Odds are, on more than one occasion, when scratching deeply into a change pocket or coin purse, a person fishes out an old nickel, dime or penny and screams, "Eureka!" Better odds suggest the excitement of the ... via Coin Collecting

A judge has dismissed charges against a retired city police officer accused of possessing stolen coins. Billy Gene Lake, 77, of 506 Newsome Road, was first charged in September of 2006.

Students mourn the loss of a Franklin High School senior with a checkered past and a promising future who was gunned down under dubious circumstances.

Berks County, PA - When the news broke that the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia had left “In God We Trust” off some of its new dollar coins, Ralph Readinger headed off to his local bank and bought 500 dollars.

Finding one of those defective coins, the Stony Creek Mills resident reasoned, could be like hitting the lottery.

“I could use a couple hundred thousand dollars,” said Readinger, 64, a retired state liquor store assistant manager who works a part-time job.

Meticulously, Readinger sifted through all 500 coins.

Jackpot.

He found a defective dollar.

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IF HE has his way, real estate developer, antique dealer, coin collector and man-of-all-business-deals Nader Agha is going to transform 189 acres of industrial wasteland just off Highway 1 in Moss Landing into a commercial and retail hotspot that includes a shops, offices, restaurants, housing, a biodiesel fuel manufacturing facility, and solar farm.

CLOVERDALE, Ind. – With the successful launching of Remember When in downtown Cloverdale and the continued support of two local auction enterprises – Raney’s Auction Barn and Jeff Rich Auction Service - Cloverdale is fast becoming a premier center for the antique dealer and collecting enthusiast.

Last month, the U.S. Mint rolled out the first of its presidential coin series with a gold coin featuring George Washington. There was some interest in the new money - an interest level that skyrocketed when people began to notice the unusual edge letter that is supposed to be on all the coins was missing on some of them.

A few days and a couple eBay auctions later, people are shelling out $50, $80, $600 for the $1 coin.

The local angle? Last night, some 885 of those eBay auctions featured people saying their coins came from Jacksonville. Turns out that most of the mistake coins are coming from the Philadelphia mint, and most of those appear to have been sent to the First Coast.

Money is distributed by the Federal Reserve Bank, with the Fed placing an order for the coins with the Mint and then sending them through their branches to commercial banks and thence to consumers. A smaller number of misprinted coins from the Denver Mint have also been seen, mostly in Chicago.

It took some time for the mistake to be noticed in part because the design of the coin is different from every other piece of metal money in circulation. The last time the Mint printed information on the edge of the coin - like the date, motto and "In God We Trust" that was supposed to be on the side of the Washington Dollar - was in the 1930s, with the minting of the gold Double Eagle pieces.

The irony of printing on the edge this time? "It was intended to draw attention to the inscription," said Michael White, a spokesman for the mint.

And, indeed, attention appears to be being drawn.

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Why was a KKK medallion hidden between the walls of a 200-year-old house -- a former church parsonage, no less -- in Northborough?

Coin Value Tables for the Indian Head Gold Eagles ($10 face value) now updated to include 2007 trends.

Odds are, on more than one occasion, when scratching deeply into a change pocket or coin purse, a person fishes out an old nickel, dime or penny and screams, “Eureka!”

Better odds suggest the excitement of the moment dissolves quickly when the person discovers the actual value of the coinage is its face value, or less in some cases.

It is not unusual for coin collectors and dealers to be the ones to deliver the sad or possibly exciting news of coin collecting reality.

A few of the visitors to the Texarkana Coin Club’s 45th Coin and Currency Show held March 2-3 at Texarkana College’s Truman Arnold Student Center stopped by for just such appraisals.

But a record number of attendees for the annual show came with buying, selling or trading in mind. This year the coin club welcomed collectors of stamps, sports card memorabilia and antique costume jewelry to the event as well.

Polished and gleaming copper, silver and gold circular and various colors of currency invited visitors to wander and look admiringly at items some suggest “make the world go ‘round.”

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