Uncirculated Dollar Set, 2008-S Proof Set, Oldest Roman Coin

Posted on 02. Feb, 2010 by KJ in American Eagles, Ancient Coins, Archaeological Coin Discoveries, New Coin Issues, Rare Coins, US Mint, World Coins

Welcome to Something About Coins! A few U.S. Mint sets made news over the weekend, and the oldest reported Roman coin in Britain was recognized. Short synopses are below!

WorldMintCoins.com displayed images of the new 2010 Presidential Dollars on their web site. Presidents Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, and Abraham Lincoln will be represented this year. The article included brief descriptions of each President, and links to their biographies and coin specifications.

The 2008 Annual Uncirculated Dollar Set finally sold out at the U.S. Mint last Thursday, according to an article on CoinNews.net. It had been available for nearly one and a half years. The set included an American Silver Eagle from West Point, Presidential Dollars from Philadelphia, and a Sacagawea Dollar from Denver. The article reported 98,896 sets had been sold.

Steve Roach discussed U.S. Mint 2008-S proof sets and their current wholesale prices on CoinValuesOnline.com. He said demand for the 14 coin proof set has been rising, pushing its price to around $80, even though eBay is lower. The similar silver proof set, on the other hand, is closer to $55. The most economical sets mentioned in the article are the 1982, 1985, and 1987 proof sets, which have been trading at less than $4 on the wholesale level.

Greg Reynolds analyzed the gold 1907-D Liberty Head $20 coin that was at the Park Avenue Numismatics' table at the January FUN coin show. In his article posted on CoinLink.com, he relayed his observations, fully described the rarity of branch mint proofs from that era, commented a little about the coin's pedigree, and compared the coin to a few other notables. Reynolds' also presented six criteria of proof coins, including the minute details that experienced experts recognize. He concluded this coin was an "honest Proof."

A Hallaton Roman coin was reportedly the oldest piece of Roman money found in Britain, the BBC revealed this weekend. The silver coin was dated to 221 BC and recovered by archeologists (Hallaton Fieldwork Group) sometime in 2000. One side had an image of the Goddess Roma, and the other side resembled mythical twins Castor and Pollus on running horses. The coin is part of a feature display at the Harborough Museum in Market Harborough.

Thank you for reading, and see you tomorrow!