Tabla de contenidos para February 4, 2025 en Numismatic News

House Bill 2 was introduced in the Kentucky General Assembly on Jan. 10, 2025, marking a significant development for coin dealers and collectors. The bill directly addresses the improper collection of sales and use tax on currency and bullion transactions, protecting dealers and ensuring state agencies’ compliance with existing tax exemptions. Key Provisions of HB 2 If passed, HB 2 will • Safeguard Tax-Exempt Status—Preserve the tax-exempt status of currency and bullion transactions under current Kentucky law. • Allow Refund Claims—Enable those who paid sales or use taxes improperly after August 1, 2024, to seek refunds. • Provide Compensation—Offer additional damages, including up to $1,000 per day for violations, interest, and reimbursement for legal fees. • Ensure Accountability—Hold state agencies and officials personally liable for any improper tax enforcement. The…

■ Can you explain how and when coin collecting morphed into becoming coin investing? There are many things that happened over a long period of time that brought coins into the investment as well as the hobby arena. In my personal view, the most glaring thing that encouraged coins to become an investment in addition to being a hobby was when, during the 1960s, the tabloid coin hobby press began publishing weekly pricing guides. Publishing prices weekly gives the false impression prices change almost as often as prices in the stock market. Readers: You are welcome to share your views on this subject with this column. ■ How do I start a coin club? I’m not sure if there are steps I should follow for success. There isn’t a convenient…

Born on July 16, 1862, near Holly Springs, Miss., Ida B. Wells was the first child of James Madison Wells and Elizabeth “Lizzie” Warrenton. Both were enslaved. Thus, Ida was born enslaved as well. The home in which she and her parents served, the Bolling-Gatewood House, would later become the Ida B. Wells-Barnett Museum. On Jan. 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, announcing “that all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious areas “are, and henceforward shall be free.” Wells’s father, James, became a trustee of Shaw University, now Rust College, in Holly Springs. He was a member of the Loyal League and founded a successful carpentry business in 1867. Wells’s mother became known as a “famous cook.” Both died of yellow fever in 1878, along with…

I organize my collection in Dansco albums and coin tubes. I have about 100 Dansco albums as I collect American coins, both old and new. My extra coins I keep in coin tubes. I, of course, have a list of all of my coins, so a particular coin, when needed, is easy to find. I avoid using cardboard 2x2s, as they are not durable, and they cannot be seen at a glance. Dave Burdis Charleroi, Pa. I organize my collection country-wise. I have coins from more than 300 countries, past and present. They are all placed in different boxes. I have a soft copy of my entire collection, with details like nominal value, year of minting, the complete range of years for which that particular type of coin was minted,…

The inevitable question in the business of collectible coins is always going to be, “How are we doing?” Stack’s Bowers Galleries recently announced the company had a banner year in 2024. The company’s auctions realized $275.6 million, the highest value the company has ever achieved. An interesting sidebar: between February and December, the business sold five coins at more than $1 million each, the only company to sell any coins for at least that value during that time period, according to Stack’s. Bullion and bullion-impacted coins had a stellar year as well. The World Gold Council reported the price of that precious metal increasing 25.5 percent during the year. This included 40 all-time highs, the best of which was $2,777 on October 30. The Silver Institute reported the spot price…

Change is in the air at NumisMaster, and we are thrilled to announce the newest team member, Jeff Starck, who has joined us as a Market Analyst. Jeff is stepping into this role following the retirement of Senior Market Analyst Thomas Michael. Although the Numismatics team will greatly miss Tom, we are excited about the passion and knowledge Jeff brings to the table. Jeff is taking on his new role as a market analyst for NumisMaster, with over thirty years of experience in the coin industry. Holding a formal education in journalism from Webster University, Jeff has built a career that fuses his passion for numismatics with his talent for writing and editing. Some of you may recognize his name from his tenure at Coin World, where he was the…

The United States Trade dollar is a fascinating coin. It was the only U.S. coin produced for international trade. It was the only U.S. coin to be “canceled.” Its cancellation was not due to its failure as a trade coin. In fact, it was a great success in China and throughout the Orient. It was canceled due to its controversial domestic use. Plus, numerous Trade dollars carry Chinese chopmarks upon them. Those chopmarks are why such coins could be considered “hybrid U.S.-Chinese coins” because they entered the Chinese economy after being chopped by shroffs (money changers) and other merchants. China did not have its own coinage system and, therefore, employed international silver coins as its de facto currency. The U.S. Trade dollar was used to pay civil servants and the…

Since ancient times, people have valued gold. It glitters, it has that look and heft to it, and there is enough of it without there ever being a glut of it. But there are other precious metals as well, all of them silver in color. Silver metal also has an ancient history, but one valuable metal that only goes back a couple of centuries is platinum. Several world mints have gotten into the business of pounding out platinum bullion coins, including our own. The folks at the facilities in Philadelphia and West Point have produced quite a run of coins made from Element 78 and, for a decade, managed to do so in four different sizes and denominations. We can argue that the smallest of these, the $10 pieces that…

As 2024 ended and 2025 began, there were few significant changes to 2024-dated coins. The annual proof and silver proof sets were of the most sizable increases, about 4,000 each. However, with the new year comes new coins, most notably the U.S. Marine Corps 250th Anniversary commemorative coins. The commemoratives include a $5 gold coin, a silver dollar, and a clad half dollar. All three are available in Proof or Uncirculated. We’ve also entered the first of the 2025 American Innovation dollars, the first of the year being Arkansas. The reverse design features Raye Montague, the designer of the U.S. Navy’s Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate. It is still early in the year, so there will be much more to look forward to as time progresses and more 2025-dated coins become…

The weekly Show Directory lists all coin and paper money events scheduled within one month of the issue cover date. Show dates and times sometimes change at the last minute. Please contact the show promoter BEFORE traveling long distances. SHOW PROMOTERS: Run your show announcement FREE! Just email the information indicated in the form below to numismatics@aimmedia.com. All timely listings are also included in both Bank Note Reporter and World Coin News at NO CHARGE. *Dependent upon date of submission relevant to deadline and space availability. Want to make your show really STAND OUT? Whether you need dealers on the floor or collectors at the gate, Numismatic News offers the best, most qualified coin and paper money collector and dealer audience around – AND we have the means to reach…

An overview of the series of rare and historically significant medals issued for use in relations with Native Americans in the 17th through 19th centuries was presented by Rex Oberman in the October 1965 issue of Coins magazine. “One of the less known areas of numismatics is represented by the Indian peace medals of early America,” Oberman wrote. “They are known in a variety of sizes and shapes and ascend in value into the thousands of dollars. “As with other numismatic items, some of the best specimens are to be found only in museums. Yet quite a few are still on the open market, many of them in the hands of collectors and some owned by families of the original recipients. “What are the Indian peace medals? The name implies…

Truth be known, there is a small number of professional coin authenticators in this country who are generalists rather than specialists in one coin type or another. Many of them have a stereo microscope within reach. I enjoy the challenge of my job as one of them. No brag, but I believe I can speak for many of them when I say that sometimes it can be very frustrating at the top. Coin authentication is a cat-and-mouse game between the bad actors and their foils. Counterfeits continue to improve, and the best of them often may go undetected for a while, even by the best authenticators. New fakes and new methods of production keep us on our toes. What I find frustrating is that the very deceptive counterfeits appear few…

January 13 to March 24, 1792 While no documents have been located to date explaining the long delay in the House of Representatives considering the mint bill passed by the Senate on Jan. 12, 1792, two pieces from this period may shed light on the subject. They are, respectively, the private pattern silver half dollars issued by Peter Getz and the equally private pattern large cent with “GW Pt” on the reverse. The attribution of the pattern half dollar dies to Getz is based primarily on an 1860 book, The American Numismatic Manual, written by Montroville Wilson Dickeson. Dickeson wrote, “We have been favored with the following facts in the life of Mr. Peter Getz, by J. Franklin Reigart, of Lancaster, Pa. They illustrate the force of native talent and…

There is a great deal to be said about the 1908-S Indian cent. That might be surprising since the coin is not very expensive. Today, a 1908-S Indian cent lists at just $100 in G-4 and rises to $300 in MS-60. That is not a great deal of money for a very historic and not very heavily produced cent. Of course, the Indian cent is not as heavily collected as was once the case. For most of the 1900s, the Indian cent was very popular. During the first half of the century, you could still find them in circulation. In the latter half, they were unlikely in circulation but were still fairly inexpensive, with the exception of a couple of better dates such as the 1877 and the 1909-S. Even…