Former archbishop's treasures found in river

A fresh mystery is gripping Britain's religious community: Just how did a treasure trove of rare medallions and coins collected by a former archbishop of Canterbury end up at the bottom of the River Wear?

The coins, medals, goblets and other religious items were found over the last few years by two divers, Gary and Trevor Bankhead, in the frigid, murky river waters that loop around Durham Cathedral, a Norman-style classic.

Research shows many of the artifacts are linked to the late Michael Ramsey, a former archbishop of Canterbury with longtime ties to Durham, a city 280 miles (450 kilometers) north of London where he served as bishop and spent some of his retirement years before his death in 1988.

The find was revealed Friday by cathedral officials — who believe the items may have been robbed from Ramsey — and by the Bankhead brothers, two intrepid amateur divers who collected the unusual items during a series of dives over the last three years.

A statement posted on the cathedral's Web site indicated that the brothers had found some 300 artifacts, including some of archaeological significance.

"Some of the artifacts appear to have close links to Archbishop Michael Ramsey, who retired to Durham in 1974," the statement read. "These include medals and medallions presented to him during his work and travels as archbishop of Canterbury. There is a silver trowel presented to the archbishop on the occasion of his laying of the foundation stone for a new church in India. Other items include a copper and enamel icon."

In addition, a gold coin apparently given to Ramsey by a Japanese Buddhist leader was found, along with a Russian icon, and precious medals that may have been given to Ramsey when he met Pope Paul VI in Rome in 1966.

Ramsey was archbishop of Canterbury from 1961 to 1974, and met many senior religious figures and world leaders during that time.

Cathedral officials believe the items may have been stolen from Ramsey after he retired to Durham.

"It is not known how these particular artifacts came to be in the river," the statement asserts. "There has been speculation for some time that the archbishop was victim of a burglary and this would seem to confirm it."

But Gary Bankhead does not believe a robbery was involved. Based on the location of the finds, he has concluded that Ramsey himself probably dropped the items into the river.

He thinks some of them were dropped from Prebends Bridge, a popular site near the retirement apartment where Ramsey lived with his wife in their latter years, as a slightly bizarre offering to the people of Durham.

"He was linked to the city since the early 1940s, and it's my belief that he did this as a votive offering to the river and to the people of Durham, who he loved," said Bankhead, who believes the goods may be worth about 25,000 pounds ($41,000).

This unusual interpretation is supported by a friend of Ramsey's who told British newspapers that it is consistent with Ramsey's character that he would have thrown the items in the river.

But cathedral officials say it is much more likely that a burglar, not Ramsey, put the artifacts in the river.

"It is highly unlikely that valuable items would have been dropped in by anyone who wasn't making mischief," said Philip Davies, chapter clerk at the cathedral.

Bankhead said the items were found in six locations, including four close to the bridge. He said tests suggest that items thrown from the bridge would have been found close to the actual locations. He said the dives were hazardous because of the extremely cold water and the poor visibility, often limited to about three feet (1 meter).

Bankhead said it also is possible that Ramsey threw the items into the waters because of his Christian belief that a person enters the world with nothing and leaves it with nothing.

"In the last years of his life, he got rid of all of his finds, for that reason," Bankhead said.

He said the items were found on the river bottom, which is littered with sharp pieces of broken glass that regularly pierced the neoprene gloves he and his brother wore for protection.

The fate of the artifacts is not yet clear. The cathedral's Web site indicates that at least some of the collection will soon be put on public display at the cathedral, which draws visitors from throughout the world.

"It is hoped that many of them will be displayed next year when a new window dedicated to Michael Ramsey is installed in the Cathedral," the statement reads.

Bankhead said he and his brother are entitled to a 50-50 split on the value of the finds under the terms of a licensing agreement signed with Cathedral officials. He said he hopes church archives will better establish the origin of some of the coins, which may increase their value.

"A gold coin given by the pope to the archbishop of Canterbury is more valuable than just a gold coin," he said hopefully.

Source: google.com

The Brackley Hoard Of Silver Groats Coins to be Sold

In the summer of 1465, as the Wars of the Roses raged, an unknown person hid his worldly wealth in a secret location in a Northamptonshire field and went into hiding. He never returned to claim his money.

In 2005 – 540 years later – a metal detectorist stumbled across the hoard of 324 silver coins and alerted the authorities. The British Museum, where the coins were researched and identified as silver groats, purchased 14 of them to be put on show to the public, while the remainder were returned to the metal detectorist who unearthed them and the land-owner on whose land they were found.

The two men have decided to keep 12 coins apiece as mementos, while the remainder will be sold by specialist London auctioneers Morton & Eden on Wednesday, December 2. The 186 coins, which were found in the Brackley area of Northamptonshire, are expected to raise a total of around £30,000, the money to be split equally between them.

After asking permission from the landowner to search the field, the detectorist was thrilled to find five coins on his very first attempt. “I was amazed,” the man said. “They were lying there about a foot below the surface. I couldn’t believe my eyes but I was convinced there were more, so I went back the next day and discovered the rest. There was no sign of a container, so I assume the coins were hidden originally in a cloth bag which obviously had rotted away over the centuries.”

The coins date mostly from the reigns of Henry V (1413-22) and Henry VI (1422-60). They are all silver groats (fourpenny pieces) and are relatively free from corrosion, although clearly, they had been in circulation for some time before they were hidden and had thus received some wear.

Said auctioneer Jeremy Cheek: “When they were in circulation, a silver groat would have been enough to buy a sheep. Thus, the hoard represents the value of a flock of a sheep, perhaps a man’s main asset. As there are no gold coins in the hoard, it does not appear to have been the property of a particularly wealthy person. The gold coin of the time, known as a noble, was worth 6s 8d (1/3 of a pound) which would have represented a lot of wealth for a poor person to hold in one coin. A new type of gold coin, the ‘ryal’ or ‘rose noble’ valued at 10s (1/2 of a pound), was introduced the same year the hoard was deposited. The hoard included two contemporary Scottish groats.”

The groat was the largest silver coin of the time and might be equated to something like a modern £20 note. The hoard, with a face value of £5 7s 4d, is roughly equivalent to £6,500 today. None of the smaller silver coins current at the time was included. “The hoard was clearly a deliberate attempt to conceal a sizeable stash of money,” Jeremy Cheek added.

The exact location of the hoard is being kept secret to protect the site. However it is understood to be very near to the site of a medieval village which has since disappeared. This was common in medieval times – there are around 3,000 deserted medieval villages (DMVs) in England, including around 100 in Northants, abandoned for various reasons such as the Great Plague, flooding, the Enclosure Act and rivers changing their course. This accounts for the sight of some substantial churches standing alone in a field far apart from any other habitation.

The hoard, which is expected to arouse a great deal of excitement among coin collectors and dealers, will be offered as part of a sale of Ancient, Islamic, British and World Coins, to be held at Sotheby’s, with whom Morton & Eden have an association
Source: coinlink.com

Second ‘2’ in date key to authenticating 1922 Plain cent

I recently attended the Illinois Numismatic Association 50th anniversary show near Chicago. I wish I could have gotten away from the ICG table long enough to search for variety coins as this was truly a great “collectors” show.

During the three-day event I was asked to grade and authenticate many more 1922 Plain cents than I normally see at shows. In each case, I explained the nuances of these coins to their owners. Perhaps readers will also appreciate some insight into this variety.

Although Bert Harsche and especially Al Craig had done some pioneering research into authenticating 1922 Plain cents, as best as I can remember, confusion ruled in the marketplace. Practically any 1922 cent without a strong “D” mintmark could be found in a 2x2 holder labeled as a “1922 Plain” or “No D ” specimen and that included many altered coins with removed mintmarks!

When I joined ANACS in 1972, we used the diagnostics found in Bert Harsche’s book Detecting Altered Coins to authenticate this variety. They included a strong “T” in “Trust,” a weak “R” in “Liberty” and a flat tail 2 in the date. On many of the coins we certified, there was still a trace of the mintmark visible as a “shadow-like” blob under the date.

Eventually, I noticed that coins with no trace of a mintmark had a thin, wormy, curved top on the second 2 of the date. It was an entirely different shape from that of the first 2. This became ANACS’s prime criteria for authenticating 1922 Plain cents. We paid no attention to the strength of the reverse strike; however, some coins came with a broken reverse die. The major break runs from the rim, through the “L” in “Pluribus” and into the “O” of “One.” The crack is straight on some coins and shifts inside the “O” on others. We found that coins with the shifted crack reverse could be found with and without a trace of a “D” mintmark.

In the marketplace during this time, the “Very Weak D” coins were still accepted by many as the desirable 1922 Plain variety. In fact, ANACS had authenticated a number of these cents previously due to the fact that the mintmark was hardly visible.

Then Charlie Hoskins and I got tired of playing God at ANACS. We determined that only the coins with the “wormy 2” and a strongly defined reverse appeared without a trace of the mintmark. These coins would be the only ones we would certify as 1922 Plain cents. Coins with a weak reverse, very weak shadow mintmarks, or offset die breaks were certified as “Weak D” or “Very Weak D” cents depending on how closely the “blob” under the date resembled a “D” mintmark. It appeared that the confusion would finally be over.

Not so. In the mid-1970s, ANACS was moved to ANA headquarters in Colorado Springs. Only one rookie trainee from the original staff went along to join a new group of employees.
Unfortunately, the new group had to go through the entire learning curve again while trying to sort out the confusion caused by the different die states and die combinations of the 1922 cents. Once again, the ANACSs criteria changed as it needed to determine when a “Very Weak D” cent became the “Plain” or “No D” variety.

Let me quote from a 1982 ANACS article to give you a feel for what the new authenticators in Colorado Springs had to go through as the mintmark disappeared and then reappeared again later on some of the dies. I quote: “The 1922 ‘No D’ cent presents an unusual challenge because its authentication requires that a subjective judgment be made.” We had found out years earlier that subjective judgments didn’t work in this particular case.

Ultimately, this situation had a very happy ending. Around 1984, ANACS followed our lead (Charlie and I were now at the INS Authentication Bureau in Washington, D.C.) and also stopped playing God with these coins. ANACS published another article in The Numismatist magazine that modified Craig’s original research and became the definitive study on the 1922 Plain die varieties. This article can be found in Counterfeit Detection a reprint from The Numismatist Volume II available from the ANA library. I would be repeating much of what has been previously published on this subject here so if you wish a copy of this study, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to me care of ICG, P.O. Box 27600, Tampa, FL 33688.

In brief, some 1922-D dies became filled, preventing planchet metal from flowing into the mintmark cavity. These dies produced coins with various degrees of the mintmark visible. On another die pair, the obverse was heavily polished obliterating the mintmark cavity and changing the shape of the second 2 of the date. Even Lincoln’s coat was weakened as the dies were polished. This obverse die is paired with a fully detailed “strong” reverse and is accepted as the only “true” 1922 Plain variety today.

If you are looking for one of these coins, make sure it has a strong reverse and the distinct digit 2 that I have illustrated here. Otherwise, there is a chance the mintmark has been removed from a 1922-D or you have one of the less important varieties. Even better, have any of these coins checked for authenticy at a major grading service.
Source: numismaticnews.net

FOCUS-Gold coins, bars set to outshine Indian jewellery

Gold investors in India, the world's largest consumer, are likely to outstrip jewellery buyers in 2-3 years with the economy on the rebound and buyers seeking new ways to protect their investments from pilferage.

"The signs of heavy increase in investment demand are visible and may outperform jewellery demand in 2-3 years" said Anjani Sinha, president of Indian Bullion Market Association (IBMA), which represents about 10,000 jewellers across the country.

"We may see 20-30 percent rise in investment demand driven by the new class of investors. Even during this festive season, demand for coins was more compared to jewellery, strengthening the trend."

India just finished its peak festive season that starts in August and ends in October.

IBMA said it has sold 7,000 coins of 8 grams each since August and hopes to target 100,000 coins within one year.

India has traditionally been a jewellery-devouring country, with the important part gold jewellery plays in marriages and other family celebrations.

But the trend started to change in 2003, when gold coins and bars were allowed to be sold by licensed banks and some traders. In 2007, investment demand jumped 11 percent to 215.4 tonnes.

Even in 2008, when Indian imports fell 7 percent to 712.6 tonnes at the onset of a global economic slowdown and high prices, investment stayed steady at 2007 levels.

In 2008, jewellery consumption was 501.6 tonnes, while investment demand was 211 tonnes. In the first-half of 2009, when the economic downturn peaked, demand fell 55 percent to 126.7 tonnes, the worst since 1997, World Gold Council data showed.

Currently, gold jewellery accounts for 70 percent of India's total annual consumption.

SURGE IN THE OFFING

Industry players say the consumption in the form of investments is likely to surge from here on as the economic recovery gathers strength.

Former central bank governor C. Rangarajan, who heads the government panel that advises the prime minister, said growth in the fiscal year that ends in March 2011 would accelerate to 7 to 8 percent after growing by about 6.5 percent in 2009/10. See [ID:nHKG376802]

Gold coins and bars are an attractive investment option, unlike jewellery, which involves making charges and wastage.

"Gold coins and bars have more convenient usage, may be in the form of investment, or deferred consumption or for gifts," said Nayan Pansare, an independent consultant to jewellers.

"Definitely, investment demand is likely to surge as more and more people are looking to gold as an investment rather than as a fashion statement," said Rajesh Khosla, managing director, MMTC PAMP Pvt Ltd, a gold coins refiner.

MMTC PAMP, a joint venture between the state-owned MMTC and Swiss-based gold refiner, hopes to start its refinery in the northern Indian state of Haryana in the second-half of 2010 and expects to produce 100 tonnes of gold coins in 2010
Source: in.reuters.com

China Battles Domestic Counterfeiters

The Peoples’ Republic of China has been in the numismatic hobby news in recent months due to coin replicas originating from China that are being sold elsewhere in the world as genuine coins. This includes coins of Canada, Russia and the United States.

Since the Hobby Protection Act in the United States is unenforceable outside U.S. borders, this lack of enforcement overseas almost invites the export of replica coins to places where the replica coins can be sold by third parties to unsuspecting collectors as being genuine. In an article appearing in this column last month coin collector Mike Marshall of Trenton, Ontario, was acknowledged as saying there are six companies in China that make replica coins. The Chinese replica products are produced and sold legitimately – in China.

Well, it appears China may be having problems of its own regarding locally produced counterfeit or replica coins. In fact, since China has been one of several countries that in recent years has suffered from a shortage of circulating coinage it appears at least one enterprising organization working outside the government has decided to take advantage of the shortage by making its own coins.

According to the Aug. 6 Guangzhou Daily newspaper, police in Foshan in south China’s Guangdong province arrested seven people a day earlier, seizing more than 220,000 counterfeit 1-yuan coins reported to weigh a total of about 1.5 tons.

The 1-yuan denomination, which is the workhorse coin of the Chinese economy, is a nickel-plated steel coin with a diameter of 24.9 millimeters. The obverse depicts the denomination and date, while a chrysanthemum appears on the reverse. The lettered edge repeats RMB three times.

RMB is an abbreviation for renmimbi or “people’s currency,” which is issued exclusively by the People’s Bank of China. The official abbreviation is CNY, but it does not appear on circulating coinage.

According to the Guangzhou Daily newspaper article, “A woman named Liu and her driver were stopped by police when they were seen behaving suspiciously around a Foshan bus station on June 26. The police then seized 18,000 counterfeit 1-yuan coins at the scene and captured a buyer with 1,100 such counterfeit coins. Following the seizure, the police raided Liu’s home in Guangzhou and found 200,000 more counterfeit 1-yuan coins wrapped in packages.”

The newspaper reported the fake coins originated in Loudi in Hunan province (central China). The counterfeiting operation does not appear to be an isolated incident. According to the newspaper, more than 20 people possessing 1.17 million counterfeit 1-yuan coins were arrested in Loudi in July. In addition “five fake coin plants” were raided in Loudi.

This isn’t the only recent incident suggesting China is having internal problems with counterfeit coins. The Aug. 10 issue of the publication China View reported, “China’s Public Security Ministry Monday warned the public to beware of fake commemorative coins purportedly issued to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.”

Specifically, a set of 100- and 150-yuan gold coins and four 10-yuan .999 fine silver coins being advertised as having been issued by the People’s Bank of China and distributed by China Gold Coin Inc. are fakes since neither organization has issued any such coins.

China View reported the unauthorized commemorative coins being sold for 550 yuan or $80 US on the Web site www.taobao.com originating in Hebei Province.

Sounding very much like what you might expect to hear from the U.S. government if a similar situation happened in the United States the Chinese ministry warned, “Precious metal commemorative coins should only be purchased through formal channels.”
Source: numismaster.com

1,000 rare, valuable coins stolen in Montville

Rare coins estimated to be worth millions of dollars were stolen from the car of a renowned Maryland dealer when he stopped in Pine Brook for dinner on his way home from a coin show.
Julian Leidman left the Coinfest coin show in Stamford, Conn., late Sunday with his wife and traveled to his brother-in-law's home in Pine Brook, where they stopped for dinner at Tiffany's on Route 46.

After more than an hour, Leidman said, the group left the restaurant to find a "terrible" sight: Glass littered the ground around his 2009 Toyota Sienna, which he had strategically parked in front of the restaurant so he could keep an eye on the driver's side and rear, he said. The passenger-side window had been smashed and four bags, three of which were heavier than 50 pounds, were missing from the cargo hold.

Gone were the contents of two of the bags -- a cache of valuable coins and collectible currency that Leidman, 63, of Silver Spring, Md., had displayed at the show.

The inventory included individual pieces valued as high as $160,000, as well as many extremely rare and unusual coins and currency dating to the Colonial era, he said.

"It was a huge amount, seven figures," Leidman said, enumerating the loss. "This is the worst thing that has ever happened to me."

Montville Police on Tuesday declined to release details of the burglary, citing the ongoing investigation.

But coin dealers nationwide are rallying around Leidman -- who is regarded as one of the most prominent and ethical dealers in the United States -- and have offered a cash award leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the robbery.

Jon Lerner and Laura Sperber, co-organizers of the Coinfest show at the Stamford Hilton, put up $2,500 toward the reward on Monday, and 20 other coin dealers immediately followed suit, Lerner said.

Word quickly spread among the collector and dealer community and, by Tuesday afternoon, the total reward stood at $75,000, Lerner said. The goal is to reach $100,000 by the end of the week, he said.

"All of the dealers were very saddened and upset by it," said Lerner, of Westchester, N.Y. "Julian is a very well-known and respected dealer, and that's what makes it very hard."

A dealer and consultant for more than 40 years, Leidman has handled some of the most valuable American coins, according to the American Numismatic Association, which named him its Coin Dealer of the Year for 2009.

Requests to help Leidman have come in from across the country, and collectors and dealers have received a list of the coins taken, Lerner said. The hope is that some of the stolen inventory may surface at the next large coin show this weekend in St. Louis, he said.

"We're hoping whoever took the coins will try to sell them or have information on them," Lerner said. "It's tragic, not just the monetary value, but the value in terms of history and what's lost to the collecting community. Some of these items are just unique items that cannot be replaced."

Leidman said his collection was insured, but is working with his insurance company to determine what his policy covers. He believes he may have been targeted during Coinfest.

"I was one of the last people to leave the show, and there were a couple of women around -- one of which had been by my table a few times," he said. "When I left, she was sitting out at the reception area of the hotel and she was on her cell phone, and my wife said, 'The lady just said, 'They're on their way out.'"

But Lerner said the show's security consists of both armed and undercover guards who provide escorts to dealers and collectors with valuables. The third annual Coinfest show, billed as the largest show in the New York metropolitan area, drew about 150 dealers to the Connecticut hotel and thousands of collectors.

"We don't really know if he was targeted or if it was random," Lerner said. "It shows the dealers that we do have to remain very vigilant at all times."
Source: dailyrecord.com

Mint to make Olympic coin

THE Royal Mint will soon be producing the first UK coin ever designed by a child.

Nine-year-old Florence Jackson beat more than 17,000 other youngsters to win the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have the Mint, in Llantrisant, produce her 50p coin.

The winning design will celebrate London 2012 and will be officially announced today at the end of a CBBC Blue Peter competition. The winning design depicts the high-jump, celebrating the Olympic and Paralympic sport of athletics, and is available to buy now as a limited edition commemorative coin from www.royalmint.com.

The design will be found on millions of 50 pence coins in people’s change next year.

“I am so excited. It was a real surprise to win,” said Florence, from Bristol. “It was amazing to visit the Royal Mint and see my picture turned into a coin. I can’t wait to see it in my pocket money.”

Florence’s winning design is the first in a series of 29 officially licensed London 2012, 50p designs by the nation that will act as lasting mementoes of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The remaining 28 designs will be revealed from 2010, the result of the Royal Mint’s biggest ever competition for the public to design the UK’s coinage. Each coin will depict a different Olympic or Paralympic sport.

Source: walesonline.co.uk

Four Gorny & Mosch Sales Begin Oct. 12

The first of four Gorny & Mosch sales begin Oct. 12. In the course of one week 5,500 lots with a total estimate of 3.2 million euros will be sold.

The program is divided into “High-quality ancient coins”, “Ancient coins and lots”, “Medieval and world coins” and “Russia.” All four catalogs can be viewed at www.gmcoinart.de and can be purchased for 15 euros at Gorny & Mosch, Giessener Münzhandlung GmbH, Maximiliansplatz 20, D-80333 Munich; email: info@gmcoinart.de.

In Sale 180 there are 520 lots of selected ancient coins with a total estimate of 870,000 euros. Seven Celtic pieces are followed by roughly 250 Greek ones. Included are the incuse stater from Caulonia with the elegant figure of Apollo on its obverse and reverse (EF; 7,500 euros), the small series from Leontinoi including an extremely fine specimen of those tetradrachms usually attributed to the “Demareteion Master” (7,500 euros) and the Classical tetradrachm from Naxos with the beautiful Dionysos and the drunken Silenus (VF; 20,000 euros).

Sale 181 features ancient coins and lots. Approximately 2.000 lots with a total estimate of almost 600.000 euros are on offer featuring 46 Celtic, 568 Greek, 276 Roman Provincial, 122 Republican, 557 Roman Imperial and 226 Byzantine coins.

The Byzantine section will draw special interest, as the expert will find there a wide range of Byzantine bronze coins.

Sale 182 of Medieval and modern coins features 2.000 lots with a total estimate of 800,000 euros come from all five continents. The sale starts with almost 30 medieval pieces. The German section follows. Orders and decorations featuring Turkish cap badges with more than 200 lots, which is a special part of the Dogan collection sold by Gorny & Mosch in October 2008, lead over to the Austrian-Hungarian section containing about 180 lots.

World coins and medals from all five continents follow including big series of modern gold coins and coins commemorating the Olympic games. Europe has to offer a number of classic rarities as well, for example a small series of siege coins produced in 1592 during the fight over the bishopric of Strasbourg.

Sale 183 ends the week with a selection of Russian coins. There is a high number of rarities included in the approximately 1,700 lots with a total estimate of 950,000 euros. Among them is a 5 ruble piece of Catherine II struck in Moscow in 1763 (EF-BU; 75,000 euros) and a gold medal of Paul I (1796-1801) dedicated to princes, khans and voivodes of merit for the tsar (VF+; 90,000 euros).

The collection of the Norwegian Tom Willy Bakken, which will be sold at Gorny & Mosch’s in cooperation with Oslo Mynthandel, may be called a collector’s great dream. Bakken started to collect Russian copper coins in the early 1980s. In those times, it was easy to buy these pieces for little money – nobody was really interested in them. Hence, the collector had the opportunity to compile a unique series of all denominations, which were given out in Russia between 1700 and 1917. Almost 1.000 pieces are on offer at this sale featuring all types. The states of conservation range from fine to brilliant uncirculated, the estimates from 10 euros to 25,000.
Source: numismaster.com

US Mint to sell platinum coins before end of 2009

Platinum coins produced by the US Mint will go on sale before the end of the year, it was confirmed .

The agency revealed that unprecedented demand has encouraged it to offer one-ounce American Eagle Platinum Proof Coins for purchase, provisionally from 3rd December.

In addition, the mint intends to release the one-ounce 2009 American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coin on 15th October and the one-ounce American Buffalo Proof Gold Coin on 29th October.

The half-ounce, quarter-ounce and one-tenth-ounce versions of the fractional 2009 American Eagle Gold Bullion Coin are also set to be released on the same day as the platinum-based offering.

However, the mint revealed that a number of its products - including all weights of the American Eagle Platinum Bullion Coin - will not be up for sale in the remainder of 2009.

"The US Mint is working diligently with current and potential blank suppliers to increase the supply of bullion coin blanks, so it can offer to the public the proof and uncirculated versions of American Eagle silver, gold, and platinum coins in 2010," read a statement.

Created by Congress through the Coinage Act in 1792, the US Mint was placed under the auspices of the country's treasury in 1981.
Source: platinum.matthey.com

Mint of Finland Launches Series

The Mint of Finland Ltd. has launched a series titled “Ethical Collector Coins” with the Aug. 20 issue of a silver coin depicting the theme “Peace and Security.”

At the series launch ceremony, Finland President Martti Ahtisaari carried out the new coin’s first strike. This is the first time in Finland’s history that a silver collector coin with a nominal value of 20 euros has been issued.

Themes for each coin in the series are chosen by the Collector Coin Committee set by the Finnish Ministry of Finance. The Peace and Security coin was designed by sculptor Tapio Kettunen, whose proposal won the public design competition. A record number of 72 proposals were entered.

President Ahtisaari signed the certificate of authenticity that includes a quote from the speech he gave at the Oslo Nobel Peace Prize ceremony: “Peace is a matter of will.”

The coin is 38.61 mm in diameter, weighs 33.62 grams and has a mintage maximum of 15,000.
Source: numismaster.com

Forfeiture of 1933 Gold $20s Sought

Trying a new tack, the U.S. government has brought a civil forfeiture suit seeking title to 10 1933 $20 gold pieces from the estate of Israel Switt, the Philadelphia jeweler and part-time coin dealer to whom all known specimens of the coin previously seized by the government in the 1940s were tied by pedigree.

Pursuit of the 10 coins in this manner by the government was required after a July 28 ruling by Philadelphia U.S. District Court Judge Legrome Davis in which the descendants of Switt, his daughter Joan Langbord and her two adult sons, sued the government for failure to return the rarities that they gave to the U.S. Mint to authenticate.

New York litigator Barry Berke argued on behalf of the family before Judge Davis that the Mint should bear the burden of proving that the coin was illegal and could not be privately owned. In a remarkable decision, Judge Davis, agreed.

The new civil forfeiture suit is the government response. It calls for a declaratory judgment that the King Farouk 1933 $20, which sold at auction in 2002 for $7.59 million under a consent agreement between the Mint and another Berke client, London coin dealer Stephen Fenton, to be declared the only legal specimen that can be privately owned.

It is anticipated that there will be months of legal wrangling before resolution, and given the stakes, the inevitable appeals, with the government claiming the coins could not have left the Mint because FDR nationalized gold and banned private gold coin and bullion ownership, and Berke on behalf of the Langbord family claiming that the coins were properly exchanged and entered into the stream of commerce as lawful legal tender.
Source: numismaster.com

Note found in antique chair spurs treasure hunt

Patty Henken always thought she found great value in the rickety rocking chair when she plunked down US$200 for it at an auction, figuring she could restore the century-old relic to its former charm.

Doing that turned out to rock her world, sending her on a treasure hunt straight out of a mystery novel.

Five months after hauling the chair home last November, Henken spent hours in May prying the seat off it in her garage in Mount Sterling, Ill. A small envelope fluttered from it as she tossed the seat aside - "Finders Keepers" typewritten on it. Inside, a key was taped to a note.

"This DEXTER key (number sign) 50644T will unlock a lead chest," the note began, before spelling out a location in Springfield, Ill. - 1028 N. Fifth St. - where a chest containing more than US$250 in US gold coins supposedly was buried 12 feet below ground.

The stash, the note claimed, included eight US$20 gold pieces, six US$10 gold pieces, five US$5 gold pieces, three US$2 1/2 dollar gold pieces and two US$1 gold pieces.

The note, signed by a "Chauncey Wolcott", included a request to contact the Springfield newspaper if the chest was ever found. Henken finds that intriguing, thinking Wolcott perhaps has left a confession in the chest or "wants to give us an answer to an old mystery”.

For now, any treasure remains elusive. A search of the site - currently a vacant lot - with a donated backhoe last Sunday came up empty, though Henken pledges to be back at it this weekend.

Whatever the outcome, "it's the fact that there's a story there that's exciting", Henken, 48, said Wednesday from her hometown, where she works part-time as a window clerk at the post office.

The note at the crux of the mystery isn't dated - though its insistence that the chest "cannot be located by metal detector" suggests it could have been written anytime since about World War II, when the first practical metal detectors came to be.

At the supposed burial spot, the home on the lot was torn down many decades ago. The owners of the land - retired state corrections workers Dennis and Sharon Chrans - live next door and, at least initially, disregarded Henken's voicemail approaches as the workings of a telemarketer.

"We were sceptical all the way," Sharon Chrans recalled. But the couple eventually were swayed and met with Henken and her husband, hashing out a deal to split any costs of the dig - and the proceeds of whatever they found.

Henken's scouring of genealogy records and courthouse documents in Sangamon County, which includes Springfield, has offered no clues to anyone named Chauncey Wolcott. Dennis Chrans found no such name on his property's abstract.

Yet last Sunday, the dig began. A couple dozen folks showed up, many of them friends of the Henkens. Some brought lawn chairs, others drinks and snacks. A co-worker of Patty Henken's brought a toy magic wand they generally keep behind the counter at the post office, using it to change their attitude whenever a grumpy customer leaves.

"It was a happy event, a party-like atmosphere," Sharon Chrans said.

The women wanded the backhoe for luck, and the machine began clawing up earth and eventually turned up a cistern - something onlookers considered promising until it yielded only bricks and antique bottles. Elsewhere on the lot, the digging revealed a well too deep to really scrutinise despite their efforts to siphon out some water.

"Some people think it's still down there," Chrans said, speculating that if the booty really does exist, Wolcott knew what he was doing by leaving it in a lead box that wouldn't deteriorate.

Still, everyone accepts that it all could be a hoax. Henken isn't sweating that prospect, having lost plenty of far more relevance in recent years - a brother to brain cancer, a son in an Easter Sunday rollover crash and a nephew to leukaemia. One of her sisters died of breast cancer in 1990.

She admits the effort could be fruitless, much like the time in 1986 when TV host Geraldo Rivera and a demolition crew drew a worldwide television audience when they blasted away a 7,000-pound concrete wall of a basement chamber billed as 1930s gangster Al Capone's vault in Chicago's former Lexington Hotel. Even the Internal Revenue Service was on hand to lay claim to any cash or bullion - but all Rivera found was empty booze bottles and an old sign.

The Henkens expect to resume the dig Saturday, hoping with the Chranses that there's some resolution.

"I really don't have a gut feeling," Sharon Chrans said. "We just had to try once that information presents itself. You just can't leave it there with it just tempting you."

Henken isn't willing to let it die.

"There may not be a penny in it, but I want to finish this. I want to complete the task this note started," she said. Given the recent tragedies, "I don't have a lot of positives in my life. But this has kept me busy all summer, and nobody's going to dash this for me."

Source: 3news.co.nz

Central Bank To Take ¢5, ¢10 and ¢20 Coins Out Of Circulation

The Banco Central (Central Bank) has decided to make life a little easier in Costa Rica with the elimination the "plateado" (silver) ¢5, ¢10 and ¢20 coins.

The coins being removed from circulation are large and heavy silver coins, not to be confused with the smaller and lighter silver coins of the same denomination.

The Central Bank estimates there are some 146 million of the coins in circulation.

Marvin Alvarado, director of the Central Bank's treasury, said that the eliminatin of the three coins will simplify the coin system, having only one size coin for each denomination.

The smaller silver coins are the same at the gold coins of the same denomination and include braille for easy identfication by the blind.

Alvardao said merchants are asked to accept the coins but not put them back in circulation, handing them over to their local bank, which in turns hands them back to the Central Bank.

Currently there eleven (11) coins in circulation: ¢5 (two in silver and one in gold), ¢10 (two in silver and one in gold), ¢20, ¢25, ¢50, ¢100 and ¢500.
Source: insidecostarica.com

Impact of $1,000 gold positive but variable

Since gold jumped over the $1,000 mark Sept. 11, Kirk Kelly of the Coin Depot, Greenville, S.C., says his sales of the precious metal have increased dramatically.

“Our sales are up probably 50 percent,” he told Numismatic News Sept. 23.

“We’ve certainly seen an increase in the American Eagles and any of the bullion stuff.” He ticked off the Canadian Maple Leaf coins and the South African Krugerrands, too.

Kelly has noticed the decline in the premiums over bullion value in recent weeks as compared to last year and the early months of 2009.

“They are a fair amount cheaper,” he said of the gold coin premiums.

With silver trading over $17 a troy ounce, he said there is an “increase in silver purchases, too.”

People were buying “just about every which way you can buy.

“We’re selling a bunch of 100-ounce bars. We’ve sold out of 10-ounce bars.”

He noted he was also selling 5-ounce and 1-ounce bars.

Demand for $1,000 face value bags of 90 percent silver U.S. coins was also higher, he said.

One reason perhaps is premiums on the bags are also down.

“Oh yeah, 90 percent, it’s a cheap premium now. It’s just a little over melt,” Kelly observed.

How about people selling precious metals back to him at the current high prices?

“We’ve seen an uptick in that. It hasn’t been as dramatic as our sales,” Kelly said.

Where will gold be in the future?

“Well over the next week or two it could go almost anywhere. The IMF is thinking about selling off some of their gold. There are a lot of little things in the market that could affect it.”

Kelly was more comfortable talking about the more distant future.

“Six months or a year out it will be higher,” he predicted.

Glenn Malone of Glenn’s Coin Shop in Downey, Calif., said his view at street level is the opposite of Kelly’s experience.

“Now everybody is on the waiting deal hoping it will go back down. Now they are on the fence,” he explained.

In his shop he does not do that much in gold sales. He explained that margins for him work out to $10-$20 on a $1,000 coin.

“It’s really not a lot of fun messing with it,” Malone said.

However, meat and potato collector coin sales are doing well, he pointed out.

“There are just an awful lot of people buying coins,” he explained.

Why might that be?

People are “not making a lot of money in the bank.”

As an alternative to getting almost no interest, Malone said collectors are “filling in collections with better coins and upgrading.”

He cited an example of a customer who saw his ad in Numismatic News. He visited the shop and bought $1,000 in BU quarters.

“He liked the grades and took them,” Malone said.

Gold may have jumped, but business at American Precious Metals Exchange in Edmund, Okla., has not.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say there’s been a jump. It’s been steady,” said Scott Thomas of APMX.

“Some say it is time to sell, but there are equal amounts of people buying,” he said. “There are plenty of both.”

In addition to the popular bullion coins, Thomas said the pre-1933 gold is selling “very well.”

The year 1933 saw the end of regular American gold coinage as the United States left the gold standard.

Thomas also concurred with the view that demand for 90 percent silver bags is strong.

“We’re selling a lot of bags of 90,” Thomas said. “The silver American Eagles are always good sellers. We sell a ton of those.”

When asked if he wanted to make a forecast about gold’s future price, Thomas replied, “No, I don’t think so.

“To be honest with you, we’ve been at this number before. I think this stimulus plan has helped to settle everything down. The run now is due to inflation fears. If the fear of inflation goes away, gold will go back down.”

If inflation fears prove true, Thomas forecast that gold “could easily go up.”

Gold over $1,000 obviously has gotten the attention of many people. What they do in light of this new price level seems not effectively to have become a pattern.
Source: numismaticnews.net

Gold coins at rebate prices

Despite the soaring prices of gold, here's some reason to feel good for all the government officials, who are willing to purchase gold
coins this festive season.

For the ongoing festive month, the Post Office department has launched a scheme to give a rebate of 6 per cent on the purchase of gold coin from September 24 till October 24 to all the government officials.

Besides this, a scheme for general customers was also launched where 0.5 gram gold would be given free to all those who would purchase 10 gram gold from the post office. Krishna Kumar Yadav, chief postmaster said, "To avail this scheme, the customers are required to buy two coins of 5 gm each or a single coin of 8 gm or two coins of 1 gm each. Out of these two schemes a customer can only opt for one."

Notably, all across the country the Indian Postal Department along with a private financial firm is selling 24 carat gold coins to all the post offices. In Kanpur, GPO is the sole service provider of this scheme.

The chief postmaster also mentioned that the gold coins of weight 0.5 gm, 1 gm, 5 gm and 8 gm are available in post office. These gold coins are manufactured by Valcambi Switzerland and are 99.99 per cent pure. To beautify them, they are also packed in silver cover. The GPO has already earned Rs 2,78000 by selling these gold coins.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

New plaquette based on Brenner artwork

A new medallic plaquette to honor the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln has been created by Signature Art Medals of Groton, Mass.

It is based on the 1907 Lincoln plaque done by Lincoln cent designer Victor David Brenner.

Measuring 120 by 90 mm (4.75 by 3.5 inches), the plaquette is half the size of the original Brenner artwork.

On the reverse is a new design created by Don Everhart, U.S. Mint sculptor/engraver who also does freelance work.

The reverse shows Brenner as he worked to create his Lincoln portrait with the quote, “My Mind Was Full Of Lincoln” between wheat ears that look like the design devices used on the old Wheat-back cents.
The plaquette was struck by the Medallic Art Co. now based in Dayton, Nev. It is made of bronze and weighs 558 grams, or about 19.75 ounces.

It is given a patina called double brown-red chocolate by Greco Industries of Bethel, Conn., to give the appearance of the chocolate color that Lincoln cents acquire as they age and tone.

The plaquettes will be serially numbered on the edge starting with 001 up to the number of plaquettes ordered by Dec. 31, 2010, more than one year from now.

Price of the plaquette is $229 plus a $12.95 shipping and handling charge. Massachusetts residents must add sales tax.

Payment should be made by major credit card, or if ordered online by Paypal. Visit the Web site, www.SignatureArtMedals.com, for details.
Source: numismaticnews.net

Fla. explorers, UK reach agreement on shipwreck

Florida deep-sea explorers said Friday that they will work with the British government to salvage artifacts from centuries-old shipwreck of a heavily armed vessel, and the company may continue to make money under the agreement.

Tampa-based Odyssey Marine Exploration announced it was giving up its legal claim as part of the agreement with the British government regarding the wreck of the HMS Victory, a 100-gun man-of-war that sank in the English Channel in 1744.

Odyssey CEO Greg Stemm said Friday that the company's legal claim filed in U.S. District Court in Tampa has been dismissed, and the company will now work closely with the British government on salvaging the wreck, which is believed to include 4 tons of gold coins.

The British government has taken possession of two brass cannons Odyssey has already raised from the wreck in exchange for a salvage award of $160,000.

"We are comfortable that the way forward will include not only Odyssey's involvement but a deal with Odyssey that allows us to participate in the project," Stemm said.

Stemm said the company has proposed an agreement similar to one it had reached with the British government over the proposed salvage of another historic warship, the HMS Sussex, which had the company and the government sharing proceeds.

A spokesman for Britain's Ministry of Defense, speaking on customary condition of anonymity, said consultations will be held to determine how to proceed with the wreck. Options range from leaving it undisturbed to full excavation.

Odyssey, which in 2007 hauled up an estimated $500 million in silver coins from a Spanish shipwreck, said it discovered the remains of the British vessel last year in about 330 feet of water and has worked closely with the British government on how salvage and preservation should proceed.

Stemm said in the statement that Odyssey donated $75,000 of its salvage award to help the National Museum of the Royal Navy preserve the Victory wreck.

Odyssey's relations with the Spanish government have not been so cordial. The company has been locked in a legal tug-of-war with Spain for more than two years over the vast treasure raised from what is believed to be the galleon Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes y las Animas.

Odyssey brought 17 tons of silver and other artifacts from the wreck to Tampa in May 2007. Spain immediately demanded that it all be returned, arguing that the government had never surrendered ownership of the sunken ship and its contents.

In June, a federal magistrate judge came down squarely on the side of Spain, urging Odyssey to return the treasure. The U.S. government got involved last week, filing a brief supporting Spain's claim to its cultural heritage.

A federal judge has not indicated when he will make a final ruling.

Source: google.com

50 pieces of coin for each denomination

Parliament approved an amendment to the Bank of Jamaica Act changing the tender limit of all denomination of coins.

The limit is now fixed at 50 pieces for each denomination.

The limit restricts the number of coins which can be legally tendered in settling a payment transaction.

Finance Minister Audley Shaw who tabled the amendment explained that it became necessary due to among other things the replacement of currency notes with coins.
"The last revision of the legal tender provisions in the Act as they relate to coins was done in 1973 (and) at that time, the highest denomination coin was $0.25. In the years following that last revision, coin denominations have been introduced to replace the $1, $5, $10 and $20 denominations as currently known.

"The replacement of currency notes by coins has given rise to the need for adjusting the existing legal tender prevision in the Act so as to increase the amount for which coin denominations constitute legal tender," said Mr. Shaw.
Source: radiojamaica.com

Time to Start Hunting for Low-Mintage Gold

With gold toying with the $1,000-a-troy ounce level, it is understandable when noncollectors confuse the gold market with the coin market.

However, for collectors, the higher price of gold spells opportunity if you happen to believe that the price of bullion is unlikely to fall significantly below this milestone price level.

What am I talking about?

Just this: The quadrupling of the price of gold since the 2001 low point has done much to wipe out price distinctions made by collectors among various collector gold coin issues.

Many coins trade on the secondary market for essentially the price of bullion plus a markup just large enough to prevent the dealer from sending the coin to the melting pot.

It is time for long-term collectors to start taking a look at gold coin mintages and seeing just what kind of low mintages can be acquired for melt value.

Can you buy a coin with a mintage in the hundreds for melt value? It looks to me like you can. There are numerous small countries that have issued commemoratives with very low mintages that currently have no great collector demand behind them.

That could always be the case, but what would you care if the price of gold bullion provides you with a permanent floor?

I happen to follow the coins of Costa Rica for personal enjoyment. The country has some very nice commemoratives. However, the market for these is certainly not large and probably never will be.
Source: numismaster.com

This Central American nation is not the only country that has issued commemoratives over the years, or standard issue gold coins from the time when the gold standard was internationally in force.

This advice goes double for world coin collectors who want to own a little gold anyway as a hedge against inflation or other financial disasters.

Why buy the popular American Eagles or Canadian Maple Leaves that have mintages in the hundreds of thousands and millions when you can enjoy the beauty and variety that the world collector coin field offers?

There is only one reason: if you figure a day will come when you will have to sell a large number of gold coins rapidly, then the bullion coins have the advantage.

However, if you are hedging in the manner of long-term insurance and you figure you will have a little time to sell the gold coins when the time comes, well then these low-mintage collector coins seem to me to be a more appealing option.

If bullion stabilizes as it did for many years after the last major peak in 1980, the impact of mintages on prices will once again begin to be felt as other collectors and dealers go through the reasoning process of why two coins with the same bullion content but wildly different mintage figures should trade for the same price.

That means that the present time is a great time to be a collector and to take advantage of the lack of market price distinctions. Better yet, if you already have some gold bullion coins, start working them off in favor of the same quantity of precious metal with the lower mintages.

The hedge will be intact and you will have the satisfaction of owning a collection unique to you - and because of the low mintages - likely to stay that way.
Source: numismaster.com

Copper record: $1,265,000 price achieved by cent

The finest known 1795 large cent with a reeded edge sold for a record $1,265,000 Sept. 6. It was a highlight of the Dan Holmes collection of early large cents. This collection was auctioned by Ira and Larry Goldberg in association with Chris McCawley and Bob Grellman at the Beverly Hills Crowne Plaza.

Although many coins in the collection sold for record prices, the spotlight here is on the Holmes 1795 reeded edge, as this is a bewildering price for a copper coin. Greg Hannigan was the successful bidder and was acting on behalf of a collector of large cents by die variety.

This 1795 large cent is of the die variety known as Sheldon-79. Though it is best known for having a reeded edge, it is truly a die variety, not just an edge variety. A particular die pair was used only to produce the coins that are now known as Sheldon-79.

The 1795 reeded edge cent is listed as a separate issue in most leading price guides, including various Krause Publications. I regard it as an experimental piece. Generally, copper coins do not have reeded edges. Note that it is listed in the standard Judd reference on pattern, experimental and trial pieces. Editors of most guides, however, imply that the 1795 reeded edge cent is a true, regular issue coin that is needed to complete a set of large cents.

The Holmes 1795 reeded edge cent (S-79) is the finest of five to six known. It is graded Very Good-10 by the Professional Coin Grading Service. It is one of only two that have been certified. Last November, Bowers & Merena auctioned one that is PCGS graded Good-4 for $402,500. No others have been auctioned in recent years.

The auction record for a copper coin has been broken a few times over the last five years. On Jan. 5, 2009, in Orlando, the finest known Strawberry Leaf cent was auctioned by Stack’s for $862,500. It was NGC graded Fine-12 in 2004, and, after the Jan. 2009 auction, PCGS graded VG-10. It is curious that the finest known Strawberry Leaf cent and the finest known 1795 reeded edge cent are both PCGS graded VG-10.

Of the four known Strawberry Leaf cents, Holmes had two. Hannigan was the top bidder for both. One is PCGS graded Good-4 and it sold for $218,500. The other is of a unique variety. The placement of “ONE CENT” on the reverse is different. It is PCGS graded Fair-2 and it brought $264,500. I expected these two coins to bring more. Strawberry Leaf cents are rarer and much more famous than 1795 reeded edge cents or 1799 cents.

A 1799 cent in the Holmes collection sold for $977,500. It is the only 1799 cent that has been graded as Mint State by PCGS or NGC. It was in an NGC holder with an MS-62 label and is now in a PCGS holder with an MS-61 label. I grade it as AU-58. McCawley & Grellman grade it as AU-55.
My impression is that this 1799 cent will now be placed with a collector in the Southwest. He specializes in U.S. coins dating from the 1790s to the late 1830s, though he collects other pieces as well.

This $977,500 price is incredible for a 1799 cent, which may be very rare as a date, but is not extremely rare. In February 2008, the Eliasberg-Husak 1799 cent brought $161,000. It is PCGS certified EF-45. I could understand this Holmes 1799 cent being worth three times as much ($483,000). The amount the Holmes 1799 cent brought is more than six times as much as the Eliasberg-Husak 1799 cent realized. If the Holmes 1795 reeded edge cent had not sold a few hours earlier, this result would have set an auction record for a copper coin.

A longtime auction record for a copper coin, or pattern, was established at the May 1996 Eliasberg sale by Bowers & Merena in New York. The Eliasberg 1796 “No Pole” Half Cent realized $506,000. Not long after the May 1996 auction, it was PCGS graded “MS-67RB.” This record stood until January 2008, when Stack’s auctioned a copper 1838 silver dollar “pattern” for $529,000. A few days later, Heritage sold a 1792 cent pattern for $603,750. The exact metallic composition of this 1792 cent pattern is not known. It may not be a copper pattern.

On Feb. 15, 2008, the auction record for a copper coin was broken and then tied at the Heritage auction of Walter Husak’s early date cents. Husak’s PCGS graded AU-55 1793 Liberty Cap cent realized $632,500. In contrast, Holmes’ best 1793 Liberty Cap, PCGS AU-53, sold for $506,000 on Sept. 6. I strongly believe that Holmes’ best 1793 Liberty Cap is more desirable than this Husak 1793 Liberty Cap cent.

Husak’s Starred Reverse 1794 cent also realized $632,500. On July 31, 2008, Heritage auctioned a 1792 dime “pattern,” struck in copper, for $690,000, which is the same price that a 1796 cent realized on Sept. 14, 2008, in a Goldberg auction. This 1796 cent was consigned by the family of the late Ted Naftzger. It is PCGS graded MS-66RB.

In sum, if the results for the Eliasberg 1796 “No Pole” half cent and for copper patterns are set aside, the auction records for copper coins in general, since 1996, all pertain to large cents: (1) Eliasberg 1793 Liberty Cap cent, B&M auction, New York, May 1996, $319,000 – probably later PCGS graded MS-64. (2) Oliver Jung 1793 Chain cent, PCGS MS-65BN, ANR auction, New York, July 2004, $391,000 (3) Finest known 1793 Strawberry Leaf cent, ANR, November 2004, Baltimore, $414,000. (4) 1793 Chain cent, PCGS MS-65BN, ANR, January 2005, Fort Lauderdale, $431,250. (5) Husak 1793 Liberty Cap cent and Husak 1794 Starred Reverse cent, Heritage, February 2008, Long Beach, $632,500 each. (6) Naftzger 1796 cent, PCGS MS-66RB, Goldbergs, September 2008, Los Angeles, $690,000 (7) Finest known 1793 Strawberry Leaf cent, Stack’s, January 2009, Orlando, $862,500. (8) Holmes 1795 Reeded Edge cent, PCGS VG-10, Goldbergs, September 2009, Los Angeles, $1,265,000. I wonder about the next auction record for a copper coin.
Source: numismaticnews.net

10,000 Roman coins unearthed

A massive haul of more than 10,000 Roman coins has been unearthed by an amateur metal detecting enthusiast - on his first ever treasure hunt.

The silver and bronze 'nummi' coins, dating from between 240AD and 320AD, were discovered in a farmer's field near Shrewsbury, in Shropshire, last month.

Finder Nick Davies, 30, was on his first treasure hunt when he discovered the coins, mostly crammed inside a buried 70lb clay pot.

Experts say the coins have spent an estimated 1,700 years underground.

The stunning collection of coins, most of which were found inside the broken brown pot, was uncovered by Nick during a search of land in the Shrewsbury area - just a month after he took up the hobby of metal detecting.

His amazing find is one of the largest collections of Roman coins ever discovered in Shropshire.

And the haul could be put on display at Shrewsbury's new £10million heritage centre, it was revealed today.

It is also the biggest collection of Roman coins to be found in Britain this year.

Nick, from Ford, Shropshire, said he never expected to find anything on his first treasure hunt - especially anything of any value.

He recalled the discovery and described it as 'fantastically exciting'.

Nick said: 'The top of the pot had been broken in the ground and a large number of the coins spread in the area.

'All of these were recovered during the excavation with the help of a metal detector.

'This added at least another 300 coins to the total - it's fantastically exciting. I never expected to find such treasure on my first outing with the detector.'

The coins have now been sent to the British Museum for detailed examination, before a report is sent to the coroner.

Experts are expected to spend several months cleaning and separating the coins, which have fused together.

They will also give them further identification before sending them to the coroner.

A treasure trove inquest is then expected to take place next year.

Peter Reavill, finds liaison officer from the Portable Antiquities Scheme, records archaeological finds made by the public in England and Wales,

He said the coins were probably payment to a farmer or community at the end of a harvest.

Speaking to the Shropshire Star, Mr Reavill said the coins appear to date from the period 320AD to 340AD, late in the reign of Constantine I.

He said: 'The coins date to the reign of Constantine I when Britain was being used to produce food for the Roman Empire.

'It is possible these coins were paid to a farmer who buried them and used them as a kind of piggy-bank.'

Mr Reavill said that among the coins were issues celebrating the anniversary of the founding of Rome and Constantinople.

In total the coins and the pot weigh more than 70lb.

He added: 'This is probably one of the largest coin hoards ever discovered in Shropshire.

'The finder, Nick Davies, bought his first metal detector a month ago and this is his first find made with it.

'The coins were placed in a very large storage jar which had been buried in the ground about 1,700 years ago.'

However, Mr Reavill declined to put a figure on either the value of the coins or the pot until the findings of the inquest are known, but he described the discovery as a 'large and important' find.

Mr Reavill said the exact location of the find could not be revealed for security reasons.
Source: dailymail.co.uk

Mint Announces New Series of Coins

The United States Mint announced on Wednesday that the first in its “America the Beautiful” series of quarters will feature Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas, which was set aside for preservation by the federal government in 1832.

Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming will be featured second. Other sites to be honored in the 56-coin series include the Olympic Mountains of Washington, the tallgrass prairie of Kansas and the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The “heads” side of the coin will still feature George Washington.

Each state and territory will be featured in the series, which will end in 2021 with the Tuskegee Airmen memorial in Alabama.

New coins will be issued in the order that Congress approved the national sites. While Yellowstone is considered the first national park, the government set aside Hot Springs four decades earlier.

New coins will be released about every 10 weeks beginning in early 2010. Designs have not been made public.

Source: nytimes.com