The recent news article about the transfer of confiscated ancient coins to a Washington university will probably be received with mixed feelings in the numismatic community.

A 16th century artist is recognized on a 2021 San Marino Uncirculated €2 coin released only to collectors March 1, the ringed-bimetallic coin having a mintage of 54,000 examples.

The Pobjoy Mint's new series of coins for the British Indian Ocean Territory depicts the Queen's Beasts and honors Elizabeth II 95th birthday with the first release, the Lion of England.

A collection of 51 Greek Hellenistic and early Islamic coins that were seized by Border Patrol officials at a Washington border crossing to Canada in 2017 have been placed at the University of Washington.

A pair of silver tetradrachms struck from the same obverse die came up for auction in a recent sale by Classic Numismatic Group with each coin returning five figures at final sale.

A bronze drachm, once owned by Cornelius Vermeule, respected curator of fine arts at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston was among the highlighted auction lots at a recent Classic Numismatic Group sale.

Classic Numismatic Group's Triton XXIV sale featured some offerings that drew attention to the commitment to art in ancient coins, like a silver didrachm minted in Sicily in the 400s B.C.

Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers offers researcher Richard E. Margolis' library at its March 6 mail-bid and live online auction, featuring works on French Revolution and Napoleonic era numismatics.

Minted for the government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, the Pobjoy Mint's 50-penny coin honoring the nursing profession has silver and copper-nickel versions.

The characters of Happyland now have their own official currency as the Royal Mint has begun a multi-coin series with designs marking the 50th anniversary of the Mr. Men Little Miss cartoon characters.

Two ancient Greek coins in the Jan. 27 CNG auction, in separate lots, featured an interesting twist, one a genuine gold distater and the other an ancient copy of a stater from the same Mint.

More nations continue to thank their healthcare workers by designing coins to recognize them, with Italy expressing its gratitude on a just released 2021 circulating commemorative €2 coin.

In her Feb. 27 presentation in the American Numismatic Society series Money Talks, Dr. Irene Soto Martin discusses fourth-century solidi found in Egypt and their importance to a study of the period's economy.

The Perth Mint adds the stingray to the Deadly & Dangerous series in 2021, with a limited mintage $100 gold coin and a silver dollar, each with an underwater scene colorized with metallic paint.

The RCM offers an annual coin set in a Specimen Finish and the 2021 theme continues the endangered species awareness program with a Blanding's turtle as the subject of the Specimen dollar.

A March Amsterdam sale offers a 1917 Dutch bronze medal created in response to German torpedo boats attacking the neutral nation's cargo ship SS Amstelstroom, killing some crewmembers.

While commemorative glow-in-the-dark coins aren't new, Barbados 2020 $1 coins minted by the RCM go a step further, with a million of them issued for general circulation and collecting.

Many know of the ship "Admiral Gardner," but the man by that name also ran a political campaign in the late 1700s, and for his cause a penny-sized token was issued. An example is offered Feb. 17 by Baldwin's.

A coin of Oliver Cromwell established a world record in Dix Noonan Webb's Jan. 21 auction, as the gold 50-shilling piece from Marvin Lessen's collections realized £471,200, more than three times its high estimate.

The brightly colored, graceful flamingo is reproduced in pink and light green titanium by the Pobjoy Mint on a 2021 $5 coin for Fiji; an Uncirculated copper-nickel dollar version is also offered.