An 1880 Japanese gold coin with a face value of ¥2 was expected to sell for millions when auctioned by Japan’s Finance Ministry. An article last Tuesday about the coin in The Japan Times Online said everything in its title, Ministry hopes 1880 ¥2 coin fetches 10 million times that. ¥20 million was the expected take.

Not bad for a small coin that is 16.97 mm in diameter and weighs 3.33 grams.

A noted coin dealer in Tokyo’s Ginza district, Toshio Takeuchi, chairman of Ginza Coins Co., was quoted as saying:

Read the rest of this entry »

Dec. 16, 2007 wasn’t a good day for Chester (Chet) Endress, a 73-year old coin collector and owner of Chet’s Coin Shop. That day thieves burglarized Mr. Endress’s business by cutting through an adjacent store wall.

The robbers then proceeded to torch the shop’s safe to steal approximately $750,000 worth of rare and common coins.

Read the rest of this entry »

Website and Catalog Feature Exclusive Input on Select Coins by PCGS Founder and Director, David Hall

IRVINE, Calif. – Bowers and Merena Auctions, America’s leading rare coin auction house, kicks off festivities in Orlando on Tuesday, January 8, 2008, with the Bowers and Merena Orlando Rarities Sales, featuring 670 rare and desirable coin lots sure to satisfy the tastes of the most discerning collector. The auction will be held at the International Plaza Resort & Spa in the heart of Orlando’s bustling entertainment district, two days prior to the Orlando F.U.N. Show.

As a special feature of this and future auctions that will be enjoyed by bidders and consignors alike, Bowers and Merena launches a new arrangement with PCGS founder and director, David Hall. Mr. Hall will be offering his exclusive input on many of the coins in this Orlando auction as well as upcoming Bowers and Merena auctions. For a limited time only, he will talk on video about coins offered at auction by Bowers and Merena. The videos will be available online before the auction for potential bidders to view, and also partially transcribed into the printed catalog descriptions. In addition, Bowers and Merena will keep an online video archive of these comments by Mr. Hall.

Read the rest of this entry »

Packing coins into house walls apparently was an "in" thing during times of old.

Earlier this month there was the account of ancient roman coins found within a blacksmith’s wall in Portugal. Now, there’s another case of rare coins found in an old home and wall in Pennsylvania.

This latest batch of coins are not as old. But, ranging from the 1820’s to 1960’s, they’re not exactly youthful either.

The Tribune-Democrat reports how an old abandoned home was searched, at the behest of the family members who owned it, by Jeff Bidelman. Bidelman is the owner of Rare Collectibles in Johnstown, PA.

Read the rest of this entry »