Silver and gold coins were issued Wednesday by Ireland’s Central Bank to commemorate the adventurous feats by Antarctic explorers Earnest Shackleton and Tom Crean, and celebrate the International Polar Year.

The proof collector €5 and €100 coins feature the two historic Irish explorers with their ship ‘The Endurance’ backdropped within the steel grips of Antarctic ice.

Shackleton and Crean ‘The Endurance’ Expedition Background

In a remarkable story, in 1915 the pair set off to cross the Antarctica via the South Pole on an expedition that soon became a near hopeless battle for survival.

During the journey, The Endurance became wedged. The vessel could not shake the clutches of the South Pole ice, and eventually sank 10 months later.

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John Quincy Adam United States Mint Presidential $1 Coin and Louisa Adams First Spouse Medal Sets are now available and priced at $7.95 each.

The set was released Wednesday, September 3, and includes an uncirculated John Quincy Adam Presidential dollar coin and a bronze medal bearing the likeness of the Louisa Adams First Spouse gold coin.

According to the Mint website,

The coin and medal are held in a durable plastic card enhanced with beautiful representations of the President and first spouse’s portraits, with issuance information on the back.

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A bill recently introduced by Rep. Melvin Watt [D-NC] proposes a 40-coin, eight-year series of circulating quarters to commemorate and be emblematic of "prominent civil rights leaders and important events that have advanced civil rights in America."

H.R. 6701, "Civil Rights Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008," was introduced July 31, and has an already large cosponsor list of 99 representatives.

Most collectors are now familiar with the H.R. 6184, "America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008," which the House passed July 9 and would continue circulating quarters commemorating national parks and sites for at least 11 years. Like it, H.R. 6701 would authorize a large silver version of the coin measuring 3 inches in diameter and weighing a 5 ounces.

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(Long Beach, California) – An exhibit by Professional Coin Grading Service of counterfeit coins and the latest in the Professional Numismatists Guild’s "Share the Knowledge" educational seminars are among the highlights of the next Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectibles Expo, September 18 - 20, 2008.  The show will be held in the Long Beach, California Convention Center, 100 S. Pine Ave.

"The PCGS display will showcase an assortment of fake Chinese coins and the dies used for making some of them that were sold on the Internet or offered at souvenir shops and street fairs in Hong Kong," said Ronald J. Gillio, Expo General Chairman.

"We’ll also have a half dozen various club meetings and educational programs that are open to the public.  Whether you’re a consignor or a bidder, you’ll want to attend the PNG seminar about numismatic auctions."

The program, "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Rare Coin Auctions," will be presented by PNG member-dealer Greg Rohan, President of Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas, Texas, at Noon on Thursday, September 18. 

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(Long Beach, California) – The date has changed for the latest in the Professional Numismatists Guild’s "Share the Knowledge" educational seminars at the Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectibles Expo.  The new date is Thursday, September 18, 2008, instead of the previously announced Friday the 19th. 

The seminar will benefit potential auction consignors and bidders.

The program, "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Rare Coin Auctions," will be presented by PNG member-dealer Greg Rohan, President of Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas, Texas. The program starts at Noon on September 18, in room 102-C of the Long Beach, California Convention Center, 100 S. Pine Ave.

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The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), the government agency responsible for printing U.S. currency, reported August production totals on Tuesday that shows a quicker pace.

667,520,000 U.S. banknotes were manufactured in August worth $10,547,200,000. That compares to 576 million notes worth $9.8 billion in July.

Substantially more $1s, $5s, $20s, and $100s were produced for the month while the volume of $10s printed were identical to July’s figures.

In addition, the BEP printed 1.92 million $100 star notes, which are replacements for misprinted notes or certain serial numbers, like 000 000 000. Star notes are generally more desirable to collectors, as they are rarer.

Spread across the 31 days in August and counting weekends and holidays, the BEP averaged more than 21.5 million notes per day with a total daily face value worth about $340 million, which would be enough for every man, woman and child in the U.S. to have slighter over $1.

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Dallas, TX. Heritage’s weekly Internet Coin Auctions have recently recorded sales of significant rarities.

“What a great week for wonderful coins for our Internet bidders,” enthused Heritage President Greg Rohan. “Our Tuesday Weekly Internet Coin Auction ending 8/19 included several significant coins, including:

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Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, the official auctioneer of the Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectible Expo, will conduct a 6,000+ lot Currency Signature® Auction on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, September 17-19, 2008 at the Long Beach Convention Center, 100 South Pine Ave., Long Beach, California.

The Convention Center is also the site of the Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectible Show, as well as the location for lot viewing for all Heritage auctions. Nearly 2,000 of the lots will be included as part of the online session.

“The auction is anchored by the impressive $5mm+ Jupiter Collection and the Dr. Edward and Joanne Dauer Collection of Demand Notes,” said Dustin Johnston, Consignment Director for Dallas-based Heritage. “Other notable collections include offerings from the Albert Rollins Collection, The Norman Collection, The Sandpoint Collection of Idaho Nationals, and another installment from the Collection of a Louisiana Gentleman.”

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Dallas, TX. An O-101 1796 15 Stars half dollar (Lot 2018), certified AU58 by PCGS is joined by many other gold and silver rarities in Heritage’s Long Beach Signature® Auction, being held Sept 17-21, 2008.

Heritage is also holding auctions featuring U.S. Currency, Ancient & World Coins, World Currency, and Tokens and Medals. The auctions are now posted by Heritage Auction Galleries on their HA.com website, and all lots are available for inspection and bidding.

“Among the great rarities included in the Long Beach auction,” commented Heritage President Greg Rohan, “are several unusual pairs: A pair of 1879 $4 stellas (Judd-1635, Pollock-1833) with Flowing Hair, and certified by NGC (Lot 3570 is PR64 Star Cameo, and Lot 3571 is PR65 Cameo). A pair of early $5s from The Laredo Collection is also significant: Lot 3575 is a 1795 $5 Small Eagle (BD-1), certified MS62 NGC, and Lot 3587 is an 1805 $5 Close Date (BD-2). A pair of 1839-O Capped Bust, Reeded Edge Proof half dollars will keep seasoned numismatists talking for decades.

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced new five rupee coins to commemorate Gandhi’s ‘75 Years of Dandi March’ and social reformer ‘Mahatma Basaveshwara’.

In 1930 and to protest a British-imposed salt tax, Gandhi led Indians in a non violent, 400 km (249 mi) Dandi Salt March. The journey began in Sabarmati Ashram on March 12 and ended April 6 when Gandhi broke the British Salt Law at Dandi at 6:30 am.

India’s Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh once described Basaveshwara as an extraordinary personality who wielded temporal power and, at the same time, had a spiritual bent of mind.

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