Last month on Sunday, December 21st, many of us were going to holiday parties or baking cookies. But not the Weekend Wanderers Detecting Club. They went out hunting for treasure with their metal detectors. One member, Paul Coleman, almost didn’t go, because the cost of gas was straining his budget. In fact, he had to…

It was early in the Civil War in April of 1862, and the battle was on. The Battle of Shiloh to be exact, in southwestern Tennessee. Confederate soldier Lt. George Dixon was in the thick of it. Unfortunately, a Union soldier got the better of him, and shot Dixon in the leg at close range….

The New Year is the time of year that many of us make resolutions to better ourselves. A lot of those resolutions have to do with money, mainly regarding how to get — and keep — more money. So perhaps it’s no surprise that cultures around the globe ring in the New Year with coins….

This is the fourth installment in a series of articles about the United States mints. In the 1850s in the United States, when many people thought of the Wild West, they thought of gold. Tales of people from showing up broke as beggars and leaving as rich as sultans were told all over America. By…

Imagine you’re out walking your dog, and you see something glittering out of the corner of your eye. You initially assume it’s something mundane, but, curious, you investigate. It’s not mundane. Not at all. It’s looks like an ancient ring. You have it evaluated and discover the ring’s history—it’s changed hands from queens to noblewomen,…

It’s 1950, the Andrews Sisters are on the radio and you’re cruising down the road in your Chevy. As you stop to fill up your tank, you exclaim, “Twenty-two cents a gallon! That’s highway robbery!” You head to the station down the street offering gas for nineteen-cents a gallon. Times were a lot simpler back…

Have you ever wondered about the world’s biggest coin? What about the most valuable coin? Well, wonder no more. Here’s a list of the world’s record-breaking coins, from small to large, and everything in between. Smallest Coin The matter of the world’s smallest coin is hotly disputed. Some numismatic experts in India claim that the…

When it comes to bullion coins, silver and gold get all the attention. Platinum coins have become increasingly popular in recent years as well. While palladium coins, are still somewhat of a rarity, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some shining examples. Constellations, ballerinas, pandas, and more can be found on palladium coins. Here are the…

This is the third installment in our series about United States mints. In the mid-nineteenth century in San Francisco, one thing was on everybody’s mind: gold! But the nearest mint to the California Gold Rush was all the way in New Orleans. A mint was badly needed to turn the huge supplies of raw gold…

  Legends of gold in South Africa predate the country’s existence, and the ancient gold artifacts from the region have long proven them to be true. Early settlers to Africa were always eager to find this legendary gold, though few had any success. After a few minor gold discoveries, settlers in the 1800s began to…

“Something old and something new, something borrowed and something blue.” It’s a saying referenced in English folklore from as far back as the 1800s. Most of us have heard the familiar rhyme, which brides are supposed to heed on their wedding day. But that’s not the end of the saying. The original version finishes with…

This is the second article in a series on United States Mints. During the 1830s the U.S. was in the midst of a swift expansion. As explorers and settlers pushed further South and West, infrastructure was needed. Amongst the missing amenities in these new regions, was a facility to produce currency. Even though the Philadelphia…

Over 2,000 years ago, a king named Liu Fei was buried. His body was laid to rest in what is now Jiangsu, China. Liu Fei’s burial was no standard affair. His family attempted to enhance Liu Fei’s quality of, well, afterlife by filling each of the mausoleum’s 11 chambers with his unimaginable wealth. Archeologists have…

Finally. After much delay, the 2014 Mexican Silver Libertads have been released to the public. It’s not just the delay that makes these bullion coins a sensation. Like the gold Libertads, which were released in March, these silver coins typically have a relatively low mintage. The Mexican Mint is notorious for releasing a limited amount…

You never know what you’ll get when you sort a roll of coins. One lucky man in New Orleans got the find of a lifetime. He found a very special 1861-O Seated Liberty half-dollar hiding in a roll of Kennedy half-dollars. After undergoing knee surgery, this unnamed coin collector decided to sort through rolls of…