Last week we looked at the $5 gold coin being currently released by the US Mint, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the American Legion in its present form. Now we will take a look at the $1 silver coin, that is part of the set of three coins created and released […]
Back last year we gave some brief coverage to the designs for the American Legion Commemorative coins that the US Mint was preparing to release, to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Legion. Now they are being released, it seems like a good moment to take a more detailed look at each one. There are […]
Yes, that’s right, there is such as thing as a $3 coin made by the US Mint for 35 years, between 1854 and 1889. In the early 19th century gold coins were overvalued – their face value was below their melt value, so once minted they were exported for use in international trade. To keep […]
In 1857, a 250-foot ship, the SS Central America, sank in a hurricane off the Carolinas, while sailing from Panama to New York City. Not only did 325 of the 578 passengers and crew on board perish, but 30,000 pounds of gold bullion was lost, triggering the world’s first financial crisis, the ‘Panic of 1857’. […]
As the average age of coin collectors continues to rise, the idea of getting children interesting in this fascinating hobby becomes more and more relevant. Kids are always fascinating by things that glow in the dark, and the US Mint has obliged with a set that also celebrates the 50th anniversary of the first Moon […]
Collecting bank notes is a natural companion to collecting coins, and many collections contain both. In the past people put their trust in hard coins of precious metals, but as banking developed the idea of issuing a piece of paper, which the bank would turn back into coins on request, grew. Before the Civil War […]
In recent weeks we have been talking about coin collecting itself, rather than particular coins, and since there is so much to say on this topic, we are continuing the theme this week, with some answers to the basic question of new collectors, “So I want to collect coins, where do I start?” The simplest […]
Last week, at a time when we all think about new starts for the New Year, we started talking about taking up coin collecting. We look at the two basic reasons to do so – which are often combined in a single collection – doing it for pleasure and interest and collecting for an investment. […]
As one year turns into the next, and we all start thinking about doing something new for the New Year (such a better way to think about it than making resolutions), how about starting a coin collection? Over the next couple of weeks we’ll look at this thought, and cover the basics of why and […]
Every year, when the holidays roll around, we all scramble to think of interesting gift ideas for family and friends. Children – our own, or our children’s – get lots of attention, but so many of the gifts we give have a very short life. Toys break; technology becomes outdated; clothes wear out or become […]
It was 2011 when a circulation $1 coin was last released – the coin that Americans have shown surprising resistance to using every day. Since then only proof coins for collectors have been made, so the release on December 14, 2018 of the first of a new 15-year series called ‘American Innovators’ is big news […]
Most coin collectors build their collections around modern, or fairly modern coins. For many a 19th century coin is ‘old’, but of course coins have been around for thousands of years. Surely there can be nothing more magical than owning a coin that is 2,000 years old, and has passed through the hands of people […]
The $1 coin remains unpopular in America, unlike the situation in most other countries, where the basic unit has been a coin for many years. Despite that, the history of the American dollar coin is a long one, reaching back into the 19th century. Dollar coins have been made by the Mint since its founding […]
The recent sale of a Judd-3 1792 Birch cent at auction must represent the extreme opposite of the change in our pockets. A comparative bargain at only $660,000, the penny changed hands at the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Winter Expo, held from October 25 to 28, 2018, in Baltimore. The well-known New York coin auction […]
Recently we wrote about collecting small change – the nickels and dimes that are rapidly disappearing from everyday use, with the growth of electronic methods for small purchases. These everyday items remain important for collectors though, and especially if you want to build an interesting collection, full of the history of American life, without investing […]
Coin collectors always have one eye on the bullion value of their coins and may also directly collect bullion in the form of gold, silver and platinum coins and bars. The last few weeks have been turbulent times indeed for all kinds of investors. Cryptocurrencies collapsed, and now seem to be reviving, thanks in part […]
Gold & Silver Market 11-23-2015
The precious metals sector was confusing last week, with a mixed bag of performances and no clear pattern visible. The two big investment items, gold and silver, didn’t show a lot of movement. Neither did platinum, while palladium managed to rise. With the equities markets also rising quite strongly, propelled mostly by gains in defense […]
Gold & Silver Market 11-17-2015
Once again there were disappointing results right across the precious metals sector last week, although the scale of losses varied. Overall it was a worrying period, because metals managed to lose ground even though the equities markets fell heavily. Normally we’d have expected to see metals make a lot of ground in these market conditions, […]
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