The U.S. Mint’s highly-anticipated American Eagle 25th Anniversary Silver Coin Set went on sale at the Mint Web site (http://catalog.usmint.gov/) and by calling 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468) on Wednesday, October 27th at 12noon.

The sets were offered for $299.95 with a limit of five per household. There was a production limit of 100,000 sets (compared to the 250,000 of the 2006 sets) and two coins from it are certain to be keys of the entire series:

• The reverse proof coin, and
• The “S” Mint burnished version from the San Francisco Mint

The sets sold out very quickly — 4.5 hours according to the Mint — and those that got through had to endure hours of delays and error messages.

Recommended reading on the topic:

• Nov. 11, 2011 – Grading Service Guidelines and Clarification on Bullion Coin in 25th Anniversary Silver Eagle Sets. Louis Golino, Coin Week
• Nov. 8, 2011 – Update on 25th Anniversary Silver Eagle Sets. Louis Golino, Coin Week
• Oct. 28, 2011 – 25th Anniversary Silver Eagle Sets Sell Out in 4 ½ Hours Amid Widespread Ordering Problems. Louis Golino, Coin Week

Treasure Under Your Feet – A Metal Detecting Workshop by Ray Williams

Immediate Past President of Colonial Coin Collectors Club (C4) Ray Williams will be giving a special presentation on Metal Detecting called “Treasure Under Your Feet” on Wednesday, October 19, 2011 in Galloway Township, NJ.

After Ray’s presentation he’ll answer your questions on metal detecting. If you own a metal detector or have treasures that you’ve found – bring them to this hands-on workshop. If you’re interested in learning more about this exciting hobby, bring your questions.

In this session you’ll learn how a metal detector works, how to discriminate between treasure and trash, and how to save your digging for when it’s actually worthwhile. Ray will also demonstrate how various items sound when your detector gets a “hit” and provide helpful tips at how best to excavate your treasure.

THIS IS AN EXCELLENT PRESENTATION THAT YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS!

ACNS is conveniently located less than five miles away from numerous popular beach destinations — all ripe for detecting after a busy summer tourist season and the wrath of hurricane Irene. There’s never been a better time to pick up the hobby of metal detecting — and with metal prices at historical highs, the “treasure under you’re feet” can be truly valuable.

Ray’s Metal Detecting presentation at the Whitman Expo in Philadelphia was excellent and inspiring. I posted a small photo gallery from it here.

This special presentation is being held at the ACNS satellite location at the Galloway Township Library. The address is:

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP BRANCH: Atlantic County Library System
306 East Jimmie Leeds Road
Galloway, NJ 08205-4109
(609) 652-2352 (library information only)
(609) 412-1490 (coin club questions)

Follow Garden State Parkway to the Atlantic City Rest Area exit (mile marker 41.4) and follow to Jimmie Leeds Road ramp. Make a Right at the light and follow Jimmie Leeds Road about 1.7 miles until you see the complex on your right. We’ll be in the large meeting room on your left as you enter the Library.

Read Ray’s interview in the April 2010 issue of Collector’s Weekly.

The Atlantic County Numismatic Society (ACNS) is the coin club of record in Atlantic County, New Jersey that meets on the first Wednesday of the month in Linwood. ACNS a member of American Numismatic Association (ANA) and the Garden State Numismatic Association (GSNA) Coin Club of the Year for 2010. More information is posted on the club’s Website at www.accoins.org.

I first saw this on Twitter:

Here’s the full story (via Dow Jones):

SEOUL, Aug 01, 2011 (Dow Jones Commodities News Select via Comtex) –

The Bank of Korea said Tuesday it increased the amount of gold held as part of the country’s foreign exchange reserves for the first time in 13 years, diversifying its portfolio away from the dollar and toward an investment class widely considered a safer bet during crises.

The central bank bought 25 metric tons of gold from the global market between June and July, bringing its total goldreserves to 39.4 tons as of the end of July, the BOK said in a statement.

“The gold purchase, as a safety net, will help us cope with volatile global financial markets and enhance investor confidence in Korea in times of crises,” Hong Taeg-ki, chief of the BOK’s reserve management group, told Dow Jones Newswires. He declined to comment whether the BOK will continue with its gold purchases.

This is the first time the BOK has resumed buying the precious metal since the central bank purchased gold from Koreans during the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis, when Korean individuals took their personal gold out of their dressers as part of a public gold-raising campaign to help the country out of the crisis.

Central banks around the world have gained renewed interest in having gold as part of their monetary reserves after the 2007-2008 global financial crisis, and gold prices have soared on rising demand.

Prices of gold in the spot market rose to a record $1,632.74 a troy ounce Friday amid sovereign debt concerns in the U.S. and Europe. Gold prices fell only a tad even after the U.S. announced a debt deal Sunday.

European central banks, big sellers of gold just a few years earlier, have all since stopped offloading the metal. India and Sri Lanka were among major buyers when the International Monetary Fund sold gold last year. China, which has the world’s biggest foreign reserves, has been increasing its gold holdings, though its purchases have been mainly from domestic producers.

Citing World Gold Council data, the BOK said the country likely rank 45th in gold holdings with its 39.4 tons–rising 11 notches because of its recent purchase.

BOK’s gold holdings, at market prices, account for 0.7% of its reserves, up from 0.2% prior to the purchase.

The BOK said Korea’s reserves rose for the first time in three months to a record high of $311.03 billion at the end of July.

-By In-Soo Nam, Dow Jones Newswires; 822-3700-1902; In-Soo.Nam@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-01-11 1700ET

Dear Members & Friends:

The Atlantic County Numismatic Society meets Wednesday, August 3, 2011.

After a brief discussion of Numismatic current events, we’ll discuss the world of numismatics and answer your concerns and questions about coin collecting. Got a problem coin or one of questionable authenticity? Bring it and one of our experts will be happy to to review it and provide a free appraisal.

The ACNS meeting will be held from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at:

Linwood Public Library
301 Davis Avenue
Linwood, New Jersey, 08221
http://www.LinwoodLibrary.com/
(609) 412-1490 (for club information)

The meeting agenda is as follows:

• 6:00 pm – Social hour
• 7:00 pm – Business/educational presentation
• 8:00 pm – Coin auction (Auction sheet attached)

Please contact me with any questions.

- Jason O’Grady, President

Realized: $345,000 (AU 55)

Realized: $503,125 (MS 61)

1794 $1 AU55 NGC. B-1, BB-1, R.4. The McCoy Collection Specimen. With a continuous provenance dating back to 1864, this piece is one of the most historic 1794 silver dollars among the 135 or so pieces currently known. Martin A. Logies compiled a significant study of 1794 silver dollars, The Flowing Hair Silver Dollars of 1794, published in 2004. He recorded provenance details and additional information about 125 different specimens, with nearly all illustrated. Years earlier, the late Jack Collins spent 25 years studying the 1794 silver dollars, and his work resulted in an unpublished manuscript, 1794 The History and Genealogy of the First United States Dollar. Only Collins’ untimely death prevented publication of the nearly complete manuscript. Collins recorded details of about 117 different 1794 silver dollars in his manuscript.

Combining the two references and adding a couple of specimens, we now have an accounting of 132 different 1794 dollars, including this coin, which we consider the 10th finest. Based on the current provenance record, the present specimen was only the third 1794 dollar to appear on the numismatic scene. The British Museum owns an example that dates to 1818, and a second example appeared in an 1863 W. Elliot Woodward Sale. Two coins from the St. Oswald sale of 1964 reportedly date to the time they were minted, although such a provenance is unfounded.

Tip: Heritage Auctions

The acquisition and ownership of an 1804 silver dollar is a yardstick by which all great numismatic collections are measured, as it has been for more than a century and a half.  Known as “the King”, the 1804 silver dollar is the single most famous numismatic rarity, attracting more attention than any other single coin.

Several books, numerous articles, and many auction appearances have filled countless published pages over the past 150 years. Previous owners rank among the most famous numismatists, and in some cases among the famous personalities in this country. Limited market availability means that the successful capture of one of these prizes can take a lifetime.

Many American numismatic pieces, patterns and regular issues, are rarer than the 1804 silver dollar, with its population of 15 known specimens. Another issue, the 1933 double eagle, with an auction record in excess of $7 million, holds the title of most expensive, at least based on past sales. However, no other U.S. coin can ever be popularly accepted as the King of Coins. The 1804 silver dollar is clearly the most famous coin ever struck at a U.S. mint. Its rarity has been documented for more than 150 years.

Tip: CoinLink

On Aug. 15, it suspended sales of the American Eagle gold 1 ounce bullion coins because inventories had been depleted.

“The United States Mint has been experiencing unprecedented demand for American Eagle silver bullion coins this year, exceeding the capacity of our blank vendors,” said Mint spokesperson Michael White.

“While Federal law mandates that the United States Mint produce silver bullion coins to meet public demand, there is no such requirement to produce proof versions of these coins,” he said.

Cathy Laperle, team lead for the U.S. Mint Bullion Program, said the Mint has inventory for all bullion programs, except for the 1 ounce gold.

“We are working diligently to build up our inventory and hope to resume sales shortly,” she said of the 1 ounce gold coins.

Sales of American Eagle Silver Proof coins will resume at a later date, White said, provided that the Mint can acquire sufficient inventories of silver blanks to meet public demand for all American Eagle Silver products.

The Mint is continuing to sell the 2008 American Eagle Silver Uncirculated coins on its Web site at http://catalog.usmint.gov/.

Courtesy of Numismatic News.

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.

District of Columbia Mayor Adrian Fenty announced Thursday the winning Washington, D.C. quarter design featuring historical jazz legend, Duke Ellington. The Mayor officially communicated the selection to United States Mint Director Edmund Moy.

The voting was close across each, but the winning quarter design of Ellington won by 3 percentage points.

In a letter to Director Moy, Mayor Fenty could not help but bring up the Mint’s rejection of D.C.’s first inscription choice, “Taxation Without Representation.”

“As you know, the overwhelming majority of Washingtonians who participated in the entire process requested that the District quarter include the phrase “Taxation Without Representation” to help educate the country about our historical and continued status as unequal citizens.

We were disappointed by your decision to disallow this phrase, as it is a condition with which we live every day.”

2009 quarter release schedule:

• The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
• Guam
• American Samoa
• The United States Virgin Islands
• The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Source: CoinNews.net

The photos in this gallery were taken inside a Chinese coin counterfeiting operation. This counterfeiting ring is suspected of putting thousands of fake coins onto the world and U.S. coin markets every month. These striking photos first emerged on certain Web-based coin discussion boards in Europe and the Far East. They came to my attention through a numismatic watchdog/satire blog called Biddle’s Bank. These are the same coins which are being put into counterfeit PCGS and NGC coin holders, although they are most frequently sold raw (non-slabbed.)

The sheer size, scope, and professionalism of this counterfeiting ring will astonish you. Although the working conditions often appear dirty and the minting equipment is old, this is obviously a well-funded enterprise that is run like a legal business in China. There is no law in China against making these “replicas” as long as they are sold as such.