Indholdsfortegnelse for April 2021 i Coins

“THE WORLD’S Most Famous Coin” is now “The World’s Most Valuable Gold Coin” yet again after it sold for a record $9,360,000 at a public auction of important U.S. coins held by Heritage Auctions, Jan. 21, 2021, in Dallas, Texas. The 1787 gold coin is the finest of the mere seven specimens known to exist. Bidding by phone with the successful bidder, from the moment the lot opened, was Heritage Auctions’ President Greg Rohan. The doubloon is the finest example of its kind and Thursday’s sale marked just the third time the coin has been auctioned since 1848. The coin has set records in auction in both previous sales as well, holding those records for years. Officially titled the 1787 New York-Style Brasher Doubloon, W-5840, NGC MS65K, it is known…

GRADES LISTED in Coins 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 accentuate…

PEOPLE LOVE to celebrate anniversaries. On February 1, my wife and I celebrated our 57th wedding anniversary. Of course, the 57th anniversary is not one you hear about. It’s not the golden anniversary or the silver anniversary or the platinum anniversary. The 100th anniversary is a truly exciting one that people often celebrate. This year I could celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of my mother in 1921, without whom I wouldn’t be writing this column. As a coin collector, I can also celebrate the 100th anniversary of 1921, as there were some very interesting coins minted that year. Most of the coins are either keys or semi keys in their series but can be obtained if you’re patient, save your money, and are content with a circulated specimen.…

WITH THE ARRIVAL of the American Revolution in the summer of 1776 there was not all that much coined money in what is now the United States. There was some silver, mostly Spanish from mints such as Mexico City and Potosí, but virtually no gold. What little gold did arrive in the Colonies came from the ships trading with the Spanish possessions in the Americas. The gold that did come to our shores usually left nearly as quickly. Merchants advertised in the newspapers to buy gold coins, usually with silver, and the coins thus gathered up were sent to Britain and the Continent to pay for luxury goods wanted by the wealthier colonists. During the Revolutionary War the French Government sent gold and silver to the Continental Congress so that…

ON THE night of December 25 1776, General George Washington, along with 2,400 troops and artillery, began his historic crossing of the Delaware River in preparation for a surprise attack on British and Hessian soldiers during the American Revolutionary War. The United States Mint (Mint) has unveiled a new design depicting this pivotal moment in history which will be displayed on the reverse of the quarter-dollar coin beginning in 2021. The design will begin circulating following the issuance of the final coin in the America the Beautiful Quarters Program. The new design depicts General Washington commanding his troops through the overnight crossing of the ice-choked Delaware River prior to the Battle of Trenton during the American Revolutionary War. Inscriptions are “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” “CROSSING THE DELAWARE,”…

AS THE pandemic cuts its path across the United States and the world, one problem we have faced is a shortage of coins. We’ll not debate the reason here, but note that in plenty of stores and business concerns, signs have popped up asking for correct change, if possible. This isn’t the first time the country has been short of coins, although mercifully, it has not happened all that many times. One period in our history that saw virtually all silver and gold coins vanish was the Civil War. The Mint was still pounding out coins each year, but the silver and gold ones simply were not circulating. And one of the littlest of those was the half dime. The established half dime The half dime was one of the…

Coin collecting is on a roll, no pun intended. Professional Numismatist Guild President Richard Weaver recently said, “This is the strongest rare coin market we’ve seen in years.” In a Jan. 5 open letter to the public, Numismatic Guaranty Corporation of America President Mark Salzberg said, “Collectibles are a booming market and an asset class. Spurred by our internet-driven economy, a broad range of collectibles, including coins, bank notes, comic books, and trading cards have become more accessible, liquid, fungible, and high profile – as demonstrated by headlines in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and other mainstream publications.” The Certified Collectibles Group is offering $1,000 sign-on bonuses for new employees. A response to a recent PNG questionnaire indicated the aggregate price realized for U.S. rare coins sold at auction during…