Premier Coins & Artifacts

Premier Coins & Artifacts is located in Las Vegas, Nevada. We specialize in Coins, Bullion and Historical Artifacts from the Stone Age through the Gilded Age.

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In the Popol Vuh, the K'iche' Maya epic, the Lords of Xibalba, the underworld, challenge players to a deadly ballgame. The Hero Twins Hunahpu and Xbalanque beat them. This stone hacha (600–900 AD) is tied to the Mesoamerican ballgame. 💀 #maya #history

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Halloween history: in Dec 211, Caracalla had his brother and co-emperor Geta killed, in their mother's arms by one ancient account. Then he tried to erase Geta from memory: his face was even scraped off a family portrait. Caracalla's denarius, NGC XF. 👻 #ancientcoins

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Why "mummy"? Medieval Latin mumia, from Arabic and Persian mūmiyā, "bitumen". The blackened bodies looked coated in it. Herodotus says embalming took about 70 days. Our Book of the Dead fragment (Thebes, ca. 1390–1353 BC) shows Anubis tending a mummy. 🎃 #ancientegypt

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Final week of HallOVeen at the Magical Forest, benefiting @OppVillageLV! 🎃 Open nightly through Oct 31 (Sun–Thu 5:30–9pm, Fri–Sat 5:30–9:30pm), 6300 W. Oakey Blvd. Proud to be a sponsor. Tickets: opportunityvillage dot org #HallOVeen #LasVegas

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Why "sterling"? One leading theory (numismatist Philip Grierson): after 1066 the English penny got heavier and held its weight for ~200 years, earning a name abroad as strong, fixed money. Middle English "ster" = strong. Shown: Edward I penny, NGC MS 62. #history

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Coin care 101: 1) Never clean coins. NGC gives cleaned coins a "Details" grade, not a number. 2) Hold them by the edges, because fingerprints can etch metal. 3) Avoid soft PVC flips, which can leave green residue. Shown: 1866 dollar, NGC PF 63 Cameo. 🧤 #coincollecting

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2,300 years in 30 seconds: from Lysimachus (305–281 BC) to Pontius Pilate's Judaea, Rome, medieval England, a 1787 New Jersey copper, the 1909-S VDB and a 2024 Year of the Dragon dollar. Which era is your favorite? ⏳ #coins #history

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Mint marks 101: "S" = San Francisco (opened 1854), as on our 1909-S VDB cent and 1877-S Trade dollar. No letter on the 1799 dollar: until 1838, Philadelphia was the only U.S. mint. Philadelphia's "P" first appeared on 1942–45 nickels. 🔎 #coincollecting

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Spooky season has crept into our display cases at Premier Coins & Artifacts. 🎃 Pumpkins, a glass skull and plenty of monsters among the history. Happy October! #Halloween #LasVegas

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Ancient coins aren't graded 1–70. NGC Ancients uses words (F, VF, XF, AU, MS, with "Ch" for Choice) plus Strike and Surface scores out of 5. Our Lysimachus tetradrachm: VF, 4/5, 3/5. Diocletian nummus: Ch AU, 4/5, 3/5. 🏛️ #ancientcoins

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A look down the main aisle at Premier Coins & Artifacts in Las Vegas: cases of ancient, medieval and modern coins, artifacts and collectibles, each with a story. What should we feature next? 👋 #LasVegas #coinshop

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The 1–70 grading scale dates to 1949, when Dr. William Sheldon created it for early U.S. large cents. VF 20–35 = Very Fine, XF 40–45 = Extremely Fine, AU 50–58 = About Uncirculated, MS 60–70 = Mint State, and 70 means no flaws visible under magnification. 📏 #coincollecting

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Why was a British penny written "d"? Before decimal day (15 Feb 1971), money was £sd, from Latin libra, solidus and denarius. Here: a Roman denarius of Caracalla (NGC XF) and Cnut's penny, labeled "1D" (PCGS MS62). #coins #history

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A 2024 Australia $1 for the Year of the Dragon: silver, lilac colorized, PCGS MS70. See the tiny "P125" near the rim? That mintmark marks the Perth Mint's 125th anniversary. Born in a Dragon year? 🐉 #coins #yearofthedragon

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Official coin or ancient copy? An NGC-graded "barbarous issue" (c. 3rd–4th c. AD), an unofficial imitation of a Roman bronze, beside an official AE4 of Constantius II (AD 337–361). Copies helped fill in when small change ran short. 🏛️ #ancientcoins

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Collector tip: on copper, RD = more than 95% original red, RB = 5–95% red, BN = under 5%. Examples: 1909 Indian cent NGC MS 65 RD, 1909-S VDB PCGS MS65RB, 1787 Massachusetts half cent PCGS MS63BN. 🔍 #coincollecting

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Not every coin is round. Before the yen arrived in 1871, Japan used rectangular gold and silver: 1 ryō = 4 bu = 16 shu. Here's a gold 2 Bu of 1868–69 (PCGS AU55) and a silver 1 Shu of 1853–65 (PCGS AU50). 🪙 #coins #japan #history

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Anubis tends a mummy while a ba bird, the human-headed soul, flies overhead. A Book of the Dead papyrus fragment from Thebes, New Kingdom, ca. 1390–1353 B.C. The Egyptians called it the "Book of Coming Forth by Day." 𓂀 #AncientEgypt #history

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The Trade dollar was struck to compete with Mexican silver in China: 420 grains, Liberty seated on bales of goods. It lost U.S. legal tender status in 1876, but San Francisco kept striking them for export. 1877-S, NGC MS 61. 🚢 #coincollecting