Monthly Archives: September 2008
1851 Augustus Humbert $50 Gold Piece Realizes $460K, Bowers and Merena...
IRVINE, Calif. – Bowers and Merena Auctions, America's leading rare coin and currency auction house, hosted their Beverly Hills Rarities Sale on Saturday, September 13, 2008, at The Tower Beverly Hills. The 933-lot auction of high-end rarities realized a total of $3,317,135.
The spotlight of the auction was on the new discovery 1851 Augustus Humbert $50 Gold piece of the Reeded Edge, 880 THOUS (K-5, Rarity-5) variety graded MS-65 * by NGC that realized $460,000 after an excited round of bidding. Prior to the auction, NGC chairman Mark Salzburg called it "the most memorable coin I have graded all year."
It is the only Humbert gold coin of any denomination with an NGC grade of MS-65 *, and no Humbert gold coins of any denomination or variety have been graded finer than MS-65 at either PCGS or NGC.
Congressman Wants Nickel Replaced with Half-Dime
DGS Authenticates & Grades Rare Lafayette Dollar Variety
Duvall 4-E Variety is Just the Second Reported Specimen
Virginia Beach, VA. The graders at Dominion Grading Service are excited to announce that they have certified the second known example of this very rare variety. The Duvall 4-E variety was thought to be unique until the discovery of this coin, which has been graded AU58 Cleaned by DGS.
According to John Feigenbaum, President of DGS, the coin has "the initial appearance of a mint state coin but the luster is almost too nice and lacks the frosty surfaces of a true mint state. The coin has virtually no wear and has been very lightly cleaned to show evidence of wipe lines upon close examination in proper lighting. The only significant mark on either side of the coin is a 3 mm scratch on Washington's cheek. Without the mishandling, this coin might have otherwise graded MS63."
Gold Jumps Higher as World Governments Attempt Financial Fix
Daily Numismatic Headlines for September 18, 2008
New Sale Dates for Cleveland and Philadelphia $2 Notes
Royal Mint £5 Coins Celebrate Prince Charles’ 60th Birthday
Gold Rallies to Largest Dollar Gain in More Than Two Decades
Royal Australian Mint Gnomes at Floriade
From Penny to Dollar, U.S. Coin Production Declines in 2008
U.S. Mint circulating coin production is down across the board based on a current pace that should see about 10.1 billion coins minted in 2008. That compares to 14.4 billion coins issued in 2007 and over 15 billion in years 2006 and 2005. In fact, at the current rate, 2008 coin output will end at its lowest level in at least the last ten years.
The Mint's first release of production figures for 2008 reported 3.2 billion coins struck through April. The newest figures indicated 6.7 billion coins were minted through August, or about 842 million coins on average per month. The comparison charts shown below provide the best visual evidence of the declines at both Mint facilities in Denver and Philadelphia.