Up first on this week’s episode of Coin Chat Radio is Bob Van Ryzin with his ‘In the News.’ Ryzin informs us of the 2011 Medal of Honor Commemorative Coins that were just signed into law by President Obama. $5 gold coins along with $1 silver coins will be issued to mark the 150th anniversary since the creation of the Medal of Honor during the American Civil War and its recipients in the years since. Next up, Numismatic News Editor Dave Harpers spends some time with C... Read Full Story

Precious metals surged this week with gold, platinum and silver posting sizable percentage gains. Inflation concerns, economic worries and speculation of a declining US dollar were common reasons proffered for the yellow metal’s fortunes. Crude oil fell Friday and for a second straight day, but managed a small weekly increase. In stocks, major US indexes ended mixed Friday and for the week while European indexes checked the losing column for both. For London bullion weekly figures, gol... Read Full Story

The United States Mint officially confirmed today that the one-ounce 2009 American Platinum Eagle Proof Coin will be available for purchase at noon Eastern Time (ET) December 3, 2009 — the same date it had tentatively provided back in October. As part of the announcement, the US Mint released an image of the new theme for the reverse, which will change annually on platinum coins until 2014. New 2009 Platinum Eagle Coin Design - Click to Enlarge Platinum Eagles have not been ava... Read Full Story

Curb Your Capital(ism) Good Day, A more robust gain in the US dollar overnight (rising 0.56 on the index, to 75.82) drew additional sales from gold holders and dented values in crude oil as well as other precious and base metals. The US currency gained ground following cautionary words on the state of economic recovery by ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet. US stock index futures were indicating a drop on the day, and risk appetite appeared to be on the wane this Friday morning. Anal... Read Full Story

America the Beautiful Quarters kick off in 2010. During the next 11 years and at a rate of 5 per year, the reverse or tails side of each quarter will feature a design emblematic of a national park or site in each state, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. [Read about the US Mint's announcement of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program.] Nearly twenty art renderings were completed some months back as part of the process to select a final quarter-dollar design per locatio... Read Full Story

Several numismatic news or coin blog articles are referenced on CoinNews two separate times a week. These articles are not authored by us, but we recommend coin collectors read them for their unusual or interesting content. Here are today’s coin articles: Counterfeit Euros Are Detected With an Optical Mouse ScienceDaily The sensor of some optical mice can be used to easily and cheaply detect counterfeit euros, according to a study published by researchers of the University of Lleida... Read Full Story

Gold futures managed to rise slightly Thursday despite a rebounding dollar and sinking oil prices. Silver advanced modestly also, while platinum declined 0.6 percent. US stocks sank for a second straight day, tumbling to register their worst performances this month. New York precious metal figures follow: Silver for December delivery rose 4 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $18.455 an ounce. It ranged from $18.150 to $18.64. Gold for December delivery climbed 70 cents to $1,141.90 an ounce. I... Read Full Story

US Mint bullion gold coin sales have been on a run of sorts, following record-setting gold prices -- the yellow metal reached its latest all-time high of $1,153.40 an ounce on Tuesday. 2009 Eagle Gold Coin 2009 Buffalo Gold Coin   The US Mint sold 13,500 of their 2009 American Buffalo Gold bullion coins to authorized dealers during the last seven days. 11,000 went the week prior. With the latest addition, their November total now stands at 29,000 and the year-to-date figure i... Read Full Story

Zachary Taylor Presidential $1 coins in dollar rolls went on sale at the US Mint today at Noon ET. The coins mark the fourth and final release this year of a Presidential Dollar and the twelfth for the series overall.   "The idea that I should become President seems to me too visionary to require a serious answer. It has never entered my head, nor is it likely to enter the head of any other person," said Zachary Taylor when the idea of his running for President of the Uni... Read Full Story

NEWPORT BEACH — Cornerstone’s first album, the National Park Quarters Album, is proving to be a successful addition to the quarter enthusiast’s collection. After sending out test samples to select coin shops, we received an overwhelming number of positive reviews! Here is what people are saying: “I received a set of samples sight-unseen. When they arrived they were even more impressive than I expected and I sold through them within hours.” –John Lenertz, www.CoinSupplyExpre... Read Full Story