{Category Archives} Blogs
U.S. Mint Price Gouging - Susan’s Coins Blog
Sep 6 at 1:01pm
Although the U.S. Mint has been listening and communicating better this past couple of years, I think they’re getting way too greedy in their product mark-ups.
Take, for example, the Jackson First Spouse half-ounce gold coin: the Mint is selling the Proof version for $619.95. (The Uncirculated version is $20 less.) On August 28, 2008, the day the Jackson First Spouse coin went on sale, NY gold closed at $833.70 per ounce. This makes the NY spot price of a half-ounce of gold $416.85 on that day.
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Filed in: Blogs, Susan's Coins Blog, United States Mint
Article Tags: Coin Blog, Susan's Coins Blog, United States Mint.
Review of L&C Coins - Susan’s Coins Blog
Sep 2 at 11:11pm
In the latest entry into my series of coin dealer reviews, I made a purchase from L&C Coins. They are a major advertiser in coin collecting-related magazines, and they were suggested by a couple of readers, so I watched L&C’s ads for a few weeks until I found something I thought I’d like. L&C’s big “pitch” is that everything is priced “below wholesale.”
Read article: Review of L&C Coins - Susan’s Coins Blog
Filed in: Blogs, Coin Dealers, Susan's Coins Blog
Article Tags: L&C Coins, Susan's Coins Blog.
NGC’s New High-Tech Coin Holder - Susan’s Coin Blog
Aug 27 at 10:10pm
One of the many interesting corporate announcements made by the big players in numismatics at the recent ANA World’s Fair of Money in Baltimore seems to have been lost among the noise. NGC has developed a new high-tech coin holder, or “slab,” which is expected to be available by the end of September. The new NGC slab, called the EdgeViewTM Holder, has five new features…
Read article: NGC’s New High-Tech Coin Holder - Susan’s Coin Blog
Filed in: Blogs, Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, Susan's Coins Blog
Article Tags: NGC, Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, Susan's Coin Blog.
Collecting Personal History in Numismatics - Coin Collector’s Blog
Aug 24 at 11:11pm
In 1938, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt founded the March of Dimes. That year Howard Hughes set a record by flying an airplane for 91 hours around he world. It was the same year as Douglas “Wrong Way” Corrigan landed in Ireland after allegedly trying to fly to California claiming navigation problems.
Roosevelt launched a $5 billion spending program (roughly $78 billion in 2008 money) to try to stimulate the economy after the Recession of 1937. The US also established minimum wage laws. The radio adaptation of H.G. Wells’s The War of the Worlds broadcast by Orson Welles causes panic, especially in the northeast.
Read article: Collecting Personal History in Numismatics - Coin Collector’s Blog
Filed in: Blogs, Coin Collector's Blog, Uncategorized
Article Tags: Coin Blog, Coin Collector's Blog.
Is Upside Down Edge Lettering an Error on Presidential Dollars? - Susan’s Coing Blog
Aug 23 at 8:08pm
Question: Is Upside Down Edge Lettering an Error on Presidential Dollars?
Presidential Dollars are the first U.S. coins to have edge lettering applied to them since the 1930s. As a result, there are a lot of questions about what is normal and what is an error. This article explains when upside down edge lettering on Presidential Dollars is an error and when it is not. (There isn’t a simple yes or no answer, unfortunately.
Read article: Is Upside Down Edge Lettering an Error on Presidential Dollars? - Susan’s Coing Blog
Filed in: Blogs, Coin Errors, Susan's Coins Blog
Article Tags: Susan's Coin Blog.
Pick Up That Penny - Coin Collector’s Blog
Aug 21 at 11:11pm
I like hunting for coins in change. But it has been since early June since my last find. Maybe instead of looking in my pocket, I should look at the ground. I was pointed to a story about two different people who hunt for change on the ground. They never pass any coin lying by itself waiting to be picked up.
Read article: Pick Up That Penny - Coin Collector’s Blog
Filed in: Blogs, Coin Collector's Blog, Uncategorized
Article Tags: Coin Blog, Coin Collector's Blog.
In Memory of Jack Lee… - John Feigenbaum’s Ramblings
Aug 19 at 1:01pm
I write tonight’s blog with a very heavy heart. I was traveling out of the country over the weekend when I heard that my dear friend, Jack Lee, had passed away. Jack has been well known in numismatic circles these past two decades, primarily for the famous Silver dollar collections he assembled. Their quality was been unmatched because Jack had the rare combination of a critical eye, patience, and financial means to build the greatest Morgan dollar collection.
Read article: In Memory of Jack Lee… - John Feigenbaum’s Ramblings
Filed in: Blogs, John Feigenbaum's Ramblings, Uncategorized
Article Tags: Coin Blog, Jack Lee, John Feigenbaum's Ramblings.
Find Error Coins in Pocket Change in 8 Simple Steps - Susan’s Coin Blog
Aug 18 at 10:10pm
To me, one of the most amazing things about coin collecting as a hobby is that you don’t need a lot of special tools or equipment to get started. Sure, these things help, but anybody can begin collecting coins right out of their pocket change! 140 million Americans are collecting State Quarters, and trying to put together a complete set of one of each State Quarter type out of pocket change is tougher than you might think!
Read article: Find Error Coins in Pocket Change in 8 Simple Steps - Susan’s Coin Blog
Filed in: Blogs, Coin Collector Education, Coin Errors, Susan's Coins Blog
Article Tags: Susan's Coin Blog.
Mint Makes a Green Pitch for the Coin that Never Caught On - PDX Green
Aug 18 at 9:09pm
Twice, the U.S. government tried to launch a $1 coin into widespread use. Twice, it failed. The silver-colored Susan B. Anthony, easily mistaken for a quarter, never caught on. Neither did Sacagawea, the Shoshone woman who helped Lewis & Clark on their trek and who adorns the “Golden Dollar” rolled out in 2000.
Now the U.S. Mint is betting that an appeal to our inner environmentalist will succeed where other approaches have not. Portland is among four cities to hear the pitch first.
Read article: Mint Makes a Green Pitch for the Coin that Never Caught On - PDX Green
Filed in: Blogs, Presidential Dollar Coins, U.S. Coins, United States Mint
Article Tags: Presidential $1 Coins, Presidential Dollar Coins, United States Mint.
A Different Error Collectible - Coin Collector’s Blog
Aug 17 at 7:07pm
An interesting part of coin collecting is to find a different niche that adds more to the collection than just the coin. I started with coin covers when the US Mint introduced them for various coins, including the 50 State Quarters series. Then I found that coin covers are popular in Europe, specifically in Great Britain and Australia where they refer to these collectibles as philatelic numismatic covers (PNC), to distinguish them from others like first day covers (FDC).
Read article: A Different Error Collectible - Coin Collector’s Blog
Filed in: Blogs, Coin Collector's Blog, Coin Errors
Article Tags: Coin Blog, Coin Collector's Blog.
Morgan Dollar Values - Susan’s Coin Blog
Aug 13 at 10:10pm
Morgan Dollars are a little tougher to give average values for because many dates of Morgan Dollars never circulated in large numbers. Instead, they were sold by the Treasury Department more or less directly to coin collectors.
Read article: Morgan Dollar Values - Susan’s Coin Blo’
Filed in: Blogs, Susan's Coins Blog, U.S. Coins
Article Tags: Morgan Silver Dollars, Silver Coins, Silver Dollars, Susan's Coin Blog.
Third Party Grading, Visited - John Feigenbaum’s Ramblings
Aug 12 at 12:12pm
I was asked a very interesting and challenging question today by Steve T., a collector of certified U.S. coins and customer of ours for just over 2 years. First, Steve was disappointed because he had cracked an NGC MS61 gold piece out of its holder and submitted it PCGS — and it graded AU58. We had originally sold him the coin and he wanted to know if we would allow him to return it. In other words, “would we guarantee the grade of the coin?”
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Filed in: Blogs, Coin Certification or Grading, John Feigenbaum's Ramblings
Article Tags: CAC, Coin Blog, Collectors Acceptance Corp, DGS, Dominion Grading Service, John Feigenbaum's Ramblings.
How to Tell if a Coin Has Been Cleaned - Susan’s Coin Blog
Aug 11 at 3:03pm
Shiny coins are so beautiful. When the coin leaves the mint after just being struck, it has a shine, or luster, that it can never recover if it is lost through circulation, or if someone cleans the coin, thereby destroying the original surface characteristics gained as a result of striking. Some of the most common FAQs I get are questions like “How do I restore the shine to my coins?” and “How can I clean my coins to make them shiny again?”
Read entire article: How to Tell if a Coin Has Been Cleaned - Susan’s Coin Blog
Filed in: Blogs, Coin Collector Education, Susan's Coins Blog
Article Tags: Susan's Coin Blog.
Numismatics and the Olympic Medals - Coin Collector’s Blog
Aug 11 at 2:02pm
Although I am not a big fan of the Olympics, I can appreciate a good show. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) put on an great show for the opening ceremonies. The committee for the London 2012 games will have its work cut out for itself after that presentation.
Read entire article: Numismatics and the Olympic Medals - Coin Collector’s Blog
Filed in: Blogs, Coin Collector's Blog, Medals
Article Tags: Coin Blog, Coin Collector's Blog, Medals.
Final Thoughts on 2008 World’s Fair of Money - Coin Collector’s Blog
Aug 11 at 2:02pm
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.
Read entire article: Final Thoughts on 2008 World’s Fair of Money - Coin Collector’s Blog
Filed in: American Numismatic Association, Blogs, Coin Collector Shows, Coin Collector's Blog
Article Tags: American Numismatic Association, ANA, Coin Blog, Coin Collector's Blog, World's Fair of Money.
James Monroe Presidential Dollar Coin & First Spouse Medal Set - Mint News Blog
Aug 7 at 12:12am
The latest release for one of the US Mint’s more intriguing products is about to go on sale. The Presidential Dollar Coin & First Spouse Medal Set for James Monroe will be released on August 6, 2008 at 12:00 Noon ET.
Read entire article: James Monroe Presidential Dollar Coin & First Spouse Medal Set - Mint News Blog
Filed in: Blogs, Medals, Presidential Dollar Coins, U.S. Coins
Article Tags: Coin Blog, First Spouse Medal, Mint News Blog, Presidential $1 Coins, Presidential Dollar Coins.
1880 Gold Dollar - Coin Man
Aug 7 at 12:12am
Two weeks ago I was paging through the Red Book and I was looking for potential sleeper coins when I saw that the 1880 gold dollar was priced similarly to higher mintage coins but a mere 1600 were coined. This struck me as odd (pun intended) since most other coins with mintages that small would command huge prices in the marketplace.
Read entire article: 1880 Gold Dollar - Coin Man
Filed in: Blogs, Gold Coins
Article Tags: Coin Blog, Coin Man, Gold Coins.
ANA Recap - John Feigenbaum’s Ramblings
Aug 5 at 10:10pm
I rushed back to the main ANA on Tuesday morning for the opening of PNG Day and the momentum continued. We exhausted ourselves trying to keep up with the pace of business. Now, we mostly do wholesale at shows, and the ANA is no exception, but collector traffic was very good for the show. The trend of declining show attendance is still there and I think the ANA will report lower numbers than in previous years. But that’s due largely to the fact that serious collectors are happy to stay home and acquire coins via the Internet.
Read entire article: ANA Recap - John Feigenbaum’s Ramblings
Filed in: Blogs, Coin Collector Shows, John Feigenbaum's Ramblings
Article Tags: Coin Blog, John Feigenbaum's Ramblings.
ANA World’s Fair of Money: Day 1 - Coin Collector’s Blog
Jul 31 at 10:10pm
It was a very long day in Baltimore. After driving for over an hour, I finally made it to the Baltimore Convention Center and started to feed pictures and text to Twitter and Photobucket. I hope those who followed enjoyed the updates. I know there were some time gaps between Tweets, but I needed to take time to do my own searching! Also, connection issues prevented a few pictures from uploading. But it was fun.
Read entire article: ANA World’s Fair of Money: Day 1 - Coin Collector’s Blog
Filed in: American Numismatic Association, Blogs, Coin Collector Shows, Coin Collector's Blog
Article Tags: American Numismatic Association, ANA, Coin Blog, Coin Collector's Blog, United States Mint, World’s Fair of Money.
AE Proof Platinum back on sale - Coin Man
Jul 30 at 10:10pm
Late last week I noticed on the Mint’s website that the AE Proof Platinum coins were re-listed for sale. If I remember correctly, they had been removed from the website in late June as platinum prices were moving higher.
Read entire article: AE Proof Platinum back on sale - Coin Man
Filed in: Blogs, U.S. Coins, United States Mint
Article Tags: Coin Blog, Coin Man, Platinum Coins, United States Mint.