The US Mint on Thursday launched the 2009 Letitia Tyler First Spouse Gold Coins. The 24-karat, $10 denominated commemoratives are available in two options — proof for the price of $629 and uncirculated for $616. A bronze medal bearing a likeness of the gold coins is also available for $3.50.

The coins are the tenth in a series and the second issued in 2009 to honor American First Ladies.

Having suffered a stroke two years prior to her husband becoming President in 1841 (due to the death of President William Henry Harrison), Letitia Tyler assumed all but the ceremonial duties of First Lady — at least for a short several months. Letitia suffered another stroke in 1842, and passed away peacefully on September 10 at the age of 51. Read the rest of this article »

Following news Thursday of a bigger-than-expected dip in U.S. jobs and an unemployment rate increase to 9.5 percent, gold fell toward $930 an ounce, oil plunged to a one-month low and U.S. stocks tumbled.

In New York trading futures for bullion:

• Silver for September delivery declined 35.2 cents, or 2.6 percent, to 13.408 an ounce.

• Gold for August delivery fell $10.30, or 1.1 percent, to $931.00 an ounce.

• October platinum lost $11.80, or 1.0 percent, to $1,193.30 an ounce.

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(Irvine, California) — A wide selection of rare ancient and world coins will be offered in Bowers and Merena’s Official Auction of the American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money® at the Los Angeles Convention Center and online, August 2-8, 2009. Ponterio & Associates, Inc., a division of Bowers and Merena, will present the world sessions on Saturday, August 8.

One of the many highlights among the over 1,300 lots of desirable and appealing world coins is a Japanese undated (1860-1862) Manen oban (10 Ryo, 112.26 gms) with security edge (Fr. 7; JNDA-09-11; C24a2) in Extremely Fine condition. Read the rest of this article »

Standing out in the latest batch of US Mint sales figures is an eyebrow raising increase for the 18-coin clad 2009 Proof Set.

After a double-take, the numbers were verified as true. Another 106,987 were purchased during the prior seven days ending on Sunday.

The new total stands at an impressive 684,412 sold in the first 28 days. The increase was the best ever, with the exception of launch week. Why the jump? Look to Mint marketing. Postcards advertising the sets hit collector mailboxes en masse last week, reminding the public to buy. They did.

Demand for the 2009 Lincoln Formative Years cents had softened of late. While nothing to scream home about, sales of the two-roll sets actually climbed a smidgen last week. 8,704 more were purchased, raising the new tally to 276,234. There was a gain of 7,912 during the prior week. Read the rest of this article »

News of an error in UK’s Royal Mint 20 pence coin (20p) blasted through the media this week, creating an intensified fervor in collectors trying to find and buy the coins.

Prices for the coin, which have a face value of about 33 cents US, have shot up with auction bidding reaching as high as several hundred dollars. (See current eBay auctions.)

According to reports, the Mint issued tens of thousands "year-less" 20p coins toward the end of 2008. Read the rest of this article »

The Perth Mint has released the Sydney 2009 World Masters Games Coin in anticipation of a sporting event that has grown to involve more competitors than the Olympics.

The World Masters Games began in Toronto in 1985. They have occurred on approximately 4 year intervals ever since. The games have been held in Aalborg, Aarhus and Herning, Denmark (1989), Brisbane, Australia (1994), Portland, Oregon, United States (1998), Melbourne, Australia (2002) and Edmonton, Canada (2005).

Almost 25,000 competitors are estimated to have participated in the Melbourne 2002 World Masters Games, which is more than double the number of athletes that were in the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics. This huge difference is mainly attributed to the World Masters acceptance of people with varying abilities and ages. Read the rest of this article »

Gold cruised forward Wednesday for its biggest gain of the week, and halted a two-day slide. A weakened U.S. dollar was a cited catalyst for the yellow metal’s climb. Silver and platinum advanced as well. In other markets, oil prices fell following data showing higher crude inventories. U.S. stocks rose modestly.

In New York trading futures for bullion:

• Silver for July delivery gained 16.6 cents, or 1.2 percent, to 13.74 an ounce.

• Gold for August delivery jumped $13.90, or 1.5 percent, to $941.30 an ounce.

• October platinum rose $19.80, or 1.7 percent, to $1,205.10 an ounce.

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Demand is lower for bullion coins? Poppycock. US Mint sales figures released Wednesday say otherwise.

Marking the third best month of a record setting pace year, demand in June for American Eagle Gold and Silver Bullion Coins jumped aggressively over May.

Silver eagle sales soared in June, rising 340,500 higher than May figures. 2,245,000 silver bullion eagles were sold. The total is now 13,824,500 for an annualized rate that is easily on track to smash last year’s 20,583,000 record. Read the rest of this article »

The Louisa Adams First Spouse Gold coins launched in May 2008 to mark the sixth release in a commemorative program to honor American First Ladies.

Thursday morning is the last opportunity for collectors to purchase these coins from the United States Mint, based on past Mint policy and practice. Further, they could be the scarcest in the series to date.

Since the 24-karat, $10 denominated gold series began in 2007, only eight coins depicting First Ladies have been available from the US Mint at any given time. When a new release occurs, the Mint has pulled the eldest, prior year spouse offering from its store. Read the rest of this article »

IRVINE, Calif. — Spectrum Group International, Inc., a consolidated global collectibles network, is a leading auctioneer of stamps, coins, arms, armor and militaria, and other memorabilia, targeting both collectors and dealers, announced that the American Numismatic Association (ANA) has renewed Spectrum’s Collateral Finance Corporation (CFC) contract as the exclusive official numismatic lender of the ANA until 2011. 

The ANA is a Congressionally-chartered, 32,000-member nonprofit association, and is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating and encouraging people to study and collect money and related items.  

CFC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of A-Mark Precious Metals, Inc., which conducts Spectrum Group International’s trading operations, provides loans to dealers, collectors and traders in the rare coin and bullion market. Read the rest of this article »