Welcome back to Something About Coins! Mints from around the world are capturing history and our imagination. Two new commemorative coins are announced, and two existing circulation coins are analyzed.
The Perth Mint released a new orbital collector coin, the "1969-First Man On The Moon 2009 Silver Proof Orbital Coin," reports CoinNews.net. It's the fourth orbital coin in the innovative Orbit and Beyond series, which has an outer ring that can be moved around the colorized image of Earth in the center.
A new series of colorized coins is by the People's Bank of China. It's the 2009 "Outlaws of the Marsh" Gold and Silver Coins. A thorough description of the coins, and the storylines behind the Chinese characters they feature, was published on WorldMintCoins.com.
Vatican Euro Coins are not new, although they have changed a couple of times. Numismaster.com posted an article from Richard Giedroyc, World Coin News, earlier this week. In his analysis, he said European Union officials, who make the coinage rules, are not happy that Vatican coins are minted with a different design during the interim period between popes, and few of the interim coinage reach circulation. Although the numbers of minted coins are not included in the article, the article still establishes the scarcity factor of the coins.
Scarcity is not much of an issue for a 19th century half dollar, but certain types of the Philadelphia Seated Liberty half dollars are collectibles. Paul M. Green, of Numismatic News, evaluated the set for an article posted yesterday. His long, informative evaluation includes a background of the times, mintage totals, desirable grades, and current values for both Mint State and circulated versions.
Finally, you probably know how a bill becomes a law, but do you know how a bill becomes a coin? A Viewpoint posted on NumismaticNews.com talks about how coins are made and the U.S. Mint's power in the process. As the article describes, much of what the mint does is prescribed by law.
License for phpBay Pro is invalid.