Others busy, but not me

Sellout of the 2014 one-ounce silver American Eagle bullion coin was announced midday Dec. 24 by the U.S. Mint.

Authorized Purchasers carried away a record 44,006,000 pieces. Last year’s sales record was 42,675,000.

Now we have until Jan. 12 to think about acquiring the 2015 coins.

It would seem from my email that much happened as I enjoyed time off Dec. 24 and Dec. 25.

The Mint’s announcement wasn’t the only thing of interest.

Legislation strengthening the Hobby Protection Act to fight counterfeiting was signed by President Barack Obama, according to an announcement by the Industry Council for Tangible Assets.

Details of the legislation, now law, are in my Dec. 17 blog.

Modern Coin Mart will begin selling the second coin in its Florida Natives series on Jan. 8, 2015, at the Florida United Numismatists convention.

It is a .999 fine one-ounce silver coin shows a Florida panther on the reverse. Mintage is limited to 1,000 pieces struck in proof by Australia’s Perth Mint exclusively for Modern Coin Mart.

Obverse of the coin depicts Queen Elizabeth II. The issuing nation is Tuvalu.

Those who purchase the coin at the show will receive a $10 discount.

Also new since I left work on Tuesday were weekly sales figures from the U.S. Mint. These are routine numbers, but my routine changed for Christmas.

The four-coin Kennedy 50th anniversary set has reached 188,147. I have been watching this set closely as regular readers know.

The gold Kennedy number stands at 69,299.

No longer available is the two-coin Kennedy clad set at 198,173.

The Mint has said previously it will cap the silver set at 225,000 and the gold at 75,000.

This is quite a lot of new information as most people are focused on their holiday celebrations.

Buzz blogger Dave Harper is winner of the 2014 Numismatic Literary Guild Award for Best Blog and is editor of the weekly newspaper "Numismatic News."