CoinWeek Ancient Coin Series expert Mike Markowitz returns this week for another solo podcast. In this episode, Mike takes a deep dive into the nitty-gritty of gold, silver, and other metals as they were used to make coins in antiquity. Full of the technical details aficionados want, the podcast is replete with a fascinating history and the odd tangent or two.

The CoinWeek Podcast is brought to you by PCGS, the standard in rare coin grading.

To learn more about PCGS' 50 Days of Summer Specials, click here: https://www.pcgs.com/ccspecial?utm_source=CoinWeek

Today on the Coinweek Podcast, we talk to one of the rare coin industry’s most flamboyant and successful coin dealers, Kevin Lipton.

Lipton has handled virtually every great coin the market has to offer over the course of the past fifty years and is never short of an opinion or insight into what is actually going on at the highest levels of the rare coin industry.

We talk to Kevin about one of his all time favorite coins, the Dexter 1804 dollar, and dig deep into the ways the hobby is changing now and why 20th century coins and a focus on them might be just what the hobby needs to grow in the years to come.

It's an interesting and engaging conversation about coins that you won't want to miss.

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The CoinWeek Podcast is brought to you by PCGS. PCGS is currently celebrating 50 Days of Summer Specials. To learn how to take advantage of these exclusive offers and discounts on your next grading submission, visit www.pcgs.com.

“This is Mike Markowitz for CoinWeek… asking what made Alexander so Great?"

With these words, ancient coin expert and CoinWeek Podcast guest host Mike Markowitz begins to spin an exciting and informative look at the life of Alexander the Great and what made him such a towering figure in ancient history.

When Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BCE at the age of 32, his empire covered two million square miles and included an estimated 50 million people of many different languages, religions, and cultures.

Today, the span of Alexander's kingdom encompasses modern Greece, Northern Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, and a bit of India.

The CoinWeek Podcast is brought to you by PCGS.

PCGS is proud to announce the upcoming dates of its next PCGS Members Only Show, which will be held from Tuesday to Friday, August 4-7, 2020 at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The PCGS Members Only Show is a great event with many of your favorite PCGS dealers represented. Also on site are PCGS’ world-class graders, who will be there to grade your coins on-site!

Of course, you will want to take all necessary COVID-19 precautions and the organizers will be following enhanced health and safety measures. To learn more about this important event, go to www.pcgs.com to learn more.

It’s a battle of epic proportions. Today on the CoinWeek Podcast, noted gold coin expert and author Doug Winter and I will put two multi-million dollar coins head to head to find out which great American rarity comes out on top.

Our competitors are the 1822 half eagle and the 1870-S three-dollar gold coin. Which of these coins will come out on top? You are about to find out next on the CoinWeek Podcast.

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This episode of the CoinWeek Podcast is brought to you by PCGS. PCGS is proud to announce the upcoming dates of its next PCGS Members Only Show, which will be held from Tuesday to Friday, August 4-7, 2020 at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino.

I have personally attended the PCGS Members Only Show and it is a great exclusive event with many of your favorite PCGS dealers present and - PCGS’ world-class graders will be there to grade your coins on-site!

Of course, you will want to take all necessary COVID-19 precautions and the staff and dealers present will be following enhanced health and safety measures.

To learn more about this important event, go too www.pcgs.com to learn more.

Today on the CoinWeek Podcast we talk to Peter Tompa about the pending renewal of an MOU between the United States and the Republic of Italy that may pose a threat to the coin collecting hobby in the United States and abroad.

MOUs, or Memorandums of Understandings, are agreements between governments that set guidelines for policies that are in the mutual interest. In the case of the recent MOU negotiations between the United States and Italy, restrictions relating to the export of certain Roman coins are under consideration.

Peter Tompa, an attorney and a registered lobbyist for the PNG and the IAPN, has been fighting the good fight to protect our hobby from these burdensome government regulations. We discuss the present situation with Peter and point out the hypocrisy of the archeologist organizations seeking to impose unfair restrictions on collectors.

The CoinWeek Podcast is brought to you by PCGS. PCGS Banknote is proud to announce that the finest known 1890 Grand Watermelon note has recently been graded and placed in its state of the art secure holder. This historic 1890 Grand Watermelon note was the first paper money object to surpass the million-dollar threshold at auction. You don't need to have a million-dollar banknote to benefit from PCGS Banknote's state of the art paper money holder and professional grading.

Visit www.pcgs.com to learn more.

Today on the CoinWeek Podcast we are going to talk about a commemorative coin concept under consideration by the U.S. Congress. But before we get into that, let me tell you that the CoinWeek Podcast is brought to you by PCGS.

Speaking of Commemorative coins, exclusive PCGS 2020 Basketball Commemorative Coin labels and boxes are available. PCGS is the exclusive Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Coin Grading & Authentication Partner.

Either submit your coins directly or buy graded coins with PCGS’ premium insert labels from your favorite authorized dealers today. You knew that Hall of Famer Michael Jordan wasn’t going to miss when he landed the final shot against the Utah Jazz in Game 6 of the NBA finals- and you can’t miss by protecting your coin in a PCGS holder.

Visit www.pcgs.com to learn more.

Joining us in this episode of the CoinWeek Podcast is Holly Rotondi, the executive director of the Friends of the National World War II Memorial.

Holly is working with a bipartisan group of legislators to see the creation of a new commemorative coin program to support the conservation of the National World War II Memorial.

The National World War II Memorial was dedicated on May 29, 2004, and honors the 16 million Americans who served in the war.

The site is beautiful and attracts millions of visitors each year. Time and the tremendous popularity of the memorial have taken a toll on the monument and some repairs are necessary to preserve its beauty for years to come. In our conversation, you will learn about the effort to get a commemorative coin bill passed and what it’s like working on a bill at the ground level.

the CoinWeek Podcast- brought to you by our good friends at PCGS. For more than 30 years, PCGS has been a trusted partner to the building of some of the greatest coin collections ever assembled. With their tamper evident and secure holder, PCGS has kept the timeless treasures of American and world numismatics safe and has evolved their product from the innovative rattler holder- remember that one - to the present day clear and secure holders that are now being augmented with advanced technology to give you peace of mind. To learn more about PCGS great products visit www.pcgs.com.

Daniel Frank Sedwick's Treasure Auction 27 kicks off later today and it is filled with cobs, ingots, and graded world coins from Latin America.

Charles Morgan previews several lots that he finds fascinating, including a gold finger bar from the Atocha shipwreck, a rare condition census pillar 8 reales from 1770, an unlisted piece of Colombian currency, and the auction's real sleeper- an incredibly rare "Cocobola" 1888 50 centavos coin.

The CoinWeek Podcast is brought to you by PCGS. PCGS is re-open and taking coin submissions. Submit your coins for expert grading. Visit www.pcgs.com to learn more.

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Charles Morgan talks to rare coin dealer Russ Augustin about the shape of the rare coin and physical precious metals market two months into the COVID-19 lockdown.

Surprisingly, coins have realized strong prices in online auctions and dealer Russ Augustin thinks he knows why.

I hope you are having a good week, this is CoinWeek editor Charles Morgan welcoming you to the CoinWeek Podcast- brought to you by our good friends at PCGS. For more than 30 years, PCGS has been a trusted partner to the building of some of the greatest coin collections ever assembled. With their tamper evident and secure holder, PCGS has kept the timeless treasures of American and world numismatics safe and has evolved their product from the innovative rattler holder- remember that one - to the present day clear and secure holders that are now being augmented with advanced technology to give you peace of mind. To learn more about PCGS great products visit www.pcgs.com.

My friend Bill Eckberg, president of EAC is back on the CoinWeek Podcast. We have had many great conversations on air covering his area of collecting specialty- half cents. This time - we cast a wider net and talk about how the US Mint sourced its copper for our first cents and half cents and in what condition that metal was delivered by the time it made its trans-Atlantic voyage. Bill’s insights will help you improve your quest for great early copper coins - and for you students of early Mint history- you’ll enjoy the next 30 minutes …. I promise… All this - next on the CoinWeek Podcast.

Charles Morgan interviews precious metals expert Peter Hug, Kitco's Director of Global Trading. Hug gives his valuable insights into the current status of gold refining and coin production, how the precious metals market is reacting to the current economic crisis caused by COVID-19, and why this market is behaving in ways both predictable and unforeseen.

If you are a precious metals investor you will definitely want to hear what Peter has to say.

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Hi everybody, this is CoinWeek Editor Charles Morgan.

The news has been bleak in recent weeks, I know it has but we all need a little dose of something that takes the edge off. You know, since I haven’t been going out with my family, I’ve been able to spend a little extra time working on my research - and to do that I have frequently found myself on PCGS CoinFacts - one of the industry’s most important research destinations. With millions of price points, museum-quality photos, and narratives from the industry’s leading experts - CoinFacts provides you insights that you won’t find anywhere else. Best of all, it is free.

PCGS is a proud sponsor of the CoinWeek Podcast and we couldn’t be happier with the support they give us- it really keeps the program going and with more than 130 episodes under our belt- it is my hope that I have played some small role in keeping you enthused about our hobby and I know our guests have given you unprecedented access to the way they view the market.