ANA Coin Press Blog

“Buy the book before the coin” is a well-known refrain in coin collecting, but it may be most true when it comes to cherrypicking. Many collectors love to cherrypick, whether to fill in rare varieties on a budget, or to flip coins for a profit. Whichever camp you fall in, there are plenty of cherrypicking opportunities out there.

My First Slab

There are a lot of fascinating things in numismatics. There are coins from ancient empires, and coins from every corner of the modern world. Coins have survived shipwrecks, or centuries buried underground. There are coins made of precious gold and silver, and from enough other metals to cover a big chunk of the periodic table. And there are coins that.

As busy as he is during the holiday season, how did Santa Claus ever find time to pose for a series of bank notes in 19th century America?

As Christmas 1914 approached, it was becoming clear to many soldiers that the war was not going to end soon. Front line troops were increasingly disillusioned with the horror and pointlessness of the fighting and were homesick — they had been promised a short war. American newspapers, taking a neutral stance, suggested that the combatants should.

An important factor in determining the value of any coin is the condition it’s in. Has it seen much circulation? Is it well-struck? This is something that is quantified in a “grade.” Coins are graded on a scale of 1-70, starting with 1 on the lowest end of the spectrum, and 70 representing the most pristine example possible. There are multiple grading.

Punishments for counterfeiting attempts have been known to be severe, but those attempts continue. Counterfeiting has been around since the invention of money itself, but we are always finding ways to increase security measures for our money. In this Museum Masterpiece video, ANA Communications Coordinator Amanda Miller shares some of the history.

When Friends and Family ATTACK!

There are plenty of myths out there about coin collecting, many of which are either objectively wrong or can dissuade new collectors. In this post we’ll take a look at some of the most widely repeated ones and address why they’re incorrect.

Originally published in The Numismatist — October 1986 A sunken Spanish galleon yields more than 140,000 numismatic treasures.