The news last week of a $10 gold coin that sold for $5 million is particularly interesting because the date on the coin is not the date it was minted. The Eagle coin is stamped 1804 but was created in 1834 at the Philadelphia Mint for Andrew Jackson as a diplomatic gift. This coin has some pretty fast appreciation, it sold for $1 million in 2003 and then for $2.47 million in 2005. There are just four of them out in the world.

I wonder what is it about coins that makes the prices rise. In part it is because they are a tangible record of history but I suspect the real reason is something else. As David Albanese, the president of Albanese Rare Coins, the dealer of the coin, reported both the buyer and seller are "northeastern United States entrepreneurs who have been collecting coins since they were young boys." I think this is why some coins sell for such high prices. Many other collecting hobbies take root after one is established in the world, wine, art, jewelry and watches, the love of those often develop later in life. But so many young boys and girls are given coins as gifts, thereby establishing a lifelong love of numismatics.