Welcome to Something About Coins! The U.S. Mint's low production figures and Obama-altered quarters kick off today's list of interesting articles.
February mintage numbers were posted on CoinNews.net, and there's still no 2010 nickels. The last nickels were struck in June 2009. There were, however, 19 million P-dimes in February. The Denver mint only struck cents.
NBCNewYork.com investigated whether Obama quarters in circulation were legal. The quarters were apparently gold plated, and a decal of Obama covered Washington's portrait on the obverse. The article said customers at Webster Bank deposited the coins, and the bank re-circulated them. The bank's spokesman claimed they were real coins made into novelty items. NBC checked with the U.S. Mint, who believed if no one was being cheated and the other party accepted the coin, then it was still currency.
NumismaticNews.net shared characteristics of counterfeit coins. Four examples were given and the surface texture of the fakes were described. Three of the coins were from other countries, and they were described using KM numbers. Dave Harper explained in his Buzz blog that the KM numbering system is shorthand for world collectors with the Standard Catalog of World Coins. It replaces long descriptions with simply the country, date, denomination, and KM number.
Speaking of world coins, CoinLink.com reported Ira and Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles bought a King Edward VIII 1937 Proof Set. Its purchase price was $2.1 million USD. The set is considered the "Holy Grail" of English Milled Coinage, according to the article, and the only one like it in private hands.
Numismaster.com writer Harry Miller discussed key and semi-key coins' value increases during 2009. A chart showed the differences between 2009 and 2010 prices for commonly traded U.S. gold coins. Fueling the rise in values was the jump in precious metal prices. He believes 2010 should be another good year for collectors.
There are proof error coins, and then there are a bonded-mated pair of 1972-S proof cents. These unique cents were described in Monday's Heritage Blog, and they will be auctioned in the Fort Worth ANA Auction on Mar. 26. The coins were graded PR-63 Brown by NGC but were not encapsulated, since the angle of the bond was 45 degrees. Besides explaining how these proof error cents were bonded-mated, the blog also pondered how did they leave the mint, since proofs have more rigorous inspections.
An article on the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) web site discussed reasons why red and brown cents price differently among similar dates and grades. Fully original red surfaces on copper are hard to find, it said, and command higher premiums. The different color-tones were defined between red, red-brown, and brown.
Green is bad. "Green is the color of corroding copper and PVC residue," Numismatic Conservation Services (NCS) explained. The images showed a 1913 Buffalo Nickel Variety 2 that NCS was able to remove the residue before corrosion had begun.
By the way, PCGS will conduct on-site grading and authentication services at their tables during the Whitman Baltimore Coin & Collectibles Expo March 4-6. Their representatives will be at table number 1308 to answer questions and accept submissions. Earlier I mentioned NGC was doing on-site grading there too.
Thanks for reading and see you tomorrow!
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