Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 38 i Coin Collector

Both ‘View from Europe’ and ‘View from the USA’ in this month’s edition of Coin Collector make clear we are living in a time of economic uncertainty. The current situation regarding US tariffs and the global response are outside the remit of this magazine, but we will all be affected by the outcome. In times of economic uncertainly, the value and cost of coin collections can fluctuate more than usual. This is due to numerous reasons, such as the increasing value of gold, which remains a trusted commodity in difficult times, and the amount of money people have available to spend on their hobbies. As well as being affected by economic uncertainty, coinage is impacted by times of war. For instance, coins were struck from silver plate and cups to…

CNG’s auction of ancient and world coins on 16 April included the Dr John H Brown collection. A highlight from the collection was a Flowing Hair half dollar of 1794 (lot 948). These coins were only minted in 1794 and 1795, with the 1794 edition considerably rarer than the one from 1795. Designed by the US Mint’s chief engraver, Robert Scot, the coin’s obverse featured a bust of Liberty with flowing hair and 15 stars around, while the reverse depicted a small eagle with spread wings within a wreath. This example was holed and had some hairlines, but it reached a hammer price of $2,500. SOLD FOR £1,888 The Warwick & Warwick coin auction on 16 April included several examples of the 2009 Kew Gardens 50p (lot 429). With a…

He does. He doesn’t. He does after all. Or perhaps he’ll hold back? – US President Donald Trump appears to be getting serious about punitive tariffs. Now, foreign policy isn’t typically the domain of a coin magazine, nor is it the favourite topic of a numismatic writer, but the trade war between the United States and the rest of the world is beginning to leave its mark on the coin world. For months now, industry insiders have been debating the potential consequences – particularly the impact of tariffs on foreign investment products, such as gold coins or gold bars from the Austrian Mint, The Royal Mint in the UK or the many bullion producers across Europe and Switzerland. The aim of such a move would be clear: to strengthen the…

At the end of the 7th century, the fledgling Umayyad Caliphate broke all established coin-design conventions. The result was something bold, beautiful and truly unique. The coins used in the years immediately following the death of the Prophet Muhammad were generally Byzantine and Sassanian. The Umayyads had a large – and expanding – empire, and they needed a currency that was widely recognised and accepted as legitimate. However, these coins featured either explicitly Christian iconography or images of people, which Islamic scholars viewed as a form of idolatry. The earliest governing authorities found many solutions to the problem, which included a period of experimentation and adaptation. Some of the Arab-Byzantine currency (minted before 693) for instance, echoes classic Byzantine designs. But, where the Byzantine coin had a cross on the…

It was a long road before the Confederation of Switzerland received its standardised currency in all cantons 175 years ago. For centuries, many individual coin denominations had developed and were maintained because the sovereignty over the accounting and issuance of coins lay in the hands of individual towns, cities, cantons, abbeys and dominions. As reported by the numismatist Christian Weiss, curator of the Swiss National Museum’s historical coin collection, the Old Swiss Confederacy was characterised by a considerable variety of coinage systems, for which corresponding denominations were minted. As early as the Middle Ages, numerous bishoprics, princely abbeys, dukes and counts had the right granted to them to mint coins. In the so-called ‘Ancien Régime’ before 1798, all 13 Swiss cantons had their own mints, except for Appenzell Ausserrhoden (Figures…

On 31 March, the Caribbean guilder was introduced as legal tender for the countries of Curaçao and Sint Maarten. The Netherlands Antillean guilder, which has been in circulation on the former islands of the Netherlands Antilles (Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire, Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius and Saba) since 1952, will remain legal tender until 30 June. The Caribbean guilder is pegged to the US dollar with an exchange rate of one US dollar to 1.79 Caribbean guilder. The Netherlands Antillean guilder and the Caribbean guilder are of equal value. It has been reported that the 40th director of the US Mint, Ventris C Gibson, has retired, despite two years remaining on her five-year term. She joined the mint as deputy and acting director in October before she received full Senate approval in…

One of the hottest topics in numismatics for the last few weeks has been the subject of tariffs. A surprisingly large amount of the numismatic business in the United States is for material that originates in Europe or Asia. This includes ancient coins, classic world coins and, of course, modern issues (Figure 1). The third-party grading companies in the United States certify hundreds of thousands of world coins each month. Proposed tariffs will have a tremendous impact on the hobby worldwide. Hobby leaders in the United States are being pressed for answers on the subject. Large numismatic firms are consulting legal experts and import brokers for advice on how to handle the situation. Unfortunately, it is a rapidly moving target, with no clear-cut solutions. A few firms believe that gold…