Tag: collectibles

The Top Five Most Remarkable Commemorative US Coins

This is part of a series of blog posts I wrote for a coin collecting site circa ~2015 that seems to have disappeared off the Internet. Note any prices mentioned in this series are from 2015.

Commemorative coins exist in a strange twilight of monetary policy. Three committees of Congress oversee the decisions for whom and what gets commemorated, namely, the Committee on Housing, Banking, and Urban Affairs; the Committee on Banking and Financial Services of the House; and the Citizens’ Coin Advisory Committee. One can well imagine the kinds of spirited debates that take place as everybody pushes their own pet project.

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Strategic Money: Coins And Currency Of World War II

This is part of a series of blog posts I wrote for a coin collecting site circa ~2015 that seems to have disappeared off the Internet. Note any prices mentioned in this series are from 2015.

More than any other conflict in world history, World War II was a battle of wits. It started with cryptographers fighting the first international “hacking” war in attempting to break the German Enigma machine code; it ended with the scientific race to develop and deploy the atom bomb.

In between, each nation involved challenged its brightest minds to hatch the most advanced schemes to come out ahead – and the money of this era reflects that struggle in its historic record.

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Notable Collector’s Silver: The Peace Dollar

This is part of a series of blog posts I wrote for a coin collecting site circa ~2015 that seems to have disappeared off the Internet. Note any prices mentioned in this series are from 2015.

It was the very last circulated silver dollar ever produced by the US Mint. It’s not a particularly expensive series to acquire – the key dates do tend to be pricey, but the series is so much shorter, after all, and nothing like the complexity of Morgan dollars.

But it has an astounding story to tell.

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4 Proven Secrets to Finding Hidden Value in Your Collection

This is part of a series of blog posts I wrote for a coin collecting site circa ~2015 that seems to have disappeared off the Internet. Note any prices mentioned in this series are from 2015.

Any serious collection eventually gets its own maintenance and upkeep hassles. You make an inventory system, it gets too cumbersome, you invest in software for it, you need binders and slabs and holders and boxes and labels… Eventually you want it insured, at which point you’ll want to know (if you hadn’t wondered already) what the whole collection is worth, in total.

Well, here’s some handy tips to better appraising your collection, via spotting the hidden values in some items which you may have overlooked. Because finding out that it’s worth more than you thought it was is like finding free money…

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The Saga Of The 1933 Gold Double Eagle

This is part of a series of blog posts I wrote for a coin collecting site circa ~2015 that seems to have disappeared off the Internet. Note any prices mentioned in this series are from 2015.

The Royal Canadian Mint recently completed melting down over two hundred thousand gold coins, after selling what they would to collectors. The coins were $5 and $10 denominations unearthed in a vault at the Bank of Canada, which the Canadian government simply decided it was time to fire off.

This brings to mind the melting of United States gold coins, in particular the 1933 Gold Double Eagle – and why it’s a fascinating saga that still drags on today.

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Five US Mint Oversights You Probably Didn’t Know Exist

This is part of a series of blog posts I wrote for a coin collecting site circa ~2015 that seems to have disappeared off the Internet. Note any prices mentioned in this series are from 2015.

We like to think of US Mint personnel as intrepid perfectionists. These are people whose ties are tied with the same knot every day and who come to a full, complete stop at every stop sign, right? But the fact is, they’re human like anybody else. They make mistakes. there’s quality control measures in place of course, but the quality control people make mistakes.

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How To Build An EDH Deck For Magic: The Gathering

I’ve copped a new squat over at 123ish.com, where you’ll find my new guide to building an EDH deck in Magic: The Gathering. It’s a fun little topic I’ve been meaning to jabber about anyway. I lay out a beginner’s template and explain the basics, and link to several time-tested resources.

Hope to see you all across the playmat from me!