Coin Collecting News

Sunday
7 September 2008

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{Category Archives} Coin Collector's Blog


Collecting Personal History in Numismatics - Coin Collector’s Blog

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.

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Pick Up That Penny - Coin Collector’s Blog

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.

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A Different Error Collectible - Coin Collector’s Blog

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).

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Numismatics and the Olympic Medals - Coin Collector’s Blog

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.

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Final Thoughts on 2008 World’s Fair of Money - Coin Collector’s Blog

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.

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ANA World’s Fair of Money: Day 1 - Coin Collector’s Blog

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.

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Now This Is Good Common Cents - Coin Collector’s Blog

Last December, I reported on the Penny Harvest Field that was installed in the plaza at Rockefeller Center in New York City. The Penny Harvest Field was 165-foot long and 30-foot wide “box” filled with pennies. Pennies donated to school children from all over New York City.

I received a note this evening from Common Cents, the organizer of the Penny Harvest, to announce that last year’s harvest raised $677,955.99, including $20,000 from passers-by in Rockefeller Plaza.

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Paper v. Coin Dollars - Coin Collector’s Blog

Since the introduction of the Presidential $1 Coin, many numismatic venues have discussed how to make the program more successful. Reports are being made that Gallup has been calling people asking questions that lead to the impression they are researching the circulation of dollar coins.

When asked about how to increase the circulation of the dollar coin, the dominant suggestion has been to remove the one dollar federal reserve note from circulation. It is thought that the move would force people to use the coin when the paper currency is no longer available.

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DGS Making Progress - Coin Collector’s Blog

Last February, the owners of David Lawrence Rare Coins bought the assets of PCI, the fledgling grading service from suburban Atlanta, Georgia in an absolute sale auction. DLRC then packed up the assets and moved the service to their location in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Rather than trying to rescue the PCI name, DLRC President John Feigenbaum later announced that the service would be rebranded as Dominion Grading Service (DGS) and begin accepting grading submissions in May.

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Buffaloes Are Coming - Coin Collector’s Blog

While I was in surgery, the US Mint announced that they will be accepting orders for the new American Buffalo 24-karat Gold Coins starting on July 22, 2008. In addition to the one ounce coin that has been issued since 2006, the Mint will add half ounce ($25), quarter ounce ($10), and one-tenth ounce ($5) fractional issues. They will also sell a four-coin sets that contain one coin in each size.

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Celebrating Independence Day Numismatically - Coin Collector’s Blog

Now that we have seen the fireworks and enjoyed our barbecues, it is time to add a numismatic touch to the celebration. This one is a new purchase of a 1976 Type 2 Eisenhower Dollar with an error at the US Mint.

Struck in 1975 and 1976, the dollar, Kennedy Half-Dollar, and Washington Quarter were minted with the dual date 1776-1976 and commemorative reverses designed by Dennis Williams to honor the nation’s bicentennial.

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High Relief Double Eagle to be Unveiled in Baltimore - Coin Collector’s Blog

Another reason to attend the World’s Fair of Money® at the end of July in Baltimore is to be there for the unveiling of the 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin.

The US Mint announced that US Mint Director Ed Moy will participate in the show’s opening ceremony and then officially open the Mint exhibit that will feature the one ounce gold coin that will go on sale in 2009.

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History Detectives Investigates Annie Oakley Coin - Coin Collector’s Blog

One of my favorite television shows is History Detectives, the PBS show featuring four investigators with interests in antiques, history, and sociology research the background and history of artifacts in the possession of ordinary Americans. It is one of the most popular series on PBS.

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The Duke To Represent DC - Coin Collector’s Blog

On June 19, the District of Columbia Office of the Secretary announced that the design for the DC quarter will feature Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington. The design will include the official District motto, “Justice For All.”

Ellington beat out designs honoring Frederick Douglass and Benjamin Banneker by a margin of 36-percent to 33-percent for Douglass and 31-percent for Banneker. Ellington was the only native of Washington, DC of the group.

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A New Roosevelt Dime - Coin Collector’s Blog

After writing about the next gimmick being offered by Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE), I was thinking about what could be the next change in our change.

At one time, we had a president who looked at our coinage and decided that it needed to change. This president wanted to place his mark on our coinage by creating a modern classic beauty that fit a great nation. Rather than trying to fight with congress to make these changes, this president looked at what could be done without congressional involvement. He picked the oldest coin and started ordering redesign. This president call it his “pet crime.”

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Do We Need Another Quarter Series? - Coin Collector’s Blog

In a grand announcement, Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE) announced that he introduced H.R. 6184, America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008 that would change the reverse of the quarter dollar coins to be “emblematic of a national park or other historic site in each State, the District of Columbia, and each territory of the United States.”

Castle, who authored the 50 State Commemorative Coin Act, noted that the program will make more than $6.2 billion in revenue, which will be $3.7 billion more than non-state quarters.

Note to Rep. Castle: ENOUGH!

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Mother’s Day, the Infantry, and Disabled Veterans - Coin Collector’s Blog

What does Mother’s Day, the Infantry, and Disabled Veterans have in common? They all had bills passed on Tuesday for the issuing of commemorative coins in their honor.

Following the death of her mother in 1905, Anna Marie Jarvis devoted her life to establishing Mother’s Day as a national, then international holiday. Although there were some celebrations, there were no holidays to celebrate mom. With the financial help of famed clothing merchant John Wanamaker, West Virginia became the first state to recognize Mother’s Day as a holiday in 1910. On May 14, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a presidential proclamation designating the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.

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Director Moy Is Not An Honest Broker - Coin Collector’s Blog

We have been in for a wild time here in the Washington, DC area. Severe thunderstorms and high winds swept through the area on Wednesday and Saturday providing the electric companies with quite a bit of work to do. During that time, I am reminded once again that computers cannot function without electricity.

While the rest of us were sweating and fixing our homes, the US Mint and Treasury policy implementers were downtown trying to figure out how to throttle the sale of silver on the open market. In fact, the Mint has been slowing the sale of American Silver Eagle bullion coins since April.

According to a letter sent to authorized bullion purchasers, the Mint has experienced “unprecedented demand” for silver bullion coins. While the demand for silver has risen, the Mint’s supply has not been able to keep up with the demand. So the Mint will be increasing production at the expense of collector American Eagles and while limiting the sales to bullion dealers.

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Weekend Change Hunting - Coin Collector’s Blog

Needing to catch up on a number of tasks this weekend, I decided to take time out and go through my pocket change. While I like to examine my change, sometimes it is not possible. So I drop the coins in a small box and promise myself to search them later. The box was overflowing making it time to search.

First, I separate quarters. Quarters are easier to examine because of their size and the fewer errors I have found. I also fill up coin tubes so that my wife has soda money for work. While searching this small box, I found two 1976 quarter with the Drummer Boy Reverse designed by Jack Ahr. It still remains one of my favorite designs.

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Sausage Making And Coin Production - Coin Collector’s Blog

On a stormy Saturday in your nation’s capital, I have been taking my inside time to watch the Rules and Bylaws Committee [PDF] of the Democratic National Committee argue about what to do with the delegates from Florida and Michigan. During one of the interruptions because the storms knocked out the signal, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews commented “welcome to the sausage factory of politics,” a twist on the Otto von Bismarck quote “Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.”

After a brief chuckle, I thought how this was true in the world of coin production in the United States since every coin and medal that the US Mint produces is governed by law. In fact, I think the United States is the only country the regulates coins in this manner.

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