Coin Collecting News

By JOHN STEELE GORDON for Barron’s

BECAUSE GOLD IS CHEMICALLY INERT, it doesn’t tarnish and it has few industrial uses. Because it has been a prime store of value for millennia, it has always been very carefully guarded. Because it is so extraordinarily valuable (a cubic inch of pure gold is currently worth more than $9,000), even long-lost gold is searched for diligently.

A hundred and sixty years ago this month, for instance, James Marshall was inspecting a new millrace in Northern California that he had just constructed for his employer, John Sutter. A pebble about half the size of a pea caught his eye. “It made my heart thump,” he later remembered, “for I was certain it was gold.”

In 1847, the United States had produced a mere 43,000 ounces of gold, mostly as a byproduct of base-metal mining. In 1853, California alone would produce more than three million ounces, then worth some $65 million. The total revenue of the federal government in 1853 was $61.5 million. Read Full Article

Representatives from the U.S. Mint spoke with Oklahoma coin collectors in an open forum on the eve of the Oklahoma state quarter launch.

The collectors gathered Sunday afternoon at the Oklahoma History Center to discuss the new quarter and ask questions relating to the minting of American coinage with Daniel P. Shaver, acting deputy director of the mint.

What did hobbyists learn?
Shaver said that there will be between 500 and 550 million Oklahoma quarters made and that the popularity of the state quarters series has made thousands of new coin collectors.

Shaver fielded questions and dispelled rumors about the proposed Ronald Reagan dime and the reasons behind the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin issued in 1979. Read Full Story

The image of Britannia, which has graced British coins for centuries, is to be removed from the 50 pence piece as part of a redesign by the Royal Mint.

The overhaul of all coinage in April is set to be the biggest change to British currency since the introduction of decimalisation more than 35 years ago.

Gordon Brown personally approved the change as one of his last acts as Chancellor of the Exchequer, despite his current campaign to push Britishness. The Queen is also said to be supportive of the scheme.

It will be the first time in more than 300 years that Britannia is not featured on a British coin. Read Full Story

Sunday December 2nd was the day of the big Champion Hong Kong Auction. Among the more than 40 registered bidders were collectors, dealers and auction houses from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan. Mrs. Zuo and Miss Wang from Cheng Xuan Auction Company in Beijing were present, as was Simon Cheng from Asia Pacific Auctions in Hong Kong.

Taiwan coin dealer, Chen Gi-mao, who some years ago had helped build the famous Haru S. C. Chang Collection in Taiwan, was an active bidder, but was the underbidder on the three stars of this sale – the 1000 Cash Pattern Coin, the 1907 Gold Dragon Tael, and the General Chu Yu Pu Dollar.

A leading collector from southern Taiwan, who had paid a record U.S. $210,000 for a Ming Dynasty silver sycee in the China Guardian auction the previous month, was present and would pay a record price for the Szechuan Dragon Dollar in this Champion Auction.

Ron Guth, President of Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), called the auction. Guth explained in his preliminary remarks that he was not acting on behalf of PCGS today, but as a private individual who had been asked to call the auction. Champion Galleries has no connecton with PCGS aside from its role as an authorized PCGS dealer. Continued