March 9, 2010: 2010 US Mint Products, MS65 Morgan Dollars, Gold Performance

Welcome back to Coin Update!

We're back to bring you a round up of news and articles related to coins and coin collecting from around the internet. First, what is "the big one" that PCGS will announce on March 25, 2010? Also, US Mint sales doldrums and the slow pace of 2010 US Mint products, new member for the CCAC, small diameter US coins, MS65 Morgan Dollars, coin market report following Baltimore, gold performance, precious metals commentary, and notable auctions. On to the links...

PCGS has been mentioning a big announcement coming on March 25, 2010 that "will change coin grading for the better." What could it be?

The latest US Mint sales report shows a general lull in buying activity as collectors wait for more 2010 products to arrive.

On a related note, here's a post on Mint News Blog which discusses just how slow this year has been. As of the current date, there have only been nine individual US Mint products released for 2010. This compares to 19 products released by the same date in 2009, and 35 products by the same date in 2008.

Attention eBay sellers: Starting in 2011 Paypal will be required to file informational returns with the IRS indicating the payments received. There is an exception for sellers with gross sales of less than $20,000 or fewer than 200 transactions.

Heidi Wastweet has been appointed to the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, as a member specially qualified in the medallic arts. The CCAC had recently announced that they were seeking applicants for a member to represent the general interests of the public.

The Heritage Blog has an interesting examination of the diameter of some of the smallest US coins and how some of them got bigger over time.

An explanation of the market and pricing for common date MS-65 Morgan Dollars.

Curator and Collector has some posts related to the 2010 Olympics. Of particular interest to readers might be the post on the Olympic medals and the post on the 100 kg Gold Maple.

CoinLink has the Legend Numismatics Market Report following the Baltimore show.

According to this article, gold was the best performing investment of the past decade. Comparative returns are provided for other metals, real estate, stocks, and cash.

Patrick A. Heller's latest precious metals commentary discusses China, the US Dollar, and gold.

And now for some notable auctions. First, the low mintage gold and platinum bimetallic 2000-W Library of Congress $10 Coin graded PCGS MS70.

Here is a very interesting watch that is housed within a 1904 $20 Gold Double Eagle. The listing includes several close up pictures of how the watch is integrated into the coin.

Last, an example of the 1999-W $10 Gold Eagle Struck with Unfinished Proof Dies, as shown by the "W" mint mark. The coin is graded MS69 by PCGS.

That's it for today. Have a great evening!