One hundred and fifty years ago, the USA outlawed slavery. Each nation has a different abolition history to commemorate on coins and medals.

World mints are constantly striving to advance the technology of coin security, to stay at least one step ahead of the counterfeiter.

The wizards at the Royal Australian Mint and the Perth Mint really know silver, and collectors have taken notice.

The creative use of metal, including pace-age metals, ringed-bimetallic compositions, and embedded metals, is a big part of making modern world coins.

It didn't take long for world mints to mimic the early issuers of 5-ounce silver coins, and today many nations regularly offer 'hockey puck" coins.

Charlotte's christening and Pilgrims landing coins are among buzz topics today.

When mints issued 5-ounce silver coins, it wasn't with a trickle but a big splash, as three different issues in 1986 broke ground for coins of this size.

Panama's silver 20-balboa coins of the 1970s, struck by the Franklin Mint, were not 5 ounces, but paved the way for coins of that size in the following decade.

Since the first 5-ounce silver coin was issued in 1986, more than two dozens nations, the United States of America included, have issued these size coins.

Many modern coins are issued for pander and make a profit, often leaving collectors to scratch their heads.