The 48th Hong Kong Coin Auction is taking place a little earlier than usual this year, in-line with the Hong Kong International Coin Convention and Antique Watch Fair.

As usual the sale will be held at the Holiday Inn Golden Mile, Kowloon, Hong Kong, at 10:00 AM on the 25th February, and will feature two sessions (868 lots in total) of predominantly Asian coins and banknotes.

The auction opens with lot 1, a Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) 1-Kuan banknote. The Baldwin’s — Ma Tak Wo auction group sold a similar piece in their last sale for a record breaking US$19,000 and, although this note isn’t in as good condition, they are hopeful that this piece will attract as much attention. Read the rest of this article »

Many collectors and sellers are anxiously looking forward to the 2010 Lincoln Shield Cent launch ceremony in Springfield, Illinois this Thursday, February 11, 2010. There are, however, a few individuals who have taken the initiative in the secondary markets to capitalize on the coins’ desirability ahead of their release.

Auctions started appearing on eBay for the new cents as early as the middle of last month. The first sellers were promising rolls of the 2010s, obtained at exchange ceremonies either at the release ceremony in Springfield or in Washington, D.C. Going prices were an astonishing $25 dollars for one roll from D.C., or $35 if the roll was obtained at the Springfield ceremony.

Sellers guaranteed that the 50-coin rolls procured at the chosen site would be stamped with a commemorative Lincoln postage stamp as well as canceled in that city by the local post office on the day of release. Read the rest of this article »

No Money? No Sex.

Good Morning,

Monday’s early trading action did not start off on a positive note for the euro despite weekend promises by the G-7 leaders to keep stimulus programmes alive, whilst mounting regional debt problems threaten to undermine the very existence of the common currency. The US dollar continued to receive further safe-haven bids from worried investors and climbed to 80.40 on the trade-weighted index while the euro fell to 1.364 and basically met the forecasts that seemed rather outlandish as recently as seventy days ago.

Gold prices staged an attempt at recovering to above the $1070 mark during the overnight hours (and actually managed a rise to $1074), aided by a bit of bargain hunting in the overseas markets and by perceptions that albeit trouble keeps brewing for the euro (there is now emergent talk of a possible rate cut – courtesy of a very fretful ECB), its technical picture is as oversold as it has been in a couple of years. Thus, the tug of war in which gold is currently caught is keeping the action tense and indecisive. Read the rest of this article »

NEWPORT BEACH — Enter an enthralling area of numismatics with this groundbreaking book, World Paper Money Errors.

A first of its kind, this full color reference guide offers market prices for foreign printing errors, rather than limiting the numismatic community to domestic currency.

This book offers an eye-appealing price guide to the market for the growing interest in collecting international currency.

Delving into the new and upcoming hobby of collecting foreign currency errors, this book features over 200 examples of unique notes.

World Paper Money Errors is an all-inclusive guide to learning about errors that occur during the printing process which create unusual and intriguing errors. Read the rest of this article »

OTTAWA, ONTARIO — The countdown is on as the Royal Canadian Mint prepares to launch a unique and interactive pavilion for visitors during the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

An impressive exhibit showcasing award-winning numismatic and circulation coins, world-class craftsmanship through the making of the Olympic and Paralympic medals, and the world-famous million-dollar gold coin is set to open February 12, 2010.

"Today marks one week until Vancouver hosts the biggest sporting event in the world," said Ian E. Bennett, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint. "As a proud supporter of the 2010 Winter Games, the Mint is excited to welcome visitors to our pavilion where they will find unique attractions, interactive technology and the opportunity to get behind the scenes at the Mint. We promise an unforgettable experience for visitors of all ages."

Read the rest of this article »

IRVINE, Calif. — Bowers and Merena Auctions, America’s leading rare coin and currency auction house, is preparing another phenomenal sale as the Official Auctioneer of the March 2010 Whitman Coin & Collectibles Baltimore Expo.

A particularly diverse and important selection of United States currency is on hand for the auction–so many notes, in fact, that the firm will be preparing a separate, stand-alone catalog comprised only of United States paper money. The notes will be auctioned March 2-6, 2010, as part of the Bowers and Merena Official Baltimore Auction offering rare United States and International coins, currency and banknotes. Ponterio & Associates, division of Bowers and Merena, will present the world and ancients auction of coins and currency. Read the rest of this article »

Official Baltimore Auction Set for March 2-6, 2010, Promises to be Spectacular 

IRVINE, Calif. – Ponterio & Associates, Inc., the world and ancients auction division of Bowers and Merena Auctions, is sure to dazzle bidders once again when it brings to auction a diverse and important selection of International Banknotes as part of the Official Auction of the March 2010 Whitman Coin & Collectibles Baltimore Expo.

The sale, which will feature a wide variety of coins and banknotes, will be conducted March 2-6, 2010, alongside Bowers and Merena’s Official Baltimore Auction offering rare United States coins and currency. Read the rest of this article »

Precious metals tumbled this week as the dollar rallied to an 8-month high against the euro. The currency fell on worries over European fiscal problems, according to accounts, with debt management in Greece, Spain and Portugal taking center stage. When the greenback climbs, gold general falls while silver and platinum usually track immediately behind.

New York crude oil tumbled for a fourth consecutive week, declining 2.3 percent this week after an 8 percent fall in January.

U.S., German, French and London stocks will need to reverse course to climb out of a shallow hole they fell into in starting this month. US stocks tried on Friday, jumping late in the final hour to dramatically erase earlier losses and end a very volatile week in trading.

In London Fix bullion weekly prices, gold fell $20.50, or 1.9 percent, to $1,058.00 an ounce. Silver plummeted $1.12, or 6.9 percent, to $15.17 an ounce. Platinum settled at $1,475.00 an ounce, declining $37.00, or 2.4 percent.

"The dollar just keeps gaining momentum," Tom Schweer, a senior market strategist at LaSalle Futures Group Inc. in Chicago said on Bloomberg. "Gold could fall another $20 to $40 before people start to load up again."

In weekly New York metals prices, April gold lost $31.00, or 2.9 percent, to end at $1,052.80 an ounce. Silver for March delivery ended at $14.83 an ounce, plunging $1.36, or 8.4 percent. April platinum declined $30.90, or 2.1 percent, to close at $1,475.10 an ounce. Read the rest of this article »

The US Mint on Thursday announced the ceremonial release date for the newly redesigned 2010 Lincoln Shield Cent.

The official launch will occur on Thursday, February 11, 2010 at 9:30 AM Central Time at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois.

The city is a popular destination for those wishing to follow in the footsteps of Lincoln, as it is there where he spent most of his adult life prior to becoming the 16th President of the United States.

Along with a plethora of other Lincoln related sites, to include the museum and the historic site where he lived, Springfield is home to Lincoln’s Tomb.

The new Lincoln "Preservation of the Union" penny is emblematic of President Lincoln’s "preservation of the United States of America as a single and united country." The reverse features a union shield with a scroll draped across it bearing the inscription E PLURIBUS UNUM. The 13 vertical stripes of the shield represent the states joined in one compact union to support the Federal government, represented by the horizontal bar above. Read the rest of this article »

Whack-A-Mole, The European Edition

Good Morning,

Gold’s price woes mounted overnight, with prices cratering some $16 further after Thursday’s near $50 freefall. Spot gold drew close to the $1047 per ounce mark, following its worst single-day rout in 16 months. Risk appetite has been placed in a deep freeze on the heels of yesterday’s poor US jobs report. Adding to trouble in the commodities sector is the surge in euro-oriented jitters engendered by the ‘whack-a-mole’ patterns of debt troubles that continue to spring up over various parts of the Old World.

In fact, those debt troubles and the attendant flight from risk may be at the centre of yesterday’s core metals meltdown, while the US jobs data probably played a lesser part. Clearly, the US dollar ought to have slipped on the labour statistics, as perceptions that the Fed would keep certain spigots open for a while longer as a result thereof, should have resulted in selling the currency (and perhaps buying gold). Read the rest of this article »