Page 5 - Collector Tips

By Louis Golino 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 breathtaking works on display in many U.S. cities and states, it is useful to…

By Louis Golino 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 the world’s largest, heaviest and most valuable gold coin with over 2,200 pounds of 99.99% pure gold. It has a diameter of a whopping 80 centimeters, or almost three feet, and is almost five inches thick. Although its face value is only $1 million AUD, the coin is worth about $50 million at today’s gold price, making it also the most valuable coin of any type just from its gold…

By Sean McConeghy Updated on 08/31/2021 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 looking to buy silver. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Silver Eagle in 2006, the U.S Mint began issuing burnished Silver Eagles as well. Save for a two-year hiatus, the coin has been released every year since. Here are some of the key dates that even some of the most avid collectors have not yet managed to add to their collections. Key Date Bullion Silver Eagles 1986 Silver Eagle The first year of a new series is almost always…

By Louis Golino On May 22, before a hearing of the House Financial Services committee, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin revealed during questioning from members of the House of Representatives that a $20 note with Harriet Tubman on the front and Andrew Jackson on the back is unlikely to be issued before 2028 – well after a possible second Trump presidential term. In 2016, then-presidential candidate Trump said that putting Tubman on the $20 would be “pure political correctness” and instead suggested she should appear on the $2 bill, which is rarely seen in circulation. In addition to an abolitionist and political activist, Tubman (who was born a Maryland slave and lived from 1822 to 1913) is best known for her work for the Underground Railroad, which safely led hundreds of slaves to freedom in numerous risky clandestine raids. After the Civil War, she worked with Susan B. Anthony to promote enfranchising women, making her a key figure in both the anti-slavery and…

By Louis Golino A Brief Biography of Akiane Kramarik Akiane Kramarik is a self-taught American artist, poet, and writer who began her career as a young child. For more than two decades her works have dazzled and inspired millions. They are not just remarkably mature for how old she was when she produced them, but they are also rooted in her deep sense of spirituality and her enduring commitment to her work. Like her art and poetry, her spirituality and relationship to God were also self-discovered. She has been dubbed a genius and child prodigy, and more specifically as “the youngest binary prodigy in both realistic art and poetry in recorded history” because her accomplishments in both areas as a young child quickly surpassed that of most adults working in those fields. Akiane describes herself as a “visionary journalist,” who reports through her art, poetry and writing on what she sees in both the physical and non-physical worlds. In a 2014 interview in The…

By Louis Golino April 15 marks the 107th anniversary of one of the worst maritime disasters in history: the sinking off the coast of Canada of the RMS Titanic, which at the time, was the largest and most luxurious passenger ship in the world. On the night of April 14-15, 1912, 1517 of the 2229 passengers onboard, who had left Southampton England on April 10 heading for New York City, perished in the disaster, which was immortalized in a 1997 film and many other cinematic depictions. The wreckage from Titanic, which was operated by a company called White Star Line, included coins and paper currency such as silver certificate notes, U.S. gold half eagles, and silver and copper coins from the U.S., France and Great Britain. Appeal of shipwreck coins Many collectors have long been fascinated by coins that were found deep under the sea that were once part of the cargo of ships carrying treasure that sank. Over the course of American history, tens of thousands of such ships have…

The Perth Mint's Wedge-Tailed Eagle Series In 2014, John Mercanti and the Perth Mint made history as the former Chief Engraver of the United States Mint collaborated with the Perth Mint on the new Silver Wedge-Tailed Eagle. The new issue marked the first time that a US Mint engraver designed a coin for a foreign mint. The first release in the series had a mintage of just 50,000 pieces, and the response among collectors worldwide was so overwhelming that the series has become a mainstay of the Perth Mint and among the most anticipated annual releases among collectors. Among the most popular – and lowest mintage – issues in the series are the 5 oz. and 10 oz. high relief proof versions of the year’s Wedge Tail Eagle which carries the same design as the bullion pieces. These coins have had exceptionally low mintages, with the 2016 5 oz. High Relief Silver Proof and the 2018 10 oz. High Relief Silver Proof proving especially popular. The 2016 5 oz. Proofs have a maximum mintage of…

By GovMint :People have always been fascinated with “buried treasure,” whether on land or in the sea. Over time, many great hoards of coins have been discovered, and many rare coins have been found in relatively pristine condition because they were stored away and forgotten about for generations until they were discovered. Many existing hoards have already been found and dispersed through sales and auctions over the years, to the delight of many rare coin collectors. However, there are certainly many great coin hoards still hidden away, just waiting to be discovered. What Is a Coin Hoard? For most people, the term hoard infers a large quantity of something a person has gathered over a long period of time. Often, what the hoarder is passionate about is a valued collectible. A coin hoard is exactly that, a collection of coins, often ancient or of historical significance, intentionally stored or buried together and rediscovered as a single find. In the world of numismatics,…

Lost Buried Treasures Stories of lost buried treasure hoards capture the imagination and spark the hidden treasure hunter within all of us, who learn about these Legends of Lore. Hidden Treasure discoveries can happen anytime, anywhere, unexpectedly, or through extensive research and expense that may eventually reveal these artifacts of history. Unfortunately over the centuries, these hidden treasure stories can take on a life of their own, with little documented evidence or proof of their existence, but also many have left hints of history behind. History leaves clues, and those that follow these history hints may discover true treasure… whether from the enjoyment of the chase, to the actual realization of a historical find. Here is a look at some of hidden treasures from Colonial America, to the Civil War. You be the judge as to being fact, fiction, or a little of both. Rogers’ Rangers Silver In Colonial America, Rogers’ Rangers were a band of scouts and mercenaries…

Coins in Culture: Rich Traditions, Powerful Symbols Coin collecting tends to appeal to a rather narrow audience, much like any other hobby, but that does not mean that coins are forgotten by the rest of society. Aside from serving as media of exchange, coins are also central in cultural traditions throughout the world. In fact, finding cultures that do not have some sort of traditions involving coins is rather difficult. Wedding Coin Traditions Coins are incorporated into wedding rituals throughout the world. One of the most basic and clearest examples of this is the Irish tradition of a wedding day coin presentation. The groom gives his bride a coin while saying, “I give you this as a token of all that I possess.” This beautiful gesture encapsulates marriage perfectly, indicating that the groom is giving himself to his wife entirely; two become one. Across the Irish sea in Britain, there are two more popular wedding-related traditions. One of them comes from a…