Divers from Blue Water Ventures International Inc. retrieved the first U.S. gold coins during an inaugural dive Sept. 28 from the July 25, 1840, wreck of the mail packet SS North Carolina off the coast of North Carolina.

A lot is happening in the news, both here at Coin World and in the numismatic community at large. Here’s a recap of what is going on, with more in-depth coverage from the Oct. 21 issue found online and in the print and digital editions.

Christa McAuliffe, a teacher from New Hampshire who died when the space shuttle Challenger exploded in 1986, will be honored with a 2021 commemorative silver dollar if S. 239 becomes law.

1887-O Morgan dollars are exceptionally rare in top grades and this MS-66+ dollar with a green CAC sticker realized $48,000 at Heritage’s Long Beach auction of the JCS Collection.

Three gold medals offered in the official auctions of theANA World’s Fair of Money each combine great designs with equally fascinating stories.

An advanced collector of United States coins paid $51,754.50 to acquire a Seated Liberty wrong planchet error in a Sept. 29 online auction by GreatCollections.

Most 1930-S Saint-Gaudens $20 double eagles were melted, so survivors are rare, and this one, graded AU Details by NCS, who noted both polishing and improper cleaning, sold for $50,400.

Amos Media Company, publisher of Coin World, Linn’s Stamp News and Scott Catalogs, will soon be operating from a new location in Sidney, Ohio.

The U.S. Mint is considering a number of possible options for special circulating coinage for 2020.

An Oct. 11 sales launch for the four-coin 2019-S American Innovation $1 Proof set will include a noon Eastern Time event at the Philadelphia Mint hosted by U.S. Mint Director David J. Ryder.

The scarcity of problem-free 1900-O Barber dimes, an electrical supplies catalog with numismatic connections, and doubling found on readers’ coins are all covered i columns found only in the Oct. 21 issue of Coin World.

An 1859 Coronet gold $10 eagle passed down for generations in a Pennsylvania Dutch family since the coin’s direct acquisition from a local bank is certified as the finest known example by Numismatic Guaranty Corp.

Reports on the 2019 Youth Coin and Currency set and changes to the coins in the 2019 Limited Edition Silver Proof set drew the most attention from readers this past week.

The MS-64 1882-S Morgan dollar is by itself worth about $125, but with its first generation NGC black slab, of which about 30 remain intact, it was purchased for $3,960 in Heritage's September Long Beach auction.

Toning: Some collectors love it, while others hate it. Heritage is set to offer some gorgeous, rainbow-hued coins at its Oct. 17 to 19 U.S. Coins Signature Auction in Dallas that might not be to everyone’s tastes, but will certainly appeal to many.

A tiny "singular abrasion of note" is a pedigree marker for the Shucart Family Collection's PCGS MS-61 1893-S Morgan dollar that Heritage sold for $204,000 in Long Beach.

Jeff and Chris talk to Gary Herrmann, who has studied the life and work of Laura Gardin Fraser, the first woman to design a U.S. coin.

Minting a 1870 Liberty Seated CC Sesquicentennial Half Dollar at the Carson City Mint.

Two mid-century half dollars — one a Classic era silver commemorative coin and the other an undocumented 1964 Special Mint set finish half dollar — stood out in Stack’s Bowers Galleries’ Aug. 15 Rarities Night auction at the ANA World’s Fair of Money.

Collectors interested in obtaining bags and rolls of Uncirculated circulation-quality 2019 American Innovation Pennsylvania dollars can do so by placing orders beginning at noon Eastern Time Oct. 24 with the United States Mint.