CoinNews

Bowers and Merena Auctions, America's leading rare coin and currency auction house, returns to Baltimore, Md., for the Official Auction of the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Expo scheduled for November 10-14, 2009.

The auction will feature the collection of U.S. and world coins assembled by one of America's most renowned numismatic collectors, Dr. Alfred R. Globus.

Dr. Alfred R. Globus was born July 1, 1920, in Brooklyn, New York. He received his Doctor of Science degree from Hanover College in Indiana and for a short time served as professor of biochemistry at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

He licensed his first chemical process at age 20 for the electrolytic recovery of iron from iron ore, and just two years after that he formed the company that would later become United-Guardian, Inc.

In 1943, he built a commercial plant for the production of vitally needed tungsten concentrates, and served as a consultant to the War Production Board during World War II. Dr. Globus served as the chief executive officer of United-Guardian for more than 60 years.

Over those years he was granted at least 35 patents for the many products and processes that he developed. Dr. Globus passed away in April of 2009 at age 88.

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The US Mint will launch the third design of the 2009 Lincoln Cents on August 13, 2009 during a ceremony held on the Old State Capitol grounds in Springfield, Illinois at 10 AM (Central Time).

The 2009 Professional Life Cent will be unveiled by United States Mint Directory Ed Moy, who will be joined by U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill), Illinois state officials and Mayor Tim Davlin.

The third design features in image of Abraham Lincoln posing in front of the old state capitol. It was designed by United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program Master Designer Joel Iskowitz and sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Don Everhart.

Lincoln actually served in the Illinois General Assembly and practiced law right across the street from the capitol. As such, this coin is dubbed 'Professional Life in Illinois.'

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Julia Tyler First Spouse Gold Coins launched today at noon. The coins mark the eleventh in a series honoring First Ladies of the United States.

Each coin is struck from 1/2 ounce of 24-karat gold from the United States Mint at West Point. Proof and uncirculated versions are available, with a maximum mintage of 40,000 across both options. The exact ratio of proof to uncirculated are determined by customer demand.

Julia was the second wife of President John Tyler. His first wife, Letitia, had passed away while he was in office. (The US Mint released Letitia Tyler Gold Coins in July.) Julia was 30 years younger than the President, but a romance started to blossom a few months after Letitia's passing.

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UHR $20 gold coins roared, Silver Eagles soared, American Samoa quarters performed and US Mint Proof Sets marched forward.

The latest US Mint sales figures also include a fair share of average and sub-par numbers, but the highlights are more interesting:

• Ultra High Relief $20 Gold coins awakened from a several month slumber. Lifting the one-coin order limit to ten helped prop the gold pieces up by 3,799 to reach 75,048. The weekly number jumped fivefold.

• Bullion Silver Eagles are coins to watch. They recorded the best July since the series launched in 1986. More than 2.8 million were sold. 200,000 are already gone in a young month of August.

• American Samoa quarters also made headlines. New Mint production figures show them to be the least minted quarter in generations. Their inaugural week quarter-dollar sales were also impressive. Buyers scooped up more than 17,000 two-roll sets.

• 2009 Proof Sets are cooling, but their weekly increases are still worthy of notice. Collectors purchased more than 915,000 proof sets since June 1 and nearly 386,000 silver sets since July 17.

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