Latvia wins the 2010 Coin of the Year Award and Hungary takes home the People’s Choice Award, World Coin News Publisher Scott Tappa announced Jan. 12.

A COTY international panel of judges concluded voting Jan. 8 and the public online voting for the People’s Choice Award ended Jan. 10.

“I would like to congratulate the winners from both rounds of voting,” Tappa said. “What makes the results especially interesting is this is the third time Hungary has won the People’s Choice Award.”

World Coin News will recognize both winners Jan. 30 at the World Money Fair in Berlin.

This year’s competition featuring coins dated 2008 was hotly contested. The COTY winner was chosen in two rounds of voting. The first determined the winners of 10 categories and the second round chose the Coin of the Year from those 10 initial winners.

The Hamas-run ministry of tourism and antiquities in Gaza on Monday announced the discovery of ancient artifacts near the Egyptian border town of Rafah.

"The most important of the findings are 1,300 antique silver coins, both large and small," said Mohammed al-Agha, tourism and antiquities minister in the Islamist-run government.

He said archaeologists had also uncovered a black basalt grinder, a coin with a cross etched on it, and the remains of walls and arches believed to have been built in 320 BC.

They also discovered a "mysterious" underground compartment with a blocked entrance that appeared to be a tomb, Agha said.

The Palestinian Authority has been carrying out archaeological excavations since the 1990s, but this was the first major find to be announced by the Hamas-run government.

If a fingertip-sized circle of 73-year-old copper can be called charismatic, this one is.

An impossibly rare, exceedingly valuable piece of Canadian history will go on the block next month in the form of a 1936 Canadian “dot” penny.

It owes its existence to a historical blip and a monarchic muddle: After King Edward VIII's unexpected abdication in December, 1936, to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson, the Royal Canadian Mint's moulds with his bust on the penny were no longer valid. In the interim, the mint used 1936 George V moulds, stamped with a dimple-like dot to distinguish them from the ones minted before.The penny test-run wasn't deemed a success, however, and the dotted pennies never entered circulation. For decades, the three pennies, along with a few of equally orphaned dimes, were secreted in the mint before being purchased and held for years by collector John Jay Pittman.

For the second time in 30 years, we're in the midst of a classic gold bubble.

There are "gold parties" akin to Tupperware parties across the U.S., where people trade in their gold jewellery and even gold dental fillings for cash.

"Goldbugs," the term for gold-investing zealots, are predicting a gold price of $2,000 (all figures U.S.) per ounce next year. And a rise to as high as $15,000 in years to come – a 15-fold increase over the modern-day record price of $1,086 set on Dec. 3, from which gold has since retreated 11 per cent.

U.S. talk-radio yakkers Glenn Beck and Watergate ex-convict Gordon Liddy have become paid shills for gold vendors. On behalf of an outfit called Rosland Capital, Liddy in TV spots describes gold as "an intrinsically valuable liquid preserver of purchasing power."

A Connecticut Salvation Army chapter got a pleasant surprise when its members were counting change dropped into one of the organization's holiday donation kettles. Members found a rare 1881 "half eagle" coin last week while counting donations made somewhere in Torrington on the day after Thanksgiving.

The half eagle was the country's first-ever gold coin and had a face value of $5. It was in circulation from 1795 to 1929.

Lt. Alan Galentine of the Salvation Army's Torrington Corps. said the chapter will be having the coin appraised, but it appears it's worth between $250 and $400. He said it's not clear at which location the coin was donated.

Two-headed coins are popular items sold by Maryland Mint owner Neil Sherman, who started the coin reproduction business from his home a few years ago after retiring as a Maryland detective.

For sale are exact replicas of coins, including those rare and valued at thousands of dollars, allowing numismatists to complete collections.

Sherman, a knowledgeable and soft-spoken man with a quick smile, emphasizes The Maryland Mint is not affiliated with the state of Maryland. Coins can be ordered from themarylandmint.com. His eBay accounts include TheSherm1218, bettsdeals and coins123-6665.

His interest in starting a coin reproduction business grew after he bought a reproduction of a coin from The Royal Oak Mint in Michigan. In a typical week, he fills about 50 orders.

The new coin is worth $1 and will be handed out to customers who spend more than C$25 at a Canadian Tire store on Dec. 5 and 6. The coins will be given in addition to the regular paper "money" that is the backbone of one of Canada's oldest and most popular loyalty programs.

Its launch Tuesday is primarily intended to drive holiday-related sales, said Mike Arnett, president of Canadian Tire Retail, as he displayed the coins flanked by two Brinks security guards. It's also intended to raise awareness in the company's Canadian Tire Money program, which will be revamped in 2011, Arnett said.

"It's a way to create some excitement," he said in an interview after unveiling the coins. This year's holiday shopping has gotten off to a slow start, Arnett said, in part because of the mild November weather experienced across the country.

The Margaret Taylor First Spouse coin features a portrait of Margaret Taylor on the obverse and a scene of her nursing wounded soldiers during the Seminole War on the reverse. She served as the First Lady from 1849 to 1850 during the 12th Presidency. The obverse was designed by Phebe Hemphill and sculpted by Charles Vickers. The reverse was designed by Mary Beth Zeitz and sculpted by Jim Licaretz.

Each coin contains one-half ounce of 24 karat gold. The proof version of the coin is priced at $754 and the uncirculated version of the coin is priced at $741. These prices are subject to adjustment as often as once per week in response to changes in the average price of gold.

There is a maximum production limit of 40,000 coins across both options. The US Mint imposed an initial ordering limit of ten coins per option per household for at least the first week of sales.