May 17, 2012

Secondary Market Values for 25th Anniversary Silver Eagle Sets Expected to Rise

25th Anniversary Silver Eagle Set

The 25th Anniversary Silver Eagle Set that will be released on October 27 is expected to be by far the hottest U.S. Mint numismatic product of the year. Like many silver eagle collectors, I have been dreaming of this set since not long after the release of the 20th anniversary set. Some people feel that [...]

U.S. Coin Designs: Striking a Balance between Continuity and Change

1999 New Jersey Quarter

By the time the state quarter program debuted in 1999, many Americans – coin collectors and non-collectors alike – had grown tired of the static designs used on U.S. coins in the preceding decades. I recall reading many articles about how dull and uninspired modern U.S. coin designs were. Some argued that depicting former presidents was [...]

Time to Revamp U.S. Mint Coin Pricing System

Lucy Hayes Uncirculated Gold Coin

On September 2 the U.S. Mint once again suspended sales of some gold and silver coins because of rising metal prices. This is the third recent time this has happened for gold products and the fourth for silver products (http://mintnewsblog.com/2011/09/gold-and-silver-numismatic-products-suspended-yet-again/). Labor day weekend is a traditional sale period for most businesses, and presumably many coin [...]

U.S. Mint Relists 2011 Gold Commemorative Coins at New Fixed Prices

2011 Army $5 Gold Coin

On August 25 U.S. Mint spokesman Michael White notified the numismatic press community that the four gold commemorative coins which were suspended on August 12 were being relisted for sale. The coins are already relisted on the Mint’s web site (http://catalog.usmint.gov) at new fixed prices. The new prices are as follows: 2011 United States Army [...]

NGC and Park Avenue Numismatics Announce Free Online References

1900 Liberty Nickel

A successful coin collector is a well-informed one, and thanks to the web, collectors today have access to more and better information about coins than at any previous time. Numismatic Guarantee Corporation (NGC), an industry leader in coin grading based in Florida, and Park Avenue Numismatics, a high-end numismatic dealer with offices in Florida, Texas, Louisiana, [...]

Grand Canyon 2010-P America the Beautiful Coins: Errors and Varieties

Grand Canyon no finish

Last week I learned that several collectors reported discovering 2010-P Grand Canyon five-ounce silver America the Beautiful (ATB) coins with unusual finishes, and that NGC had decided to certify some coins as having a “light finish” variety. I became intrigued by this issue and decided it was something collectors would want to know more about. [...]

ATB Five Ounce Silver Coins: New Variety Discovered and Other Recent Developments

Grand Canyon

Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, or NGC, of Sarasota, Florida has announced attribution of a new variety of one of the collector versions of the five-ounce America the Beautiful silver coins (http://www.ngccoin.com/news/viewarticle.aspx?IDArticle=2265&NGC-Recognizes-New-Variety-of-2010-P-Grand-Canyon-5-Ounce-Specimen-Issue). The new variety is called “light finish” and was discovered on 2010-P Grand Canyon coins purchased by two collectors from the U.S. Mint. The new finish [...]

How to Buy from the U.S. Mint in Person

Medal of Honor Silver Dollar

As readers of this web site know, I have generally been supportive of the U.S. Mint and believe it is sometimes the subject of excessive criticism. At the same time, there is no question that there are many areas where the Mint could do a better job such as with its web site and by [...]

June Baltimore Expo Report: Summer Slowdown

Baltimore Expo

Three times a year, in the spring, summer, and fall, Whitman Publishing sponsors the Baltimore Expo, a large coin show held in Baltimore, Maryland. The shows attracts both local dealers and collectors and those from as far away as the west coast. Traditionally, the June show is the slowest of the three, and this year’s [...]

NGC Will Certify 2011 Silver Eagles Struck in San Francisco

2011(S) Silver Eagle, Image: NGC

As reported recently in Coin Update, U.S. Mint officials have decided to strike American silver eagles at the Mint’s facility in San Francisco in order to help meet the growing and unprecedented demand for silver eagles. The coins will not carry an “S” mint mark to distinguish them from silver eagles struck at the Mint’s [...]