Coins DIG

Think Navy Seals, and you think about Valor, Adventure, Bravery on the Battlefield, and, Commitment to the Country and its People. They are the stuff legends are made of and just about everybody wants a piece of them. There is a whole industry out there catering to the demands of a Navy SEAL crazy public, who want to wear the kind of clothing they supposedly wear on their mission, and are also mad about all kinds of mock combat gear that are a part of Navy SEALs mission specific gear.

The mint has released the design of the disabled veterans silver dollar, which will be offered next year.

The coin, called American Veterans Disabled for Life, was unveiled Aug. 22 by U.S. Mint director Ed Moy at the national convention of the Disabled American Veterans in Denver.

The front of the coin will show the legs and boots of three veterans, one of whom has only one leg and is using crutches, with the inscription "They stood up for us." Also prominent on the obverse is the word "Liberty." The reverse has a forget-me-not at the base of a wreath of oak branches, with the inscription "Take This Moment to Honor Our Disabled Defenders of Freedom."

The coin will be minted at West Point in proof and uncirculated versions in 90 percent silver. Mintage will be limited to 350,000 coins.

Fans of Michael Jackson can soon carry a little bit of the singer with them wherever they go with the release of a commemorative coin collection.

Debuting exclusively on HSN on August 29th, what would of been the singer’s 51st birthday, the coins are set to be a sure fire hit with Jackson fans all over the world.

It has been an uneventful week for precious metals. They traded lower for a few days and have settled in the middle of the recent trading range. Premiums remain constant at recent levels with good continued demand apparent. One thing to watch for in the platinum market is the possibility of a mining strike. Should this happen, I believe we will see a spike in pricing.

In the Walking Liberty half series the early high grade dates remain strong although a few more 1921-P and 1921-D coins were available in low grade. The inevitable correction in low- to mid-grade circulated 1938-Ds continues with the first three grades down. These will probably over correct, but are approaching fair value at current levels.

A lawsuit has been filed against California dealers Steve Contursi and Don Kagin by Michigan hobbyist Bill Swoger over the value of information Swoger says he supplied to them that makes the dealers’ “EB” stamp-on-breast Brasher doubloon more valuable.

The coin owned by the two dealers was purchased by Contursi for $2.99 million at a Florida United Numismatists auction in 2005 and he then arranged for Kagin to take a one-third ownership.

The largest find of Iron Age coins in Great Britain discovered in the past 160 years has been declared treasure trove at a coroner's inquest in Suffolk, England.

One reason people don't always trust bank notes is because the notes may not necessarily be worth the paper they were printed on. Bank notes that have depreciated to the point of being worthless have ended their lives rather ignobly in the past as toilet paper, wallpaper or some other less than dignified way.

The U.S. government improperly seized a set of extremely rare and valuable "double eagle" coins from a Philadelphia jeweler's descendants and must win a forfeiture case to keep them, a judge ruled this week.

Ownership of the 10 gold coins — worth millions of dollars apiece — may be determined by a jury in a weeks-long forfeiture hearing.

The family of the late Israel Switt is suing to recover the double eagles, so named because they had a face value of $20, twice the amount of gold coins known as eagles.

The incredible Quartermaster Collection, containing many of Australia’s most valuable and highest quality gold coins, was sold on 4th of June 2009.

Featuring many of Australia’s rarest coins, the 344 lot auction was conducted by Monetarium (Australia) Pty Ltd. The total prices realized was $10,269,084 Australian Dollars ( or $8.397 Million US ).

The collection was an anthology of Australian gold currency, spanning 1852 to 1931. Tony Richardson, a director of Monetarium Pty Ltd, said, “It’s an extraordinary achievement to have assembled such a comprehensive collection of rare coins. I doubt it will ever be seen again”.