Weekly World Numismatic News for June 9, 2019
The delay in the report was because I was traveling home from seeing my nephew graduate from high school. Although high school graduation may seem like something that did not require a long trip, it was necessary for me to see my nephew graduate. Since he is classified as “special needs,” this was a huge event in his life.
Although a stupid rule prevented him from graduating with honors (they moved in the middle of the year and did not spend enough time at the school), he did qualify for an academic award that covers all four years of high school. The award was a medal, which he wore along with an academic honor rope.
Medals are an interesting part of numismatics. They are not a currency but has been used as such. They have no value, but we attach importance to them. Medals come in all shapes and sizes and have their appeal.
Award medals are usually happy. They represent an accomplishment and in many cases worn as a proud sign of that accomplishment. Even medals awarded posthumously that provide reminders of the departed are appreciated because it represents the good within that person.
Medals may be one of the most underappreciated areas of numismatics. Maybe that should change. It might cause more people to become interested in the hobby.
And now the news…
June 3, 2019Details of a new collectable coin series was announced today by the Royal Australian Mint to celebrate 50 years since Neil Armstrong took “one giant leap for mankind”. 
→ Read more at news.com.au
June 5, 2019The use of smaller coin denominations is gradually becoming extinct as many… → Read more at ghanaweb.com
June 5, 2019Dear Reader, As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. → Read more at jpost.com
June 6, 2019The coin sold for five times its estimate. A 30-year-old British man with a metal detector came across a small 24-carat gold coin the size of a penny this past March. Yesterday, it sold at auction for $700,000. → Read more at news.artnet.com
June 6, 2019When it comes to honoring troops who made the ultimate sacrifice as they gained victory during the Normandy landings, it’s not partisan. House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) is partnering with Rep. → Read more at ijr.com
June 7, 2019THESSALONIKI, Greece – Police in central Greece have arrested a man suspected of dealing in illegally excavated antiquities who had allegedly placed an advert to sell ancient coins on a Greek website for second-hand items. → Read more at foxnews.com
June 8, 2019It started with a hiker who plucked two curious objects from a bit of scattered trash, a discovery that launched months of speculation and investigation. Each wafer-thin bit of metal — one about the size of a quarter, the other a dime — bore strange inscriptions on either side, worn nearly smooth over time. → Read more at azcentral.com
WARNING ABOUT FAKE SLABS
Numismatic Guarantee Corporation (NGC) posted a message on its website (and in PDF) warning about counterfeit NGC slabs being on popular on line auctions sites from overseas. NGC’s message points out checking the serial number of the slab is not enough since the counterfeiter is matching the number with the coin information from NGC. There are subtle differences in the label that requires careful inspection rather than a passing glance.
Images of the fake NGC and ANACS slabs was posted by UtahCoin on the Collectors Universe forms then posted on the Collectors Society forums. It has been a hot discussion item since. It is important to note that only the old ANACS slabs were counterfeited, not the new Clearview holders.
No comment was made by ANACS. In fact, no news has come from ANACS since the official announcement of their sale to James Taylor.
UPDATED: As part of the announcement, NGC disclosed that they will be introducing a new holder sometime during 2008. The new holder will have new anti-counterfeiting mechanisms that addresses many of the issues found in this incident.
User braddick on the Collectors Society forums found images of a slab from a Chinese company resembling those used by the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS). It is speculated that it will be a matter of time before fake PCGS slabs are offered for sale.
Although it is not proper to stereotype, recent record of China-based sellers has demonstrated a great majority of rare, key, and semi-key date coins are either fake or significantly altered to look better to the detriment of their numismatic value. It highlights the axiom, “if it looks too good to be true, it probably is not true!”
The Negative Price of Gold
With the price of gold rising above $866, it has surpassed the record high of $850 set in January 1980. Some market watchers have show some irrational exuberance with predictions about where the price is going and what investors may consider. Few have picked up on the actual worth of gold by today’s standard is worth less than in 1980 and not as exciting as it is being made out to be.
Let me explain… money is a commodity that is traded openly on the markets. As a commodity, it is bought and sold by investors whose value is based on how the market perceives the strength of its buying power. When prices go up as the purchasing market demands more to meet its obligation, the value of the commodity goes down. Other factors include the amount of money in circulation and the return on the investments made with that money. This is why the dollar has taken a beating since the beginning of the mortgage crisis as the Federal Reserve Board of Governors adds liquidity (more money) to the market to stimulate growth.
The impact of inflation on money is the difference in its buying power. Thus, if you wanted to have the same buying power that $1 would buy in 1980, you would have to spend $2.55 today. In simple terms, you are paying 155-percent more for goods and services today than you were paying in 1980. When looking at the numbers, investors should consider the impact of inflation when purchasing a commodity like gold.
Since this is about gold, if we look at it in terms of buying power, if you bought gold at its record high price of $850 in 1980 and held it until today, the price of that gold adjusted for inflation is $2,168.09. Which means that if you sold that gold at today’s market price of $866, you would have made $16 in real dollars, but you would have lost $1,302 in your economic buying power.
As an interesting side note, under the current tax law you would have to pay capital gains tax on the $16 “profit.”
Commodities is a very difficult market to earn a good return on investment. Professionals get higher returns by trading shares, futures, and other financial instruments based on the commodity. Owning gold as a bullion investment is very risky. Numismatic gold may be different in that its price can also be tied to the numismatic value of the coin and not just the metal value. I am sure the owners of coins like 1907 and 1927-D Saint Gaudens Double Eagles would agree!
Before I wrap up this posting, the highest price for oil in 1980 was $38 per barrel. Adjusting for inflation, that would be equivalent to buying oil at around $96 per barrel. Interestingly, that is about the average for the cost of oil today. Economically, if we are using 1980 as the benchmark, we are not paying any more for a barrel of oil today than we did in 1980. Although other market factors impacts the economy differently today, think about the economic climate that may affect the 2008 elections and those that had an impact in 1980.
Calculations were made using the inflation calculator at the Bureau of Labor Statistics
How Coins Are Minted
If you think of the US Mint as the largest manufacturer of coins, the Royal Canadian Mint may be the largest manufacturer of non-circulating legal tender (NCLT) coins. Sure, the RCM does mint circulating coinage for Canada, but a visit to their website will introduce you to a comprehensive catalog of NCLT coins commemorating everything Canadian or international themes that affect Canada.
The RCM uses a different process than the US Mint to strike NCLT coins. The US system is more automated than the RCM uses. A friend sent a link to the following video about the minting process at the RCM from the Discovery Channel. I thought it was worth sharing. Enjoy!
Third Party Grading Service Turmoil
Turmoil has hit the third party grading services making the status of a sector of the industry tenuous at best. It started in September when PCI announced that J.T. Stanton had left PCI. In December, it was discovered that all tangible and intangible assets of PCI will be sold by auction. Assets will be sold to the highest bidder at an “Absolute Public Auction.” The auction will be conducted by Gravitt Auction, Inc. of Chattanooga, Tennessee on Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 12:00PM EST in the PCI offices in Rossville, Georgia. PCI continues to operate and accepting submissions for coin grading.
The next big story was the wholesale firing of its entire Austin, Texas staff at ANACS. We first learned of the firings from postings on the Collectors Society and Collectors Universe public message boards on December 26. Within two days it was announced that Dynamic Force LLC, of Englewood, Colorado, purchased ANACS from Anderson Press, the parent company of Whitman Publishing. The sale price was not disclosed. Dynamic Force is the company owned by renown grader James Taylor.
Two years ago, Taylor helped Anderson Press move ANACS from Ohio to Austin, Texas. Once the move was completed, Taylor then left ANACS to return to his home in Colorado to be CEO of ICG. Now that Taylor owns ANACS, he will move the company to Englewood and expects to re-open on January 2, 2008.
A short distance from where ANACS will be located are the offices of Independent Coin Grading Company (ICG). It is being reported that several graders have resigned from ICG and will work at the new ANACS. Although this leaves these positions available at ICG, there have been no reports that the former ANACS graders in Austin will move to Colorado to work at ICG.
Based on the survey conducted by the Professional Numismatic Guild (PNG) and Industry Council For Tangible Assets (ICTA), ANACS and ICG are considered the second tier of third party grading services by receiving a “Good” ranking. PCI received a “Poor” rating in the same survey. Only Numismatic Guarantee Corporation (NGC) and Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) received “Superior” ranking.
Although the survey and other perceptions consider NGC and PCGS the leaders in third party authentication and grading, these other services have their place in the industry. For example, ANACS would grade problem coins noting the problem and assigning net grades. ICG works with Combined Organizations of Numismatic Error Collectors of America (CONECA) to assign official CONECA numbers and description on error coins. ICG also has a long list coins and tokens that they will grade. These services are necessary for collectors. It would create a void if changes in these companies would de-emphasize the advantages ANACS and ICG have.
I finally picked up a series if very interesting errors that I wanted to have encapsulated as a special collection. I was planning to send the coins to ICG to take advantage of their service with CONECA. There are also some cleaned Morgan dollars that I would like ANACS to encapsulate and provide VAM attribution. But with the turmoil that is going on with these companies, I am going to wait until the proverbial dust settles—hopefully, for the better.
Sprinting to 2008
Around the end of November or the beginning of December, the numismatic year begins to wind down and we start to look ahead to the new year. As 2007 has entered its final week, December was a buys and interesting month with the voting for the People’s Choice Award for Coin of the Year, to the release of the 10th Anniversary Platinum Eagles, the release of a plethora of Presidential $1 Coin products by the US Mint, and congress doing good and bad with our money. But with a week to go in 2007, everyone is getting ready for 2008.
Looking ahead, this is the last year of the 50 States Quarters for the states—the District of Columbia and the territories will have quarters issued in 2009. Designs have been announced with Arizona and Alaska having the potential to be very good looking coins.
Designs for the four Presidential $1 Coins have been announced. For 2008, the new dollar coins will feature James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren. It is apparent that the Mint engravers are using official portraits and other art to base the coin designs. This makes makes the portraits very pleasing and worthy of being on coinage. Along with the Presidential coins, the First Spouse gold coins will include Elizabeth Monroe, Louisa Adams, Andrew Jackson’s Liberty, and Martin Van Buren’s Liberty. Both Jackson and Van Buren were widowed when they served as president.
Speaking of dollar coins, 2008 begins the Native American $1 Coin program. From 2008 through 2016, the reverse of the Sacagawea “Golden” Dollar will be changed yearly commemorate an aspect of history of the native American people. It will be interesting to see how the Mint will handle the design of this coin with the built-in bureaucracy prescribed by law.
The first commemorative for 2008 will be the American Bald Eagle Recovery and National Emblem Commemorative Coin to honor of the recovery of the Bald Eagle species, the 35th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and the Bald Eagle’s importance as a national symbol. I cannot help from thinking that Benjamin Franklin wanted the turkey as the national symbol!
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing will release a redesigned $5 Federal Reserve Note with updated security features and a new purple color and a larger “5” on the reverse for the visually impaired. Sometime during 2008, BEP will introduce a redesigned $100 FRN with new security features and color. Because the BEP is not required to have its designs vetted by the Commission of Fine Arts, the new design will remain a secret until the BEP is ready to make their announcement.
Outside of the United States, the Royal Canadian Mint has started to introduce new non-circulating legal tender (NCLT) coins with new designs. The RCM is stressing new colors, designs, and the embedding of gemstones in their coins. Also, the 2010 Winter Olympics continues to be a significant theme of RCM coins.
Across the pond in the United Kingdom, the Royal Mint is advertising their new designs. New designs for legal tender coins are available from the Royal Mint whose sets include three commemorative coins honoring the 60th birthday of Prince Charles, the 450th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth I, and commemorating the 100th anniversary of the 4th Olympiad held in London.
Even The Perth Mint has issued its 2008 Silver Koala. This $1 NCLT silver coin is the second in the series of the Koala series introduced in 2007. The Perth Mint has also tried new coinage methods that includes moving parts and holograms.
It is going to be a very busy year and exciting year in numismatics.
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