Indholdsfortegnelse for May 20, 2025 i Numismatic News

CONECA, the international error coin and variety club, will be offering free examination of error and variety coins to collectors at educational tables at coin shows across the United States throughout this year. The club, whose name stands for “Combined Organizations of Numismatic Error Collectors of America,” is the largest coin specialty club in the United States and has actively been educating collectors about mint error and variety coins for the last five decades. At their coin show tables, different members of the CONECA Board of Directors and other error/variety enthusiasts (each with different areas of specialty as available) will offer free examination to collectors who bring coins from their collection to the show with questions. CONECA is devoted to education about errors and varieties and will not be buying…

Visiting the Bank of England Museum is a journey through the financial history of the United Kingdom. Nestled within the imposing walls of the Bank of England in London, the museum offers a unique glimpse into the institution that, since its establishment in 1694, has been at the heart of the UK’s economy. As you step into the museum, you’re greeted by a vast collection of coins, bank notes, and historical artifacts that tell the story of the nation’s currency and economic heritage. The exhibits are thoughtfully presented, with audio-visual and interactive displays that make history come alive. One of the highlights for many visitors is the opportunity to handle a genuine gold bar and feel the weight of wealth that has underpinned the economy for centuries. However, the museum…

In the United States, World War II led to a change in composition for the five-cent and one-cent pieces. The nickels contained 35 percent silver from 1942-1945, and the cent was switched to zinc-coated steel for 1943. Both were efforts to save metals for the war effort. Canada did similar for issues during World War II and during the 1950s. “It is noteworthy that few collectors have a complete set of all the coins a given country has struck in a particular metal,” wrote Walter Hazzard in his article “Seven in Steel” for the January 1966 issue of Coins magazine. “It’s especially noteworthy in the case of Canadian issues, for the numismatist needs only seven coins to put together a complete set of the dominion’s steel nickels. This is hard…

Here are some answers sent from our e-newsletter readers. Read more responses at www.numismaticnews.net. If coins could talk, what is the craziest story one of your coins would tell? If one of my coins could talk, it would tell the story of its travel and adventures from when it was first minted from the silver mines at Potosi, to life aboard a Spanish galleon. It would tell about how it was stored in a chest with its brothers and sisters and exchanged for goods and services at various ports of call. It made its way to markets, taverns, and banks. It met thieves and sailors, merchants and captains. It would describe its journey from the Americas to Spain, along the East Coast of what would become the U.S., to Africa…

Nothing brings people together, or tears them apart, quite like sports. When meeting someone new and you discover they love a sport as much as you, there is a burst of excitement until you learn they root for your rival team. When moving to a new state, do you learn to love your new home team, or do you stay steadfast in your support of your childhood teams? Many sports collectors rank their favorite teams with their rivals at the bottom of the list by default. Numismatics isn’t always quite as intense, but there is a fun crossover between the two passions: sports coins. Some people like to collect coins by series or date, but collecting by theme isn’t a method to be dismissed. From commemoratives honoring the Olympics to…

Collectors of world coins are aware that when a monarch passes away, the design on the coins of that nation usually changes the very next year. The recent example of which most of us are aware is the passing of Queen Elizabeth and the ascension of King Charles to the throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The queen’s face graced the coins of Great Britain through 2022, and the new king took the spot in 2023. But there is one nation, albeit a tiny one, for which the death of the man on the coins means his face is immediately removed – the Vatican. Vatican City is the smallest nation, with an area of 109 acres, all of which are surrounded by the city of…

The Professional Numismatists Guild (www.PNGdealers.org) has given its highest honor, the Abe Kosoff Founders Award, to James Halperin, co-founder of Heritage Auctions. The award was presented during PNG’s annual membership dinner on April 23, 2025. The Kosoff Award is given to a PNG member-dealer who has shown steadfast dedication to the entire numismatic community and who has made a significant contribution to the Guild or to the numismatic fraternity. The award is named after PNG’s Founding President, who spearheaded the launch of the organization and served as its first President in 1954. Halperin became a coin dealer as a teenager. In 1982 he partnered with Steve Ivy (PNG President from 2003 to 2005) to form what is now Heritage Auctions, the world’s largest rare coin and collectibles auction firm. In…

Greg Roberts, CEO of Stack’s Bowers Galleries and A-Mark Precious Metals, was presented with the Harvey G. Stack Lifetime Achievement Award by the Professional Numismatist Guild during the recent Central States Numismatic Society convention. The award recognizes numismatists for their devotion to numismatics and for their significant contributions to the body of PNG membership. Roberts has been deeply involved with the hobby since he was a teenager. He started his own business in 1990, and that business has grown into a multi-billion-dollar organization with affiliates headquartered on three continents. “Greg is one of the savviest people I have ever had the pleasure to know, if not the savviest,” commented Stack’s Bowers Galleries President Brian Kendrella. “I am so thankful to have worked with and learned from him for the past…

The weekly Show Directory lists all coin and paper money events scheduled within one month of the issue cover date. Show dates and times sometimes change at the last minute. Please contact the show promoter BEFORE traveling long distances. SHOW PROMOTERS: Run your show announcement FREE! Just email the information indicated in the form below to numismatics@aimmedia.com. All timely listings are also included in both Bank Note Reporter and World Coin News at NO CHARGE. *Dependent upon date of submission relevant to deadline and space availability. Want to make your show really STAND OUT? Whether you need dealers on the floor or collectors at the gate, Numismatic News offers the best, most qualified coin and paper money collector and dealer audience around – AND we have the means to reach…

In a significant blow to the numismatic and precious-metal bullion community, the Washington state legislature has voted to repeal the longstanding sales- and use-tax exemption on the purchase of precious-metal bullion and coins. The decision, finalized during the closing days of the 2025 legislative session, is expected to have wide- reaching impacts on collectors, investors, and coin dealers throughout the state and beyond. The tax exemption repeal is part of Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5794 (ESSB 5794), a broader revenue package aimed at adopting recommendations from the 2024 tax preference review process, eliminating obsolete tax preferences, clarifying legislative intent, and addressing changes in constitutional law. The repeal is set to take effect on Jan. 1, 2026. The National Coin & Bullion Association (NCBA), which has championed the tax exemption since…

I never intended to be doing this for so long. Teaching a seminar with live bodies is fun, but writing is often a chore, lasting quite a while with several drafts over a few days to get it right. Unfortunately, organizing my previous columns was not one of my priorities, but I’m starting to realize how important it should have been. That’s because when something I read or see while examining a coin gives me an idea for one of these columns, the thought crosses my mind that the subject may be something I’ve written about before. There is hardly anything new under the sun. To get me through this “block,” I tell myself that just as a sunny day, or a super “Cherrypick,” repetition can be nice, so here…

Although today we take for granted the names of our coins, this was not always the case. Prior to 1780, there were several different monetary systems in use by the people, most of which were confusing to those not handling large sums of money. In the 1780s, all of this was to change. The waning days of 1781 saw an America at the crossroads. With the defeat of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown in October, the Revolutionary War was in reality over, but negotiations for peace would drag on for more than a year. It was not until early 1783 that Britain recognized the independence of the United States. In the meantime, after Yorktown, the thoughts of citizens turned to matters other than the desperate military struggle that had paralyzed all…

Marketing of rare coins may be about to change now that shares in a unique bank note are being offered through a non-fungible token or NFT. To the uninitiated, an NFT appears to be another form of electronic or digital cash that competes with coins, bank notes, checks, debit cards, and more to be used as a substitute for traditional currency. An NFT is actually fungible, meaning it can be traded for something else of equal value, including being interchangeable with other NFTs. NFTs are considered to be specialized speculative assets. NFTs can represent assets including digital content, fine art, videos, and now a one-of-a-kind uniface specimen Series 1934 $100,000 Gold Certificate. This NFT, as with all others, is secured with blockchain technology. And, as with all others, the pledged…