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

This is an odd convergence of ingenuity and idiocy: a man tried to clean out (tee hee) the coin coffers of an apartment laundry room with a backpack-mounted vacuum cleaner. He netted $20! And was then arrested.

The saddest part of this story? The local news report’s claim that he “no longer has the vacuum.” Well now he’s just going to have to steal one of those too! Also noted is his prior criminal record, including the theft of “an artificial Christmas tree from the Salvation Army and 32 pallets from Super Saver.” This man is clearly the Lex Luthor of petty, strange, Midwestern crime. He even sort of looks like a supervillain. [KETV via Neatorama]

Tip: Gizmodo

NORTHFIELD – To some people, coins are just a clink in the pocket, the leftovers from a purchase. But to numismatists, holding a coin is like holding a piece of history in the palm of your hand.

Matthew Bye, 15, of Northfield is one of those who see coins as more than just currency.

He was named young numismatist of the year by the Atlantic County Numismatist Society at the group’s Jan. 31 meeting.

Club president and founder Jason O’Grady of Northfield said Bye is an incredibly knowledgeable collector with a great deal of potential.

“He is active in our Young Numismatist program and helps at all the meetings,” O’Grady said.

Bye, a sophomore taking classes with Seton Catholic Online High School, said coins tell a story, often of what was important nationally at the time it was minted. He said researching the images on a coin help him unravel its story, and often he discovers something historical in the process.

After giving it much thought, Bye said his favorite coin is a rather rare Christopher Columbus silver dollar minted in the late 1800s. He bought the coin at a swap meet for about $7, but to the young collector the intrinsic value far outweighs the monetary value. A bust of Columbus is on the front of the coin. He flipped it to reveal the image on the reverse, the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria sailing across the ocean. As he rubbed this thumb along the notched edge Bye said,

“I don’t think there are too many people who have had a chance to see this unusual image of Columbus and then his fleet of ships,” said Bye, rubbing his thumb along the notched edge. “When the coin was minted it was not widely circulated, and it was issued at the anniversary of Columbus’ first voyage.”

It was not the Columbus dollar that first gave Bye the itch to learn about coins. It was an older Chinese coin that was a remembrance from his grandmother that piqued his interest. The coin is worth only its face value from a collector’s standpoint, but for Bye it was the first coin that made him want to know more and to find out why particular symbols were used.

He has collected all of the state quarters and is now trying to collect the six U.S. territorial coins. He is finding that difficult to do.

“They were produced for such a short period of time, just 10 weeks each,” he said. “There are a lot fewer of these quarters than the state quarters, but I am working on it. I go through the change and look at every coin. I have asked at the bank, and I am hopeful that I will eventually complete that collection,” he said.

For snagging the title of the young numismatist of the year Bye received an uncirculated Silver Eagle dollar minted the year he was born. With a big smile the young collector agreed that the coin, the same age as he is, is something pretty cool to call his own.

The Atlantic County Numismatist Society meets 7 p.m. the first Wednesday of the month at the Linwood Library, and new members are always welcome. Meetings often feature a speaker, and a portion of each meeting is set aside for a coin auction and swap. To learn more about the club and coin collecting visit www.accoins.org.

• Sunday, September 12, 2010
• Sunday, November 14, 2010

All meetings are held on the 6th floor at Bally’s Casino in Atlantic City at 11:00 a.m. Carpools are encouraged and I can take up to three ACNS members from Northfield.

Here are some of the more interesting casino chips that I saw at the show… and YES that’s a $22,500 ($5) chip from the Stardust in the lower left of the first picture!

The coin was discovered by Michigan collector, Michael Tremonti, who was examining two rolls of uncirculated 1969-S cents on October 3. After consulting with well-known error-variety expert, Ken Potter, Tremonti submitted the coin to PCGS. “I was totally amazed that this coin could turn up out of nowhere. The coin is completely original and full mint red. It’s a beautiful near-Gem example,” said David Hall, PCGS co-founder and president of Collectors Universe, Inc.

Tip: Bill Klusaritz

Source: CoinResource