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Postal cancellations on rolls were as popular or even more so than the new Yosemite National Park quarters themselves at the July 29 debut ceremony held at the famous California park.
Mint Director Ed Moy and Yosemite National Park Superintendent Don Neubacher officially introduced the new design, which is the third one of five planned for 2010 ...
Full Article: Stamped quarters popular - Numismatic News
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Who doesn't like the Walking Liberty half dollar design? The Saint-Gaudens design for the gold $20 might win the honor of being called the most beautiful coin of the United States, but the Walking Liberty half dollar surely was the most beautiful coin design accessible to the average person.
Only the Buffalo nickel might dispute that title with the Walking Liberty half dollar. If we didn't all collect Walking Liberty half dollars ...
Full Article: Philadelphia Walkers: strange story - Numismatic News
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Perhaps it is time we take a second or even a first look at some of the lower mintage Mercury dime dates like the 1938-D. Right now the 1938-D seems fairly stable in terms of price, but you have to think that $34 for an MS-65 and $62 for an MS-65 with full split bands is awfully inexpensive considering its mintage and the potential for demand for a coin that is now more than 70 years old.
The 1938-D Mercury dime had a mintage of ...
Full Article: Will 1938-D Mercury make a move? - Numismatic News
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Many counterfeit coins have one side that is more deceptive than the other. That is the case for the 1895-O Morgan dollar that a dealer and collector asked me to authenticate recently. I found that several characteristics of this fake were interesting enough for me to share with you here.
This fake is die struck. Overall, it is better made than all but a few of the current fakes from China that I have encountered. No telling where or when this coin was made. I have heard that the more money you pay to the manufacturer, the better quality copy you’ll ...
Full Article: Crude '5' in date gives away fake - Numismatic News
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The first Shield nickel design was supposed to be a Confederate trick, wasn't it?
With the usual distaste for any new coin issue, the rumor got started that the rays and stars represented the Confederate "Stars and Bars," and claims this was why the rays were dropped in 1867. The more mundane and real reason was that the very hard nickel alloy was ...
Full Article: Nickel caused Confederate rumor - Numismatic News
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For many years there has been an obvious bias among collectors in favor of coins made of precious metals and coins of large diameter.
The winners of this set of preferences have been coins like Morgan dollars, Walking Liberty halves and American Eagles. In the case of the silver American Eagle, it copied the basic size of the Morgan dollar and swiped the design of the Walker.
To be technically correct, it should be noted that the Morgan dollar is 38.1mm and the silver American Eagle is 40.6mm. But that is close enough to make the point: Big and precious is good, small and base metal is, well, not bad but not quite as desirable, either. ...
Full Article: Three-cent victim of size, metal bias - Numismatic News
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The list of most historic coins of the United States is one where many can disagree. That is especially true in the case of the 1792 half disme, but as with all other early half dimes, the 1792 is certainly an interesting item.
For those with a love of history and an interest in the early workings of the U.S. Mint it is hard to do better than a collection of the early half dimes as they all tell a story and usually a very interesting one ...
Full Article: Half dimes started with 'half disme' - Numismatic News
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The eagle is one of the most magnificent birds found in nature. Large and bold, with a hooked beak and fierce-looking eyes, the eagle has long been a symbol of power, majesty and beauty.
Bald eagles, found in different parts of the United States, became the national symbol in 1782. Many renderings of this bird can be found on coins, eagles in varying stands, flying, perched or in fanciful pose. An eagle can be seen on the Massachusetts cent of 1787, holding arrows. The Excelsior pieces of the same year show an eagle...
Full Article: Eagles on coins dull to delightful - Numismatic News
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A blizzard of paperwork could be about to hit numismatics. Passage by Congress of the national health care legislation has had an unintended consequence to the nation’s coin collectors, vest-pocket dealers who buy and sell coins, and larger dealers who are frequent buyers of coins that collectors periodically liquidate as they trade up their collections for better coins, or simply sell to take a small profit or loss.
What has happened is that effective Jan. 1, 2012, the whole system of ...
Full Article: $600 sale? Tax form - Numismatic News
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