Welcome to Coin Update!
We have a weekend update of coin collecting news from around the web, as yesterday I was doing some babysitting. First, two stories on gold as the price jumps to a three month high. Also, the opening day for the Ultra High Relief Double Eagle, eBay’s quarterly results, Collector’s Universe’s activist investor, COTY, the coin market, and notable auctions. On to the links…
Gold is on the upswing again. The price reached a three month high, briefly surpassing the $900 per ounce mark. Other precious metals also rose.
Whether it was intentional or simply a necessary response to worldwide gold demand, the actions of the US Mint for the past six months have made it more difficult or more expensive for the average person to buy gold.
As many expected, the release of the 2009 Ultra High Relief Double Eagle Gold Coin slowed the US Mint’s website to a crawl and jammed phone lines. This Mint News Blog post has some real time comments from readers, which give you an idea of how things went. Also, here’s the Coin Network thread.
This week eBay released its quarterly operating results, which included their first ever year over year quarterly revenue decline. The decline was attributable to weakness in their core marketplace unit, partially offset by growth in Paypal and Skype. Read a brief recap of the results or eBay’s full press release.
In more recent corporate news, an activist investor recently bought an 8.85% stake in Collector’s Universe, the parent company of PCGS. CU responded by implementing a “poison pill” that would thwart any take over attempt. Here’s the recent 13-D filing.
The Coin of the Year, as selected by a panel of judges, is Mongolia’s 500-tugrik coin that depicts a wolverine with diamond eyes.
Numismatic News on the legal battle for ten seized 1933 Gold Double Eagles.
The excellent site Coinflation.com celebrates its 5th anniversary as the founder launches two new websites calculating the prices of gold and silver in grams.
Reasons to love this coin market from John Feigenbaum of DLRC.
And now for some notable auctions. As you might expect, eBay is already packed with pre-sales of the 2009 Ultra High Relief Gold Double Eagle. Completed auctions show some sales for prices ranging from $1,326 to $1,688.
A partial collection of Morgan Dollars in Wayte Raymond pages. According to the auction description, the collection was put together in the 1950s.
The always popular 1955 Double Die Lincoln Cent PCGS MS63RB.
Have a great weekend!
