Year-End Round-Up From the Web
As I have been putting together my own coin-related year-end round-up coverage, I can't help but notice some of the truly outstanding summations being published by other numismatic writers. A brief tour of some of the best:
From MintNewsBlog.com:
Price Performance for U.S. Mint Sold Out 2008 Products
According to Michael Zielinski, the Mint News Blog writer, the total mintage for the standard 2008 U.S. Mint Proof sets is estimated at 1.4 million. Zielinski says that this mintage figure is so low that it hasn't been seen for this set since the 1950's, which helps explain why these sets are quickly rising in value. Find out what the other U.S. Mint winners are for 2008 (and why), plus learn what these coins are worth right now on eBay!
From CoinLink.com:
The Best and Worst of 2008
In a piece with no byline (attributed only to "CoinLink") we learn about some of the best and worst coin collecting-related events of 2008. Topics include:
- Best Auction
- Best New Coin
- Best Decision
- Best New Company
- Worst Decision
- Greatest Loss
- Underachiever Award
- Related Pet Peeve
- Best New Reference Book
From NumisMaster.com:
U.S. Mint, Belarus Take COTY Lead
People are often critical of the U.S. Mint, claiming that the Mint doesn't produce any classically artistic coin designs any more, and that Presidential Dollar coins look more like car wash tokens than a superpower's primary currency denomination. Yet, year after year, the U.S. Mint does very well in the world-wide Coin of the Year (COTY) competition. Can you guess which U.S. coins are taking top honors this year, and which ones are in the running for the overall Coin of the Year trophy?
From your About.com Guide to Coins:
I'll have more to say on these articles individually in subsequent blog posts, but take a peek at some of my year-end and new year offerings (all three articles are updated for 2009):
- Top 10 Coin Picks for 2009
- 2009's Top 10 Coin-Related Web Sites
- Top 5 Worst Coin Investments in 2009
Your Picks?
Have you found an great end-of-year article that I missed? Do you have some coin-related picks of your own for 2009? Share them in the comment section below!
Since the 2008 U.S. Mint Proof sets are sold out at the US Mint and only available at significant dealer mark-ups, would it be a good idea to buy 2008 U.S. Mint Silver Proof sets? These cost considerably more than the regular 2008 U.S. Mint Proof sets but are still available from the Mint. Is there enough silver content in these coins to make them worth the additional cost? Thanks for any advice you can give concerning this issue.
I recommend this website coinauctionshelp.com and the grading services page. It has over 90 grading services listed and many help articles to help prevent coin collectors from getting ripped.