Numismatic News February 18, 2025

The Long Beach Expo has announced a strategic adjustment to its 2025 schedule. In a move designed to focus more on the core needs of the collectibles hobby, the Long Beach Expo will pause its June and September shows, focusing exclusively on delivering an exceptional February event. Stephanie Sabin, President of PCGS, shared her thoughts on the decision: “For decades, the Long Beach Expo has been a vibrant hub for dealers, collectors, and enthusiasts to connect, trade, and celebrate their shared passions. While our community’s enthusiasm has remained unwavering, the rising costs of hosting such an iconic event have necessitated a thoughtful reassessment of how we can best serve our attendees and exhibitors. This pause in our schedule allows us to focus on delivering a premier experience in February while…

Here are some answers sent from our e-newsletter readers. Read more responses at www.numismaticnews.com. If you could design a coin, what would it look like? I have contemplated this question upon myself: If I had influence with POTUS, I would first encourage a special project that would offer pre-sale orders of rolls of every U.S. coin denomination, yet with one gold coin, but sustaining the ideal weight in every 100-coin roll. The special design would apply “The Flying Eagle” cent soaring image on the obverse and a modern “Shield” on the reverse. Robert Eugene Wilson Huntington, W.Va. Native American depictions are always popular. Mine would include a native critter like a grizzly or mountain lion. How about changing the portraiture of the existing presidents and time to ditch the Kennedy…

Following its dominance of the 2024 top auction results and continued major sales trends in January, Professional Coin Grading Service (www.PCGS.com) has made it easier for customers to use its services. The company recently launched a revamped online coin submission center that offers customers a wealth of tools to make submitting coins for grading faster, easier to understand, and more efficient, no matter how big or small the submission. “The PCGS Online Submission Center 2.0, or OSC 2.0, is a reimagination of the entire coin submission process,” says PCGS President Stephanie Sabin. “It makes submitting coins more convenient while giving you all of the necessary tools and resources to better plan for and organize your submissions to custom-tailor the submission experience to your unique needs.” An items-first approach is one…

The United States Mint’s United States Constitution Platinum Proof Coin Series began in 2021. For five years, the series featured a new coin each year, with a new obverse on the 99.94 percent platinum coins. The five freedoms of the First Amendment are highlighted on each coin, with 2025 being the last year of the series. The fifth and final coin in the series shows the Right to Petition. A mature, spreading oak tree with the inscription “WITH THE RIGHT TO PETITION LIBERTY ENDURES” surrounds it, taking center stage on the obverse. The common reverse of the series depicts an eagle in flight, carrying an olive branch in its talons. The $100 one-ounce coin will be available on February 20.…

The year 2025 marks the end of the U.S. Mint’s American Women Quarter program. The following year, 2026, will see new quarters, a new dime, and a new half-dollar, all to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The Citizen’s Coinage Advisery Committee met in the fall of 2024 to discuss the designs for the semiquincentennial coins. Now, the Mint is calling on the people for their input for a new quarter program that will begin in 2027. “In 2027, the United States Mint will release its newest quarters program highlighting youth sports played in the United States,” reads the announcement on the Mint’s website. The program will last through 2030, with up to five new designs each year. The Mint has also been authorized…

■ Of how much value are mintage figures I see published in coin catalogs? Coinage mintage figures can be deceiving. Early U.S. Mint mintage records indicate the number of coins shipped rather than the number corresponding to the year in which the coins were produced. Some collectors use mintage figures to determine rarity. The number of surviving examples is a better statistic. Foreign commemorative coins, for example, that don’t sell are often melted by their mint. ■ How can I learn what the number of surviving specimens of a specific year for a denomination is? Several third-party certification services have what we call population reports. These reports aren’t 100 percent accurate since some coins are submitted for examination more than once to a particular service or are submitted to a…