Current and former employees of the Royal Canadian Mint gathered at the Mint’s Winnipeg facility today [November 3] to celebrate one hundred years of reliably producing Canada’s circulation coinage, a legacy born in Ottawa in 1908 when Governor General Earl Grey struck a fifty-cent piece, Canada’s first domestically produced coin.
Since 1976, the Mint’s Winnipeg facility has held the distinction of producing all of Canada’s circulation coins, in addition to those of over 60 foreign countries. Today, the Winnipeg facility is marking a centennial of accomplishment with the commissioning of a new high-speed coining press and an employee and alumni open house.
"I am pleased to come to the Winnipeg Mint to honour employees who, both past and present, have contributed to the remarkable success of the Royal Canadian Mint," said Mr. Ian E. Bennett, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint.
"Canadian circulation coins have been at the heart of the Mint’s business since 1908 and the effort and innovation of our Winnipeg employees in this field have made the Mint one of the most innovative and respected in the world."
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Bowers and Merena’s Auction of "The East Bay & Eduard Kann Collections of Chinese, Russian and World Banknotes" Realizes more than $1.1 Million.
IRVINE, Calif. – Bowers and Merena Auctions, America’s leading rare coin and currency auction house, conducted an auction of exceptional international banknotes in New York City on October 27-28, 2008, compiled of two premier collections, "The East Bay Collection of International Banknotes" and "The Eduard Kann Chinese Banknote Collection."
Consisting of more than 2,100 total lots, the auction realized $1,119,585. It was held at the Hilton Times Square, with live auction simulcasts in Hong Kong and Germany. The auction was spearheaded by Bowers and Merena in conjunction with sister companies John Bull Auctions, Ltd., of Hong Kong, and Heinrich Köhler Auktionshaus of Germany. Read the rest of this entry »
New York precious metal enjoyed across the board gains Tuesday as the U.S. dollar showed weakness. Silver, gold and platinum futures rose 3.9 percent, 4.2 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively. Oil surged upward 10.4 percent and above $70.
December crude-oil jumped $6.62 to close to $70.53 a barrel, and a two-week high.
December silver gained 38 cents to end at $10.13 an ounce.
January platinum climbed $30.60 to settle at $857.70 an ounce.
Gold for December surged $30.50 to close to $757.30 an ounce.
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Martin Van Buren Presidential $1 coins will be sold on Thursday, November 13, the United States Mint said Monday. The final Presidential Dollar for 2008 will be available in 25-coin rolls for $35.95 and in 250-coin bags for $319.95, with either the Philadelphia, "P", or Denver, "D", mintmark.
Dubbed “The Red Fox of Kinderhook” for his red hair, political acumen and birthplace in New York, Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States. America was prosperous when Van Buren took office, but less than three months later the panic of 1837 occurred and was quickly followed by a five-year depression. Van Buren was voted out of office, making him the third president to serve only one term.
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Mike Ellis brings over 20 Years Experience in Research, Grading & Teaching
(Virginia Beach, VA.) Management at Dominion Grading Service (DGS) formally announced this week the hiring of Michael Ellis as a senior grader and variety specialist. Mr. Ellis has over 20 years experience in professional numismatics with a rich resume spanning everything from President of CONECA, to 12 years of teaching at ANA Summer Seminars.
According to DGS President, John Feigenbaum, "Mike comes to us at the ideal time for Dominion [Grading Service]. We’ve been officially grading coins since April and the number of submissions has gradually increased with each month, to the point that we could no longer keep up with the pace.
Collectors are really starting to embrace our services and we see DGS as a trend setter in the future of coin grading. DGS can make a real difference with specialty offerings like variety designations and the grading of error coins. Mike is one of the strongest attributors in the country and we’re extremely fortunate to have him aboard."
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Four numismatic articles are referenced on CoinNews every Tuesday and Thursday. These articles are not authored by us, but we recommend collectors read them for their unusual or interesting content. Here are today’s articles:
By Cindy Brake, COIN WORLD
The term "Uncirculated Mint set" is a bit of a misnomer because the coins in the special packages were originally intended for circulation albeit they never entered circulation. In 1948 the United States Mint began offering the annual Uncirculated Mint sets. The first sets include coins dated 1947. Later in 1948, 1948 sets were offered.
Read ‘Uncirculated Mint set packaging varies through time’ »
By Ken Potter, Numismatic News
Still, it was my opinion that you only had to take a look at the design to see that this aberration was going to repeat itself over and over again on many dies. Where you have extensive areas of design that are relatively close to the field even when the dies are new, (as we have on this coin), it stands to reason they will be abraded and worn away much easier and more often than coins that feature generally deeper designs throughout.
Read ‘Overhyped Nickel Error Sees Value Take Tumble’ »
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