Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2020 i Coins

The August issue of Coins shows a mangled quarter and questions how it got into a machine-wrapped roll. I metal detect a lot and I often find coins with exactly that sort of damage while searching in grass. The answer is that it was hit by a lawn mower. I do not see how it could get into a machine-wrapped roll, but obviously it did. Edmund Smith Palm Springs, Calif. Just a few days after submitting my suggestion for a “Viewpoint” to Numismatic News regarding buying coins in lots, I was able to successfully bid on a lot of six coins which included three large cents, two 2-cents, and one half cent. I had mentioned my passion for large cents and that I had not yet been able to acquire…

The world’s most valuable U.S. coin, a 1794 dollar that last sold for $10 million, is set to appear in an auction again this month. Legend Rare Coin Auctions, Inc. has announced the sale of the Bruce Morelan Collection, a collection of coins from the early period of U.S. history, valued in total at more than $20 million, according to the firm. It will be sold as the anchor collection of an auction taking place in conjunction with the PCGS Members’ Only Show Oct. 7-9 in Las Vegas. The collection includes the finest set of early Mint State dollars ever assembled, including two incredibly rare coins, the 1794 $1 SP-66, and 1804 $1 PR-65, according to Legend. These coins are among the most famous coins in the world, as well…

In my decades of working as a coin dealer, I have written a lot of sales copy. In the process of describing various items, I have had to dig into the history of the pieces or the history behind what was selected for the artwork. In the process, I learned far more than I ever learned in history classes in school. Just for fun, let me share some of these things that I learned while doing numismatic research. Heller-denominated coins and currency. The first coins of the Heller denomination were issued in 1189 in the German city of Hall am Kocher (today called Schwabisch Hall). The first Heller coins were made of silver and depicted a human palm on one side. The palm represented the right hand of God. During…

The U.S. Mint has officially announced the designs for the 2020 American Innovation dollar coins. The new designs will appear on the reverses of $1 coins honoring innovations and/or innovators from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland and South Carolina. Mint Chief Engraver Joseph Menna created and sculpted the Maryland dollar design. Mint Artistic Infusion Program artists created the designs for the remaining 2020 American Innovation dollar, which Mint Medallic Artists sculpted. Here’s what collectors and the public alike can expect to see: Connecticut Designer: Richard Masters Sculptor-Engraver: Renata Gordon The Connecticut dollar coin recognizes the Gerber Variable Scale. The design depicts the scale being used to increase a geometric shape by 200 percent, a shape that resembles the state of Connecticut. Inscriptions are “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “GERBER VARIABLE SCALE” and “CONNECTICUT.”…

In this column, I’m going to review the second edition of Robert W. Shippee’s Pleasure & Profit: 100 Lessons for Building and Selling a Collection of Rare Coins. I’ll start this review by saying that I loved the first edition of this book, which combines golfing anecdotes with the buying and selling of a first-class type collection of half cents through double eagles. In a small “About the Author” section at the end of the book, Shippee self-identifies as a retired international banker. This tells me that he undoubtedly made enough money to have a sizable budget for numismatic purchases. The author also writes that he is a lifelong coin collector and a 10-handicap golfer. You can tell his pride in the latter by the way he notes that he…

Gold coins have circulated for thousands of years. Using gold in coins for payment purposes has a great combination of advantages—durability, portability, standardization, relative ease of production, and others. One limitation of using gold coins for commerce, however, has been that it was most practical for face-to-face transactions. Another limitation is that the relatively high value of gold meant that it was not that practical for small transactions. As a consequence, silver also became a popular metal used in coins. Gold and silver coins had the advantage over other metals used for coinage in that they had an intrinsic metal value close to the face value at which they were exchanged. Thus, even if the issuing government or agency failed, gold and silver coins could still circulate because they represented…

New collectors are entering the coin market, invigorating hobby-related activities while encouraging higher prices for more desirable coins. There are solid reasons why the hobby is expanding, among these being the rising price of intrinsic metals traded in the form of bullion coins. The current coin shortage is making headlines. The reverse on the quarter continues to change regularly. These two factors encourage the non-collecting public to begin paying closer attention to their pocket change. Privy marks have been added to some circulating coins, also encouraging the general public to become collectors. What existing collectors may not understand is that the three different 2020 silver American Eagles, the recent lobbying for a non-circulating legal tender silver dollar, and the continual issue of golden-color dollar coins that don’t circulate (but earn…

THERE ARE SOME amazing errors when it comes to error-based rarities in different United States coin series. A few are so notable that it is hard to believe they are just the work of some random series of chances. For example, in the past, a few coins have surfaced that were made on blanks intended for a different denomination. While it might have been a simple mistake of feeding coin planchets into some large hopper, this is so dramatic an error that even the least cynical among us must think that someone at the Mint was having a bit of fun at the expense of our hobby. If errors like mixed planchets or dies are hard to believe, well, there are some easy to believe ones as well. And some…

Grades listed in Coin Prices are based on the following standards established by the American Numismatic Association. For more detailed descriptions, see Official ANA Grading Standards for United States Coins, by Ken Bressett and A. Kosoff (American Numismatic Association, 818 N. Cascade Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80903-3279. Proof coins. The term “proof” refers to a manufacturing process that results in a special surface or finish on coins made for collectors. Most familiar are modern brilliant proofs. These coins are struck at the Mint by a special process. Carefully prepared dies, sharp in all features are made. Then the flat surfaces of the dies are given a high, mirrorlike polish. Specially prepared planchets are fed into low-speed coining presses. Each proof coin is slowly and carefully struck more than once to…