Fiji Reserve Bank Clarifies Coin Eliminations
Bullion & Business Weekend Report – Oct 18
Gold Drops for Seventh Day, Platinum Joins as Mint Puts Eagles...
US Mint Returns American Eagle Platinum Coins
The United States Mint surprised collectors Friday with the return of both proof and uncirculated 2008 American Eagle Platinum coins carrying the "W" mintmark. And even better, the new prices are substantially lower than those from 2007 or in mid 2008.
Both platinum series of coins were pulled from the Mint's online shelves in early August with the expectation they would return after price reductions were made to better match platinum's free fall.
After more than two months of waiting, collectors can now purchase the coins at a discount, albeit with the understanding that there are still substantial premiums to consider when comparing coin prices to platinum's latest slide — it closed yesterday on Nymex at under $900 an ounce, and is falling further in early morning trading. The current level is a far, far cry from its record high of $2,252 per ounce earlier in the year.
As a special interest, these 2008 coins bear the final 'Judicial Branch' design in a three-year platinum series entitled, "The Foundations of American Democracy." Collectors who purchased coins from the previous two years due to their differing designs will likely be inclined to take advantage of the Mint's new prices, which are now lower than last year.
In all this, one thing is certain. There is absolutely no telling how long the coins will remain available. The old and newest proof and uncirculated platinum coin prices follow:
BEP Sends 2008 Philadelphia $2 Single Note Reminder
Gold Brushes $800, Platinum Nears Gold, Silver Below $10, and Oil...
Numismatic Blog and News Headlines for October 16, 2008
Inflation Falls to 4.9% in September, Inflation Calculator Shows Change
Austria Abbey of Seckau Silver Commemorative Issued
The Austrian Mint in Vienna has issued the last silver 10 euro commemorative in the six-coin series Great Abbeys of Austria. It is dedicated to the Benedictine Abbey of Seckau — a jewel of Romanesque architecture — in the province of northern Styria.
Seckau did not begin its existence as a Benedictine foundation. It was founded in 1140 as an abbey of Augustinian canons regular at St. Marein-Feistritz by a nobleman called Adalram von Waldeck – apparently as a penitential act for the death of his cousin. The place proved unsuitable, and in 1142 the abbey was moved to near-by Seckau. A year later Pope Innocent II placed the new foundation directly under papal protection. It was to be a double monastery with nuns (canonesses) from Salzburg forming a separate but adjoining convent. In 1150 they began to build the splendid Romanesque church which we still see today. In 1259 a fire destroyed much of the wooden ceiling and it was replaced with Gothic stone vaulting instead.
Precious Metals Decline as Oil and Stocks Plunge
