History Found in U. S. Coins

                 The United States Mints began offering glimpses into history in 1892 with the first of the older commemorative half dollars.  These were issued sporadically at first, then frequently with multiple issues in many years, except for a brief interruption during World War II.  These commemorative half dollars ended with the final coins being issued in 1954.  In 1982 came the first of the modern commemorative half dollars and dollars, and again many years have multiple coins issued.  Many of these also celebrate events in history.  So, coins celebrating history have been relegated, for the most part, to commemoratives, with the most notable regularly circulating coins falling into this category being the bicentennial coins.

                 Of course it can be argued that having a coin honor a former President is historical, but not in the same sense as the commemoratives.

                 Finally, the state quarters came along, with many depicting historical events.  Indeed, many of these events have national significance.  But these were issued for a short time, then the mints moved on.

                 As for circulating coinage, the Jefferson nickel began depicting significant events involving Thomas Jefferson.  Now, the Lincoln cents are undergoing change, reflecting the life of Abraham Lincoln.  Perhaps the mints have finally moved towards using coinage to celebrate history.

This article is being made available from Black Spaniel Gallery at http://blackspanielgallery.comby the author.  Links to major English speaking mints are available at Black Spaniel Gallery.

Mints Should All Understand their Numismatic Customers. Some Do! We Recommend Australia (both mints discussed) and Canada

                 Some mints understand that numismatic customers are important, and produce a multitude of high quality coins that cater to the collectors’ needs.  This is especially true of the mints in Australia and Canada.

The mints of Australia add to the collectors’ delight by making available different coins.   The oldest mint of Australia, the Perth Mint, concentrates on a multitude of collectable coins.  One can literally spend hours in their online gift shop and still want to reenter it and look at those coins not yet viewed.  To assist our readers, we provide direct links to the Perth Mint’s gift shop.  Shopping is easy, and shipping to the United States is quite reasonable.  We do recommend purchasing several coins at once, which makes the shipping per coin fee even lower.  Monetary conversion is a service of most credit cards, and adds just a small percentage, for us it is about 1%, to the cost.  Their site is United States customer friendly with the price showing in both the Australian dollar and the United States dollar.  The Australian price remains fixed, while the United states dollar value changes with the monetary exchange rate.  It does take a couple of days for an order to be completed, so your final price in United States dollars may not be quite what you see initially, but sometimes it is actually better.

The Perth Mint offers a number of themed coins, and these themes seem to run three years.  This makes collecting an entire set easy, and closes a set so you know it is complete in a reasonable amount of time.  Perth does sell backdated coins provided they are still available.  This makes catching up in a theme you like easier than having to rely on a secondary market.  This year the new Dreaming Series has been launched, and you can find our what is coming over the next two years.  Perth is truly a customer friendly mint.  Click our fast access link and see for yourself!

The Royal Australian Mint offers Australian coins, but not those exclusive to the Perth Mint.  However, they have unique coins to offer.  The shipping is a minimum of about $20 United States dollars at the time this is being written, or thirty Australian dollars, which well exceeds the shipping for one coin by Perth.  A typical coin from Perth is $7 - $8 for shipping and about $2 - $3 for a second coin, and so on.  We recommend a purchase of at least six coins at a time from the Royal Australian Mint.  Their online store only shows Australian prices, so you need to do the conversions.  We do have a link to a monetary conversion site which will give you conversion rates free on our Australian page.  Just click the button on the left when you wish to go there.  One nice feature of the Royal Australian Mint’s offerings is the fact that they have $5 silver coins that have 1 & 1/7 troy ounces of fine silver.  The idea the coin has more than a troy ounce is a plus, especially with today’s metal market.  Another coin that is highly desirable is the silver kangaroo.

The Royal Canadian Mint also understands the value of variety.  The Royal Canadian Mint makes many high quality coins.  Their colorized Maple Leaf, Hologram $20 silver coins, and gem encrusted silver snowflakes are particularly desirable.  Their holograms are offered in themes.  Their multitude of coins available to numismatic collectors merits our strong recommendation.  The one thing we do not understand is why the 2006 Wolf was not continued.

                 We recommend you  peruse all three online stores yourself.  Then you will have the same problem we have, deciding which of these beautiful coins to acquire.

                 There are other mints, but these three seem to provide such a wide range of interesting coins that it is easy to get into their online stores and browse for hours.

This article is being made available from Black Spaniel Gallery at http://blackspanielgallery.comby the author.  Links to major English speaking mints are available at Black Spaniel Gallery.

Buying Coins on Ebay: Finding Bargains while Avoiding Disaster

                 When we first started selling on Ebay, we also bought coins to resell.  In order to make a profit doing this it is necessary to find coins at bargain prices, while avoiding many pitfalls.  Having found a number of such pitfalls, we are offering some insight to assist you with not making those mistakes so many other s make.

This article is a service to the coin collecting community from Blackspanielgallery, in an effort to help collectors make intelligent decisions when buying on Ebay.

How do I figure out the value of a coin?

We cannot recommend the Ebay button “What’s it worth?” because some sellers price high and make no sale, while others sell similar, but  different, coins at a price well out of line with the coin you are interested in.  Some coins have different denominations, and that may or may not appear in the title.  Instead, you really need to invest in a coin book and look prices up, if possible.  Foreign coins may not be so easily looked up, so in the case of foreign coins “watch” several.  The price often changes in the last seconds, so you need to have the watch feature of Ebay active to assure your being able to determine the final price.  And with coins, do add the sale price plus the shipping.  You will find many coin buyers are astute with regards to money, and consider shipping part of the cost.

How can I find a bargain?

While it may not always work that you find a bargain, you can enhance your success rate by doing the following:

Look for new sellers and be willing to give them a chance.  Bidding on their coins is usually lower than on coins from established sellers.

Find coins coming up late at night or very early in the morning.  Bid at the last minute before signing off for the night.  Competition is less then.

Bid on coins coming due on Sunday morning.  Fewer people are bidding on Sunday morning, so if you bid late Saturday or very early Sunday you might just get a bargain.

Bid on coins coming due during a major sporting event.

Look for a flooded market.  Some sellers buy several rolls of the same coin and run them over an hour or two.  This extra supply may reduce the price.  Look for successive, identical coins and bid.

Look for coins in a category fewer people check.  Many people check bullion, but not so many check foreign commemorative coins.  A coin fitting both may sell much lower in the foreign commemorative category.  And a few people run coins as antiques.

Look for “false” low ratings.  Read the rating comments.  If someone takes a week to ship, and that is not an issue with you, ignore those comments and take advantage of the fact others look only at the number.  Some low ratings are undeserved.  Read what happened and figure out if it was a difficult customer or not.  Some negative ratings arise from shipping costs, but if you can see the shipping and determine you still have a bargain, so what?

Bid on Dutch auctions.  These are different, so know the rules, but many people are afraid to bid on them.

What should I avoid?

Look past the rating numbers.

· Certainly, look at the poor ratings closely, or set a limit where you avoid buying.

· Look at the wording on good ratings.  If there are vague comments, or you see something like “technically as described, but not as expected” think about this one carefully.  Too many simple “thanks” comments may be more politeness that true feedback.  Read between the lines.

· Check for “stale” ratings.  One seller had a 100% feedback with hundreds of feedbacks reported.  However, the site looked almost identical to another site with a similar name where the same coins with the same pictures were available.  The second site had a horrible rating.  Upon checking closely we found the 100% site had only six feedbacks in the last year, and those from previous years were equally bad as those on the other site.  The percentage is based only on the latest year’s feedbacks, and sellers with very bad ratings often let their account go dormant until the year passes, while using a different site.

· Watch for counterfeit coins.  We once observed a trade dollar with a date for about a hundred years before the coin came into existence, and this was not a typo, the coin had the wrong date in the picture.  If the coin was not made during a year, do not buy it.  And this one was not a very high grade.  The counterfeiters are making lower grade coins!

· See where and what the seller buys.  It is not illegal to make counterfeit U. S. coins in China, according to Chinese law, and apparently many are being sold.  There was an article in Coin World recently discussing this problem.  What we conclude from the article is the counterfeit coins are being sold on Ebay as weights to hold cards down to a table.  If your seller is buying coin shaped items from China, and you buy coins from that seller, you may indeed fall into a counterfeiter’s trap.

· Watch the shipping cost.  We once found a coin with shipping of $89.99, and the seller had shipping of $8.99 on many other coins.  We asked if this was a typo, and was told no well after the auction ended.

Watch for vague descriptions.  We bought a coin that had the claim “may be uncirculated, I don’t know” that was in such bad shape the “I don’t know” part had to be a lie.  If the wording looks like just enough to avoid getting kicked off of Ebay, it may indicate a problem.

Remember coins sealed by the mint may be uncirculated, but can still be toned.  COAs are important, but can be bought on Ebay.  Original boxes indicating proof coins are also available, and a high grade uncirculated coin can easily be substituted.

Is free shipping always better?

No!  With coins, you should always consider the shipping as part of your cost.  Coins with free shipping may get higher bids.  What you lose is the ability to combine shipping.  Buying multiple coins with shipping discounts from the same seller may be more advantageous than buying a coin with free shipping.  In fact, that word “free” can actually cause the price to rise during bidding.  People like to get something “free” even if it costs more.

While you may not be able to determine if your seller has a legitimate Ebay account, we have observed both Ebay and Paypal accounts available on iOffer.  So, while this article may help, please understand there are other problems that can occur.

This article is being made available from Black Spaniel Gallery at http://blackspanielgallery.comby the author.  Links to major English speaking mints are available at Black Spaniel Gallery.

COLORIZED COINS Choice Collector Items/Undesirable Collector Items

                 The desirability of a colorized coin depends, quite simply, as who colorized it.  If the color is added at the mint that issued the coin, it is considered an official issue and has numismatic value depending on its rarity.  If the colorization was applied by a private mint as a means of raising the price of the coin the collectability is seriously reduced.  A simple perusal of any online auction site shows that the bids for colorized American Eagle coins is low compared to identical coins that were not colorized.  Australian lunar coins bear about the same final price as their uncolorized versions, because while they are colorized by the mint they are produced in such abundance that their value is not enhanced.  Coins colorized by the Royal Canadian Mint, such as Maple Leafs, and produced in reduced number, hence are priced well above their uncolorized counterparts.  In fact, both the Royal Canadian Mint, and the mints of Australia, the Royal Australian Mint and the Perth Mint, produce some highly collected colorized coins.

                 Simply put, avoid coins colorized after production if you are hoping the colorization will add to their value, but do add colorized coins to your collection if they are produced that way by a mint.  Generally, mint produced colorized coins are not general circulation coins, and are usually sold with a case and a Certificate of Authenticity.  Those are very important in having your coins retain their value.

                 Of course, if you want your collection only for your personal enjoyment, collect whatever makes you happy.

This article is being made available from Black Spaniel Gallery at http://blackspanielgallery.comby the author.  Links to major English speaking mints are available at Black Spaniel Gallery.

Perth Mint Exclusive Coins

                The Perth Mint’s gift shop, including the Online gift shop, exclusively releases certain coins.  Since not everyone knows of this wonderful source, these coins often go unpurchased.  This enables collectors to obtain uncirculated coins directly from the mint from past years if availability permits, since those minted are often left at the gift shop and made available.

                 Some of these exclusive coins are quite desirable.  They are usually minted in low, limited quantities, adding to their numismatic value.  Take a few minutes to click on the banner and browse the Perth Mint gift shop.   And to add to these coins’ desirability, many come with a numbered Certificate of Authenticity.

This article is being made available from Black Spaniel Gallery at http://blackspanielgallery.comby the author.  Links to major English speaking mints are available at Black Spaniel Gallery.

How Much Silver or Gold Does that Coin Really Have?

The best way to find out is to check with the mint that produced it.  All mints have specifications on their coins.  Another is to get a book, but finding foreign coin specifications in a book is not always easy.  Finally, check reputable dealers who sell the same coin.  If they have one in stock, or occasionally have one available, they probably keep the specifications posted.

                 Do not rely on sellers who may or may not know what they are selling.  Precious metals are specified in troy ounces, considerably heavier that an equal number of ounces or pounds.  Some people simply weigh their coins, and unknowingly or dishonestly inflate the weight.  Always look for the word “troy” preceding the word ounces or pounds.

                 The purity also matters.  Many coins are sold as silver or gold, but not all have the same purity.  In silver, for example, the old United States silver coins are 90% silver.  Many coins are minted in “sterling” silver, which is 0.925.  Others have strange percentages, often in the mid 80s.  If such a coin is merely weighed, it may well be a 1.2 ounce silver coin, but that does not mean it have 1.2 ounces of silver.  A similar problem exists with gold.  Both silver and gold are too soft to allow minting 100% coins.  The most pure silver coins are called “fine” silver, and are at least 0.999 silver.  A few are 0.9999, but that extra 9 is insignificant.  In gold, look for 24-kt.

                 The easy way to tell, if you do not have time for a search, is to look at the picture.  If it is fine silver, it will so state, or the purity will be stamped right on the coin.  Gold bullion coins are traded for their gold content, and most dealers will gladly release the coin’s karat value, or purity.

This article is being made available from Black Spaniel Gallery at http://blackspanielgallery.comby the author.  Links to major English speaking mints are available at Black Spaniel Gallery.

Casino Strikes

                 Casinos have in recent years released silver coins called casino strikes.  These are becoming more scarce, since most casinos have ceased with the practice.  These are collected by a rather large number of people, and each casino strike has its own value.  Those from closed casinos or from the Nevada area seem to have higher value than those from Iowa, Louisiana a or Mississippi.

                 Casino strikes do carry a mint mark, and several mints have produced them.  They come in $7, $10, $20, $28, $40, $100, and $200 denominations.

A few $5 strikes are in existence, but those are not so widely collected.  The $5 casino strikes usually are brass, perhaps plated with gold, and come in sets of four.  While they are often as beautiful as other strikes, they suffer from the lack of silver content.

The other denominations are often 0.999 fine silver.  However, the lower denominations have a rather large bras ring encircling the smaller silver disk.  The $10 strikes generally have a silver content of no more than just over 0.6 ounce.  They are often advertised as 1-ounce  coins because people do not allow for the brass ring.  The silver content does depend on the denomination, and some of the higher denominations do not have the brass ring, are physically larger, and are highlighted with 24-kt gold.  This gold highlight can really add to the beauty of a $40 casino strike.

A few silver casino “bingo” token exist, and differ from the conventional casino strikes.

One thing to watch out for is that several casinos offer casino strikes that are identical on one side.  It appears at least one mint has made designs and made casino strikes for multiple casinos using the image.  Of course there cannot be a duplication of the side bearing the name of the casino.

The most common casino strikes are the $10 denomination.  The $28 dollar denomination is rarely available.  Occasionally, $40, $7, and $200 denominations appear on Ebay.  Not many casinos used the $20 denomination, but a few do exist.

Collecting these does not mean collecting all that were ever made.  Some people collect those with cars, some horses, and so on.  More so than with coins, theme collecting appears to exist for casino strikes.

This article is being made available from Black Spaniel Gallery at http://blackspanielgallery.comby the author.  Links to major English speaking mints are available at Black Spaniel Gallery.