Coin Collecting News

An old coin was discovered between floor panels in a building from 1840 in Djúpivogur, southeast Iceland, currently under renovation. It has a picture of a lion hanging from an ax, which is Norway’s coat of arms, and dates back to 1653.

“It was made in Kongsberg in Norway out of Norwegian silver,” numismatist Anton Holt told Morgunbladid. “Every coin found in Iceland is significant because we didn’t have any coins ourselves.” Continued

WASHINGTON - The 2008 United States Mint Presidential $1 Coin Proof SetTM will be available at 12:00 noon (ET) today. The set, priced at $14.95, contains the coins for 2008 in the Presidential $1 Coin Program and honors James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren.

The Presidential $1 Coin Program, launched in 2007, pays tribute to the Presidents of the United States in the order in which they served. The multi-year program, authorized by the Presidential $1 Coin Act of 2005, features four new obverse designs annually. Continued

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.,  — Collectors Universe, Inc. , a leading provider of value-added authentication and grading services to dealers and collectors of high-value collectibles diamonds and colored gemstones, today announced that, pursuant to its previously adopted dividend policy, the Board of Directors has declared the Company’s quarterly cash dividend of $0.25 per share of common stock for the third quarter of fiscal 2008. The cash dividend will be paid on March 3, 2008 to stockholders of record on February 18, 2008. Continued

(Santa Ana, California) – Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) is advising its authorized dealers of the existing terms and policies regarding submission of so-called “doctored” coins, and is reinforcing the application of those policies.

“We’re seeing more and more coin doctoring than we’ve ever seen, and the methods used to alter the coins are more and more sophisticated,” said Ron Guth, President of PCGS, a division of Collectors Universe, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLCT).

“We are constantly trying to keep up with new and sophisticated techniques, such as micro surgery with lasers and various chemical treatments to alter the surfaces of coins. You name it, and the coin doctors are trying it. We’re giving public notice to those who alter coins that we’re clamping down on them.”

Guth said PCGS graders are frequently updated on what to watch for when analyzing coins submitted for certification. He compares the continuing education to combat coin doctoring and counterfeiting to anti-virus software makers who are on constant vigil against computer hackers and new viruses. Continued