Welcome back to Something About Coins! Below are some snapshots of interesting coin articles that have surfaced across the web.
The Perth Mint released a 2010 Australian Centenary of Flight coin, per SilverCoinsToday.com. It's a silver proof coin commemorating the centennial anniversary of the first sustained flight in Australia. The article said Harry Houdini, the famous magician, was actually the pilot of that historic flight on March 18, 1910, and the article described the event. The new coin has a mintage limit of 7,500.
Another coin celebrating aviation is the new 2009 British Virgin Islands Centenary of Naval Aviation coin. It was announced Friday by the Pobjoy Mint, and two versions of the coin are being made. There's a proof silver coin with a mintage limit of 10,000 and an uncirculated cupro nickel coin without a limit.
Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) will be offering coin imaging services on-site at the Whitman Baltimore Coin and Currency show. In the press release, President of PCGS Don Willis states, “The PCGS TrueView service offers quality images that quality coins deserve. TrueView images are among the finest in the numismatic hobby." A PCGS photographer will be at the show Nov. 12 and the morning of the 13th. The service will be first-come first served and costs $50 per coin.
The fourth 2009 Lincoln Cent launch is only a few days away, and there's another article reminding everyone of the locations and times for the penny exchange. The event takes place in Washington, DC on Thursday, Nov. 12.
Speaking of the 2009 Lincoln cent, the U.S. Mint was gearing up for the release last month, CoinNews revealed. In the chart for the Mint's October Coin Production, you can see 266 million new pennies were minted in October. I'm hoping I'll get to see one, or actually any 2009 coin, show up in my pocket change.
An online news article from the United Kingdom reported a problem with their pocket change. Apparently, there is a 1 in 40 chance that the pound in their change is fake. Circulating pounds are the most counterfeited currency in Britain, the article reported. The problem has been increasing over the last six years, and the Royal Mint is working on designs to minimize the risk.
Paul M. Green wrote another informative article for Numismatic News, this time on Confederate coinage. He tells several stories about the coins minted at New Orleans, Dahlonega, and Charlotte during the Civil War. These branch mints had limited capabilities, due to limited available dies and blanks during the war. Many key issues, details, grades and values are given. Green highlights several interesting coins, such as the 1861-O half dollar with a crack running from the nose to the edge on the obverse. That coin is worth more in every grade since that was a characteristic of the die used while the Confederates controlled the mint. I blogged about Doug Winter's "subset" of Civil War era gold coins yesterday, and Green's article provides some unique history behind those some of those coins.
The Austrian Mint wants a Tampa, FL coin dealer to give its Vienna Philharmonic coins back, relayed TampaBay.com, the online version of the St. Petersburg Times. The National Gold Exchange, a Tampa gold and coin business owned by Mark Yaffe, allegedly bought the 1,500 gold coins from the Austrian Mint so they could be sold on consignment, but things went south when Yaffe filed bankruptcy in July.
As I was scanning the web today, I came across a photo of the commander-in-chief's challenge coin on Fox New's White House blog. It was the coin he left beside each victim's photo at the memorial service today at Fort Hood in Texas. The coin looked much different than the Obama Challenge Coins I saw on eBay. So, I'm wondering if any of the challenge coins on eBay were actually given to individuals who met President Obama, or if they are simply custom made or fake challenge coins. Perhaps the President has several kinds of challenge coins, maybe a different one for each event. I don't know. If you know, would you please contact me? Thx.
Just for kicks and grins, I'm going to blog about a paper money collection. The American Numismatic Association Bebee Collection of paper money can be seen online at www.money.org (click the image for "Visit the Money Museum," then select "The ANA Bebee Collection of U.S. Paper Money/View the Collection Image Gallery ") or go to www.ana-museum.org. My dad should check this out. I saw a National Bank Note Serial # 3.
See you tomorrow!
License for phpBay Pro is invalid.
