In 2012, London will host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the most prestigious sporting events in the world. To commemorate this auspicious occasion, the Royal Mint was joined by Olympic gold medallist Rebecca Adlington OBE to launch the first Countdown Coin, a special £5 coin counting down three years to the exciting event.
Rebecca comments: "I am thrilled to help launch the Royal Mint’s Countdown to London 2012 coin. The Olympic Games is just around the corner and this coin is a great way for the British public to show its support for the sports men and women who are already preparing for this ultimate sporting challenge."
The 2009 UK Countdown to London 2012 £5 coin is the first in a series of four beautifully crafted coins to be launched annually from now until 2012 and is available in gold, silver and cupro-nickel. Read the rest of this entry »
Gold, platinum and silver retreated Thursday following yesterday’s only gain for the metals on the week. Gold wobbled below $900 to close out April with a 3.7 percent loss and a second straight monthly decline. Silver fell and finished 5.1 percent lower on the month. Platinum declined 2.0 percent in April, and marked it first negative month since October. In other markets, crude-oil dipped and U.S. stocks ended mixed.
In New York trading futures for bullion on Thursday:
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Silver for July delivery plunged 45 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $12.325 an ounce.
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Gold for June fell $9.30, or 1.0 percent, to $891.20 an ounce.
- July platinum lost 20 cents, or 0.02 percent, to $1,106.60 an ounce.
Read the rest of this entry »
Four numismatic news or coin blog articles are referenced on CoinNews every Tuesday and Thursday. These articles are not authored by us, but we recommend coin collectors read them for their unusual or interesting content. Here are today’s articles:
Maki Becker | The Buffalo News
Niagara Falls is one of the world’s most iconic natural landmarks. Gov. David A. Paterson and Sen. Charles E. Schumer think the cascading falls would make an ideal pick to grace New York’s quarter in the upcoming America’s Beautiful National Parks quarters series…
Go to story »
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By Mike Unser on Apr 30th, 2009 in
Auctions, Coin Shows and Numismatic Events,
British Royal Mint,
Business News,
Coin or Numismatic News,
CoinNews Polls,
Mint Sales Figures,
New Zealand Coins,
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United States Mint News and Information |
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Ultra High Relief (UHR) $20 gold coins break a new threshold and Braille Commemorative Silver Dollar sales soar, according to the latest US Mint sales report.
Ultra High Relief (UHR) $20 gold coin sales cooled off compared to the last figures, but rose above the magic 60,000 barrier. With an average price of around $1200 each, the total is quite impressive.
In a surprise for the second straight week, sales of Louis Braille Silver Dollars shot up… really shot up. Proofs jumped by 38.1 percent over the prior numbers, with 21,636 additional sold. The uncirculated options rose by nearly 30 percent, with 10,200 more purchased by collectors. Read the rest of this entry »
The United States Mint has halted production of circulating 2009 Jefferson nickels and 2009 Roosevelt dimes for the rest of this year, according to the latest issue of Coin World. As the dime and nickel production graphs show, the stoppage creates historic, staggering low mintages for the two coins — levels not seen since the 50s.
Coin Word’s Paul Gilkes reports the US Mint made the announcement on April 23, and included details of a scale back in producing for other circulating coins, like the three remaining 2009 Lincoln Pennies.
It’s not that the public or collectors dislike the new coins. Quite the opposite, in fact. Collector demand for 2009 circulating coinage is exceptionally high. It’s all about the recession. It has, by itself, significantly eroded demand for new coins in every day transactions. Read the rest of this entry »
Precious metals climbed Wednesday for the first time in three days. Gold shifted back above $900 while crude jumped over $50 and then $51 a barrel. U.S. stocks rallied following two days of losses.
In New York trading futures for bullion:
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Silver for May delivery rose 35.4 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $12.754 an ounce.
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Gold for June gained $6.90, or 0.8 percent, to $900.50 an ounce.
- July platinum climbed $5.20, or 0.5 percent, to $1,106.80 an ounce.
Read the rest of this entry »
Chaired by Representative Barney Frank, D-Mass, the 70-member House Financial Services Committee has adopted new rules that will make it significantly harder to authorize new commemorative coins and Congressional Gold Medals.
The House of Representatives, and its committees, routinely sets new rules to determine how it will operate. This particular change is intended to prevent multiple random proposals from overwhelming members of Congress. Instead the rules will allow a declaration of "Out of Order" on any commemorative coin or Congressional Gold Medal suggestion that does not meet the criteria that was pre-defined and accepted by the entire committee.
Rule #1 states "It shall not be in order for the Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology to hold a hearing on any commemorative medal or commemorative coin legislation unless the legislation is cosponsored by at least two-thirds of the members of the House." Read the rest of this entry »
The US Mint on Thursday at noon ET will begin offering a newly designed Multi-Lens Collector’s Box for $16.95, plus $4.95 for shipping and handling.
The product is advertised as a "one-size-fits-all storage solution" that is customizable with movable dividers and will hold old and new US Mint silver and clad sets.
To date, the Mint has offered non adjustable boxes that could hold either one-, two-, or three-lens sets. (Lenses are the rectangle plastic coin holders in sets.) Recently, however, changes in coinage laws and the inflexible nature of the boxes have caused frustrations for collectors.
As an example, the two-lens collector’s box worked perfectly to hold several years of proof sets. That is, until Congress passed the law which brought about the Presidential $1 coins in 2007. That threw an unexpected kink into the works. Specifically, the collector’s box to hold proof sets containing all 10 years of the state quarters no longer worked as intended. The Presidential dollars added another lens to proof sets, and they would not fit into the box. Read the rest of this entry »
For the second straight day, precious metals declined. Gold dropped below $900 an ounce, platinum headed downward toward $1,100 and silver lost its luster. U.S. stocks and oil futures were down for day two as well, but suffered only modest losses. Global concern over swine flu was again cited as a confidence buster for markets.
In New York trading futures for bullion:
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Silver for May delivery plunged 55.5 cents, or 4.3 percent, to $12.40 an ounce.
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Gold for June fell $14.60, or 1.6 percent, to $893.60 an ounce.
- July platinum lost $48.70, or 4.2 percent, to $1,101.60 an ounce.
Read the rest of this entry »
Sales of 2009 Silver Eagle Bullion Coins are blistering hot, with an incredible record-breaking pace of 9.67 million sold through April, according to the latest US Mint sales stats.
Total Silver Eagle Bullion Coin Sales, Jan-Apr (2000-2009)
More silver eagles have been sold in February, March and April than any corresponding month since the American Eagle series was launched in 1986. What happened in January 2009? It was a great month for the eagles as well, coming in second place behind the record sales in January 2008.
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