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The Coco Chanel Coin Designed By Karl Lagerfeld


Coin collectors and fashionistas can now have the same object of desire. To celebrate Coco Chanel's 125th birthday, Karl Lagerfeld has designed a €5 coin. The coin is a limited edition which features a Coco Chanel portrait on one side and the iconic Chanel quilting on the other. Lagerfeld's signature appears on the front of the Coco coin. It has been approved by the French Mint and is offered in gold and silver. The gold version costs €5,900, and there are only 99 of them in existence. The silver version cost €45 and there are 11,900 of them. The coins go on sale in December.

U.S. Mint Suspends Sales of Pricey Gold Coins


It seems that the economic crisis has brought out the goldbug in a lot of people. The U.S. Mint has announced that they are temporarily suspending sales of the American Buffalo 24-karat gold coins because they can't keep up with the demand. The recent run on gold has depleted the inventory of the one-ounce coins which sell for over $1,000. Last month, The Mint suspended sales on American Eagle one-ounce gold coins and then announced they would only be sold through an allocation program to designated dealers. The same process is likely to take place for the American Buffalo coin. The 2008 coins can be found online through various dealers for around

Roberto Coin's 'Animalier' Collection

Filed under: Jewelry


Apparently looking to capture the spirit and energy of the wild kingdom, Roberto Coin has taken inspiration from creatures like elephants, giraffes, and cobras to created the Animalier Collection. Using mostly diamonds, gold, silver, and enamel, with occasional appearances by other precious materials like onyx and tiger's eye, the collection is full of vibrancy, sparkle, and organic earthy inspiration. And as an additional bonus, each piece has a ruby placed on it, usually hidden somewhere on the inside, as an artist's signature and also a symbol of protection.

I wouldn't have thought that one of the snake ones would be my favorite, but I just love the chunky pink cobra ring!

The World of Rare Coins: The Prized Double Eagle

It's everybody's dream to suddenly find a rare coin floating around in their pocket or purse and be an instant millionaire, and although that's always possible (not all the rare coins in the world are accounted for) it's pretty unlikely. Coin collecting is big business, both as a hobby and as a way to turn a profit. As a general rule the more rare a coin is the more it's worth, so what's the rarest coin ever? It's a debatable subject as not all experts always agree, but if the Double Eagle isn't at the top of that list it's sure near it. Back in 2002 the only Double Eagle coin left to be in private hands (or so everybody thought) sold for $7.9 million dollars.

Other rare coins include the Double Eagles smaller cousin the Quarter Eagle, and then the Brasher Doubloon, and the Eagle. More for fun then there's always the world's biggest coin, valued at $2 million+ (it's weights over 220 pounds and is the size of a pizza -- that would be a fun delivery!).

Good luck searching those pockets!

Gallery: Rare Coins

The Eagle1792 Half Dime1894-S DimeThe Quarter EagleThe Brasher Doubloon

How a Coin Worth $1.9 Million Travels Cross-Country


People buy and sell expensive things all the time, but here's an interesting story of how a dime worth $1.9 million dollars traveled across the country from its old home in San Jose to its new home in New York City. Who knew it was as simple as a guy in flip flops carrying it there in his pocket? Well I'm sure that guy, John Feigenbaum, would say it was anything but simple. He dressed in flip flops so he wouldn't attract undue attention, tried to fly coach (but got upgraded to first class anyway), and didn't sleep a wink on a red-eye flight for fear of losing the precious cargo somehow.

The 1894-S dime is one of nine known to have survived from only 24 minted in San Francisco that year. Of course the new owner, who is choosing to remain anonymous, has no intentions of doing anything with the dime other than keeping it stashed away in his vault as an investment for the future -- after spending a few minutes admiring it, of course.

US Mints 24K Gold Coin

The US Mint is aiming to target both collectors and investors with their newest release: a 24-karat gold coin. It contains one ounce of 99.99% pure gold and is cast as a tribute to the popular buffalo-head nickel that was in circulation during the 1930s. The coin will be minted as a $50 piece, though it will be worth, and sold, for more. Two versions of the coin will be available: a bullion coin for investors, which will be sold to authorized buyers for coin shops, banks and other financial institutions, and a proof coin, aimed at collections. The proof coin has a higher quality strike and finer finish, both of which will add to the physical appeal of the coin over simply the gold it is made of. 300,000 proof coins will be made and sold at an initial price of $875 per coin.

Interested buyers can purchase the proof coins beginning Thursday by going to the US Mint's website.

Half-Dime Sells for $1.3 Million

Filed under: Auctions

A rare 1792 half-dime sold at the Central States Numismatic Society convention last Thursday night to a private collector for $1.33 million. The coin is believed to be one of the first minted by the United States. The half-dime, or "disme," as it was originally spelled, was in excellent condition and believed to be one of the best examples of the few hundred that remain around today. It depicts the figure of Liberty, a woman with flowing hair, on one side, and an eagle on the reverse. The cataloger for the Heritage Auction Galleries of Dallas, which was selling the coin, said that the coin might have been pressed twice at the time of minting because it's details are so clear.


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