Rare Numismatic Books at Auction Closing Sept. 15, 2011

Kolbe & Fanning’s 122nd sale includes over 1400 lots of rare and desirable numismatic literature. A mail-bid sale, it closes on September 15, 2011 (see the catalogue’s Terms of Sale page for bidding instructions). Particularly rich in rare and desirable works on American numismatics, the 112-page catalogue also includes an extensive selection of interesting and elusive works on ancient, medieval and modern numismatics, including the working library of a specialist in ancient coinage. Catalog, bid sheet and informative site here.

The Money Museum on The Medicis and Murder

In October 1587, the mortal remains of the 47-year-old grand duke Francesco I de' Medici and his second wife, Bianca Cappello, were buried in the little church Santa Maria a Bonistallo near Florence. The couple had died within only a few hours from each other – unexpectedly and under mysterious circumstances. Was it murder? ... See the article here.

Gold Investments May Not Be Solid

The Better Business Bureau has targeted two Texas firms specializing in gold as engaging in very questionable sales practices. The conclusion of the article offers cautionary advice on buying gold in general. Check it out:

Collector News: Zimbabwe "Dollarizes" Monetary System

Not sure exactly what this means for collectors. There hasn't been enough small change in Zimbabwe so consumers have had to accept scrip, tokens, even candy and biscuits as change.
Officials cut a deal with the U.S. to supply U.S. coins to be used as a medium of exchange. Financial institutions and government agencies there have chartered a plane to fetch a cargo of coins from the U.S. -- which in the least sounds like a take-off point for a thriller-action film!
Wondering about the implications. Are older coins from Zimbabwe, many featuring wildlife and other nature themes, now scarce and collectible? What sort of tokens were issued as change? Will there be any counter-stamp on the U.S. coins (no mention so not likely)?
Here's a news story on the subject.

From an older but interesting note on Zimbabwe coinage:
"The 1 Cent coin is no longer produced as they were costing nearly 50 Cents each to make. The 5 Cents is more or less obsolete. Importation of both of these denominations ceased in 1999 and as mentioned earlier, there will not be new version of the 1 and 5 Cents coins. When the new versions of the other coins do appear then likely the older versions (namely the Copper-Nickel pieces) will soon disappear, already an engineering firm buys up old 50 Cent coins, drills holes in them and sells/uses them as washers for nuts & bolts. This is far cheaper than pressing washers from plate metal." The article, here, mentions that, at the time of writing, a single copy of a newspaper cost $20 in Zimbabwe.

Don't Miss My Latest: How To Make Money By Making Money

For some time now I've been a columnist for Joey Skagg's famous Art of the Prank web site, writing about various sorts of fakes and frauds. THE LATEST is on fake Chinese collectible coins, a multi-million-dollar racket.

Rare Coin Investment: The Path to Huge Profits?

If you are among those who browse the Internet in search of coin information, undoubtedly you encounter various pitches for rare coins as investibles. Here is a comment from the newsletter of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society, from a larger piece on the current Double Eagle trial, that has bearing:

(Double Eagle trial coverage is) the kind of story, one of intrigue around the tremendous value in coins that had been sitting untouched for decades, that lures people into coins as an investment. Coin dealers like Goldine and Numis Network, which is actually a multilevel marketing outfit that deals in coins, tout the financial benefits of coin collecting.

And in a way it makes sense: What could be better than collecting money?

But here’s the reality: With the exception of exceptionally rare coins in excellent condition, they have generally proven to be an unremarkable investment. And, as About.com’s coin expert warns readers, the more hyped up a coin is, the worse of an investment it will tend to be. One piece of advice: Please, please, please stay away from the “modern commemorative” coins — a series of “rare” coins produced by the US Mint beginning in 1982. These are made to be collector’s items and so everyone who wants them buys them and keeps them in mint condition. It’s unlikely that a powerful secondary market for them will ever develop (see, for instance, collectible plates).

The story of this lawsuit will likely be used by more than a few coin dealers hocking the dream of a family fortune from rare coin investment. But most of the value in coins comes from dealing them to unsophisticated buyers, not from buying them.

$16-Million Worth of Mexican Silver Still Buried in Southern Virginia?

Following the surrender of Robert E. Lee, the authors tell us, there remained some gold and "39 kegs of Mexican silver dollars" in the Confederate treasury.In an article for History News Network they explained that these "were coins that the Confederacy received through the sale of cotton to Mexico. The Mexican coins had been transported to Danville, Virginia," as Confederacy President Jefferson Davis and his entourage fled south. The 9,000 pounds of silver became burdensome. "For this reason," the authors say, "the coins were almost certainly buried in Danville, and evidence suggests, they remain there today."
There is much more to the book than just the treasure tale; it chronicles a clandestine effort to keep the Confederacy alive despite the military defeat. But for those of us following the price of silver and its effect on coin collecting, those kegs of Mexican reales provide intriguing points to ponder. For instance, if the book was published in 2008 then it was written even earlier -- is $16-million still a valid guess at the value?