News
2020 Marks the 100th Anniversary of the Maine Centennial Half Dollar Coin
Posted by Derek Sawchenko on
In 1920, the United States Bureau of the Mint struck a commemorative silver coin that celebrated the 100th anniversary of Maine joining the Union and officially becoming a state. Fast-forward 100 years, we are now celebrating the 200th anniversary of Maine joining the union and the 100th anniversary of the release of this special half dollar coin.
Private Mint of the 1830s Produces Over 1 Million Coins from the North Carolina Gold Rush
Posted by Derek Sawchenko on
In 1829, Christopher Bechtler Sr. migrated to the United States from Germany with his family. He opened up a watchmaker store in Philadelphia with some success. Meanwhile, the Carolina Gold Rush, the first gold rush in the United States, followed the discovery of a large gold nugget in North Carolina in 1799. This created a series of findings in North Carolina that lasted all the way up to the 1840s. In order to take advantage of this, Bechtler and his family operated a private mint from 1831 to 1850s. He was able to produce more than a million gold coins in his private mint.
Platinum Set For a Run as Automakers Plan to Ditch Palladium
Posted by Derek Sawchenko on
For the last few years, automakers have been using palladium instead of platinum in their exhaust systems as a catalytic converter because of the cheaper price point. However, the price of palladium has dramatically changed in the last few months.
181 Year Old Shipwreck Yields Some of the Rarest US coins Ever Found
Posted by Derek Sawchenko on
On June 14th, 1838, a boiler explosion caused the Pulaski Steamship to sink approximately 30 miles off the coast of North Carolina. Two-thirds of the passengers and crew on-board were lost as a result of this disaster.
- 0 comment
- Tags: Gold, Shipwreck Coins, Silver
The Gold Bullion Act of 1985 & the Birth of the American Gold Eagle
Posted by Derek Sawchenko on
During the 1980s, the South African Gold Krugerrand and the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf were extremely popular coins in the United States. In 1984, over $600 million worth of Krugerrands were marketed in the United States. However, people began to react to the racial tensions in South Africa and sales plummeted. Eventually, President Reagan banned the Krugerrands as a way of taking an economic stand against the South African government. This crippled the South African mint as half of their sales were derived from the United States.
- 0 comment
- Tags: Coin History, Gold