Precious Metal & Rare Coin Market News

The Mercury dime, struck from 1916 to 1945, gets its unusual name from its depiction of a young Liberty. Her image on the obverse shows her wearing a winged Phrygian cap which gives her a look similar to that of the Roman god Mercury. While the model used as inspiration for the design is unknown, many believe that Elsie Stevens, the wife of American poet Wallace Stevens, served as the basis for the image. The ... >> Read More        

The 1856 Flying Eagle Cent holds a unique place in the annals of American numismatic history. As the first small-sized cent in U.S. coinage, it marked a significant departure from the larger, copper-based coins that came before it. The Flying Eagle Cent was minted for only a short period, from 1856 to 1858, making it a rare and sought-after coin for collectors. This article will explore the design, history, and significance of the 1856 Flying ... >> Read More        

At the start of the Civil War, the United States government halted specie payments – or the mechanism by which citizens could turn in their paper money and redeem it for gold or silver. This led to widespread hoarding of gold and silver coins during the war and these coins disappeared from circulation. In order to alleviate this crisis, Congress authorized the creation of five-cent coins made of a 75% copper-25% nickel blend. Today known ... >> Read More        

Your options for determining the value of your coin or coin collection Ever wondered what your grandfather’s coin is worth? Inherited an interesting old coin collection? New to the numismatic world? Not to worry, coin grading is a process that involves several steps, but it’s fairly straightforward. With a lot of online resources, anyone can do it. And, of course, there’s also an app for that. What Is Coin Grading? First, what is coin grading? ... >> Read More        

Did you see the latest inflation news? The Labor Department just released its revised estimates of the November and December Consumer Price Index (CPI). What's that you may ask? Revised data is kind of like a "do-over" for government economists. Yet, often times these "revisions" don't capture the big splashy headlines or coverage on the evening news like the first release. Yet, it's important to pay attention. Why? "U.S. monthly consumer prices rose in December ... >> Read More        

The National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. is the home to the rarest of the rare coins in the world. The treasured collection houses more than 1.6 million monetary objects in total and is considered the largest collection of money in the world. The coins are sourced from every inhabited continent on the globe and span more than three millennia. Today we highlight five of the most interesting U.S. rare coins ... >> Read More        

Desperate times call for desperate measures. And hard times call for Hard Times Tokens. Hard Times Tokens were copper tokens that were either one cent or half a cent in value. These pieces served as unofficial currency between 1833 and 1843. The coins were privately minted in response to an ongoing shortage of small changes in the US resulting from an economic depression. One major contributing factor to this setting was the decision from President ... >> Read More        

If you are looking to expand your coin collection this year, this list contains some of the most sought-after coins for beginners and advanced numismatists alike. With an eye toward long-term investment value, if you seek to acquire the highest quality rare coin available that fits in your budget, you will never be disappointed. Here is our list of the top five rare coins you should collect. 1. 1909-S V.D.B. Lincoln Cent In 1907, President ... >> Read More        

Thirty two years after the Mayflower landed on Cape Cod with 101 adventurous souls, Bostonians began minting silver coins. At this time the American colonies were, of course, ruled by England. And the colonial governments were run according to the charters granted by England's king. A few of the charters permitted the colonial governments to mint coins, but most did not. Massachusetts Bay was the first English colony to challenge this prohibition when the Massachusetts ... >> Read More        

If you've ever visited the balmy islands of Hawaii, you may have seen a sugar or pineapple plantation during your travels. Just like the "territorial" gold you may be familiar with struck by private minters in California, Oregon, Utah and Colorado, there is a charming subset of territorial coinage known as Hawaiian plantation tokens. From 1860-1891, plantation tokens were struck for use in company stores on some of the well-known and large Hawaiian plantations. All ... >> Read More