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Summary of Spring 1999 Articles
Getting Started is Easy
 Do you have a family
member, friend, or business associate who is into rare coins or precious
metals but doesn't have a computer or know how to get online with confidence?
If so, this comprehensive 2,700-word article could add a dimension to
his or her collecting/investing. It has step-by-step instructions for
everything from how to buy a first computer and get on line to using the
four services most helpful to a collector/investor: the World Wide Web;
email; mailing lists; and forums, bulletin boards, and newsgroups.
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Bullion in Cyberspace: There's gold in
them thar dot coms
If you are a bullion investor (or considering becoming one), this
article tells you where to go...on the Internet, that is. It directs
you to sites for worldwide spot prices 24/7; breaking news that
affects the precious metals markets; research from industry, government,
and academic sources; historical information; book reviews and newsletters,
and forums for consulting with other investors. Being Internet savvy
can make a difference to your portfolio. As the article concludes,
"The 49ers searched for gold with a pickax and a mule. Today, you
can use a keyboard and a mouse."
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Mints: Where money's really made
When a reporter asked Willie Sutton why he robbed banks, Sutton
replied "That's where the money is." Mints are where the bullion
coins are. So whether you want to invest in Platinum American
Eagles as a buffer against the uncertainties of the stock market
or collect Australian Olympic commemorative coins because you
love sports, mints are the places to be.
 "Fortunately,
you don't have to travel from country to country to visit them.
Many mints are on the Web, and more will be. Hit their sites
to pick up information on current products and prices, and products
in development. That's only the beginning. You'll find that
mint sites are resources for everything from breaking news that
affects bullion to the history of coinage. Many also provide
virtual tours, which include fascinating information about history,
art, manufacturing, and money, as well as fun trivia. Bring
the kids...." The article goes on to describe what you can discover
on mint sites around the world.
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Kitco.com: Inside look at a precious
metals Web site
Bart Kitner, president of Montreal-based Kitco Minerals
& Metals Inc. and author of this article, started kitco.com
three years ago to serve jewelers and goldsmiths. Perhaps
attracted by the 24/7 precious metals spot prices, private
investors, coin collectors, goldbugs, and numismatists showed
up on the site. They participate in large numbers in a precious
metals discussion group. Over 500 messages are posted each
day, many with "investment grade" information.
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Your virtual coin and bullion
reference library
Whether the subject is staying married, improving your
golf game, or collecting coins, people ask the same
questions over and over again. World Wide Web sites
have responded with FAQs-lists of Frequently Asked Questions,
complete with answers. So before asking a question,
you might search an FAQ to see if it has already been
answered.
Two such FAQs www.telesphere.com/ts/coins/faq2.html
and emporium.turnpike.net/M/mikec/gold3.htm
cover coin collecting and investing topics. Topics on
the latter include how to protect your coins from PVC
(polyvinylchloride, or "green slime"), and why a Bluesheet
bid may be less than the value of your coin of the same
type and grade. The former contains a comprehensive,
user-friendly glossary of numismatic terms. A "pick
up point" is not a bar, but rather an area where a feature,
such as die doubling, is most evident....
In addition to FAQs, the article describes Usenet
newsgroups such as rec.collecting.coins and mailing
lists, which you can subscribe to by searching for numismatics
at www.liszt.com.
Also print publication, museum, and coin trivia sites.
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Let the Buyer Beware: Some
Eagles Don't Fly
The Family of Eagles Corporation (www.famofeagles.com)
wants you to "Invest in American Gold Eagle Coins
molded by the U.S. Mint, mined, no doubt, from a
lode deep in the High Sierras of California. Make
money, help your country climb out of debt, own
a piece of our country's history, leave a legacy
for your children."
Noble, but at almost twice retail? Might not the
more patriotic duty be to search for the best deal
in our free enterprise system?
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50 States Quarters Program
The U.S. Mint's exciting plan to attract new
collectors-a great way to introduce kids to
coins. You can collect the whole set for as
little as $12.50-but it will take you ten years.
The eagle has flown from the nation's quarters,
giving way to discrete designs representing
each of the 50 states. The first coin in the
U.S. Mint's "50
States Quarters Program" debuted in January.
The new two-bit piece with Delaware's imprimatur
commemorates the first of the United States.
Four other states-Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
Georgia, and Connecticut-are also scheduled
to have their uniquely self-designed coins distributed
this year, in the order in which they entered
the Union by ratifying the Constitution.
The unprecedented, 10-year program is the
first change in the quarter since the Bicentennial
coin of 1975-1976. All 50 State Quarters are
legal tender and will be available through circulation
in commercial transactions and in collectable
sets by contacting the U.S. Mint's Web site:
www.usmint.gov.
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