The current economy and rising inflation have investors looking for ways of diversifying their portfolios and they are flocking to gold in drones.

Gold as an investment has stood the test of time and will continue to do so far into the future.  The precious metal acts as a hedge against inflation, which it explains its rise in value when the dollar goes down.

The supply of gold has always been constrained.  This helps the metal hold its value over the long haul.  The supply of gold increases at a very slow pace.

Investing in gold is not difficult.  Many folks think that to invest in gold you need a super safe installed in your home to store all of your loot.  That is not the case at all.  In fact, most people that invest in gold never actually see or touch it, although that option is available.  Most gold investors buy and sell their gold through an exchange-traded fund (ETF).  An ETF is similar to a mutual and you can trade it just as you would a stock.  An example of a well know EFT is iShares Comex Gold Trust (GLD), which trades on the American Stock Exchange.

Here are some randomly selected U.S. coin facts and trivia which may be of interest to collectors.

1. A foreign coin was the main coin in use for decades in the American colonies. The Spanish milled silver dollar, commonly known as the "pillar dollar" or "piece of eight" was legal currency in the U.S. until 1857.

2. The word "dime" is derived from the Latin word "decima", which means the "tenth part".

3. The Kennedy half dollar has been issued in three different mettalic composition varities, namely: .900 Fine Silver in 1964, .400 clad silver from 1965 and 1970, and cupro-nickel clad copper since 1971.

4. The motto IN GOD WE TRUST first appeared on a U.S. coin in 1864, during the Civil War. In particular, the two-cent piece, first minted in that year, was the first coin with the slogan.

5. The smallest monetary denomination coin ever issued in the U.S. was the half cent, minted from 1793 through 1857.

U.S. Customs agents refuse to return 23 ancient coins they seized unfairly - some from Cyprus, where coins were minted by Alexander the Great, the Ancient Coin Collectors Guild claims in Federal Court. The Guild says Customs unfairly and arbitrarily applies import restrictions on historical coins, which have been traded for centuries and are of moderate value because there are so many of them.

Of the 23 coins seized, Customs reported that three were knife-shaped, seven were from Cyprus and 12 from China.

The Guild says Customs seized the coins because it could not "establish a chain of custody beyond receipt from a reputable source."

"Historical coins have actively been traded for at least 500 years as collectibles. Due to their usual modest value and the huge numbers extant, historical coins are typically traded without any provenance information or documentary history as to where and when they were found," the Guild says.

The general manager of the Chilean mint has been dismissed after thousands of coins were issued with the name of the country spelt wrongly.

The 50-peso coins - worth about 10 cents (6p) - were issued in 2008, but no-one noticed the mistake until late last year.

Instead of C-H-I-L-E, the coins had C-H-I-I-E stamped on them.

The coins have since become collectors' items and the mint says it has no plans to take them out of circulation.

Numismatists' delight

The BBC's Gideon Long, in the Chilean capital Santiago, says people have been hoarding the coins in the hope their value rises.

A design by a West Yorkshire teenager has been chosen from more than 3,000 entries to become a new 50p coin inspired by the Olympic Games.

Theo Crutchley-Mack, 16, from Halifax, said it was "absolutely amazing" that his picture of a cyclist in a velodrome was chosen by the Royal Mint.

His design was also seen and approved by the Queen.

Up to three million of Theo's coins will be released into circulation later this year.

"Just the thought of my design going throughout England and millions of people seeing my design, that's just absolutely amazing, I can't think of much better than that," Theo said.

Dave Knight, head of commemorative coins at the Royal Mint, explained the judges' choice.

"It's a very good design, irrespective of Theo's age, it is very good," he said.

"It is technically very proficient, and he has really captured the essence of speed and cycling in general," he said.

Unless you’re rich, you’re probably tightening your belt these days, reducing the extras. Financial types call it the “latte factor,” the little stuff that eats at your budget.

Looks like the federal government has a latte list all its own.

Every president has suggestions of what can be trimmed, and when President Barack Obama unveiled his proposed 2011 budget last week, all the major stuff made headlines: $3.8 trillion in spending that would deepen the deficit by $1.3 trillion. More money for education and health. The death of upper-income tax breaks and the manned-moon program.

Yet, in all the print and verbiage, no mention was made of saving money on two-sided copying, or getting rid of paper pay stubs, or finally minting pennies that cost less than 1.8 cents to make.

Each is detailed in a 124-page budget addendum that spells out ways the Obama administration proposes to save about $20 billion of taxpayers’ money.

Some of the ideas are huge:

•Terminating production of a C-17 military transport aircraft, $2.5 billion savings.

•Terminating production of Joint Strike Fighter alternate engine, $465 million.

•Terminating Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository, $197 million.

Americans still recall the gallant defeat that was the Alamo. For the British it once was Khartoum. From my scant knowledge of history, and as a Kiwi from Down Under, I strongly suspect America has the best of the deal.

Khartoum is but one of many over-hyped heroic failures that so embellish Britain’s Imperial history. The important aspect for any notaphillist is the series of emergency notes issued by the commanding officer, Gen. Gordon, in the course of a protracted siege that ran from March 13, 1884 to Jan. 26, 1885.

Gordon needed these notes to pay his few thousand Egyptian and Sudanese troops who had retreated within the city as it came under siege from a 50,000-strong Sudanese army led by the Mahdi, Muhammad Ahmad.

Toward the end of 2009 and in January 2010 two collections of these notes went up for sale. In Sydney, in November last, Noble Numismatics offered 51 examples spanning most of the piastre denominations. In January Ponterio auctioned nine, all in top grade.

As a coin collector or an investor of coins, you no doubt have asked yourself the question of why you should buy professionally graded coins. These coins are also known as slabbed or certified vs. an uncertified coin which is known as “raw”. The term “slabbed” came about because certified coins are in a plastic slab.

A topic such as this is quite controversial as each side of the coin has its staunch proponents. In this article though, we will concentrate on the advantages of graded coins, specifically PCGS graded coins. As you may know, there are several other grading services out there but PCGS has been ranked the most consistent in grading and ability.

PCGS, a subsidiary of Collectors Universe, started grading coins for the public in 1986 and since then PCGS has graded millions and millions of coins. So why buy PCGS coins? Let’s answer that question now.

The first reason, and this applies to all slabbed coins, is that a slabbed graded coin is now protected from further damage. Imagine taking out your best coin, a 1942-S Walking Liberty in what you believe to be MS-67 condition. In this condition, PCGS gives an estimated value of $25,000.00. It is an absolutely beautiful coin. To prepare for this moment, you put on your white coin gloves so as to not pass body oils to the coin. As you pick it up to examine it the telephone rings, or your two year old snuck up behind you and nearly trips you.