Source: Paul Fraser Collectibles

1. Romans began collecting coins as early as 100 AD. Although collecting gold and silver bullion coins has taken place for hundreds of years, the common belief was that coin collecting as we know it today began during the Italian Renaissance. However, new evidence has come to light that suggests Emperor Augustus was interested in collecting coins, often giving old and foreign coins to his friends. One of the first commemorative coins produced was created under the reign of Trajanus Decium (AD 249-251) and depicted all of Rome's deified rulers.

2.Exonumia
This term describes the study of items of numismatic interest, aside from coins and notes. These items often appear under the "exonumia" heading under the backs of catalogs and some examples of these are the altered "hobo nickels" of the US, or China's good luck money charms, both of which are collectible.

3.Stamps were once used as currency
At the beginning of the civil war, American citizens began to hoard coins because they were worried about potential shortages. This, along with trade disruptions from the Confederate Army, led to a shortage of silver and copper-nickel coins and made small transactions nearly impossible.

In response to this, the Postal Currency Act was signed and the public was allowed to use stamps as currency. Inventor John Gault then came up with the idea of encasing the stamps in a small metal container to protect them and even had space for advertising on the back of the container.

4.Coin production is faster than ever
It took the United States Mint two years to produce its first million coins but the Philadelphia Mint can now produce the same amount in 45 minutes. In 2013, the US Mint produced 11.9 billion coins!

5.Current US $100 bills have a slight, conspiratorial difference in them
The clock in the vignette of Philadelphia's Independence Hall on the $100 bill is set to 4:10. However, on the new $100 bills released on October 8, 2013, the clock's hand now reads 10:30. Although there is apparently no significance in the times, the change has conspiracy theorists up in arms!

6.Uzbekistan has the least valuable currency in the world
In 2013 the BBC released a list of the world's least valuable currencies, with Uzbekistan topping the list. One Tiyin is worth the equivalent of 1,999 American cents or 3,038 British pennies. Other countries that were also at the top of the list included Burma, Tanzania and North Korea.

7.1907 was a special year for the US $20 coin
President Theodore Roosevelt ensured that the words "In God We Trust" (a phrase that is heavily repeated on US coinage) were not printed on the 1907 $20 coin. This was because he believed in the separation of church and state and he thought that it showed a lack of respect to God since the money would be used to buy worldly goods and services.

8.The US Mint is more than just that...
While the United States Mint holds 147.3 million ounces of gold that is worth $6.2 billion, it also holds valuable items that belong to other governments and royalty, like Britain's Magna Carta and the crown jewels of St. Stephen, King of Hungary.

It has also housed some of America's most important documents, including the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution, the Articles of Confederation, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, three volumes of the Gutenberg Bible and Lincoln's second inaugural address.

9.Travellers cheques are more interesting than you thought!
Between 1118 and 1307, the Knights Templar used a cheque system to fund the travels of pilgrims. This system worked a lot like today's traveller's cheques and was a precursor to how traveller's cheques work today.

10.Dirty money
Coins aren't as dirty as you might think. Only 13% of coins test positive for bad bacteria while 42% of banknotes test positive for bad bacteria like fecal bacteria. And the odor left on your hands after you touch coins is actually caused by you, not the coins. When skin comes into contact with iron, some of the skin oils break down and begin to decompose, creating that smell.

We hope this has been an enlightening post about the world of coin collecting for those who are unfamiliar with it. You can purchase a wide range of coins, numismatics and other products online with KMG Gold at www.kmggold.com!

Tags Coins  Collecting  Winnipeg  Manitoba  Numismatics  US Mint  Gold  Silver  Gold  Gold Buyer  Local  Shop Online 

Posted by Mike Gupton at 12:00 PM 0 Comments

Public Can Own Gold Bullion

Scrap gold buyer online in Winnipeg, KMG gold buys gold, silver, platinum, palladium and rhodium you want to sell. You can check the payouts from the competition and you can come back to us to sell your gold after verifying the rates they pay. You will be able to see that we pay you the best at KMG gold. Therefore, to sell your scrap precious metals do not look beyond KMG gold.

Gold is a symbol of luxury. The metal is rare. The appearance and the durability of the metal make it the most appealing material in the world that one might want to possesses. Gold is mostly known for its use in jewelry that we use to wear in the body. However, gold is as well used in electronics. There are many industrial products that form the backbone of technology for which gold is used.

In the current day world, where information is widespread more than the needed amount of discussion is ongoing about the price of gold, lot of investors hold somewhere from a few thousands of ounces of gold as a mode of protecting their futures against the probable threat they might face for their wealth from the government. Despite the proven strength of investing in gold, there are several investment myths about gold in existence.

Way back in 1933, it was not legal for the public to own gold. well this was indeed a fact because the US government outlawed the possession of gold by the public; however, this was until the year 1974 when the then President Gerald Ford signed legislation from when Americans were permitted to own gold bullion, gold coin, or gold certificates and the permitted quantity crossed over $100. However, many people who knew the outlawed idea of the lack of permission to possess gold in 1933 did not know that this law was waived in 1974 and they continued to fear to possess gold bullion or invest in gold bullion.

After the great depression, the public started investing in gold that actually drained the federal reserves and their related plans involved with the money supply. It was important for the government to stimulate the economy, therefore they outlawed it. When things were back in to pace the 1974 Act, removed the restrictions on US individuals buying gold coins, gold bullion bars as well as gold certificates.

If any of your friends do not know that it is legal to buy bullion and store bullion for investment purposes you can alert them by saying, the US Mint now is involved in selling gold coins in different weights and different special series to the public as well.

Tags Winnipeg  gold  bullion  President Gerald Ford  US Mint  

Posted by Caitlyn Diamond at 9:19 AM 0 Comments

Three days ago we noted that in just the first week of January, the US Mint had sold 2,221,000 ounces of silver "a number which if run-rated would be an absolutely all time monthly record," A quick glance at the tally today, shows that something very scary is going on. In the subsequent three days, the number has surged by 50% and has hit 3,407,000 ounces of silver! In just the first 12 days of the month we have already surpassed the total monthly sales of 9 separate months of 2010.

And some additional observations on what is becoming a physical buying frenzy from CoinNews.net:

 

 

An increase in 2010 Silver Proof Eagles and record-approaching 2011 Silver Bullion Eagles are the most interesting aspects in the latest US Mint sales report.

The Proof Eagle coins have seen two weekly adjustments since they sold out in late December. The latest brings them up 3,644 to 860,000, which would seem like a natural stopping point. Collectors will have to wait until the July time frame for the 2011 Silver Proof Eagles to make their appearance, according to the US Mint.

2011 bullion eagles launched  on January 3, 2011. Silver Eagles already have last year’s January record in their sight. The coins have raced to 3,407,000 in less than two weeks after their latest weekly pick-up of 1,322,000. Until January 2009, the silver coins had never topped the 3 million mark during the first month of a year. Those record sales totaling 3,592,500 may get clobbered in mere days. The all-time monthly high of 4,260,000 which was just set in November could be the next victim. As a side note, the 3,407,000 sold this month includes 469,500 of the 2010-dated issues. The US Mint had buyers order one 2010 Silver Eagle for every five of the 2011?s.

Bullion one-ounce 2011 Gold Eagles are running, but not sprinting like their silver counterparts. US Mint sales has their tally at 42,500 for a weekly increase of 29,000. As a comparison, buyers ordered 85,000 in January 2009. Inventory of the 2010-dated coins also remains. There were 53,000 at the start of the year. US Mint Authorized Purchasers must order one old for every four of the new ones.

Mike Krieger presents the following disturbing observation on this trend: "In the first 12 days of January 3.4 million silver eagles have been sold.  I have never seen anything like this.  The amount of physical being taken off the market on this paper sell off is EXTRAORDINARY.  We must be VERY close to the end." Whoever has adopted JPM's legacy paper silver short position is in for some very troubling days ahead.

KMG Gold Recycling saw a glut in the silver market in Decmber 2010. "We couldn't sell our silver to the secondary refineries in Canada." Said KMG president Michael Gupton, "We had to shop it around. That doesn't seem like a shortage of silver to me, that sounds like media manipulation in order to drive the price of silver up".

"We are seeing people buying physical and certificate silver at the same rate as people are selling and recycling physical silver, and the volumes are huge".

kmggold.com

Tags silver shortage  physical silver  US Mint  buy silver  sell silver 

Posted by Mike Gupton at 5:23 PM 0 Comments