It has been a busy two weeks, but I wanted to write about an interesting transaction which I was involved. My professional life requires me to attend many meetings. One of these meetings involves someone who commutes every week from New York City to the Washington area. Before one of our meetings, he was talking about how he spent Saturday around Times Square and even visited a large toy store chain with his three children. As he was talking, he was jingling change in his pocket.

That is when the ever attentive numismatist in me sprung into action. I remembered the stories about author and former ANA Vice President Scott A. Travers placing 1909-S VDB and 1914-D Lincoln Cents into circulation—reportedly worth about $1,000 and $300 respectively. Travers also spent a 1908-S Indian Head Cent, the first cent minted in San Francisco and reportedly worth $200. I also do not remember anyone saying they found the coins. So I offered to buy all the change in my colleague’s pocket. With the change landing on the table, we counted over $7 in various denominations. I gave him $8 for all of the coins.

After completing the transaction, I began to look at the various cents in the pile. Following a comment of surprise after finding a 1982 Canadian Cent, I was asked why I was checking the cents. When I explained about the coins Travers placed in circulation and figuring that since he was in midtown Manhattan, I thought it was an interesting gamble. The pre-meeting congregants began to show interest in the coins.

Unfortunately, I did not find any of the coins Travers placed into circulation. But I did find a 1950 Washington Quarter along with the Canadian Cent. The quarter looks to be in Fine (F-12) condition and probably only worth its value in silver (approximately $2.67 with silver closing at $14.77 an ounce on May 11). This may be the makeup for my previous 7½ cent loss!

It was a beautiful Friday afternoon in the nation’s capital, but I was stuck in the office. I was trying to finish a document for the client and was waiting for someone to review my work. Since my mind was on the sunny, wooded scene outside my office window, I did not want to start something new. I called up my browser and started to surf the Internet. I wanted to read anything that did not involve technology or the government. My attention turned to numismatics.

During my search, I stumbled across an article in The Columbus Dispatch that reported the auction sale of a rare, uncirculated 1792 half disme for $1.15 million ($1,322,500 with 15-percent buyer’s premium) to an anonymous collector. The auction was held at the Central States Numismatic Society (CSNS) 67th Annual Convention in Columbus, Ohio by Heritage Auctions Galleries.

Although I am not a fan of the press these high-priced sales generate, I was intrigued by the date of this coin. If I remembered the history of the US Mint correctly, I thought the first half dismes were minted in 1794 following the first mintage of half cents and large cents in 1793. With a little time on my hands I started searching for more information. After trying unsuccessfully to find more information at my usual starting point, CoinFacts.com, I found the auction listing on the Heritage online catalog. [I found other sites that will be included in the Numismatic Links pages]

According to Heritage, the coin was graded SP67 (Specimen 67) by PCGS and “[d]espite opinions to the contrary, this issue is the first circulating American coin struck under authority of the Mint Act of April 1792.” I learned that 1,500-2,000 of these coins were minted for the new government by John Harper using the equivalent of $100 worth of silver reported to have been provided by George Washington. While there has been some controversy whether these were real or authorized coinage, the information in the Heritage listing provides strong evidence that these coins were accepted by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson as legal tender.

In addition to the summary of the coin’s history, the listing also provides a list of 28 distinctive examples (plus some potential duplicates) of this coin from previous auctions or sales. This is why I love numismatics. The combination of history and the interesting designs makes the story of this coin a fascinating read. I hope the new collector enjoys this new prize!

With the spot price of silver hovering around $13 per ounce, it is getting more difficult to find silver bullion coins at lower prices. Up until the last month, I have been able to buy most silver bullion coins at the spot price or even a dollar lower on Ebay. This rise in silver prices has proven profitable for billionaire investors like Warren Buffet (The Wizard of Omaha) and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. Both invested in silver while at lower prices.

Numismatically, I wrote that I liked silver bullion coins for being able to show off the coin’s design better than the “affordable” gold bullion coins. While looking at sets to purchase, I am drawn to the wonderful Adolph A. Weinman Walking Liberty design on the American Silver Eagle, the different design on the Great Britain Britannia Bullion Coin, the Chinese Silver Panda, and the simple yet elegant Canadian Maple Leaf. Over the last month I was able to procure at least one issue of all four of these coins at reasonable prices.

Bargains (and reasonable prices) in silver are becoming hard to find. Sources where I was able to buy at “fair” prices (± 10-percent of spot price) are now selling silver at premium prices (greater than 10-percent of spot price). Those bullion coins with greater numismatic value (e.g., uncirculated 1986 first year issue of the American Silver Eagle) are commanding prices beyond many price guides. I was a bit surprised to see the PCGS online price guide lists the 1993-P Proof American Silver Eagle for $190 at PR-65. My complete set of proof American Silver Eagles has been purchased from the US Mint at their issue. While they were bought as a collectible, the current market value of that collection is something to watch as the spot prices change!

One area where bargains cannot be found are with the silver Chinese Pandas. If you check the bargain basement capital of the world, Ebay, silver Pandas sell for an average of $8 more than American Silver Eagles. Are the Silver Pandas that popular? I had the chance to ask that question to Julian Leidman, noted dealer, who was speaking at the recent meeting of the Montgomery County Coin Club. Mr. Leidman said that the Silver Pandas are sold at a premium by the Chinese government. He said that the Pandas have become a very popular collectible worldwide and that the Chinese government was capitalizing on that popularity.

The silver market is getting very interesting. It may not reach the highs seen in 1980 (over $300 per ounce), but the demands and the investors using silver as part of their portfolio make it very interesting to watch.