May 2, 2017 | News, U.S. Mint
WASHINGTON – The United States Mint today announced a call for artists to design the obverse (heads side) of the commemorative coin honoring the first manned moon landing. Authorized by law, the Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Program celebrates the innovation and bravery of the successful mission and the fallen astronauts who preceded that endeavor. The competition invites artists to design a common obverse image that is emblematic of the United States Space Program leading up to the first manned Moon landing. The winning artist will receive $5,000 and have his or her initials included on the coins. Competition details and entry can be accessed at https://www.usmint.gov/news/design-competitions/apollo-11.
“The success of the crew and the team behind Apollo 11 nearly 50 years ago holds special meaning to Americans,” said David Motl, Acting Principal Deputy Director of the United States Mint. “The Apollo 11 Commemorative Coin Design Competition presents a unique way for artists to capture the sense of pride for such an enormous accomplishment, while also memorializing fallen astronauts.”
Artist’s conception of the common reverse for the 2019 Apollo 11 commemorative coin program.
An expert jury composed of members of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee will review and score design submissions. Both groups provide experienced and impartial expertise in advancing the state of public art and the interests of American citizens and coin collectors. The jury will choose a winning design to recommend the Secretary of the Treasury for selection. With the winning design selected, the United States Mint will begin issuing curved gold, silver, clad, and five ounce silver commemorative coins in 2019. Surcharges for this program are authorized to be paid in various denominations to three recipient organizations: the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum’s ”Destination Moon” exhibit, the Astronauts Memorial Foundation, and the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.
For the first time in recent history, this commemorative coin program will be composed of four coins instead of three, including $5 gold coins, $1 silver coins, half-dollar clad coins, and five ounce silver proof coins. This will be the first time that a curved version of a five ounce silver coin is produced and offered by the United States Mint.
“The Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Program represents a meaningful and exciting undertaking for the United States Mint,” said Motl. “We look forward to the public’s participation in creating the final obverse design.”
Apr 19, 2017 | Bureau of Engraving and Printing, News
From the Bureau of Engraving and Printing:
The Monthly Currency Production Report for March 2017 Has Been Posted.
Please click here to access the report.
https://www.moneyfactory.gov/resources/productionmonthly.html
Apr 3, 2017 | News
Legend Buys Dexter/Pogue 1804 Dollar From Lipton and Albanese
Famous coin now part of “Super Collector” Bruce Morelan’s early American dollars set
(Lincroft, NJ) – The Class I Dexter/Pogue specimen 1804 Draped Bust U.S. silver dollar purchased at auction on Friday night, March 31, 2017, for $3,290,000 jointly by Kevin Lipton of Beverly Hills, California and John Albanese of Bedminster, New Jersey, was sold by them less than 48 hours later. Graded PCGS Proof 65, it was bought on Sunday afternoon, April 2, 2017, by Laura Sperber of Legend Numismatics in Lincroft, New Jersey on behalf of well-known collector Bruce Morelan, owner of the all-time finest set of early American dollars listed in the PCGS Set Registry®.
Collector Bruce Morelan now is adding the Dexter-Pogue specimen 1804 Draped Bust dollar to his PCGS Set Registry® all-time finest set of early American dollars. (Photo by Donn Pearlman.)
“John and I bought the coin (at the Stack’s Bowers auction at the Whitman Baltimore Expo) in a moment of opportunity. We didn’t have any customers for it Friday night; we just thought at $3.3 million that it was the best buy of a high value rare coin in the last 20-plus years,” Lipton explained.
Then the offers started coming in.
“We purchased this coin on spec and were really quite shocked that our book bid of $2.8 million (plus buyer’s fee) was successful. We both thought it would sell for $4 million or more Friday night. By Sunday, we had six interested parties who were calling, sending emails and texts wanting to buy the coin from us. Kevin and I are pleased it’s going to a good home,” said Albanese.
Sperber negotiated the sale on Sunday morning on behalf of Morelan. The purchase price was not disclosed.
“It is a hell of a coin and a hell of a deal for Super Collector Bruce Morelan,” stated Sperber. “After Friday night’s auction, I suggested we probably need this coin in his early American dollars set. The negotiations with John and Kevin took only a few minutes to work out and everyone involved is happy.”
Morelan also was surprised at the winning bid price for the coin at the auction.
“I was shocked when the coin sold so low. I’m happy to pick it up for a few incremental bids over that level. While the coin is not necessary for the circulation strike early dollars set, it certainly is complimentary to my set and collection as a whole,” Morelan said.
Among the world’s most famous rare coins, only 15 1804-dated silver dollars are known today, and eight of them are categorized as Class I, including the Dexter/Pogue specimen.
No silver dollars dated 1804 actually were struck that year. Researchers believe the surviving Class I examples were made by the United States Mint in the 1830s to be given as diplomatic gifts for a State Department mission to the Far East and Asia. Decades later, Mint employees made a handful of other, similar examples of 1804-dated dollars for collectors.
Less than 36 hours after John Albanese and Kevin Lipton were the winning bidders for the Class I Dexter-Pogue 1804 Draped Bust silver dollar, PCGS Proof 65, it was purchased from them by Laura Sperber of Legend Numismatics on behalf of “Super Collector” Bruce Morelan. (Photo image courtesy of PCGSCoinFacts.com.)
Apr 2, 2017 | News
Statement from Kevin Lipton
President, Kevin Lipton Rare Coin, Inc., Beverly Hills, California
April 1, 2017
Somewhere over Topeka, Kansas Friday night, while I was flying back to Los Angeles from Baltimore, John Albanese and I jointly purchased the Dexter/Pogue 1804 Draped Bust dollar for $3,290,000. This is actually the second time I’ve owned this historic rare coin. I purchased it with Hugh Sconyers for a then-record price of $990,000 on behalf of the American Rare Coin Fund at Auction ’89 in Chicago in 1989.
I bought the coin this time strictly the way I buy everything: on a basis of opportunity. In my opinion, this was the best buy of a high value rare coin in the last 20-plus years. It was a moment of opportunity. I don’t have any customers for it, I just want to enjoy it now.
When opportunity knocks, you have to be there to answer. I was expecting this coin to sell for between $4 and $5 million, and was stunned at this kind of opportunity to acquire it for less than $3.3 million.
John (Albanese) and I have been friends and have done business together for decades. He is one of the most respected numismatists in the world, and was an original co-founder of both PCGS and NGC as well as CAC. We are both excited and happy now to own one of the world’s most famous rare coins.
Dexter/Pogue 1804 dollar was purchased by Kevin Lipton and John Albanese at the Stack’s Bowers auction in Baltimore
Mar 30, 2017 | News
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Mint (Mint) will begin accepting orders for the 2017 American Liberty 225th Anniversary Gold Coin (product code 17XA) on April 6 at noon Eastern Time (ET).
Struck in conjunction with the Mint’s 225th anniversary, this unique coin portrays allegorical Liberty as an African-American woman. Its obverse (heads) design depicts a profile of Liberty wearing a crown of stars, with the inscriptions “LIBERTY,” “1792,” “2017,” and “IN GOD WE TRUST.” The reverse (tails) design depicts a bold and powerful eagle in flight, with eyes toward opportunity and a determination to attain it. Inscriptions include “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” “1OZ .9999 FINE GOLD,” and “100 DOLLARS.”
Produced at the West Point Mint, this one-ounce, .9999 fine 24-karat gold coin is encapsulated and placed in a custom designed, black wood presentation case. A special 225th anniversary booklet which is the Certificate of Authenticity, accompanies each coin.
Pricing will be based on the Mint’s pricing schedule for products containing gold. These products are priced according to the range in which they appear on the United States Mint Numismatic Gold, Commemorative Gold, and Platinum Product Pricing Grid. Current pricing information is available at http://catalog.usmint.gov/coins/gold-coins/.
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 at 1-888-321-MINT. Information on shipping options is available at https://catalog.usmint.gov/customer-service/shipping.html.
To maximize availability of this historic coin to the public, the Mint is not imposing a household order limit. The Mint will also accept orders at its sales counters in Washington, DC; Philadelphia; and Denver. Sales will be open to all members of the public, including dealers. Mintage is limited to 100,000 units.
Mar 27, 2017 | News
One million pages: The Newman Numismatic Portal (NNP) has reached a milestone of one million scanned pages, representing over 13,000 documents. The million mark was exceeded in March 2017 during the scanning of the extensive run of Stack’s Bowers auction sale catalogs. This particular series begins in 1935 and includes nearly 800 sales, of which 90% have now been scanned. The Newman Portal acknowledges Stack’s Bowers for sharing this content and for allowing it to be made freely available through NNP. We also thank our scanning partners at the American Numismatic Society (ANS), Librarian David Hill and Internet Archive associate John Graffeo, who scanned many of the early catalogs in this extensive series. Finally, ANS Trustee Dan Hamelberg made available Stack’s material form his unparalleled library. The Stack’s catalogs are available on NNP in our auction catalog section at https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/auctioncompanydetail/3.
Newman Portal at the Central States Numismatic Society Convention: The Newman Portal will hold a user forum at the Central States convention at 11AM on Thursday, April 27. Lunch is included, the meeting will be held in the Serenity room (not Serendipity room as mentioned elsewhere). Space is filling quickly, if you wish to attend please contact Newman Portal Project Coordinator Len Augsburger at leonard.augsburger@wustl.edu. We’ll cover current NNP status and discuss future initiatives.
Advanced Search on NNP: The Newman Portal now includes an advanced search function that offers additional refinement of search results. One interesting feature is the ability to set a date range on results (“Publication Year,” “To”), allowing researchers to identify the earliest discussions of various numismatic topics. Users may also restrict results to document types, for example auction catalogs. This is useful when searching for historic sales of specific items. Try it at https://nnp.wustl.edu/Library/AdvancedSearchForm.
Coming next: Additional content and features will be announced at the Central States user forum. Plan to attend!
Mar 23, 2017 | ANA, News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, March 23, 2017
CONTACT: Deborah Muehleisen
Telephone: 719-482-9864
National Money Show Draws 2,500 Attendees
Kagin’s Auctions Realizes $6.385 Million
The American Numismatic Association’s (ANA) 2016 National Money Show in Orlando welcomed a total of 2,513 people for the three-day event, which was held March 9-11 at the Orange County Convention Center.
“The show featured a week of great numismatic educational opportunities, camaraderie, and a bourse filled with numismatic treasures and knowledgeable dealers,” said ANA President Jeff Garrett. “The auction room was standing-room only. Everyone attending had a chance to experience what an ANA convention is all about.”
The event featured more than 350 dealers buying and selling coins, currency and related items. A wide range of technical seminars and educational presentations led by notable speakers sharing their expertise also were offered, as were exhibits of priceless rarities from the American Numismatic Association’s Money Museum in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Exhibits included a 1792 silver half disme, one of the first coins ever struck by the U.S. Mint; recovered Spanish-fleet sunken treasure; and the famous 1913 Liberty Head nickel, valued at $3 million. The only known complete collection of historic Florida banknotes from 1865 to 1935 was exhibited for the first time ever, courtesy of William Youngerman of Boca Raton.
Kagin’s Auctions of Tiburon, Calif., served as the show’s official auctioneer. The three-session sale featured 1050 lots and realized $6.385 million, including a 17.5 percent buyer’s premium. “More than 70 people crowded the auction room, which is almost unheard of in these days of Internet bidding,” said Dr. Donald Kagin, president of Kagin’s Auctions. Highest prices realized (with buyer’s premium) included:
- 1860 “No Motto” Liberty Head $10 Gold Eagle, PR-65 PCGS — $258,500
- 1876-CC Seated Liberty dime, Specimen-66 Branch Mint PCGS — $158,625
- 1865 “No Motto” Liberty Head $5 Gold Half Eagle, PR-65 PCGS — $141,000
“The Kagin’s Auction was well regarded,” according to Los Angeles coin dealer Fred Weinberg, “and some very nice rare coins were traded on the floor as well. I sold a Sacagawea Dollar/State Quarter mule – the very first time I had one for my showcase at any coin show in the past 17 years. And though I can’t disclose any details, three extremely rare, very famous U.S. coins appeared at the show. I was privileged to be able to examine them before they were presented to Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) for authentication. It likely will be a major news story in the coming months.”
Presidential Awards Recognize Bill Calderazzo and John and Nancy Wilson
During the show’s opening ceremonies, ANA President Jeff Garrett presented a Presidential Award to Bill Calderazzo of Tampa, Fla. Calderazzo founded Florida Coin Exchange in 1967, and was president of the Florida United Numismatists (FUN) from 1974 to 1976. President Garrett noted that Calderazzo was his mentor when he first entered the hobby.
Also recognized with a Presidential Award were John and Nancy Wilson, two long-time ANA supporters who have personally recruited thousands of members for the Association. The husband-and-wife duo have each previously served as ANA board members and have received numerous awards, including the ANA’s Farran Zerbe Memorial Award for Distinguished Service in 2007.
President Garrett also presented National Money Show Host Chair Cindy Wibker with the Goodfellow award, and FUN with the Lewis S. Werner Host Club appreciation plaque.
Legacy Series Dinner Honors Mark Salzberg & Rick Montgomery
Two of the hobby’s titans – Mark Salzberg and Rick Montgomery, leaders of Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) – were the focus of a Legacy Series dinner and interview on Thursday evening, March 9. Moderated by Barbara Gregory, editor-in-chief of The Numismatist, the interview gave attendees a perspective on the world of third-party grading while allowing the two men to share personal stories about their early years in numismatics. Past installments of the Legacy Series have celebrated numismatists Q. David Bowers, Ray Dillard, Fred Weinberg, Jim Halperin and Steve Ivy, and David Sundman. Previous interviews can be seen on www.money.org/LegacySeries; the March interview will be posted in the coming weeks.
ANA Board of Governors Candidates Forum
Ten of the 12 individuals who have received the necessary nominations for the 2017 ANA Board of Governors election participated in a forum on Friday, March 10, to answer questions and express their views on a number of topics. The Association is governed by a nine-member board that includes a president, vice president and seven governors, each of whom is elected to a two-year term that begins in August. All nine seats are open. Video of the Candidates Forum will be posted on www.money.org by March 31. ANA members also will be able to read candidate biographies and answers to questions in the June issue of The Numismatist. ANA members can expect to receive election ballots in June.
ANA Board of Governors Meeting
Housekeeping items comprised much of the ANA Board of Governors agenda during its meeting at the National Money Show on Saturday, March 11. Most notable was the review and approval of the IRS Form 990 and the Fiscal Year 2016 audited financial statement prepared by Waugh & Goodwin, LLP.
“The ANA remains in a strong financial position, with over $74 million in assets and investments of nearly $21 million,” said Greg Lyon, chair of both the Audit Committee and the Budget & Finance Committee. “Since 2009, the Association’s net assets (not counting the Museum collection) have grown over 75 percent. The ANA Board remains committed to keeping the Association financially sound, while using a sustainable portion of our assets to further our educational mission and support capital expenditures.”
The ANA’s Fiscal Year 2016 audited financial statement and 990 report will soon be available for review online at www.money.org/financial-reports.
In other business, the Board selected the Chicago Coin Club (CCC) as the host club for the 2019 World’s Fair of Money, with the selection of Richard Lipman as host chair. That year, the CCC will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its founding.
The Board unanimously passed a resolution of support for the creation of a commemorative coin in the year 2021 honoring the centennial of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The resolution now goes to U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), who has expressed interest in sponsoring legislation to create the commemorative.
Excerpts from the ANA Board of Governors meeting will be published in the June issue of The Numismatist. Video replays of the opening ceremonies, the Board meeting and other show highlights can be viewed at www.NationalMoneyShow.com beginning March 31.
The American Numismatic Association is a congressionally chartered, nonprofit educational organization dedicated to encouraging the study and collection of coins and related items. The ANA helps its 25,000 members and the public discover and explore the world of money through its vast array of instructional and outreach programs, as well as its museum, library, publications and conventions. For more information, call 719-632-2646 or visit www.money.org.
Mar 16, 2017 | Announcements, News
A package being sent USPS from Nebraska to Carson City, Nevada has been reported lost/Stolen. The package shows to have arrived in Carson City, NV but has not been delivered to the recipient.
The package included the following coins:
2 – BU to MS-63 1878 8tf Dollars Raw
1 1890-CC $ PCGS MS-63 Serial # 83491248
1 1892-CC $ PCGS MS-63 Serial # Missing Old Blue PCGS holder
1 1893-CC $ PCGS XF-45 Serial #82615242
1 1894-S $ PCGS MS-62 Serial #83039076
1 1884-CC $ PCGS FR-2 Serial #82615242
1 1878-CC $ NGC MS-62 Serial #4355118-017
Anyone with information please contact:
Doug Davis
817-723-7231
doug@numismaticcrimes.org
The Numismatic Crime Information Center (www.numismaticcrimes.org) is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit
corporation. P.O. Box 14080 Arlington, Texas 76094.
