Chinese Coins, Early Large Cents Collection at Auction, American Eagle August Sales

Posted on 03. Sep, 2009 by KJ in Auctions, New Coin Issues, US Mint

Welcome back to Something About Coins! Here are four new coin articles in the news I found most interesting today.

Peoples Bank of China will issue new gold and silver coins on September 16 to commemorate the founding of the People's Republic of China's 60th anniversary. The coins will be produced by Shenzhen Guobao Mint and Shenyang Mint, and distributed by the China Gold Coin Incorporation.

The Goldbergs will auction the most complete early large cents collection, reports Greg Reynolds, on Sunday, September 6, at the Beverly Hills Crowne Plaza Hotel. The auction will feature Dan Holmes' Early Dates large cents, Naftzger's Late Date large cents, and a variety of other coins. The most famous coins in the Holmes collection, and described in this article, are his 1795 Reeded Edge cent, his best 1793 Liberty Cap cent, and his two Strawberry Leaf cents.

Nearly 1500 lots, featuring rare Colonial and Early Federal Era coinage, will be auctioned at Bowers and Merena Official Pre-Show Auction of the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Philadelphia Expo on September 22. The auction will spotlight an extremely rare type 1652 Massachusetts Bay Colony Willow Tree Shilling, graded by PCGS at AU-58. Other important lots include a historic 1776 Continental Dollar in PCGS MS-64 and a rare BU 1932 Double Eagle in MS-66 graded by NGC.

Historically, August can be slower for coins compared to other months in the year. This year, however, gold and silver American Eagles experienced higher than normal sales, according to Mike Unser's analysis of the U.S. Mint's bullion eagle sales figures. In fact, Silver Eagles had their best August since the series launched in 1986, and Gold Eagles registered their fourth best August ever. Totals for the year are also high for both coin versions. So far, the U.S. Mint has sold 18,764,500 Silver Eagles and 838,500 Gold Eagles.

Here are some American Eagle Coins on the secondary market: