Sep 14, 2017 | Announcements
Gold Quarter Sovereign from The London Mint Office
2017 is the bicentenary of one of the most famous coin designs in the world. In 1817 the Italian sculptor and engraver Benedetto Pistrucci (1783-1855), described at the time as “an artist of the greatest celebrity” created an iconic depiction of Saint George and the Dragon which continues to be struck on gold sovereigns to this day. Pistrucci was buried in Christ Church, Virginia Water in Surrey, where a plaque will be unveiled in his honour this weekend.
To mark this important anniversary, The London Mint Office has commissioned internationally renowned Canadian artist Angela Pistrucci to create a new interpretation of her great-great-great-great uncle’s most enduring work. The Government of Gibraltar obtained permission from Buckingham Palace to use Angela’s design on their 2017 gold sovereigns, and the new coin was unveiled to great acclaim at the 46th World Money Fair in Berlin earlier this year.
Exclusively available from The London Mint Office, the 22 carat gold quarter sovereign pays tribute to Benedetto Pistrucci’s most famous design and is being offered at a very special price.
Managing Director of The London Mint Office, Greg Prosser said: “This is an affordable way to own real gold. The price of the new gold quarter sovereign brings it to the attention of a whole new audience, so we expect demand to be extremely high. Benedetto Pistrucci’s Saint George and the Dragon design was timeless, and so this is a remarkable tribute to the iconic craftsmanship that appears to run in the family. Angela’s intricate work is one of the most stunning designs we have been involved with.”
Angela only truly understood the significance of her ancestor as an adult when she researched her family history, discovering that she and Benedetto shared a passion for cameos and relief sculpture. “Never in my wildest dreams”, she said “would I have believed that someday I would step into my ancestor’s shoes and design the sovereign.”
To prepare herself for this unique opportunity to follow in her ancestor’s footsteps, Angela won a scholarship to study Bas Relief in Rome at the prestigious Italian Mint IPZS which has an archive of Benedetto Pistrucci’s work on permanent display in their museum. Like her famous ancestor, Angela’s work has also been exhibited throughout the world.
The full range of sovereigns featuring Angela Pistrucci’s new interpretation of Saint George and the Dragon are exclusively available in the UK from The London Mint Office.
To obtain your gold quarter sovereign, please call 0808 178 2370 (lines open Monday – Friday 9am-5:30pm & Saturday 9am-1pm).
www.londonmintoffice.org
Sep 13, 2017 | Announcements, U.S. Mint
The Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) will hold a public meeting at 10 a.m. (ET) on Tuesday, September 19, 2017, at United States Mint Headquarters, in the Second Floor Conference Room, at 801 9th St. NW, in Washington, D.C. The purpose of the meeting is to conduct business related to the CCAC’s responsibility to advise the Secretary of the Treasury on themes and designs pertaining to United States coinage.
Agenda (subject to change):
- Review and discussion of candidate designs for the 2019 America the Beautiful Quarters Program.
- Review and discussion of new and revised candidate designs for the Office of Strategic Services Congressional Gold Medal.
- Review and approval of annual report.
Who: Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC)
Pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 5135, the CCAC was established to:
- Advise the Secretary of the Treasury on any theme or design proposals relating to circulating coinage, bullion coinage, commemorative coins, Congressional gold medals, and national and other medals produced by the Secretary;
- Advise the Secretary of the Treasury with regard to the events, persons, or places that the Committee recommends to be commemorated; and
- Advise the Secretary of the Treasury with respect to the mintage level for any commemorative coin recommended.
When: Tuesday, September 19, 2017, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (ET).
Where: United States Mint Headquarters
801 9th St. NW
Second Floor Conference Room
Washington, D.C. 20220
The meeting is open to interested members of the public and news media.
Interested persons should call the CCAC HOTLINE at (202) 354-7502 for the latest update on meeting time and room location.
Interested members of the public may dial in to listen to the meeting at (866) 564-9287, access code 62956028.
Note: Dial-in access is listen only and phones must be kept on mute to not disturb discussion.
Members of the public interested in attending the meeting in person will be admitted into the meeting room on a first-come, first-serve basis as space is limited. Conference Room A&B can accommodate up to 50 members of the public at any one time. In addition, all persons entering a United States Mint facility must adhere to building security protocol. This means they must consent to the search of their persons and objects in their possession while on government grounds and when they enter and leave the facility, and are prohibited from bringing into the facility weapons of any type, illegal drugs, drug paraphernalia, or contraband.
The United States Mint Police Officer conducting the screening will evaluate whether an item may enter into or exit from a facility based upon federal law, Treasury policy, United States Mint Policy, and local operating procedure; and all prohibited and unauthorized items will be subject to confiscation and disposal.
Members of the public interested in submitting ideas for the CCAC’s consideration may fax them to (202) 756-6525.
Sep 7, 2017 | Announcements, U.S. Mint
WASHINGTON – The United States Mint will begin accepting orders for the 2017 America the Beautiful Quarters Three-Coin Set™ -Ellis Island (product code 17AM) on September 14, at noon Eastern Time (ET).
Priced at $9.95, this set contains two uncirculated Ellis Island quarters-one from the Philadelphia Mint and one from the Denver Mint-and one proof quarter from the San Francisco Mint. The coins are held in a durable plastic card featuring an image of Ellis Island. A Certificate of Authenticity is printed on the back of the card.
The reverse (tails) of the quarters depict an immigrant family approaching Ellis Island with a mixture of hope and uncertainty. The hospital building is visible in the background. Inscriptions are “ELLIS ISLAND,” “NEW JERSEY,” 2017,” and “E PLURIBUS UNUM.” The obverse (heads) design features the 1932 portrait of George Washington by John Flanagan.
Orders will be accepted at https://catalog.usmint.gov/ and at 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). Hearing- and speech-impaired customers with TTY equipment may order by calling 1-888-321-MINT (6468). Information on shipping options is available online.
Sep 1, 2017 | Announcements
(Pelham, Alabama) — The third edition of MEGA RED (the Deluxe Edition of the Guide Book of United States Coins) includes a ten-page full-color appendix on So-Called Dollars, a class of nearly 800 different historical medals, many of them struck by the United States Mint.
The section’s author, Jeff Shevlin, is a specialist in the field. He defines So-Called Dollars as “U.S. medals approximately the size of a silver dollar that were struck to commemorate a historical subject.” He notes that many of the most famous engravers of U.S. coins also engraved So-Called Dollars, including William and Charles Barber, George T. Morgan, and Augustus Saint-Gaudens. “Some of the designs and artwork on these pieces match or surpass these artists’ other work in coin and medal design,” Shevlin writes.
The medals are known as So-Called Dollars because their sizes typically range between 33 and 45 mm in diameter, similar to the silver dollar’s 38.1 mm. They were minted in many compositions and alloys, including gold, silver, copper, bronze, brass, aluminum, nickel, white metal, German silver, and gutta-percha. When composition is considered, there are more than 1,500 varieties to collect.
Shevlin writes that approximately half of So-Called Dollars were made to celebrate fairs and expositions (such as the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893, held in Chicago), and the other half to commemorate a broad range of subjects. The completion of the Erie Canal in 1826 and the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, the centennial of the Pony Express in 1961, famous Americans, military battles, and hundreds of other local, regional, and national subjects have been remembered with So-Called Dollars.
For collectors, Shevlin explores ways to assemble a specialized collection of So-Called Dollars. “Some collectors aspire to collect the entire series, and some collect specific metal compositions,” he writes. “Many collectors have an interest in one or more of the major expositions or other significant events in U.S. history. . . . Some collect medals from local or regional areas, while others have an interest in those with a U.S. Mint relationship, which includes a broad area of different designs.” He gives examples of military medals and other popular categories.
He also lays out a rarity-rating scale, ranging from R-10 (unique) to R-1 (more than 5,000 known), and notes that hundreds of So-Called Dollars can be collected for $25 to $75 each in Mint State. “One of the most common So-Called Dollars is the 1931 McCormick Reaper Centennial Dollar, of which there were possibly as many as 5,000 struck,” Shevlin writes. “Compare that to the 1909-S V.D.B. Lincoln cent, of which 484,000 were minted. While the Lincoln cent in MS-63 would sell for $1,500, the McCormick Reaper in the same grade sells for around $20 despite being 100 times rarer.” He notes that many highly desired rare varieties from the 1800s are beautiful pieces of art, struck in bronze and with high relief: “At the upper end of the So-Called Dollar market—those that sell for $1,000 or more—collectors are treated to exceptionally rare and significant pieces.”
Shevlin catalogs more than 80 individual varieties in a richly illustrated overview that includes history, photographs, and valuations in up to six grades from Very Fine to Mint State–65, plus Proofs. He starts with the 1853 Crystal Palace medal and concludes with the 1960 Boy Scouts of America 50th-Anniversary Jamboree medal.
The third edition of the 1,504-page MEGA RED officially debuted at the Whitman Coin and Collectibles Baltimore Expo, March 30, 2017. The book retails for $49.95 and is available online (including at Whitman.com) and from booksellers and hobby shops nationwide. Because Whitman Publishing is the Official Supplier of the ANA, Association members receive a 10% discount off all purchases.
# # #
MEGA RED: A Guide Book of United States Coins, Deluxe Edition, 3rd edition
ISBN 0794845096
1,504 pages, full color
By R.S. Yeoman; senior editor Kenneth Bressett; research editor Q. David Bowers;
valuations editor Jeff Garrett
$49.95 retail
About Whitman Publishing
Whitman Publishing is the world’s leading producer of numismatic reference books, supplies, and products to display and store coins and paper money. The company’s high-quality books educate readers in the rich, colorful history of American and world coinage and currency, and teach how to build great a collection. Archival-quality Whitman folders, albums, cases, and other holders keep collectibles safe and allow them to be shown off to friends and family.
Whitman Publishing is the Official Supplier of the American Numismatic Association. As a benefit of membership in the ANA, members can borrow MEGA RED (and other Whitman books) for free from the Association’s library, and also receive 10% off all Whitman purchases. Details are at www.money.org.
Sep 1, 2017 | Announcements, U.S. Mint
WASHINGTON – The United States Mint will begin accepting orders for the 2017 America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin honoring Ellis Island (product code 17AM) on September 7 at noon Eastern Time (ET).
The reverse (tails) design depicts an immigrant family approaching Ellis Island with a mixture of hope and uncertainty. The hospital building can be seen in the background. Inscriptions are “ELLIS ISLAND,” “NEW JERSEY,” “2017,” and “E PLURIBUS UNUM.”
America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coins are struck in .999 fine silver and display the “P” mint mark indicating production at the Philadelphia Mint. Each coin is encapsulated and placed in an attractive presentation case. A Certificate of Authenticity is included.
The America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin™ honoring Ellis Island is priced at $149.95. As with all products sold by the United States Mint containing precious metals, this price is subject to change.
Orders will be accepted at www.catalog.usmint.gov and at 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). Hearing- and speech-impaired customers with TTY equipment may order at 1-888-321-MINT. Information about shipping options is available online.
The current authorized mintage limit for both numismatic and bullion 2017 America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Coins for Ellis Island is 150,000 units. An announced maximum potential mintage limit of 25,000 coins has been set for the America the Beautiful Five Ounce Silver Uncirculated Coin-Ellis Island. However, based on demand, the United States Mint may mint and issue more than 125,000 America the Beautiful Five Ounce Ellis Island Silver Bullion Coins so long as it does not exceed the 150,000 coin limit.
Aug 28, 2017 | Announcements
(Pelham, Alabama) — Whitman Publishing is looking for sharp, high-resolution photographs of Roosevelt dimes, 1946 to date, including die varieties, to illustrate the fourth edition of MEGA RED (the Deluxe Edition of the Guide Book of United States Coins). Hobbyists who share their photographs will be credited in the book’s acknowledgments.
Billed as the “biggest, most useful Red Book ever,” MEGA RED measures 7 x 10 inches and has 1,504 pages. Each year’s new MEGA RED features an in-depth focus on one or more coin series.
- The first edition included a 364-page section on copper half cents and large cents, with images, history, diagnostics, and pricing for 832 die varieties.
- The second edition featured 330 pages covering 607 varieties of Flying Eagle, Indian Head, and Lincoln cents.
- The third edition featured 314 pages on America’s nickel five-cent coins (Shield nickels, Liberty Head nickels, Buffalo nickels, and Jefferson nickels), covering 545 varieties.
The fourth edition of MEGA RED will debut in March 2018. It will cover all series of United States dimes, starting with the famous disme of 1792. Bowers will share his research on Draped Bust, Capped Bust, Liberty Seated, Barber, Mercury, and Roosevelt dimes.
“We’re seeking nicely matched sets of Roosevelt dimes, including silver and copper-nickel coins, in Mint State as well as Proofs, plus the major die varieties,” said Whitman publisher Dennis Tucker. “In addition, we welcome photographs of dime-related ephemera from any era. This might include savings-bank folders, Christmas cards with openings for dimes, dime-shaped bottles, and other collectibles.”
Image files should be at least 300 dpi at two times actual size. “Scans and cell-phone photographs generally are not acceptable for this kind of cataloging,” Tucker said. “Ideally we’d like to see collectors’ best professional-level photography.”
Hobbyists with images to share should contact Dennis Tucker at dennis.tucker@whitman.com by October 27, 2017.
# # #
About MEGA RED
MEGA RED measures 7 x 10 inches and has 1,040 more pages than the regular-edition Red Book. Its larger size and increased page count combined make MEGA RED five times bigger than the regular edition. The third edition prices 8,200 items in up to 13 grades each, with 48,000 individual values and 15,400 auction records covering circulated, Mint State, and Proof coinage. The book is illustrated with thousands of images.
The third edition of MEGA RED officially debuted at the Whitman Coin and Collectibles Baltimore Expo, March 30, 2017, and now is available nationwide. MEGA RED retails for $49.95 and can be found online (including at Whitman.com) and from booksellers and hobby shops nationwide. Whitman Publishing is the Official Supplier of the ANA, and Association members receive a 10% discount off all purchases.
About Whitman Publishing
Whitman Publishing is the world’s leading producer of numismatic reference books, supplies, and products to display and store coins and paper money. The company’s high-quality books educate readers in the rich, colorful history of American and world coinage and currency, and teach how to build great a collection. Archival-quality Whitman folders, albums, cases, and other holders keep collectibles safe and allow them to be shown off to friends and family.
Whitman Publishing is the Official Supplier of the American Numismatic Association. As a benefit of membership in the ANA, members can borrow the Red Book (and other Whitman books) for free from the Association’s library, and also receive 10% off all Whitman purchases. Details are at www.money.org.
Aug 21, 2017 | Announcements, U.S. Mint
WASHINGTON – The United States Mint will open sales for products featuring America the Beautiful Quarters® Program coins honoring Ellis Island starting on August 28 at noon Eastern Time (ET).
The coin’s reverse (tails) design depicts an immigrant family approaching Ellis Island with a mixture of hope and uncertainty. The hospital building can be seen in the background. Inscriptions are “ELLIS ISLAND,” “NEW JERSEY,” “2017,” and “E PLURIBUS UNUM.” The reverse was designed by Barbara Fox, Artistic Infusion Program designer, and engraved by Phebe Hemphill, United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver. The obverse (heads) design features the 1932 portrait of George Washington by John Flanagan.
Product options and their prices are as follows:
| PRODUCT CODE |
PRODUCT OPTION |
MINT MARK |
PRICE |
| 17ABK |
100-Coin Bag |
P |
$34.95 |
| 17ABL |
100-Coin Bag |
D |
$34.95 |
| 17ABM |
100-Coin Bag |
S |
$34.95 |
| 17ARK |
Two-Roll Set |
P and D |
$32.95 |
| 17ARL |
40-Coin Roll |
S |
$18.95 |
| 17ARM |
Three-Roll Set |
P, D, and S |
$46.95 |
Coins in the rolls and bags are struck on the main production floors at the Philadelphia, Denver, and San Francisco Mint facilities. The three-roll set contains coins from all three facilities. Unlike the “P” and “D” mint mark quarters, those with the “S” mint mark will not be released into circulation.
The special numismatic wrapping for the coin rolls displays the name “Ellis Island”; the abbreviation “NJ” for New Jersey; “$10,” the face value of its contents; and “P,” “D,” or “S” for the mint of origin. The canvas bags have a tag with “Ellis Island,” “NJ,” and “P,” “D,” or “S.”
Orders will be accepted online at https://catalog.usmint.gov/ and at 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). Hearing- and speech-impaired customers with TTY equipment may order by calling 1-888-321-MINT (6468). Information on shipping options is available here.
Aug 16, 2017 | Announcements, U.S. Mint
WHAT: The public and the media are invited to the ceremony to mark the release of the Ellis Island quarter, the 39th coin in the United States Mint’s America the Beautiful Quarters® Program
The event includes a coin exchange of $10 rolls of newly-minted Ellis Island quarters after the ceremony. Barbara Fox, designer of the quarter’s reverse, will be available for interviews before the ceremony.
WHO:
- Todd Baldau, Senior Advisor, United States Mint
- John Hnedak, Deputy Superintendent, Statue of Liberty National Monument and Ellis Island
- Zach McCue, Projects Director for U.S. Senator Cory Booker
- Erica Daughtrey, Communications Director for U.S. Congressman Albio Sires
- Dave Krolak, Master of Ceremonies
- Janis Calella, President, Save Ellis Island
WHEN: Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017, 11 a.m. ET
WHERE:
Ellis Island
Flagpole Area
Jersey City, NJ 07305
(Ferries leave from Liberty State Park, NJ or Battery Park, NYC. Ferry fee applies.)
COIN FORUM
After the ceremony, the United States Mint will host a coin forum 12:30 p.m. (ET), at the Ellis Island Flagpole Area. The coin forum is an opportunity for the public to learn about upcoming coin programs and initiatives, and express their views about future coinage.
The United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Program, a 12-year initiative that honors 56 national parks and other national sites authorized by Public Law 110-456. Each year, the public will see five new national sites depicted on the reverses (tails sides) of the America the Beautiful Quarters. The United States Mint is issuing these quarters in the order in which the national sites were officially established.
Aug 1, 2017 | Announcements, PNG
(Denver, Colorado) July 31, 2017 – The Professional Numismatists Guild (www.PNGdealers.org) presented its 2017 PNG Lifetime Achievement Award to prominent and influential hobby leader Beth Deisher. The award was announced during the PNG’s annual banquet held this year in Denver, Colorado on July 31, 2017.
Deisher is the Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force Director of the Industry Council for Tangible Assets (www.ictaonline.org). She was the award-winning Editor of Coin World for 27 years until her retirement in 2012. Over the years Deisher also has conducted workshops and classes on the problems of counterfeit coins produced in China.
Former Coin World Editor Beth Deisher received the Professional Numismatists Guild Lifetime Achievement Award from PNG Executive Director Robert Brueggeman (left) and PNG President Barry Stuppler (right) at the organization’s awards banquet in Denver, Colorado on July 31, 2017. (Photo credit: Donn Pearlman)
These are the other 2017 awards and winners announced at the PNG Denver banquet.
The Robert Friedberg Award for an outstanding book or other literature was jointly presented to authors Pete Smith, Joel J. Orosz and Leonard Augsburger for their reference book, 1792: Birth of a Nation’s Coinage, published by Ivy Press.
The Sol Kaplan Award was presented to four people this year: Bill Walker, a Senior Numismatist at Heritage Auctions in Dallas, Texas, and jointly to three Missouri law enforcement officials: Sheriff Cory Hutcheson, Chief Deputy Branden E. Caid and Captain Barry Morgan, all of the Mississippi County Missouri Sheriff’s Department.
In early 2017 while in Florida, Walker recovered and subsequently returned to their grateful owner five rare coins that had been stolen a year earlier, apparently while in transit in the United States Postal Service mail. The coins had a combined value of about $30,000.
In a separate case, Sheriff Hutcheson, Chief Deputy Caid and Captain Morgan successfully tracked down a collector in Florida whose rare coins were stolen four decades earlier when he was a youngster in Charleston, Missouri in 1972. During a January 2017 search of the Southeast Missouri home of a drug case suspect, the officers discovered and recovered about two-thirds of the coins stolen 45 years earlier. Through perseverance and solid detective work the officers were able to return the coins, some still housed in their familiar blue Whitman folders, to the now adult and quite surprised collector.
The Kaplan Award recognizes efforts and contributions in combatting crimes against the numismatic community, and is jointly presented by the PNG and the Lewis M. Reagan Foundation. It is named after a former PNG President and Ohio dealer who was personally responsible for the apprehension of several people suspected of committing numismatic-related crimes.
John Maben of JFM Trading, LLC in Lakewood Ranch, Florida received the Significant Contribution Award. It is given to those who have made exceptional, beneficial efforts over the years on behalf of PNG and the profession, and added to the hobby.
Christine Karstedt, Executive Vice President of Stack’s Bowers of Stack’s Bowers Galleries, received the Art Kagin Ambassador Award. This award is named after a former PNG President and nationally-known Iowa dealer who provided distinguished service as an advocate of numismatic goodwill.
PNG Legal Counsel Armen Vartian of Manhattan Beach, California, was recognized during the banquet for 25 years as a PNG Affiliate Member.
The Professional Numismatists Guild is a nonprofit trade association composed of the country’s top rare coin and paper money dealers who must adhere to a strict Code of Ethics in the buying and selling of numismatic merchandise. The organization also has an Accredited Precious Metals Dealer program (http://apmddealers.org). For additional information, contact Robert Brueggeman, PNG Executive Director, 28441 Rancho California Road, Suite 106, Temecula, CA 92590. Phone: (951) 587-8300. Email: info@PNGdealers.org. Online: www.PNGdealers.org.
Jul 31, 2017 | Announcements, U.S. Mint
WASHINGTON – Acting Deputy Director David Motl today announced that the United States Mint will display two of the ten 1933 Double Eagle Coins recovered by the government in 2004 that were the subject of 11 years of litigation, which was recently resolved in favor of the Government, at the American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money in Denver, Colorado, from August 1 to August 5.
In March 1933, as one of the many measures designed to reverse the Great Depression, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt issued a Proclamation (followed by subsequent Executive Orders, Regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury, and statutes) prohibiting payment of gold coin. This resulted in the melting of 445,500 1933-dated Double Eagles previously struck at the Philadelphia Mint, and Mint records clearly establish that no 1933 $20 Double Eagles were ever issued or released to the public as legal tender. The only specimens to leave the Mint lawfully were two 1933 Double Eagles given to the Smithsonian Institution for preservation in the National Numismatics collection.
A Secret Service investigation in 1944 led to the recovery over the next ten years of nine stolen pieces that also were melted. A tenth piece was recovered in 1996, with that case ending in a unique settlement under which that single coin was monetized and issued by the United States Mint and sold at auction in 2002 for $7.6 million.
Ten more specimens surfaced in 2004, this time in the possession of the family of the Philadelphia Jeweler who had facilitated the distribution of the stolen Double Eagles in the 1930s. Litigation ensued, and in 2011, after a two-week trial where the government put all its evidence on the table, a jury unanimously found in favor of the Government.
The judge subsequently issued a declaratory judgment that the 1933 Double Eagles were not lawfully removed from the United States Mint, and as a matter of law, remain the property of the United States.
Unlike the nine specimens recovered in the 1940s and 50s, these ten specimens will not be melted. “The United States Mint considers the recovered 1933 Double Eagles to be national numismatic treasures and will preserve them,” said Motl.
While the Mint does not intend to monetize, issue or auction these pieces, it is currently assessing the best way to use these historical artifacts, including public exhibits.
