Shipwreck coins at auction

More booty recovered from the wreck of the S.S. New York will be sold at auction July 30-31 by Stack’s at the Tower Beverly Hills Hotel prior to the American Numismatic Association convention in Los Angeles.

Recovered from the wreck were 400 gold and 2,000 silver coins. Some of these were high-grade coins from Philadelphia and New Orleans of the 1830s and 1840s. The ship sank in 1846 in the Gulf of Mexico.

The bulk of recovered coins were sold by the firm last year.

Those that remain as well as some bottles, silverware and other artifacts will also go on the block in the 1,500-lot auction.
Source: numismaticnews.net

Fair tax treatment sought for gold investors

On June 25, Senator Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, entered a bill in the U.S. Senate entitled, “Fair Treatment for Precious Metals Investor Act.”

The bill seeks to amend the Internal Revenue Code so that capital gains tax treatment for precious metals investments will be comparable to that for investments in stocks, bonds and mutual funds.

Under current law, precious metals investments are penalized by being classified as “collectibles gains, which are taxed at the taxpayer’s top tax rate or 28 percent, whichever is lower. In contrast, stocks, bonds and mutual funds that are held for more than one year are currently taxed at the lower of the taxpayer’s top tax rate or 15 percent.

The long arm of the banking and financial services industry can be detected in current tax law for precious metals. People who own precious metals tend to be longer term holders that do not generate so many brokerage fees compared to investors in paper assets. That explains the interest in the banking and financial services industry in penalizing anyone who wants to own precious metals.

The lobbyists for the banking and financial services industry also had similar results with making it more difficult to own a precious metals Individual Retirement Account than a regular IRA, but that is a discussion for another time.

I don’t know how likely it is that this bill will be enacted, either by itself or by being amended onto other legislation that is enacted. Bills sponsored by members of the minority party in Congress get less attention than those brought up by legislators from the majority party. To really improve chances for action, you normally want a bill to be introduced, or at least co-sponsored, by the chair of the committee to which the bill is assigned.

The bill is written to exclude precious metal coins and ingots, as defined in the bill, from being classified as collectibles for capital gains tax purposes.

Even if this bill eventually becomes law, it does not automatically cover all precious metals coins and ingots. Here is what would qualify for the lower capital gains tax treatment:


• U.S. gold, silver and platinum American Eagles
• Coins issued under the laws of any state (I have not researched the definition of state, but believe this to apply to states of the United States)
• Gold, silver, platinum, or palladium coins or ingots of fineness equal to or exceeding the purity required for metals to be delivered in satisfaction of a regulation futures contract. That means that gold coins (and ingots) would have to have a minimum purity of .995, silver at least .999 pure, and platinum and palladium would have to be at least .9995 pure.


There are a number of platinum ingots and many gold coins that, because of their lower purity, do not appear to qualify to be taxed at the lower capital gains tax rate. Among coins that look like they would still be taxed at the higher rate are U.S. 90 percent and 40 percent silver coins, all U.S. gold coins minted before 1986, British sovereigns, South African Krugerrands, American Arts gold medallions, all Mexican gold coins, French Roosters and other 20-franc coins, Swiss 20 francs and just about all world gold coins issued by nations to circulate as money.

Should this bill eventually become law, and it could take a few years, the differences in tax treatment between different coins and ingots could have a significant impact on buyer demand in the United States. American Eagles and pure coins and ingots would almost certainly enjoy stronger demand while coins like those cited in the previous paragraph would lose part of their market.

In the current market, the bullion-priced coins that can be purchased closest to the intrinsic value of their metal content are all issues that would not qualify for the more favorable tax treatment. Such a law could drive their premium levels even lower. If enacted, might this law reduce demand for popular collector/investor coins like Morgan and Peace silver dollars and Saint-Gaudens $20 gold pieces? Only time will tell.
Source: numismaticnews.net

Gold tests $900; Seated soft

Gold is down 2 percent, silver 4 percent and platinum 6 percent. India, the world’s largest importer of gold, announced a doubling of the gold tax, resulting in a $15 drop. Talk of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission putting trading limits on energy-related futures contracts and hints that it could consider other contracts put negative bias on the metals. So with a stronger dollar and lower oil, we tested the $900 level again. Will it hold? I fear not, but that should present a buying opportunity.

Meanwhile U.S. type gold remains active and on the strong side. Check out the chart in this week's paper and look at those Indians.

Generic Seated half dimes, dimes and quarters along with Barbers are definitely weak in MS-60 and higher grades. This affects more common dates; better dates are not soft. The 1796 quarter has declined in mid-circulated grades as have a few other issues in higher grades. Why did this take so long? Some of these have tripled and quadrupled over the past several years.

For key coins there have been adjustments in several of the high flier issues of the past several years, but nothing major. Some issues have gone down in one grade and up in another. This is simply adjustment to supply and demand.

Washington quarters quieted down. That is evident in the overpriced 1932-D & S.
Source: numismaticnews.net

Date numbers mismatched on 1977 cent

Recently I discovered that I have a 1977 cent that has the last two digits of different shapes. Is this unusual?

When the Mint prepared the master die for 1977, they used the “197” from the previous year and added a “7” that was slightly different in shape. All of the 1977 cents have this feature, so it’s nothing unusual.



Why are there so many misspellings, reversed letters and other blunders on our Colonial coins?

You might say it was a lack of good help. At the time there were almost no places to learn engraving, as there were very few skilled artisans outside Europe. Since they were better paid than the average worker, there was little incentive for them to move to the Colonies.



When did the Whitman Journal cease publication?

December 1968 was the last issue I have a record of.



What is meant by “fining” a metal?

It means to make a metal, especially bullion, purer by the use of various methods to remove impurities or other metals that are alloyed with the bullion.



Years ago the post office sold half-ounce and 1-ounce gold medals. Were the sales of the medals a success?

My sources indicate that the post office sales were a flop, involving endless paperwork and dependence on the daily price of gold. Perhaps significantly, the U.S. Mint has not used the post office since.



Are you still collecting banana labels?

Sorry, but that was a previous conductor of this column, who apparently took his collection with him. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t collect them if the opportunity arose. I already have a shoe box of fruit box labels.



I happened upon a reference to a lenticular coin. What does that mean?

Actually, it’s a description of the coin shape. It’s round, like most other coins, but it is shaped like a lens, thick in the middle with a thin edge.



Was it legal for the Mint to strike 90 percent silver coins after Dec. 31, 1964?

The Coinage Act of 1965 ended silver coinage but specifically allowed coining silver after 1964, but with the 1964 date.
Source: numismaticnews.net

Krause Publications Reissues Haxby Set on CDs

With copies of the original four-book set nearly impossible to find and very costly to acquire, a large number of collectors have been without this all-inclusive and exceptionally detailed resource - until now. In an attempt to bring James A. Haxby's renowned reference to more fans of U.S. bank notes, the numismatics team at Krause Publications has put together this four-CD set, priced at $249.99.

"We are very excited to release the Haxby work in digital form," said Scott Tappa, numismatics publisher at Krause Publications. "If you own the four-book set, we hope these discs help you enjoy obsolete bank notes in an entirely different way. If this is your introduction to the work, prepare yourself for hours and hours of enjoyment and education."

This modern-version reissue of Haxby's history-making work includes the entire volume in four Mac and PC-compatible CDs. While much has changed in the world and the hobby since this premiere resource was first published, and many of the prices may fall outside what a collector could expect to find in today's market, there is no substitute for the historical details and identifying details found in the standard resource U.S. obsolete bank notes.

Arranged alphabetically by state/territory and organized by bank name and cross referenced with bank branches, each section includes engraver imprint details, versions of notes, date of issue and hundreds of detailed photographs. The CD-pdf format allows users to search each disc using keywords or a handy index, and enables users to enlarge the pages up to 400 percent to provide a closer view of details and descriptions of notes. Plus, collectors can print select pages of listings, or notes by state to take to shows or club meetings.
Source: numismaster.com