Hoskins Knew How to Spot a Counterfeit
By F. Michael Fazzari, Numismatic News
This month as a tribute to the memory of Charles Hoskins, my former boss and mentor, I’ll share with you what I remember about my first authentication lesson at ANACS in 1972. Hoskins was the first director of the American Numismatic Association Certification Service. In the beginning, ANACS was a two-person operation on an upper floor of an old office building overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. If you have ever seen an old movie from the 1940s or 1950s with a detective’s office, you’ll understand the setting.
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Deputy sheriff subject of nickel-theft probe in Florida
USA Today
Last month, we told you about a deadly crash that left nearly $200,000 worth of nickels on a highway in Florida. That posting quoted a police spokesman warning the public that anyone caught stealing the coins, which belong to the Treasury Department, would face federal charges. Fast-forward three weeks. Florida Today reports today that the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office is investigating allegations that at least one deputy stole some of the nickels.
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Banking on gold
BBC
Four years ago, fearful of a property crash, David and Maureen Somers sold their house and bought gold. It’s a tactic suddenly popular with those seeking a safe haven for their money.As safe as houses. This piece of perceived wisdom no longer seems quite so wise as property prices fall and stocks stutter. But there is one area of the global financial machine that is revving up – gold. When times are bad, investors have traditionally sought refuge in this precious metal. With bullion dealers reporting a surge in business, it seems history is repeating itself.
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Mint Widens Halt On Gold Coin Sales As Inventories Get Depleted
CNN Money
Citing extraordinary demand, the U.S. has broadened its freeze on sales of gold bullion coins in another sign that retail investors who are priced out of the futures markets have been piling up their holdings of the metal as a hedge against market uncertainty. “Due to the extreme fluctuating market conditions for 2008, as well as current market conditions, gold and silver demand is unprecedented and the demand for platinum is unusually high,” the U.S. Mint said in a memorandum released to its authorized purchasers.
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1836 Half Dollar with Doubled Edge Lettering
NGC
Initiation of the Presidential Dollar coin program in 2007 brought about a renewed interest in lettered-edge coins, as most collectors were not in the habit of examining a coin’s “third side.” Applying text to the edges of its coins was a common practice at the US Mint from 1793 through 1836, when the feature was discontinued in favor of reeded or plain edges, exclusively. It was revived solely for the Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle of 1907–33, until being utilized once again for the current dollar coin program.
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Adna G. Wilde Jr. Steps Down as ANA Treasurer
ANA
Adna G. Wilde Jr. has stepped down from his role as Treasurer of the American Numismatic Association. Wilde informed the Board of Governors of his decision on Sept. 9, and his resignation was made official at the Board’s teleconference meeting on Sept. 11. Former Assistant Treasurer Gerome Walton will assume the role of Treasurer on an interim basis until a permanent replacement is named.
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Danville Coin Club, celebrates its 50th anniversary this fall.
Commercial News News
If you have old silver dollars, don’t even think about polishing them. In fact, you should take them — and any other collectible currency you have lying around — to your bank safe deposit box. Then, go through any change you have and look for quarters, half dollars or dimes that pre-date 1964, because the coins contain more silver than modern ones. Sound like some last-ditch defenses against a pending economic apocalypse?
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Coin Dealers Win Slander Suit
www.ledger-enquirer.com
Judge rules they were slandered by claims of theft, but still face charges. Andrew O’Connell is accused of stealing coins from Joe and Tammy Barnes and is scheduled for trial in November. The Barneses, however, owe O’Connell and his father close to $200,000 for slandering them by saying they stole their rare coins, a civil jury found last week. All this begs the question — what’s going on?
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Related posts:

1. Coin News Daily October 28, 2008
2. Coin News Daily October 7, 2008
3. Coin News Daily October 20, 2008
4. Coin News Daily October 13, 2008
5. Coin News Daily October 29, 2008
6. Coin News Daily October 21, 2008
7. Coin News Daily October 1, 2008
8. Coin News Daily October 3, 2008
9. Coin News Daily October 26, 2008
10. Coin News Daily October 15, 2008