The 824 gold staters were found in a broken pottery jar

One of the UK’s largest hauls of Iron Age gold coins has been found in Suffolk.

The 824 so-called staters were found in a broken pottery jar buried in a field near Wickham Market using a metal detector.

Jude Plouviez, of the Suffolk County Council Archaeological Service, said the coins dated from 40BC to AD15.

They are thought to have been minted by predecessors of the Iceni Queen Boudicca.

Ms Plouviez said their value when in circulation had been estimated at a modern equivalent of between £500,000 and £1m, but they were likely to be worth less than that now.

Courtesy of the BBC

The following email started making the rounds in November 2008. It is categorized by rumor-busting Snopes.com as “undetermined” and was submitted by ACNS member Joe Gurrier.

The gist of the story is that the rear of the circulating $1 Federal Reserve Note features an arrangement of 13 stars in the form of a Star of David in the right-hand circle above the eagle.

According to the circulating email “this was ordered by George Washington who, when he asked Hayim Solomon, a wealthy Philadelphia Jew, what he would like as a personal reward for his services to the Continental Army, Solomon said he wanted nothing for himself but that he would like something for his people.  The Star of David was the result.”

The full email follows…

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PCGS has emailed out the inaugural issue of the PCGS eCollector for 2009, Collectors Club members should find it in their in-boxes. This gem is from Vol. 2 No. 14:

Question: What does “cameo” mean, as in cameo Proof? Where are these listed? Is a cameo Proof better than a non-cameo Proof? I am not able to put my finger on much information. Can you help?

Answer: The term cameo with regard to Proofs refers to a Proof coin on which the main design, most notably the portrait or central figure, has a frosted or lustrous finish, while the fields or flat areas are deeply mirrorlike. Just about all of the copper, nickel, silver, and gold Proof coins made at the Philadelphia Mint from the early days, through the time of general availability of Proofs to the public (1858), down to 1902, are cameo Proofs. In 1902-3, someone at the Mint began polishing the deep recesses in the Proof dies, and Miss Liberty on some Proofs of 1902, most all of 1903, and some of later dates have “polished” rather than cameo portraits. Most copper Proofs 1905-1909 (Indian), nickel Proofs 1905-1912), silver Proofs 1905-1915, and Liberty Head gold Proofs 1905-1907 revert to the cameo style. It was discovered that adding the word cameo to a description of, for example, a Proof half dollar of the 1890s, would increase its marketability, never mind that almost all Proofs are normally this way. One thing led to another, and today cameo is a popular adjective, including on some of the more recent holders. Fast forward to 1950, when Proof coins were struck for collectors, after a hiatus since 1942. From 1950 onward, Proof die preparation was apt to be erratic, as demand was tremendous and vast quantities of Proofs were struck. Thus, rather than being prepared by a handful of specialists, Proof dies were processed by more employees at the Mint. Some employees polished the interior of the portrait and others left well enough alone (an unpolished die = a lustrous or cameo portrait in most instances). Thus, among Proofs from 1950 onward there are some notable differences, “polished” vs. “cameo” portraits on some series, such as Franklin half dollars 1950-1963. Such are quite popular to collect and study. Among such later coins the addition of “cameo” to a description has some real meaning.

–Q. David Bowers, Bowers and Merena Galleries

A post on the Mint News Blog provides collectors with the price for the 2009 Ultra High Relief Gold Double Eagle.

The new pricing methodology is based primarily on the London Fix weekly average (average of the London Fix prices covering the previous Thursday a.m. Fix through the Wednesday a.m. Fix) platinum and gold prices, which reflect the market value of the platinum and gold bullion that these products contain.

As required by law, the prices of these products also must be sufficient to recover all other costs incurred by the United States Mint, such as the cost of minting, marketing, and distributing such products (including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and promotional and overhead expenses).

This pricing methodology will allow the United States Mint to change the prices of these products as often as weekly so they better reflect the costs of platinum and gold on the open markets.

Provided the average price of gold remains between $850 and $899.99, the price of the coin will be $1,239.00.

Thanks to Ronald S. Thompson for forwarding this information about the upcoming Barack Obama inaugural medals.

Whether you voted for Barack or not, you might want to let you members know about getting an OIM. I found out that the OIM is not being handled by the usual Inaugural Medal Subcommittee of the Official Inaugural Committee. It is being handled directly by transition team.

As a result you have to buy directly from the transition teams web site rather than through dealers like Presidential Coin and Antique Company (Joe Levine) or Stack’s. So there won’t be advertising in the NN or Coin World. Also the variety is limited - just one bronze inaugural medal ($60) unless you want to also buy a challenge coin.

You can get them by going to the following URL: http://www.pic2009.org/content/home/

Once there click on Inaugural Store at the top menu bar then click on either collectibles or jewelry as it is listed in both places.

Update: Both bronze ($60) and silver ($400) versions are available.

This piece by Jeff Clark, editor, BIG GOLD (courtesy of Daily Wealth) is worthy of a read.

As long-time readers of Casey Research know, I believe owning real, physical gold is rule No. 1 when it comes to protecting your family’s finances from a potential dollar crisis.

And if you’ve tried to buy gold in the past few months, you know many investors are coming around to this line of thinking. The premiums folks have to pay now to own physical gold have shot up to historic highs… with the Royal Canadian Mint reporting being “busier than we’ve ever been.” Coins are still hard to find, and premiums remain unusually high.

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