My Two Cents
My Two Cents’ Worth: The High Seize
by Ed Reiter Something’s rotten in the Kingdom of Spain. Perhaps it’s the stench surrounding the 17 tons of gold and silver coins recently “repatriated” by Spain from the U.S. firm that recovered them from the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. If so, the odor’s coming not from the coins themselves but from the Spanish ...
My Two Cents’ Worth: A Perfect Spring Day
A PERFECT SPRING DAY by Ed Reiter Big things are afoot in the world of coins. In response to complaints from disgruntled consumers, the United States Mint has announced that it is slashing issue prices for proof sets and other collector products as a token of appreciation for its loyal customers. Under the new price ...
My Two Cents’ Worth: Dollar Coins and Common Sense
DOLLAR COINS AND COMMON SENSE by Ed Reiter Looking for logic in Washington, D.C., is like looking for a needle in a haystack. More aptly, it’s like looking for a dollar— a metal one, that is—in pocket change. The Obama Administration recently pulled the plug on the base-metal presidential dollars, announcing that they will no ...
My Two Cents’ Worth: Lousing Up the First Spouse Series
LOUSING UP THE FIRST SPOUSE SERIES by Ed Reiter Chester Alan Arthur was one of this country’s most fascinating presidents. After a middling career as an utterly undistinguished political hack, he was nominated for the vice presidency following a backroom deal in 1880—in the confident expectation that this would consign him to permanent obscurity. Within ...
My Two Cents’ Worth: “Trust” Boosters
“TRUST” BOOSTERS by Ed Reiter Americans can breathe easier as the new year begins. The House of Representatives has passed a non-binding resolution reaffirming “In God We Trust” as the national motto. I hadn’t been aware that the motto was in danger of being displaced. But then, that’s why we send our hard-working congressmen toWashington—to ...
My Two Cents’ Worth: Award to the Wise
AWARD TO THE WISE by Ed Reiter The American Numismatic Association chose wisely and well in selecting Beth Deisher, editor of Coin World, to receive this year’s Farran Zerbe Award, the national coin club’s highest honor. The Zerbe Award recognizes long and dedicated service to numismatics, and Beth meets that standard superbly. To some, though, ...
My Two Cents’ Worth: A Clash of Symbols
A CLASH OF SYMBOLS by Ed Reiter Symbolism. To critics of the U.S. Mint’s uninspired coin designs, it’s an element sorely missing from the nation’s new coinage in recent years. Members of both the federal Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) and the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) have urged the Mint to return to the ...
My Two Cents’ Worth: The Weight-ing Game
THE WEIGHT-ING GAME by Ed Reiter It’s official: The Realm of Coins has a new heavyweight champion—with a seven-figure price tag to back its claim to the title. A 2007 Canadian Maple Leaf containing 220.5 pounds of gold (that’s 100 kilograms to you metric-minded nerds) changed hands (or forklifts) for $4 million at an auction ...
Bad Performance Reviews
MY TWO CENTS’ WORTH: BAD PERFORMANCE REVIEWS By Ed Reiter For years, I have been lamenting the dull, dreary–sometimes deplorable–coin designs emanating from the U.S. Mint. The result has been a huge collective yawn, followed by a murky stream of more insipid “artwork.” Recently, however, my futile cry in the wilderness has been echoed by ...
My 2 Cents: The Missing “Lincs”
Where have all the flowers gone? Better yet, where have all the 2009 Lincoln cents gone? Halfway through the year, the U.S. Mint had produced nearly 1.375 billion of the special cents marking the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth and the 100th anniversary of the Lincoln cent itself. That’s quite a bit less than ...
APMEX chart
Navigation
- In the May Issue …
- Exhibition of Greek Medals
- Men of Invention
- Happy New Year!
- Lecture: Coinage of the American Revolution
- My Two Cents’ Worth: The High Seize
- Amazing Rarities Will Be Featured in Denver
- My Two Cents’ Worth: A Perfect Spring Day
- My Two Cents’ Worth: Dollar Coins and Common Sense
- My Two Cents’ Worth: Lousing Up the First Spouse Series