Author Archives: Dave Harper

Tight money and rising interest rates cut gold’s price by nearly half from the January 1980 peak to March of that year. Yesterday’s Federal Reserve policy announcements, which led to rising interest rates, did a number on gold, but so … Continue reading →

Perhaps the aluminum 1974-D Lincoln cent will not be sold at the Central States auction at the end of April. The Mint wants it back. A letter was sent Feb. 26 to owners  Randall Lawrence and Michael McConnell demanding its … Continue reading →

Almost every collector knows that the first coin to use the “In God We Trust” national motto was the two-cent piece first struck in 1864. Probably fewer collectors know the story of President Theodore Roosevelt’s removal of the motto from … Continue reading →

Every kid in school has to learn about decimals in math and how to keep track of like values. Such a little thing as the location of a decimal point has a big impact. I am reminded of this because … Continue reading →

Earlier this year I asked readers to report their first findings of 2014-dated coinage. It is an annual tradition with collectors to report when new coins are spotted in change. As usual, the first coin to appear was a cent … Continue reading →

Gold has been ratcheting higher this year. Yesterday it was $1,367 a troy ounce. It is doing this despite the fact that demand for gold American Eagles is not robust. In the opening days of March, demand for the one-ounce … Continue reading →

The one-ounce platinum American Eagle bullion coin returned to the U.S. Mint’s lineup on Monday. The initial sales number stands at 8,700. If that number turns into a weekly sales rate, that would be huge. In 2008, the last year … Continue reading →