I just found an article at the Rocky Mountain News stating that a New York Supreme Court judge ruled that the National Collector’s Mint Inc. engaged in deceptive advertising. The New York attorney general’s office seeks an $8 million fund from the company for restitution, and I don’t know what this means for those who have purchased coins from them, but my guess is that they will be reimbursed.

At least things are moving in the right direction.

Emotional gain is likely to be greater than financial gain, according to Avrum D. Lank in his article, Making dollars, sense out of coin collecting.

The basic gist of the article is that most people should collect coins because they enjoy it instead of trying to make gobs of money. If you happen to make some money while doing it, that’s a benefit of being a part of the hobby, not a guarantee.

It’s all been said before, but it’s good to remember that coin collecting can be a great hobby that will give you endless hours of informative entertainment, as long as you let it. If you expect it to finance a retirement in the Bahamas, you may be left wanting.

Cent: A decimal coin equal to one one-hundredth of a larger basic denomination, usually the lowest value coin issued by the issuing country. The word “cent” is derived from the Latin centum, meaning one hundred. The United States Cent is ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a Dollar; other countries that issue cents (or similar coins such as the centavo, centimo, or centime) always have a larger denomination equal to 100 cents. In fact, what the British now call their Penny might technically be considered a cent, since it is equal to ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a Pound.

Penny: A basic unit of coinage, with the name derived from the Roman denarius. Pennies have been minted in Great Britain since the eighth century, although similar coins such as the pfennig, denier, dinar, and dinero have been minted in many places throughout the world. Like the denarius, the British penny was originally a small silver coin, and only since 1797 has the denomination been minted in copper. The aggregate plural of the word “Penny” is “Pence”, and the accepted abbreviation for pence until very recently was a lower case ’d’, again from the Roman denarius.

Twelve British pence equaled a shilling, although this figure could vary for coins from elsewhere in the British Isles; a similar coin from the Isle of Man might pass at 14 to the shilling, for example. Similar denominations from elsewhere would pass based on their value or perceived value in comparison to whatever larger denomination coins were available.

In the US, the term “Penny” is slang for the cent. The United States has never issued a penny.

(Originally posted by Gary on USA Coin Group)

An interesting side note is that Biblical scholars agree that the coin Christ held up when He said, “Render unto Caesar that which is Ceasars, and that which is God’s unto God”, was a denarius bearing a portrait of Tiberius. Today, those coins are referred to as a “Tribute Penny”.

(Added by Tom aka coinguy)

Several years ago Donn Pearlman wrote an article entitled, B.U. or Beware, published by the Chicago Coin Club. He discusses collecting coins as an investment rather than a hobby, and outlines two horror stories.

It’s worth a read if you’re interested in becoming a coin collector, and gives you a chance to evaluate why you’re becoming involved. If you’re doing it because you find it interesting and fun, by all means do so. If you’re doing it to make a quick buck, read the article a few times and see how you feel about it then.

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has gotten a court order to shutdown the National Collectors Mint web site temporarily.

An article in USA Today has more details.

Three cheers for Eliot Sptizer!

Update: I was recently contacted by Judy Hoffman, affiliated with the National Collector’s Mint, to request that I correct the information posted above because it was not entirely accurate. The web site was taken down for a period of time, but it was not due to the court ruling. It was done voluntarily by the National Collectors Mint so they could review their advertising for the commemorative coin. The court ruling temporarily suspended the sale of the commemorative Sept. 11 coins and did not involve the web site.