Precious Metal & Rare Coin Market News

Every school child in America grew up learning about Sacagawea. She, of course, was a legendary Native American (Lemhi Shoshone) woman who helped Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their exploratory expedition from North Dakota across the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean and back in 1805-1806. Sacagawea was born in 1788 or 1789 around the Salmon River region, in current day Idaho. In 1803 or 1804 she was married to French-Canadian fur trader Toussaint ... >> Read More        

In 1965 the US Mint melted 316,076 silver dollar coins that never reached circulation. These coins were the early batches of an initiative intended to coin 45 million silver dollars. The story of “the coins that never were” began with one man in Nevada. Representative Image In 1918, Senator Key Pittman of Nevada championed the Pittman Act. The intention of the Federal law was to convert 350,000,000 standard silver dollars into bullion. To fulfill this ... >> Read More        

Imagine you are an early settler in the New World. How would you transact daily business? The answer is most likely the New York Lion dollar. Long before the U.S. ever coined dollars, the Dutch Lion Daalder, affectionately known by collectors as the "Lion Dollar" reigned king. The New York Lion dollar is America's first silver dollar. This stunning and important coin holds a special place in Colonial history. First minted by the Dutch Republic ... >> Read More        

How do you run a successful business? You make sure that costs don’t exceed revenues. However, in a 2014 biennial report to Congress, the U.S. Mint explained that it takes 8.04 cents to make a nickel and 1.66 cents to make a penny. This imbalance between manufacturing costs and face value is a problem. This challenge is not new. In 1973 the U.S. Mint had the same problem. They decided to explore solutions. The prevailing ... >> Read More        

1913 Liberty Head Nickels are so rare that even the US mint doesn’t know where it came from. They never authorized the piece. Despite this fact, a few of these coveted coins exist. In 2010 one sold for $3.7 million. The question remains, where did this mysterious coin come from? Between 1883 and 1912 the US Mint issued the Liberty Head Nickel. Eventually, the mint decided on a new design, the Indian Head Nickel. They ... >> Read More        

They wrote the Texas Declaration of Independence overnight. The Texas delegates had to work quickly because Fort Alamo in San Antonio was under siege. Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna led a Mexican force numbering in the thousands and surrounded Fort Alamo. Inside the fort, although vastly outnumbered, 200 defenders bravely stood their ground. Led by James Bowie and William Travis and legendary frontiersman Davy Crockett, the Texan soldiers held their ground courageously for ... >> Read More        

You can purchase a Mercury dime for a few dollars. Yet, some of the most coveted key dates and mint marks are worth north of $25,000. Not bad for a dime. Collectors actively pursue this stunning coin for the exceptional design created by Adolph A. Weinman. The metal content is 90% silver and 10% copper. The mints include Philadelphia, Denver and San Francisco. Coin description: Weinman’s design shows the head of a youthful Liberty in ... >> Read More        

In late August of 2005 the US Mint seized ten 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle coins gold coins from a Philadelphia jeweler. Many consider the total value of the coins to be incalculable. They are among the rarest in the world. The jeweler, Joan S. Langbord, immediately started a federal court lawsuit to recover the coins. At the same time, the acting director of the mint declared that Langbord, and her family, obtained the coins “in ... >> Read More        

In 1853, California was in the midst of the Gold Rush. The massive influx of people into California created a demand for money for use in daily commerce. While miners pulled gold nuggets out of rivers and the ground, the raw gold was not effective as a medium of exchange. Californians Needed Coins There simply weren't enough coins for people to conduct their daily business of paying for food, lodging, supplies, clothing or entertainment. People ... >> Read More        

It’s been said that the way to make money during a gold rush is to sell shovels. However, a few clever men decided instead to earn their riches building a mint. In the late 1850s a few lonely gold prospectors discovered 20 troy ounces of gold in the small town of Little Dry Creek. Today the area is a Denver suburb, but back then it was part of the sprawling frontier promising wealth. Stories of ... >> Read More