10 coin more closely resemble what Fraser envisioned on the 21.21-millimeter 5-cent coin. The gold $10 coin is an extension of the American Buffalo coin program introduced in 2006 under provisions of the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005. The act called for a pure gold 1-ounce, $50 face value coin bearing Fraser’s original designs.
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Eliasberg Gold Coins at Auction Oct. 17
By Numismatic News
Eighty-one gold coins from the famous Eliasberg collection will highlight an auction slated for Oct. 17 by Scotsman Auction Co. at the Silver Dollar and Rare Coin Expo in St. Charles, Mo. Among the highlights are a 1930-S Saint-Gaudens $20 gold piece graded MS-65 by Numismatic Guaranty Corp. The coin was sold as Lot 1071 in the October 1982 auction by Bowers and Ruddy. Catalogers note that there is one coin finer graded by NGC and five finer by the Professional Coin Grading Service.
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Royal Canadian Mint under ’strain’ to meet demand for gold
By National Post
The plunging stock market in Canada has led to a spike in gold purchases, and gold brokers may soon have trouble keeping up with demand. A teller at Scotiabank’s precious metals exchange desk in the Scotia Plaza said Thursday that nervous investors had already purchased all of Scotia’s one-ounce gold bullion bars, which are slightly cheaper than the Scotia one-ounce gold coins. The bars, which are emblazoned with the Scotiabank logo, are expected to be in stock by the end of October or early November.
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