Member Articles

We have some very talented dealers and collectors on our forum that love to write. They have been nice enough to share their articles with us, so here they are.

Refuted 1914/3 Buffalo Nickel Overdate by Kevin Flynn

In depth detail about this popular variety.

The Star of Lima or "Estrella de Lima" a Numismatic Rarity by Augi Garcia

The Lima mint had closed in 1588. For a brief period in 1659 and 1660 the mint reopened, but without Royal permission. Once King Philip IV found about it, he ordered its immediate closure. The mint remained closed until 1683 with coinage resuming in 1684.......

An Introduction to Shipwreck Coins by Augi Garcia

For most people the word shipwreck represents the old sunken Spanish galleons, dismasted and rudderless in hurricane seas... panicked crew helpless and praying as the ship is driven onto a reef that rips open the fragile hull and sends her chests of gold and silver to the bottom......

A Truly Inspiring Collection  by USA7454

Most often the novice collector will start because of a certain interest in a particular series. That interest may have been sparked by that shiny new half dollar that your Grandparents gave you....

8 Reales "Birmingham" Forgery  by Swamperbob

This one is a "Birmingham" forgery - made in England between 1796 and about 1820. It is a Sheffield plate copy of a Mexico City 8R of Charles III with a fake counterstamp of the Bank of England - the portrait is George III. Originals of this coin gave rise to the limerick....

A Case of Coin Telemarketing Fraud by Daniel J. Goevert

One day back in 1985, I received an unexpected phone call at my office from a man named Gordon Carl (not his real name - but whose real name I'll never forget). The thing that initially struck me the most about the polished Mr. Carl was his heavy New York accent, like something you might hear in a gangster movie....

Grandma's Mercury Dimes  by Daniel J. Goevert

With the passage of years, I gathered more knowledge on Mercury dimes. For example, I learned the face on the obverse really wasn't that of Mercury, the male Roman messenger god, as the public has largely believed ever since the dime was first released in 1916. Instead, the coin's designer, A.A. Weinman, intended to portray....

The Top Five Morgan Silver Dollars  by Daniel J. Goevert

Why waste everyone's time? Let's skip the appetizers and get to the meaty stuff right now: The Morgan silver dollars poised to increase the most in value in the years ahead are the 1895, 1892-CC, 1894, 1878-CC, and the 1883-CC. Pretty bold prediction, eh? At this point, the reader now has three options....

Identifying US Coins with Bullish Futures  by Daniel J. Goevert

Okay, let's get something straight… I do not advocate the purchase of United States coins strictly for investment purposes. Like most traditional collectors, I believe coins are to be primarily appreciated for their artistic beauty, historical connections, and the joy of pursuing them. However, it should be no secret that....

Where have all the coins gone..?   by Catman

Coin Dealers like Max Methal had nice stocks and they bought and sold coins on a small margin of profit. As time left the 30's, a large influx of new collectors came into the hobby with the invention of the....

A Cashless World   by Speedy

This article is written so others can read my views as a coin collector on how a cashless world would not only hurt coin collectors but actually everybody eventually. The idea of the cashless society has been around for decades. Even back in the 1960's when bank cards were beginning to come about it was clear that a cashless world was coming. It's almost here....

How Americans Lost Their Gold In 1933  by Speedy

Ladies and Gentleman, The story you are about to read is true…only the names have been changed to protect the innocent! This is the country where it happened… the great USA…I work here, I'm a coin collector. It was April 5th, it was a nice warm day in the USA. My partner here is history…the boss is the facts, I'm "Sgt:" Guiley....

A few notes about the ASE   by Speedy

This article is just notes I have about the ASE I have put down on paper and made into a article…
This article would not be complete if I didn't talk about the Walking Liberty Half dollar. Why? Because the Walking Liberty half dollar is where we get the design for the front of the....

My Bizarre Altered Coin Story  by Sellathon

I thought I'd share an experience I had when I was about 13 or 14 - when I got to see an ex-con convert a 1910 V-nickel into a 1913 V-nickel. In Georgetown, Kentucky there is (or was) a very popular flea market, and several coin dealers used to display there. This was just as I was really getting into coins, so when I saw a white 2x2 coin holder that said "$10,000.00 or best offer", it certainly caught my....

The Short Cross Penny 1180 - 1247  by Ætheling

The short cross penny was one of the most successful English coin designs in history. The coinage ran for an incredible sixty-seven years without change, the incredible nature of this achievement is most appreciated when the coins are considered....