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Coin News for March 19, 2010
2010 U.S. Mint $1 Coin and First Spouse Medal Set Available March 26
U.S. Mint
The United States Mint will begin accepting orders for the 2010 United States Mint Presidential $1 Coin and First Spouse Medal Set – Millard Fillmore on March 26, 2010, at noon Eastern Time (ET). The set, priced at $11.95 each, includes an uncirculated Millard Fillmore Presidential $1 Coin and a bronze medal bearing the portrait of Abigail Fillmore featured on the First Spouse Gold Coin struck in her honor. The coin and medal are encased in a durable plastic card enhanced with beautiful portraits of Millard and Abigail Fillmore, with coin and medal information on the back.
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Shield Five-Cent Pieces Were the First to Include Nickel
Numismaster
The Shield nickel started something big. It was the first nickel five-cent piece—actually composed of an alloy of copper and nickel. The design lasted less than 20 years, but the nickel itself is still going strong after nearly 150 years. The nickel started out as a replacement for the Postage Currency and Fractional Currency five-cent notes issued during the Civil War. Nickels were also used to redeem copper-nickel Flying Eagle and Indian Head cents after production of bronze cents began in 1864. The exchanges continued for years.
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An Interview With Q. David Bowers on Internet Coin Buying
Coin Update News
Bowers sees online auctions as an extension of currently available outlets such as catalogs and convention sales. While the Internet is a new mode to showcase coins, he advises all prospective bidders “to know the person with whom you are doing business.” “In fact,” he adds, “one must be even more careful on the Internet.” Usually I am skeptical of designations by third-party graders such as NGC, PCGS, ANACS and IGC, remembering we should be purchasing coins rather than the plastic designating their grades. Recently, Bowers wrote about that topic in his Coin World column. Like me, however, Bowers is cautious about all the online bidding of raw coins on Internet portals.
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Civility Marks Two-Day Collecting, Metal Detecting, and Museum Conference
Ancient Coin Collecting
The general mood of this conference was that everyone wanted to work together, within the law, to preserve cultural property. That’s a pretty safe stance. The nuances of that position can sometimes create disagreements, but the overarching fact or “bottom line” is that most people do care about cultural property preservation. Over the course of two days, it became increasingly evident to me that the British are on the right path. Their main concern was not ownership, that was clearly defined by law as it is in the U.S., the issue was reporting. With an active and growing cadre of private citizens engaged in the hobby of metal detecting, a country rich in historical objects, like Britain, is constantly at risk of losing important information about the past.
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Dark Gold Thoughts Not Dark Enough
Dave Harper’s Buzz
Back when gold ownership was legalized in the United States on Dec. 31, 1974, there was a lingering fear that the coins that had been illegal to own since 1933 would once again become illegal to own. Advisors told gold buyers to stick to coins like the standard U.S. gold coins struck before 1933 as well as world coins like British sovereigns and French 20 francs of similar vintage. This seemed to be an unnecessary precaution as the age of the convenient one-ounce bullion coins was dawning.
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The Artist In Everyone’s Wallet
The National
Not many artists can say their work is owned by millions. Mohammed al Mandi, however, is among those select few. He is one of the only master calligraphers in the Middle East. His angular designs can be found on every banknote in the UAE and Bahrain, as well as the passports of the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait. Not only that, he is the artist who designed the interior of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
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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.
