Author Archives: Robert R. Van Ryzin

You can’t please everybody, and if you’re a coin designer you’re sure to attract your share of critics. Today, James Earle Fraser’s Buffalo nickel is considered a classic, but at the time of its release, in 1913, not everyone was … Continue reading →

Recently, U.S. Mint Director Ed Moy said, “We want to spur the highest level of artistic excellence in American coin design.” He made the statement along with the announcement of the Mint’s plans to recreate the 1907 Saint-Gaudens ultra high … Continue reading →

Coin Chat Radio goes live today at 11 a.m. Central at coinchatradio.com Give a listen. I think we have some interesting features in our first show. Future broadcasts will at 11 a.m. Central on Thursdays.

Well, the rats have been cleaned out of the Old San Francisco Mint. No, these weren’t disreputable people. Rather, they were real rats, according to a report datelined Feb. 18 from the San Francisco Chronicle by Anastasia Ustinova.Ustinova quotes Erik … Continue reading →

I’m back from my trip to Minneapolis and the opening of the Anders Zorn (see prior posting for details) at the Swedish American Institute. It was fun, and I was able to snap shots that will come in handy in … Continue reading →

February should prove to be a busy and fun month for me. On Feb. 5 I head to Minneapolis for the opening of an art exhibit titled “From Peasants to Presidents: Sweden’s Greatest Etcher” and later that month my wife … Continue reading →

Much of my collecting lately focuses on drafts, checks, receipts, etc., related to the Comstock Lode, in Virginia City, Nev., and the Bank of California. Although I have acquired items of value pertaining to famous personages active on the Comstock … Continue reading →

With silver above $14 an ounce, it is a good time to check any old coins you may have lying about. Most people know that even common-date dimes, quarters and half dollars dated 1964 and prior have most of their … Continue reading →

Next year, when the state quarter program ends, the plan is for the quarter’s reverse to revert to showing an eagle, as it had prior to 1999. That’s not a bad thing. Though Benjamin Franklin argued for adopting the turkey … Continue reading →

Have you ever seen 1 million silver dollars? It was long before I began collecting coins, but the tale of the Million Silver Dollar Exhibit at the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair is fascinating nonetheless. Three Washington numismatists were behind bringing … Continue reading →