Indecision 2016: Flip a coin

Have you noticed that every election “is the most important in our history?” Or that “you have no clearer choice” than whatever any of the candidates are selling? There are so many clichés that it would require its own blog post. But what does that have to do with numismatics? Long-Stanton Manufacturing Company was founded […]

Toying with a Challenge Coin

Toys for Tots is a charitable organization founded in 1947 by Major Bill Hendricks, a U.S. Marine Corps Reserve officer. MAJ Hendricks was inspired by his wife who wanted to donate a homemade Raggedy Ann doll to a needy child in the Los Angeles are but could not find an organization that could help. He […]

What do you think it’s worth?

Finding coins in pocket change can be a lot of fun. Then there are those who find hoards of coins buried in the ground or just stored somewhere that people forgot. From shipwrecks to treasure hunts, we all dream of finding the next jackpot somewhere. On your great grandfather’s farm, a worker was plowing the […]

Is numismatics really dying as a hobby?

Although I owe you my impressions of the U.S. Mint’s Numismatic Forum, giving it the proper treatment I think it deserves has taken longer than expected. Rather, let me jump ahead to a recurring theme that takes over the conversation on the state of the hobby: Numismatics is a dying hobby of the old. MYTH: […]

Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar

The original bit coin. Let’s not put the cart before the horse. We all have used adages. Some are centuries old when it was really something special when a penny saved was a penny earned. For some adages, things are not always what they seem which makes appearances deceiving. In a comment about a technical […]

Happy 2017!

Happy New Year! As we begin a new year, we should look forward to better times for our hobby, our nation, and our world. I wish you and yours a Happy and Healthy 2017 and hope that you find the key coin of your dreams! Design for the 2017 Boys Town Commemorative $5 Gold Coin […]

HOLY COW!

Congratulations to the Chicago Cubs! It only took 108 years! I guess they need an update to the poem “Baseball’s Sad Lexicon” “Tinker to Evers to Chance.” Obligitory numismatic content: Cubs numismatic collectibles can be purchase from the Highland Mint or MLBShop.com Credits Medal image courtesy of the Highland Mint. Cubs W Banner courtesy of […]

FTC Update Hobby Protection Act and Fails

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published the “Final Rule of its Rules and Guidelines” for enforcing the Hobby Protection Act (16 CFR Part 304) to include the provisions of the Collectible Coin Protection Act (Pub. L. 113-288) that was signed into law by President Obama on December 19, 2014. It is the job of the […]