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Showing posts from June, 2020

Gold Ends June with Highest Finish Since 2011; U.S. Mint Bullion Sales Quicken

Precious metals prices advanced Tuesday, the last trading session in June and the second quarter. Gold was not the biggest winner on the day but it easily led metals for the month. More notably, it... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

A national precious-metals dealer has teamed up with a sound money policy group to help students pay for the ever-increasing costs of college…

National Precious Metals Dealer Offers #Gold -Backed Sound Money Scholarships to Deserving Students https://t.co/idoC8BOPQN — Money Metals Exchange LLC (@MoneyMetals) June 30, 2020 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js National Precious Metals Dealer Offers Gold-Backed Sound Money Scholarships to Deserving Students Money Metals Exchange has joined with the Sound Money Defense League to offer the Sound Money Scholarship — the first gold-backed scholarship of the modern era. Starting in 2016, these organizations have set aside 100 ounces of physical gold (worth about $180,000 based on current Gold price) to reward outstanding students who display a thorough understanding of economics, monetary policy, and sound money. The Sound Money Scholarship is open to high school seniors, undergraduate, and graduate students with an interest in economics, specifically the free-market tradition. Applicants do not have to be economics majors to be eligible to receive this scholarship – and th

1822 Half Eagle a Numismatic Treasure

This 1822 half eagle is graded PCGS AU-50. (Images courtesy National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution via PCGS.com.) With just three examples known and only one of them available for private ownership, the 1822 half eagle has to rank as one of the greatest treasures any collector of coins of the United States can hope to own, and it is one of the great stories as well. How we got from a reported mintage of 17,796 for the 1822 half eagle to the current population of just three coins is an extremely interesting story. At least we think it is an extremely interesting story if anyone knows it. The problem is no one really knows the story. There certainly are possibilities. The first and perhaps most possible is that the reported mintage was inaccurate. Just how many of the 1822 half eagles carried an 1822 date is a very important question that has no answer. At the time, reporting coins with one date in the production report of a different year was not at all unusu

2020 American Innovation $1 Coin Designs Unveiled

Today, June 30, the United States Mint unveiled images of the four 2020 American Innovation dollars honoring innovations or innovators from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, and South... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

PCGS: New Die Variety for 1795 Flowing Hair Half Dollar

Professional Coin Grading Service (www.PCGS.com) has confirmed a new die marriage for the 1795 Flowing Hair Half Dollar. The coin was struck with a previously unknown obverse die and is now... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Stack’s Bowers’ June 2020 Auction Nets Over $5 Million

The Stack’s Bowers Galleries June 2020 Auction continued the trend of high prices realized recently demonstrated in their March Santa Ana and May Hong Kong auctions. Over $5 million was realized in the June sale across United States coins, tokens, and medals, achieving 114 percent of the pre-sale estimate on sold lots. (All prices listed include the buyer’s fee.) Strong demand for high-end gold coinage reflected continued growth in this collecting area, while Numismatic America also saw incredible strength, earning over 50 percent above pre-sale estimates in Internet-Only Session Three. With such strong results in their June sale, Stack’s Bowers Galleries is anticipating considerable interest in their upcoming August 2020 Auction, which will be posted online for viewing and bidding in early July. This Mint State 1824/4 O-110 Capped Bust half dollar featuring Washington and Lafayette countermarks realized $26,400. (All images courtesy Stack’s Bowers) Session One opened with Numism

James Earle Fraser and A Controversial Statue

Last week, the American Museum of Natural History requested that New York City remove the Equestrian Statue of Theodore Roosevelt at its front door. James Earle Fraser designed the statue. Since Roosevelt’s death, Fraser was asked to design three different statues honoring the 26th President with themes picked by the sponsors. The theme was chosen […]

Gold, Platinum and Palladium Rise Monday, June 29

In kicking off the new trading week Monday, silver declined while gold, platinum and palladium gained. Gold finished less than $1 away from a more than seven-year high. Gold for August delivery... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Types of Deteriorating Die Doubling

Is there more than one type of deteriorating die doubling? Inside Abraded Die Doubling is caused by wear at the edges and inside the design detail. It appears as an enlarged, irregular outline overlapping the original design element. Outside Abraded Die Doubling is caused by wear at the edges and inside actual detail. OADD does not overlap the original design.   Is the 1955 Poor Man’s Doubled Die Lincoln cent a result of hub doubling or deteriorating die doubling? The Poor Man’s 1955 doubled die cent, as well as doubling encountered on many other Lincoln cents after that date, is a result of deteriorating die doubling.   Would you clarify what is improper cleaning? Any cleaning to which a coin is subjected is improper cleaning. There is no upside to it. It will decrease the value of a coin. Don’t confuse this with restoration, which should be done by a professional service. Even restoration may not necessarily add value to a coin.   I see coins advertised as being housed in th

2020 Native American $1 Coin Available to Alaska Financial Institutions

The 2020 Native American $1 coin features a design of Elizabeth Peratrovich, a member of the Tlingit nation, whose advocacy for Alaskan Natives and an impassioned speech in the Alaskan Senate was considered a deciding factor in the passage of the 1945 Anti-Discrimination Law in the Alaskan territorial legislature. 2020 is the 75th Anniversary of Elizabeth Peratrovich’s testimony.  On Jan. 22, 2020, the Alaska State Legislature passed House Joint Resolution 9, requesting that the 2020 Native American $1 coins honoring Elizabeth Peratrovich be made available at face value to financial institutions in Alaska. The United States Mint has designed a special program to sell these coins directly to financial institutions in Alaska. The program is only offered to Alaska financial institutions. The coins are available through the Mint in rolls of 25, bags of 100 and boxes of 250, and are sold as numismatic products at a premium above face value. The minimum order is four boxes of 250 $1 Coins (

Weir Farm Quarter for Connecticut in Three-Coin Set

It has been over three weeks since the United States Mint last issued a new product for collectors. That drought ends today, June 29, with their just released 2020 Weir Farm National Historic Site... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

The Federal Reserve has printed trillions of dollars without generating runaway price inflation through the use of a neat trick…

How the Fed Gets Away with Ripping Off Ordinary Americans https://t.co/RC5VuJBAkb — Money Metals Exchange LLC (@MoneyMetals) June 29, 2020 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js How the Fed Gets Away with Ripping Off Ordinary Americans The privately owned bank cartel shovels the bulk of the money to Wall Street banks and not to the public at large. Instead of millions of Americans rushing out to bid up prices on consumer goods, a relative handful of bankers is using the free money to bid up asset prices and then pay themselves huge performance bonuses. It’s quite the racket. Fed officials have been able to point at stock prices as “proof” of how they successfully engineered an economic recovery. Wall Street is the true beneficiary of all the largesse and Main Street doesn’t ask too many questions as long as the stock market is roaring higher. Find Out More: from Precious Metals News from Gold Eagle Price – Price of Silver Oz

Weekly World Numismatic News for June 28, 2020

Somewhere along the line, logic and reality have not reconciled the meme that cash is dead because everyone uses credit cards. Although there has been an increase in credit card usage because of the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine orders, banks and retail outlets have been reporting a shortage of cash. For the most part, the […]

Coin Lots Make Collecting Fun

By Daryl Conley  I may be an atypical collector; I may even suffer a bit from ADD when it comes to collecting. Some collectors focus on a certain type or series of coin, or even certain metal content such as gold or silver. Some focus on completing an entire set, putting together a registry set, or completing a BU or MS type set. Not me. My collecting habits wander back and forth. I will get “hooked” on a certain type of coin and pursue that avenue for months or even years. But then, my mind wanders and I start looking at other types of coins. Sometimes my wanderings occur quite by accident – from articles I see in this magazine or its sister publication, some coins that someone asks me to examine for them, or a random post from eBay or other coin auction markets posted to my email. This meandering style of collecting has allowed me to amass a wide variety and quantity of coins, although most sets remain incomplete. Like most collectors, I began at a young age and acquired my first

WFM Suspension Spurs Grading Event

The American Numismatic Association announced June 17 that its 2020 World’s Fair of Money is suspended due to COVID-19 restrictions. The show was scheduled to be held Aug. 4-8 in Pittsburgh, Pa. While collectors and dealers will miss this much-anticipated annual event, they can now look forward to a special grading event from the ANA’s official grading service, Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) . NGC’s ANA Official Grading Service Event will be open to collectors and dealers from July 27 to Aug 7. During this time, NGC will apply a 20 percent discount to all submissions received under its Unlimited Value WalkThrough, WalkThrough, Express, Early Bird/Standard, Specialty Gold, Gold, and Economy grading tiers at its Sarasota, Fla., headquarters. Elite NGC Collectors Society members and NGC Authorized Dealers will receive their usual discount on top of the special 20 percent discount. Submissions for NGC’s ANA Official Grading Service Event must be received by mail directly to its

Letters to the Editor: July 14, 2020

No Coin Shows for California For the first time in many years, California does not have a single coin show in the listing section of Numismatic News . This happened in the June 23 edition. All shows this summer have been canceled amid dim prospects that public gatherings of over 10 people will be allowed by local governments. What had started out as a 14-day stay-at-home quarantine has grown to over three months as citizens refuse to abide by simple Health Department requests such as wearing face masks in public. New cases continue to predictably pop up. With good deals virtually non-existent on the internet, the advertisers in Numismatic News seem to offer coins at relatively reasonable prices these days. Local coin dealers are mostly open, some only by appointment. They continue to offer the best value for the money in a friendly atmosphere. Most California coin clubs will not hold any meetings through July. August meetings will be in limbo until a determination can be made that

CSNS Parts Ways with Chairman Foley

The Central States Numismatic Society’s board of governors has decided not to renew Convention Chairman Kevin Foley’s contract, which was set to expire June 30. Foley served as convention general chairman for decades, guiding it to its semi-permanent home in Schaumburg, Ill., in 2012 and more recently incorporating elements of the Chicago Coin Fair and the PCDA National Coin and Currency Convention into the Central States convention. After considerable discussion during a video conference meeting on May 30, the board thanked Foley for his service but voted to seek new convention leadership. President Mitch Ernst was tasked with searching for a successor. The board also voted to eliminate the bourse chairman’s position, currently held by Patricia Foley, as a cost-saving move. Faced with a projected deficit in 2021, the board anticipates trimming convention expenses and replacing some paid staffers with volunteers in an attempt to bring the budget into balance. The Central States an

Gold Ends Week Just Below More Than 7-Year High

Precious metals prices advanced Friday, padding weekly gains for gold and silver and trimming weekly losses for platinum and palladium. Gold finished the day less than $2 away from a more than... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Downward Sales Adjustments Abound

What goes up, must come down, is not how we typically look at cumulative sales figures from the U.S. Mint – but it seems to be a common thread this week. While we can’t know for sure what caused more than a dozen sales totals to come down compared to their last week totals, it could be that reconciling its numbers was a priority for the Mint this week. Many of the decreases occurred for recently added America the Beautiful products commemorating the Weir Farm National Historic Site . The 100-coin bags came down by 14 for Philadelphia, 17 for Denver and 14 for San Francisco, for a total decrease of 45 bags compared to last week. The two-roll set came down 205, the P,D,S rolls set decreased by 187, while the San Francisco roll dropped 48. But by far the largest decrease was in the Weir Farm 5-ounce silver coin: it came in with a total of 11,528 for a drop of 790 coins compared to last week. On the other end of the spectrum, the biggest sales increases this week fall in line with las

Community Voice Response: July 14, 2020

From the June 19, Numismatic News E-NewsLetter Do you think it’s a good idea for the ANA to relocate the 2020 World’s Fair of Money to another state? Here are some answers sent from our e-newsletter readers.   Yes, they should move it if they can have a show this year. Lee Quast High Ridge, Mo.   No, it’s not a great idea. I believe 2020 coin conventions and many other social activities should just be written off entirely. Name and Address Withheld   Well, here we go again. Since some major dealers within the American Numismatic Association (ANA) have another missed business opportunity, they are offering “straws.” It is no different than career politicians with ifs, ands, maybes, and buts. Accept the reality of a damaged present society struggling with the twin crises: the pandemic and the breaking down of civil order. Poll your memberships – lest the elites within the ANA forget that the ANA is a membership organization – and inquiry their observations. As for relocatin

Coin Shortage to Give Market a Bump

By Richard Giedroyc First we had the coronavirus. Then we had the economic shutdown to try to stop the rapid spread of the disease. Now we have a circulating coin shortage. The first two, the disease and its economic fallout, each resulted in an uptick in people wanting to collect or invest in coins. The coin shortage has only recently been announced, but logic indicates that you may want to fasten your seat belt. The market for coins, be it hobby or investment, is likely to be bumped up yet another notch by the announcement of a nationwide shortage of new coins for circulation. Yes, it appears coins have joined toilet paper and medical masks as being a scarce commodity. Some stores are now asking people to give exact change when paying cash since the change they otherwise get back might be in the form of candy or gum. As Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on June 17, “… the flow of coins through the economy has gotten all – it’s kind of stopped!” With the spot price of g

Historical Monuments printed on Indian Currency

India has a magnificent history. All of it is beautifully reflected in the architecture and monuments that the country is adorned with. Some of them are as old as a thousand long years.  Historical Monuments printed on Indian Currency will give you an overview of the country’s illustrious past. Let’s take a tour then! After the demonetization of the Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes on November 8, 2016, we’ve seen 7 new currency notes from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).  The new  Indian banknotes  with value 100, 200 and 500 rupees depict three of the most beautiful Historical Monuments. Rani Ki Vav on 100 Rupees Banknote     Rani Ki Vav or ‘Queen’s Stepwell’ is a distinctive form of water storage system located in the small town of Gujarat called Patan, on the banks of River Saraswati. Being one of the prominent attractions of Gujarat, Rani ki Vav is visited by a lot of tourists. The architecture and historical relevance of this beautiful stepwell are commendable. This astoni

U.S. Coin Production Tops 904 Million in May

U.S. coin production picked up in May but registered below the 1 billion level for a third straight month, according to the latest manufacturing figures from the United States Mint. The Mint... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

New special-edition Red Book celebrating the 1920–2020 centennial of the Manila Mint is sold out!

The front cover, back cover, and spine of the 1920–2020 Manila Mint special edition distinguish it from the regular-edition Red Book. 260 copies were printed; 48 were damaged in transit, leaving 212 for sale to collectors. The issue sold out within six weeks. Hover to zoom. (Pelham, AL) — The 74th edition of the coin-collecting hobby’s annual Guide Book of United States Coins (popularly known as the “Red Book”) debuted in April 2020. A special limited edition of 212 copies was released with a custom goldfoil-stamped cover and a tip-in sheet celebrating the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Manila Mint. The limited print run sold out within six weeks. Sales of the special edition support the educational mission of the Philippine Collectors Forum. The so-called Wilson dollar of 1920, struck to commemorate the opening of the Manila Mint. Its reverse design is featured on the front cover of the Manila Mint special-edition Red Book. (Photos courtesy of Stack’s Bowers Galleries).