For much of the country, yesterday was “eclipse day.” But at Fort Knox, the big yellow wasn’t being covered up—it was being revealed: for the first time in 40 years, the U.S. Bullion Depository there was opened to civilians. The Washington Examiner reported that yesterday (August 21), at the behest of the treasury secretary, Steve […]
Palladium American Eagle design discussion postponed
Tomorrow, March 15, the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) was scheduled to meet in Washington, D.C., to discuss the designs for several U.S. Mint coin and medal products. Mother Nature had other ideas, however, and slammed the Eastern seaboard with a nasty winter storm that has shut down cities, airlines, and public transportation in D.C. and […]
Whitman Publishing Wants Your Imperfect Coins
The following is a courtesy post from Mint News Blog’s sister site, Coin Update. (Atlanta, Georgia)—Whitman Publishing is looking for sharp, high-resolution photographs or scans of “problem” coins to illustrate in upcoming books. Hobbyists who share their images will be credited in the books’ acknowledgments. “Most of the time we show Mint State pieces with […]
The Composition of the Cent: An Experiment in Extremes
UPDATE: Lot 6170 sold to an anonymous bidder for $70,500, including buyer’s premium. It was recently announced that, in 2016, the U.S. penny cost 1.5 cents to make. Congress has been after the Mint for years to find a cheaper way to make the coin, but the current, copper-plated zinc composition is about as cheap as […]
It’s Not Too Late: There’s Still Time to Sell Coins on Ebay
Still have a few coins you’d like to unload on ebay, but not sure if it makes sense to try it so close to Christmas? A blog post on the site of ebay data-master Terapeak offers a few tips for making a successful online sale during the waning days of a hectic shopping season. Some […]
Coin Update Blog: The New Case for Gold and the Gold Standard
Mint News Blog’s sister site, Coin Update, has posted the following article by Louis Golino. The introduction appears below; click here to read the full article. The New Case for Gold and the Gold Standard If you follow precious metals, you are probably familiar with James Rickards, best-selling author of books such as The Death of Money and Currency Wars, […]
Black Friday and Beyond: Coin Deals as They Happen
Mint News Blog would like to harness the power of social media to help collectors get the best deals available during the holiday shopping season. We’ll start by posting several items here, and will continue to update the post when we find new items. Coins, bullion, supplies—everything remotely numismatic is fair game. Some items will save you […]
Display Options for the 1916 Centennial Gold Coin Trio
You’ve Completed the Centennial Trio—Now What? Those who’ve completed the three-coin set of 1916 Centennial Gold Coins have a dilemma: how are you going to display them? Having shelled out more than $1,500 for the trio, you may have simply put them in the safe or a bank vault, or sent them to a third-party grader. But you […]
November 2015 Circulating Coin Production: Saratoga Totals Released
The U.S. Mint has issued its figures for November circulating coin production, including the first and final mintage totals for Saratoga National Historical Park quarters. Overall production last month came to 1.2 billion coins, down 29% compared to October, which saw over 1.75 billion pieces struck. The chart below details production numbers for the coins, broken […]
2015 American Eagle Silver Bullion Projected Sales Total (Updated)
Production on 2015 American Eagle Silver bullion coins wrapped up last week, and this week’s allocation of 1,130,000 coins will be the final batch released by the Mint to authorized buyers this year. 769,000 of that total was sold today, leaving 361,000 ounces available for the remainder of 2015. At the time of this writing, […]