You are browsing the archives of 2010 July.

The Mint of Finland will issue two 5 Euro coins which begin a new series of coins dedicated to the provinces of Finland. There are nine historical provinces of Finland: Åland, Tavastia, Karelia, Lapland, Ostro-bothnia, Satakunta, Savo, Uusimaa and Finland Proper. The two first coins will be issued in 2010 and the first two provinces [...]

Another frequent question I am asked is if gold and silver are still worth buying? That is a reasonable question. After all, through the US close on July 29, 2010, gold is up 318.9% since December 31, 2001. In the same time, silver is up 284.3%, platinum rose 218.3%, and palladium 10.8%. Gold and silver [...]

The Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) reviewed proposed designs for the 2012 Presidential Dollars during a meeting held July 15, 2010. The United States Mint provided the CFA with four to six obverse candidate designs for each coin. The CFA made recommendations for three out of the four coins to be released. The Presidential Dollar [...]

The Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG) has created a definition of coin “doctoring” and officially included it as one of the prohibitions in the organization’s By-Laws. This follows statements applauding and supporting the efforts of coin grading services NGC and PCGS to combat doctoring. “The deliberate and unacceptable alteration of a coin in an effort to [...]

Let’s begin by referencing an article by Susan Headley in “About Coins,” concerning “[h]ow online auction sellers use coin grading services to defraud coin buyers,” the subtitle of her piece, which can be found here. In it, she links to a company that specializes in MS60-70 coins. Most readers of “Coingrader Capsule” know the top [...]

This week, coin dealer Patrick A. Heller begins a weekly radio broadcast titled “Things You ‘Know’ That Just Aren’t So, And Important News You Need To Know” that will cover breaking news and opinions in the rare coins and precious metals bullion markets. The program will be broadcast every Wednesday between 8:45 and 9:00 AM [...]

The United States Mint began sales of Yosemite National Park Quarter numismatic bags and rolls yesterday on July 26, 2010. This coin represents the third release of the new America the Beautiful Quarters Program, created to honor a national park or national site from each state, territory, and the District of Columbia in the order [...]

A question I am frequently asked by both new and experienced buyers of precious metals is just how much of one’s portfolio should be devoted to gold, silver, and rare coins? There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question.  Factors that affect the allocation decision include someone’s current financial position, their amount of liquid assets, [...]

This weekly report of the United States Mint’s numismatic product sales includes the debut figures for the 2010 Proof Set. This annual set is usually the US Mint’s most popular product offering. The 2010 Proof Set went on sale July 22, 2010. The price of the set was $31.95, reflecting an increase of $2 compared [...]

One of the three known proof 1804 Gold Eagles made on behalf of President Andrew Jackson and a rare 1804 Eagle silver pattern have been acquired by Legend Numismatics of Lincroft, New Jersey and sold to a Texas collector.  Both coins will be publicly displayed together for the first time at the upcoming American Numismatic [...]