by Louis Golino for CoinWeek ………

In May or June the U.S. Mint (www.usmint.gov) will begin taking orders for a special two-coin West Point American silver eagle set that will mark the 75th anniversary of the Mint’s facility at West Point.

The set will include two coins that will only be sold in the special set. One will be a reverse proof silver eagle, and this will be the fourth time that finish has been used. The fields are frosted and the devices are mirrored instead of the other way around as is the case with proof coins.

The second coin will be what the Mint refers to as an enhanced uncirculated silver eagle, and this will be the first time such a coin is issued and the fifth type of finish used on a silver eagle. The others are uncirculated as used on the bullion coins, proof, reverse proof, and burnished uncirculated. The Mint has not yet decided whether the new finish will be used on future silver eagle coins.

The enhanced uncirculated coin will include three different types of finishes for the fields and devices of the coin, including heavy frost, light frost, and brilliant polish, which will be combined to give the coins a unique look.

On the coin’s obverse the mountains, the stripes on the flag that would be red, if it were in color, the flag’s blue field, the year, and the sandals of Liberty will all have a brilliant polish field. The other design elements of the obverse and the coin’s lettering will be done with the heavy frosted finish, and the remaining fields will have the light frosted finish.

As for the reverse, the ribbon, arrows, and olive branch will use the brilliant polished finish, and similar to the obverse, the remaining design elements will have a heavy frosted finish, and the empty fields will be lightly frosted.

In order to put all these different finishes on the same coin, the Mint auto-polishes the coin dies using a horsehair brush for the uncirculated finish, and then it uses a laser for the heavy and light frosting.

In addition, the dies are given a physical vapor deposition coating to increase the life-span of the die. And the coins are struck three times on special burnished planchets.

Because the coin appears to be closer in appearance to a reverse proof than an uncirculated or burnished uncirculated coin, some people have questioned why the coin is classified as an uncirculated, rather than proof coin by the Mint.

Like a proof coin it has been struck multiple times, but according to the Mint that is not what distinguishes a proof from an uncirculated coin, especially since most of the proof and uncirculated coins the Mint makes for collectors are struck multiple times using specially-prepared dies.

According to a statement from the Mint, these are the unique features that make the coin enhanced uncirculated rather than proof rather than the number of times the coin has been struck: “The horsehair brush automated process creates a reflective surface of artwork elements, but cannot achieve a smoothness of the felt pad. The felt pad cannot polish relief and is generally used to polish the field of a proof die, resulting in a mirror like finish. The auto polishing with a horsehair brush results in a brilliant uncirculated finish. The dies then go through a laser frosting process to achieve a heavy laser frost or a light laser frost in areas as described above.

According to some comments from the Mint’s spokesman Michael White that appear in the April 8 issue of Coin World (www.coinworld.com), this is not the first time the Mint has used more than one finish on the same coin. He mentioned the examples of the 2012 September 11 medals and the 2012 Hawaii Volcanoes five-ounce silver America the Beautiful coin, which both use multiple finishes.

The enhanced uncirculated silver eagle was first reported by James Bucki, who writes about coins for About.com (http://coins.about.com). During a visit to the West Point Mint he saw the coins being struck, and wrote about them for his column and posted the first images of the coin. Mr. Bucki wrote that in his view the coins are really proofs rather than uncirculated coins, based on the ANA’s official definition of proof coins (http://coins.about.com/b/2013/03/19/is-enhanced-american-silver-eagle-uncirculated-or-proof.htm)

Since then other numismatic publications have picked up on the story, the Mint has released some statements and images of the coin (including the ones that appear here), and there has been quite a lot of discussion about the new finish in coin forums.

I would need to see the coins in person to be able to properly evaluate the new finish, but my initial impression is positive, and these coins are already generating a lot of excitement among silver eagle collectors.

Because the reverse proof finish has been used already three times prior to the release of the new sets, many collectors felt that the reverse proof approach was in danger of being overused and were eager for something different.

The enhanced uncirculated silver eagle appears to satisfy that desire for a coin that retains the same design, but presents it in a new and innovative way. As long as the new finish is not overused, it should be successful.

The inclusion of a new type of silver eagle could end up driving sales of the West Point sets higher than those of the San Francisco silver eagle sets released last year, as collectors will be eager to see the new finish. The San Francisco sets currently rank second lowest in mintage of the anniversary silver eagle sets after those issued in 2011 for the 20th anniversary.

At this time the Mint could not confirm whether the new sets will be released in the same way last year’s sets were, and whether they will be minted to demand. Last year buyers had one month to place their orders, and were able to buy as many as they wanted during that period.

With the 30th anniversary of the silver eagle approaching in 2016, a lot of collectors have expressed interest in a new design for the coin, either to be used only on the 2016 anniversary set, or to be used from that date forward. That is something the Mint should give serious consideration.

The silver eagle has already surpassed every other American silver dollar in terms of the number of years it has been minted with the exception of the Seated Liberty dollar.

Louis Golino is a coin collector and numismatic writer, whose articles on coins have appeared in Coin World, Numismatic News, and a number of different coin web sites. His column for CoinWeek, “The Coin Analyst,” covers U.S. and world coins and precious metals. He collects U.S. and European coins and is a member of the ANA, PCGS, NGC, and CAC. He has also worked for the U.S. Library of Congress and has been a syndicated columnist and news analyst on international affairs for a wide variety of newspapers and web sites.

by Al Doyle for CoinWeek ……

The Liberty Dollar – a one-ounce silver medallion that attracted the attention and wrath of the federal government and resulted in a pending prison sentence for its creator – is back in a revised form.

Although the New Liberty Dollar retains the main design elements of a Liberty head on the obverse and a torch on the reverse, the legends and other features have been changed to avoid some of the points of contention made by the federal government in its 2009 case against Bernard von NotHaus.

The original Liberty Dollar had a “face value” of $20, which was displayed numerically and spelled out on the reverse. As for the updated version, it may be the first silver round with an MSRP (manufacturer’s suggested retail price). In this instance, the sum is $50, and it’s noted numerically and spelled out as “FIFTY NEW DOLLARS” on the bottom quarter of the reverse.

Just to be absolutely certain that no one confuses a New Liberty Dollar with anything coined by the federal government, the phrase PRIVATE INFLATION PROOF CURRENCY appears on the reverse. The date has moved from the reverse to the obverse where it replaces “USA”. The phrase TRUST IN GOD has been changed to RIGHT TO CONTRACT.

All the modifications were made after thorough study of the transcripts of the von NotHaus case and consultation with attorneys, according to New Liberty Dollar issuer Joseph VaughnPerling.

“I took off anything that might have been questioned or associated with U.S. coins such as GOD WE TRUST, which sounds much like IN GOD WE TRUST,” he said. “Even though I’d like to put Made in America on the New Liberty Dollar, I took off anything that was unique to the United States.”

VaughnPerling’s caution is understandable when the von NotHaus trial and conviction (he has awaited sentencing since 2011) is examined. Among the multiple charges made by the government was counterfeiting, which is somewhat illogical given that the defendant was producing silver rounds when circulating coinage has been a base metal product for nearly 50 years. U.S. district attorney Anna M. Tompkins went so far as to accuse von NotHaus of practicing “a unique form of domestic terrorism.”

“I have been buying silver for a long time, including the original Liberty Dollar, ” VaughnPerling said. “The federal case got me interested in doing this. The NORFED (von NotHaus founded the National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve and Internal Revenue Code) case struck me as an absolute parody of justice. It’s a fraud case without any victims. The item in question was worth more than people paid.”

It might take some searching to find a New Liberty Dollar today, as the product is still in the early or test marketing stages. Some bullion dealers and other distributors have them in stock, but the firm (check the web site at www.newlibertydollar.com) isn’t selling directly to the public yet.

Once that happens, it will take more than hitting the send button and transmitting payment to obtain the proof-like medals. These one-ouncers will be sold only to “qualified buyers” who have read and signed off on the disclosure forms that declare the New Liberty Dollar is not a U.S. coin or designed to be similar to a government-issued monetary item.

“Buyers sign a contract after reading a disclaimer,” VaughnPerling said. “They have to have knowledge of what they’re buying.” As with any other silver product, sellers are free to set any price they choose. Dealers may obtain New Liberty Dollars in 10,000-piece lots for $1.40/ounce above spot.

Silver investors shouldn’t consider the stated MSRP to have anything to do with the face value found on a legal tender coin.

“It’s not a value, it’s a price,” VaughnPerling insists. “There were a lot of false assumptions about the NORFED case in the popular press, but there have never been any U.S. silver coins with a $50 face value. Nobody has ever seen one. It can’t be a counterfeit.”

Earlier versions of the Liberty Dollar are banned from eBay, and the medallions are popular with collectors and libertarian-minded types. A run of Ron Paul medallions are especially sought after, as pieces bearing the portrait of the freedom-minded former congressman sell for sums far in excess of the original purchase price.

“People give me lots of ideas for different designs, but I don’t think I’ll ever come out with a Ron Paul anything,” VaughnPerling said. “My personal feelings don’t come out in this project. I have been very careful to have no political message at all. I don’t have any of the political goals that were inherent in the NORFED organization.”

By Jeff Starck-Coin World Staff | 03-16-13
Article first published in March 25, 2013, World Coins section of Coin World

The Mint of Poland has released a cylindrical coin with a design on its edge honoring the Roman god Mercury.

By Russell Augustine – AU Capital Management ……….

Amassing a collection of ancient coins can seem like a daunting task: the US mint has existed for little more than two hundred years, but the Classical world spans a colossal twenty-one centuries. Where would a collection begin, let alone end?

That’s where we come in.

You don’t need to own a museum or be a Rockefeller to collect ancient coins. There are indeed thousands of possible collections, but we’ll cover the ones that could be most comfortably completed, including variations based on the overall price tag: some sets have individual coins that could run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, but there are alternate sets and subsets which are equally exciting and historical at more affordable prices.

But even though ancient coins have been collected by such noteworthy historical figures as Thomas Jefferson, Louis XIV, and Augustus Caesar himself, the field is open to all comers. We have observed that the market on these coins is less mature than that of US ones, so coins of smaller mintage and greater intrinsic value are actually far less expensive today than their American counterparts. Additionally, there is such an extensive pool of variations that you could contentedly collect for decades to come and never run out of new sets to complete.

For example, while less well-known than the Twelve Caesars, the Five Good Emperors, who form the dynasty which immediately follows the first twelve, have coins that are truly remarkable in artistry and equally rich in history as the prior dynasties but generally at even more affordable prices today. The world of ancient coins makes available numerous denominations in which to collect, including several incredibly large offerings that would add a unique element to any collection, and the stunning detailing on these hand-struck pieces is even more obvious and easier to appreciate.

There is a vast array of collections and sub-collections to choose from, with appreciation for the rarity and quality of the coins weighing in the same as in an American collection. But we’ve done the heavy lifting for you by determining the potential nature of sets in addition to considering the current market value to keep your wallet and your conscience at ease, so all you have to do is decide which period of ancient history you want to be a part of.

Choosing Quality Examples

Before diving into the suggestions on different collections, here are a few thoughts to keep in mind as you build your collection. As with US coins, we suggest looking for the best example in a particular grade. There is no set ratio for how much more an “Extremely Fine” example costs versus a “Very Fine” coin, but in general, the prices increase significantly as the grade increases. In some cases, low-grade examples of a coin may sell for a few hundred dollars and the finest known of the same type would realize a thousand times as much at auction.

As with anything, supply and demand drive the prices of ancient coins. One of the most famous ancient coins, the Ides of March denarius, commemorating Brutus’ assassination of Julius Caesar, frequently sells for $100,000 or more. There are less than 100 examples of this coin available and thousands of collectors who want one, so they command strong prices. However, just because a coin is 2,000 years old does not mean it must be expensive. There are many coins of stunning beauty from all areas of ancient history which can be owned in a problem-free condition with great detail for well under $1,000. We will look to describe the full range of coins, from common coins to ultra-rarities, to allow you to be aware of what is available for you to collect today or to aspire to acquire in the future.

The grade and level of preservation of an ancient coin is viewed similarly to US coins but with a few added metrics. As these coins have had to weather the sands of time for millennia, they can come with problems not often seen on US coins. Mineral deposits, low metal quality, and various forms of corrosion occur frequently on ancient coins and we suggest looking for coins that are as problem-free as possible. The Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) which grades US coins has also recently begun grading ancient coins, encapsulating them in plastic slabs and assessing their detail, strike, and surface quality. While many ancient collectors want to feel their coins and avoid “slabbing” coins which have otherwise existed unharmed for thousands of years, it may be helpful to start collecting with the added level of security brought by an NGC slab. Many problems which adversely affect the grade of a coin are difficult to detect, especially when buying online through pictures. Ancient coins frequently had their edges filed or otherwise damaged and these problems, which impact the price of a coin dramatically, are almost impossible to find unless examining the coin in-hand. NGC’s experts personally examine each coin and look for problems such as edge bumps, graffiti, metal instabilities, and damage, noting them on the front of the holder. Even so, we strongly recommend working only with trusted dealers, and the mantra of “buy the coin, not the holder” applies to both US and ancient coins.

Unlike US coins where style is consistent across most issues, ancient coins have a wide variety of obverse and reverse types, with some emperors having literally thousands of coins with distinct designs to collect. Coins were engraved by some of the leading artists of antiquity and their finest works command a premium over less artistic examples. Additionally, as these coins were struck by hand instead of using closely regulated machines, the accuracy and centering of the strike and the details imprinted on a coin affect the price and value. It is best to look for a well centered coin where all of the intended details are visible.

In ancient coins, rarity is a difficult attribute to ascertain. Despite being hand-struck, ancient coins were often produced in remarkable volumes and there are a sizable number that still survive today in all denominations. Hoards of coins are found from time to time which adjust the overall known populations, so rarity is generally not completely firm. That being said, there are definitely issues which are historically known to be common, and others of which there were very few examples minted. We suggest avoiding purchasing a coin only because it is labeled as rare, and rather take into account the other factors we’ve outlined which tend to affect price and long term value to a larger extent.

There is a lot to take into consideration when choosing an ancient coin and we suggest looking at as many coins as possible and working with a trusted dealer to help grow your collection and fill it with quality examples.

Eras of Antiquity

Coinage started in about 700BC when Lydian electrum, an alloy of silver and gold, was mined and minted into ingots stamped with its purity level. These early coins come in a variety of denominations, with some weighing only a fraction of one gram up to sixteen grams or more. The reverse of Lydian electrum was punched with an incuse square, pushing down fairly deeply into the coin to prove that it wasn’t just a plated, less valuable metal. The obverse identified the region from which a coin originated and so began the practice of promoting the skill and artistry of the kingdom issuing the currency.

In choosing what to collect, it may help to identify historic areas of interest. In numismatics, the ancient world is often described as ranging from around 700BC to 1453AD when Constantinople fell to the Turks.

The two primary cultures of the ancient world were Greece and Rome, with Greece’s coinage predating that of Rome’s by a few hundred years. The artistic styles of each are very different, as are the variations of collections one can start. Some collectors choose to focus on one or the other, but it can be very enjoyable to focus on a wider range across multiple areas of history.

Because of their relatively contemporary existence, Greece and Rome share several historical and mythological figures, allowing a collection to span both cultures while remaining focused on a single overarching theme. Conversely, many collectors prefer a more specific focus, narrowing down to a single emperor, dynasty, or design. We will attempt to give you as many options as possible in building your collection so that you can decide where you would like to start your journey into the ancient world.

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece is generally broken up into three primary eras: Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic. There is some overlap between these periods but each has distinct attributes. The Archaic period marked the beginning of coinage itself, starting with the Lydian electrum staters and moving into distinct gold and silver coinage. The designs can sometimes appear crude and unskilled, but this is due primarily to the relative youth of the concept of coinage. Maturing alongside Greek art in general, the Classical period brought some of the most beautiful designs of ancient coins as engravers sought to demonstrate their skill at a great scale. The Hellenistic period started with the conquests of Alexander the Great and ended as Rome began to take over as the next superpower of the ancient world.

Ancient Rome

Greek artistry is often said to have brought the most visually compelling and beautiful works into existence. However, collecting Greek coins can often prove more difficult than that of Rome. This can likely be attributed to the language differences and shorter history from which to build a collection, exemplified by the fewer remaining ties to today’s world. Roman coins use Latin characters and therefore can be read more easily by English speakers, and the history of the Roman Empire is well documented, wide reaching, and exciting, with a large number of individual rulers and a wide variety of styles, rather than the more symbolic representations used often by the Greeks.

Rome also had three distinct eras: the Republic, the Imperators, and the Empire. The earliest Roman coinage was heavy cast bronze ingots called Aes used as means of exchange, weighed in each transaction, with no marks of purity or denomination on the metal itself. As the volume of trading increased, a new system was needed to improve the efficiency and reduce the overhead of trading. The silver denarius was introduced as a compact means of commerce. There are thousands of types of denarii and it remained one of the most important denominations of coins throughout the span of the Empire. It is during the Roman Republic where Rome had its greatest period of growth, conquering a staggering amount of land to form what would soon become the greatest empire the world had ever seen.

The Imperatorial period, while brief, marked the transition into the Roman Empire and its leaders remain some of the best known today. Julius Caesar, Brutus, Mark Antony, and Octavian were some of the key figures of this era, making great strides in establishing a new government and format which would result in the unrivaled longevity of the Empire.

The Roman Empire is generally noted as beginning when Octavian defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the battle of Actium and lasting until Constantine the Great moved the capital of Rome to Constantinople. In the transition to the Roman Empire, Octavian was renamed to Augustus and solidified the trend of obverse portraits which continues throughout most of the rest of Roman coinage. While the “Twelve Caesars” are arguably the most well-known, there are many dynasties and collections which can be made within the overall Empire and a vast range of designs and types to collect as each Emperor issued hundreds of individual designs during their reign. Because of the tumultuous state of imperial rule, many emperors served very short terms and therefore their coinage is scarcer than their longer tenured counterparts.

Byzantine Empire

After the movement of Rome to Constantinople, the Roman Empire became the Byzantine Empire, where it lasted from 498 AD to 1453 AD. There is an extensive body of coinage to draw from in various collections within the Byzantine Empire and because the contemporary value of coins was debased over time, resulting in a more extensive mintage in precious metals, owning a piece of Byzantine gold is considerably more affordable than an earlier one from Rome.

Other Cultures

There are many other non-Classical cultures which produced exciting coinage. These include the Chinese, Islamic, Parthian, and Barbarians, among others. These are generally not as well documented or explored and could provide opportunities for enterprising numismatists interested in less familiar areas of antiquity.

The Collections

Armed with some general historic knowledge about varying cultures, we will now elaborate on each, looking to build out various options for your collecting consideration.

Type Sets

One of the classic problems when collecting coins is being able to build variety and complete a set without becoming inundated with coins you may not enjoy as much. In starting your ancient coin collection, a type set may be the ideal way to learn about what coinage you like best and to give you the flexibility to either pick a diverse range of themes or narrow down your focus to a specific emperor or dynasty. Because of the range of metal types and various times of currency debasement, the size and quality of some coins will vary depending on when they were minted. A “complete” typeset would involve a very large number of denominations, many of which are quite rare and expensive. The flexibility of being able to customize your typeset means you can choose only the major denominations which would have been used frequently, and choose designs which are meaningful to you.

Greek Typesets

Greek coins come in numerous varieties based on denomination, which changed depending upon the mint and era during which the coin was minted. Greek coinage originated based on a fixed ratio of weight. One of the first examples of this is the shekel, which weighed as much as 180 grains of barley, and because of its consistency, transactions were able to be measured completely by weight. However, because of the ever-changing values of metals, the final weight fluctuated until a universal standard was created.

One of the most popular coins from Greece was the tetradrachm, minted in silver, weighing between 16 and 17 grams, and between 28 and 31 millimeters in diameter (about the size of a US half dollar but heavier). Tetradrachms come in a very wide range of types and many are very appealing due to their size and intricate designs. Measuring other coins relative to the tetradrachm, the largest Greek coin, the pentekaidekadrachm, weighed more than four tetradrachms, and one would need 192 of the smallest, the hemitartemorion, to make one tetradrachm. Greek sizes are based largely on powers of two, and most fractional sizes are represented, although some are quite rare.

Differing from the drachm, the stater entered as another unit of measure. The largest Greek gold coin is the distater, weighing twice as much as a stater, which became one of the most common denominations of ancient gold coin. Similarly to silver coinage based on the drachm, fractional staters are available as well, down from a hemistater (one half stater) to a twelfth stater.

Bronze coins are also available, ranging from the tetrachalkon to the hemichalkon, with the former being eight times heavier than the latter.

In Sicily, the weight scale was based on “litra”, which started with a base weight of 0.057 grams and ranged up to 100 times as heavy in gold and electrum coinage. Similarly to stater and drachm based coins, fractional and multiple weights are available, down to 1/12^th litra in bronze.

Because of the wide variety of designs and types available, it’s possible to create an extremely diverse collection of Greek coinage by collecting based on finding appealing types based in different denominations. We suggest using some of themes presented later in this article to guide your overall direction but then narrow it down based on what type of coin you prefer.

Roman Typesets

Like the Greeks, Romans minted coins in gold, silver, electrum, bronze, and other less popular metals. Due to the need to raise funds, the weight of each type changed over time, usually becoming considerably lighter later into the empire. There are also some extremely rare denominations which were minted in small quantities, so a complete type set of every denomination ever issued would be difficult to achieve. However, the major types are represented well and can be found at most auctions.

As: The “as” is a Roman bronze coin, produced in fractions as well as multiples, from 1/24^th up to five times its base size. After Augustus’ reformation of all of Rome’s coinage, the as was struck in copper instead of bronze.

Dupondius: The dupondius was created and struck in orichalcum, an alloy of bronze which was worth two asses.

Sestertius: The sestertius was originally minted as a denomination worth 2.5 asses but after the reform of Augustus, was set to four asses, or two dupondi. These coins are impressively large, often weighing around 26 grams and having a diameter of 33 millimeters.

Denarius: The denarius, minted in silver, weighed about four grams for the first several centuries of Rome but like the other types, it was debased over time. As an anti-counterfeiting measure, a serrated version of the denarius was also released where small cuts were minted into the edges of the coins, a predecessor to the reeding we see in today’s coinage. The denarius is generally considered to have been a day’s wage for an average worker.

Antoninianus: Originally issued by Caracalla and valued at two denarii, the antoninianus has a storied past which resulted in a considerable amount of inflation. At its introduction, the silver content was only worth 1.5 denarii, resulting in people hoarding denarii. Because of a shortage of silver, the intrinsic metal value of the antoninianus was debased over time by replacing more and more silver with bronze. These coins are very available today and a typeset can be constructed solely from them, showing their progression over the space of just a few decades and how it represents the inflation which Rome experienced.

Aureus: Often held as the centerpiece to a Roman coin collection, the aureus is a Roman gold coin, worth 25 denarii, minted throughout most of Rome’s history. It started between 7.6 to 8.0 grams but was debased several times throughout its history. Most aurei will be at least 7.1 grams, until 294 AD when Diocletian reduced it to about five grams. These coins are always in demand and highly desirable. Low grade examples are relatively inexpensive but higher grade examples and problem-free coins quickly have a much higher premium associated with them. The aureus was eventually transitioned into the solidus by Constantine I where it lost half of its weight, becoming wider and thinner.

Roman Emperors

The Twelve Caesars mark only the beginning of the long and storied Roman Empire. We treat the first twelve differently due to the research commissioned by Hadrian, the fifteenth Caesar, to create an account of the earlier emperors from primary sources. This has caused the first Twelve Caesars to be grouped together, but they can be separated into sub-groups which can make for a more manageable collection.

Julio-Claudian Dynasty: Marking the beginning of the Roman Empire, this dynasty was composed of the first six rulers: Julius, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. Julius had very few portrait coins issued and they are all very rare, but there are alternate issues which can be used to complete this collection. Augustus, formerly Octavian during the Imperatorial period of Rome, is credited with truly beginning the Roman Empire. Tiberius, the emperor of Rome during the lifetime of Jesus, was deeply conservative and refused to be called a god. He minted a large number of gold and silver coins, the latter of which is referenced in the Bible as a “tribute penny”. Caligula, also known as Gaius, became consumed by his power and was assassinated in AD 41. Of the first six, Caligula is the most expensive and rare, ruling for only four years, but still managing to create a name of infamy for himself. Claudius, the 50-year-old uncle of Caligula, was made emperor by the Praetorian Guard, and he proceeded to conquer most of Britain and rule for thirteen successful years until he was poisoned by his fourth wife. His successor, Nero, one of the most recognizable Emperors, employed philosophers and other counselors to aid in his rule, which began at the age of 17. He was multi-talented, entering in musical and poetry contests throughout the Empire. Against common knowledge, it is now believed that Nero did not actually “fiddle as Rome burned”, but in fact, he personally led the efforts to rebuild it, using a considerable amount of his own wealth to fund the effort.

Year of the Four Emperors: Rome had many tumultuous periods but following Nero’s death in 68AD, Galba, Otho, and Vitellius managed to rule only for a few months, each dying during Rome’s civil war, to be succeeded by Vespasian who managed to rule for ten years. The coinage of these emperors is very rare and due to their short tenure, each of them had relatively little impact on history compared to their contemporaries. Otho is generally the most expensive emperor of the first twelve and can make completing a set in any metal difficult for many collectors, which is why it may make sense to focus on other dynasties that ruled for a more significant amount of time, making more of a mark on history and subsequently issuing more diverse coinage.

Flavian Dynasty: After Vespasian was declared Emperor by his armies in Egypt, some degree of normalcy returned to Rome. Vespasian is remembered as a wise Emperor and worked hard to repair the relationship with the Senate. He was followed by his son Titus, who won the Roman war in Judea and erected the Arch of Titus which still stands today. Domitian was the younger son of Vespasian and successor to Titus, but did not continue the path of reducing tensions between the areas of government and instead oppressed religious groups and forced everyone to refer to him as a god.

Nerva-Trajan Dynasty: Following the Twelve Caesars, the next emperors were known as the “Adoptive Emperors”, as instead of using their bloodline to dictate succession, they adopted the best candidate and trained them for the job of Emperor. Nerva, Trajan, and Hadrian were the start of this movement, each making a positive contribution to Rome and growing its borders considerably. Nerva ruled for only two years but Trajan and Hadrian served for nineteen and twenty-one years, respectively.

Antonines: Aelius, one of Hadrian’s adopted sons, was originally expected to take the throne but he died tragically before he could do so, making his coinage quite scarce. Continuing with the new tradition of adopted emperors, Antoninus Pius, Aelius’ brother, was appointed by Hadrian with the condition that he would then appoint Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus to the throne after himself. During the twenty-three year long reign of Antoninus Pius, Rome avoided its prior history of constant battle, and existed in a period of relative peace. Antoninus Pius pioneered several key ideas that have shaped our world today, including the concepts of being innocent until proven guilty, equality of women, and rights for orphans. Alongside his co-emperor Lucius Verus, Marcus Aurelius, “the Philosopher Emperor”, ruled for nineteen years and continued Antoninus Pius’ work on morality and equality. However, instead of adopting his successor, he chose his son, Commodus, to whom many attribute the initial decline of the Roman Empire, after seeming promising during the initial years of his reign.

There are several additional periods after the Antonines, filled with a rollercoaster of backward and forward progress within the Roman Empire. Each of these can be collected separately or specific emperors can be chosen from them to build a broad, historic collection. These later emperors are generally broken into The Severan Period, The Crisis, Decline, and Recovery of the Empire, the Secessionist Emperors, the Tetrarchy, the Constantines, and the Late Empire.

Themed Sets

Classical numismatics provides a large number of themes which can be incorporated as typesets or as standalone sets. Because of similar historic mythology, there is some overlap between Greek and Roman coinage which can make for a very appealing, wide-reaching set. Here are a few suggestions:

Animals: Antelope to Wolf and almost any in-between. Particularly popular are birds, bulls, dolphins, horses, lions, and the mythical Pegasus. These coins have wide appeal and are immediately recognizable. Most animals are present in all denominations and metals and particularly in Greek coinage, the animals are present on both the obverse and reverse, so one can create a very diverse set.

Large coins: Between the Romans and the Greeks, large coins usually had extremely intricate designs, created with great artistic prowess. There are few feelings more exciting than holding a large Roman sesteterius in your palm, a coin which is often larger than a US half dollar and considerably heavier. Large bronze coins likes the sestertius are available in all price ranges depending on the level of detail. Large Greek coins like the tetradrachm, minted in silver, can be expensive depending on the artistic quality and preservation, but there are many examples which were minted in large quantities and can therefore be purchased by a wider range of collectors. The Greek dekadrachm (in silver) and the octadrachm (in gold) are some of the most expensive coins of antiquity but also offer some of the most visually stunning designs. The dekadrachm has often been referred to as the pinnacle of quality of Greek coinage and is the centerpiece of most major collections.

Military: Neither Greece nor Rome was a peaceful civilization. Therefore, the military was consistently a large facet of everyday life. Their coinage frequently celebrated warfare and the implements used in battle. Arms, armor, depictions of combat, and representations of victory appear with considerable frequency and can provide a visually diverse but consistent theme to a collection.

Muses: In 56BC, the Roman Republic minted a set of nine denarii, each of a different famous muse, from the statues brought to Rome by Fulvius Nobilior from his victories in Aetolia. These statues were placed in the temple of Hercules Musarum, which was built by the mythical ancestor of Q. Ponponius Musa. The muses depicted cover most classical studies: epic, adult, and lyric poetry, rhetoric, tragedy, comedy, dancing, history, and astronomy. With interesting reverse types, these comprise a lesser-known set which is filled with history and modern connections, showing that human creativity and artistic appreciation have remained surprisingly consistent for the last two thousand years.

Monuments: Some of the most historically relevant and interesting coinage of both Greece and Rome depict famous buildings and structures. Many of these monuments are no longer standing today but we can connect back to them through their coinage. Arguably the most famous and sought-after example of this type is of the Flavian Amphitheater, or Colosseum. With it engraved in its former, undamaged glory, we can see what it looked like intact before it was forced to withstand several earthquakes and disasters. More within the reach of the average collector, the Roman emperor Trajan was well-known for his architecture and several of his coins depict his Forum in extraordinary detail. While his Forum is no longer standing today, another of his coins, with a reverse of his Column, shows this architectural masterpiece accurately to how it looks today, which was built to mark the height of the land he and his armies levelled to create his courtyards.

Gods and Olympians: The mythology of Greece and Rome is filled with numerous tales of the great acts of their Gods, and their coinage frequently reflects these. A set of various coins of popular mythological figures can be a great way to convey history’s stories and provide a bridge of fascination to collectors and non-collectors alike. Nearly every god and goddess from Aphrodite to Zeus is paid homage through coins minted by their followers.

Family: Emperors often minted coins of their children and families. Antoninus Pius celebrated his family and had several coins with many of his children shown together on the reverse. During the dynasty of the Adoptive Emperors, coins were minted celebrating the new members of the family, which weren’t related by blood. When lineage was predetermined, coins were often issued before an emperor ascended to the throne, depicting a young emperor-to-be under his father’s name.

History: Alexander the Great conquered a vast amount of the world in the name of Greece. After claiming most of the world’s gold for his own, he began melting and producing a large number of gold coins with Athena on the obverse and Nike on the reverse. These coins, minted around 336BC and most often seen in the denomination of a Greek stater, are visually stunning and truly historic.

Historic women: Roman Emperors often minted coins depicting their wives and these can form a very desirable collection alongside that of the more conventional male portraits. In Ancient Greece, Ptolemaic coinage often depicts the wives of the rulers. Berenike and Arsinoe are pictured on octadrachms and dekadrachms, as well as the rare and heavy dodekadrachm, a coin weighing around 54 grams.

Olympics: With the Olympics being such a significant part of Greek life, it is understandable how often they picture specific Olympic events and games on coinage. Similar games are portrayed on Roman coins as well, transitioning into chariots drawn by horses and battle scenes. Greek tetradrachms, with their large diameters, gave engravers enough space to depict detailed scenes of specific games and celebrate the strength of their people.

Geography: Hadrian famously traveled throughout the empire, unlike many emperors who stayed close to Rome. He minted a series of coins chronicling his travels, ranging from Africa, to Egypt, Spain, and across the Nile. These coins reveal an interesting attribute of our world, in that despite being nearly two thousand years detached, the same places with the same names are still frequently visited by travelers.

Provenance: Many famous collections have been formed over the last several centuries, and coins can often be tracked to these collections, establishing a provenance of previous owners. This adds to the appeal of these coins by highlighting the fact that they were chosen by their previous owners as their examples of a type alongside other world-class coins. As an added benefit, legal ownership of coins is easier to establish, reducing risk of coins having been stolen or acquired from illegal archaeological dig sites. Various hordes have also been uncovered and subsequently sold to the market and coins can often realize a premium because of the added history associated with these finds. One particularly exciting example is the Boscoreale horde, unearthed in 1895 as a part of the excavation of Pompeii. The coins discovered here have very interesting toning patterns due to the fact that they had been buried under the ash and debris from the eruption of Vesuvius over 1800 years prior.

Next Steps

Now with some background on the history of coinage and a variety of options, you should be able to begin or continue your journey into ancient coin collecting. There is a lot to choose from and more written about ancient coins than could ever be read in a lifetime, but armed with a broader view on what is available, we hope that you will be able to make more informed selections and continue finding pieces which excite you for years to come.

Happy hunting!

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Russell A. Augustin – President
AU Capital Management, LLC
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GOLD ticked higher but silver prices stalled Friday morning, as a rise in Asian stock markets failed to carry over into European or pre-opening trade in US equities.

The Euro currency rose sharply through $1.30, knocking the gold price in Euros back below €1220 per ounce, virtually unchanged for the week.

Sterling gold prices slipped to £1050, some 2.3% below Tuesday’s new 4-month high.

For Dollar investors, Friday morning’s London Gold Fix came in at $1593.25 per ounce – more than $6 above yesterday afternoon’s level and the highest AM fixing in more than two weeks.

Silver achieved only a 2-day high at its London Fix on Friday, set at $28.91 per ounce.

“Given what we have seen in Libor [the interbank lending rate], we’d be foolish to assume that other benchmarks aren’t venues that deserve review,” said Bart Chilton of US regulator the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in an email Thursday, clarifying reports that the London Fix is under investigation by US derivatives regulators.

The CFTC has not begun an investigation, but is “discussing internally” whether the global benchmark for valuing and pricing gold – a snapshot taken at 10:30am and 3pm for gold, and at midday for silver – may be open to “manipulation”, along with “energy, swaps…and the whole litany of ‘bors,” as Chilton said in testimony more than 2 weeks ago.

Back in today’s markets, “Gold prices are not being supported by the current confluence of events,” says French investment bank and bullion dealer Natixis in its latest weekly comment.

“[The] stronger Dollar predicated upon fiscal retrenchment suggests further downward pressure upon gold prices, while any move by the Fed to scale back QE3 in response to a pick-up in growth…also represents a downside risk for gold prices.”

Consumer price inflation in the US rose to 2.0% annually in Feb, new data showed today, with gasoline prices rising at the fastest pace since 2009.

“Inflation is still contained, but there’s a fear that it’s starting to rebound,” Bloomberg quotes Hideo Shimomura, chief fund investor for $63 billion in assets at Mitsubishi UFJ in Tokyo.

“Treasury yields at 2.0% show people expect improvement in the economy.”

Money markets are now pricing in 2.6% inflation, the newswire adds, the highest level of inflation expectations since September.

“The American economic revival, diverging monetary policy expectations and the unfinished Euro area crisis…all point in the same direction,” says a note from SocGen analyst Sebastien Galy – “a stronger Dollar.”

“Gold’s fate will largely ride on what direction US equity markets will take,” counters Thursday night’s note from INTL FCStone, saying that “only a sizable correction in US equities will likely prompt funds to get back into gold.”

Noting that silver investment has risen while ETF trust fund holdings in gold fell, “We find this divergence surprising given that silver investment demand tends to be closely linked to sentiment towards gold,” says Anne-Laure Tremblay, precious metals strategist at BNP Paribas.

Trimming her silver price forecast from a 2013 average of more than $34 per ounce to $31.35, “A reversal in trend is likely in the next two months if our forecast for a subdued gold price performance [also] proves correct.”

Adrian Ash

by Louis Golino for CoinWeek ………

Update on U.S. Mint Price Increases

On March 5 the U.S. Mint’s Michael White, who serves in the Mint’s Office of Public Affairs, provided some clarification regarding the issues discussed in my last column , which concerned the recent increase in premiums on gold and platinum numismatic coins at a time of declining precious metal prices.

He noted that non-metal costs at the Mint, such as labor and other costs, have indeed been rising recently, and that they played a role in the price increases. Additional details on which specific costs have risen will be provided later.

In addition, “weaker consumer demand,” as a result of “discretionary budgets being squeezed,” mean the Mint is selling fewer units of its precious metal products.

Perhaps most importantly, Mr. White explained that the Mint “generally reprices coins so that the entire portfolio recovers its cost,” and added that they need “some margin to cushion against volatility” in precious metal prices.

Looking forward, he said that Mint officials hope they can keep price increases to a minimum.

For those readers and collectors who have speculated that the Mint is seeking to model itself or its pricing structure on certain foreign mints that charge very high premiums over melt value, as I discussed last time, Mr. White confirmed that the Mint has no plans to do anything like that.

Besides, its silver numismatic coins are still priced competitively compared to those of most foreign mints. For example, even at $245, which is the expected price of the 2013 uncirculated versions of the five-ounce silver America the Beautiful coins, the U.S. Mint’s prices will be roughly half those of the Perth and Canadian mint’s five ounce silver coins, which generally sell for around $500, although that is sometimes for proof or reverse proof coins that have slightly higher production costs and in the case of Canadian coins, often includes attractive wood display cases.

As far as the impact of the U.S. Mint’s new prices, particularly on gold and platinum coins, on sales levels, it is really too soon to say. In addition, at the moment the only gold coins available are the First Spouse coins, and the only platinum coin is the 2012 American platinum eagle.

The most recent sales report from the Mint, which was released on March 5, mainly reflects increased sales for the spouse coins, as buyers sought to purchase their coins before the implementation of the new, higher prices last Wednesday, February 27. We will have to see what happens in the coming weeks and months before it is clear whether the higher prices are dampening overall sales.

Girl Scouts of the USA silver dollars

Last week the Mint also began taking orders for the Girl Scouts of the USA centennial commemorative silver dollars. Sales for the first week came in at about 11% of the total maximum authorized mintage of 350,000 coins, including 29,331 proof and 12,293 uncirculated coins sold during that period. Those figures are comparable to opening sales for last year’s Infantry silver dollars.

Unless a lot of non-collectors, such as girl scouts and former girl scouts, purchase the coin, sales for the GSUSA coin may run on the low side, though it is too soon to say for sure. That is because coin collecting is still a male-dominated field, even if that is changing, and as I have discussed before, some male modern coin collectors have less than enlightened views on women. They say, for example, that Girl Scouts got their coin already because they were included on the 2010 Boy Scouts centennial silver dollar, a reference to the inclusion of a female Venturer on the coin,
which many collectors continue to view as a politically correct move. I have also read many online comments from collectors who describe the coins as ugly or even repulsive, which is really a beyond-the-pale kind of view that is unfortunately too common. I respect peoples’ right to their own views, but seriously, is “repulsive” a word one would use to describe the coin?

Plus, as I explained last year, the history of the two organizations is deeply intertwined, and besides, if it is appropriate to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts, why not the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts? Is that really political correctness, as many male collectors claim, or rather, is it not an appropriate way to honor the tens of millions of American women and girls who are current or former Girl Scouts?

In addition, as the CEO of the GSUSA, Anna Chavez, explained in my interview with her last year , Girl Scouts are natural collectors, and many of them are interested in numismatics, so they may end up purchasing lots of the coins.

American palladium eagle study

In other news regarding the U.S. Mint, the long-awaited report from Mint on the feasibility of minting American palladium eagles is due to be delivered this week to the Senate Banking Committee and the House Committee on Financial Services.

The coins were authorized with the American Palladium Eagle Bullion Coin Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-303), but in order for the coins to be issued, the Mint has to first demonstrate that there is sufficient demand for the coins. From my own communications with fellow collectors, I have little doubt that the coins will be very popular and will sell well.

The Mint contracted the CPM Group to prepare the feasibility study, which the Mint received last year. After reviewing and analyzing those results, the Mint prepared the final report, which is the one being delivered to the Congress this week. I will try to obtain a copy of the study and will report on its findings.

If the study provides support for issuance of the bullion coin, it has to be minted within twelve months of the issuance of the report. Only a bullion version is required by law. At its discretion the Mint may issue a proof version for collectors. The legislation also has an unusual provision that states that if collector versions are issued, each year’s coin is supposed to have “a materially different finish” from the previous year’s coin. But there are only so many finishes available, so it will be interesting to see how that works out, if the coins are issued for a number of years.

America the Beautiful Five-Ounce Silver Coins delayed

Collectors of these coins have been eagerly awaiting information on the release of the 2013 coins.

Their release had been expected to begin earlier in the year, but they were delayed, and product release dates were removed from the Mint’s web site.

I contacted the Mint and was told that the reason is that the Mint is still in the process of determining mintage levels for both the uncirculated collector versions and the bullion coins.

Last year’s collector versions have been selling out one after another in recent weeks, and at the moment only the Chaco Culture and El Yunque coins remain available for sale, and the latter coin has been backordered, which is generally a sign that the coin is close to selling out.

The Hawaiian Volcanoes coin sold out unexpectedly, and quickly tripled in price to $600 on the secondary market. The other sold-out coins quickly reached the $400 level. Approximately 15,000 of each of the 2012 coins appear to have been minted, which is lower than any previous year’s coins.

Louis Golino is a coin collector and numismatic writer, whose articles on coins have appeared in Coin World, Numismatic News, and a number of different coin web sites. His column for CoinWeek, “The Coin Analyst,” covers U.S. and world coins and precious metals. He collects U.S. and European coins and is a member of the ANA, PCGS, NGC, and CAC. He has also worked for the U.S. Library of Congress and has been a syndicated columnist and news analyst on international affairs for a wide variety of newspapers and web sites.

By Jeff Starck | 03-04-13
Article first published in March 18, 2013, World Coins section of Coin World

Designs for some coins, like the gold €100 piece honoring the Sistine Madonna, will require a new portrait and legend after the new pope is elected. Graphics seen here are the designs as proposed before the resignation was announced.

by Louis Golino for CoinWeek ………

Last year the U.S. Mint saw its numismatic revenue decline by a third as a result of declining sales of gold and platinum coins due to higher underlying precious metal prices and strained collector budgets because of a still-struggling U.S. economy. Silver coins, on the other hand, continued to be profitable for the Mint, and their sales increased.

But rather than try to reverse the trend in gold and platinum coin sales by keeping prices as competitive as possible, which is what most market analysts for any business would suggest, the Mint has raised premiums on all of its precious metal products at a time of declining precious metal prices, virtually ensuring that numismatic revenues decline further unless an enormous amount of very well-heeled buyers comes to the rescue, possibly in hopes of making profits on temporarily low mintage coins.

Earlier this year, as I discussed previously , the Mint announced new, higher prices on some of its silver-based coins, including the 5 ounce America the Beautiful coins, and American silver eagles in proof and uncirculated finishes. Because those increases were announced as silver prices were declining, I asked the Mint about it, and their response, which was included in my article, essentially argued that the Mint needed to retain the ability to adjust prices “to reflect the changing price of silver,” which is a curious argument when silver prices were declining.

To be sure, there are certainly plenty of non-metal costs involved in the production of collector coins such as labor, machinery, etc. If the Mint had pointed to some of those in its response, it would have been easier to understand the rationale for the increases.

As of Feb. 27 the Mint has gone ahead and implemented a new pricing grid for gold and platinum coins that was published in the Federal Register on February 20 , which raises premiums just as gold and platinum prices have been declining markedly in recent weeks.

Some people say they were trying to get ahead of the curve and expect higher metal prices soon, as many experts do, because of the view that precious metal prices have bottomed out, as sellers reached what is known as capitulation.

But that really misses the point, as the whole point of the grid is to establish fixed premiums at different metal price intervals, so the new grid has nothing to do with expectations of higher metal prices down the road.

The one saving grace of the new grid, and this is something I brought to the Mint’s attention in my inquiries, is that now when platinum prices are increased or decreased, it will be in $50 increments, as is used for gold, not $100 increments as was the case previously.

But if one considers, for example, the 2012 American platinum eagle, which contains one ounce of the white metal, the peculiarity of the new pricing mechanism is abundantly clear. Platinum prices recently declined below the $1600 level, hitting $1575 on February 28, but the platinum eagle coin price was raised to $2,000 the day before.

Those are proof coins and clearly some premium over melt value is understandable, but sales of last year’s coin were already running well below those of prior years. And raising the premium to $400 over melt value hardly seems like a recipe for increasing sales.

So one must ask what is the Mint’s strategy here? Since no one outside the Mint knows for sure, it is hard to say, but a number of possibilities come to mind.

The Mint could well be trying to make up for lost revenue by increasing its profit margins on the numismatic coins it sells with higher premiums over melt value. But, first, those margins are already quite healthy, especially for silver coins, and raising them beyond a certain point seems almost certain to force many buyers to stop buying, reduce their purchases, and quite possibly turn to other areas of numismatics where they may find better opportunity.

In fact, Royal Scandinavian Mint owner Ola Borgejordet told me today that the Spanish Mint on Feb. 20 announced it was lowering prices on its gold coins in response to lower gold prices, after having increased them in September.

He also added that one needs to bear in mind the other costs of producing coins such as “tool making, the production and preparation of blanks, etc., which could very well have increased. If the U.S. Mint’s reasoning for the increase is the price of precious metals, then this seems odd.”

Again, since the Mint has not made clear the specific rationale for the substantial new premium increases, it is hard to understand what is going on.

The Mint has many times explained that the price grids for precious metal coins were intended to give the Mint flexibility in pricing these coins, and that such a system was better suited to the pricing of numismatic coins than the system used by bullion dealers for their products, which constantly adjusts as metal prices ebb and flow.

It is important to consider also that last year, as I have discussed several times recently in this column, many new mintage lows were reached across a variety of silver and gold product options such as the American gold eagle uncirculated coin, the individual proof gold eagles, and the 5 ounce silver uncirculated coins, which have been selling out in the past few weeks and garnering substantial premiums in the secondary market.

Many experts predict that higher premiums, even when metal prices are down, are likely to further squeeze collectors who simply cannot afford to keep up with all the series they used to collect. One frequently reads online comments from collectors who say they are paring down their purchases as prices rise, and I am doing this myself.

Some people speculate that the Mint is perhaps adopting the approach of many foreign mints that price their collectible precious metal coins way above the melt value of the coins, with the Royal Mint in the UK probably being the best example of that. The Royal Canadian Mint and Perth Mint in Australia also do that though not quite to the same extent.

The idea behind this seems to be that there is a core of collectors and buyers who will pay almost any price to keep their sets updated, or perhaps to speculate and try to make a profit. And the lower mintages would go hand in hand with that approach, which is what foreign mints do to stir up demand.

But that would go against the stated objectives of the U.S. Mint to make its numismatic coins available to a wide audience at the lowest price possible, while still making a profit that is used to help fund other programs of the Mint and to reduce the deficit. Many people forget that numismatic coins are never produced with taxpayer funds.

Moreover, it is evident that the high price/low mintage approach to selling numismatic coins has its limits. The Perth and Royal Mint have both experienced revenue declines in recent years in their numismatic programs, though the Canadian experience has been different. The RCM in the past couple years has vastly lowered the mintages on many of its coins, while issuing a very strong and innovative line of products at different price points. That is partly true of the other two mints as well, but in my view not quite to the same extent. Examples include the 2012 glow-in-the dark dinosaur coin and some of the Titanic releases from the RCM that were inexpensive and achieved quick sell-outs and high secondary market prices. Meanwhile, a lot of Perth and Royal Mint coins have seen their values decline recently.

Like many collectors I was disappointed by the Mint’s recent actions, and I welcome any clarification Mint officials can provide for their rationale. Eventually, if too few people can afford to keep buying the Mint’s precious metal products, especially the higher-priced items, it will no longer be cost effective to even produce them. If not reversed, such trends could ultimately drive collectors away from modern U.S. coins and accelerate the increased interest among U.S. collectors in modern foreign coins, some of which offer great value at relatively little cost over melt value, like the coins of Mexico.

Louis Golino is a coin collector and numismatic writer, whose articles on coins have appeared in Coin World, Numismatic News, and a number of different coin web sites. His column for CoinWeek, “The Coin Analyst,” covers U.S. and world coins and precious metals. He collects U.S. and European coins and is a member of the ANA, PCGS, NGC, and CAC. He has also worked for the U.S. Library of Congress and has been a syndicated columnist and news analyst on international affairs for a wide variety of newspapers and web sites.

By Doug Winter - RareGoldcoins.com
CoinWeek Content Partner ………

You see a $25,000 coin in a dealer’s inventory and you really want it. The problem is you are short of funds and you are the sort of person who

made a promise to never take on debt to finance his hobby. Do you pass on the coin? 

Maybe you don’t have to. My guess is that if you are a long-time collector you have at least $25,000 worth of coins in your collection that range from” junk” to” stuff” to “I kind of like this but it really doesn’t fit into my collection anymore.” I’d like to suggest that you can obtain that $25,000 coin by trading miscellaneous coins with the dealer in order to achieve your goal. And if you do the trade the right way, the best possible thing happens: a scenario in which both you and the dealer are happy and walk away thinking “I liked that trade and I’d do it again.”

Some dealers don’t like to trade and the advice which I give in this article will be for naught. Others–myself included–like to trade, especially if they have the opportunity to shed some older inventory and bring in some interesting new coins without the effort of going to a show.

A trade is mostly likely going to work if you know the dealer already and the dealer knows you. I have a few clients who, it seems, would almost always rather work out a trade than write me a check for a coin and I am happy to oblige them. They understand the dynamics of trading.

In a nutshell, trades only work if both parties feel they are getting good value. I am less likely to trade a great new coin that I just added to my website than one which has been in stock for a few weeks (or months) . Conversely, collectors want to trade for coins which will improve their collections. They are sophisticated enough to understand that not every great coin owned by a specific dealer sells quickly (that’s a topic which deserves a blog…) and ultimately they want a collection that contains more neat coins and less “stuff.”

The inherent problem with many coin trades is that collectors want one really good coin from a dealer but are not willing to give up anything in return. It’s the numismatic equivalent of a baseball trade in which one team is offering a proven star player while the other team offers either unproven young prospects or overpaid, over-the-hill players on their roster. Some sort of compromise has to be made by both parties for a trade to work.

When someone proposes a trade with me, I immediately have to categorize what is being offered by the other party. Some trades are incredibly easy. I have a $10,000 Dahlonega half eagle in stock and my potential trading partner has two $5,000 Dahlonega half eagles. Those kind of deals are a piece of cake and get done very easily.

But trades are usually more complicated than that.

Let’s look at the categories in which potential trade coins can fall into. I’ll make a few pertinent comments about each.

1. Coins Purchased From Me Recently

In theory, the coins I should want most are the ones which he has recently sold, right? Actually this is often not the case and the reasons why are not often so obvious. Let’s say I had a reasonably memorable coin in stock a few months ago and it comes back in a trade. My worry is that potential customers will recognize it and wonder “hey, there’s that MS63 Charlotte quarter eagle…what’s it doing back in Doug’s stock?” In the case of really obvious coins, this is something that might keep me from getting a trade done.

How do I value coins that I sold within, say, the last year which are being offered back to me in trade? I generally work on a 10-15% margin (sometimes less) so if I sold a coin for $5,000, it is likely that my cost was $4,250-4,500. I’m going to want to take that coin back at my original cost so that when I re-offer I can price it once more at around $5,000.

Some dealers do something disingenuous when it comes to taking coins back in trade. Let’s say they sold a coin for $5,000 and their cost was $4,500. They will offer to take the coin back at $5,000 (which is technically a $500 loss for them) and make this up on the sell side where they will quietly jack-up the price of another coin from $5,000 to $5,500.

The bottom line is if you use a recently purchased coin as part of a trade, you can expect to get around 80-90% of what you paid for it but only if you are trading it back to the dealer from who you purchased it. If the coin is not from me, I don’t feel the obligation to do this.

2. Coins Purchased From Me a Number of Years Ago

What if I get offered a group of coins which I sold back in 2003? The chances are good that the owner is going to be in a profit position but how much of one can become a grey area. Before I get into that, let me tell you how I’d figure them, value-wise.

Typically, if these are “cut and dry” sorts of coins (say like a common date Dahlonega half eagle in PCGS AU55) I’m going to see what the last few auction trades were and offer somewhere in the middle of the range. In other words, if the last three trades were $3,000, $3,300 and $3,600 I am going to figure the coin at around $3,300.

Let’s say I get in a bunch of coins in trade and they are in older holders with a possible chance to upgrade. What do you I then? To me, the ethical thing to do in this situation is to let the collector know that there is possibly some extra value in the coins. I might tell him, “I am going to crack this coin out to regrade it. I’ll figure it in the trade at $3,300 regardless of what happens but if it upgrades, I will pay you more.”

If a dealer sells nice coins, he should be happy to get back a group which he sold years ago and this would be an ideal scenario for a trade.

3. Coins I Don’t Specialize in But Which I Like

As a dealer who specializes in rare United States gold coins from the 18th and 19th century, these are obviously the sort of coin that would interest me most in a trade. But I wouldn’t rule out coins that I don’t typically deal in. For me to accept non-gold coins in a trade, they have to be either something that I find interesting enough that I would put them on my website (and hope that it sells) or something that I think would sell for a price close to (or over) what I paid for them if I wholesaled them or put them into an auction.

I recently traded a high quality early gold coin for a group of coins which I don’t deal in but found interesting. The main reason I made the trade, however, was because I think the collector who proposed the trade has an excellent eye and he understands value very well. I might not have made the exact same trade if it was proposed by someone who I didn’t respect ability-wise. But this was a guy who impresses me and I was happy with the coins I received.

There is a limit to what I will take in trade. As an example, a few months ago, someone proposed a trade in which I would ship him a very cool Proof gold coin in exchange for what seemed to be some good quality Buffalo Nickels and Lincoln Cents. Even though it seemed like a reasonably fair trade, I passed. I don’t know the Buffalo Nickel and Lincoln Cent markets very well; certainly not well enough to start taking in $5,000 examples in NGC holders. I suggested that he offer these coins to a specialist who would be more interested in them than I would and then use the proceeds to buy my coin.

4. Coins I Don’t Deal in And Don’t Like

Never say never, as the cliche goes, but it is going to be hard me to take in a bunch of off-quality coins that I don’t like and I don’t specialize in order to make a trade. I guess if I had a few complete duds in stock which I hated and I was desperate to get out of them…the good news, for me, is that I infrequently purchase disastrous coins and when I do, I tend to wash my hands of them as quickly and painlessly as possible by throwing them into auction and washing my hands of them.

Ready for a brief aside?

There is a well-known but frequently cash-strapped dealer who is (in)famous for trading coins. He is the worst trader that I have ever seen and I know a few dealers (myself included) who have totally gotten the better of him when we make trades. My strategy was to take the oldest, most expensive retreads in my inventory (always gold coins) and trade them for lower priced, reasonably fresh non-gold coins which he owned. He always botched trades by taking in high priced coins at too high a price (I was always able to steer him towards the coins I owned that were the worst values) and exchanging them for less expensive, far more liquid coins.

5. Bullion

I don’t deal in bullion but I stayed at a Holiday Inn last night and can offer a fair trade price for bullion, knowing that I can lay it off at those numbers or even a small profit. Most dealers are happy to take bullion in trade. I suggest that if you offer bullion, you call a few national dealers and get an idea of what they are paying. I should be allowed to make a small amount on your bullion but I should not be allowed to make 10 or 15%. Don’t undervalue or overvalue your bullion!

6. Modern Crap AKA Your Boxes Full of Junque

This is where most collectors have the greatest amount of unrealized potential trade value in their collections. Let me give you an example.

I have been working with a collector for a few years who is trying to pare down his holdings. He wants to own a small number of really good coins but his business is cash intensive and he doesn’t always have the available funds to buy good items as they become available. I went to his house a few months ago and he had pulled out literally hundreds of proof sets, rolls of silver coins, sets of low grade pieces and miscellaneous “stuff.”

This isn’t the sort of material I typically deal in but I like this guy, we’ve done a lot of business and I had the feeling that his junk was going to add up to a decent chunk of change. By the time I got his coins home, sorted through them, sent the good coins to PCGS and NGC and taken pen to paper, we were up to close to $75,000. That’s a lot of “junk” and that, in turn, bought him a few really good coins which he now has stored in one small box instead of in three huge safety deposit boxes.

As a dealer, this isn’t the sort of deal I like to do. It is very labor intensive and I still have nightmares about washing my hands every three minutes as I sortd through bag after bag of circulated Indian Cents and Mercury Dimes looking for key dates. But I was working on 10% and got the collector to promise that I would be able to trade for his good coins when the time came.

Most times I’m not going to trade, say, a Proof Liberty Head double eagle worth $75,000 for a trunk full of modern crap. But if you are a good client and you do most of the work (i.e, you ship me your stuff neatly packaged and reasonably well-organized) I will consider trading my one great coin for your boatload o’ crap.

I’ve probably made the whole trading process seem more complicated than it really is. If you don’t have two compatible trade partners, you’ll probably never make a deal work.

I’d love to hear your stories about good trades and bad trades. Please comment on them at the end of this article. And if you have coins which you would lke to trade, please feel free to email me at dwn@ont.com