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

Airship Coins From NZ Mint

In June New Zealand Mint introduced its first oval-shaped coins with the Airship Collection, a group of coins marking famous flying machines of the world.

The coins feature Britain's R-34, the Russian CCCP-B6, the USS Akron and Germany's Hindenburg. The full color airship illustrations each have a background showing the capital city of the ship's nation portraying the 1930s art deco period of the time.

The 99.9 percent silver coins are $2 legal tender of Fiji Islands. They are each 1 troy ounce and measure 45 by 31 mm. The collection has a restricted mintage of 20,000 sets for worldwide distribution.
Source: numismaster.com

MJ set to become world’s top earning celebrity

Michael Jackson has been predicted to become the world’s top earning celebrity next year.

The late King of Pop’s estate is expected to amass up to 150 million pounds from beyond the grave, thanks to merchandising contracts, album sales, and other royalties.

The top 1,000 licensing and merchandising experts across Europe, participating in the Brand Licensing trade event in London, made the predictions.

“Michael Jackson’s image and legacy is licensed on anything from coins and clothes, to coffee table books and singing, stuffed animals,” the Daily Express quoted Ciaran Coyle, The Beanstalk Group chief, as saying.

Source: thaindian.com

Gold, silver and inflation

Gold and silver coins were lawful money in the history of the US. I use the term money since it satisfies my criteria for this term (medium of exchange, unit of account, store of wealth). At one point in our monetary history precious metal coins were the primary form of money. Coins also found homes in depositories issuing certificates redeemable for the coins. The depositories charged a fee for storage. The depository served a warehouse function and the certificates were the warehouse receipt. It was a reasonable arrangement. These certificates were deemed “as good as gold” and served as payment for goods and services and for repayment of debt. The certificates also satisfied the criteria of money. Whoever presented certificates at the depository was entitled to the stated amount of gold or silver on the certificate.

The owners of these depositories recognized that at any point in time, the amount of gold/silver on deposit was more than adequate to pay the certificate bearers (those wanting gold/silver). This condition is perfectly logical since as long as the depositors and certificate users had confidence in the existence of gold/silver in the depository, there was no need to withdraw the physical metal. The owners of the depositories used this to their advantage. They began to issue certificates well in excess of gold and silver deposits. This additional issuance is another example of what we call inflation. A greater amount of money (the certificates) was pursuing the same amount of goods and services in the economy. As a result, our store of wealth criteria for money was altered since each outstanding certificate had less purchasing power than before – no additional gold/silver backed the newly issued certificates.

During the American Revolutionary War, the fledgling country needed vast sums of money to fight the British. One method of acquiring this money was to tax the people. As a parenthetical note, for Government to do ANYTHING it must tax - absent taxes, it must borrow. Since taxes are usually unpopular, the country created money called the Continental Dollar. This money was credit extended to the people for goods and services. The colonists provided goods and services to the government to fight the war and the government paid the people with Continentals (not gold or silver coin). The Continentals were redeemable for Spanish milled dollars or the equivalent amount of gold/silver (meaning the Spanish dollar represented gold/silver). Since no additional wealth, in the form of gold/silver, appeared in the colonies to back the new Continentals, instant inflation occurred. We know this is inflation since the supply of money (Continentals) increased relative to what was supposed to back the money (gold/silver).

Six years after the Continentals came into existence it took $16,800 in Continentals to acquire $100 of wealth (gold/silver). During those six years would you rather have owned Continentals or wealth? Anyone realizing what was occurring with the purchasing power of a Continental would rid themselves of it (before it lost value) instead of gold/silver for transactions. This gives rise to something known as Gresham’s Law. The law says that bad money drives out the good money. In this case, the “bad” money was the Continental and the “good” money was the Spanish dollar/gold/silver. Eventually the Continental ceased to exist and the episode gave rise to the term “not worth a Continental”.

The Founding Fathers recognized Gresham’s Law and understood inflation. Article I Section 10 of the Constitution says, “No State shall enter into any Treaty, Alliance, or Confederation; grant Letters ofMarque and Reprisal; coin Money; emit Bills of Credit; make any Thing but gold and silver Coin a Tender in Payment of Debts; pass any Bill ofAttainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation ofContracts, or grant any Title of Nobility.”Note the specification of gold and silver coin for the purposes of tender to pay debt.

The eruption of the Civil War necessitated the creation of US Notes. As mentioned earlier when Government needs to do something either taxes are raised or money is borrowed. During the war, the Government chose to borrow by issuing Notes. These Notes, unlike the earlier Continentals, were not redeemable in gold). In exchange for the Notes, the public provided goods and services. The public could use the Notes to pay for their taxes. The Notes were also considered legal tender (lawfully declared money) for payment of public and private debts. Returning all the Notes to the Government for tax payment represented goods/services exchanged for taxes. While the Notes circulated as money, they did not satisfy our definition of money since it was not a direct store or representation of wealth. The Notes represented inflation. The circulation of the Civil War era Notes is inflation since the supply of money increased without a corresponding increase in wealth (gold/silver).

Debasement of money occurred in the Civil War and Revolutionary War eras. The common theme in both cases was war. War is an extraordinary event requiring extraordinary effort on the part of the public. In order for a war effort to be fought, tremendous resources must be marshaled away from regular consumption towards fighting an enemy. In order to prosecute a war, a government must either raise taxes or borrow. Since taxation is rarely popular, borrowing is the alternative. I make the point about war borrowing since for a portion of our history, this was the reason for incurring public debt.

In the ensuing years, the United States functioned with an assortment of paper certificates redeemable for gold/silver. Additionally, gold and silver coins (wealth) were also used in common transactions. Late in the 19th century and early in the 20th centuries, financial panics and bank runs occurred which gave rise to one of the most significant but least understood events in the 20th century – the creation of the Federal Reserve System (Fed). With the creation of the Fed our “money” acquired an entirely different complexion.
Source: examiner.com

Gold Rush bars to go on display

Two huge California Gold Rush era assayers’ ingots, recovered from the fabled SS Central America and with a combined weight of more than 100 pounds of gold, will be on display at the Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectibles Expo Sept. 10-12 at the Long Beach, Calif., Convention Center.

“The display will feature a Kellogg & Humbert gold bar that weighs 662.28 ounces and a Justh & Hunter ingot that is 598.08 troy ounces,” said Ronald J. Gillio, expo general chairman. “Both were recovered in the late 1980s from the Central America, the legendary Ship of Gold that was carrying tons of California Gold Rush coins and ingots to New York City when it sank during a hurricane in 1857.”

The Kellogg & Humbert gold bar is stamped as number 804 with an 1857 value of $12,225.62. It is the fourth largest gold bar of the 532 ingots recovered from the Central America. The Justh & Hunter ingot is number 4255 and marked at the time as $11,089.95.

The ingots will be displayed by Monaco Rare Coins of Newport Beach, Calif.

“The exhibit also will include some of the finest known Augustus Humbert $50 denomination octagonal slugs produced in San Francisco during the height of the Gold Rush,” said Adam Crum, Monaco vice president. “These colossal gold bars and big $50 coins, literally, are treasures of Wild West history.”

During the three-day Long Beach Expo, more than 1,000 dealers will be buying and selling rare coins, paper money, stamps, postcards, historic documents, antiques, estate jewelry and other collectibles. Some will provide free, informal appraisals for visitors.

A free gold coin will be awarded daily to a registered visitor. Young numismatists’ activities including a children’s treasure hunt will be held on Sept. 12.

A half dozen educational programs and collector club meetings will be conducted during the show. Heritage Auction Galleries will hold a public sale of U.S. and world coins and paper money.

Expo public hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 10-11, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 12. The show is closed on Sunday. A complete schedule of events is online at www.LongBeachShow.com.

General admission, good for all three days, is $6. Members of any coin or stamp club who display a valid membership card pay $4. Admission is $3 for seniors 65 and older. Children ages 7 and younger are admitted for free. Discount coupons are available on the Web site.
Source: numismaticnews.net

Newly Found 1792 Washington Pattern Cent to be Offered for Sale

Throughout the 1860s and 1870s numismatics and coin collecting grew into a popular hobby for many people of means, and Washington pieces ascended to be one of the most popular areas in the American numismatic community. Tokens, medals, and other pieces bearing the portrait of Washington, some made in England and France and America, were avidly sought. A Description of the Medals of Washington, by James Ross Snowden, director of the mint, was published in 1861 and described the Mint Collection. In 1885 the monumental work, The Medallic Portraits of Washington, by W. S. Baker, was published in Philadelphia. In 1985, this volume was completely updated and revised by Russell Rulau and Dr. George Fuld.

From the mid-19th century to the present, Washington pieces have formed an important specialty in American Numismatics. Indeed, no major reference book is complete without mention of them, and no collection can be called comprehensive without containing examples of Washington coins and medals.

Thenicely detailed example shown here is going to be offered for sale by Heritage as par of their Long Beach Auction next month. It has smooth chestnut-brown surfaces that are free of porosity or corrosion. However, several scratches and scrapes occur on each side, including a number of rim imperfections. At the same time, it is more desirable than the Garrett-Roper coin that is well worn, or the Robison example that is holed and plugged. The finest known is the Norweb coin (Stack’s, 11/2006), that sold for $253,000.

The prior provenance is unknown, but it is from an old-time numismatic holding and has been off the market for decades, and is a new specimen to the current numismatic generation. Despite its obvious imperfections, the present specimen of the Hancock Washington pattern is extremely important and highly desirable.

The dies are attributed to John Gregory Hancock, a talented English engraver, and production is attributed to Obediah Westwood of Birmingham.

The WASHINGTON PRESIDENT obverse is combined with the reverse having 13 stars along the top border. The edge is lettered UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. This basic design exists with either a plain or a lettered edge. Both edge types are known in copper and silver, while the lettered edge pieces are also known in gold. A unique copper piece is also known from a second obverse die.

These 1792 pieces are related to other Washington pieces with a similar obverse die, including the Washington Born Virginia coins and the General of the American Armies pieces. They are thought to be patterns made in England in anticipation of a possible contract coinage for the United States. This variety, in copper with a lettered edge, is varyingly estimated to have between 4 and 8 specimens known.

There has been some disagreement regarding the number of pieces known today. The Whitman Encyclopedia of Colonial and Early American Coins, by Q. David Bowers and published in 2009, provides rarity ratings using the Universal Rarity Scale that Bowers published in his Silver Dollar Encyclopedia a number of years ago. In 1988 Walter Breen provided estimates of rarity in his Complete Encyclopedia, and in 1999 George Fuld and Russell Rulau gave estimates in the second edition of Medallic Portraits of Washington. The six varieties are recorded here with the published survival estimates:

–W-10660 Plain edge, copper. Bowers (unique), Fuld (6-7 known), Breen (6-7 known)
–W-10665 Plain edge, silver. Bowers (3-8 known), Fuld (3-4 known), Breen (4-5 known)
–W-10670 Lettered edge, copper. Bowers (5-8 known), Fuld (5-6 known), Breen (4-6 known)
–W-10675 Lettered edge, silver. Bowers (3-4 known), Fuld (4-5 known), Breen (5-6 known)
–W-10680 Lettered edge, gold. Bowers (unique), Fuld (unique), Breen (unique)
–W-10685 Variant die, lettered edge, copper. Bowers (unique), Fuld (unique), Breen (unique?)

If the plain edge copper piece is truly unique as Bowers records, then the lettered edge copper pieces become the only collectible examples in that metal, with approximately six known.

Source: coinlink.com

Rare coin found in firefighter charity drive

A few weeks ago Orlando firefighter Brad Lehnen and the crew at station 10 hit the streets like they do every year, collecting money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, dollar after dollar filling the boot. But what Lehnen didn't realize is there was a little surprise inside when he dumped out his boot. “I started counting all the bills. Sifting through the change and their was a gold coin at the bottom, “said Lehnen.

Firefighters often find things other than coins and dollars in their boots phone numbers, watch batteries once even an engagement ring, but this is the first time the MDA in central Florida got a rare coin, a 1912 gold coin with an Indian head on it. "Every year we get a surprise donation. I don't think a rare coin is going to be sitting in the ash tray. I feel it’s an anonymous donor that picked the Orlando boot to drop it in.” said Amy Clelland from the MDA.

Gold coins like the one found in the boot could be worth thousands of dollars. FOX 35 took it to coin and currency of Orlando. They told us the two and a half dollar coin is worth about $200.00.

Not a bad day for the firefighter. Collecting for the MDA is a friendly competition between the Orlando fire stations and it looks like with this rare find this firefighter Lehnen will get the credit this year but he doesn't care about that, "Muscular dystrophy is getting credit for it. I don't think it’s us.”

This is not the first time a charity has received a gold coin. For years the Salvation Army all over the country has had rare coins dropped in anonymously, some worth thousands of dollars.

MDA is hoping they can sell this coin and take all the proceeds to give to their charity.

Source: myfoxorlando.com

Hawaiian coins put on block

An auction of a collection of Hawaiian coins and bank notes will be conducted Sept. 7 jointly by Ira and Larry Goldberg with Stack’s.

Among the highlights are Hawaiian coinage patterns. A silver eighth dollar graded Proof-62 by NGC is expected to bring $25,000-$35,000. The catalog notes that only 20 pieces were struck. King Kalakaua I appears on obverse and on reverse the denomination in Hawaiian, HAPAWALU, is surround by a laurel wreath and the English value is given below it.

Also among the more than 500 lots are 44 lots of 1847 Hawaii cents in various grades.

Silver coins of 1883 are well represented with multiple examples of 10 cents, quarter, half dollar and dollar coins.

A cameo Proof-63 1883 quarter dollar graded by Numismatic Guaranty Corp. carries an estimate of $8,000-$10,000 and a notation that it is the only cameo graded for this issue.

Two cameo Proof-62 Hawaii dollar coins graded by NGC are estimated to bring $12,000-$15,000, while an MS-64 example of the dollar graded by the Professional Coin Grading Service and which depicts King Kalakaua I on the obverse and the royal coat of arms on the reverse, is expected to bring $10,000-$12,000.

Multiple examples of the Hawaiian U.S. commemoratives of 1928 and Hawaiian overprint U.S. paper money are part of the collection.

Also going on the block in the same sale is the Tom Kelly Collection of California fractional gold.

This portion of the sale is conducted by the Goldbergs.
Source: numismaticnews.net

NGC to begin details grading

As of Sept. 1, Numismatic Guaranty Corporation will begin encapsulating coins with detrimental surface conditions using details grades and descriptions of their impairments.

Coins that previously would have been returned ungraded by NGC as so-called “No Grades,” will now be assigned a details grade that accords with their level of surface wear, such as VG Details or XF Details, when submitted for grading.

Coins that have no wear but still display a problem surface condition will be labeled as Unc Details or, in the case of proof coins, simply Proof. Following the details grade will be a description of the noteworthy surface condition, including, for example, Improperly Cleaned, Artificial Color, Environmental Damage and Tooled.

A guidebook available in hard copy and on NGC’s Web site, www.NGCcoin.com, called “Understanding NGC Details Grading” will define all the terms used by NGC to describe these surface conditions.
“Now as many coins as possible will be returned certified and encapsulated, meaning that they are covered by the NGC Guarantee,” said NGC President Rick Montgomery. “NGC Details Grading also provides comprehensive descriptive information for coins with surface problems, making them easier to buy and sell.”

In the past, coins with problematic surface conditions were given Details Grades and were encapsulated by NGC’s affiliated conservation company, Numismatic Conservation Services. This service is being discontinued concurrent with the launch of NGC Details Grading.

This new service will be provided automatically for all NGC grading tier submissions at no additional service charge. The authenticity of details graded coins will be covered by the updated NGC Coin Grading Guarantee, and coins graded under this program will be encapsulated with a distinctive purple NGC Details Grading label.
Source: numismaticnews.net