Welcome to Something About Coins! The new year is a great time for lists. Here are a few coin articles containing a list.
Some coin sites have linked to an article giving reasons to own silver coins. Intrinsic value, better return, and industrial uses are a few mentioned. A paragraph is dedicated to each major point. It concluded by stating, "As silver investing continues to grow, prices will only rise, helping to grow the wealth of any silver coin investor." By the way, I noticed one reason that did not make this list was silver's affordability.
The Royal Mint made an official announcement about how to distinguish counterfeit pound coins in Northern Ireland. Bullet points of common fake pound characteristics were listed. The first was the date and design on the reverse don't match. CoinNews.net provided a live link to the Royal Mint's online coin image page for reference.
F. Michael Fazzari, for Numismatic News, recommended studying genuine coins to spot fakes more easily. Coin authenticators hesitate to divulge too many details of counterfeits, because they don't want to educate the ones making them, he explained. Also, a list of features can become obsolete in a short amount of time. He also referenced stereo microscopes or just buying coins certified by one of the major grading services.
Earlier this week, an article surfaced about how to collect U.S. coins on a budget. It gave many tips and strategies to get the most valuable/enjoyable collection, for someone who isn't rich and is collecting a type set. Advice for getting started and grading, as well as mistakes to avoid were explained. A few recommendations in the article included buying the book "Photograde" by James F. Ruddy and employing the strategy "Optimal Collecting Grade (OCG)" by Q. David Bowers.
An article about possible palladium and platinum ETFs referenced Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf and Palladium Maple Leaf coins. The article considered several investment factors and predicted that if palladium and platinum ETFs were approved in the U.S. by the SEC, then the media attention will spur demand for palladium and platinum bullion coins.
Two large coin shows officially started Thursday. The Florida United Numismatists (FUN) convention/show started in Orlando. A schedule of events can be found at http://www.funtopics.com/Fun_Shows/events_scheduled.html. An attendee posted a FUN update on StellaCoinNews.com, saying the pre-show event was much busier than expected.
The other large coin show that officially started was The New York International Numismatic Convention (NYINC) in New York City. Their event schedule is at http://www.nyinc.info/events.php.
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