Antique Way

About Coin News.

Making heads and tails of coin collecting

INDEPENDENCE, MO.

If you collect coins around Kansas City, chances are you've run into Lee Toner. Toner has one of the largest coin collections in the area. He owns Americana Collectors, and it's the last store in Independence that focuses its business on buying and selling collectible coins.

Toner said there were a lot of dangers for people who consider coin collecting an investment instead of a hobby.

Toner said a misconception people have is that older coins are worth more money. This is not always the case. The value depends on how many coins were minted and the condition of the coin.

Toner said people shouldn't try to clean coins before selling them, because it can damage the coins and their value. He said some coins naturally go through oxidation, and being in original condition is more important than being shiny.

Michael Brockhouse of Independence, a longtime customer at the store, started collecting coins when he was 6 years old.

Offering tips for beginners, Brockhouse said people should first consider what they can afford and then start with a coin they really like. He said coin books are really popular, because possessing all the coins in a particular series is the ultimate goal of most serious collectors.

Proof sets are popular, because the mint-condition coins are encased in plastic and were never circulated. Also popular are special edition collector coins released by the mint that are never intended as currency.

"Do a little research first and find out what stuff is really worth. Knowledge is power in the collectors' market," Toner said.

A resource he recommends is "The Official Red Book - A guide book of U.S. coins," by R. S. Yeoman, which is considered the coin collectors' Bible.

China to issue gold, silver coins marking its film industry centennial

The People's Bank of China (PBOC), China's central bank, will release on Thursday a set of gold and silver coins in commemoration of the centenary birthday of the Chinese film industry.

The set of coins, including a gold coin and a silver one, will be issued by the country's central bank as legal tender.

The obverse side of both coins bears designs of peony and cinefilms, with the engraving "100" marked together with the name of the country and the year.

The reverse side of the gold coin will display the combined sculpture of the clap-stick and "100" with the words of "A Century of Chinese Film Industry" and the par value imprinted.

The reverse side of the silver coin exhibits the designs of the camera and the film box, also with the words of "A Century of Chinese Film Industry" and the par value imprinted.

The gold coin, 20,000 of which to be issued for circulation, will be made of 1/3 ounce of pure gold, 23 millimeters in diameter, and 150 yuan in value.

The silver coin, 60,000 of which to be issued for circulation, will be made of one ounce of pure silver, 40 millimeters in diameter, and 10 yuan in value.

Ancient coins on display

Madikeri Karnataka | December 03, 2005 4:36:40 PM IST

Ancient coins and currency notes, some even 2,500 years old, have been exhibited here by numismatist P K Keshava Murthy of Hunsur.

Mr Murthy's collection included gold, silver and brass coins, besides 'panch mark' coins of the fifth century and coins belonging to Greek, Roman, Kushan and Gupta era.

Mr Murthy told this correspondent that this was his 99th exhibition. A book titled 'Naanya Darshini' (Coin Display) would be released during his 100th exhibition in Mysore on December nine.