Coin Collecting

Over 300 anxious bidders filled the live auction floor for the highly anticipated sale of the Wa She Wong Collection and other Asian Coins on Dec. 3-4. The Hong Kong auction, presented by Ponterio & Associates, a division of Bowers and Merena Auctions, featured 1,107 lots with total sales reaching $10.7 million.

A coin profile on the 1804 Bust Quarter. “Colonel Edward Howland Robinson Green (better known as Col. E.H.R. Green or, more simply, Col. Green), was the son of Henrietta Howland Robinson Green, née Henrietta Howland Robinson (1834-1916). She, too, is known more simply as Hetty Green, and even more familiarly as the ‘Witch of Wall Street.’”

As the profile of Heritage Auctions’ World & Ancient Coins category has continued to skyrocket over the last few years, each consecutive offering has raised the bar significantly. With the Jan. 3-4 New York Signature World & Ancient Coin Auction at the Waldorf Astoria, coinciding with the New York International Coin Show (NYINC), Heritage has not only assembled its largest World Coin auction to date, it has also once again raised the bar in terms of absolute quality.

Laura Sperber gives her opinions on the 2010 year in the coin collecting world. “What a year it was. We saw gold hit a new record and the stock market made a semi come back. The coin market had what I would call a turbulent but productive year. Prices did not go up as much as good coins weren’t being drowned by dreck anymore. There actually has been a small influx of new collectors.”

Coinlink article: Wikileaks Reveals State Dept Deal with Spain in Black Swan Treasure Lawsuit. “For years, Odyssey Marine has been in litigation with the Spanish government over a 17 tons of gold and silver coins that Odyssey discovered from “The Black Swan”.”

NEW & UPDATED – Our coverage of rare coin and currency news has expanded with Austin Purvis 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

Sea Search Armada, a US-based salvage company, claims the Republic of Colombia owes it $4 billion to $17 billion for breaching a contract granting it the right to salvage the galleon San Jose, sunk by the British Navy on June 8, 1708.

On Monday, a California judge froze the assets of Superior Gold Group LLC of 100 Wilshire Boulevard, as well another office in Woodland Hills, after it was accused of fraudulent business practices in a civil lawsuit filed against the company and owner Bruce Sands by the Los Angeles County district attorney and the Santa Monica city attorney.

The U.S. Mint’s Dec. 1 announcement that the new 2010 America the Beautiful 5-ounce .999 fine silver bullion quarter dollars were to go on sale December 6th was canceled earlier this week over Mint concerns and complaints that the much anticipated coins were being overpriced.

Scott Travers‘ new book “The Coin Collector’s Survival Manual.” “Gold and grading share the spotlight in The Coin Collector’s Survival Manual, Seventh Edition, the just-released latest edition of the perennial hobby bestseller by award-winning author Scott A. Travers.”

In his weekly column, Greg Reynolds wires on the O’Neal Collection of Indian Head $5 gold coins. “This set is the “All-Time Finest” in the PCGS Registry and contains many individual coins that are at or near the top of the condition rankings for their respective dates.”

The US government said it is still trying to identify the source of the production glitch that forced it to postpone introducing the new $100 bill and could force it to shred hundreds of millions of error-ridden bills. The issue stems from what officials called a “problem with sporadic creasing of the paper during printing” that resulted in blanks spots on some of the newly redesigned bills.

Researchers at McMaster University in Hamilton have launched a research project in which nuclear radiation is used to identify changes in metal content among ancient Greek and Roman coins held in a world-class collection amassed at the university since the 1940s.

Bowers and Merena Auctions, one of the world’s preeminent auctioneers for rare coins and currency and a subsidiary of Spectrum Group International, Inc. (SPGZ.PK), announced today that noted numismatic professional Chris Napolitano has joined the 27-year-old auction house as president.

The finest collectible 1909-O Indian half eagle, MS66 PCGS, the Mitchelson-Clapp-Eliasberg-Price example – designated by legendary numismatist David Akers as “The Coin” – will provide some New Year’s fireworks on Thursday, Jan 6, 2011, when it comes up for auction as part of Heritage’s Tampa FUN Platinum Night U.S. Coin Auction.

Doug Winter asks which Civil War gold coins will be promoted in 2011. “I don’t consider myself to be a real pro when it comes to rare coin promotion but even I know a no-brainer when I see it. ”

The upcoming 2011 January Tampa FUN Signature & Platinum Night US Coin Auction features what is probably the finest New Orleans twenty of any date. Easily the finest known 1852-O double eagle, this Gem has been off the market since the early 1970s, when our consignor purchased it through a private treaty transaction with Stack’s.

The Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG) will provide a scholarship to a deserving young numismatist (YN) to attend the 2011 American Numismatic Association (ANA) Summer Seminar in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This is the seventh consecutive year of PNG YN scholarships for the popular, annual ANA program.

Steve Roach writes: “The U.S. Mint’s Dec. 1 announcement that it is placing tighter than expected mintage limits on the new 2010 America the Beautiful 5-ounce .999 fine silver bullion quarter dollars may result in the creation of some new modern rarities.”

NEW & UPDATED – Our coverage of rare coin and currency news has expanded with Austin Purvis 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

The first-ever public display of the one-of-a-kind set of 1943 bronze Lincoln cents from the Denver, Philadelphia and San Francisco Mints will be hosted by Professional Coin Grading Service and Legend Numismatics, Inc. during the first three days of the Florida United Numismatists convention in Tampa, Florida, January 6, 7 and 8, 2011.

Doug Winter writes on the Fab Five type three $20 Liberty Head Double Eagles. “There are five ultra-low mintage Type Three Liberty Head double eagles that were produced for circulation during the 1880’s and 1890’s.”

Greg Reynolds, in his weekly column, writes on the PCGS SecurePlus Prgram. “I explain the PCGS SecurePlus program in part 1. Here in part 2, Don Willis, the president of the PCGS, responds to the explanation that I put forth in part 1.”

More than 100 Orange County California bank notes from the collection of the late William (“Willie”) Pannier will be among the highlights of the pre-Long Beach Expo auction to be conducted by Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins and Collectibles in Beverly Hills, California, January 31 – February 2, 2011.

On January 8, 2011, numismatic booksellers Kolbe & Fanning will conduct a public auction sale at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City in conjunction with the New York International Numismatic Convention.

Steve Roach writes on rare slabs and their impact on the price of a coin. “Some collectors wouldn’t agree with the statement, ‘buy the coin, not the slab,’ because to them, the slab is just as important as the coin.”

NEW & UPDATED – Our coverage of rare coin and currency news has expanded with Austin Purvis 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