Jun 28, 2018 | coins, dollar, legislative, US Mint
Presidential $1 Coin Common Reverse
The next step is that the bill is engrossed, which means that it will be printed in its final form and signed by the Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan (R-WI), and the President Pro Tempore of the senate, Orrin Hatch (R-UT), certifying that the printed bill has been approved by both chambers of commerce.
Once signed, the bill is sent to the White House for the President’s signature.
If this bill was not on your radar, it requires the coins use the same Manganese-Brass composition as all dollar coins struck since 2000 with the edge lettering consisting of the year, mintmark, and the national motto E PLURIBUS UNUM. The obverse will be “a likeness of the Statue of Liberty extending to the rim of the coin and large enough to provide a dramatic representation of Liberty.” The reverse will be emblematic of an innovation, innovator, or a group of innovators significant to that state or territory.
If the president signs this bill, and there is no reason why he would veto this biil, then the program will begin in 2019.
Jun 25, 2018 | books, coins, currency, poll
While shipping several packages of Red Books to customers, I was thinking about the number of people who buy these and other guides. With the state of the industry changing from an IRL (in real life) experience to one more online, I wonder how many people are still using printed guides.
As I thought about doing this as a poll, I started gathering some of the resources that could be considered. That is when I realized that on my overflowing bookshelf I have many of these publications! I never thought I had an extensive numismatic library but the numismatic books outnumber my tech books. Now that I am retired from the tech industry, it might be time to let the tech books go, especially the out of date books.
This list serves two purposes. One is to list the general resources for numismatic pricing of mainly coins and currency. The other purpose is to provide a list of resources that others can use to build their own library. It also will serve as the categories I will use for the poll, below.
Here are is a list of pricing references that I either own or found online:
Annual books for United States coins
Annual books for foreign coins
Periodical Pricing Guides
- Coin Dealer Newsletter
- NumisMedia Weekly Market Price Guide
United States Currency Guide Books
Foreign Currency Guide Books
Online Guides
Today’s question is…
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NOTE: The links for all the books (except the Lighthouse Euro Catalog) leads to Abe Books. They are affiliate links. If you buy from Abe Books I make a few cents on the sale. Whatever affiliate money I earn from Abe Books is used to help pay the bills I receive for the blog including hosting and keeping the domain name registered. Of course you can buy your books from any source. However, using the affiliate link would be appreciated.
Jun 24, 2018 | coins, commentary, dollar, news
On June 20, 1988, the Royal Australian Mint replaced its two dollar currency note with a coin. This year, they are celebrating the coin’s 30th anniversary. It was introduced four years after replacing the dollar paper note with a coin (1984).
Similarly, the Royal Mint introduced the one-pound coin in 1983 and the Bank of England stopped issuing one-pound currency in 1984.
The Royal Canadian Mint introduced the dollar coin, nicknamed the Loonie, in 1987 while the Bank of Canda ceased issuing the paper dollar.
The euro entered began circulating as a continental currency beginning in January 2002. When it was introduced, they issued one- and two-euro coins and the lowest denomination paper currency was the 5 euro note.
According to the International Monetary Fund, after the United States, the European Union has the world’s second largest economy even though it is not ranked as a country. When considering countries, the second largest economy is China followed by Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Canada is the world’s tenth largest economy.
Of the Top Ten, only the United States and China issue their unit currency as paper. However, because of economic controls and exchange rate, most of the Chinese economy is based on the Renminbi (the People’s Money). Small change is popular in urban areas and paper is more common in rural areas.
But the Chinese economy is heavily regulated within the country. Of the Top 20 economies identified by the International Monetary Fund, only the United States and China issues its unit currency as paper notes. Most countries issue a note of two of their base units and many are considering replacing their five unit note with a coin.
Yet the United States, the country with the largest economy on earth, the one that people say should be the leader lags behind every country except China by producing a one dollar paper note.
The lack of paper currency has not hurt these other economies. In fact, it helps because coins last longer than paper currency. Also, it is better for the government because, for every one-dollar coin produced, the government makes 68-cents in seignorage (with the dollar coins costing an estimated 32-cents each to produce).
Replacing paper mone with the coin does not seem to have hurt other economies, yet the issue raises the ire of some who wants to call this a conspiracy against the people. It makes economic sense to move in this direction and should we not be all in favor of doing things in our own economic benefit?
And now the news…
June 19, 2018
The durability of the $2 coin means it could be around for decades to come, despite Australia’s shift towards a cashless society. 
→ Read more at abc.net.au
June 20, 2018
Sofia. 34,000 fake coins were found in the home of the main member of a criminal group involved in counterfeit money making and distribution, prosecutor Nikolay Dimitrov said during a briefing. → Read more at focus-fen.net
June 20, 2018
A sterling effort in more ways than one. → Read more at breakingnews.ie
June 21, 2018
A graduate of Glenwood High School in Chatham designed Illinois’ bicentennial coin, which is available for preorder for $45 on the state treasurer’s website. → Read more at ilnews.org
June 21, 2018
Residents in Puerto Rico were left without power for months after Hurricane Maria pummeled Puerto Rico, and experts estimate that around 4,640 people died. But the Environmental Protection Agency thinks it did an A-plus job responding to the disaster. → Read more at thehill.com
June 23, 2018
On this day in 1775, the Second Continental Congress issued $2 million in bills of credit. → Read more at politico.com
June 23, 2018
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) and Crane Currency on June 22 signed the Agreement of Cooperation in the field of currency production, the central bank’s press service reports. → Read more at ukrinform.net
June 24, 2018
Under President Trump, once stately medallions have gotten glitzier, and at least one featured a Trump property. Ethics watchdogs are worried. → Read more at nytimes.com
Jun 23, 2018 | Baltimore, commentary, shows
Usually, I would have a bit of excitement as the Whitman Baltimore Expo is to be held this weekend. After my previous experiences, not only am I not excited, I am not going.
When Whitman bought the Baltimore Coin and Currency Expo, they did a good job making a destination show on the east coast. It looked like they added some resources and injected new ideas that make a good show better.
But it seems to have plateaued.
For the last few years, if you did not go to this show on Thursday or Friday, the number of dealers staying around has diminished to the point of not being worth attending over the weekend.
If you work or have other conflicts then you might want to consider not wasting your time.
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The view standing between Halls B and C at the Baltimore Convention Center for the March 25, 2018 Whitman Expo
In my case, I have a lot of work to do in setting up a new business. I will be in the shop all morning and will be waiting for someone to deliver some display items in the afternoon. I have to finish setting up by Monday so that the final occupancy inspection can take place—the county wants to ensure that the place is accessible according to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). I cannot open the shop without this inspection completed.
I could take the time to go up on Sunday, but the last time I did that I counted less than 25 dealers. It is not worth the 42-mile one-way trip with the cost of gas going up and the tolls.
And it does not seem that Whitman is trying to improve the situation.
Sure, they added “**Limited Dealers**” to their schedule but that does not warn the visitor that in two or three convention center halls there will be less than 25 dealers.
If I wait until next Saturday I can go to a local show and see more than 25 dealers. It will be a shorter drive, no tolls, and the dealers are closer together so that I will not waste my time crossing empty aisles.
This is really sad because I have always considered this “my show.” My show is dying and I do not know if Whitman really cares!
Jun 22, 2018 | coins, dollar, legislative
2018 Native American $1 Coin featuring Jim Thorpe
On Wednesday, June 20, the Senate passed the American Innovation $1 Coin Act (H.R. 770) by a unanimous voice vote. However, since the bill was amended by the Senate, the bill has to go back to the House of Representatives to approve the amendment or it will have to go to a conference committee and back to each chamber for a vote.
The amendment changes the order of issuance from alphabetical order to the order that the state entered the union followed by the District of Columbia and the territories. This was the same order uses for the 50 State Quarters program.
If the House approves the amendment, it is sent to the President for his signature.
If signed, the 14-year program will honor “American innovation and significant innovation and pioneering efforts of individuals or groups from each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the United States territories.” Four dollar coins will be issued each year and not circulate alongside the Native American Dollar coin.
The bill requires the coins use the same Manganese-Brass composition as all dollar coins struck since 2000 with the edge lettering consisting of the year, mintmark, and the national motto E PLURIBUS UNUM. The obverse will be “a likeness of the Statue of Liberty extending to the rim of the coin and large enough to provide a dramatic representation of Liberty.” The reverse will be emblematic of an innovation, innovator, or a group of innovators significant to that state or territory.
I wish I could get excited about this series but it will not even raise an eyebrow as long as it does not circulate. And the only way it will circulate is if Congress votes to eliminate the one-dollar Federal Reserve Note. Unfortunately, the likelihood of that happening is slim-to-none and Slim just left town!
Jun 20, 2018 | coins, quarter, silver
One of the reasons why I continue to search through my change every day is because there will always be something cool to find.
After coming home from a long day setting up my new store, I emptied my pockets so that I could wash the jeans I was wearing. As I dumped the change on my dresser there was a different but distinct sound. It is the sound that could have only been made by a silver coin.
It was a day where I made two trips to a local home improvement and office supply stores. I paid using cash for all of these trips.
As a side note for those who have not quite reached the age that you can join the AARP, some of us still use cash. Other than for security of my personal information (remember, I used to be in the information security business), it allows me to collect change that I can search for something cool.
Flipping the coins over I was looking for that distinctive gray of a worn silver coin. Then it appeared. A well-traveled 1952 Washington Quarter.
It’s worn, has some rim dings, the rim on the reverse is flattened to where it is bleeding into the letters, but it is something you usually do not find in change.
It is not worth much as a collectible but it has about $2.95 worth of silver.
I am going to drop it in the coin bank I use for some of my more interesting finds and keep it for a while.`
Jun 17, 2018 | coins, foreign, gold, news
Thomas Rawlins Oxford Crown coin that minted in 1644. Only 100 of these coins were produced under the reign of Charles I.
(Image courtesy of The Sun.)
Workers cleaning out the cellar in an abandoned home in Brittany, a northwest region in France, discovered a shell-shaped container that rattled when shaken. Inside the container were 600 Belgian gold coins dated 1870. The obverse of the coins had the portrait of Leopold II, then the reigning monarch of Belgium.
Local media reported that the coins could be worth 100,000 euros or about $116,000 at the current exchange rate.
As reigning monarch in Belgium, as democratic reforms were sweeping through Europe, Leopold II had little power except to expand his empire. He did so by using explorer Henry Morton Stanley to help him lay claim to the Congo. Leopold was a harsh ruler in the Congo as he depleted the country of its two major resources: ivory and rubber. After, gaining a fortune Leopold basically went on a spending spree.
By 1908, Leopold was forced to give up control of the Congo to be managed as a legitimate Belgium colony. Belguim Congo gained independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo.
There have been several hoards of Belgium gold coins from the Leopold II era that has been driving down the price of all coins. Add that European history does not portray him well makes his reign very unpopular.
The other find was by a woman in Hull, or more properly, Kingston upon Hull in the United Kingdom. She was cleaning out her loft and found a coin collection she inherited from her grandfather. She offered the coins to her children but they declined, believing the coins were junk.
Wanting to know more, she went to get the coins appraised and found that she had a Thomas Rawlins Oxford Crown coin that minted in 1644. Only 100 of these coins were produced under the reign of Charles I. It has an estimated value of £100,00 ($132,729 at the current exchange rate).
The lesson we should learn is to find those old boxes, containers, tins, or anything else that was given to you by a relative and do not assume it is junk. Have them appraised because you never know what you might find!
And now the news…
June 10, 2018
©Belga Demolition workers in the French town of Pont-Aven in Brittany have uncovered a fortune in Belgian gold coins worth €100,000. The coins date back to 1870, and show the notorious king Leopold II on the reverse. → Read more at brusselstimes.com
June 11, 2018
French gendarmes say workers paid to demolish an uninhabited house in Brittany made an unexpected discovery in the cellar — 600 gold coins. The Pont-Aven gendarmerie said the workers discovered the coins after rattling a mysterious, shell-shaped container. → Read more at abc.net.au
June 12, 2018
Liza Minnelli famously sang about the role of money in the award-winning Broadway play Cabaret, saying “Money makes the world go round.” Oscar Wilde cleverly wrote about it, as well, stating “When I was young, I used to think that money was the most important thing in life. Now that I am old, I know it is.” → Read more at jasper52.com
June 13, 2018
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A one of a kind 18th century gold coin bearing the likeness of the first U.S. President, George Washington, is expected to fetch more than $1 million when it goes up for auction in August, auctioneers said on Wednesday. → Read more at in.reuters.com
June 13, 2018
A GRANDMOTHER found a rare 17th century coin worth £100,000 in a box of junk she was about to dump. The 69-year-old from Hull was clearing out her loft when she discovered the Thomas Rawlins Oxford Crown coin, minted in 1644. → Read more at thesun.co.uk
June 13, 2018
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has released the designs of its commemorative banknotes and coins for Nelson Mandela’s birth centenary, ahead of the launch on July 13. The central bank on Wednesday issued a statement indicating that test packs of the commemorative notes were made available to the cash industry to make preparations for cash processing, cash dispensing machines and ticket machines, among other things. → Read more at fin24.com
June 16, 2018
Family Fortunes: A sniper shot and seriously wounded him in east Belfast in 1922 → Read more at irishtimes.com
June 16, 2018
A one of a kind 18th century gold coin bearing the likeness of the first U.S. President, George Washington, is expected to fetch more than $1 million when it goes up for auction in August, auctioneers said on Wednesday. → Read more at reuters.com
Jun 11, 2018 | coins, fun
During a quick diversion on Facebook after posting a job for my new business, I found this post. I think it is appropriate for everyone!
I hope your Monday was as exciting as finding an Indian Head cent in your coin roll!
If not, have another cup of coffee and try again on Tuesday! 😉
Jun 10, 2018 | coins, exonumia, news
Elongated 2013 Fort McHenry quarter that was part of the Maryland Token and Medal Society souvenir card
This is where our article feature article, “Pressing Memories: Pursuing elongated coins won’t break the bank,” in Antique Trader is appropriate. It tells the story about the origin or elongated coins and the current market for these coins.
One way to consider collecting elongated coins is to collect them based on where you have been. While some people will buy postcards or lapel pins to collect as souvenirs, elongated coins can be less expensive and have even more variety than gift shop fare.
You can find the machines with the cranks that will create elongated coins in a lot of museums, theme parks, and even in on the Disney properties. Most machines charge 51-cents to $1.01 to squish and imprint a design on the one-cent coin you pay for the service. Almost all of the machines are mechanical where you do the work. They also will only elongate cents. There are a few machines that are more automated that can elongate almost any coin.
Having played around with a few of these machines, the best coin to use is one of the copper-plated zinc cents (post-1982) that is red-brown in color with more red than brown. Very shiny coins look too artificial and the design seems to get lost on brown cents. One of the reasons not to use the all-copper cents is that the rich brown that makes those cents attractive does not look as good when squished.
If you start to collect elongated coins you may consider joining The Elongated Collectors (TEC) organization. Considering that elongated coins are fun collectibles, TEC has to be a fun group. Join in and have fun!
And now the news…
June 1, 2018
By Karen Knapstein You don’t need to have an interest in coin collecting to get started in coin collecting. If you are a traveler, a fun-seeker, a keeper of mementos from family outings or historical events, creating and collecting elongated pennies may be a good fit for you. → Read more at antiquetrader.com
June 3, 2018
Before you tell me I am cuckoo, allow me to introduce Ian Watt. The 70-year-old from the United Kingdom has made the enormous amount of money in a very peculiar way. Mr Watt’s fortune has come from him never walking past a coin on the ground, with the eagle-eyed dad collecting almost a million of lost coins in his travels. → Read more at news.com.au
June 4, 2018
Patna: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in view of the coin glut in Bihar, said on Monday that the central government was encouraging use of coins, and it was receiving two to four truckloads of coins daily in Patna to be distributed across the state through banks. → Read more at telegraphindia.com
June 5, 2018
(Kitco News) – The gold market continues to struggle with weak bullion demand as the Royal Canadian Mint reported a more than 50% drop in sales in the first quarter of 2018. In its first-quarter earnings report, released last week, the Canadian mint said that gold volume dropped to 108.5 thousand ounces in the first quarter, down from 228.2 thousand ounces reported in the first quarter of 2017. → Read more at kitco.com
June 5, 2018
The Singapore Mint has released a limited-edition set of medallions to commemorate the historic first summit between a sitting U.S. president, Donald Trump, and a North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, scheduled in the island state for June 12. → Read more at newsweek.com
June 8, 2018
Exploration company Golden Predator plans to start selling the coins — about $1,800 for a one-ounce coin — later this month. → Read more at cbc.ca
June 9, 2018
The Mint continues to tap in to its creativity and innovation to further unleash the → Read more at globalbankingandfinance.com
Jun 9, 2018 | coins, copper, investment, medals
Keeping with this week’s theme of sports on coins, a company named Baseball Treasure (at baseballtreasure.com) created baseball “coins,” technically medals, representative of all 30 teams. Each team is represented by one player whose likeness will appear on the medals.
These medals are licensed by Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association.
Most of the medals are made from one ounce of copper. The medals are mounted on a baseball-card-sized cardboard card with player highlights, similar to what you would see on a baseball card.
The medals are sold in packs of three, six, and nine—or you will receive multiple packs of three medals. You can buy a box containing 36-packs. Assuming a pack contains three medals, their “Treasure Chest” contains 108 medals. For $3,000 you can buy a 12 box package with 432 packs containing 15,552 medals.
According to their website, one in every 432 packs will have a version of the medal made in .999 silver. Silver medals have been struck for each of the 30 players.
If you want to go for the gold, one in every 21,600 packs contains a specially marked medal redeemable for a gold medal featuring Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees. This was created to commemorate his rookie record of 52 home in the 2017 season.
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José Altuve of the Houston Astros Copper Medal
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Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers Silver Medal
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Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees Gold Medal
For those who are into trivia and would like to win a silver medal, they will post a clue on social media with the answer being a major league team. If you want more information, visit their #JoinTheHunt webpage for more information.
Previously, Upper Deck created hockey coins that they sold for $100 per coin on a virtual basis. While you could request the physical coin, they created a system to buy and trade these medals. There was also the chase to find the gold versions in this series.
The hockey coins are legal tender coins in the Cook Islands.
I had interviewed the Vice President involved in the program and just could not bring myself to write about the interview because I was very skeptical about how the program worked. Initially, they were sold in what they called e-Packs, virtual packages that would be held by Upper Deck. From the e-pack website, collectors can trade with each other.
One of my issues with this program is that they are sold blind packaged like baseball cards. You do not know what is in the package until it is opened. At $100 you can receive either a one-ounce silver coin, one-ounce high relief coin, one-ounce silver frosted coin, or a quarter-ounce gold coins. It would be a real bargain if you received a gold. It would be a worse deal than many Royal Canadian Mint silver coins otherwise.
Visiting their website recently, there is an option to purchase the coins at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) throughout Canada. There is no option to physically purchase coins in the United States except through the e-pack website.
These coins must be selling well enough for Upper Deck to continue the program.
In both cases, I am just not impressed with either program.
Both programs are over-priced.
The Baseball Treasure program is selling one-ounce of copper medals at $6.65 each. With the current copper price of $3.2858 per pound, each coin contains 20.5-cents of metals. The rest is packaging, licensing, and distribution. Even so, that is a 3,123,9-percent markup that you may never make up on the secondary market if you were to lose interest, especially since this is a medal and not a legal tender coin.
Of course, it is a better deal if you found a silver or gold medal. Then again, part of the markup to the copper medal is subsidizing the silver and gold medals. Without knowing how many medals or packages are being produced, it is difficult to determine how much of the $6.65 price is subsidizing the gold and silver.
Baseball Treasure’s program is certainly a more interesting idea than the Upper Deck Hockey Coin Program. It is more affordable and carries less risk. The Treasure Hunt also looks like fun and maybe something I will look into. But for now, it is not something I will collect. But if you do be aware that the copper medals may not return much more than $1-2 on the secondary market, depending on the price of copper.
