(Santa Clara, California) – The finest known 1907 Ultra High Relief Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle gold coin, insured for $5 million, will be displayed during the first three days of the Santa Clara, California Coin, Stamp & Collectibles Expo to be conducted November 19 – 22, 2009.

The show will be held in the Santa Clara Convention Center, 5001 Great America Parkway, where free parking is available.

"This magnificent-looking Ultra High Relief is graded PCGS Proof-69, and will be exhibited courtesy of Certified Assets Management of Wilmington, Delaware," said Ronald J. Gillio, Expo General Chairman.

"This famous coin was designed by renowned sculptor, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, at the personal request of President Theodore Roosevelt.  It was struck seven times to bring up all the beautiful features in the design.  There are less than 20 known surviving examples, and this is the finest.  There is no other example certified higher," said Bob Higgins, President of Certified Assets Management.

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1879 Flowing Hair stella leads the way with $161,000; strong prices signal optimism in the market

DALLAS, TX — With a sell-through rate of 90% by lot and 88% by dollar value, and almost 3300 bidders, Heritage Auctions’ Oct. 23-24 Dallas Signature® U.S. Coin Auction soared to $8.7 million total. All prices include a 15% Buyer’s Premium.

The impressive tally is a good sign for the coin market and provides strong momentum as the numismatic world prepares for the January FUN auctions, long a solid indicator of the overall strength of the business and a benchmark by which to judge the coming year.

"We saw some very strong prices in some unexpected areas," said Greg Rohan, President of Heritage Auctions. "The rare coin market seems to be almost fully recovered in many areas, and perhaps even headed for record price levels next year."

A stunning 1879 Flowing Hair stella struck in gold, Judd-1635, Pollock-1833, PR65 NGC was the top lot of the Heritage Auctions event, with a price realized of $161,000 for this international trade coinage pattern, which bears a Flowing Hair portrait of Liberty by Charles Barber. Demand for the issue is far greater than the supply; only a few hundred of the gold 1879 Flowing Hair stellas were minted and distributed, mainly to interested members of Congress. Read the rest of this entry »

Continuing its international expansion, Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) participated in COINEXPO in Warsaw, Poland on October 15-17 and in the Brogniard show October 17 in Paris, France.  

Both shows raised the continuing growing interest in world coin grading among European and Eastern European collectors. In Poland, third-party independent coin grading is already widely recognized as adding value to collectors’ coins. Collectors can submit their coins to PCGS through two PCGS authorized Polish dealers, Mennica Polska and Inwestycje Alternatywne Profit (www.e-numizmatyka.pl).

Following PCGS President Don Willis’ visit to Paris, it was the first time a coin grading company was ever invited to participate in the Paris Brogniard show organized by the French Numismatic Dealers Association, SYNDICAT NATIONAL DES EXPERTS NUMISMATES ET NUMISMATES PROFESSIONNELS. "It was a great opportunity for PCGS to have such a high-visibility presence at this premier European show," said Muriel Eymery from PCGS, who expressed her thanks for the support of the show organizers and PCGS French dealers. 

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Winter Park, Florida — Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC held their 6th overall and 2nd fully live internet auction of numismatic and shipwreck treasures on October 15-16, 2009, realizing a record price of over $1.6 million* in 2082 lots. Featured in the sale were coins and artifacts and printed materials from around the world, including the prestigious collections of Mark Bir, Louis Hudson, Herman Blanton and Thomas Sebring.

"This was by far our best auction, and the feedback from both consignors and bidders has been overwhelmingly positive. We greatly exceeded our goal of $1 million, and over 94% of the lots sold," said Daniel Sedwick, company principal and founder.

"We were honored to present for sale several great collections of coins and artifacts, including a few significant coins that are rarely offered at auction. This is proof that our relatively new and rapidly growing Treasure Auctions are a competitive specialized option for consignors, with an unparalleled level of personalized service from beginning to end for both bidders and consignors alike."

Setting the tone for the sale was lot 1, a Mexican cob 8 escudos fully dated 1709, which found a home with a private collector for a record price of $46,000*. Some 70+ gold cobs followed thereafter. Read the rest of this entry »

Bowers and Merena’s Official Auction of the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Baltimore Expo Features The Dr. Alfred R. Globus Collection Including Gem Example High Condition Census 1830 BD-1 Half Eagle

IRVINE, Calif. – Bowers and Merena Auctions, America’s leading rare coin and currency auction house, will bring more than 6,000 lots of fine coins and currency to Baltimore, Md., for the Official Auction of the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Baltimore Expo scheduled for November 10-14, 2009.

There are nearly 2,600 U.S. lots and close to 3,500 World lots. The auction will take place at the Baltimore Convention Center and begins with lot viewing Tuesday, November 10, through Saturday, November 14, coinciding with the seven-session auction on Thursday, November 12, through Saturday, November 14. Read the rest of this entry »

The American Numismatic Association’s Florence Schook School of Numismatics is coming to New Hampshire Oct. 24-25. "Fundamentals of Digital Photography" is offered in conjunction with the New Hampshire Coin and Currency Expo in Manchester.

This two-day seminar is instructed by Douglas Mudd, curator of the ANA’s Edward C. Rochette Money Museum. Learn the basics of numismatic photography, from shooting the image to preparing it for the web, presentations or publication using Adobe Photoshop. Students should be prepared to bring their own "macro-capable" cameras and several coins they would like to photograph. Although not required, students are also encouraged to bring their own laptops and software. Read the rest of this entry »

COLORADO SPRINGS – The American Numismatic Association will expand its National Money Show™ from three days to four days, beginning with the spring convention in Fort Worth, TX, in March 2010, Executive Director Larry Shepherd announced.

The show, initially scheduled to be open to the public Friday through Sunday, will now be open Thursday, March 25 through Sunday, March 28 at the Fort Worth Convention Center. Dealer set-up will be open on Wednesday afternoon. Adding the extra day signals a commitment from the ANA to expand the size of the National Money Show. In addition, the ANA is considering other changes that will add to the excitement and drawing power of the event. Read the rest of this entry »

Specialists in world coins and treasure items Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC has released their sixth and largest Treasure Auction, available immediately for viewing on their website, www.sedwickcoins.com.

This auction features well over $1 million in coins, ingots, artifacts and books, almost all of it opening at very reasonable levels. Because of the size of the auction this time, Sedwick has split this sale into three sessions, all closing LIVE on www.iCollector.com/sedwick.

"After our first live Internet auction last time, we decided to hold our Treasure Auction #6 in three sessions to provide breaks and avoid bidders having to monitor the auction all day long to bid live on the lots they want," says Sedwick. "Also there is no more confusion about the buyer’s fee, which is set at 18% for everyone (discounted to 15% for check or cash)."

Session I

Starting off Session I (Thursday, October 15, 11:00 am EDT) is a unique Mexican cob 8 escudos (possible) Royal 1709 (estimated at $35,000-$50,000), one of more than 70 gold cobs in this sale, mostly from the 1715 Fleet, including also an extremely rare Lima cob 8 escudos 1702 (estimated at $20,000-$30,000). Read the rest of this entry »

IRVINE, Calif. — Bowers and Merena Auctions, America’s leading rare coin and currency auction house, presented the Official Pre-show Auction of the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Philadelphia Expo on September 22, 2009. The two-session auction realized $2,520,460.

"Philadelphia was a wonderful choice for this Whitman show and Bowers and Merena’s pre-show auction," said Steve Deeds, president of Bowers and Merena.

"The city is so rich in American history which lends itself to the real nature of what we do in numismatics, and we were very fortunate to be able to present an extensive selection of rare Colonial and Early Federal Era coinage that was very much in keeping with this historic theme. The turnout was great and we are very pleased with our results."

A highpoint of the day came early with lot 15, an undated (circa 1659) Lord Baltimore Shilling graded MS-61 by PCGS, the Eliasberg Specimen, which realized an impressive $57,500. Read the rest of this entry »

Award-winning numismatic author, acclaimed researcher, well-known dealer, Q. David Bowers, chairman of Stack’s and numismatic director of Whitman Publishing LLC, visited FOX 29’s studio Thursday to talk about coin values and the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Philadelphia Expo.

Bowers visits with Mike Jerrick, co-host of Good Day Philadelphia. They discuss several circulation finds and their values — 1909-S Lincoln Cent, 1971 Kennedy Half-Dollar, State Quarters, Susan B. Anthony Dollar, Sacagawea Golden Dollar, and even a Chucky E. Cheese token, which Bowers humorously comments "might be worth a hamburger." Read the rest of this entry »