In case you missed it the Atlantic County Numismatic Society (ACNS) was featured on the front page of the 10 July 2008 Issue of The Sentinel newspaper which services Somers Point, Linwood and Northfield, NJ.

Reporter Tom Gunne was nice enough to visit our 2 July 2008 club meeting and interviewed Adam Persello (on of our YNs) and his mom Catherine, Tom Kohler and myself for the piece. In addition to the front page ink, the ACNS story jumped to a second page featuring pictures of Gene Leoffler and Adam Persello.

You can download a PDF version of the full article here.

Q: Why are many coin banks shaped like pigs?

A: Long ago, dishes and cookware in Europe were made of a dense orange clay called ‘pygg.’ When people saved coins in jars made of this clay, the jars became known as ‘pygg banks.’ When an English potter misunderstood the word, he made a bank that resembled a pig and it caught on.

Q: Why do dimes, quarters and half dollars have reeded edges, while pennies and nickels do not?

A: The US Mint began putting reeding on the edges of coins containing gold and silver to discourage holders from shaving off small quantities of the precious metals. Dimes, quarters and half dollars were reeded because they used to contain silver. Pennies and nickels weren’t reeded because the metals they contain are not valuable enough to shave.

Nine silver dollars and a gold one-ounce $50 coin are called for in legislation seeking to honor the golden anniversary of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, known universally by its NASA initials.

There are two measures that originated in different houses of Congress. Senate Bill 2159 passed with amendments on June 19, while another measure, H.R. 250, passed the House last year.

Both measures would significantly expand the realm of intergalactic coinage, and incidentally modern commemoratives, with the first $50 commemorative coin since the Panama-Pacific Exposition of 1915 and the giant slugs it wrought. The Senate measure expressly overrules the “only two commemorative programs a year” provision of the U.S. code, calling for orders in 2008 and production between now and the end of 2009.

Source: Numismatic News.

New York gold and silver are rising sharply again. Let’s look at the recent price increases:

• 04 June 2008 - Gold - $876 per ounce, Silver - $16.72 per ounce.
• 23 June 2008 - Gold - $887 per ounce, Silver - $16.79 per ounce.
• 28 June 2008 - Gold - $920 per ounce, Silver - $17.40 per ounce.
• 01 July 2008 - Gold - $940 per ounce, Silver - $18.09 per ounce.

Gold is up $64 per ounce (6.8 percent), and silver is up $1.37 per ounce (7.6 percent) since our last meeting.

Keep up with daily prices at Kitco.