Welcome back to Something About Coins! Here are just a few of the interesting coin articles circulating the web.
The U.S. Mint added frequent flier miles to credit cards, an unintended outcome, with the free shipping offer on the $1 coin direct ship rolls program. The Wall Street Journal reported that several hundred people were buying the coins on their credit cards that offered frequent-flier mile awards, then depositing the coins in their bank account to pay off their credit card bill. All I say is, these people should look for one more perk. They should open their boxes from the Mint and search for error coins before going to the bank.
CoinNews.net published the latest U.S. Mint production figures and noted the 2009 Northern Mariana Islands quarters are the scarcest of any of the 50 State Quarters. The Philadelphia mint produced the fewest, at 35.2 million, and the Denver mint produced 37.6 million.
PCGS reported its buyback history, and CoinLink.com posted the list in its news archives. PCGS guarantees its grading service, and they buyback their mistakes, the article said. Of the twelve most expensive buybacks listed, the number one coin was a cleverly reworked 1794 silver dollar that cost PCGS $575,000 in January 2008.
Per the Associated Press and the Freedom of Information Act, the Pentagon released e-mails about suspicious Canadian coins. A few years ago, the government suspected Canada of espionage, the e-mails revealed, over a commemorative circulating Canadian "poppy" quarter made in 2004. What started the scare was coins that were thought to contain radio transmitters. It turned out what officials thought was "nanotechnology" was actually the protective coating over the red flower to keep the coloring from rubbing off.
Want to see thousands of gold and silver coins? Find the pirate ship's treasure at a Virginia museum. It shouldn't be hard to locate, because it's a 16,000 sq foot interactive exhibition at the Nauticus in Norfolk, VA. One news article said the display lasts until April 4, 2010.
I need to apologize for missing a few days of blogging. After doing some travelling for the holiday, I experienced some flu-like symptoms, but I'm feeling better now. And, I'll see you tomorrow!
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