November 2008
U.S. MINT TO SLASH PRODUCT OFFERINGS
On November 10 the United States Mint announced
plans to reduce the number of numismatic products it sells to
collectors and dealers by more than half. Among the products being
eliminated are most gold and platinum coins. Beginning in 2006, the
Mint began selling collector versions of uncirculated gold, silver and
platinum American Eagles directly to the public. These differ from
bullion versions of the same coins by the use of specially "burnished"
planchets and a 'W' mintmark to signify having been struck at the
Mint's West Point, New York facility. Bullion versions of American
Eagles are also struck at West Point but do not have a mintmark. The
collector versions are individually packaged and sold at a considerably
higher premium to the value of the precious metal they contain than
their bullion counterparts. Earlier this year, the Mint began offering
burnished uncirculated and proof American Buffalo gold coins in
fractional sizes (1/10, 1/4 and 1/2 ounce). Large swings in precious
metal prices have made it challenging for the Mint to price gold,
silver and platinum coins appropriately, and inadequate supplies of
blanks have caused supply disruptions throughout most of the 2008.
Beginning in 2009 the only burnished uncirculated coins the Mint will
produce will be one ounce gold and silver American Eagles. Fractional
sizes of proof platinum American Eagles and proof American Buffalo gold
coins are also being eliminated. All told, the Mint plans to
reduce the number of coin and medal offerings from over 550 to under
200.
CURRENT SPECIAL
Over 20 great numismatic book titles, including a half dozen first
published during 2008, are on sale through November 30. It's a
great opportunity to add to your personal library or choose a gift for
the collector on your holiday shopping list. Please see our Current
Special page for the books and their sale prices.
NEW BOOKS FOR COLLECTORS
Among the books now on sale in the special announced above is the brand
new 6th edition of National Bank
Notes by Don C. Kelly. Also recently arrived are the new 2nd
edition of Encyclopedia
of U.S. Gold Coins 1795-1933 by Jeff Garrett and Ron
Guth and the new 2nd edition of A Handbook of 20th Century United
States Gold Coins 1907-1933 by David W. Akers, which has
been revised and expanded by professional
numismatist Jeff Ambio. While the latter two books are not among the
titles in our current special, our regular price for each is discounted
by 20% from suggested retail.
Several more great new numismatic books have been announced by Whitman,
Krause and other publishers and should become available over the next
couple months or so.
PRE-HOLIDAY SHIPPING RECOMMENDATION
Telesphere Numismatics ships merchandise via the U.S. Postal Service.
During order placement we ask you to choose the specific mail service,
to suit your preferences for the speed and cost of delivery. As the
busy pre-holiday shipping season approaches, we encourage you to choose
shipping by priority mail, except that 1st class mail is ok for light
weight orders (up to about 12 ounces). First class and priority mail
are often delivered as quickly as usual prior to the holidays (2-3
business days to most U.S. addresses), but parcel post and media mail
may be extremely slow between mid-November and late December. Please do
not select shipping by parcel post of media mail unless you're willing
to allow 2 weeks or longer for your order to arrive. We'll continue to
ship most orders paid by credit card, Google Checkout or PayPal the
same day placed or the next business day, with the exception that
orders placed from November 20-23 will not ship until November 25.
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Telesphere Numismatics
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