Hear “Ship of Gold” Bell Toll During Presentation By Bob Evans, March 21

Mar 12, 2021 | Announcements

Scientist Evans will show items from the legendary SS Central America during free online Newman Numismatic Portal Symposium

(St. Louis, MO) March 11, 2021 – A sound only a few have heard since 1857 will be used to signal the start of a free online presentation as part of a Newman Numismatic Portal Symposium (www.NNPsymposium.org) at 1 pm Eastern on Sunday, March 21, 2021. It is the ringing of the ship’s bell recovered from the fabled “Ship of Gold,” the SS Central America, that sank in 1857 while carrying crew, passengers, and tons of California Gold Rush-era treasures.

Scientist and historian Bob Evans, who was a key member on each of the recovery expeditions starting in the late 1980s, will present an illustrated talk entitled, “SS Central America, Ship of Gold: Unusual Discoveries, Wonders, and Mysteries.” He will open his symposium session with a recording of the 268-pound bronze bell that was recovered from the Atlantic Ocean floor and has been in secure storage for more than three decades.

“Of course, in addition to the thousands of retrieved numismatic items such as gold and silver coins, courageous miner’s gold dust and assayers’ ingots, the SS Central America was a time capsule of life during the California Gold Rush with fascinating personal items that were recovered. There are examples of gold jewelry showing the culture of San Francisco and pioneer Gold Rush society of the time, rubber and tortoise shell combs, steel pen nibs and quills, and other things that illustrate life during a transition to the Industrial Revolution,” explained Evans, a consultant to California Gold Marketing Group, owner of the treasure.

“The SS Central America is the greatest American treasure ever found. Bob’s symposium will publicly reveal for the first time some of the more than 1,000 non-numismatic recovered items that now are being conserved and cataloged in Florida by Collectibles Authentication Guaranty (www.CAGcertified.com), a sister-company of Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (www.NGCcoin.com),” said Dwight Manley, Managing Partner of the California Gold Market Group. “In the coming months, we’ll be revealing more information.”

The S.S. Central America sank 7,200 feet under the surface of the Atlantic Ocean 150 miles off the North Carolina coast during a hurricane on September 12, 1857. She was on a voyage from Panama to New York carrying tons of California Gold Rush coins, ingots, and gold dust from the San Francisco and Northern California area. The tragedy took the lives of 425 of the ship’s 578 passengers and crew members, and the loss of the gold cargo was a major factor in the economically devastating financial panic of 1857 in the United States.

Free registration for the NNP Symposium can be done online at www.NNPsymposium.org, and registrants will receive Zoom links before the event. A full schedule of events is posted at www.NNPsymposium.org/schedule.

Newman Numismatic Portal Symposium March 19-21

Mar 9, 2021 | Announcements

Following the positive response to the first Newman Numismatic Portal (NNP) Symposium in August 2020, NNP is pleased to announce the next event, which will take place March 19-21. This is a free, online event that brings together a variety of numismatic speakers and covers a wide array of numismatic subjects. Featuring nearly 40 presentations, attendees will easily find topics of interest.

In the area of U.S. coins, John Brush of David Lawrence Rare Coins will speak on the formation and growth of the D.L. Hansen collection and his quest to surpass the collector Louis Eliasberg, an accomplishment thought unthinkable at the time of the Eliasberg sales. Bob Evans will speak on the SS Central America, which continues to amaze with new discoveries. Numismatic personality Ken Bressett, forever associated with the Guide Book, will be interviewed by Len Augsburger, while Sarah Miller will present an inside view of the Heritage Auctions operation in New York City.

In the field of ancients and foreign numismatics, Eric Hodge will speak on merchant counterstamps of the United Kingdom, and Lianna Spurrier will present on the Gaku Ichibu, the first piece of Japanese bar money. For those learning to navigate the marketplace, Shanna Schmidt will share her insights on the ancient coin auction landscape.

Young numismatists (YNs) will be treated to a block of presentations on Saturday morning, March 20, including speakers Jonas Denenberg, who will provide an overview of artificial intelligence as applied to coin grading. The American Numismatic Association YN of the year, Garrett Ziss, will cover obsolete paper money, while Kellen Hoard will discuss approaches to building a numismatic library.

NNP Symposium attendees may register at https://nnpsymposium.org, and a full schedule of events is posted at https://nnpsymposium.org/schedule. Registrants will receive Zoom links shortly before the event.

The Royal Mint Celebrates Her Majesty the Queen’s Landmark Birthday with New Coin Collection and Strike On The Day Sovereign

Mar 2, 2021 | Announcements

Monday March 1st: The Royal Mint has today launched a commemorative coin collection in honour of Her Majesty’s birthday, including its largest ever gold proof coin weighing 9.5kg. The Queen, who will reach the age of 95 on April 21, will have her birthday marked by The Royal Mint, who have struck a range of coins, featuring two new designs, for the occasion.

A limited number of Celebration Sovereigns struck on 21 April 2021, the date of Her Majesty’s 95th birthday, will also mark the occasion. Just 1,295 Celebration Sovereigns will be struck on this date, and will feature the exclusive ‘95’ crown privy mark created for this historic occasion.

The 9.5 kilo gold proof coin features a design by Gary Breeze, which has platinum-plated flourishes spread across the entire face of the gold coin holding the elements together. The flourish has a characteristic place within traditional design and fits within the idiom of heraldic imagery, fine craftsmanship and letterform.

His richly symbolic ‘flourish’ design represents The Queen’s nine decades with nine roses, while 54 leaves signify the countries of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth is of particular importance and pride to the Queen, and its successful continued fellowship is perhaps one of her greatest achievements.

The other coins in the collection featuring this design include a one-kilo gold coin, a five-ounce gold proof coin, a one-kilo silver proof coin, and a five-ounce silver proof coin.

The second design, included in the 2021 Annual set, is designed by heraldic artist Timothy Noad and shows the Royal Cypher set against a background of the national flowers: rose, thistle, shamrock and daffodil.

In both designs the coins bear the inscription ‘My Heart and My Devotion’, referencing a promise The Queen made in her 1957 Christmas speech and has kept ever since.

In celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s remarkable milestone, The Royal Mint will be gifting a celebratory coin to 95 individuals turning 95 year’s old this year. Drawn at random, the winning nominations will receive a brilliant uncirculated £5 commemorative coin featuring Timothy Noad’s exquisite design.

Five different effigies of the Queen have been created by The Royal Mint documenting her reign, with her face featured on every British coin in circulation.

For more information, and to see the collection, please visit The Royal Mint’s website.

New Coin Column to Debut: “Hidden Treasures,” by Frank J. Colletti

Feb 25, 2021 | Announcements

(Pelham, Alabama) — A new metal-detecting and coin-collecting column by award-winning author Frank J. Colletti will debut on Monday, March 1, 2021. The column, “Hidden Treasures,” will appear in Coin Update (www.coinupdate.com) every other week.

Frank Colletti, a Certified Public Accountant, is known to the numismatic community as a specialist and collector of the Guide Book of United States Coins, popularly known as the “Red Book.” He wrote the Guide Book of the Official Red Book of United States Coins (Whitman Publishing, 2009), a reference for book collectors, which Kenneth Bressett has called “a fascinating account with a wealth of information.” Colletti follows the market for rare and special-edition Red Books and regularly advises on pricing and rarity.

The longtime collector became interested in coins in 1962, when he received a Barber quarter (last minted in 1916) in payment on his newspaper-delivery route. His interest in metal-detecting is also longstanding, and he has written hundreds of related articles in various hobby publications, including Lost Treasure magazine. He wrote monthly columns on coin collecting (“Money Talks”) and on the good deeds that metal detectorists perform (“Civic Patrol”).

“The hobbies of treasure-hunting and coin-collecting are richly connected,” says Colletti. “Metal detectorists often locate scarce and unusual coins, and we should be knowledgeable about our finds. As you learn more about coins, you become better equipped to form a nice collection, rather than just a random accumulation. And if you’re already an active coin collector, you can enter an exciting new world by learning the ins and outs of hands-on treasure hunting.”

Whitman publisher Dennis Tucker has seen growing interest in metal-detecting over the past year. “We published the second edition of Dave Bowers’s Lost and Found Coin Hoards and Treasures in the winter of 2019,” Tucker says. “The book was featured in social media and got coverage from the American Numismatic Association and the hobby publications. Then it started to gain more attention from metal detectorists. In five weeks I received nearly 400 Facebook friend requests from treasure-hunters who were interested in the book. There are active communities online, where detectorists share information and inspire each other to keep looking for the next big treasure.”

Colletti joins a regular lineup of Coin Update columnists including Q. David Bowers, Michael Alexander, Louis Golino, and Michael Bugeja. News articles, market commentary, Mint reports, and opinion pieces on U.S. and world coins, medals, tokens, and paper money are published daily at www.coinupdate.com.

The Royal Mint celebrates fossil hunter Mary Anning with a new commemorative 50p coin collection

Feb 24, 2021 | Announcements

The Royal Mint, the Original Maker of UK coins, in collaboration with the Natural History Museum has today launched a new commemorative coin collection celebrating fossil hunter and pioneering palaeontologist Mary Anning.

This is the second coin collection in The Royal Mint’s ‘Tales of the Earth’ series celebrating the awe-inspiring ancient creatures discovered here in Britain. The next coin collection shines a light on one of Britain’s greatest fossil hunters – Mary Anning. The first release in the Mary Anning Collection features Temnodontosaurus, one of the largest types of ichthyosaur and an apex predator that once roamed the ocean that covered much of southern Britain. Other coins in the collection will Anning’s discoveries of Plesiosaurus and Dimorphodon.

Renowned British paleo-artist and designer of the first Tales of the Earth commemorative coin collection, Robert Nicholls, has brought all three of Mary Anning’s discoveries back to life. Based on current understanding and the expert guidance of Sandra Chapman of the Earth Sciences Department at the Natural History Museum, each of the coin design’s created by Robert are a scientifically accurate reconstruction of the creatures and the environment that they existed in. By using the latest colour printing techniques, the intricate characteristics of each of the prehistoric marine reptiles have been captured to illustrate accurately how these creatures looked like on Earth millions of years ago, making them appear dynamic and adding a new level of visual fidelity to the coins.

Clare Maclennan, Divisional Director of Commemorative Coin at The Royal Mint said, “It is an absolute pleasure to continue the popular Tales of the Earth commemorative 50p coin series in conjunction with the Natural History Museum. The next collection in the series celebrates fossil hunter and pioneering palaeontologist Mary Anning, with three coin’s featuring Anning’s astonishing discoveries of Temnodontosaurus, Plesiosaurus and Dimorphodon.

In addition to each of the coin designs being a scientifically accurate reconstruction of the creatures and the environment they lived in, we have combined augmented reality technology with the coins to bring the animals to life through animation and allow people to explore the details of the prehistoric marine reptiles from the comfort of their home.”

Clare Matterson, Executive Director of Engagement at the Natural History Museum said: “We are thrilled to continue working with The Royal Mint on the Tales of the Earth series. The Mary Anning Collection celebrates a pivotal figure in the understanding of palaeontology, important contributions to science that were rarely acknowledged in Mary’s lifetime. It is fantastic to see Mary celebrated in such a special way in 2021.”

Mary Anning was born in Lyme Regis, Dorset, in 1799 and spent her entire life in this small seaside town on England’s south coast. Anning’s father Richard had a large family to support and, in order to supplement his modest income as a carpenter, he set up a curiosity table outside their home selling fossils to tourists. It was at this point that she developed an interest in helping her father and amongst the curiosities they discovered were ‘snake stones’ (ammonites), ‘devil fingers’ (belemites) and ‘verteberries’ (vertebrae). Aged only 12 or 13, Anning made her first discovery, an articulated skeleton of an ichthyosaur, a type of marine reptile that once roamed Jurassic seas. From this point forward Anning made a number of astonishing discoveries making her the greatest fossil hunter of the Victorian era.

Designed in conjunction with experts at the Natural History Museum, the augmented reality brings the mighty beasts to life from the comfort of home. To access the augmented reality feature, customers will need to visit The Royal Mint website to unearth exclusive content.

The first coin in the series features Temnodontosaurus and is available in gold and colour and non-colour silver proof editions, as well as a brilliant uncirculated finish and a special colour printed brilliant uncirculated edition, exclusively available from The Royal Mint. Visit www.royalmint.com/MaryAnning to view the full commemorative coin range.

Be Afraid: Counterfeit Gold!

Feb 18, 2021 | Announcements

by Dennis Tucker

Gold is in the mainstream news headlines these days as the precious metal takes a wild ride up and down the market. The United States Mint is doing land-office business in gold coin production, investors are looking at gold as a way to diversify their portfolios, and collector demand is robust for rare older gold coins as well as modern American Gold Eagles and other bullion coins. With all of this attention, it’s no surprise that “the bad guys”—counterfeiters—are on the prowl looking for ways to separate innocent gold buyers from their hard-earned money.

I recently spoke with professional numismatist Randy Campbell, senior grader and authenticator at ICG (Independent Coin Graders) of Tampa, Florida. Over the past 30-plus years Campbell has examined and graded millions of coins. “Almost every day as a grader I see quantities of counterfeit and altered U.S. gold coins,” he said. He observed that 2020 brought bad news and pitfalls for buyers: “Most coin shows in the United States were canceled. Coin-club meetings became almost nonexistent. Coin shops have shortened their hours of operation.” Campbell notes that these complications can dramatically limit a collector’s hands-on access to impartial expertise. “The numismatic bad guys know this, and they’ve flooded the market with even more bogus gold coins,” he said. He estimates that as of late 2020 and early 2021, the quantity of counterfeit gold coins being sold is approaching an all-time high.

Campbell’s advice to all numismatists, collectors, and investors is: “Fight back. Seek out the knowledge you need to combat the counterfeiters.” And don’t let your guard down once coin shows open back up. “I attended my first coin show in 1960,” he says. “Since then, I’ve been to hundreds of local, regional, and national conventions, and I’ve seen counterfeit gold coins at every single show I’ve attended.”

Two Whitman Publishing books give the kind of knowledge Campbell recommends—and for less than $20 apiece.

The latest edition of Beth Deisher’s Cash In Your Coins: Selling the Rare Coins You’ve Inherited features a new illustrated chapter on the increasingly deceptive counterfeits coming from China. This is an area of expertise for Deisher. After retiring as editor of Coin World she served as director of anti-counterfeiting for the Anti-Counterfeiting Educational Foundation. The advice she shares is valuable for anyone new to gold coins—and even for longtime hobbyists. The eye-opening chapter also helps collectors’ heirs identify risks and avoid mistakes.

A book devoted entirely to the subject is the United States Gold Counterfeit Detection Guide, by Bill Fivaz, a full-color, 224-page reference for identifying fake gold coins from dollars to double eagles, plus commemoratives and California fractionals. Campbell endorses the book, calling it “easy to read and easy to understand,” and “an absolute must for anyone who buys or is thinking of buying United States gold coins.”

Collectors have reason to be afraid, says Campbell. But healthy fear should provoke action. “We need these books now more than ever before,” he says. Knowledge is power—and it can take the advantage away from counterfeiters and give it back to collectors.