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Rare Coin News for June 27 – July 3, 2010

What’s New This Week……….

Heritage Auction Galleries’ Currency Signature® Auction held in Memphis, TN, June 17-19, in conjunction with the Memphis International Paper Money Show, showed continued strength in the rare currency market, successfully realizing $5.1 million. 1875 Walla Walla, WA $5 brings $161,000.

Mother Teresa’s 100th Birthday Commemorated with Pope John Paul II embracing Mother Teresa on the new 5 oz. pure gold 500 Euro commemorative coin issued by France on the 100th anniversary of the birth of this beloved Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Original 1867 Rays Gem Cameo Proof Shield Nickel to be offered at Heritage’s Summer FUN Coin Auction. The 1867 Rays Shield nickel proof coins, however, are celebrated rarities, well-known to series specialists and advanced numismatists.

Stacks hosted an American paper currency auction on Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 in New York. The 781 lot sale was anchored by The 52 Collection: Part I.

Greg Reynolds Weekly Column has been posted on Coin Rarities & Related Topics. This week he looks at three coins to be auctioned in Boston in August. Bowers and Merena will offer an 1870-S silver dollar and an 1854-O Double Eagle ($20 gold coin) and Heritage will put an 1817/4 overdate half dollar ‘on the block.’.

In the first installment of Doug Winter’s New Series “Smart Collecting 101” he discussed the “coin churn” and how to avoid it. One reader made a great suggestion for the second topic which involves buying the “wrong” coin and if there is ever a right time to buy a coin that you clearly know is not optimal for your collection.

An $18 million display of two rare Double Eagles accompanied by Boston-related early Americana will be one of the exhibit highlights in the Museum Showcase area at the American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money convention in Boston, August 10 – 14, 2010. The coins in this first-ever display are the finer each of the two known 1861 Philadelphia Mint “Paquet Reverse” gold $20, graded NGC MS67, and 1921 Proof Roman Finish Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle, graded NGC SP64.

The NIA is pleased to announce the release of its first ever update to its unbiased reviews of the major online sellers of gold and silver bullion. NIA decided to award Gainesville Coins with our “NIA 2010 Best Bullion Award“. Gainesville Coins is the highest rated company in our review with prices for precious metals that are the lowest out of all the companies in our review.

Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG) member-dealers have been assisting the news media in their continuing investigations of several gold-buying companies that move from community to community across the United States. One of the buyers offered only $60 — significantly less than even its bullion melt value — for a 1925-D Indian Head $2.50 gold coin certified NGC MS66 and valued at $10,000 by PNG experts.

Heritage will be offering one of only two known 1915 P50C Panama-Pacific Half Dollars struck in Gold (Judd-1960 PR64 NGC) during the Boston ANA Signature Sale in August Lot # 13007. The design is the same as the regular-issue 1915-S Panama-Pacific commemorative half, but lacking the normal S mintmark. Struck in gold. One of Only Two Known !

NEW & UPDATED – Our coverage of rare coin and currency news has expanded with Tim Shuck taking over as Editor of Coin News Daily. This is a special section of CoinLink where we scour the web for items of interest related to numismatics and post a short excerpt and link to these “off site” resources.

We have also made changes to The Bullion Report with daily news and article updates, and a monthly analysis of the “Premiums Over Spot” for Gold and Silver Bullion products.

View all the latest rare coin news here

Rare Coin News and Articles for June 20-26,2010

What’s New This Week……….

The 1882 double eagle is so rare that even the Smithsonian Institution, keeper of the National Numismatic Collection, lacks an example of this issue. At this years Heritage Summer Fun Auction an example of this legendary rarity will be sold. The coin is graded PCGS AU-53

The ANA announced that the incredible “Ship of Gold” exhibit, showcasing California Gold Rush-era sunken treasure recovered from the 1857 shipwreck of the SS Central America, will make port in Boston for the World’s Fair of Money, August 10-14. Article includes a Video Tour by Monaco Rare Coins , Adam Crum

Doug Winter provides some guidance on the the 1875 gold dollar in Proof. This is a coin with a reported original mintage of 20. But it has a combined PCGS/NGC population of 24 (twelve at each service). Something is obviously not right here.

Well-known numismatist and online auction expert Ian Russell has announced plans to create a new online marketplace catering to coin collectors, dealers and traders. The marketplace, named GreatCollections.com, is set to go live in late 2010.

A complete set of 1874 Bickford $10 Pattern coins will be exhibited at the American Numismatic Associations Boston Money Show August 11-14th. The set, part of the Simpson Collection, includes all seven of the variations attributed according to Judd numbers. Mr. Simpson’s premier passion is United States pattern and trial coins, and his collection of these is unparalleled. Comprising most of the entries found in Dr. J. Hewitt Judd’s standard reference work.

Bowers and Merena Auctions, realized more than $8 million as the Official Auctioneer of the June 2010 Whitman Coin & Collectibles Baltimore Expo. The eight-session sale, occurring June 17-19, included more than 6,000 lots

Stack’s June 15-16, 2010 sale of the C.B Slade, Jr. Estate and Other Important Properties yielded excellent results with a final tally falling just shy of $2.6 million after spirited participation from in-person bidders at the auction in Baltimore

Ponterio & Associates, a division of Bowers and Merena Auctions, realized $1,608,082 as the Official Auctioneer of the June 2010 Whitman Coin & Collectibles Baltimore Expo.

The American Numismatic Association Board of Governors, on March 27, approved a recommendation to name Chicago as the site of the summer ANA World’s Fair of Money®. In this CoinTelevision Video Interview, ANA Executive Director Larry Shepherd discussed the factors behind that decision.

Greg Reynolds weekly column on Coin Rarities & Related Topics has been posted. This week Greg looks at an assortment of rarities “in the news,” including the NGC graded “MS-64″ 1794 dollar, a newly re-emergent 1795 Reeded Edge Cent, an 1882 $20 gold coin, 1865 $2½ coins, and 1865 quarters.

Doug Winter has started a New series of articles titled Collecting 101. His first installment discusses Avoiding Churning, “Churning is an expression that means too much buying and selling from an account (or in this case a collection) by a salesperson in order to generate profits for the company and commissions for the broker.

The 59th annual congress of the International Association of Professional Numismatists (I.A.P.N.) took place in Reykjavik, Iceland in May of 2010. Despite disruptive clouds of volcanic ash interfering with airlines flights the congress was well attended.

The Neil/Carter/Contursi specimen 1794 Flowing Hair silver dollar was sold in May for $7,850,000, setting a new record as the world’s most valuable rare coin. Graded PCGS Specimen-66, it is the finest known 1794 dollar and believed by several prominent experts to be the first silver dollar ever struck by the United States Mint. David Lisot of CoinTelevision.com interviewed both the buyer, Martin Logies, Curator Cardinal Collection Educational Foundation and the seller, Steve Contursi, President of Rare Coin Wholesalers at the Long Beach Expo earlier this month.

Never to be considered a wallflower, Laura Sperber has a new Commentary in her Hot Topics series, taking aim at rumors of a settlement of the PCGS “Coin Doctoring” lawsuit, Calling for collectors to speak out and blasting the PNG.

Note: The strong opinions expressed in this article are solely those of Ms. Sperber

It has been a long time since since Doug Winter has written anything about the San Francisco double eagles. As these coins have become increasingly popular over the course of time (they are actually the most popular gold coins from this mint by a considerable margin) Doug thought it would be an excellent time to begin a series of articles.

Part One, A Date by Date Analysis of San Francisco Double Eagles.

One of the features that has long been available on the Heritage’s Web site listings and archives are the PCGS and NGC population report for each coin . Now Heritage has added CAC Population Data to Rare Coin Auction Archives.

Laura Sperber’s June Baltimore Show Report. “The show turned out exactly how we thought it would be-decent but quiet. Most dealers we spoke to (on our level) did very little. Several left Friday. Yet we know of a few smaller dealers who had nice coins and did VERY well. ”

Dick Osburn and Wayne Herndon announced that effective June 17 the assets of Dick Osburn Rare Coins were acquired by Wayne Herndon Rare Coins, Inc. of Chantilly, Virginia

Doug Winter extends his Top 10 Series on US Gold Coins: The Top Ten Rarest Liberty Head Quarter Eagles. The response to these articles has been overwhelmingly positive. Enjoy the Read.

We have also made changes to The Bullion Report with daily news and article updates, and a monthly analysis of the “Premiums Over Spot” for Gold and Silver Bullion products.

View all the latest rare coin news here

Rare Coin News For June 13-19, 2010

What’s New This Week……….

Among early United States Large Cents one of the rarest and most mysterious is Sheldon’s variety S-79 with reeded edge. NGC (Numismatic Guaranty Corporation) has just certified the latest of the eight pieces confirmed to exist. This one has been off the market for some 30 years.

Doug Winter continues his series on Top 10 lists with The Top Ten Rarest $10 Liberty Head Gold Coins. “Readers may be surprised that this top ten list does not include any Carson City issues (although I was tempted to include the 1870-CC) and just one from New Orleans.”

Many U.S. numismatic items have been counterfeited or otherwise imitated over the years, some so often that authenticators such as myself are automatically suspicious of them. Tom DeLorey provides an article one on Counterfeit Indian Peace Medals

How’s the market doing for Type One double eagles? Good question and one that Doug Winter is well-qualified to answer, having been a very active participant in this market for over two decades.

Greg Reynolds weekly Column on Coin Rarities & Related Topics focuses this week on the Bowers & Merena auction, the Unique Proof 1876-CC dime just sold, and a little known milestone of the $150 million of coins purchased for the CAC.

English coin expert Bruce Lorich gives us a historical perspective on the Rise of the Gold Standard in 14th-century England. “….many collectors focus too much on the coin designs, without understanding the historical motivations behind the coinages. Seen in their historical context, though, the coins become rich with meaning and a real reason for owning them occurs”

Followers of the numismatic scene have already heard of the phenomenal Simpson Collection of United States Pattern Coins, but this remarkable numismatist is a connoisseur of other series, as well. NGC has announced that the Simpson Collection is helping them launch the Plus Designation program.

What is the Survival Rate of Proof United States Gold Coinage? Doug Winter provides some answers and estimates on the question. Always insightful and relevant for serious collectors.

More than 4,250 bidders lined up to take part in the offerings of Heritage’s June 3-6 Long Beach Signature® U.S. Coin Auction. Even without the presence of six and seven figure coins they still saw totals approaching the $10 million mark.

The UK auction firm of Spink has announced the upcoming sale of an Anglo-Saxon gold Shilling of King Eadbald of Kent dating from c.620-635. This is the first gold coin struck in the name of an English King and a rare and important piece of English history. Found near Deal Kent in 2010, this coin will be sold at auction on June 24th

A new book by numismatic author Mike Fuljenz, Indian Gold Coins of the 20th Century, looks at the history of the popular Indian Head design $2.50 (“Quarter Eagle”), $5 (“Half Eagle”) and $10 (“Eagle”) denomination gold coins

The 1867 Rays Shield nickel business strikes are conditionally rare coins in the highest Mint State grades, but they are generally obtainable for a price. The 1867 Rays Shield nickel proof coins, however, are celebrated rarities. Heritage is offering a special Proof Shield Nickel at the Summer Fun Show next month.

Ancient Coins for Education, Inc., entirely run by volunteers, was established in 2001 as a registered non-profit organization to encourage learning about Classical (Greek, Roman, and Byzantine) history and culture by Putting History Into the Hands of Children with Ancient Coins.

Doug Winter provides an update on How To Collect Charlotte Gold Coins. ” There are many ways to collect Charlotte gold. Some people have only a mild interest in these coins and may buy just one or two pieces. Other people are more serious and they have a large number of Charlotte issues in their collection. A small number of Charlotte collectors are obsessives who focus exclusively on these pieces and do not collect anything else.

We have also made changes to The Bullion Report with daily news and article updates, and a monthly analysis of the “Premiums Over Spot” for Gold and Silver Bullion products.