They are the official DVDs of 2009 U.S. Coin Digest, 7th Edition, $9.95; 2009 Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 36th Edition, $44.95; and Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, Modern Issues, 1961-Present, 14th Edition, $44.95.

Each disc contains the exact pages from the same-named print publication in PDF form. They can be read with Adobe Acrobat Reader, which allows for a full search function and the ability to enlarge images and text 400 percent.

2009 U.S. Coin Digest, 7th Edition features 1,800 color photos and complete listings for U.S. Mint issues, commemoratives, bullion coins, sets and rolls, Colonial and early coinage, Territorial gold and coins of Hawaii, Philippines and Puerto Rico.

2009 Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 36th Edition features 50,000 actual-size illustrations and 1 million updated price listings. All of the information contained in the 2,208-page book is on the DVD.

Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, Modern Issues, 1961-Present, 14th Edition contains 40,000 updated price listings and 12,000 images. Three grades of condition are listed. All of the information in the 1,088 book is on the DVD.

“We have received tremendous response from collectors who like the convenience of having all of the information contained in the books in a small, portable and searchable disk,” said Krause Publications Numismatics Publisher Dean Listle. “It’s easy to access at the office or on the road.”

The DVDs may be ordered at www.fwmagazines.com.

The Scottish coin, a Sword and Sceptre dated 1601, was found at the Colony of Avalon archeological dig on June 10. It went on display at the Colony’s interpretation centre on Friday.

According to a news release, the coin was issued during the reign of King James VI of Scotland two years before he ascended the throne of England as King James I following the death of Queen Elizabeth I.

The coin is about the size of a loonie, weighs about five grams and is made of 22 karat gold. It had a value of six pounds (120 shillings), which represented a lot of money at the time.

“If you do it based on wages, that amount … would be about four months wages for the person who did all the marketing for the King’s household,” archeologist Jim Tuck told CBC Radio.

The coin, discovered on the second day of this season’s digging season, was found on top of a footing that Tuck thinks dates from the very early years of the Colony.

“We were exposing that footing and scraping off the top layer … scraping the dirt and leaves and bottle caps and junk off the top where we had stopped last year and lo and behold, here was this gold coin which I thought first was the inside … the liner for a bottle cap or something like that, but within a few seconds it was pretty obvious that it was real gold and that it was something we had never seen before,” he said.

Even though the coin has a split in it, Tuck said it’s in very good shape, and he wonders how it survived not only 400 years, but how it remained hardly worn between 1601 to 1621 - the time between when the coin was struck and the settlement was established. (more…)

Remaining competitive internationally, leveraging off technology and exploiting opportunities as world metal prices continue to rise will be the objectives of the Royal Canadian Mint, says its president and chief executive officer, Ian Bennett.

The Mint recently announced a record C$30.1 million profit for 2007.

“Our target had been growth, now it is growth and profit,” Bennett said. “We doubled our profit last year, which was a great achievement,” Bennett noted in an exclusive interview with World Coin News.

The mint’s use of its multi-ply plating process for circulating coinage is essential to attracting contracts from foreign governments.

“This allows us to produce coins at much lower cost than other mints, and it is part of our medium term plan, to exploit our competitive advantage as much as we can. Our goals are tough to achieve in this economy and with the rising Canadian dollar, but it’s something that we have to strive to do,” Bennett said.

Part of the RCM strategy is to invest in replacement of all the presses in its Winnipeg production facility with higher speed equipment, and to expand plating capacity. Since 2005 the plant has doubled its plating volume and has licensed its patented technology to leading suppliers, including Jarden Zinc Products Inc. of Greeneville, Tenn. The Canadian Mint is aggressively pursuing other partnerships in its quest for more foreign business.

Read Full Numismaster Article Here

International Year of Planet Earth
The United Nations have declared the year 2008 as the “International Year of Planet Earth”. World-wide activities on the subject of earth sciences will be co-ordinated by UNESCO, the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) and other UN or-ganisations.

What do earth sciences mean to our society? How does the exploration of the earth contribute towards a safer and wealthier world? Geophysicists and scientists will be looking into the answers to these questions during the years 2007 – 2009. In Switzer-land, the Science et Cité Foundation and the Swiss Academy for Natural Sciences are organising BaseCamp09, a road show that will visit six Swiss cities and is in-tended for the general public. The BaseCamp consists of a basic exhibition on envi-ronmental changes and explains the work of the research community. BaseCamp09 visitors will experience the gradual climate change with their own eyes and ears.

The designer of the “International Year of Planet Earth” gold coin is artist Claude Sandoz from Lucerne, who has a wealth of experience in designing coin motifs from past projects for Swissmint. For the Planet Earth, he places mankind in the centre of three globes. The Earth lays at man’s feet and one stands on his head. Man also car-ries it gently in his hands. The gold coin with a face value of 50 Swiss francs is avail-able in “proof coin” minting quality

The proceeds form the sale will go to promote cultural projects throughout Switzer-land, and can be purchased directly from the Swiss Mint

This is the third part of my review of the auction of the Millennia collection of world coins. Please click to read the Overview & Discussion of Famous Pieces (part 1) or here to read about European coins (part 2).

The sale was conducted on May 26, Memorial Day, by the firm of Ira & Larry Goldberg. The collection realized more than $20 million. The coins in the Millennia collection are recognized for their rarity, historical significance, and quality.

British coins, Dutch coins and particularly the coins of the Spanish Empire are tremendously well represented in the Millennia collection largely because these were widely used in international trade or relate to world events in other ways. Though many of the European coins are of high quality and/or are historically important, the Millennia collection will probably be best remembered for its Latin American coins.

I will not list the Latin American coins in the Millennia collection that brought the highest prices nor will I list the rarest. I do mention the three most famous Latin American coins in part 1.

The purpose here it to review a selection of the Latin American coins in ways that are clear to a large number of readers, especially to those who are not collecting Latin American coins. My emphasis here is upon coins that are historically important, pertinent to collecting pursuits, and/or interesting to people who know little, if anything, about Latin American coins.

The coins in the Millennia collection tend to be of very high quality for their respective issues. Collectors should keep in mind, however, that lesser quality coins of the same issues tend to be much less costly, often less than one-tenth as much. Besides, even the poorest of collectors can enjoy reading about and studying coins that are aesthetically pleasing, are of historical significance, and/or are interesting in curious ways. (more…)

The Royal Mint

The four coins have been struck in the traditional sterling silver alloy to Proof quality and the £2 coin, to emulate the bi-colour nature of its circulating counterpart, has been plated with .999 fine gold on its outer ring. A maximum of 3,000 Silver Proof Piedfort Collections have been authorised for 2008. Each collection is beautifully displayed in a luxurious black display case and is accompanied by a full-colour booklet which incorporates an individually numbered Certificate of Authenticity.

Although not Piedforts in a strict sense, thicker than normal coins were produced across Europe during the early modern period, particularly from the mid-sixteenth century to the mid-seventeenth century, as part of the broader practice of striking prestige pieces. At this time the exchange of valuable gifts between rulers and members of their entourage became an established courtly exercise. Within this context coins struck on thick blanks, together with other types of prestige pieces, were prepared on behalf of kings and noblemen primarily for the purposes of presentation and display. From Poland to the Spanish Netherlands, from Sweden to northern Italy, coins of this sort provided rulers with a convenient means of emphasising their wealth and power. (more…)

This is the second part of my review of the auction of the Millennia collection of world coins. Click here to read Part 1.

The sale was conducted on May 26, Memorial Day, by the firm of Ira & Larry Goldberg. The coins in the Millennia collection span more than two thousand years of history, and many coin-producing societies are represented. The coins in the Millennia collection are recognized for their rarity, historical significance, and quality. A majority of the coins are Crowns, which are large, round silver coins that were standards of commerce.

At the auction, coins minted before 1300 AD, including but not limited to ancients, seemed to be of interest to a very specialized group of bidders. Coins minted afterwards captured the interest of a large number of floor bidders, even those who know little about them.

I observed that collectors and dealers of U.S. coins were attracted to many of the high quality European and Latin American coins. More so than at any other sale that I have attended, coin buyers seemed happy to venture out of their usual coin domains and bid on coins that grabbed their attention.

Andy Lustig bought a Brazilian 1810 silver coin, lot #972, for his personal collection, even though he does not collect Brazilian coins and has no intention of doing so. This coin is now “the only Brazilian coin” in his collection. Its “very unusual die break” initially got his attention, and he “found this coin to be very intriguing” overall. Lustig felt that he “just had to have it.” Andy paid $7188.

An especially choice 1854 large gold Bolivian coin captured the attention of Dr. Robert Hesselgesser as he was browsing auction lots. It is NGC graded MS-63 and is certainly at least a mid range 63. It is very sharply struck. Further, it has reflective surfaces and a cool look overall. Hesselgesser does not, and is not planning to, collect Latin American gold coins; he admits that he “just could not resist” buying it.

At the sale, I did not notice any Russians venturing far from their coin domains. Indeed, they seemed very focused on Russian coins. (more…)

On May 26, Memorial Day, the firm of Ira & Larry Goldberg sold the “Millennia Collection” of world coins from ancient times to the 20th Century including coins from a large number of nations and all continents. This one collection realized over $20 million, astonishing !

Even people who do not know anything about coins could easily appreciate a Spanish gold coin, minted in Segovia around 1500, that depicts Ferdinand & Isabella. Indeed, a newcomer to coins will see that it has almost zero scratches and contact marks, that it is highly detailed, and that it has attractive subdued luster. It is not necessary to know its grade in order to be stunned by its incredible condition. A grading expert would know that it is a special uncirculated coin and would probably conclude that it merits its certified grade of MS-63, which is an amazingly high grade for a coin minted circa 1500.

Jim Elmen, a long-time, world recognized expert in European coins, estimates that “less than fifty” such King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella gold coins of this issue are known. He adds, “it is an excellent coin” overall. It sold for $48,300 at the auction, a high price for a gold coin from Spain, but perhaps a reasonable price for an important piece of history. Ferdinand & Isabella significantly changed the course of world events. They unified Spain, defeated foreign forces, terribly expelled groups of innocent people from their societies, and are best known for sponsoring the voyages of Christopher Columbus. In many ways, the Millennia collection relates to important events and trends in world history.

While the Millennia collection will be forever remembered for its breadth, and for showcasing historically important coins, its primary characteristic is quality. A substantial number of Millennia collection coins are in the condition rankings for their respective dates and, more importantly, for entire types!

On May 26, ancient coins, mostly Roman, and Anglo-Saxon pennies were auctioned from around 10:00 AM until the early afternoon. Next, European coins were auctioned for the remainder of the afternoon and in the early evening. At night, coins from the rest of the World were sold. In the category of Latin American Crowns, the Millennia collection may be the all-time best to be publicly auctioned. This collection also includes a substantial range of large gold coins, especially of Great Britain and Latin America (more…)

Leading the list of rarities in this sale is the 1867 Shanghai Tael pattern stuck at the Hong Kong Mint (Kann 911a), from the Wayte Raymond Collection, certified Proof-64 by PCGS and NGC, and estimated to bring US $100,000 or more (all prices in this review are in U.S. dollars). Though inscribed with both Shanghai and Hong Kong, this coin was not intended for circulation in either place, but was to be a national coinage for use throughout China. Hong Kong in this case was simply a mintmark, and Shanghai indicated that it was struck to the standard of the Shanghai tael.

Another major rarity, certified by NGC as Specimen-64, is the 1903 Hupoo Tael (Kann 927). The dies for this coin, which features a unique type of dragon, were engraved in Japan, most likely at the Osaka Mint, but the coin itself was struck in Tientsin. This beautiful coin is expected to sell for $70.000. Estimated at the same level, is a 1907 Peiyang Tael (Kann 938a), which previously appeared in the 1991 sale of the Goodman Collection. Struck at the Tientsin Mint using the same Japanese style dragon as on the Hupoo coin, this piece is rated MS-62 by NGC.

From Kiangnan (the Nanking Mint) there is an undated Dragon Dollar struck in 1897, similar to Kann 66, but with a plain edge and struck in copper. Kann does not list this coin with a plain edge, though such exists in silver, and he does not list any copper strikings of the 1897 dollars. The plain edge 1897 dollars are listed in both silver and copper in H. Chang’s 1981 catalog, “Silver Dollars and Taels of China.” This copper pattern dollar is expected to bring $50,000. (more…)

New Zealand Post, which issued the commemorative coins, said part of the proceeds of their sale would go to the Himalayan Trust that Hillary established for the Sherpa people of Nepal.

One of New Zealand’s best loved national heroes, Sir Edmund Hillary’s life was filled with many great achievements that earned him worldwide fame.

The first man to conquer Mount Everest in 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary went on to devote much of his life to improving those of others, especially the people of his beloved Nepal.

Following his passing in January 2008, and with the exclusive support of Sir Edmund Hillary’s family, this very special New Zealand coin release pays tribute to this extraordinary but humble man who will be remembered for ever. (more…)