News Archive (2008)

December	November	October
September	August

International News at Coins Market

United States Mint Announces 2009 First Spouse Gold Coin Designs
US Mint

The United States Mint today officially announced the five new designs that will appear on the 2009 First Spouse Gold Coins. The designs pay homage to Anna Harrison, Letitia and Julia Tyler-the first and second wives, respectively, of President John Tyler-Sarah Polk and Margaret Taylor.

A commemorative €2 coin marking the 10th anniversary of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) will be issued in all euro area member states in January 2009

When the American Eagle gold series made its debut in 1986, the concept of four different sizes of bullion coins was identical to what was offered in the Canadian Maple Leaf and South African Krugerrand programs.

The Israel Antiquities Authority reported a thrilling find Sunday — the discovery of 264 ancient gold coins in Jerusalem National Park.

The coins were minted during the early 7th century.

For seven consecutive years, the spot price of gold at year end has been higher than the year before.

Right now it isn't certain if Dec. 31, 2008, will see another year-end high. Through last Friday, gold was up 0.2 percent year to date.

Pobjoy Mint has released on behalf of the Isle of Man a pair of coins to commemorate the coming of the Terracotta Army to the British Museum in London.

The coins, the first from the mint to have a hole in the center, are part of an ongoing History of Man series.

The coin with no date!
Phil Mussell

Check your change everybody - after 25 years (the last instance being with the 1983 New Pence/Two pence reverse) the Royal Mint have let a mule slip through their usually strict quality control!

The 20p coin has been minted with the old obverse and new "jigsaw puzzle" reverse so of course it has no date - at this stage we don't know how many coins got out but it won't be many so start looking!

A small grouping of miscellaneous early U.S. federal and colonial coinage consigned to Stack’s has yielded a heretofore unknown 1722 Wood’s Hibernia Halfpenny die variety. This discovery is only the second such new variety uncovered since the 2007 release of Sydney F. Martin’s landmark reference on the Wood’s Hibernia series entitled The Hibernia Coinage of William Wood (1722-1724). Martin’s research on this series is amazingly extensive, and has opened up a wealth of previously unpublished information to the numismatic community.

With the international financial crisis causing the United States and Great Britain to take actions from each other's playbooks, it might interest American readers to learn that the British Royal Mint might be privatized.

The first grading project of NGC Ancients and a select group of just over one hundred NGC-graded World coins highlighted a Geneva auction conducted by Numismatic Genevensis SA on December 2 and 3, 2008.