Coin Collecting

Doug Winter writes: “I recently bought and sold a seemingly innocuous 1859-D quarter eagle that had a great degree of numismatic significance. Before I explain why, let me give you a little background on the specific coin and on this issue in general.”

Laura Sperber in her opinion article titled: Laura Sperber’s Hot Topics – SO WHATS (NOT) NEW? “MY HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED! NOT! I can not believe how lethargic and pathetic the leadership of the coin business has become.”

In Greg Reynolds weekly column, advice for beginning and intermediate collectors of U.S. coins is given.

The acclaimed Cardinal Collection Educational Foundation’s large cents collection, the number one-ranked set of its kind in both the PGCS and NGC Set Registry listings, will be publicly displayed for the first time in the Baltimore-Washington area during the first two days of the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Baltimore Expo, November 4 and 5, 2010.

Vic Bozarth writes on how dealers determine the value of a rare coin. “How are rare coin prices determined? Often the question dealers will ask is: ‘I know what Greysheet (Coin Dealer Newsletter bid) is, but what can I ‘really’ get for it?’”

Locked in a Pennsylvania vault for 43 years, one of the most comprehensive collections of colonial and early American coins ever to reach public auction, The W. Philip Keller Collection of U.S. Colonials, is the principle highlight of the upcoming Heritage Auctions Rare U.S. Coin auction, Oct. 28–31 in conjunction with COINFEST in Stamford, CT.

Steve Roach explains why fast profits are not guaranteed at auction. “While many dealers continue to grumble about weak bourse action at the recently finished back-to-back Long Beach, Calif., and Philadelphia coin shows, in which a review of the dealer bourse lists seem to show a clear bifurcation between West and East coast dealers, the market continues to be robust in the auction sector.”

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

Doug Winter’s article describing steps to assemble a world-class collection of coins. “You can have unlimited funds but without adhering to a basic core group of numismatic fundamentals, I believe it is very difficult–if not impossible–to build a great collection of coins.”

Greg Reynolds, in his weekly column, comments on the 1796 quarter, San Francisco Liberty Seated Dimes, 1931 Denver Mint $20 gold coin.

Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers announce their 119th auction sale, closing on November 18, 2010. The 60-page, 588-lot catalogue comprises a diverse selection of interesting and elusive works on ancient, medieval and modern numismatics, and is particularly rich in rare and unusual works on American numismatics.

Doug Winter’s commentary on the character of coins and the meaning of the word “originality” as it pertains to the numismatic market. “‘Originality.’ It’s one of the most overused terms in all of numismatics. And it’s one of the most misunderstood as well. Given the choice, I believe that most people would rather own an ‘original’ coin instead of one that has clearly had its appearance changed in recent years.”

An article from Pinnacle Rarities explores the Coin Show Myth: The Long Beach Curse.

Some recent observations from a coin show perspective from contributor Doug Winter. “Having just come from the Philadelphia Whitman Coin Expo show and, the week before this, the Long Beach show, I feel pretty qualified to make some market observations. Without further ado, I’d like to share them with you.”

Steve Roach discusses gold’s surging prices. “The recent bull run-up in gold prices has been attributed to many things: continued uncertainty in the real estate market; concern about the value of currencies, especially China’s; low consumer confidence in the United States; and general concern about large central banks’ ability to control the money supply adequately.”

Laura Sperber writes about The Philadelphia Coin Show. “David Chrenshaw, Mary Counts, Lori Hamrick, and the entire Whitman team run some of the best shows to attend. The Philadelphia Show was yet another incredibly run show. Legend Numismatics LOVE ALL Whitman shows and plan on doing them as long as they are in business.”

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

Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC announces the release of their Treasure and World Coin Auction #8, scheduled for October 21-23, 2010, comprising 2789 lots, by far their largest sale to date.

Bowers and Merena will feature the important and extremely rare proof gold coins from the Zürich Collection in the Official auction of the November 2010 Whitman Coin & Collectibles Baltimore Expo.

The South St. Paul Minnesota Police Department is investigating the September 26, 2010 vehicle burglary of coin dealer Lee Orr. At approximately 2:10pm in the afternoon the victim was loading his vehicle preparing to leave a local coin show in South St. Paul.

Steve Roach talks about full band Roosevelt dimes. “The market for full bands Roosevelt dimes is one dominated by a handful of specialists who are willing to spend big for the right coin.”

Jim Fehr gives us a look at early U.S. gold coins.

United States Mint Deputy Director Andy Brunhart unveiled designs for the 2011 Medal of Honor Commemorative Coin Program today at the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s annual convention in historic Charleston, S.C.

The recently discovered Bullock specimen of the 1856-O double eagle, XF45+, NGC, was the unabashed star of the Sept. 23-26 Heritage Auctions September Long Beach, CA Signature® U.S. Coin Auction, as it soared to $345,000 amidst spirited bidding.

PCGS Authorized Dealers from across Europe eagerly attended another successful Grading Week conducted at the Paris, France offices of Professional Coin Grading Service, September 13 – 17, 2010.

Greg Reynolds, in his weekly column, discusses 1943-D copper cent, 1795 Reeded Edge cent, 1811/0 cent, and half cent errors.

The Royal Canadian Mint is proud to demonstrate its skill and craftsmanship with a new selection of precious metal collector coins celebrating symbols of Canadian heritage ranging from prehistory to heraldry. These new collector products include a $300 platinum coin featuring the giant prehistoric ground sloth, a $300 gold New Brunswick Coat of Arms coin and extra-thick “Piedfort” pure gold and silver Maple Leaf coins.

Long Beach Coin Show and Market Report by William Shamhart. “Everyone wants to know: So how was Long Beach? In one word: HOT! OH…you meant how was the coin show? Well if you’re an optimist, it was partly sunny; if you’re a pessimist, it was partly cloudy. Confused? So was I.”

Doug Winter analyzes the pros and cons of buying a placeholder. “If you collect a set (or sets) and are competing in the Set Registry, the chances are good that you’ve struggled with the Dilemma of the Placeholder. Let’s examine the Pros and Cons of buying a placeholder coin and try to decide whether this is a smart collecting strategy or not.”

Steve Roach’s Rare Coin Market Report discusses the fall’s coin show schedule. “When gold hits record levels, coin shows get a bit more press and attendance than they normally do, and in the next two months four major shows and hundreds of local shows will cater to a public curious about how they can buy into or cash out of gold at $1,300 an ounce.”

Heritage’s Sunday Internet Coin Auction (bidding ends on September 26) features one of the more intriguing patterns ever offered. Lot 26512 is an extremely rare copper Eagle pattern produced at the Paris Mint by engraver Louis Charles Bouvet (1802-1865). Only two copper pieces are known–both from the King Farouk Collection–although they differ slightly in thickness and edge markings

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