I'm a big fan of Wikipedia and I just found an entry on it about the coin we all know and love, the Freedom Tower Silver Dollar, minted by the National Collector's Mint (NCM). The coin is not legal tender and has almost no value due to silver content because there's so little. Due to fraudulent marketing practices the New York attorney general obtained a court order against them. On November 9, State Supreme Court Justice Joseph R. Cannizzaro ruled that the company had engaged in deceptive and fraudulent marketing practices and ordered the company to terminate its misleading advertising of the coin.

The more people that know about this the better, because well-meaning individuals who think they are buying a little piece of history can easily be deceived by the NCM's advertising tactics.

Also, on a totally unrelated housekeeping note, I would like to offer my sincere apologies to a few of you that may have been getting two notification e-mails when I published a new article. I was reviewing the list of subscribers and noticed a few duplicates. I don't know how they got there, but I thought maybe people tried to unsubscribe but accidentally subscribed again. If that is the case, I will gladly remove you from the list if you simply reply to the notification e-mail.

That goes for anyone else too. I appreciate your readership, but feel free to unsubscribe at any time. I do not want to send e-mail to anyone who doesn't want to receive it. There's a word for that (spammer) and I have no interest in becoming one.

Coin collecting is the hobby of collecting coins. It is to be distinguished from numismatics, the scientific study of money and its history in all its varied forms.

(Dana Point, California) – New members of the American Numismatic Association can save $36 on their initial dues in an ANA program geared to increase ANA membership, and funded by Rare Coin Wholesalers of Dana Point, California. The company will pay the second year of dues when new members apply for a one-year membership.

“I believe in the ANA, and every collector should, too. The ANA offers excellent educational benefits for all levels of collectors from beginning to advanced,” said Steven L. Contursi, President of Rare Coin Wholesalers and a life member of the ANA.

“In the busy commercial marketplace, some collectors and dealers overlook or forget about the outstanding programs the ANA conducts. We would not have such a strong hobby or marketplace today without the American Numismatic Association,” he said.

Contursi and ANA officials began informally discussing a possible membership promotion earlier this year.

“I would like to see several thousand new members by this year’s convention in Denver in August. This is an investment in the hobby,” Contursi stated.

ANA President William H. Horton Jr. praised Contursi and Rare Coin Wholesalers for their support: “I hope additional ANA member-dealers follow his lead in promoting our organization and hobby. It will be good for everyone.”

To obtain the free second year of ANA membership, new applicants can simply write, “RCW,” on their membership application. Or, they can download a special ANA membership application form on the Rare Coin Wholesalers web site, www.RCW1.com. In the near future, new members will be able to apply online using a link on the Rare Coin Wholesalers web site.

“This program is for people who have not been ANA members, giving them the opportunity to experience the benefits the ANA has to offer. It is not available for renewing or lapsed members of the ANA,” explained Chris Cipoletti, ANA Executive Director.

For additional information, contact the American Numismatic Association Membership Department, 818 N. Cascade Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80903. Phone: (800) 367-9723 x 140. Online: www.money.org.

I have discovered a software application for coin collectors. It is from PrimaSoft and is called Coin Organizer Deluxe.

Here is part of the description from their web site:

Coin Organizer Deluxe is a Windows software for coin collectors, hobbyists, dealers, and clubs. The software helps you to organize, catalog, and manage all coin related data. For the database novice, Coin Organizer’s intuitive interface and ready-to-use coin inventory solutions make it easy to set up and use.

• Modern Coins: organize and maintain modern coin collections.
• Ancient Coins: organize and maintain ancient coin collections.
• Medieval Coins: organize and maintain medieval to modern coin collections.
• Coin Web Resources: organize web coin resources.
• Coin Contacts: organize coin related contacts.
• Build Coin Glossaries: create dictionary of coin terms.

For the power user, Organizer affords the simplicity of wizards that make it easy to set up and use coin organizers that you create.

Click here to get more information!

Welcome to a Coin Dealer .com! This site was created to help coin collectors find the things they’re looking for at the best possible prices. This site features categories of items available for sale on ebay, which is the best place to buy coins! There are literally hundreds of people selling coins on ebay at any time, with more items available than you could possibly even look at. Enjoy your stay and thanks for visiting a Coin Dealer .com!

Washington — The Senate gave final congressional approval Friday to legislation authorizing the U.S. Mint to create and sell gold and silver commemorative coins that could raise an estimated $8.5 million to help transform San Francisco’s landmark Old Mint into a city history museum.

The House had passed the bill in November, and it now goes to President Bush for his signature. That will allow the Mint to start designing the collectors’ coins, which to the extent possible are supposed to be struck at San Francisco’s current mint off Upper Market Street. Others would be produced at the mint in West Point, N.Y.

The money generated through the coins’ sale will help raise the needed $55 million for seismic upgrades and remodeling to the Greek Revival-style “Granite Lady'’ at Fifth and Mission streets so it can reopen in 2009 as the new permanent home of the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society.

Read the rest of this story and support sfgate.com here!

DENVER - As Colorado was welcomed to the national quarter party Wednesday, one local 6-year-old collector got the chance to mint one of his own.

Along with Governor Bill Owens, the media and several dignitaries, 9NEWS sports anchor Susie Wargin’s son Justin accompanied 9NEWS reporter Chris Vanderveen to the first minting of the Colorful Colorado Quarter.

Justin’s a collector. He’s got most of the state quarters. However, he’s after the elusive Michigan P.

What’s the P stand for you’re asking? It’s the city where the coin was minted.

“P stands for Philadelphia. D stands for Denver,” Justin will tell you.

Justin is one of an estimated 150 million people who collect the state quarters.

Read the rest of this story and support 9news.com here!

Washington -- The Senate gave final congressional approval Friday to legislation authorizing the U.S. Mint to create and sell gold and silver commemorative coins that could raise an estimated $8.5 million to help transform San Francisco's landmark Old Mint into a city history museum.

The House had passed the bill in November, and it now goes to President Bush for his signature. That will allow the Mint to start designing the collectors' coins, which to the extent possible are supposed to be struck at San Francisco's current mint off Upper Market Street. Others would be produced at the mint in West Point, N.Y.

The money generated through the coins' sale will help raise the needed $55 million for seismic upgrades and remodeling to the Greek Revival-style "Granite Lady'' at Fifth and Mission streets so it can reopen in 2009 as the new permanent home of the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society.

With the expected revenue from the coin sale, the society will have $36 million to $41 million in donations or commitments for the project, said interim executive director Erik Christoffersen. He said groundbreaking for the project is expected in late 2007 or early 2008.

Michael White, Mint spokesman in Washington, said it's too early to say what design will be on the coins or when they will be available. He estimated, based on recent sales of other commemorative coins, that the 500,000 face-value $1 silver coins will sell for $30 to $35. The far higher price of the 100,000 gold coins with a $5 face value is harder to estimate because the Mint has not issued a similar commemorative gold coin for a few years, White said.

In the past several months, the price of gold has soared, trading Friday in the range of $650 an ounce.

"The minting and sale of these commemorative coins is a fitting way to raise much-needed funds for the restoration of the Old Mint," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said after the Senate passed the bill she co-sponsored with California's other senator, Democrat Barbara Boxer. In the House, Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco was a co-sponsor of the coin legislation.

The 70,000-square-foot Old Mint began operating in 1854, making coins from precious metal that was part of the California Gold Rush. It played a historic role in the 1906 earthquake and fire, as workers successfully fought to save the building and its load of gold and silver. At one time, the building's vaults held one-third of the U.S. gold reserves.

Minting operations ceased in the building in 1937 and in following years the Mint operated it as a historical museum, known for its display of $1 million in gold, and a store. The building's conditions deteriorated and it finally closed in 1994.

The city has a 66-year lease on the building with the federal government, and the city is negotiating with the museum on a long-term sub-lease. In addition to the history museum, plans call for a restaurant, a coin museum to be run by the American Numismatic Association and the San Francisco visitors' center, which plans to move a block south from its current below-street level location at Powell and Market streets.

Working with the Martin Building Co., Christoffersen said plans also call for closing off the bit of Jessie Street behind the Old Mint and creating a pedestrian mall with greenery, live performances and "tasteful but limited'' retail space.

(via San Francisco Chronicle)

Wichita, KS (PRWEB) -- U.S. Peace silver dollars with the best chance for future price appreciation were identified following an analysis of Peace dollar historical price movements. Value trends from years 1950 through 2006 for Peace silver dollars (minted 1921-1935) were compiled and listed in tabular format.

Annual compounded rates of return were then computed from the past to the present covering various time intervals, to facilitate comparisons. Peace dollars with the best proven performance surfaced, and are poised to see continued growth. The dates at the top of the list are the 1921 and 1928 issues from the Philadelphia Mint.

The Peace dollar analysis is the latest in a series of similar reports authored by numismatist Daniel J. Goevert, lead researcher at US Coin Values Advisor. Goevert recommends that “collectors whose goal is to acquire coins likely to appreciate steadily in the years ahead should first review long term value trend data and select coins with a solid history of price advancement.” Goevert added “finding out what a coin is worth today is a piece of cake. However, understanding what that same coin was selling for five, ten, or fifty years ago requires some effort. Without that historical perspective, it’s impossible to know how well a coin performs in the long run.”

Coins displaying the highest percentage returns over time are invariably rarities held in high esteem by generations of numismatists, and have transcended precious metal booms, market shakeouts, and collecting fads. Proven steadfast demand is the cause of these consistently good returns, and is the best indicator of a bullish future.

In addition to Peace silver dollars, online reports for other popular coins are available at http://www.us-coin-values-advisor.com, and include Indian Head cents, Buffalo nickels, Mercury dimes, Standing Liberty quarters, Walking Liberty half dollars, and Morgan silver dollars. More coin reports are added regularly.

(via prweb.com)

Ceremonial Colorado quarters were stamped this morning, formally making the Centennial State the 38th to have its own quarter.

Gov. Bill Owens started the pressing machine at the Mint in Denver to create the coin that depicts a mountain range over a banner that reads "Colorful Colorado."

The design does not represent a real mountain, but represents what people think about Colorado, said First Lady Frances Owens.

"We would need about 10 quarters," Frances Owens said about showing all the good things about Colorado.

About 1,500 people sent in design submissions for two years. The other four final designs considered for the coin were cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park, a soldier/skier if the 10th Mountain Division, the Rocky Mountains and Pikes Peak.

The Denver and Philadelphia Mints will produce between 575 million to 650 million Colorado quarters, said Timothy Riley, plant manager for the Denver Mint. About 100 million of the quarters have been produced since May 8.

The coins will be released to the public on June 14.

Colorado’s quarter is part of the Fifty States Commemorative Coin Program Act passed by Congress in 1997. Each year, five state coins are produced in the order of statehood. Colorado became a state on Aug. 1, 1876.

(via Rocky Mountain News)