Collector Tips

What is a Type Set? It is neither affordable, nor even possible on an unlimited budget to acquire one of every United States Mint coin ever issued. Since many collectors have a hard time settling on just one series to collect, many collectors decide to build a “type set” of US coins. Type set coin collecting means collecting by design type rather than by date and mint mark. This approach has existed for a long time but became especially popular around 1960. During this time, coin stores were seen in many areas, several major hobby periodicals still issued today were first issued due to this increased interest in coins, and with more people collecting United States Mint coins, it became harder to build complete sets of any one series, which led many collectors to start building the aforementioned type sets.  There are many ways to collect Un ...

The Coca-Cola® Company: An American Success Story Coming up from humble beginnings in the late 19th century, Coca-Cola® has emerged as the world’s first – and still most recognizable – global brand. The company currently offers its products in all but two countries around the world, Cuba and North Korea, and the only reason that it isn’t available in those two is because of American trade embargoes. People of all ages enjoy the original beverage and its countless offshoots every day. From Humble Origins to Global Phenomenon Coca-Cola’s® story began in Georgia in 1886. After the Civil war, pharmacist John S. Pemberton invented Pemberton’s French Wine Cola, which he made at his d ...

Every collector of 20th century U.S. coins is familiar with perennially popular Winged Liberty dime and the legendary Walking Liberty half dollar, both of which are among the most widely collected coin series to this day. Both coins debuted in 1916 – as military conflict was exploding in Europe amid growing calls for the U.S. to enter the Great War and economic disruption in the U.S. marked by huge inflationary pressures. Both coins also appealed to the American spirit of optimism and patriotism and were issued the year before the U.S. entered the war, which cemented its role as a global power. Most collectors also know that these celebrated designs are the work of Adolph Weinman, a German-American artist and sculptor who rose to prominence in the early 20th century. To better appreciate Weinman’s numismatic and medallic creations, not to mention his architectural sculpture in breath ...

Gold has been in the news recently as spot prices hit a six-year high, reaching more than $1440 per ounce. Gold has also been in the headlines recently because of news related to the world’s two largest gold coins. The Largest Gold Coin in the World: 1 Ton Gold Kangaroo The first is the 2011 One Ton Australian Kangaroo gold coin created by the Perth Mint in Western Australia to showcase the mint’s popular gold Kangaroo series that began in 1989.  The coin, whose reverse design of a bounding red kangaroo surrounded by stylized rays of sunlight was created by Stuart Devlin, is ...

American Silver Eagles serve as the backbone of many collections around the world. While other countries began issuing silver bullion coins earlier, the Silver Eagle’s status as the only annual modern silver bullion series backed for weight and purity by the US government earned it preeminent status in the numismatic world. In the year that the bullion series began, so, too, did the proof series. Although proof mintages are just a small fraction of the bullion ones, they are popular among many collectors. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Silver Eagle in 2006, the U.S Mint began issuing burnished Silver ...

In 1969, the world watched in awe as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men ever to set foot on the surface of the moon. Tears came to the eyes of many as the rock that is over 200,000 miles away seemed just a little bit closer. So, too, by extension, did the rest of the universe. Now, Mints around the world are celebrating the 50th anniversary of that first lunar visit, and Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) is contributing to the festivities through their partnership with astronaut Charlie Duke. Early Life Charlie Duke was born in North Carolina and grew up in South Carolina and Florida. After graduating from Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg as the school’s valedictorian, he entered the US Naval Academy, from which he graduated in 1957. He then entered ...

Platinum is one of the rarest, purist and most precious metals. It is part of what is known as the platinum group, referring to elements arranged together on the periodic table, which includes indium, osmium, palladium, platinum, rhodium, and ruthenium.  Its key properties are that it has the same sheen as silver, but does not tarnish, plus it is much harder and stronger than gold, making it useful for metallic bonding, and has an extremely high melting point. Platinum was discovered in the 16th century by the Spanish, who found it mixed with gold and called it “platina,” or little silver. Most of the world’s platinum today comes from two countries – Russia and South Africa.   In the early 1700s metallurgists in Europe began exploring its use in industry, but they were stymied by the great difficulty of melting the metal. Then, in 1782 new ways to melt the ...

What are interest rates? Interest rates are the benchmarks or rates at which money is either borrowed or loaned. It is normally expressed as percentages or amounts. In short: Interest rates determine the cost of money and credit. The most important interest rates Federal Discount Rate: The federal discount rate is the interest rate at which commercial and private banks borrow money from the Federal Reserve. Money loaned via this “discount window” helps banks to maintain minimum reserve levels as determined by law. Changes in the federal discount rate affect the prime rate, which in turn affects consumer spending, inflation expectations and more. These two rates normally move in the same direction. Prime Rate: The prime rate is in essence a benchmark for lending rates. This index is used to determine interest rates when it comes to personal loans ...

Although owing physical gold appeals to many looking for the ultimate protection against financial calamity, others are quite interested in the pure investment potential for gold. Taking delivery of actual gold coins can be expensive when considering shipping, insurance and storage. There are also security risks to be considered when handling physical gold. Even a handful of gold coins now represent thousands of dollars. Many individuals have chosen gold exchanged traded funds for investing in gold. Others have picked gold stocks or perhaps actual contracts on the commodity exchange. Investors have poured billions into these investment vehicles in the past few years. Many wonder if someday they might be able to invest in generic United States gold coins that are traded in an exchange trade fund (EFT). You can be sure that this has been explored by many of the large players in the gold coin market. With the premiums for most generic United States gold coins trading at histori ...

The average American citizen doesn't put too much thought into how their pocket change is made. However, coin collectors and numismatists are very interested in the minting process. So, assuming you hope to advance in the numismatic community – or maybe you just want to gain some interesting facts to surprise your friends with – you should learn more about how coins are made. Here are some key terms to remember before you begin: Minting: process of creating coins  Coin die: one of the metallic pieces that strike each side of the coin Striking: method of pressing an image into the blank metal The process of manufacturing coins has been around for thousands of years – since around 700 B.C. There have been hundreds of different minting techniques and technologies over the years, along with many different leaders' and prominent figures' images gracing the coins. Initially, coins were made with ...