More News at a Glance – October 7, 2010

By CoinLink on Thursday, October 7, 2010
Filed Under: Coin News Daily

Strong Price but Demand Falls
Numismatic News
With the price of silver rising 13.5 percent in the month of September you would think sales of silver American Eagle bullion coins would be flying high. But you’d be wrong. September concluded the slowest month of silver Eagle sales since September of last year. Sales of 1,880,000 coins is roughly half the level of May’s 3,636,500, which is the highest monthly total for 2010. The average of the first nine months is 2,831,167, so that works out to an undershoot of 1 million pieces in September – now you know why the Mint can strike proof silver American Eagles this year after keeping us on edge all year.
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2010 Proof Gold Buffalo and First Spouse Gold Coin Prices Increased
Coin Update News
The United States Mint has raised the prices for available numismatic gold products, following the continued increase in the underlying price of gold. Prices have been increased for the 2010 Proof Gold Buffalo Coin and the First Spouse Gold Coins featuring Margaret Taylor, Abigail Fillmore, Jane Pierce, and James Buchanan’s Liberty. The US Mint’s numismatic gold and platinum coin pricing policy, in place since early 2009, allows pricing adjustments to take place as frequently as once per week in response to the changing prices of the metals.
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“Sterling Hayden” Dollar Featured in 1950’s Western
Numismaster
I like to think of the 1891 Morgan dollar as the “Sterling Hayden silver dollar.” That’s because an 1891 dollar plays a key role in the great 1957 movie “The Iron Sheriff,” starring Hayden as Sheriff Sam Galt. The tagline for the movie said, “From his leather-tough skin to his cold-steel guts he was all cast iron—and then he began to crack!” In the film, Galt tries to clear his son Benjie of a stagecoach holdup and the murder of the driver. The story takes place in Ellsworth, S.D., and the stolen money consists of newly minted silver dollars.
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Wow! Philadelphia!
Stack’s
Wow! This single word describes our Americana Sale held last week in Philadelphia. Actually, with well over 5,000 lots it would have made two nice auctions instead of just one. As it was, activity was nonstop on Thursday and Friday, from morning through the entire afternoon and into the evening, and on Saturday all day. If you followed the sale on the Internet or through the two catalogues you know that diversity was the rule—just about anything and everything in American numismatics was available.
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Junk Silver Coins Soar in Value
Silver Coins Today
With silver prices rallying to levels that have not been seen in 30 years, interest in United States coins that circulated in 1964 and before has skyrocketed. Many of them include silver, and those that do are worth far more than their face values. Bags and rolls of these “junk silver coins” have become hot items, and harder to find. Junk silver coins, a term often used to describe older coins that have no real worth to collectors but contain 90% silver, have intrinsic values that have soared right along with silver prices.
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National Park Quarters Hard to Find
USA Today
When the Arizona state quarter was issued two years ago, Carolina Butler of Scottsdale, Ariz., gave rolls of the quarters to her children, grandchildren — even her plumber. So Butler was delighted to learn that Congress had authorized the U.S. Mint to issue coins honoring 56 national parks, including the Grand Canyon. “A roll of quarters costs $10,” she says. “They make the best gifts.” Since April, the Mint has introduced quarters commemorating Hot Springs, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Grand Canyon national parks.
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