An academy rich in history, culture and tradition, West Point is the crème de la crème of the United States Military. This Army academy began in 1801 by order of then President Thomas Jefferson. Named for the surrounding area, West Point sits 50 miles north of New York City on the Hudson River and has…

  The Great Depression was an extremely difficult time for any American to have endured. Work was, in essence, impossible to find and landlords were less than forgiving to tenants who could not make rent. Many were left starving on the streets of every major city and town. This unfortunate phenomenon extended on into the…

January brings with it a time for many anew. This year not only are we seeing a few exceptional, one of a kind items being released for the Year of the Monkey, but we are also privileged to see in our lifetime two coins to honor a man who did as much for the literary…

A new year brings with it a gemstone known within the gemological world for its variance of color availability of which most may be unaware. January is the month represented by the gorgeous, versatile garnet, which so many have fallen in love with throughout the years. The most popular hue in the garnet spectrum is,…

To help ring in the New Year, the Royal Canadian Mint has released a charming, witty and one of a kind collectible: a clever and alluring monkey coin in honor of 2016 marking the Year of the Monkey as per the Chinese Zodiac. The limited and exclusive coin reflects the same unique characteristics the zodiac…

The Cold War era was an interesting time for the Greater Seattle Area. The technology and space race with our Soviet competitors was in full swing and with Seattle being Boeing’s hometown, it was only right for the Emerald City to host the World’s Fair in 1962. During April 21-October 21, 1962, Seattle would respectively…

To many, December is known as the month of giving to those near and dear to us as much as our bank accounts will allow, as we shower those in gifts that we may otherwise not consider gifting. But what happens when your friends and family are among the 1% who are fortunate enough to…

  Bellevue Rare Coins and Angel Designs have teamed up with 106.1 KISS for Bender’s One Big KISS fundraiser to aide Seattle Children’s Hospital in their fight to help children in need. Angel Designs and Bellevue Rare Coins knew they wanted to make a donation that would have a significant impact in any way possible…

Much like gold certificates, silver certificates were created in the latter 19th century to ease the transfer of silver bullion ownership and to represent the physical amount of silver being held by a financial institution. During a time when mining was booming throughout the country, it became imperative to carry the certificates, whose appearance mimicked…

  Unlike many stones found in various regions around the world, tanzanite is found solely in Tanzania. Having only been discovered in the latter of the 1960’s, tanzanite rapidly grew in popularity with the help of Tiffany & Co. because of their introduction of the stone to the general public just before 1970. In fact,…

Weighing an impressive 12.03 carats and possessing a perfect, vivid blue hue, the Blue Moon diamond sold for a record breaking $48.4 million USD on November 11, 2015. Not only is the $48.4 million price the highest ever paid for a diamond, it is the highest amount ever paid for any stone of any type….

  When Europeans began traveling in masses to the New World during the 17th century, many arrived with little more than the clothes on their backs. Having spent virtually every last bit of available worth for the trip across the pond, the new settlers began searching for the means to trade, barter and purchase necessities…

Unfortunately, not everything in life is perfect; the same is true for striking coins. Throughout history, there have been mishaps with the machinery, test runs that did not go anywhere near as planned and even intentional hiccups orchestrated by Mint employees. How and why have certain, imperfect pieces throughout history been deemed worthy of being…

Back in June of 2015, Eric Schmitt and his family made an unthinkable discovery of over $1.5 million in coins and various artifacts later determined to be those of a sunken Spanish fleet. Heading to Spain from Havana, Cuba, the fleet compiled of 11 ships were caught and eventually succumbed to a hurricane. Each ship…

Gold certificates have a long standing in the history of the financial world. Because moving tangible gold during the transfer of ownership can be a physically tasking ordeal and the carrying of large quantities of gold coin can also be quite cumbersome, gold certificates have been used as far back as 17th century Europe, most…