Awesome Coins

SILVER GOLD PROSPECTOR COIN with 3 GOLD NUGGETS-bullion US $50.01 (14 Bids) End Date: Saturday Mar-13-2010 8:04:55 PST

1997-W PCGS PR70DCAM $25.00 PROOF GOLD EAGLE! US $865.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Saturday Mar-13-2010 8:05:39 PST

8.4 grains - JEWELRY GRADE GOLD NUGGET - gold bullion US $26.00 (7 Bids) End Date: Saturday Mar-13-2010 8:08:25 PST

2009 1/10 Ounce Gold From Australia-999 Fine US $119.38 (13 Bids) End Date: Saturday Mar-13-2010 10:55:12 PST

50 1903 INDIAN HEAD PENNIES MINI GOLD COINS**FREE GOLD* US $15.55 (0 Bid) End Date: Saturday Mar-13-2010 11:13:22 PST

14K Gold Eagle REPLICA TINY It is Real Gold US $3.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Saturday Mar-13-2010 16:41:17 PST

25 Alaska Gold Jewelry Nuggets Mining, Gold Bullion US $9.50 (5 Bids) End Date: Saturday Mar-13-2010 16:56:34 PST

1983 Canada $5.00 Gold Maple Leaf 1/10 Oz US $113.50 (11 Bids) End Date: Saturday Mar-13-2010 17:12:51 PST

2009 1/10 OZ AMERICAN EAGLE--.999 AU FINE GOLD COIN !! US $123.55 (19 Bids) End Date: Saturday Mar-13-2010 18:12:40 PST

2007 Dolley Madison First Spouse Gold PCGS FS PF69 US $645.00 End Date: Saturday Mar-13-2010 18:40:32 PST

MINI ST GAUDENS 1907 $20 GOLD COIN REPLICA BAR SCRAP US $1.99 End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 15:30:36 PDT

Rare Silver Coin Gold Panning Prospector Jewelry Piece US $29.95 (0 Bid) End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 19:00:40 PDT

US Gold Coin Collection Lot 42 Coins BUY GOLD! US $14,600.00 (24 Bids) End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 19:05:07 PDT

US Gold Coin Collection Lot of 76 Old Coins & 1oz Bar US $14,100.00 (14 Bids) End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 19:05:34 PDT

UNCIRCULATED 24K GOLD PLATED U.S. PENNIES (Lot of 20) US $4.95 End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 19:22:42 PDT

PEYTON MANNING Colts * Pink * 24K GOLD JFK HALF DOLLAR US $8.95 End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 19:23:29 PDT

2003 GOLD PLATED US State Quarter SET of 5 w/4x6 Holder US $9.95 End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 19:24:58 PDT

Historic LIGHTHOUSE State Quarter 3-Coin Set #5 w/BOX US $9.95 End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 19:25:41 PDT

JOE DIMAGGIO US MINT 1oz Pure SILVER EAGLE - Ltd of 206 US $39.95 End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 19:26:14 PDT

'07 Indianapolis COLTS In-Action State Quarter Coin Set US $9.95 End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 19:29:15 PDT

NEW ORLEAN SAINTS NFL Louisiana US State Quarter w/BOX US $5.95 End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 19:30:08 PDT

Colorized POPE J. PAUL II US MINT MEDAL HONOR US $9.95 End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 19:30:17 PDT

TONY ROMO Cowboys *Pink* 24K GOLD JFK HALF DOLLAR COIN US $8.95 End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 19:34:27 PDT

TOM BRADY Patriots *Pink* 24K GOLD JFK HALF DOLLAR COIN US $8.95 End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 19:35:03 PDT

BRETT FAVRE * Pink NBCF * 24K GOLD JFK HALF DOLLAR COIN US $8.95 End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 19:36:47 PDT

2008 W LOUISA ADAMS FIRST SPOUSE $10 GOLD NGC MS69 US $699.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 20:10:52 PDT

St Gaudens GOLD COINS **LOT OF 50** US $17.50 End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 20:47:03 PDT

2006 W 20th ANNIVERSARY SILVER EAGLE SET ALL 70's US $799.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 21:45:09 PDT

TYPE 1 GOLD DOUBLON COIN EXACT SIZE == COPY US $21.99 End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 22:05:37 PDT

*1883 GOLD-PLATED RACKETEER V-NICKEL*** Very Nice!!! US $1.25 (2 Bids) End Date: Monday Mar-15-2010 0:07:20 PDT

1913 $2.50 INDIAN GOLD AU/UNC NICE US $279.00 End Date: Monday Mar-15-2010 13:37:00 PDT

8.4 grains B.C. GOLD NUGGET - gold bullion-gold nuggets US $23.50 (7 Bids) End Date: Monday Mar-15-2010 13:45:04 PDT

2008 Red Book Gold Dollars Price Guide Grading & MORE US $19.95 End Date: Monday Mar-15-2010 14:56:25 PDT

Gold Coins Investor Guide Grading Values Bullion US $11.49 End Date: Monday Mar-15-2010 14:56:30 PDT

American GOLD Eagle 1990W PROOF set 1.85oz 4 coins wCOA US $2,922.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Monday Mar-15-2010 15:59:10 PDT

1990 EAGLE GOLD Proof 4 COIN NGC PR69 Ultra Cameo Set US $50.00 (5 Bids) End Date: Monday Mar-15-2010 17:46:52 PDT

1992 EAGLE Proof 4 COIN NGC PR 70 - 69 Ultra Cameo Set US $50.00 (1 Bid) End Date: Monday Mar-15-2010 17:58:44 PDT

25 Alaska Gold Jewelry Nuggets Mining, Gold Bullion US $2.25 (2 Bids) End Date: Monday Mar-15-2010 18:05:25 PDT

Lot of (5) 1999 American Eagle $5.00 Gold Coins 1/10 US $630.50 (4 Bids) End Date: Monday Mar-15-2010 19:05:27 PDT

JOHN 15:12; Love One Another .999 Fine GOLD Coin US $51.50 (13 Bids) End Date: Monday Mar-15-2010 19:41:01 PDT

Gold $5, $10, $1, $20 MS AU Liberty,Indian, PF70 MS LOT US $8,888.00 End Date: Monday Mar-15-2010 22:13:35 PDT

American Buffalo 24-KT .9999 One Ounce Gold Coin GEM BU US $1,359.00 End Date: Monday Mar-15-2010 23:45:16 PDT

Coin Collection Lot, US Coins US $25.00 (1 Bid) End Date: Tuesday Mar-16-2010 7:41:40 PDT

1987 UNITED STATES CONSTITUTIONAL BICENTENNIAL COINSET* US $1,499.00 End Date: Tuesday Mar-16-2010 16:52:05 PDT

25 Alaska Gold Jewelry Nuggets Mining, Gold Bullion US $1.75 (2 Bids) End Date: Tuesday Mar-16-2010 16:54:43 PDT

CoinsPlus! 2010 Edition #1 Numismatic Software US $19.95 End Date: Tuesday Mar-16-2010 19:16:07 PDT

GOLD $2.5 $5 $10 $20 Liberty Coins MS64 Collectors Item US $7,450.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Tuesday Mar-16-2010 19:48:11 PDT

2008 W LOUISA ADAMS FIRST SPOUSE $10 GOLD NGC MS70 US $849.00 (1 Bid) End Date: Tuesday Mar-16-2010 20:10:29 PDT

2009 1/10 Ounce Gold From Australia-999 Fine US $98.77 (3 Bids) End Date: Tuesday Mar-16-2010 20:32:41 PDT

1978 kruggerand 1 oz pure hold coin very rare US $1,100.00 (2 Bids) End Date: Tuesday Mar-16-2010 20:49:13 PDT

Does the downturn spell the beginning of the end for suburbia? Some experts say yesterday's cul-de-sac is tomorrow's ghost town.

The downturn has accomplished what a generation of designers and planners could not: it has turned back the tide of suburban sprawl. In the wake of the foreclosure crisis many new subdivisions are left half built and more established suburbs face abandonment. Cul-de-sac neighborhoods once filled with the sound of backyard barbecues and playing children are falling silent. Communities like Elk Grove, Calif., and Windy Ridge, N.C., are slowly turning into ghost towns with overgrown lawns, vacant strip malls and squatters camping in empty homes. In Cleveland alone, one of every 13 houses is now vacant, according to an article published Sunday in The New York Times magazine.

The demand for suburban homes may never recover, given the long-term prospects of energy costs for commuting and heating, and the prohibitive inefficiencies of low-density construction. The whole suburban idea was founded on disposable spending and the promise of cheap gas. Without them, it may wither. A study by the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech predicts that by 2025 there will be as many as 22 million unwanted large-lot homes in suburban areas.

The suburb has been a costly experiment. Thirty-five percent of the nation's wealth has been invested in building a drivable suburban landscape, according to Christopher Leinberger, an urban planning professor at the University of Michigan and visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution. James Howard Kunstler, author of "The Geography of Nowhere," has been saying for years that we can no longer afford suburbs. "If Americans think they've been grifted by Goldman Sachs and Bernie Madoff, wait until they find out what a swindle the so-called 'American Dream' of suburban life turns out to be," he wrote on his blog this week.

So what's to become of all those leafy subdivisions with their Palladian detailing and tasteful signage? Already low or middle-income families priced out of cities and better neighborhoods are moving into McMansions divided for multi-family use. Alison Arieff, who blogs for The New York Times, visited one such tract mansion that was split into four units, or "quartets," each with its own entrance, which is not unlike what happened to many stately homes in the 1930s. The difference, of course, is that the 1930s homes held up because they were made with solid materials, and today's spec homes are all hollow doors, plastic columns and faux stone facades.

There is also speculation that subdivision homes could be dismantled and sold for scrap now that a mini-industry for repurposed lumber and other materials has evolved over the last few years. Around the periphery of these discussions is the specter of the suburb as a ghost town patrolled by squatters and looters, as if Mad Max had come to the cul-de-sac.

If the suburb is a big loser in mortgage crisis episode, then who is the winner? Not surprisingly, the New Urbanists, a group of planners, developers and architects devoted to building walkable towns based on traditional designs, have interpreted the downturn as vindication of their plans for mixed-use communities where people can stroll from their homes to schools and restaurants.

Richard Florida, a Toronto business professor and author of "Who's Your City?: How the Creative Economy Is Making Where to Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life," argues that dense and diverse cities with "accelerated rates of urban metabolism" are the communities most likely to innovate their way through economic crisis. In an article published in this month's issue of The Atlantic, he posits that New York is at a relative advantage, despite losing a chunk of its financial engine, because the jostling proximity of architects, fashion designers, software writers and other creative types will reenergize its economy.

[painting via Sharilyn Neidhardt]