Innehållsförteckning för November 2020 från Coins

In 1958, I was going to a small three-room schoolhouse in central Montana. At lunch time, rather than all the kids going to the general store, they would designate only one person to go buy candy. You would tell that person what candy you wanted, then you would give them the money and they would return with your candy. This particular day it was my turn to go to the store. This girl came up to me, told me what candy she wanted, and placed a nickel in my palm. I looked down at the coin and realized this was something completely different. I never saw anything like this before. Upon further examination, I found it to be a 1903 Liberty Head “V” nickel. I knew this was something that…

COLLECTORS NOW HAVE more than three decades of gold and silver bullion coins from which to choose; and assembling collections of them can be a great deal of fun. The United States Mint has pounded out a river of gold one-ounce, half-ounce, 1/4-ounce and 1/10 ounce gold Eagles, and more recently has come out with high purity gold Buffaloes as well. For those of us who don’t quite have the means to assemble a full date run of something like one-ounce United States gold eagles with proof finishes – especially with the recent rise in the price of gold – the silver one-ounce eagles can be a much more attractive alternative. But what about the “other” white metals? What collecting possibilities exist for bullion coins made from platinum, palladium, or…

Spot: Spot designates a moment in time, so the term “spot price” refers to the value of the metal at a given time of purchase or sale. Melt: The intrinsic value of a precious metal item. Melt value is used to describe the current worth of the actual precious metal in an item. Fineness: Defines the amount of precious metal in an item. If a coin is marked .999 fine, then it is nearly pure gold. When jewelry is .999 fine it is marked as 24K, meaning 24 karat. Bullion: Normally used to describe a coin or bar that is marked with a specific weight and fineness. Troy Ounce: Gold is measured in troy ounces. A troy ounce is equal to 31.103478 grams, so a full ounce of gold weighs…

FRANKLIN HALF DOLLARS are a fun series to collect, even though they sometimes get pushed into the background when the best of the best among the Walking Liberty halves take the stage, and some high-end example crosses the auction block. Likewise, the Buffalo nickels can be a great series to collect, despite being less in the spotlight than some other series. Looking first at the 50-cent pieces, we find that among the Franklin halves are a rather amazing subset of beautiful coins – ones that we might find qualify as amazing in price as well. We are talking about the proofs. From 1950-1956 While the Franklin half dollar series was unveiled in 1948, it wasn’t until 1950 that any proofs were produced. The idea of a proof set of each…

Have you ever dreamed about finding coins, perhaps buried or just lying on the ground? If so, then you would probably enjoy the book I’m reviewing in this column. It’s the second edition of Q. David Bowers’ Lost and Found Coin Hoards and Treasures. Q. David Bowers has been a major figure in the coin world since he began as a teenaged coin dealer in 1953, and he has received more accolades for his efforts than probably any other living numismatist. The author of more than 60 books, he is currently chairman emeritus of Stack’s Bowers Galleries. As testament to his writing ability, “His books have earned more ‘Book of the Year Award’ honors bestowed by the Numismatic Literary Guild than have those of any other author.” In other words,…

THE TRADE DOLLAR WAS, for many years, a stepchild in American numismatics. Few collectors were actively involved in acquiring these coins and little was known about the coinage history of this era. In the past few years all of this has changed and at present there is strong interest in the series of Trade dollars. It all began in the late 1850s. Although there had been a shortage of silver coins in the early 1850s, a law of February 1853 solved this problem by lowering the weights of the minor silver coins so that they would not be bought up by bullion dealers and melted. The dollar was a special case, however, as the public could still bring in silver bullion in exchange for this denomination; minor coins were on…

Hundreds of thousands of Americans have self-directed Precious Metals Individual Retirement Accounts. Virtually all of them have chosen the less expensive form of “unallocated storage” in vaults for their holdings in these IRAs. As we learned during the bankruptcy of MF Global during the Great Recession, unallocated storage means you don’t own real gold and silver. In unallocated storage, you have a claim against the assets of the operator of the storage vault, who is the party who has title to the gold and silver that you think you own. The assets titled to the vault operator are subject to third-party claims. There is also a great risk that the gold and silver inventory may be subject to claims by multiple owners (some analysts project as many as 100 claims…

Careful consideration must be given to the condition of a coin before arriving at its value, since a minor difference in grading can mean a substantial difference in price. There are several factors to keep in mind when attributing varying grades of preservation. Determining the condition of a coin is both an exact science and a subjective judgment call. Complete agreement on the exact qualities that constitute a grade of condition does not always occur between two individuals. The following chart is a consensus based on the 10 most frequently encountered coins commanding premium values in circulated condition (illustrations not actual size). The descriptive grades can be applied to other issues. Qualities described are based on the standards developed and adopted by the American Numismatic Association. MS-65 (uncirculated)—MS stands for…

Full steam ahead! Well, perhaps the U.S. Mint doesn’t use steam presses any more, but the Mint is kicking it into high gear, especially to satisfy what appears to be an almost insatiable thirst for bullion coins. While the market for scarce to rare coins is doing well, the action is truly the investor-driven sector where intrinsic value is more important than scarcity. Gold recently set a record by breaking through the psychological $2,000 barrier. Silver was suddenly recognized as a laggard, increasing impressively above the $28 level like an express train. Since silver is nowhere near its all-time price record, the question is just how high this white metal can go. Platinum, the other white metal, is appreciating as well. While collectors are likely more comfortable with treating coins…