The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) announced that on August 22, 2011 it will raise the prices for several Uncut Currency Sheets. These BEP products include crisp, uncirculated notes from designated Federal Reserve Banks.

For years the BEP has been offering them in values of $1, $2, $5, $10, $20 and $50. On Wednesday, the bureau provided updated pricing for the three smallest notes in the four to thirty-two subject sizes. [...]
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On July 19, 2011, Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) introduced S. 1385, To terminate the $1 presidential coin program. Simply, the bill removes subsection n of Section 5112 of title 31 United States Code (31 U.S.C.  § 5112), which is the law authorizing for the Presidential $1 Coin Program.The bill reads as follows:S 1385 IS112th CONGRESS1st SessionS. 1385To terminate the $1

U.S. gold futures fell for a third straight day Thursday as the possibility of debt deals in the U.S. and Greece tarnished safe-haven demand, opined analysts.

August gold prices declined $9.90, or 0.6 percent, to $1,587.00 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Prices ranged between $1,585.50 and $1,605.00. [...]
Read the rest of Gold and Silver Decline for Third Day, Palladium and Platinum Rise (579 words)

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The United States Mint enjoyed several days of robust sales. 72 of its collector products outperformed their previous weekly gains, according to the latest US Mint sales figures.

Gold prices registered a series of four straight daily records last week, and that apparently directed buyers’ attention toward US Mint gold coins. Of the bureau’s 16 collector coins that are composed of the yellow metal, each and every one of them shined brighter than the previous week. [...]
Read the rest of US Mint Sales: 72 Products Outperform, Gold Coins Dominate (1,914 words)

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In Brussels this morning, the "Gang of Two" (Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy) were expected to outline their joint position on how to address the Greek debt situation.

In Washington this morning the "Gang of Six" proposal was still lacking detail on certain aspects of health care spending but these were expected to be made available soon. Greek PM Papandreou said that EU ministers are facing a "make-it-break" moment for where Europe and the Union might be headed next. [...]
Read the rest of In The Lead – Gang Warfare (1,339 words)

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“People of the United States of America have been vindicated.”This utterance came from Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Romero, the government’s lead attorney in the case Langbord v. United States after the jury deliberation said that the ten 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle coins found by Joan Langbord is government property.For years, the government has wasted taxpayer dollars on attorneys,

Results of the election have been announced for the new Board of Directors of the Professional Numismatists Guild (www.PNGdealers.com). [...]
Read the rest of PNG Announces New Board Members for 2011-2013 Term (201 words)

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U.S. gold futures on Wednesday closed slightly lower and below the psychological $1,600 an ounce level. Profit-taking and optimism towards U.S. debt talks were again cited catalysts for the second straight day of losses.

August gold prices declined $4.20, or 0.3 percent, to settle at $1,596.90 an ounce on the Comex in New York. Gold finished closer to its intraday high, which was $1,600.80, than its low at $1,581.10 an ounce. [...]
Read the rest of Gold Retreats Below $1,600; Silver Prices Drop Under $40 (526 words)

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Yosemite National Park Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins are back with a waiting list notice, the United States Mint online catalog page for the coin reveals again. The collector .999 fine silver coin was placed there once before, but in error.

The Mint’s waiting list indicates the bureau has received the maximum 27,000 orders for the coin, and that new orders may still be placed. Those, however, will not be processed unless an old one is canceled. The method permits the Mint to sell as many of the coins as possible without confusing customers by having to stop and start their availability based on cancellations.

"In an effort to provide as many customers as possible with the opportunity to purchase these products, the United States Mint will retain a limited quantity of orders above the maximum product limit. In the event products become available because of cancellations, we will fulfill orders from the waitlist on a first-in, first-served basis. These cancellations sometimes occur from payment problems," the Mint describes.

Latest Five Ounce Coin Sales

The latest United States Mint sales figures had indicated that 260 Yosemite National Park Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins remained as of Sunday.

Also available from the Mint in the five ounce size is the Grand Canyon National Park Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin. The Mint began selling it on June 29 for $279.95. Limited to a mintage of 27,000, like the other coins in the series, its latest sales are at 22,026, leaving 4,974 remaining.

The United States Mint will begin sales of the final 2010-dated America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated coin on July 28. It honors Mount Hood National Forest located in the state of Oregon. Collectors can then begin looking for the five 2011-dated coins which are expected out in staggered releases through the rest of the year.

US Mint Raises Product Prices

In other US Mint news on Wednesday, the bureau as expected raised prices on its collector platinum and gold coins. The increases follow sharply higher prices in precious metals. The affected products and new sales prices follow:

US Mint Product New Price Change Proof American Platinum Eagle $2,092.00 +$100.00 Uncirculated First Spouse Coins $941.00 +$25.00 Proof First Spouse Coins $954.00 +$25.00 American Gold Buffalo $1,860.00 +$50.00 1 oz Uncirculated Gold Eagle $1,828.00 +$50.00 1 oz Proof Gold Eagle $1,835.00 +$50.00 1/2 oz Proof Gold Eagle $931.00 +$25.00 1/4 oz Proof Gold Eagle $478.00 +$12.50 1/10 oz Proof Gold Eagle $205.50 +$5.00 Proof Gold Eagle 4-Coin Set $3,400.50 +$92.50

 

To join the Yosemite silver coin waiting list or place an order for any of the products shown above, visit the United States Mint website at http://catalog.usmint.gov/.

Related posts:

1. Hot Springs 5 Oz Silver Coin Sold Out, Waiting List Implemented
2. 2010 Boy Scouts Uncirculated Silver Dollars Off Waiting List
3. Collector Yosemite National Park 5 Oz Silver Uncirculated Coin Sales Brisk

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Most members of the precious metals team started the midweek session a tad higher this morning; however their initial gains did not endure and the complex soon slipped into the red (except in the case of palladium, as of this writing).

Spot gold opened with a feeble gain of 70 cents per ounce and was quoted at $1,589.50 in New York. Within the first 20 minutes of trading the yellow metal approached its overnight lows near the $1,582.00 mark however. [...]
Read the rest of In The Lead – Till Debt Do US Part (1,510 words)

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An important 1792 Fusible Alloy Cent, Judd-2, Pollock-2, Low R.7, Fine 15 NGC, CAC, one of the great rarities of early American numismatics will cross the auction block on Aug. 11 as part of Heritage Auctions Chicago Signature® U.S. Coin & Platinum Night Auction.

This 1792 Fusible Alloy Cent is one of many rarities to be offered in Heritage’s Chicago Signature U.S. Coin & Platinum Night Auction on August 11.

 [...]
Read the rest of Rare 1792 Fusible Alloy Cent Offered in Heritage’s U.S. Coin & Platinum Night Auction (372 words)

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Looking around for something interesting I was thinking about putting together a type collection. I was looking for an interesting type collection. Rather than a type collection by coin types, how about by a theme. How about a Buffalo Type Collection.The American Buffalo, or more accurately called the American Bison, was once king of the American Plains. Until the 19th century, it roamed freely

2010-P Grand Canyon 5 Oz Silver Coin, Light Finish Variety - Click to Enlarge

The first variety in the America the Beautiful five ounce silver coin series has been discovered and will now be recognized by NGC. The variety, designated "Light Finish" by NGC, is so far seen only on the 2010-P Grand Canyon Specimen issues.

The U.S. Mint strikes two types of five ounce silver America the Beautiful coins: the bullion version and the collector version. The collector version is vapor-blasted to create a matte finish, a stark contrast to the brilliant surfaces of the bullion issues.

Two distinct surface finishes of the 2010-P Grand Canyon Specimens have been observed: coins with the regular coarse matte finish and coins that have a slightly reflective satin finish. The latter type, designated "Light Finish" by NGC, is distinct from both the bullion version and the standard collector version. This hybrid type is easily identified — it has the same "P" mintmark as the other Specimen issues, but its surfaces are not granular and are more lustrous. The Light Finish coins are also dissimilar from the fully brilliant surfaces of the bullion issue. [...]
Read the rest of Grand Canyon 5 Oz Silver Coin Variety Recognized by NGC (171 words)

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According to the website at National Public Radio, “The mission of NPR is to work in partnership with member stations to create a more informed public - one challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of events, ideas and cultures.” Unfortunately, it looks like NPR drowned in the shallow end when it published its story “$1 Billion That Nobody Wants.”While the Federal

In a very rare show of bipartisan ship in the House of Representatives, Rep. Richard Hanna (R-NY24) introduced H.R. 2527, National Baseball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act. Hanna, whose district includes Cooperstown, submitted the bill with 293 sponsors, including the entire New York delegation from both parties. This might be the first coin-related legislation to see action in the 112th

Two dealers and one collector living in the United States, and one dealer in the UAE, have been indicted by a Grand Jury in U.S. District Court - Eastern District of New York on charges related to violations of Customs laws.  The extent of the violations are detailed in an ICE announcement and in documents filed as Case 1:11-cr-00340-ERK filed 05/04/11.  The indictment was sealed until recently as the investigation was apparently continuing.  Mousa (Morris) Khouli is an American citizen operating under the business name Windsor Antiquities.  Salem Alshdaifat reportedly holds dual citizenship in Jordan and Canada and is operating as Holyland Numismatics in the U.S. under permit.  A third dealer, Ayman Ramadan, based in Dubai, UAE, was also indicted as was an American collector, Joseph A. Lewis II.

The essence of the charges leading to this multiple count indictment is that Mr. Lewis was a customer of Mr. Khouli and that Mr. Khouli is alleged to have acquired through Mr. Alshdaifat and/or Mr. Ramadan, for Mr. Lewis, several ancient objects of Egyptian origin.  In the process, the individuals are jointly charged with violating several laws or rules related to the importation of these objects (conspiracy to smuggle).  They are also charged with money laundering conspiracy as funds were allegedly transferred outside of the U.S. during these transactions.  There were not any charges brought under any cultural heritage or patrimony laws or agreements, nor were any violations of the National Stolen Property Act cited.   Since Khouli and Alshdaifat are well known within the numismatic community, it is obviously distressing to those who know and have worked with them in some respect.

The U.S. judicial system will decide the final outcome of these charges and it is pointless for us as casual but interested observers to speculate about that outcome.  Of course, there are anti-collecting advocates prancing in glee over this indictment—that is not any great surprise and is hardly worthy of note.  It is, however, worth noting that the press and Customs officials quoted in the press have already sensationalized this case.

For example, an article in the Wall Street Journal quoted Egyptian antiquities minister Zahi Hawass as saying "This is one of the largest and most significant cases of antiquities smuggling in recent memory."  That is a far reach, even for the Grand Poobah who may perhaps be forgiven for having senior moments.  The WSJ article also quoted James T. Hayes, special agent in charge of the custom service's Homeland Security Investigations unit in New York.  Mr. Hayes said "It's a breakthrough case, eye-opening for us...We had not yet seen a for-profit network [dedicated to smuggling antiquities]."  The comment is a bit cryptic, but also very enlightening.  It is an outright admission that smuggling by the antiquities trade in America's most active port for this trade is so rare that Homeland Security agents had never seen a case.  Elsewhere in the WSJ article, we read "Mr. Hayes said trafficked antiquities usually have been looted or stolen from their rightful owners."  Taken at face value, and especially in contrast to the immediately previous comment by Mr. Hayes, those words reflect a distinct bias against the legitimate antiquities trade.  It suggests a sort of profiling, that is inappropriate in law enforcement or in government service of any kind.  One has to wonder when the last AIA propaganda [they call it training] session was held at the NY office of Homeland Security.

The facts of this case will be presented and the evidence will be weighed.  If it is determined that a crime was committed, the court will decide what action is necessary under law to serve the cause of justice.  In fairness to all concerned, we should let that process work.

Long before the invention of electricity, before steam powered everything, and even before the perfection in the forging of iron and steel to make manual machines, coins were hammered by strong men in order to impress the image on the coinage metals.Hammered coins were struck from ancient times until the screw coin press was invented by German silversmith Max Schwab around 1550. Hammered coins

Since the founding of the U.S. Mint in 1792, all of its 38 directors, from David Rittenhouse to Edmund Moy, have been a political appointment. Every so often there has been a gap between the service of directors, but eventually, a director is appointed.Currently, the U.S. Mint has not had a director since the departure of Ed Moy in January 2011. Four days later, it was announced that Deputy

In CONGRESS, July 4, 1776The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of AmericaWhen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the

As I do research for an article on great coin collections from around the world, I was looking into the coin collection at the Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin (National Museums in Berlin). The collectioncollection at the Staatliche Museen is well known as being very comprehensive and diverse covering the beginnings of coinage through the coins of today. With over 500,000, it is one of the largest