Gold Eagle Price

Ringed bimetal coins are used in circulation in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (better known as MBS) has been in the news recently for flexing his financial muscle in advance of inheriting the thrown from his father, King Salman, who is still alive. MBS has recently had some members of the royal family arrested, intervened in war-torn Yemen, and proposed controversial economic, social, and religious changes into the future through a plan called Saudi 2030. MBS’ footprint can already be seen on Saudi Arabia’s currency as well. At his instruction, the kingdom was preparing to introduce 1- and 2-riyal coins in early December, while phasing out the existing 1-riyal bank note. Saudi Arabia currently uses coins in denominations of 1, 10, 25, and 50 halala. (100 halala equals one riyal.) The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency currently issues bank notes in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, and 500 riyals.

By Q. David Bowers Welcome to the second installment in my series on the subject of American medals. I highlight some of those featured in the best-selling Whitman book, The 100 Greatest American Medals and Tokens , now with additional comments and updates. Today I discuss medals in general and their definition. What is a token? What is a medal? Kenneth Bressett, long-time editor of A Guide Book of United States Coins and always a good source for consultation, suggests that, for starters, coins are metal pieces “issued by a government or other authority to serve in commerce as money.” Tokens are “issued by entities other than governments, but have a value in exchange for goods or services.” Medals form a separate challenge, and it seems that in checking around, definitions suggested by well-known experts can vary widely. Medals and their little cousins, medalets, might be — per our thoughts — created for awards, commemoration, recognition, and tradition with no exchange value of

Is it the beautiful design, or are buyers simply well trained? Sales of the 2018-W proof platinum one-ounce $100 coin opened strong Jan. 25. As of the Mint’s tally dated Jan. 28, the number sold is already equal to 84.7 percent of the 2017-W sales. Buyers took 7,530 in the opening few days compared to 8,892 sold for the 2017-W offer. If you think both numbers sound low, remember the issue price is $1,420. Buyers sent the Mint $10.7 million to order them. To make a $1,420 purchase, I expect some thought is given. It is not likely an impulse buy. Or is it? The artwork is gorgeous. The theme this year is the Preamble to the Declaration of Independence. “Life” is represented by what looks like a mother and child in a landscape of abundance. The woman is actually Lady Liberty, and she is showing the child how to sow seeds. We are all the children of Liberty. Perhaps that is why buyers are attracted to the design. The Mint description says “the furrowed earth represents the fore

The United States Mint last week published images of the 2018 Native American dollar. The $1 coin series is known for its annually changing reverse designs. This year's coins pays homage to sports... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

The U.S. Mint released its first dedicated quarter product of the year a week ago Tuesday, Jan. 23. The agency's proof set of 2018 America the Beautiful quarter dollars is available for... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

By Kerry Rodgers The four high-denomination issues from Fiji’s colonial past described in November’s Bank Note Reporter all attracted considerable bidder interest at Noble Numismatics’ fall sale in Sydney. The George VI Fiji £10 (Jan. 1, 1942, P-42a) and £20 (Sept. 1, 1948, P-43d) that realized $14,564 and $10,013 respectively at Noble Numismatics’ Sydney sale in November. First up on the block was a George VI £10 dated Jan. 1, 1942, P-42a. This is the first date for this series and a major rarity. It is the first your reporter is aware of in over 40 years of collecting. It was in extraordinary good VF condition given its age and wartime origins. It realized $14,564 (AUD19,120). Next was a George VI £20 of Sept. 1, 1948, P-43d. Not quite as rare as the 1942 £10, it came described as having “firm original paper” but with folds, creases, a 2mm slit under the lower serial number and minor tone spots. It had been assigned a grade of good F and could manage just $10,013 (AUD13,145).

By Donald Scarinci Last week, after years of prodding by members of the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) and the collector community, the United States Mint finally announced a medal program. Unfortunately, it is nothing more than a bullion sales program and is likely to do more to discourage future medal collectors than to encourage them. The current plan is to reissue the bronze presidential medal series on proof silver Eagle dollar-size planchets. Then, the plan is to eventually honor each branch of the armed services with similar proof silver Eagle dollar-size medals. That’s the plan: more restrike medals and more military themes from the United States Mint. While the Mint marketing team may have heard the CCAC’s plea for a medal program, they did not listen. The CCAC has been advocating an annual art medal program that is more like those offered by many other world mints. A competition for a United States Mint medal, unencumbered by the directions and design restrict

By Kerry Rodgers The four high-denomination issues from Fiji’s colonial past described in November’s Bank Note Reporter all attracted considerable bidder interest at Noble Numismatics’ fall sale in Sydney. The George VI Fiji £10 (Jan. 1, 1942, P-42a) and £20 (Sept. 1, 1948, P-43d) that realized $14,564 and $10,013 respectively at Noble Numismatics’ Sydney sale in November. First up on the block was a George VI £10 dated Jan. 1, 1942, P-42a. This is the first date for this series and a major rarity. It is the first your reporter is aware of in over 40 years of collecting. It was in extraordinary good VF condition given its age and wartime origins. It realized $14,564 (AUD19,120). Next was a George VI £20 of Sept. 1, 1948, P-43d. Not quite as rare as the 1942 £10, it came described as having “firm original paper” but with folds, creases, a 2mm slit under the lower serial number and minor tone spots. It had been assigned a grade of good F and could manage just $10,013 (AUD13,145).

Precious metals futures declined for a third straight session Tuesday, led by palladium which dropped 2.9%. Both silver and gold shed 0.4%. Gold for April delivery -- the now most active contract --... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

While lower-grade examples may still be readily available, the 1918-D Mercury dime in top grades is commanding prices that puts it among the top few regular dates in the series. No one ever thought of the 1918-D Mercury dime as anything close to the key 1916-D in terms of availability, but that is beginning to change. Only in the past couple of decades has the 1918-D been sought in MS-65 condition with full split bands. Of course, it’s one thing to seek a top-grade example and quite another to actually find one. Back when the 1918-D was produced, grades like MS-65 and MS-65 with full split bands did not even exist. Like any other dime of the period, it was judged mostly by its mintage. With a total of 22,674,800 struck, it’s safe to assume that few even gave it a second thought. At the time, a low-mintage Mercury dime was more on the order of 10 million or less. The 1919-D and 1919-S both met that criteria, as did the 1917-D. A number of dates in the 1920s and 1930s would have min

(Made by Fanghong [Own work]) The lunar Year of the Dog [YoD] commences on solar date Feb. 16, 2018. Specifically, it is a Wu Xu, or Earth Dog, year. In Huángdi (continuous) reckoning, it is Year 4715. By the middle of last year, the world’s largest numismatic program was well under way. Gold, silver and base metal coins were being struck apace to celebrate the lunar festivities six months hence. Come the end of August, over a dozen countries had released details of denominations and/or designs. That said, the trend noted in the last three years of some downturns in both mintage numbers and varieties of lunar coins continues into YoD. Regardless of the state of the world’s economy, there is a perception that the lunar coin market became saturated a year or two back. Yet any seeming vacuum in this crowded market is being filled by new players trying their hand. Boutique strikings with small mintages continue to appear. Changes in mintages are seen among some major mints including B

January is nearly over. Gold and silver American Eagles sales are down sharply. The first month of the year usually is when there is a scramble to get coins with the new date and to refill the supply pipeline. If there is a scramble for new dates this year, it is less than last year. If the pipeline is being refilled, it is at a slower pace. So far this month, sales of silver American Eagles are down 38 percent. Last year, buyers took 5,127,500 coins. This year, the total stands at 3,195,000. That number is 1,932,500 fewer. The gold sales decline is greater than silver’s. Gold Eagle sales are down 60 percent. So far, 35,000 one-ounce gold Eagles, which are most preferred by investors, have been sold. In January 2017, the total was 86,500. The difference is 51,500 coins. If we look at the sales total for all four sizes in terms of gold ounces sold, the decline is slightly smaller at 51 percent. What does this decline mean? That is the million dollar question for any bullio