A new shipment of 2008 silver American Eagles arrived in Iola this week. We use them as subscription premiums. They are very popular.

I have one on my desk this morning as a reminder to write this blog. The discovery of the 2008-W uncirculated silver American Eagle with the reverse of 2007 reported in the May 6 issue of Numismatic News has added to the general interest in what has been a very  popular coin since it was created in 1986.

There is still some confusion out there as to just what a 2008-W American Eagle is as compared to a regular 2008 silver American Eagle that is usually just called a one-ounce bullion coin.

Let’s start with the bullion coin first. It was created in 1986. The Mint made a decision to sell them only to a small group of authorized dealers, who in turn sell them to a wider numismatic marketplace. The coin has no mintmark on its reverse.

Some collectors complained from the first that they didn’t want to buy the coin from a dealer but would prefer to buy directly from the U.S. Mint.

In 2006, the Mint changed a policy of almost 20 years standing and decided to offer uncirculated silver American Eagles directly to collectors. Perhaps out of a concern not to undercut sales to the authorized dealers, the Mint put a “W” mintmark on the coins, struck them on burnished blanks and charged more for them. The coins are still technically uncirculated and the Mint calls them that.

Shorthand in the hobby often refers to them as burnished. I always add the “W” to the date to help in making the distinction.

The Mint sells the 2008-W uncirculated coins struck on the burnished blanks for $25.95. A regular 2008 bullion American Eagle without the mintmark sells for $20 or less at the moment from the nation’s coin dealers.

Those who like to order the new coins directly from the Mint were rewarded when some of the 2008-W uncirculated pieces that were delivered to them turned out to have last year’s reverse on them. You can buy one from advertisers in Numismatic News for $395. That’s quite a leap from the issue price. Buyers who got them from the Mint for $25.95 are feeling pretty good.

So far, no 2008 bullion American Eagles without the mintmark have turned up with last year’s reverse. They all sport the new letter “U” in UNITED STATES OF AMERICA on the reverse that has the downstroke on it that makes it look like a lower case “u.” The reverses in 2007 and before do not have this downstroke on the letter.

These bullion coins are popular simply for another reason. They contain one troy ounce of silver and silver is hot.

How would you like to be in charge of pricing the First Spouse half-ounce gold coins? Here we are just two days prior to the opening of sales for the Louisa Adams coin and prices have not yet been revealed.

Perhaps they will show up later today. I will keep looking.

If the price is set too high, sales will stall even more so than they have for the Elizabeth Monroe coins, which hold the record in this young series for the slowest sales pace.

Only 3,910 uncirculated pieces have been sold and 6,666 proofs. Add them up and they total 10,576, which is hardly more than a quarter of the number that could be sold.

Prices of the Monroe coins are $619.95 for the proof and $599.95 for the uncirculated. That works out to a premium of about 35 percent for the proof and 31 percent for the uncirculated coin.

It is likely that the Louisa Adams prices will be in the same neighborhood if not identical to these unless bullion takes a dramatic leap higher or a fantastic spill lower in the next few hours.

The Dolley Madison coins can still be purchased for $529.95 for the proofs and $509.95 for the uncirculated. Even these relatively low mark-ups from the current price of bullion of 15 percent and 11 percent, respectively, have not sent sales soaring.

I almost wrote “set sales on fire” but that just didn’t seem quite right for the woman who was burned out of the White House in 1814.

It is a shame that the reputations of the First Ladies have been completely overshadowed by the price of gold. It is going to be a long and tedious 10 years.

I didn’t have to pay the new $15 first bag fee that American Airlines will be imposing soon. I feel lucky. However, this is just a temporary bit of good fortune.

I sympathize with the pain of high fuel prices. We all feel it every time we fuel up at a gas station.

However, the idea of trying to offset it with a bag charge seems to be like a restaurant charging extra for a knife and fork. It is something you don’t expect an additional charge for.

I do a lot of traveling, though not enough on American to avoid the domestic bag charge, and I imagine in future the overhead bins will be overfilled by people trying to avoid it.

Why don’t they just call it the “Saudi Arabia wishes you a good day charge?” That seems more logical.

By the time you read this I will either be in the air on the way to San Antonio, Texas, or already there.

The Harper clan is gathering for the wedding of a cousin of mine and those family members who are able will be in the heart of the city that is the historical home of the Alamo to witness the exchange of vows.

I have not been in San Antonio since the American Numismatic Association convention there in the spring of 1985. It was the heyday of Bob and Betty Medlar, both of whom have now passed on.

Courtney Coffing, a retired co-worker, reminded me when I saw him at the Numismatists of Wisconsin convention May 17 that he had lived there in 1961. It seems that an awful lot of people have a connection to the city.

Even though I have no plans to get numismatically involved, can I really spend three whole days without looking for a coin shop or otherwise dipping a toe in the numismatic waters?

We’ll see. Fortunately for me, I don’t have any formal role. I just have to look happy, which will be easy because I am not footing the bill for the festivities.

 Yesterday’s ruling in favor of the blind by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia means changes could be coming to American paper money.

Because current notes are all the same size regardless of denomination, the court said the Treasury was violating the Rehabilitation Act.

The Treasury can appeal the decision to the Supreme Court. It may do so, but the collector in me begins to speculate about notes of different sizes or notes with Braille characters.

My mind says different sizes is the preferred option, perhaps as a result of my experiences with euro notes in Germany, but even that isn’t without its bumps. Euro countries don’t have a 1. They have a coin. Will this occur in the United States as a result of a court ruling?

Europeans don’t like the 5 because it is too small. It certainly is small, but I am more worried about notes being too big rather than too small.

Braille strikes me as too easily subverted either by fakers putting Braille for high denominations on low-denomination notes, or by crushing the raised areas.

Even if not deliberately crushed, how much wear can a note take before the Braille is not recognizable?

The gears in my mind are still turning. I am sure other collectors have other thoughts. We’ll see over time how this all plays out. Of course, it might not be too long before we’ll be spending gas ration coupons rather than paper money.

It is springtime in Iola. It is colder than normal, but it still is spring after a rough winter. Life always looks better as nature greens things up.

It may be springtime for the U.S. dollar, too. It had a rough winter. Like Rodney Dangerfield, it got no respect, but now perhaps things are changing and the world may be returning to the traditional verities.

I read yesterday that middle class people in Argentina are rushing to convert their pesos into – you guessed it – U.S. dollars. They fear the wheels are about to fall off their country’s economy.

After a year and a half, Costa Rica’s colon is depreciating against the U.S. dollar. Officially measured inflation is running at more than 10 percent a year. The U.S. rate is consistently lower. Basic economics says the colon must fall and in the last couple of weeks, it has.

Even the mighty euro is wobbling a bit. It was reported that the euro area’s monthly trade balance has swung into deficit. That by itself doesn’t mean much, but it does mean there is a net European demand for imported goods, which is a good thing for countries outside its borders that worry about an economic slowdown.

What does it mean for collectors? Well, too much stock shouldn’t be placed in short-term currency fluctuations, but for gold buyers whose sole argument for buying is U.S. dollar weakness might need to find something else to hang their hats on.

Far better to buy collector coins, the demand for which is long-term and whose prices tend to rise with American incomes and inflation. Collectors get the gold and silver content as a kicker. Buying collector coins means you don’t really have to worry about the dollar or how the people of Argentina view it. You will have more fun, too.