From the desk of your Secretary

December 29/07 - ANACS has recently been sold by Anderson Press Incorporated to Driving Force, LLC, of Colorado, owned by James Taylor. The purchase was effective December 21, 2007, and the company is being relocated to suburban Denver, Colorado.

"The office is currently closed for the holidays to allow time for the move. The order tracking system along with the population report are currently down for the holidays and should be available again January 4, 2008."

The notice goes on to state: "Business will resume and submissions will begin to ship out January 2, 2008. If there are any questions please don’t hesitate to contact Mr. Taylor at: James.Taylor@anacs.com The new ANACS office will be located at: 6555 S. Kenton St, Suite 303 Englewood, CO 80112 1-800-888-1861."

Jingling in your pockets in 2008 will be Presidential $1 Coins bearing the images of James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren-the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth Presidents of the United States. The United States Mint released photographs of the four coins today.

The United States Mint will be putting a new Presidential $1 Coin into circulation every three months in 2008 beginning with the James Monroe Presidential $1 Coin on February 14. The John Quincy Adams Presidential $1 Coin will follow May 15. Then look for the Andrew Jackson Presidential $1 Coin on August 14 and the Martin Van Buren Presidential $1 Coin on November 13.

December 22/07 - Among the numerous provisions in the omnibus spending bill H.R. 2764 also called the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008 [CAA2008] passed by Congress this week, is SEC. 622 requiring the United States Mint to produce six new designs for the quarter after the popular 50 State Quarters program ends next year.

The measure was added to the bill by Representative José E. Serrano, a Democrat who represents the South Bronx and is chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that deals with financial matters.

Under the proposed legislation, congress has mandated that six new “state quarters” be added to the 50 State Quarter Program in 2009 . Actually the “states” are not states at all, but comprise 5 US territories and the District of Columbia.

The House had passed legislation to extend the 50-state quarter program to 56 designs four previous times. However in each instance, an anonymous “hold” in the Senate precluded the Senate Banking Committee from holding hearings or the majority leader from bringing it to a recorded vote. This year, with congress trying to get the omnibus spending bill passed before Christmas, and with over 9000 other “earmarks” included in the legislation, no “hold” was placed and the additional new quarters appear to have made it into the program.

Should this legislation be enacted into law, and there is no reason at this time to expect that President Bush will not sign it, Album publishers and the myriad of companies offering State Quarter Maps and collecting boards will have to come up with supplements to the products or re-introduce new pages or holders to accommodate the additional six New quarters.

A spokeswoman for the Mint said Thursday that procedures for selecting subjects for the new quarters, and their design, would be posted online once President Bush signed the bill.

In addition to the New State Quarters, CAA2008 SEC. 623(a) amends the law authorizing the Presidential Dollar Coin Program, and calls for the motto “In God We Trust” to be moved on the from the Rim to either the Obverse or Reverse of this series design.

This change in the Presidential Dollar program came about in no small measure due to the numerous errors created during the manufacture of the first four Presidential Dollars and the continuing difficulty the US Mint has encountered in adding the proper Edge Letter and Motto to the rim of the coin.

In many instance the “In God We Trust” logo was impressed multiple times and/or missing entirely resulting in Plain Edge error coins.

In addition many people including congress were not happy with the original design elements of moving the Motto from the obverse and/or reverse of our coinage to the rim. many considered this an attempt to diminish the important of the slogan on US coinage, while other speculated that moving the motto to the less prominent rim portion of the coin design was nothing less than the first step in eventually attempting to remove “In God We Trust” from our coinage in general.

Whatever your position or predilection, should this legislation pass, the motto will resume its position on all subsequent presidential dollars, making the previous 4 issues ( Washington, Adams, Jefferson and Madison) into their own “Dollar Type”

December 18/07 - On January 16th the PCI Coin Grading Service is to be auctioned off. The auction will be conducted by Gravitt Auctions and includes:”…all assets of PCI, Inc., tangible and intangible, are to be sold to the highest bidder at “Absolute Public Auction”, all for one bid, including: Name, registered service mark, website, toll tree number, safes and office equipment, customer list, approximately 13,000 - 14,000 names”

PCI, Inc, began in 1989 as a service primarily for collectors. In the beginning the company was called Photo Certification Institute, hence the acronym PCI. At the time the company would encapsulate coins in a holder along with a photo of that coin. As time went on, the photos were dropped.

PCI has gone through several transitions. From the original founder Louis Revels, to a change in ownership, the passing of Brian Beardsley, J. T. Stanton's arrival to oversee all operations and then his departure on September 29th of this year.

Efforts were made to rejuvenate the companies reputation as a third tier grading service with attempts to move toward a more consistent and market acceptable grading standard however the market never truly accepted the PCI graded coins and almost all were heavily discounted in the marketplace.

One venue that saw a large number of PCI graded coins was on eBay. Unfortunately many sellers would list a PCI graded MS-65 coin and then use the PCGS retail price guide as valuation in the listing. Of course the two had no relation to one another, but it provided a questionable selling approach to sell PCI graded coins to unsuspecting buyers who thought they were getting a great “bargain” when in fact many were getting buried in coins they would have a hard time reselling in the future.

As a result of this and other abuses taking place, eBay started a New policy whereby only PCGS, NGC, ANACS and IGC would be considered as “Certified Coins”, and all other coins, including PCI would now be considered to be uncertified.

It has been rumored that with this change in eBay’s listing policy, submissions to PCI plummeted and upwards to 90% of its revenue stream was lost. The change in policy by eBay may very well have been the “death nail” for PCI.

November 27/07 - A bank teller had a million reasons to deny this transaction.

November 26/07 - Canada's taxman is going to start checking out eBay sellers, including those who sell coins, to make sure that the government is getting its piece of the pie. According to a Globe and Mail article, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) won a federal court order requiring eBay to turn over the names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses of high-volume, so-called "power sellers" who use the site.

According to papers filed with the court, the CRA wants to ensure that transactions from 2004 and 2005 were reported, so that income tax could be paid. Power-seller levels start at bronze, for $1,000 US a month, and move up through five levels.

It is estimated that Canadians spend about $5 billion a year online with about a quarter of that going through eBay. The firm's figures estimated that 11 million Canadians visited the site in August. Todd Sandham of Colonial Acres, has been active on EBay for years.

He doesn't have a problem with the CRA accessing eBay records. "In the end it's a good thing," he said. "As a legitimate business I collect and pay taxes and I always have."

However, he said smaller dealers who may be buying or selling as if it were a hobby may have some problems. "In terms of those other guys who sell smaller amounts but don't collect taxes, it could effect them quite a bit," he said.

"But they're doing something that's wrong, so whether it's good or bad is irrelevant." Sandham agreed that the business pretending to be a hobbyist has an advantage because he is able to sell without collecting or paying taxes, but said he didn't lose much sleep over that.

"That's just the way life is," he said. "It's beyond my control." eBay had resisted turning over the information both on the basis that as a subsidiary of eBay Inc., its records are kept outside of Canada, and that the CRA was not conducting a genuine and serious inquiry. The September ruling does not address the seriousness of the inquiry.

According to Paul Waldie, the Globe and Mail reporter who broke the story, the court action is the result of an ongoing action by the CRA. "I gather from the filings they have been after eBay for more than a year on this," he told CCN.

Even now, it is possible that EBay may be able to avoid turning over the information. "I believe eBay can appeal the order," Waldie said. "However, both sides still have to argue over whether CRA has a legitimate inquiry."

He said the order involved eBay Canada power sellers. Sandham predicted that turning over records could have a chilling effect on eBay sellers, if they're afraid of the government learning about their income.

"It will cut down on sales, so I'm sure that's why eBay is fighting it," he said. "Some people may decide to move on to some of the smaller sites."

Another dealer told CCN that he had heard a year ago that a special team of auditors had been recruited and were being trained, just to deal with online transactions. That dealer also said he figured it was only a matter of time before the CRA raised the issue of GST compliance.

CRA administers both GST and income tax for the federal government so any information-sharing would be simply between departments of the same agency. Waldie said the court documents did not make any reference to GST.

November 15/07 - Madison Dollar debuts today. The U.S. Mint is rolling out its fourth new presidential coin on Thursday, this one bearing the likeness of James Madison, the father of the Constitution.

November 13/07 - The European Union is to issue a commemorative 2-euro coin marking the 10th anniversary of the European single currency, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker said Monday. The new coin will be expected to circulate in the EU countries that use the euro in 2008. Thirteen countries currently use the euro. Malta and Cyprus are due to join the group in 2008. Juncker said the coin's design would be decided through a public competition. The euro was introduced in non-physical form at midnight on January 1, 1999. Euro notes and coins only started circulating in January 2002.

The Royal Canadian Mint (RCM) today officially released the fifth of 17 circulation coins to celebrate the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The sport of alpine skiing is depicted on the 25-cent coin.

“Alpine skiing is yet another sport the Mint is proudly celebrating as part of its extensive Olympic coin program,” said Ian E. Bennett, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint. “As we look ahead to the next two years, the Mint will continue to offer Canadians from coast to coast the unique opportunity to collect a piece of the Games.”

“Alpine Canada Alpin is honored that our great sport is being showcased to all Canadians though the issuing of an Olympic coin,” said Mr. Ken Read, Chief Executive Officer of Alpine Canada Alpine. “Alpine ski racing has a long tradition of excellence in this country and our athletes are committed to being the very best in the world as we head towards the 2010 Winter Games.”

Up to 22 million 25-cent alpine skiing coins will enter into circulation today, October 24th, and will be available exclusively at RBC Royal Bank and participating Petro-Canada outlets.

October 17/07 -

Christopher Cipoletti was fired yesterday as executive director and legal counsel of the American Numismatic Association, the nation’s largest coin collector organization based in Colorado Springs, Co.

In a closed executive session Monday evening, the ANA’s nine-member board of governors voted to “terminate with cause” Cipoletti’s employment and then announced that decision Tuesday, during a public meeting to the organization’s 35 staff members.

“Because it’s an employment issue, we don’t give specifics, but we felt there’s adequate cause to fire him,” Barry Stuppler, president of the board, said.

It was reported that Cipoletti, 46, did not return a call to his Colorado Springs home for comment. Cipoletti has been the ANA executive director since January 2003 and also served as the ANA’s legal counsel. His annual compensation has been reported to be $250,000.

The move by the board, comes after several years of turmoil within the organization. Questions about finances, claims of secrecy and staff turnover culminated during the last ANA general election, where most of the “old” board of governors was replaced by the ANA membership or more than 32,000.

One of the New Boards first actions was on August 12th when it decided to place Mr. Cipoletti on “administrative leave” and replace him with Ed Rochette. Rochette has served as the associations executive director before Cipoletti and is currently a board member. The local money museum is named after him.

After Tuesday’s announcements Ed Rochette commented “…this board and staff are paving the way for the association to move up and beyond where it’s been,” .

Cipoletti’s employment contract with the association runs through Dec. 31, 2008, however with his firing, now an arbitrator will be needed to settle any contract claims and severance issues. The ANA’s projected $800,000 operating budget deficit for the 2007 fiscal year most likely will be affected by any outcome from that arbitration.

In a private executive session during a working dinner Monday, Cipoletti reportedly gave a presentation to the board for more than an hour. “After his presentation, we decided to terminate him,” Stuppler said.

While the ANA looks for a new executive director, former association president Kenneth Hallenbeck of Colorado Springs will continue as the acting executive director.

Prior to Cipoletti’s removal yesterday the ANA announced on that a $1 million donation pledge made by Steve Contursi and Todd Griffins of Rare Coin Wholesalers for three ANA Museum projects had been cordially withdrawn.

The proposed Museum Projects have long been an issue on concern to many ANA members and critics since they were announced. The $40 million price tag for upgrades to the ANA museum in Colorado Springs, and two new museums (One in Washington DC and the other to be housed in the old San Francisco Mint building in California) had previously come under attack as being misguided and far too expensive.

The ANA previously announced on Oct 5th that it was canceling the Washington DC project, and many observers clearly saw this as a sign that the New board had no intention of moving forward with the new museums, part of Cipoletti’s vision for the future of the ANA.

It seems they were correct. On Monday Board members also voted to scrap both plans to build a money museum in the San Francisco Mint building and all plans to expand the Edward C. Rochette Money Museum in Colorado Springs were put on hold.

Adding to Cipoletti’s woes was the messy business of ongoing litigation. At the time Cipoletti was placed on Administrative Leave in August , Stuppler said the action was taken to give Cipoletti time to concentrate on a civil lawsuit Cipoletti and the American Numismatic Association filed more than two years ago against three former employees and an independent computer contractor. The lawsuit alleges civil theft of proprietary business information, harassment against Cipoletti, civil conspiracy, breach of fiduciary duty, among other complaints.

This month, a jury trial in 4th Judicial District Court was rescheduled for the fourth time to Aug. 18, 2008.

To date, the ANA has paid about $400,000 in legal fees on the case, Stuppler said.

Further concerns remain as to what actually took place during Cipoletti’s tenure at the ANA.

Questions have been raised about the organization’s operating budget deficit, which for the past five years under Cipoletti’s leadership has ranged from $266,000 to more than $1 million annually. A Coin World article reported that Cipoletti and another ANA employee took a seminar on fundraising that cost over $100,000, and there have been numerous eye brows raised as to the personnel changes and competence of some employees in management positions, especially with respect to the museum.

However the New board seems committed to take the ANA in a new direction. Stuppler pledged an open, transparent atmosphere for the board, staff and members.

“We have a new management change, a new structure and a new culture,” he said. “In the past, there hasn’t been an open line of communication, and we’re trying to remedy that.” Actual proceedings of the Board meeting. The Audio File can be accessed here .

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~ The US Mint has resumed sales of most American Eagle gold coins in both Proof and Unc after having previously suspended sales due to the rising price of gold. Sales have also resumed for the 2007 Buffalo Gold which has seen a price increase from $827.95 to today's posted price of $899.95

The 1oz Proof Gold AE and the 4 coin Proof AE Gold Sets remain unavailable, but a note on the US Mint website says the 4 coin sets are due to start shipping on Oct 30th. All of the Platinum AE coins remain unavailable for sale with no new notations as to when these will go back on sale.

For the second time this year the US Mint has halted the sale of Gold Coins offered on its web site as the result of increasing Gold Prices.

On Sept 13, the US Mint suspended sales of the “W” uncirculated gold American Eagles and bulk sales of four-coin gold American Eagle proof sets. These have yet to be re-offered, though new prices were supposed to be published in the Federal Register today, Oct. 11

The most recent suspension of sales came yesterday when all Platinum “W” uncirculated American Eagle coins sales stopped. A message on the US Mint website read: “Due to the increasing market value of platinum, the American Eagle Platinum Uncirculated Coins are temporarily unavailable while pricing for this option can be adjusted; therefore, no orders can be taken at this time.” The OLD Price was : $1,489.95

This came on the heels of the 2007 Proof Gold Buffalo Coins sale suspension on Oct 9th. A similar statement read: ” Due to the increasing market value of gold, the American Buffalo Gold Proof One Ounce Coin is temporarily unavailable while pricing for this option can be adjusted; therefore, no orders can be taken at this time.” The OLD price for the Proof Gold Buffalo’s was : $825.95. Gold bullion was trading in the $730s per ounce when Buffalo coin sales were suspended.

The price of gold is up 17 percent this year, heading for the seventh straight annual gain as the dollar dropped to the lowest ever against the euro.

Gold futures for December delivery rose $5.60, or 0.8 percent, to $748.70 an ounce at 11:33 a.m. on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The metal reached $755.70 on Oct. 1, the highest for a most-active contract since Jan. 22, 1980, the day after the price reached a record $873.