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Here are a few short summaries of recent coin collecting news.
NumisMaster.com published the list of Coin of the Year Winners by World Coin News and Krause Publications. A few of the ten winners follow. Best Gold was awarded to Latvia's 20 Lati, Coin of Latvia. Best Silver went to Germany's 10 Euro, Franz Kafka. The award for Most Popular went to the American Silver Eagle. NumisMaster said the coins were 2008-dated, and winners were chosen by an international panel of judges. A special awards ceremony will take place at the World Money Fair in Berlin, Germany, on January 30, 2010. The overall Coin of the Year and the People's Choice will be unveiled at that time.
CoinNews.net reported on the excessive $1 coin supply. The article talks about the Federal Reserve Banks having a tremendous stockpile of dollar coins, enough to meet demand for at least the next ten years. Apparently the build up is a result of over production, banks returning them, and the public's lack of attraction in using them. The article said the Board of Governors had concerns about the requirement that 20% of all $1 coins struck be Native American dollars without any consideration for their demand.
Paul Green discussed the difficulty of collecting Barber halves in an article on NumismaticNews.net. He listed several reasons why the halves were ignored by collectors in the beginning. Since not many were generally saved, they are much harder to find in good condition and in key dates. Green lists several Barber halves that currently hold solid values. He said mintage is not a value indicator in this series.
Numismatters described Somalia's five coin 2009 Tutankhamun Treasures collection in an online article. The coins have been released before, but the 2009 version includes an impressive display case and a statue of the Egyptian God Anubis. The article includes images.
See you tomorrow!
