Precious Metal & Rare Coin Market News

American coinage often follows a strange path. Each piece minted has a unique, twisting history. This characteristic is especially true of the 1858 three-cent silver piece. The coin has origins in the most unlikely place: the post office. In early 1851 congress began discussing reducing the cost of postage from five cents to three cents. Not long after officials proposed a formal bill to support the minting of a silver, three-cent piece. While the decision ... >> Read More        

For centuries people buried and hoarded coins for many reasons. In ancient times, many coin hoards were buried during times of war. Other coin hoards began in the wake of the Great Depression by those who distrusted banks and paper money and preferred to store their life savings at home. People who buried the coins typically planned to come back and retrieve the treasure, yet that wasn't always possible. Even today, there are ancient coin ... >> Read More        

If you look at a US coin you expect to find a phrase like “E Pluribus Unum.” However, if you’re lucky you might find a coin in your collection with a more ordinary phrase like “I take the responsibility.” Who would put a depressing message like this on a coin? The answer has something to do with former President Andrew Jackson, The Panic of 1837, and copper shortages. These unusual coins are called Hard Times ... >> Read More        

What do the world's first Ferris wheel, a quarter that costs 50 cents and Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry have in common? Answer: The 1893 World Columbian Exposition, also known as Chicago's World Fair. It was the site of the world's first Ferris wheel. Originally known as the "Chicago Wheel," the Ferris wheel was invented for Chicago's 1893 World Fair. A structural engineer from Pittsburgh named George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. pitched the idea ... >> Read More        

In the late 1860s and early 1870s trade between the U.S. and China was increasing. However, a threat to this trading emerged from the unlikeliest of places; the Mexican peso. * Many Chinese businesses preferred the peso to U.S. currency because the peso contained more silver than the standard U.S. dollar. This characteristic of business abroad meant that U.S. businesses had to exchange their dollars for pesos which generated costly broker fees. The government’s answer ... >> Read More        

In 1873 the nation took steps to battle an unexpected problem with the money supply in the United States. Officials initiated the Fourth Coinage Act. Prior to the Fourth Coinage Act, citizens were permitted to bring their silver to the mint and have the metal pressed into coins for use as legal tender. This service, which carried a fee, created problems when the intrinsic value of silver fell below the face value of the coin ... >> Read More        

The United States of America was still in its infancy in the early 1790's.  The Founding Fathers signed the Constitution just a few years before in 1787 and many landmark events that shaped the country we are today occurred in the years that followed. Up until this time, American colonists were forced to use European coins for everyday purchases. The Spanish dollar was a popular method of transactions at that time. The nation faced a ... >> Read More        

For more than 60 years, the United States minted the large cent. These coins, about the size of a half dollar, consisted of nearly pure copper. They were heavy, cumbersome and falling out of favor for commerce. By the early 1850s the time had come to issue something more practical, the Flying Eagle cent. Copper prices were soaring and the cost of manufacturing the original large cent became cost prohibitive for the US Mint. Officials ... >> Read More        

Barber dimes were minted from 1892 through 1916 and struck at four different mints. In 1894, however, the San Francisco mint struck only 24 Barber dimes, which have become one of the most sought-after, mysterious and prized rarities in U.S. history. Serious collectors can only dream of owning an 1894-S Barber dime. They rarely surface for sale and when they do the price is out of reach for most. In 2016, an 1894-S Barber dime ... >> Read More        

In 1914, America unveiled its greatest engineering marvel, the Panama Canal. In its first year the canal saw more than 1,000 ships pass through its gates. Today, more than 815,000 vessels cross the passage making it one of the seven wonders of the modern world. Years before completing the canal, the U.S. decided to start raising money for the Panama–Pacific International Exposition, a celebration to commemorate the project. Funding, however, slowed after the upheaval of ... >> Read More