WCT News

Who Counterstamped These Early U.S. Quarters? A New Look at the E and L Mystery

For more than a century, collectors have asked the same question about a small group of E and L counterstamped early American quarters.

Why did someone stamp the letters “E” and “L” above Liberty’s head?

The letters appear on Capped Bust quarters dated 1815 and 1825. They look deliberate. Their placement follows a pattern. Moreover, most surviving coins show remarkably little wear.

“E” and “L” Counterstamps in 1815 Bust Quarter Eagles

Yet no known contemporary document explains them.

CoinWeek examined the broader mystery in May 2026. This time, however, another question deserves attention. Instead of asking only what the letters mean, we can ask when these coins first emerged and what their physical evidence actually tells us.

That trail leads from a New Orleans bank in 1815 to a Pennsylvania religious schism in 1832. Then, suddenly, it r…

Some coin varieties announce themselves loudly. Others whisper. The No FG Kennedy half dollar belongs to the second group, and that quiet disappearance is precisely what makes it thrilling. At first glance, the coin looks ordinary. However, a crucial detail is missing. Once you see it, you never forget it.

This variety is not born of a plan, but of a mistake. More importantly, it is a mistake collectors can still find.

What Is a No FG Kennedy Half Dollar?

The No FG Kennedy half dollar is a regular-issue or special-strike coin that lacks the designer’s initials, FG, for Frank Gasparro, on the reverse. Gasparro placed his initials beneath the eagle’s left leg (to the viewer’s right), just above the tail feathers and near the arrows. In normal examples, those letters appear crisp and clear.

On an actual No FG coin, they are entirely gone.

This is not wear. This is not damage. Instead, it is a die-state variety created at the Mint.

Why the Initial…

Monnaie de Paris Table Mountain Gold

A modern coin with a mintage of 150 qualifies as scarce. Drop that number to 25 and the collecting equation changes dramatically.

Make only 10, however, and the coin enters very different territory.

That is the headline behind the new 2026 Monnaie de Paris Table Mountain coin series. The French mint has turned one of South Africa’s most recognizable natural landmarks into a four-coin UNESCO World Heritage collection. At the top sits a massive 10-ounce .999 fine gold Proof with a worldwide mintage of just 10 coins.

Monnaie de Paris also will strike a five-ounce gold edition limited to 25 pieces and a two-ounce gold coin capped at 150. A more accessible .999 fine silver Proof carries a mintage of 5,000.

10 oz Table Top Gold Closeup

Monnaie de Paris lists all four coins for availability beginning October 20, 2026.

Those numbers alone will attract attention. However, the story behind the coins reaches well b…

Fed Shock Fades and Hormuz Risk Builds

Gold and silver prices pushed sharply higher Friday as precious metals traders began looking past this week’s Federal Reserve rate hike. Falling oil prices and retreating Treasury yields helped fuel the rebound. However, the Strait of Hormuz remains a dangerous wildcard for bullion markets.

Spot gold climbed about 0.7% to $4,372 an ounce Friday morning. Meanwhile, silver jumped more than 2% to roughly $66.70. That put gold on course for its first weekly gain in four weeks. Silver also headed toward a weekly advance.

The move marks a dramatic reversal from Wednesday’s post-Fed selling.

The Fed Hiked Rates, but Gold Refused to Stay Down

On September 16, the Federal Reserve raised its federal funds target range by 25 basis points to 3.75%–4.00%. It marked the Fed’s first rate increase since July 2023. Moreover, policymakers left the door open for additional tightening as inflation remains above the central bank…

ANA 2026: 1933 Double Eagles, Shipwreck Gold & $70M

The 2026 ANA World’s Fair of Money brought together one of the most remarkable combinations of coins, artifacts, auctions, and collectors seen at a U.S. numismatic convention in years.

More than 6,300 collectors, dealers, professionals, and families attended the five-day event at Pittsburgh’s David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The American Numismatic Association held the show from August 25 through August 29.

The sold-out bourse included 489 booths and more than 1,430 rare coin and paper money dealers, according to the ANA. Meanwhile, educational programs, major auctions, and museum-quality exhibits filled the convention schedule.

However, one display stood above the rest.

On August 28, the United States Mint placed all 11 government-owned 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles together for the first time. The historic one-day exhibit turned one of America’s most famous coin stories into a center…

By Roger W. Burdette, special to CoinWeek …..

I remember a while back, a collector (DeplorableDan) posted photos and comments about an 1836 Quarter Eagle, Block 8, on a PCGS message board under the title “My first CACG submission result”.

In the post, he showed the coin as it was in a PCGS slab, as it was after being cracked out, and as it was after grading by CACG. PCGS graded the coin “MS61”; CACG called it “MS62”. As a practical exercise in accurate coin grading, I’ve posted DeplorableDan’s photos along with a PCGS MS65 coin from PCGS CoinFacts.

To me, this coin is,  in anyone’s plastic holder,  a superior example of this variety, and an outstanding addition to the owner’s collection. A coin of this quality usually holds or increases its value over time and can provide continued enjoyment to the owner for many years to come. The coin in its PCGS slab looked like this:

Figure 1. 1836 Quarter Eagle, Block 8. (Photo by DeplorableDan.)

The sa…

Why the 1922 High Relief Peace Dollar Became a Six-Figure Mint Experiment

The 1922 High Relief Peace Dollar tells a more complicated story than collectors once believed.

For decades, numismatic accounts treated the issue mainly as a failed attempt to continue the dramatic relief of the 1921 Peace Dollar. The United States Mint tried high relief, shattered dies, abandoned the concept, and moved on to the familiar low-relief coin.

Modern research has revealed a much richer story.

During a frantic series of experiments in January 1922, the Philadelphia Mint tested several versions of Anthony de Francisci’s design. George T. Morgan altered hubs, changed details, lowered relief, and paired different obverse and reverse designs. The resulting coins now fall into several distinct experimental varieties.

At the center of that story sits the Judd-2019 1922 High Relief Matte Proof Peace Dollar. It ranks among the great rarities of 20th-century American numi…

1971-S Eisenhower Dollar Prototype

In 2008, collector Lee C. Lydston looked through a tube of ordinary 40% silver Eisenhower Dollars at the Long Beach Coin Expo. One coin looked wrong.

Its surfaces differed. Its strike looked unusually bold. Most importantly, the Moon on the reverse showed details that did not belong on a normal 1971-S Eisenhower Dollar.

Lydston had just found one of the great modern U.S. coin discoveries.

1971-S Eisenhower Dollar Silver J-2147 Prototype/Discovery Coin PCGS SP-67 (CAC Green)

Today, experts know only three examples of the 1971-S Eisenhower Dollar Prototype, now cataloged as Judd-2147. The Lydston discovery coin carries a grade of PCGS SP67 with a CAC green sticker. GreatCollections will offer the coin in an auction scheduled to close on October 18, 2026. The auction company identifies it as the only J-2147 prototype with CAC approval and as tied for the finest grade assigned by PCGS.

This is no obscure die variety …

This $5,000 Bill Nearly Vanished. One of Two Known Kansas City Notes Heads to Auction

Most Americans have never seen a genuine $5,000 bill. Even many advanced currency collectors never will.

However, GreatCollections is now offering something considerably rarer than the denomination itself. The auction house will sell a Series 1928 $5,000 Kansas City Federal Reserve Note, Friedberg 2220-J, from the Schwenk Family Collection of 100 Greatest American Currency Notes.

PMG graded the note Extremely Fine 40. More importantly, researchers currently know of only two Series 1928 $5,000 notes from the Kansas City Federal Reserve District.

Fr. 2220-J (JA Block) 1928 $5,000 Kansas City Federal Reserve Note Woods / Mellon PMG Extremely Fine 40

That makes this note more than an obsolete piece of high-denomination currency. It represents a surviving artifact from a financial system that once moved enormous sums of money with individual pieces of paper.

GreatColl…

104-Gram Royal Gold Rarity With Kaiser Wilhelm Provenance Headlines New Atlas List

A massive 104-gram gold royal wedding medal with an Imperial German pedigree leads the newest fixed-price offerings from Atlas Numismatics.

Atlas has added 358 coins, medals, and tokens to its online inventory. The selections span more than two millennia of numismatic history. They range from an ancient Paeonian silver tetradrachm to major European gold and silver issues.

However, one piece immediately stands apart. It combines British and Prussian royalty, a celebrated 19th-century medalist, an Imperial provenance, and more than three troy ounces of gold.

A $89,500 Royal Wedding Medal With Imperial Provenance

The headline piece is an extraordinary 1858-dated gold medal weighing the equivalent of 30 ducats. Friedrich Wilhelm Kullrich created the medal to commemorate the marriage of Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia and Victoria, Princess Royal, the eldest daughter of Que…