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.

Shackleton, Crean and crew were forced onto floating ice Read the rest of this entry »

The United States Mint pulled out all the stops in the final week of August with the launch of several new coin products and the resumption of American Eagle gold coin sales to authorized dealers. The active week concludes with the Mint’s ceremonial release of the newest state quarter at the Alaska State Fair on Friday.

The scope of the Mint’s releases are best seen through a summarization of published articles that were released toward the end of August.

2008 U.S. Mint Silver Proof Sets Arrive August 26

The 2008 United States Silver Proof Set™ will be offered by the U.S. Mint Tuesday, August 26 at noon (ET). The 14 coin proof set carries the same $44.95 price tag as the 2007 sets, and no order limits are in place.

Each coin in the set bears the “S” mint mark, denoting they were manufactured at the United States Mint at San Francisco.

This year’s set includes the final five commemorative quarters to be issued in the United States Mint’s 50 State Quarters® Program…

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Alaska State Quarters in Bags and Rolls

The newest state quarters honor Alaska with bags and rolls of the coins available Monday from the United States Mint.

Collectors can order 100- and 1,000-coin quarter bags or two-roll sets with 40 coins each from the U.S. Mint facility at Denver and Philadelphia.

The Alaska state quarter is the 49th, and second to last coin released in the United States Mint 50 State Quarters® Program. The popular program began in 1999…

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Andrew Jackson Individual Proof $1 Coins

The Andrew Jackson Individual Proof $1 Coin will be available through the United States Mint Thursday, August 28, at 12 noon (ET).

Andrew Jackson was was the seventh President of the United States and the special individual proof coins honoring his presidency are priced at $5.95 each.

There is a $4.95 standard shipping and handling charge, which makes the total cost…

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US Mint Resumes Limited American Eagle Gold Coin Sales

Overwhelming demand forced the United States Mint to suspend one-ounce American Eagle gold coin sales to their network of Authorized Purchasers on August 17.

The suspension of the investment gold coins has been lifted — at least on a limited basis, according to a U.S. Mint memo to its authorized dealers on August 22.

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Alaska State Quarter to Roll Out at State Fair, Public Coin Forum

The ceremonial launch of the commemorative Alaska state quarter will occur at the Alaska State Fair, the United States Mint announced Thursday.

The Alaska state quarter is the 49th coin in the popular United States Mint 50 State Quarters® Program.

The reverse or tails side of the coin features a grizzly bear emerging from the water clutching a salmon in its jaws.  The North Star is depicted above the inscription “The Great Land.” 

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Jackson Liberty First Spouse Gold Coins Arrive Aug. 28

Jackson Liberty First Spouse gold coins will be available from the United States Mint on Thursday, August 28.

The 1/2-ounce proof and uncirculated versions are priced at $619.95 and $599.95, respectively. Both versions have a face value of $10, are composed of 24-karat gold, and have a total mintage of 40,000.

The current prices are the same as the Louisa Adams and Elizabeth Monroe spouse gold coins, even though gold has come down in price recently.

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The Andrew Jackson Individual Proof $1 Coin will be available through the United States Mint Thursday, August 28, at 12 noon (ET).

Andrew Jackson was was the seventh President of the United States and the special individual proof coins honoring his presidency are priced at $5.95 each.

There is a $4.95 standard shipping and handling charge, which makes the total cost more prohibitive unless ordering them in quantity or with additional U.S. Mint products. There is a 5 order limit is in place for the proof singles.

Jackson Presidential $1 Coins first entered circulation on August 14, 2008 with their ceremonial release at The Hermitage, the home Jackson built and lived in near Nashville, Tennessee. It was the third Presidential Dollar for 2008 and the seventh since the series began in 2007.

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The 2008 United States Silver Proof Set™ will be offered by the U.S. Mint Tuesday, August 26 at noon (ET). The 14 coin proof set carries the same $44.95 price tag as the 2007 sets, and no order limits are in place.

Each coin in the set bears the “S” mint mark, denoting they were manufactured at the United States Mint at San Francisco.

This year’s set includes the final five commemorative quarters to be issued in the United States Mint’s 50 State Quarters® Program:

• 2008-S Silver Oklahoma Quarter
• 2008-S Silver New Mexico Quarter
• 2008-S Silver Arizona Quarter
• 2008-S Silver Alaska Quarter
• 2008-S Silver Hawaii Quarter

In addition, the proof set contains the following five $1 dollar coins:

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Federal Mint Swissmint has launched a new Swiss commemorative gold coin entitled "International Year of Planet Earth 2008." The 11.29 gram coin is sold in proof quality only, limited in issuance to 6,000 and is priced at CHF 440.00 (~$423.00 US).

The 60th United Nations General Assembly in New York proclaimed this year to be the United Nations International Year of Planet Earth, with a goal "to show, in a unique and inspiring manner, how earth sciences can help future generations measure up to the challenge of creating a safer and more prosperous world." The new Swiss coin is dedicated to these actions.

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The availability of Royal Australian Mint’s silver $1 coin of the 1921 Kookaburra Penny is coming to a close on April 25, 2008. The proof collector coin is minted in 99.9% silver and its inner design is a replica of the 1921 Kookaburra Penny.

The Kookaburra Penny is noted for its square shape and the collector coin takes on that image. The obverse or heads of the coin bears the image of King George V while the reverse or tails side has the image of the ever popular Kookaburra.

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Dallas, TX. A third selection of Early Seated Proof Sets from Phil Kaufman’s superlative multi-million dollar collection (1839-1858) is being auctioned by Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries in their Platinum Night Auction at the April 16-19 CSNS convention in Chicago.

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The Perth Mint of Australia has minted silver and gold commemorative coins celebrating the World Youth Day 2008, the largest youth event in the world organised by the Catholic Church and held in Sydney from July 15-20, 2008.

Hundreds of thousands of participants will celebrate at the event along with his Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, who will be visiting Australia for the first time.

To commemorate the XXIII World Youth Day, the Mint created a set of limited edition one ounce silver and gold coins depicting the Pope. The coins are now available for sale and two have already been given in a ceremony to Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney.

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The United States Mint opened orders for the always eagerly awaited American Eagle Gold Proof Coins. 2008 marks the twenty-second year for the collector series of four 22-karat coins.

Each of the four sized collector gold proof coins bear the "W" mintmark to indicate they were minted at West Point - the facility responsible for the entire family of American Eagle proof and uncirculated coins in gold, silver, and platinum.

Coin designs, sculptors and themes

The coin bears the distinctive designs of Augustus Saint-Gaudens‘ rendition of Liberty, recognized as one of the world’s most beautiful designs, and sculptor Miley Busiek’s equally majestic golden eagle scene meant to symbolize family tradition and unity.

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The James Monroe Individual Proof $1 Coin is now available through the United States Mint. James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States and the special individual proof coins honoring him are priced at $5.95 each.

Unfortunately, the $4.95 standard shipping and handling charge makes the purchase harder to consider unless ordering them in quantity or with additional Mint products. There is a 5 order limit for the individual proof coin.

Monroe Presidential $1 Coins first entered circulation on February 14, 2008. It was the first Presidential Dollar for 2008 and the fifth since the series began in 2007.

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