Jan 16, 2010 | books, cents, coin design, dollar, state quarters, technology
The start of the new year was met with a lot of work. While I should be happy to be busy, I would like some time to continue to write this blog. It is relaxing and I enjoy sharing my numismatic experience, thoughts, and other stories with my readers. I thank you for reading and hope to pick up the pace on my writing soon.
For now, here are a few short items that have been on my mind.
Starting the last week of the year, I have been seeing more of the 2009 Lincoln Bicentennial Cent in circulation, particularly the Formative Years or Log Splitter cents. During one shopping trip, a cashier opened a new roll of cents and included three new Log Splitter cents in my change.
I have also been seeing a few of the DC and Territories Quarters. Most of the quarters I have received in changed honor The Northern Mariana Islands. Its distinctive latte stone makes it very distinctive to notice at a glance. Interestingly, I have yet to receive a DC Quarter in change from stores in the DC area.
The US Mint has released the new Native American $1 Coin. This year’s theme is “Government–The Great Tree of Peace” featuring five bound arrows and the Hiawatha Belt. The design looks much better in hand than in the images I have seen, even those from the US Mint. It must be the gold color of the manganese, but the design seems to have a bold yet artistic feel that the US Mint should consider submitting for the next Coin of the Year competition.
Over the past few weeks I have read a few interesting numismatic books that I would like to report on. One of those books is Fascinating Facts, Mysteries & Myths About U.S. Coins by Robert R. Van Ryzin. I thought it was pretty good book but I have a caveat that I will report on in the near future.
It seems that numismatics is one of the last industries to fully embrace technology. There have been some advancements that I want to talk about. One of them are the electronic books by Krause Publications. Whether you download their information or purchase a CD or DVD of their books, the people at Krause have taken an interesting step into electronic publishing. Also, some have also embraced the iPhone as a platform for bringing numismatic information to the masses. I recently downloaded a numismatic-related iPhone application that I will write about after I crash it a few times!
As an aside, I am going to use my new 27-inch iMac to write a few iPhone applications of my own. Stanford University has a course teaching how to program the iPhone. The course is available through the iTunes store and sample code from the course’s website. I hope to use what I learn to create my own apps. I also hope that other readers who have a technical background and access to an Intel-based Mac to follow along with the course and create other apps for numismatists.
I hope everyone had a good holiday season. Now let’s get to collecting!
Aug 9, 2008 | ANA, awards, Baltimore, books, CCAC, shows
I heard many reports of a successful World’s Fair of Money, I wish I was able to attend other days. Unfortunately, with it being two-and-a-half weeks after knee surgery, I was not able to recover in order to make a return trip. So I took the week off to recover and allow my knee to heal. But I had a few thoughts I would like to share.
First, congratulations are in order for Roger W. Burdette. On Tuesday, July 29, the US Mint announced that Roger was appointed to the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee. Roger was appointed to a four-year term as the member with a special background in numismatics. Roger is a noted numismatic researcher and author. His three-volume series, Renaissance of American Coinage have been met with critical acclaim.
To add to the acclaim for Renaissance of American Coinage, the third published volume, second in the series, covering 1909-1915 has won the 2008 Book of the Year from the Numismatic Literary Guild. With this year’s recognition, all three volumes have won Book of the Year honors (1905-1908 volume in 2007 and 1916-1921 volume in 2006). I highly recommend all three books for anyone with an interest in numismatics!
I was able to spend a lot of time in the area where the international mints were located. I visited with the Royal Mint and was able to purchase the The Royal Shield of Arms and Emblems of Britain Brilliant Uncirculated Collection and a 2008 One Ounce Britannia Bullion £2 coin. What was more interesting was interesting was talking with the 20-something Royal Mint employees. Not only were the accents intriguing, but they were more excited about going shopping. They noticed the same thing that I did many years ago when traveling to the UK, the numbers of the prices were the same but in different currency. So they were excited to pay $45 instead of £45 for jeans. At the current exchange rate, clothes were half-price. I hope they returned to London with a suitcase full of nice clothes!
Sometimes, it is easy to ridicule the Royal Canadian Mint for the large number of non-circulating collectable legal tender (NCLT) coins they produce. When viewing their catalog or other online images, some of the coins have a comical look to them. However, when seeing them in person in their display case. I was not impressed with the coin that is a recreation of an old milk token and some of the full color coins, but those that use color as an access where very beautiful.
My only regret was not picking up a stuffed moose and beaver that was offered at the Royal Canadian Mint booth. They were very cute, albeit expensive, and were dressed in the traditional Royal Canadian Mounted Police dress uniform. My niece and nephew would have loved these fuzzy buddies as gifts.
At the table for the Austrian Mint after Austrian Railway commemoratives caught my eye, I had a conversation with a heavily accented mint employee about their coins. While they have not produced any colorize coins, that will change in the future. It is felt that using color accents on coins help promote interests with new collectors. Interestingly, this Australian Mint employee said that the US Mint may be the last mint to issue colorized coins. He felt that the US Mint takes a parochial view on coin design that make significant change reticent. Although he understood the political process behind US coinage, he cited the lack of bimetallic coinage as part of that inability to think beyond their comfort zone. It was an interesting conversation.
Finally, I was able to meet Bob Van Ryzin, editor of Bank Note Reporter and host of Coin Chat Radio. We talked a little about Coin Chat Radio and how they would handle broadcasts from the show. I also ran into Dave Harper, editor of Numismatic News and World Coin News. I promised him I would not tell everyone that I found him eating cake at the Industry Council For Tangible Assets (ICTA)—so don’t say anything! The few times I met Dave, he always seems to be happy. I guess it helps when you have a great job like his!
Next for the ANA is the National Money Show next March in Portland, Oregon. I have been to Portland once and enjoyed my time. It is a nice city with a small-town feel that is appealing. Besides, Oregon has no state sales tax, which makes shopping that much cheaper!
May 17, 2008 | books
Krause Publications, the publisher of the Standard Catalog of World Coins series of guides, is now offering a 15-percent discount on all purchases of coin and currency books from their online store through May 30. Use Promo Code NNWB58 during checkout to receive the savings.
The is for information only. I have no connection with Krause Publications nor am I being paid for this announcement.
Dec 14, 2007 | books, coins, supplies
I received an email note from Whitman Publishing announcing new items including Lincoln Head Penny and Buffalo Nickel Tribute Edition Coin Boards. For those who do not know, coin boards preceded the ubiquitous blue folders for collecting coins. Whitman’s Tribute Boards are 11×16 boards using the same style as Whitman used in the 1930s. The Lincoln board set consists of two boards to hold 90 coins each covering the Wheat Cent era (1909-1958). The Buffalo Nickel board is a single board that holds 80 coins. It is a very interesting and fun revival of numismatic history.
To make this the ultimate numismatic gift, pair the boards with David Lange’s Coin Collecting Boards of the 1930s & 1940s and now you have a great gift for the numismatist in your life! To buy the book, go to www.coincollectingboards.com and buy the book autographed directly from Dave Lange. Autographed book and coin boards… how cool is that!
Aside from the new A Guidebook of Lincoln Cents by Q. David Bowers (does he do anything else but write books?), Whitman is offering free shipping for orders placed before December 18, free items depending on how much you spend, and a free copy of Bowers’ Inside Story of the State Quarters for all orders.
Remember, Wednesday was the last day of Chanukah and it’s 11 days until Christmas. I hope this helped.
The US Mint has released the new Native American $1 Coin. This year’s theme is “Government–The Great Tree of Peace” featuring five bound arrows and the Hiawatha Belt. The design looks much better in hand than in the images I have seen, even those from the US Mint. It must be the gold color of the manganese, but the design seems to have a bold yet artistic feel that the US Mint should consider submitting for the next Coin of the Year competition.
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