In 1982 I visited the Old San Francisco Mint and made a purchase in their souvenir shop, which was the start of a collection I have been working on ever since. The purchase was a set of 1.312-inch diameter Presidential bronze medallions, which at the time consisted of medallions from George Washington through Jimmy Carter. Continue reading →

It’s a nightmare scenario for coin collectors – coins being replaced by smart cards, a cashless electronic currency system, or by a cyber cash monetary system. Well, I hate to be the one to point it out, but Denmark is already encouraging smart cards, Sweden is favoring a totally cashless electronic currency system, and Canada is now contemplating a virtual currency it calls MintChip. Welcome to the 21st century! Continue reading →

Many lament the demise of the circulation finds era, but a plethora of fascinating (as well as valuable) coins may be found among bulk world coins. My own best finds to date are a 1952 British West Africa 6 pence and a 1977 Rhodesia half cent. These are worth $325 and $1,500, respectively, in uncirculated condition per the 2013 Standard Catalog of World Coins. Continue reading →

Wikipedia defines “numismatics” as “the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, and related objects.” In your “Letters” and “Viewpoint” departments, there have been a growing number of letters and viewpoints which appear to be outside the definition of “numismatics.” Continue reading →

In the popular Harry Potter series of books and movies, Harry and his companions are sometimes transported to distant places by means of a portkey. A portkey is an object enchanted to instantly bring anyone touching it to a specific location. Most of the time, a portkey is an everyday object that would not draw the attention of non-magic folk like you and I. Continue reading →

I know a lot of the numismatic purists consider the collecting of modern commemoratives, silver American Eagles, gold American Eagles or anything else that isn’t a gazillion years old to be sacrilege to being a “coin collector” a.k.a. a numismatist. I must admit I have mixed feelings about that bias. Continue reading →

We each have our own journey to and through numismatics. For me, that journey begins a very long time ago on Nov. 21, 1942. On that day, after nine months of seemingly interminable darkness and hunger, I found myself entering a strange, inexplicable state – California. To be more specific, it was San Pedro, Calif., a city hugging the Pacific Ocean near Los Angeles. Continue reading →