The Capped Bust Silver Quarter counts among the rarest coins ever minted in the United States. These silver quarter coins were first minted in 1815 and were the immediate successors of the equally rare draped bust silver quarters which started minting in 1796. These two silver quarter varieties were minted by the then fledgling US government to replace the Spanish two-reales coin circulating in the Americas.
The Capped Bust Silver Quarter carried the same design as the other coins, like the half dollar, minted during that time. Production of these quarters went on until 1838, and these coins together with the draped bust quarter, have been named by numismatists as the “Early Quarters” commanding premium prices among coin collectors.
Other key years to look out for when scouting for the Early Quarters are 1823, 1804 and 1796. Notably from 1804 onwards, the reverse side of the Early Quarters sported a bigger, “heraldic” eagle, suggestive of strength and power that collectors and numismatists appreciate over coins of earlier vintage which had smaller eagle designs.
It is a sound advice that before buying a Capped Bust Silver Quarter or any of the Early Quarters, the buyer must have an assurance that these items have certification of authenticity from reputable numismatist groups or associations like the ANACS, NGC, PCGS and ICG. Another is to deal only with reputable dealers.
A useful website for reference on the capped bust silver quarter can be found in the net. This site carries a legitimate eBay auction listing of Early Quarters and their key dates. Through this listing, a prospective buyer could check the trend of the pricing, and compare various price levels within years, comparative data that are useful to the serious collector or dedicated numismatist.
A few years ago his visits to the mint, founded more than 800 years ago, might have seemed eccentric. No longer. From the Russian Georgy Pobedonosets to the American Eagle, gold coin production is being cranked up in mints around the world to satisfy customers believing the assets may be immune to the global financial crisis.
Russia’s state-controlled Sberbank says it has never seen such strong demand for investment coins. In Australia, the Perth Mint had to suspend new orders for gold coins because it could not keep pace with overseas demand. And, in America, the US Mint says sales of its one-ounce American Eagle gold bullion coins rocketed by more than 400 per cent to 710,000 ounces in 2008. "The demand for gold and silver," said US Mint spokeswoman Carla Coolman, "has been unprecedented."
Austria’s Philharmonic, named after the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, was the world’s best-selling gold coin in the last quarter and sales soared 544 per cent in the first two months of 2009. "There is no sign of demand abating," Austrian Mint’s marketing director Kerry Tattersall said. Sales this year are expected to exceed 2008’s record levels. "At present, production is struggling to keep up with demand."
Hans Dieter Rauch, who sells both collectors’ and investors’ coins in his boutique on Graben, one of Vienna’s most exclusive shopping streets, said revenues rose 300 per cent last year. "It’s the man in the street, not particularly rich people but normal citizens like you and me," said Mr Rauch, 65, monitoring the fluctuating price of gold on a screen in his back room.
Gold hit a record high of $1,030.80 (£700) an ounce in March 2008 and last month rose back above $1,000. Jewellery sales by cash-strapped Americans and Europeans have helped to slow the metal’s rise in recent weeks.
The Czech Republic’s Komercni Banka this month added gold coins and bars to its traditional portfolio of products. Even the Central Bank of Armenia is at it, issuing 10,000 gold coins with a Zodiac signs design. And, in New Zealand, Michael O’Kane, head bullion trader at the mint, said it was averaging a month’s transactions in a day.
Wealthy investors are more likely to invest in bars than coins as the premium for production costs is lower, said Wolfgang Wrzesniok-Rossbach, head of sales at the precious metals group Heraeus. "If you buy a kilo bar you have to pay the surcharge for producing the bar, which is pretty low, only once" he said. "If you buy 30 1oz coins, which would be about equal to a 1kilo bar, you have to pay 30 times that amount."
Coins have the edge for small investors who want flexibility and appreciate their aesthetic allure. Demand is for more than physical products: in the past few years, gold has been sought after for speculative gains, with interest in gold-backed funds in particular soaring. But since the financial crisis accelerated last autumn, interest in coins and bars has increased, with investors seeking security rather than profit.
Other manufacturers are reducing output and jobs, but the Royal Canadian Mint quadrupled capacity to produce its bullion gold and silver Maple Leaf coins in late 2008, and the Austrian Mint is producing in one week what it usually churns out in a month. It has extended its shifts throughout the night and weekend and recruited more workers to cope with the surge in demand. Source: independent.co.uk
You probably remember movies about the Old West, wherein a shady-looking character would offer to exchange a gold coin for a horse, and the seller would bite down on the coin to verify its authenticity. That was about all you could do if you lacked proper assaying equipment and had to make a snap judgment: depend on your teeth to tell you whether the metal in your hand was sufficiently soft to be genuine gold.
The bite test is actually a pretty good one since gold, despite being among the heaviest metals, is also very soft. If you chomp down and shatter a tooth, it ain’t gold. But before you go munching on your coin collection, you might want to ask yourself, why bother?
Well, because of the Internet. While the Net has become an indispensable resource and we’d never want to return to the days when basic research meant a long day in the library, it also has the ability to stir up a hornet’s nest of concern at the drop of a stick.
One such hornet release followed the recent publication of a three-part series by Coin World, dealing with the subject of coin counterfeiting in China, where it’s quasi-legal. Instantly, the Web was buzzing with the worries of bloggers and eBay shoppers, and the pontifications of pundits about this dire threat.
Before we got too worked up about it, first thing we did was carefully read the source material. Yes, the Coin World articles raise the issue, and they feature an in-depth interview with one Chinese counterfeiter, although that’s not what he calls himself. He’s a proud artisan who produces replicas.
Of what? As it turns out, it’s primarily copies of ancient Chinese coins, which are sold to tourists. A few fake U.S. silver dollars are put up each week on eBay, but they are required to carry a Replica stamp.
Do all Chinese counterfeiters abide by this regulation? Perhaps not. But eBay has always been a place where caveat emptor rules, so the best policy would probably be simply to avoid coin purchases from China.
Problem Areas
Next, we consulted with our favorite dealer, asking if they come across many fake bullion coins, such as Eagles or Maple Leafs. The answer was no. They’ve only seen a handful during their thirty years in business.
Not that it’s hard to do. With modern 3-D laser imaging, a die can be created that mimics the real thing in perfect detail. The good news is that it’s impractical. The difficulty is that any counterfeit bullion coin would likely have to be gold in order to pass. If it were pure, then the profit margin would be too small to make the deal worthwhile. And if the counterfeiter skimped on the gold content, the coin’s weight would be a dead giveaway.
The only alternative would be to gold-plate a coin made out of some other metal. But again, getting the weight right while preserving the correct size would be a challenge.
Which brings us to the areas where counterfeiting can be a real problem. The most significant is rare coins. These can be made with the proper gold (or silver) content, then artificially aged so that only an experienced numismatist could pick them out. Because of the premium they command, rare coins made with real gold would be highly profitable where a bullion coin would not.
This is one of the reasons (disinterested grading is the other) why many collectors will only trade coins graded and slabbed by third-party specialists like Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) or Numismatic Guaranty Corp. (NGC).
Ominously, though, some counterfeit coins are turning up inside phony slabs. If you collect rare coins and have any reason to suspect them, it’s pretty easy to sort the real slabs from the fakes. Coin World provides illustrations on just how to do that here. (http://www.coinworldonline.com/articles/ChineseCounterfeit/Diags.aspx)
Gold bars are a different matter. Fakes do show up in the market from time to time, and they’re hard to identify. Generally speaking, counterfeiters don’t bother with the smaller ones, which are stamped, numbered, and sealed. They concentrate, our dealers tell us, on 1-kilogram or larger sizes. These are poured, rather than stamped, and can be easily adulterated or even hollowed out and filled with lead or some other metal. Compounding the problem is a lack of standard weights, even among good delivery gold bars. The “400-ounce” bar, for example, can vary anywhere from 390 ounces to 420.
How to Protect Yourself
As noted, we don’t believe that there is a serious issue with counterfeit bullion coins at the moment. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t exist, nor does it mean that evolving technology might not make them more profitable in the future than they are now.
The best precaution is the simplest: deal with someone you trust. Establish a relationship with a coin dealer who has built a strong reputation, preferably over a matter of decades, such as the dealers we recommend in BIG GOLD. Buy from them, even if you stumble across some mail order supplier who is charging less of a premium.
For small bars, purchase only those that carry the stamp of one of the known, trustworthy refiners, such as PAMP, Credit Suisse, or Johnson Matthey. For bigger orders, ask your dealer if they do assays. Reputable outfits generally assay bars that are a kilogram or larger. If you want a 100-ounce bar, consider buying direct from the Comex, which will also vault it for you. That removes the assay requirement when you buy, but remember that if you take physical delivery of a large bar, you’ll need an assay when you sell. Do not, under any circumstances, buy a larger gold bar on the Internet or from a private seller you don’t personally know.
If you’re still worried about a coin, there are tests you can perform to check it out.
For gold, you can bite it, although you may not want to mar the surface of the real thing. Silver coins you can drop on the floor and they will ring; alloys won’t. The ring test is less useful with gold, since 24-karat gold doesn’t ring; less than 22 karats does, but so does brass.
Size and weight are good measures. Make a list of the diameters of genuine coins for comparison purposes. Get a scale calibrated to hundredths of a gram. If a bullion coin weighs light (or, possibly, heavy), it’s bogus. Here’s a handy list of gold coins with all weights, diameters and thicknesses: http://www.onlygold.com/TutorialPages/Coin_specsFulScreenVersion.htm.
A good counterfeiter may be able to get all other aspects of an adulterated coin right, but he won’t be able to fake density. Gold has a higher specific gravity than other metals, and you can test for that. Many Internet reference sites will tell you how.
You could buy a commercial counterfeit detector. They aren’t cheap, but will quickly and easily test for weight, thickness, and diameter.
If you happen to have some nitric acid and are a very careful person, you can drop your coin into a beakerful. Base metals will react, gold won’t.
Rare coins are more of a challenge. If that’s where your interest lies, look for specimens that have been graded and slabbed. Otherwise, there’s no substitute for experience. Examine coins with a magnifying glass, heft them in your hand. Get to know what the real deal looks and feels like. Read up on the kinds of imperfections that characterize the phonies. Become your own expert.
Precious metals are going to be attractive to con artists, just like anything else of real value. But there are some decent safeguards already built into the system. Supplement them with your own knowledge and common sense, and it shouldn’t be difficult to avoid becoming a victim.
Good thing you don’t really have to worry about purchasing fake bullion coins… because it’s the best time to buy gold, and maybe one of the last chances you get to buy at $800+ levels. Read our report on why ultra-low interest rates could make gold rise to $1,500 (and higher) in the near future – and how you can profit: Click here to learn more.
The attorney for the man authorities say is the leader of a multimillion-dollar burglary ring has turned over more than $1 million in stolen coins and cash to Franklin County prosecutors.
Sam Shamansky, a Columbus lawyer, gave prosecutors rare coins, silver ingots, gold coins and a $1,000 bill on behalf of his client Kenneth Koon, said Prosecutor Ron O’Brien.
Koon, of 539 Hilltonia Ave., is charged with 12 felonies that include burglary, theft, receiving stolen property and safecracking. He is believed to have stolen $2 million and has been in custody since December.
O’Brien thinks the coins came from a 1,500-pound safe police say the ring stole from Robert C. Talbott of Shire Cove Road in December 2007. That was part of more than a year-long spree of stealing in Hilliard and the Northwest Side by the band of 10 thieves.
Often you hear about how Ebay is not a great place to buy coins or even start a collection for that matter. However, without giving it a try one never knows. As I was starting my coin collection a couple of years ago, I really did not have any coin dealers in my area, so naturally I went to Ebay. Not only did I want to start a coin collection, I wanted to by a coin buyer, coin collector and coin dealer.
Let me tell you, several years later all those things I wanted to do came true. I bought a book about coin collecting at Chapter’s and buy chance I saw a coin which I really liked. It was an 1831 British Penny. I liked it because of its size, design and how much it could potentially by worth. So, I went to Ebay and searched for that particular coin. Low and behold there was one, selling for $19 U.S. including shipping. I put the bid in, and won the coin. A few months later I started a coin store on Ebay, and put that particular coin in my store for $65, plus $10 for shipping. I gave a great description and a very accurate picture. Three days later, the coin sold, and I realized almost $46 in profit, minus of course the Ebay fees.
A few months ago I acquired a 1999 1/10 ounce gold maple leaf, one of my favourite coins. I paid $123 dollars for it. Two weeks later I put it up for auction for seven days with a starting bid of .99 Cents. I could not believe my eyes when the final bid came in at $534.
Search around Ebay and you will find great starter coins,barber dimes, silver Morgan dollars and buffalo nickels, all of these can be bought for very reasonable prices. So before judging, check it out for yourself and make you own decision.
With the world economy wobbling and rescue package after rescue package not seemingly doing any good, you should start looking for better ways for investment and asset protection beyond stocks and mutual funds. Smart investors have recently turned to gold. Investing in Gold has long been proven one of the safest and most effective ways to protect personal assets against the inflation and uncertainties. For average Americans, the easiest way to add gold to their investment portfolios and protect their hard-earned money during recessions is to buy gold coins, especially those gold coins with small markups such as South African Krugerrand. Buy Krugerrands is now considered the No.1 choice for small investors to protect their assets.
Here are 5 good reasons why you should buy Krugerrands now!
1) For centuries, gold has been Recession Proof, and this has been proven during countless crisis situations over the past centuries.
2) Buying gold coins is one of the most practical ways to physically own gold. Gold Krugerrand coins are small weighing no more than 1 oz, making them easy to store and transported.
3) Gold Krugerrand coins, especially 1 oz Krugerrand coin, is the ideal coin for you to start. The South African gold Krugerrand coin was the first gold coin that contains exactly one ounce of pure gold, which makes it the best known of modern bullion coins. As a matter of fact, gold Krugerrand coin has always been one of the most available and best-priced coins of its type in the market. There are thousands of gold Krugerrands bought and sold online or at the gold dealers everyday, making Krugerrand one of the most popular Gold Coins among investors.
4) Since gold Krugerrand coins are already well known in the industry and any dealer are readily trade them, Krugerrand coins could be easily converted into cash should the need arise. This allows you to liquidate your asset very quickly when necessary.
5) Gold Krugerrands carry small premium over spot. That means Krugerrand coins cost less per ounce than the standard American Eagle Gold Bullion and thus give you more gold for your money. If you have $5,000 or less to spend, I recommend you put half in US 90% silver coin, and half to buy Krugerrands.
I recommend you checking out Gold Krugerrand for Sale. It is a specialized Gold Krugerrand for Sale site, offering a great selection of Krugerrand Gold Coins for sale. This website makes finding your dream 1 oz Krugerrand Gold Coin a million times easier. Be sure to try this website before you buy.
About the Author:
Wilson Snyder is a freelance writer. Learn more about "Gold Krugerrands" at Buy Krugerrands.
The fuel price rise also. After some long delayed in the first and by protests from a number of layers is people. No evil spirit again, this increase also trigger price increases other.
That is, almost always happens that the increase in fuel price will usually be followed with the increase in basic rates. That is why a few weeks ago many people stockpile basic goods because they hope can benefit when the price of fuel is so increased.
And now, the fuel price rise also. Many community members complained that, because to imagine that life at this time I seem increasingly difficult. Earnings have not increased, but prices continue to rise.
One thing from me, as a member of the community, clearly there is no use complains. More important for you to do so that is how you can survive in the midst of this wave of price increase. Below are the things you need to do:
Buy Gold
Gold can protect you from the wage-price goods and services. This is because gold is usually almost always increased in case of price increase. In fact, the higher the price increase, and will usually also increase the higher the price of gold you. Not yet too late to buy gold, because ¬ though the price of fuel have gone up ¬ but there are some other goods and services that are not increased but is still estimated to be increased later.
Several types of gold, try to buy gold in the form of coins or bar. Of both types, the gold coins are usually more flexible than gold because the gold coin usually available in the form of a smaller weight than gold bar so that this can be easier for you when your funds to buy gold limited.
Later when the price of goods and services has been raising strongly all, the price of gold is estimated you will also be increased beyond the price increase of goods and services so you can sell your gold and benefit from it.
Make the investment returns greater than if you invest in a bank
Interest savings in the bank at around 10 percent per year. With the increase of prices is estimated that about 10 percent this year (even fuel price increase of only 22 per cent), clearly you need to make investment in investment products that can provide results of greater than 10 percent.
Try to look at the product other than investment in investment banking, because ¬ than that you do not glued on one type of investment only ¬ outside investment bank can usually give greater results, with the level of risk is greater too. One of the alternative investments that you can try is a Mutual Fund.
Do not forget that the Mutual Fund shall have several types, ranging from the Mutual Fund is at risk until the risk is low. You can try to invest in Mutual Funds, including risks such as low-RD or RD Fixed Income Money Market. It is expected that with the election ¬ ¬ the right you can get investment returns greater than the investment in the bank, because that is the only way you can increase the price of goods.
Think for the increase in foreign employment
do not forget that the prices will continue to rise each year so reasonable to think if you start to press you expenditure. Clear that it is true that good, but of course you can not continue to press your spending. In the long term prices will continue to rise. So when you want to continue to press you’re spending?
If in the short term may be. But in the long run, it will often be difficult because the prices will continue to rise. Therefore, consider adding to earnings outside of your work now. I know that it is not easy to do, but if you do not try, you may need to continue to press your spending from year to year.
Select where you spend
If you buy ordinary goods in a shopping center while you know there are other places that are not too far away which is also selling the same but with a cheaper price, why do not you try to buy at the price which is cheaper? If your routine needs to buy goods every month in a more expensive price, then you will feel the price difference is big enough after a few months. If it does not believe, just try countdown.
Investment in Gold bullion coins and silver Coins are far better investment option than Stocks
Silver bars have emerged as popular silver investments because they are uniform in size, making them easy to handle and convenient to store. Additionally, silver bars are compact, which enables investors to secure a
great deal of wealth in relative small storage areas. Silver bars with recognized hallmarks are readily accepted for resale, making them easy to convert to cash.
Palladium bullion bar and coin investors have few palladium investment choices today. When palladium spiked to $1100 in late 2000, most palladium investors sold their bullion coins and bars into that rise and exited the market. During the ensuing years, the demand for small palladium coins and bars was so small that most mints quit producing palladium bullion coins and private refineries ceased making palladium bullion bars. Because it was industrial buying that send palladium soaring-and not palladium investors-nearly all palladium bars and coins sold in 2000 ended up being melted. Now, though, palladium bullion bars and coins are being produced to meet renewed palladium investment demand.
Popular forms of palladium for investment are 1-oz Credit Suisse and 1-oz PAMP bullion bars, both of which are refined in Europe. In late 2005, the Royal Canadian Mint began striking 1-oz Palladium Maple Leaf coins, which could prove to be investor favorites for palladium investments. Although Credit Suisse and PAMP are respected names in precious metals refining, many investors prefer coins produced by government mints.
Platinum bullion and coin investors do not have a large selection of platinum coins from which to choose. Yet, the platinum bullion coins available come from the most prestigious mints in the world. Platinum Eagles are produced by the U.S. Mint, Platinum Maple Leafs by Canada’s Royal Canadian Mint, and Platinum Koalas by Australia’s Perth Mint. American Eagle Gold coins are a good collectibles and are considered a good investment option.
Another Kind of famous gold coin is the American Buffalo Gold Coins. It is always advisable to buy Gold coins when the gold prices are reduced. Do not get attracted and buy Gold coins when prices are at soaring. It may prove to be a bad investment if the prices fall back.
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Author’s Bio - Inventory of Coins and Bullions include many types of Bullion Coins like American Gold Eagles, Gold Bullion Coins and bars. In the future, coins and Bullions will expand by including jewelry and gift items.
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Gold is a precious metal found underground around the world. Gold is considered by many as a store of value and a safe haven for wealth in economic crisis. One of gold’s important properties is psychological, because it is so closely associated with money. This gives it an immeasurable advantage over other tangible stores of wealth.
American Eagle Bullion Coins provide investors with a convenient and cost-effective way to add a small amount of physical platinum, gold, or silver to their investment portfolios. Since their launch in 1986, gold, platinum and silver American Eagles gold coin have become leading bullion coin investment products.
American Buffalo Gold Bullion Coins are the first .9999 fine 24-karat gold coins ever struck by the United States Mint and offered for sale through a network of Authorized Purchasers. The $50 gold coins will be available to members of the public seeking a simple and tangible means to own and invest in 24-karat gold in the form of legal tender coins whose content and purity is guaranteed by the United States Government.
Gold has attracted investors throughout the centuries, protecting their wealth and providing a ’safe haven’ in troubled or uncertain times. This appeal remains compelling for modern investors. Although there are also a number of other reasons that underpin the widespread renewal of investor interest in gold.
American gold coins have been wanted by collectors for the possibility of enormous value particularly if the currency is rare, in good state, and is in soaring demand. US coin sellers have set prices and dollar amounts of worth on many types of United States money. The worth is determined by four main factors. Scarcity or rarity is the main factor for discovering the worth. The rarer the legal tender, the higher its value.
Inventory of Coins and Bullions Include many types of Bullion Coins like American Gold Eagles, Gold Bullion Coins and bars. In the future, coins and Bullions will expand by including jewelry and gift items.
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Demand plays a significant role in the rarity of a gold coin. Rare is the term used for coins that is not found frequently and is also very scarce and uncommon. This term is referred to the numismatic industry because being rare is a relative term and even though there are specific coins in existence, they are limited. This makes them eminently desirable and rare.There are many types of coins and the high quality coins are found in gold, silver and are in great demand amidst investors and collectors. Nickel coins have fair market and copper coins market is unpredictable. Auctions provide information regarding these coins because the supply is limited and shrinking.The condition of the rare coin is also very important. Though, there is no particular grade to exclude, the thumb rule is that the higher the grade of the coin the greater demand is entertained. Today, the Professional coin grading service and the numismatic guarantee corporation are companies that encapsulate the gold coins and safeguard it from more damage.
The weighing of gold coins are done in the unit gram. Previously the unit troy ounce was used. The purity of a gold bar is determined as the number of parts per 1,000. Gold having a purity of 999 parts of 1,000 is the purest form of gold that is available. The weighing of gold coins are done in the unit gram. Previously the unit troy ounce was used. The purity of a gold bar is determined as the number of parts per 1,000. Gold having a purity of 999 parts of 1,000 is the purest form of gold that is available.However, investors of gold bullion should seek bargains and inquire the availability. No matter, what the position of the bullion market, the Gold eagles and Kruger Rand’s are more appealing. In addition to this, Gold Eagles as well as Kruger Rand’s have the stamp of gold contents in English. The lesser known gold coins for investment are Australian Kangaroo, Hungarian 100 Coronas and the Austrian Philharmonics. The old European coins should be totally avoided for investment
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