Coin Collecting News

Program Expanded to Include Uncirculated Coins, Fractional Weights

Washington - The United States Mint announced today that it will begin accepting orders for fractional weights of the American Buffalo Gold Coin, now available in proof and uncirculated versions, on July 22, at 12 noon Eastern Time.

Both versions of the coin will be offered in four sizes-one ounce ($50 denomination), one-half ounce ($25 denomination), one-quarter ounce ($10 denomination) and one-tenth ounce ($5 denomination)-as well as in four-coin sets that contain one coin in each size.

In 2006, the United States Mint introduced a proof version of the American Buffalo Gold Coin containing one ounce of 24-karat (.9999) gold. Based on market research, the Secretary of the Treasury authorized the United States Mint to strike and issue fractional denominations of the coin in proof and uncirculated versions.

Both the proof and uncirculated American Buffalo Coins feature designs based on the classic 1913, Type I Buffalo nickel, by James Earle Fraser. Depicted on the obverse is the striking image of a Native American in profile. An American Buffalo-also known as the bison-graces the coins’ reverse. Inscriptions on the coins’ obverse include the “W” mintmark of the United States Mint at West Point, the year and the word “Liberty.” Inscriptions on the reverse include the face value and weight.

Each coin is encapsulated in protective plastic and mounted in an elegant, custom-designed hardwood presentation case. A Certificate of Authenticity is included.

Mintage and product limits for both the American Buffalo Gold Proof and Uncirculated Coins will be determined by customer demand. Pricing for all options is listed below. Continued

Templeton Reid is one of the more enigmatic figures associated with the so-called Territorial gold coinage (see notes below) of the United States.  Relatively little is known about him.  It is reported that as early as 1811, he was earning a living manufacturing cotton gins. Later he changed his career into clock and watch repair and then rifle-making in Milledgeville, Georgia, at the time Georgia’s state capital. Reid  moved to Gainesville, Georgia (close to Dahlonega) in 1830 to set up his Assay and Mint business.

The first Georgia gold was discovered by Benjamin Reed in 1828 near Dahlonega. (The name “Dahlonega” comes from the Cherokee words for “yellow money.”) The discovery caused an influx of thousands of miners that came to be known as “The Intrusion” by native tribes.

Reid saw an opportunity to produce local gold coins as a more convenient medium of commerce than the unassayed gold dust presently in use, and established his private mint a full eight years before the U.S. Mint opened branches in Dahlonega, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina; and New Orleans in 1838.

Reid struck two and a half, five, and ten dollar gold pieces in the three-month period from mid-July through mid-October 1830. On July 24, 1830, the Southern Recorder, a local newspaper, commented that Reid  struck approximately $1,500 in gold coinage. (some researchers believe that Reid may have possibly minted some coins in Milledgeville before his move to Gainesville, but to date there is no proof of that assertion). Reid told the newspaper that the gold coins would be accepted at face value (or “par”) at local banks and merchants.

Reid apparently made his coins from local gold “as mined” and  did not refine the gold to a higher purity. Whether this was due to a lack of knowledge as to how to refine the gold or a purposeful attempt on his part to make a few extra dollars is unknown. The native metal contained considerable amounts of silver, tin, and copper. As a result Reid’s coins were not “at par” with the face values marked on the coins,  In the 1830 era, emphasis was on the full intrinsic value of coins. Any gold or silver coin issued by the United State Mint, by a private source, or by any other entity was apt to be viewed with suspicion if it did not contain full weight and value. Continued

By Scott Purvis for CoinLink
A 154-year-old $20 gold piece known as the Kellogg Twenty will return to Baltimore next month for the first time in nearly 30 years.

This  one-of-a-kind California Gold Rush coin was once owned by Baltimore resident and diplomat John Work Garrett, and is considered by most collectors to be one of the finest American coins from the mid-19th century.

John W. Garrett (1872 – 1942) was the grandson of Baltimore and Ohio Railroad executive and one-time president, John Work Garrett (1820 – 1884), and the eldest son of T. Harrison Garrett (1849 – 1888), who began collecting coins as a student at Princeton. The coin collection grew extensively under T. Harrison’s sons, John and Robert (1875 – 1961).

Garrett donated the coin, along with his home, Evergreen House, to the Johns Hopkins University on his death in 1942. Hopkins sold the coin at the Bowers and Ruddy auction in 1980 for $230,000.

Subsequently the coin changed hands several times. Contursi has owned it twice; from 2002 to 2005, and since 2006, it is now valued at $3 million. The coin is graded Specimen-69 by Professional Coin Grading Service

“When you pick up this coin, you’re literally holding Gold Rush history in your hands,” said Steven L. Contursi, president of Rare Coin Wholesalers of Dana Point, Calif., the coin’s owner. “This is a homecoming. It’s the first time it will be publicly seen in Baltimore in 28 years.”

The coin was manufactured on February 9, 1854 by John Glover Kellogg, a former employee of the San Francisco U.S. Assay Office. He gave it to his friend and future business partner, New York City watchmaker, August Humbert, the former U.S. Assayer in San Francisco.

During most of the 20th century, the historic coin was part of the legendary Garrett Collection at Johns Hopkins University and kept in a vault in Baltimore, Maryland. Continued

Historic printing press plates used in the process of producing multi-subject 19th century “obsolete” paper money for ten different banks will be offered in a public auction conducted on July 27 and 28, 2008 in Baltimore, Maryland by Stack’s (www.Stacks.com) of New York City and Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. The unique, intricately engraved plates are from the legendary archives of the American Bank Note Company.

The number of subjects per plate range from two to eight, and the denominations range from five cents to $100. They are consigned to the auction by Archival Collectibles of Far Hills, New Jersey, which acquired the huge American Bank Note Company archives in 2005.

“We recently discovered these particular multi-subject, obsolete bank note plates among the thousands of one-of-kind, engravings in the archives. One plate was still in its original wax-sealed wrappers, apparently unseen for 149 years,” said Steve Blum, president of Archival Collectibles.

“It’s exciting to look at these original pieces of numismatic history that were so skillfully handcrafted more than a century ago.”

The plates and the denominations of the notes in the upcoming Stack’s auction are:

The Uncas Bank in Norwich, Connecticut, $3 and $10;

The Commercial Bank of Kentucky in Paducah, Kentucky, $5, $5, $10 and $20; Continued

The American Numismatic Association will debut a new feature, Artists & Authors Alley, at the 2008 World’s Fair of Money® in Baltimore. Located in aisle 900 of the convention’s bourse floor, Artists & Authors Alley gives artists and writers a chance to display their craft and discuss their work with visitors. The area will feature premier numismatic engravers, scholars and publishers.

Located within Artists & Authors Alley, Collector’s Corner will feature book and artwork signings, demonstrations, and informal discussions with some of the top experts in numismatics.

“I’m happy to be adding this new and exciting element to our show,” said ANA Meeting Services Manager Brenda Bishop. “Hobbyists will be able to meet, interact and learn from several of the most respected professionals in the field.”

The following is a schedule for Collector’s Corner presentations:

Wednesday, July 30
1-2 p.m. – Joel Iskowitz, master designer, United States Mint’s Artistic Infusion Program
3-4 p.m. – Mercer Bristow, American Philatelic Society: C.S.I. Philatelic Continued