The United States Mint this week announced the deadline to order Braille Commemorative Silver Dollars.

The legislation authorizing the coins stipulates that they can only be issued "during the 1-year period beginning January 1, 2009." On its online store, the US Mint has posted the following message:

The 2009 Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar products must be issued by December 31st. In order to meet these requirements, the United States Mint is only accepting orders for these products until December 11th at 5:00 p.m. ET. Please note that all credit card and billing issues must be resolved prior to December 11th.

The coin products referenced in the notice all honor the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille, inventor of the Braille system for reading and writing by the blind and visually impaired. The four available, along with their prices and latest sales figures as of Sunday, Nov. 1, follow: Read the rest of this article »

The annual Penny Harvest is now underway with an estimated 500,000 students participating in the 19th year of its operation.

Schools across the nation have signed on to take part in the activity by allowing their students to take an active roll in the process. Through the use of adult coaches, peer leaders, assemblies, etc., kids are asked to volunteer their time to help raise money for their community, one penny at a time.

Those who do participate then go home and ask their family, friends, and neighbors for loose change (as well as donate some themselves) and begin to collect it to be eventually turned back in to their school. Once the coins are compiled, the funds are set aside while those same students take an active part in deciding what do to with the money. Read the rest of this article »

The second 100 Euro coin in the gold series "Crowns of the House of Habsburg" will be released on Wednesday, 4th November. It is dedicated to the so-called "Archduke’s Hat", a name derived from the red velvet cap within the crown itself.

The title of archduke was invented by Rudolf IV in the spurious document of 1358/59 called the privilegium maius. It was an attempt to assert the status of the House of Habsburg as the equal of any Prince Elector of the Holy Roman Empire. There exists a mediaeval portrait of Rudolf wearing a crown similar to the Archduke’s Hat. Early versions of the crown have not survived, being either broken up or melted down.

In 1616, however, Archduke Maximilian III of Tyrol had the present Archduke’s Hat fashioned and he gave it to the Augustinian Abbey of Klosterneuburg just outside Vienna in honour of St. Leopold, whose tomb and shrine are still situated there to this day. The crown was not worn as such. There was no coronation. It was rather a symbol of authority and rank. It was brought into Vienna only for the ceremony of homage paid by the Estates of Lower Austria on the accession of a new Habsburg ruler. Even today the crown is not permitted to be outside the walls of the abbey for more than 30 days at a time. Read the rest of this article »

New York gold futures surged to a new all-time high Tuesday as news hit the streets that the IMF sold 200 metric tons of gold to the Reserve Bank of India. Platinum rose as well, while silver soared to reach back above $17 an ounce. In other markets, crude oil ended higher and US stocks closed mixed.

New York precious metal figures follow:

• Silver for December delivery surged 74 cents, or 4.5 percent, to $17.180 an ounce. It ranged from $16.245 to $17.35.

• Gold for December delivery jumped $30.90, or 2.9 percent, to $1,084.90 an ounce. The yellow metal ranged from $1,055.50 to $1,088.50.

• January platinum rose $18.10, or 1.4 percent, to $1,356.20 an ounce.

Read the rest of this article »

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), the government agency responsible for printing US currency, has released the newest addition to the Presidential Portrait Collection, the President Barack Obama Engraved Portrait.

The collection features portraits of each US President captured with the "artistry and craftsmanship of skilled Bureau of Engraving and Printing employees."

There are two hand engraved pints available, a large 9" x 12" Obama portrait for $5.50 and a smaller 6" x 8" for portrait $5.00. Read the rest of this article »

Inaugural sales of the 2009 American Buffalo Gold Proof Coin are exceptionally strong, according to newly released figures by the United States Mint. Four-day sales of the 24-karat, .9999 fine gold collector coin came in at 19,468 — a tad shy of surpassing figures for the one-ounce 2008 Proof Buffalo Gold.

The proof coin went on sale Thursday, Oct. 29, at 12:00 noon ET. Few issues were reported in ordering — via the phone or the US Mint’s website — during the first several hours of availability, unlike the recent launch of the Lincoln Coin and Chronicles Set where the 50,000 authorized sold out within 30 hours.

The Buffalos were released at an issue price of $1,360.00. That was expected to hold some collectors at bay. Further complicating a decision to order was the falling gold prices last week. The US Mint prices its collector gold coins based on a weekly average of the London Gold fix. If the gold price falls below $1050 an ounce, the Buffalo and UHR gold piece will be dropped $50.

A price reduction was missed last Wednesday by a mere 28.8 cents, and indications were that the change could occur this week. That may still happen tomorrow, although it seems less likely. Read the rest of this article »

With the release ceremony for the final 2009 Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Cent scheduled for next week, the US Mint has also announced plans for two additional exchange opportunities for those wanting to get their hands on some of the new 2009 Lincoln DC Presidency Cents.

The ceremony itself is scheduled for 10 AM ET on Thursday, Nov. 12, at the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial on the west side of the US Capitol in Washington, D.C. Following the program, which is expected to last around 30 minutes, attendees will be given the opportunity to exchange cash for new bank-wrapped rolls of the Presidency cents.

Also at 10 AM, two other sites in D.C. will offer coin exchanges. The first will be at the US Mint’s sales outlet at Union Station, 50 Massachusetts Ave N.E. The second will take place on the first floor of the US Mint’s headquarters, 801 Ninth Ave N.W.

All three locations will allow the exchange of cash for a minimum of two rolls up to a maximum of six rolls of the newly minted Lincoln cents. Each roll will contain 50 circulation quality coins struck at the Mint’s facility in Philadelphia. The Mint has stated in advance that the limits may be changed at any time. Read the rest of this article »

October was explosive for US bullion coins. Unprecedented demand for gold and silver coins elevated the month with US Mint recorded sales levels that are either at or near the top of the all-time high charts.

Bullion American Gold Buffalo and American Silver Eagle coins enjoyed their best October ever.

For the Silver Eagles, more than double the amount were sold last month at 2,939,000, than in any previous October. The month also stands out as the time when 2009 became the best selling year ever for eagles — dating all the way back to their launch in 1986. The latest numbers pad the tally further with 23,406,500 delivered in the first 10 months of this year. Read the rest of this article »

(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.

Read the rest of this article »

Will Work For Less

Good Day,

Gold prices pushed higher overnight, breaking above the $1050 mark and touching a high near $1058 per ounce. The metal recovered from Friday’s indecisiveness and actually showed a bit of a de-couple from the dollar - while still rising in tandem with oil prices - and a return to contrary behavior against stocks as the Nikkei average slumped by 231 points during the nighttime hours. Today’s action - indeed, the rest of the week’s- will be punctuated by a plethora of US economic statistics and by the FOMC meeting’s results (even if only verbal ones).

A verbal nod - of sorts- was given to gold by an ECB official today, at the LBMA conference in Edinburgh, Scotland. While clearly dismissing the wishful thinking that gold will once again become the peg to which fiat currencies are to be anchored, the speaker highlighted that which we have said for years: that gold as a diversifier of risk, and as the insurance policy in the basement, has a role, and will continue to have a role. Just not the role that is being envisioned by the TEOTWAWKI crowd. NASDAQ reports that: Read the rest of this article »