March 3, 2010: US Mint Coin Production and Numismatic Sales, Classic and Modern Commemorative Coins

Welcome to Coin Update!

We’re back with another round up of coin collecting news from around the internet! First, updated coin production figures show that the US Mint has begun minting 2010 Roosevelt Dimes. Also, the latest numismatic sales figures, September 11 Medal proposal, Ronald Reagan $50 bills, America the Beautiful Quarter release, RD/RB/BN for copper coins, a new addition to the Princeton University Numismatic Collection, classic and modern commemorative coins, and notable auctions. On to the links…

United States Mint coin production figures are now available through February 2010. In the latest month the US Mint produced the first dimes since April 2009.

The latest US Mint numismatic sales figures are available on Coin Update News. The opening numbers for the 2010 American Veterans Disabled for Life Silver Dollar are included.

Coin related legislation has been introduced which seeks September 11 Commemorative Medals. A previous proposal sought commemorative coins to be issued for 2011, but two other programs have already been approved for the year.

Separately, there is a proposal to put Ronald Reagan on the $50 bill. This article points out one of the problems of proposing a new likeness for an existing unit of currency- you have to displace someone else.

The America the Beautiful Quarters won’t be released until April. The final designs for this year’s coins won’t even be known until the end of this month.

There hasn’t been a story about “Obama coins” for a while. Here’s a new article about some of the coins with stickers applied that have been turning up in circulation.

Some coins produced by the New Zealand Mint are proving popular in other European countries.

From the PCGS Library, definitions of Red, Red Brown, and Brown for copper coins, along with an example of the extreme price differences that can result.

The Princeton University Numismatic Collection has acquired the Armenian Heritage Collection of ancient and medieval coins.

A nice introduction to classic commemorative coins and a few brief reasons why you should collect them.

Moving on to modern commemorative coins, here is a list of some of the recent coin themes that this author found hard to justify.

And now for some notable auctions. First, a 1955 Double Die Lincoln Cent graded NGC MS 64 BN with CAC sticker.

One of those “hard to justify” commemoratives, the 2006 San Francisco $5 Gold NGC PF 70 Ultra Cameo. I remember that the Morgan Dollar obverse had briefly been considered for the silver dollar of the same program, but instead they used the reverse.

Last, the current auctions for 2010 Silver Eagle Rolls.

That concludes another update!