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Showing posts from November, 2017

Gold Edges Up in November; US Mint Bullion Sales Slow Sharply

Gold and silver futures declined for a second straight session Thursday. Silver logged a fresh 16-week low, deepening its loss for the month of November. Gold, meanwhile, ended at an about 1-1/2-week... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Quarters sag after state issues

The final 2017-dated quarter in the America the Beautiful series honors George Rogers Clark National Historical Park. From 1994 to 1998, before the debut of the U.S. state quarter series, the U.S. Mint struck an average of 1.71 billion quarters per year. The popularity of the state quarters, that for the 56 different issues in the 11 years from 1999 through 2009, resulted in annual mintages ramping up to 3.43 billion per year. With a metal value of less than five cents per coin, that increase in demand sharply boosted the profits of the U.S. Mint. The popularity of the state quarters prompted the U.S. Mint to come out with another series of quarters, called the America the Beautiful® Quarters. From 2010 through early 2021, the U.S. Mint will again issue 56 different quarters. There are some similarities to the preceding state quarters. The coin specifications are identical: gross weight 5.67 grams of 91.67 percent copper and 8.33 percent nickel, 24.26 millimeters in diameter, 1.75

Mint Statistics: Silver bullion Eagles beat September

November silver Eagle sales have inched past the September figure and now stand at 385,000 pieces. September sales of 320,000 remain as the lowest monthly total for 2017. Perhaps December will nudge September aside? We’ll see. Clad proof sets continue the tear they have been on. They are traditionally purchased as Christmas gifts. This year the habit continues. In the past week, buyers took 16,636 more sets. The running tally is approaching half a million, but this is more than 100,000 sets behind the 2016 number. Proof silver Eagles moved ahead by 6,369 this week. Sales this year are lagging by more than 200,000 coins, the 2016 total. Is anyone still following the 225th Enhanced Uncirculated Set? This week, 332 were returned. The current sales number is 210,338, nearly 15,000 fewer than a sellout. Commemorative sales remain slow.   This article was originally printed in Numismatic News . >> Subscribe today.   More Collecting Resources • Keep up to date on prices for Ca

Get your money ready for 2018 palladium proof

Remember the U.S. palladium bullion American Eagle coin introduced in September? You know, the one-ounce piece with a mintage of 20,000 that looks like a Mercury dime on the obverse and a Walking Liberty half on the reverse? You don’t? You are probably not alone. I thought I would check on the coin this morning by looking at the offers on the APMEX website. What offers? There aren’t any. The bullion-selling firm is completely out of this new bullion coin. If you happen to own one. APMEX is offering a hefty 21.75 percent premium to buy it from you. Tempting. Palladium is at $1,011.90 an ounce. With the markup, APMEX is paying $1,231.90 each. Early buyers have some profits (about $150 a coin) since palladium was lower in September. This scarcity contradicts the term bullion coin. Such a piece is supposed to be a convenient way of trading a specified quantity of bullion at minimal markup. Well, it isn’t convenient if you cannot buy any. Its markup is way beyond minimal. Th

Luzon note issues are sparse

By Neil Shafer Note: This article is one of a continuing series of newer or better information relative to updating my 1974 publication, Philippine Emergency and Guerrilla Currency of World War II. A significant portion of the data presented here is based on reports from C.M. Nielsen, the premier researcher in this field. Much of his work may be found in the Philippines section of the Standard Catalog, Specialized Issues. Luzon is the largest island of the whole Philippine archipelago and is the most northerly of the main islands. According to information supplied by C.M. Nielsen, there were a number of issues made for the several guerrilla units operating on Luzon. Most of the official information about these issues was reportedly captured and destroyed during the war and occupation by the Japanese. As Manila is located on Luzon, it stands to reason that the island was heavily garrisoned, thus making it more difficult for any clandestine guerrilla groups to operate effectively. T

Celebrating Gita Jayanti with Coins and Stamps Featuring Shree Krishna

“karmanye evadhikaras te ma phalesu kadachana” –  Doing your duty is your dharma and one must do it without expecting any rewards.  This is just one of the 700 beautiful shlokas from the Celestial Song of the God – Bhagwat Gita, now imagine how magnanimous this sacred book of Hindus would be in entirety. The Gita helps you develop a deep understanding of life and how it should be ideally lived. Mythological accounts suggest that Bhagvat Gita was a part of Mahabharat which was narrated by Veda Vyasa and written by Lord Ganesha himself. Scholars believe that the Gita was actually written somewhere between 4 th century to 2 nd century BCE. Unlike Vedas and Upanishads, which were bound by words, those who recited the more popular Gita, made their own adaptations and changes. The earliest external form of Gita is close to Panini’s 4 th Century grammar and it got a final form in the early 4 th Century AD Gupta period. However, the exact date of Gita’s genesis is still unknown due to the

The Journey of One Rupee Note

One Rupee Note is the smallest Indian paper denomination in India. But how many of us know that the One Rupee note still exists? Well… Not many. But yes, the One Rupee note still exists and is accepted as a legal tender of exchange. And this One Rupee note is celebrating its 100th Birthday today. Yeah!! You heard it right. But before we get into the journey of One Rupee note, let us see the origin of the term ‘Rupee’. The word  ‘rupiye’  is derived from a  Sanskrit word ‘rupa’  meaning “wrought silver, a coin of silver”.  Arthashashtra , written by  Chanakhya  also describes silver coins as ‘rupyarupa’.   Sher Shah Suri  (1540 to 1545 AD) issued a silver coin which was termed as  ‘Rupiya’  and the legacy is continued until today. So this was the story of the term Rupee; now let us have a look at the history and the journey of One Rupee Note in India. The first note whose payment was guaranteed by the Government was introduced in circulation for the first time through the Indian Pa