August 2010

New Commemorative Coin LawPresident Obama signed legislation into law on Monday, August 16, that authorizes the United States Mint to strike 2012 Star Spangled Banner commemorative coins.

Public Law 111-232 was introduced as H.R. 2097 in the U.S. House by Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger on April 23, 2009. It passed in the House on September 9, 2009, and in the Senate on August 2, 2010.

Entitled the Star-Spangled Banner Commemorative Coin Act, the new law authorizes up to 600,000 coins to celebrate the bicentennial writing of the Star-Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key.

Read the rest of this article »

{ 1 comment }

Good Morning, A fresh surge in the value of the yen brought the Japanese currency nearer to the 84 mark against the US dollar (a fifteen-year high of 84.17 was recorded overnight) and a further step closer to direct currency market intervention. The operative words used to jawbone against these gains were no longer "undesirable" [...]

{ 1 comment }

The Royal Australian Mint unveiled a new 50 cent coin today which commemorates the 60th anniversary of National Service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. At the recently constructed National Service memorial site, the new coin was permanently laid under the dedication plaque by Major General Steve Gower, AO, AO (Mil), Director of the [...]

{ 0 comments }

Officially entering the history books as a sellout Monday morning were the 2010 Proof Platinum Eagles. The United States Mint tagged the coin as "Sold Out," moving the product to its "No Longer Available" page within its online store.

2010 Proof Platinum American Eagle

In reality, the 1-ounce .9995 fine platinum coins sold out Thursday, August 19, when collectors purchased their entire 10,000 mintage.

The Mint continued to accept new orders between Thursday and Monday, but those were added to a standby list — fulfilled only if an older order was canceled or failed to process.

Read the rest of this article »

{ 1 comment }

International coin rarities continued to assert their growing numismatic strength during the Aug. 11-16 Heritage Auctions Boston ANA World’s Fair of Money trio of auctions, realizing more than $8.6 million in Heritage Signature® World Coin Auction, part of the overall $46+ million total of the combined auction events. More than 2,860 collectors were on hand [...]

{ 1 comment }

Good Morning, Precious metals trading opened on a mixed note this morning, with minor advances noted in the noble metals complex, while gold and silver retreated slightly. Amid a rather slow start in the flow of financial news and with little or no major economic data due today, market participants continued to focus on the [...]

{ 0 comments }

Heritage Auction Galleries’ Signature® Currency Auction, held Aug. 11-15, including the non-floor session held on Aug. 15, contributed more than $3 million to the $46+ million total realization of Heritage’s official ANA World’s Fair of Money auction in Boston, MA. Highlights from Session One included a possibly unique complete uncut sheet of 16 red and [...]

{ 0 comments }

U.S. gold prices retreated $6.60 Friday, but the decline failed to stop its third straight week of gains. Gold peaked Thursday to a seven-week high as sour economic reports clouded the U.S. recovery picture, lifting safe-haven buying. For a second consecutive week, however, silver, platinum and palladium each fell. Price drops include 0.7 percent for [...]

{ 0 comments }

The series of design proposals for the 2011 First Spouse Gold Coins have been created and presented to various officials and review bodies, including the Commission of Fine Arts or CFA.

2011 First Spouse Gold Coin Obverse Designs Recommended by CFA

The one-half ounce, 24 karat gold coins that debuted in 2007 continue into 2011 by honoring the spouses of the 17th through 20th Presidents of the United States — Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes and James A. Garfield.

Read the rest of this article »

{ 0 comments }

Good Morning, Gold trading opened with a small $1.50 loss on this, the last trading day of the week. Spot prices started off the session at the $1230.90 level, following an overnight dip to near $1227.00 the ounce. A hefty 0.50 gain in the greenback kept bullion’s persistent advance attempts to above the $1235.00 resistance [...]

{ 1 comment }