DANBURY -- Silver pieces that might have at one time been pirates' booty. Pennies and half-dollars that could have been spent by a Civil War soldier. Obsolete coins with strange denominations, such as half-cents, 2-cent pieces and tiny, silver half-dimes, that would probably bring the supermarket checkout line to halt if you gave one to the cashier.

By Doug Winter

One of my favorite under-the-radar U.S. gold issues is the 1857-S gold dollar. This is a coin that is really hard to find yet nice examples can still be purchased for less than $2,000. Read on for some "need to know" information about this interesting issue.

San Francisco only produced gold dollars for a total of seven years. The 1856-S is probably the best known of these issues due to its being a popular one-year type but, ironically, it is probably the most common gold dollar from this mint. The 1870-S is the rarest of these in terms of its overall availability but it is actually more obtainable in Uncirculated than generally realized. The dates that are the hardest to locate in higher grades are the 1857-S, 1858-S and 1859-S and it is my belief that the 1857-S may be the toughest of the three.

The Boot of Cortez, which, at 389.4 troy ounces, is the largest surviving natural gold nugget ever found in the Western Hemisphere. It measures a stunning 10 3/4 inches in height and 7 1/4 inches in width. There is literally 'no-thing' like it.

The austere and forbidding Sonoran Desert of the United States and Mexico regularly experiences some of the most extreme weather in the Western Hemisphere. Daytime temperatures often exceed 125 degrees in the shade even as blast-furnace winds swiftly strip life-sustaining water from the few men and animals tough enough and wily enough to make a living in this land of stark, unforgiving beauty. Yet life not only goes on here; it sometimes succeeds in ways that cannot be foreseen even in our wildest dreams.

By Kathleen Duncan - Pinnacle Rarities

The new breed of collector wants the coin regardless of price. I envy them that luxury, but hope they are not made complacent by their equally exuberant under-bidders. The extremely strong prices for the Husak collection of large cents is understandable. These coins are truly rare and may not surface again for years.

Some of the other items experiencing extremely spirited bidding, however, are replaceable. These coins, or their equivalents, have sold recently for far less.

Dallas, TX. The entire, renowned Thomas M. Flynn Collection of U.S. and Canadian Currency, including more than 1,000 large size notes encompassing nearly every Friedberg number from one through 1225, will be offered with no reserves by Heritage Auction Galleries. The collection will be offered as part of the official auction of the Central States Numismatic Society convention April 16 through April 18 in Rosemont, Illinois at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, 555 North River Road, a stone's throw from O'Hare International Airport.

The second commemorative state quarter for release in 2008 honors New Mexico. The countdown for its circulation has officially started with the U.S. Mint's announcement of the release ceremony on April 7, 2008. There is also a special coin collectors forum on the day prior.

ShopNBC, a 24-hour TV shopping network, today announced results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year-ended February 2, 2008.

1. Who operated a private Georgia Mint for about three months?

2. What is the basic monetary unit for Trinidad and Tobago?

3. What non-Washington, D.C. building appears on a 1981 note?

4. What is the retaining ring die within which the coin dies operate?

5. Who designed the first 2-cent piece?

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SCHENEVUS _ A member of a Schenevus social club may be turning 100 on Friday, but she remains young at heart.