Coin News for February 26, 2010

By Tim Shuck on Friday, February 26, 2010
Filed Under: Coin News Daily

The ANA Museum Showcase at the National Money Show in March
American Numismatic Association
The ANA Museum Showcase will make its National Money Show™ debut March 25-27 at the Fort Worth Convention Center. This spectacular gallery gives visitors a unique chance to see some of the world’s most beautiful and valuable coins. The showcase will be located just inside the bourse entrance, and features several numismatic treasures. The Smithsonian Institution’s exhibit, “Good as Gold: America’s Double Eagles,” explores the history of the U.S. $20 gold piece. The display includes the first (1849 pattern) and last (1933) double eagles ever produced, and a 1907 Saint-Gaudens ultra-high-relief $20 pattern coin that President Theodore Roosevelt gave his daughter Edith for Christmas that year.
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Prooflike 2009 UHR Double Eagles Fetch Big Premiums
Coin Update News
With US Mint sales officially ended, a robust secondary market exists for the coins. While coins graded PCGS or NGC MS70 are commanding solid premiums above the price of raw coins, the biggest premiums are being paid for coins which have received the “PL” designation from NGC, signifying proof like surfaces. Realized prices from recent eBay auctions show that UHR Double Eagles graded NGC MS 70 have sold for approximately $1,800-$1,900 each. Coins graded NGC MS 70 PL have sold for more than $4,200 each, with some of the current listings at even higher fixed prices.
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Giving a Boost to the New Dollar
Dave Harper’s Buzz
Yesterday the American Veterans Disabled for Life coins were put on sale by the U.S. Mint. Proofs are priced at $39.95 and uncirculateds are $35.95 until March 29, when the pre-issue discount ends. More interesting to me, and perhaps no one else, was that there was an event on Capitol Hill to help call attention to the new coins. It was at the Russell Senate Office Building from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Mint Director Ed Moy was among those in attendance.
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Would Hobbyists Benefit from Having Clout?
Numismatic News
What is better for the numismatic hobby, having clout in Washington, D.C. , or not having any clout? I have asked myself that question over and over again for many years. Usually it comes up in the context of some issue of major importance to collectors. Collectors usually find themselves scrambling to introduce themselves to the powers that be as each issue arises, which tends to put them far behind the curve in any effort to get something done.
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Fakes Share Certain Surface Characteristics
Numismaster
Did you say color? As I have discussed here before, color gives us an important clue about the alloy composition of a particular coin. What about its surface texture? Let’s examine a group of recently made counterfeit coins from various countries to see what they have in common. Before looking at the illustrations, I’ll give a short description of what each looks like to the naked eye.
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Shropshire Woman Convicted of Failing to Report Treasure
BBC
Kate Harding, 23, of The Hawthorns in Ludlow, presented a 14th Century piedfort coin to Ludlow Museum in January last year. After it was identified by experts from The British Museum she was told she had to report the find to the coroner. But she did not and on Thursday admitted breaching the Treasure Act, at Ludlow Magistrates’ Court.
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About the Author

Tim Shuck is a life-long Midwestern resident, and started collecting coins after finding an Indian Head cent on the ground at his childhood farm home. Additional encouragement came from looking through a collection of well-worn late 19th and early 20th century coins kept by his grandfather in an old leather coin purse. Current collecting interests include U.S. types from the Civil War era through the early 1930's, and Colonial and Early American coins.