The coin carried a look of age and a lure of value. But instead, it was a replica and comparable piece of junk.
The story retold by the News Post Leader relays how a treasure-hunter discovered what he hoped to be an old gold coin in Choppington, an England village in Northumberland.
There was no such luck for him, however. The coin was analyzed by an expert and determined to be a fake. The outside was covered in gold resin to give an old, golden appearance.
It also wasn’t of sufficient weight and, to top it all off, it was marked in traditional replica fashion.
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Packing coins into house walls apparently was an "in" thing during times of old.
Earlier this month there was the account of ancient roman coins found within a blacksmith’s wall in Portugal. Now, there’s another case of rare coins found in an old home and wall in Pennsylvania.
This latest batch of coins are not as old. But, ranging from the 1820’s to 1960’s, they’re not exactly youthful either.
The Tribune-Democrat reports how an old abandoned home was searched, at the behest of the family members who owned it, by Jeff Bidelman. Bidelman is the owner of Rare Collectibles in Johnstown, PA.
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The time, effort and expense of counterfeiting one dollar coins just doesn’t make sense.
It’s easy to at least understand a criminal’s motivation in counterfeiting rare and valuable coins. But the incentive to forge a daily and common circulating coin? It defies logic.
Yet, that’s exactly what happened with a New Zealand dollar coin. And there’s currently an investigation into counterfeit U.S. Presidential $1 coins, although it would boggle the mind if those were verified as fake.
The U.S. case has been covered and, so far, nothing is new. However, the New Zealand story is intriguing, although brief in detail.
New Zealand counterfeit dollar coin
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Two days ago, on October 24, the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) released 25-cent alpine skiing coins to the public. These coins commemorate the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Today, the RCM has confirmed reports that some coins made for collectors have a 2008 date on the obverse (heads) side instead of the correct 2007 date.
The error coins were limited to the Alpine Skiing Coin Sport Cards sold only through "Petro-Canada outlets and a small quantity of Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games coin collections."
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His gifts? They’re already in the works - hundreds of millions in new cents and up to 500,000 commemorative silver dollars.
Similar to the state commemorative quarters and Presidential $1 Coins, the Lincoln cent is getting a redesign.
Four cents - each with a different theme and release date - will start flowing into your pocket change in early 2009.
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Today, the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) released a new coin commemorating the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The commemorative 25-cent pictures alpine skiing.
The coin is the fifth in a series of 17 circulating coins to be made, and the last one to be released this year.
The RCM press release announcing the launch indicates up to 22 million of the coins will enter circulation through the RBC Royal Bank and participating Petro-Canada outlets.
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Every third week in April the American Numismatic Association (ANA) promotes the study and collecting of coins and currency through National Coin Week.
The week of celebration is filled with a series of activities ranging from sponsored school events to numismatic exhibits and public gatherings.
To help "send out the call", the ANA provides ideas, promotional material and exposure to coin dealers, clubs and others who participate.
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The festive holiday season is fast approaching and the U.S. Mint is ready with their latest coin and product catalog.
The Mint has announced that the new catalog will be available Thursday, October 25. In a statement, United States Mint Director Ed Moy said:
“Our catalog features beautifully crafted products that embody the spirit of America. The women and men of the United States Mint are proud to offer them to the public.”
The first sentence you could expect from any Mint Director. The second sentence, however, is rather refreshing.
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Imagine hiding over 4500 coins in the wall of your home, never to see them again. That’s apparently what happened to a blacksmith way back in the 4th century.
Earlier this month, Archaeologists were excavating a dig site in northeastern Portugal when they uncovered the ancient Roman coins within the wall of a blacksmith’s home.
The blacksmith had the coins within a sack. The coins escaped the strains of time, but the sack didn’t. It disintegrated.
Interestingly, the site archaeologists are excavating not only includes the blacksmith’s home, but also a spa and another house with heated rooms.
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Once again standing out from the crowd, is the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM).
Noted for their innovative and non conservative approach in creating coinage products, the RCM busted a Guinness World Record.
And, in no small fashion. The Royal Canadian Mint’s 100-kg (220lb), 99.999% pure gold bullion coin has a $1 million face value. Pricey and Heavy? Yes. But also huge.
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