A new one-ounce silver bullion coin has been introduced by Austria. It features essentially the same design as appears on Austria’s gold Philharmonic series. It is a beautiful and familiar design.

I was able to see the new coins up close at the Austrian Mint booth in Berlin. Unfortunately, I did not buy one. I should have.

I know the coin will soon be as easily available in the United States as the gold pieces are, but I missed my chance at bragging rights, to donate a catalog plate coin, or to be the first person on the block to have one.

I am sure what I could have done with it would have more than made the purchase price well worth the spending. Besides, it would always be one troy ounce of silver. That’s not a bad thing to own these days.

Steve Bieda, a Michigan hobbyist and  member of the state’s legislature wants to crack down on advertisements for questionable coins from questionable countries.

Many collectors would laud his attempt at consumer protection. They see red when coins from the Marshall Islands can’t be redeemed when taken to the Marshall Islands.

However writing law is a tricky thing. It has to apply equally to everybody and to every country. You might want to take aim at one, but you likely will hit unintended targets.

If the news story I read is accurate, the broad brush of the law would make it illegal to advertise that the European Union’s euro was legal tender in Michigan without a disclaimer that it “cannot be exchanged or redeemed at face value for U.S. currency in the United States.”

The five-euro note and the 50 euro cents coin I had left in my pocket when I came back from Berlin are not readily exchangeable for U.S. money for face value though they are legal tender all the same. I know. I spent way too many euros while I was in Germany. The question isn’t legal tender status, it is the cost of using the banking system to make foreign exchange transactions.

The new commemorative two-euro coin introduced by Germany is legal tender, but I wouldn’t want to attempt to exchange one for U.S. currency. That’s why some airports have donor boxes for good causes. It is well known that coins and small bills cannot be redeemed because the fees involved far exceed the face value. Tourists make the best of it and give to good causes as a result.

Some people can be misled by claims of legal tender. That’s not a point I would disagree with. It is sad to think that numismatics would now mark coin related items like we do stepladders.

Perhaps we should ask foreign countries for edge lettering on all of their coins saying, “This cannot be spent in the United States of America.”

How will you spend your tax rebate from the federal government? Will you throw it into your monthly expenses and watch it disappear, or will you set it aside for a special numismatic purpose?

Sure, spouses and significant others will have something to say about how the money gets spent, but the beauty of the rebate is that it is given out on a per person basis.

If your spouse doesn’t like what you intend doing with it, well, they have money, too.

I’m not trying to start a domestic argument. I just wonder if collectors this year can dream a little bit about what they will do with an extra $600.

Part of the freedom of being a hobbyist is to be able to daydream about what should to be acquired next.

For most collectors, a $600 increase to their hobby budget represents a sizable percentage increase, so the sense of possibilities is significant.

The checks are scheduled to arrive in May, so there is plenty of time to think about good uses for the rebate. Even if it ultimately goes to the auto repair shop, the weeks of daydreaming about numismatic uses will make it all worthwhile.

Where will the first sellout lightning strike in 2008? I received some statistics from the Mint yesterday. They showed that a number of previously popular items are just not moving like they used to.

Take the Dolley Madison First Spouse gold coin. It has been for sale since Nov. 19. It likely will still be for sale when Elizabeth Monroe becomes available Feb. 28. The rising price of gold caused the Madison coin to be priced higher than the first three that sold out. The Monroe coin’s price has not yet been revealed. If it is much higher, that could further impede sales.

In any event, the Madison First Spouse proof has seen sales of 14,692. The Madison uncirculated coin has sold 9,772. Sales will continue until the combined mintage reaches 40,000.

Then there is the 10th anniversary platinum set. Some 30,000 are available. But in two months’ time since the set went on sale Dec. 13, collectors have purchased only slightly more than half at 17,753. Sales are further complicated by the fact that the Mint has suspended them to reprice, due to the soaring price of platinum, which has hit $2,000 a troy ounce.

Bald Eagle commemoratives have been on sale since Jan. 15. A three-coin proof set is approaching its limit of 25,000. As of Feb. 13, some 23,991 sets were sold. This doesn’t mean that the coins are scarce, only the package. The coins themselves can easily be ordered individually.

What new issues will catch the fancy of collectors in 2008? We are still waiting to find out. Perhaps it will be the new fractional Buffalo gold coins later this year. Stay tuned.

Platinum at $2,000 an ounce got the attention of precious metal investors yesterday. It did not close there. It went into the daily logbook as closing at $1,983.70.

The metal has been swept along by news of output shortfalls in South Africa because of an electricity shortage.

Platinum still remains exotic to most coin collectors, who are more comfortable with silver and gold.

I had a conversation with a dealer yesterday who said that “dealers were quoting soft.” What that means is that they are worried that a sudden downdraft might catch them with bullion in their hands and they are factoring in an extra margin as insurance against such a possibility.

The dealer also told me that a couple had commented that they had tried other dealers to sell what they had. The implication being that there is some reluctance to buy out there.

Now I don’t know who the couple called. It might have been the local plumber for all I know, so this story has to be taken with a grain of salt.

Anecdotes, however, can paint a picture for us.

On Tuesday I was asked by an employee here at Krause if now would be a good time to buy some silver. At more than $17 an ounce, I am a little leery about encouraging people to jump in. What the experience tells me is that the upward trend has now gone on long enough that it is getting the attention of people who don’t ordinarily get involved in metals investing.

This anecdote doesn’t mean metals are now at their peak, but in my mind, with my memories of 1980, it might be a caution flag. Back in 1980 we had another nonmetals person here buy silver at the precise top of $50 an ounce. It became part of our coffee break lore.

Don’t be the person who gets talked about for the next few years as having bought at the top. Buy wisely. Don’t be reckless.

James Monroe’s dollar coin makes its debut today at the estate of our fifth President. When the coin appears at Ash Lawn-Highland, Monroe’s home in Charlottesville, Va., collectors of an historic frame of mind might think of the Monroe Doctrine as this President’s legacy.

Certainly the preservation of the freedoms won by the newly independent nations carved from the Spanish Empire is a signal historical achievement and is probably the appropriate legacy to reflect on.

However, there might be something instructive for Americans of the present day. This is an election year. Monroe ran for President virtually unopposed in 1816 and 1820. His party, what is now the Democratic Party, had thrived since Jefferson won the presidency in the election of 1800.

The Federalists, on the other hand imploded. They were even tarred with the brush of treason because a number of them met in Hartford, Conn., in late 1814 to oppose the War of 1812 and to float the idea of secession by New England states. This happened just before the victorious Battle of New Orleans in early 1815 and news of the peace treaty signed at the end of 1814. Americans were not pleased. The Federalists were never a serious party again.

Monroe dollars will be available through the banking system tomorrow and the Mint will sell rolls and bags. The 25-coin rolls are $35.95. The 250-coin bags are $319.95. There is a $4.95 shipping charge applied to each order.

The Mint can be contact at the Web site, www.usmint.gov, or by telephone at (800) USA-MINT.

The tornadoes in the South have affected the Mint's ability to ship product. A statement was sent to me to explain. It follows below:

Severe  Storm  Impact On United States Mint Order Fulfillment
February 8, 2009
 
The severe weather that struck five Southern states on Monday, February 5, caused severe damage to the United States Mint’s contractor-operated fulfillment center in Memphis, Tenn.    
 
Although the roof of the facility sustained damage from debris, luckily no one working in the building was injured.
 
The fulfillment center, as well as surrounding buildings, is still without power. 
 
Clean-up operations inside and outside of the facility are ongoing.
 
The United States Mint’s assets are secure and are being protected 24/7.
 
Because of the tornado damage, we expect that the United States Mint will be unable to ship products from its fulfillment facility in Memphis for the next one to two weeks.
 
We believe we are fortunate that this disaster will mean only a short period of inconvenience to our numismatic customers, and we extend our deepest sorrow and support to those whose lives or loved ones have been more seriously affected by this catastrophe.

The Call Center in Plano, Texas, was not affected by the severe weather and continues to operate.  We will continue to take orders through all channels while shipping is suspended.

Circulation finds have been a popular topic for the 45 years I have been a collector. In my early years, they formed the core of my collection.

The introduction of clad coinage in late 1965 was the beginning of the end of this pastime as the backbone of the hobby and by 1969 about all you could find in change were coins from the prior 10 years. In the case of the formerly silver coins, the variety was even less.

However, the urge to look at my change has never left me. I still do it. Actual finds are few and far between. However I note the introduction patterns of new coins. I keenly wait for my first look at a 2008-dated coin. Readers began reporting finds of 2008 cents and nickels in late January.

People worrying about the state of the economy can have one more thing to worry about. In a boom, the new dates come out practically as the nation puts away its New Year’s party hats. In slow times, the coins come out later.

This year’s release seems to be coming somewhere between the two extremes, but somewhat closer to the bust side of the continuum than the boom side.

While in Germany I noticed the pull of circulation finds. There was a long line at the booth that offered to sell for face value the 2-euro circulating commemorative for Hamburg. To get an example of the coin from each of the five mints, the public was asked to pay 10 euros, or face value.

I probably should have joined the line, but I did not.

It is nice to witness the appeal that basic circulation coinage still has on people. It is too easy to get wound up about chopmarked Buffalo gold pieces or 2007-W American Eagles. I am not saying these precious metal coins are bad issues. They are not. But to better appreciate the special coins, maintaining roots to circulation coinage is important.

Some of the 2-euros given out might have been MS-70, but I expect that there wasn’t a single person in that line who was thinking about American grading precision. It was just the collector impulse to get the coins that form a complete set at a great price. There is no more important collector impulse than that.