Time to Put Coins on Your Banking Radar

There is movement online urging Americans to take their money out of big bad banks and put it into nice small(er) local banks. However you might feel about this particular movement, it is an understandable one in the aftermath of the near financial collapse of the country.

It would certainly behoove collectors to find institutions that are collector friendly and to do their business with such banks. The question is how do you go about finding them?

Some banks do go out of their way to keep up with the latest Lincoln cents or dollar coin issues. Some banks do not mind when collectors make inquiries about new coins. I receive e-mails and letters about this from time to time.

Unfortunately, not all banks are helpful. In fact, most banks are probably downright hostile to the idea of collectors getting new issues from them. My volume of e-mails on this topic seems to bear this out. Just look at the Buzz page for the latest poll results about whether banks are making enough of an effort to obtain the new 2010 cents with the Union shield.

I understand that getting coins is a banking activity that incurs a cost that must be covered by the banks in the normal course of business and most collectors probably don’t generate the fees from this type of service that a coin-using business would.

While this may be strictly true, and I certainly believe it is, I also believe that that isn’t necessarily the right way to do the accounting.

If all banking amounted to was providing coins to people, then banks certainly would need to recover their costs on every coin supplying transaction. However, as you know from your own experience of banking, processing coins is just a tiny piece of the larger picture.

Supplying new coins could be considered a service to depositors who have checking accounts, certificates of deposit, perhaps consumer loans, or gasp, even a mortgage. Coins are just a tiny part of a relationship.

Attempting to persuade bankers to see this is probably not worth the effort. Finding bankers out there who already believe this seems to me to be a more worthwhile task. They are out there.

But that means collectors themselves need to put bank coin services on their radar. Many collectors who asked for new cents from banks in 2009 had probably never asked their bank for coins before.

Dealers who handle rolls and bags of coins have long-standing relationships cultivated over many years. The average collector, if he ever had such a banking relationship, probably let it slip long ago.

I certainly did. I had such a relationship with a small Iowa bank when I had my paper route in the 1960s and was actively searching change to fill Whitman albums.

It probably was no accident that the institution was small and it was in a small town. When I moved to a larger city in Wisconsin, the financial institutions were much less friendly. I didn’t push the coin matter. Maybe now is time for collectors to push the coin matter and cultivate banking relationships that will satisfy them for years to come.

Source: numismaster.com

Counterfeit Euro Coins Declining

While the merchants of Northern Ireland are concerned about counterfeit British £1 coins and their local police insisting there is no widespread problem, those European Union nations participating in the euro currency union can rest assured because the number of counterfeit euro coins decreased during 2009.

According to the European Commission, the number of counterfeit euro coins detected during calendar year 2009 was 172,100 pieces, down from 195,900 coins detected during 2008. This is a decreased of 12 percent. Great Britain is an EU member nation, however has not chosen to participate in the currency union.

As with any statistics, you have to be careful how you interpret them. The number of counterfeit 2 euro coins decreased by almost 18 percent, however during 2009 the number of bogus 50-cent euro coins increased by nine percent while the number of counterfeit 1 euro coins increased by eight percent. Consider that the 2-euro coin, worth more than $2 US, is still the most widely counterfeited EU coin. The 2 euro is also the highest denomination coin in circulation in the EU.

The EC tried to put these statistics into perspective, releasing a statement reading: “Indeed, the overall number [of counterfeit euro coins] is very small by comparison with the total number of around 15 billion genuine euro coins put into circulation of the three highest denominations, with a resulting ratio of one counterfeit to every 89,000 genuine coins.”

The number of detected counterfeit euro coins in 2009 is also lower than the total number of counterfeit coins detected within all of the nations combined who now participate in the currency union, this statistic being from the final year prior to each country having entered the currency union. There are now officially 16 nations using the common currency.

Despite this success, the EC is being cautious about congratulating itself. In a recently released statement appearing in the Jan. 11 The Sofia Echo newspaper in Bulgaria the commission said, “Although encouraging, there is no room for complacency and efforts to remove counterfeits from circulation should be maintained and intensified.”

The commission has also acknowledged that during 2009 the number of counterfeit euro coins seized outside of the EU increased. The EC, Croatia, Montenegro, and Turkey have established agreements of cooperation regarding counterfeit coins. During the past year police seized about 11,000 bogus euro coins prior to these phony coins being able to reach circulation. This is a similar number to that seized during 2008. No private mints counterfeiting euro coins were reported to have been shut down during 2009.

According to The Sofia Echo article, “Despite these successes, most of the criminal groups responsible for euro coin counterfeiting have not been dismantled yet.”

The EU still has to concern itself with counterfeit bank notes as well. On Jan. 11 the European Central Bank announced about 860,000 counterfeit euro bank notes were withdrawn from circulation during 2009. Of these, 447,000 notes, were withdrawn during the second half of the year, an increase of about 8 percent from the first half of the year. To put these numbers into perspective, there was an average of 12.8 billion genuine euro bank notes in circulation on average at any time during 2009.

Source: numismaster.com

The Coin Grading System

Coin grading is a term used to refer to the process of determining the condition or quality of a coin, and its full identity. It is essential to know what the grade is of a particular coin, because, as a general matter, the higher the grade of a coin, the higher its numismatic value.
Coins are graded on a 0-70 point scale devised by Dr William Shelby. The details can be found in the Official A.N.A. Grading Standards for United States Coins published by the American Numismatic Association (ANA). Under this method of grading, the higher the point scale accorded a particular coin, the better its quality.
The process of grading a coin is partly subjective and partly an art, rather than a true science. Accurate grading requires many years of skill and experience. However, determining an approximate grade is possible for even the novice coin collector.
The basic point scales that define coin grades, are as follows:
1. Mint State Perfect Uncirculated (MS-70)
Mint state uncirculated coin in perfect condition, showing no traces of wear, and no blemishes, scratches, handling or contact with other coins. The best quality coin possible.
2. Choice (Gem) Uncirculated (MS-65-69)
An above average uncirculated coin which retains all of the original mint brilliance or luster, and has a very few contact marks on the surface or rim, which are barely noticeable.
3. Brilliant Uncirculated or BU (MS-60-64)
An uncirculated coin having no traces of wear but which has a few contact marks, surface spotting or lacks some of its original luster.
4. Choice About Uncirculated (AU-55 & 58)
A coin having very light wear on only the highest points of the design but no other defects and with most of its luster remaining.
5. About Uncirculated (AU-50)
Coin has evidence of light wear on many of the high points but at least half of the mint luster is still present.
6. Extremely Fine (EF-40)
The coin design is lightly worn in most places but all the features remain sharp and well defined.
7. Choice Very Fine (VF-30)
Light even wear on the surface and highest parts of the design but most major features and the lettering are sharp.
8. Very Fine (VF-20)
Minor features such as some of the finer hair detail, feathers, etc. will be moderately worn. Shows moderate wear on high points of design. All major details are clear.
9. Fine (F-12)
Moderate to considerable even wear over most features and the lettering. A lot of the details are worn through but you can still see a good deal of the design.
10. Very Good (VG-8)
The entire design is weak, but a few details are visible. Well worn throughout but coin rims still visible.
11. Good (G-4)
Heavily worn but design and legend still visible although quite weak in spots. Many details are gone.
12. About Good (AG-3)
Very heavily worn with portions of lettering, date and legends worn smooth and barely discernable.
Have fun collecting your Perfect Coins!

Source: numisnews.tv