Awesome Coins

BIACENNTENEL 1976 SET GOLD DOLLAR - PENNY 24KAR. US $99.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Tuesday Mar-09-2010 19:59:40 PST

2007 $50 GOLD BUFFALO (PROOF) - COPY COIN^ US $8.95 (1 Bid) End Date: Tuesday Mar-09-2010 20:28:04 PST

*10 COIN LOT! OLD Mint BUs PROOFs SILVER & Gold Bonus*! US $22.00 (8 Bids) End Date: Tuesday Mar-09-2010 22:28:53 PST

NEW YORK 400 YEAR A SPECIAL EDITION GOLD PLAQUE 10 FLOR US $3.25 (4 Bids) End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 6:53:29 PST

USA 2006-S PROOF S. F. MINT $5 GOLD BLAZER Near Melt US $315.00 End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 8:53:33 PST

*10 COIN LOT! OLD Mint BUs PROOFs SILVER & Gold Bonus*! US $19.50 (3 Bids) End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 9:34:12 PST

8.3 grains - JEWELRY GRADE GOLD NUGGET - gold bullion US $31.00 (6 Bids) End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 12:45:26 PST

U.S. Olympic Coin Of The Atlanta Centennial OlympicGame US $153.25 (22 Bids) End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 15:55:48 PST

NGC 1991 Proof-69 GEM CAMEO MOUNT RUSHMORE USA $5 GOLD US $318.00 End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 16:18:35 PST

Gold Eagle Silver Dollar & other Coin Tracking Software US $19.95 End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 18:56:57 PST

1907 ST. GAUDINS GOLD MINI TOKEN US $0.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 19:38:06 PST

25 Alaska Gold Jewelry Nuggets Mining, Gold Bullion US $5.50 (3 Bids) End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 19:54:43 PST

25 Alaska Gold Jewelry Nuggets Mining, Gold Bullion US $6.49 (4 Bids) End Date: Wednesday Mar-10-2010 20:25:13 PST

5 CALIFORNIA GOLD TYPE SET COINS & OCTAGONS US $2.47 (2 Bids) End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 0:56:13 PST

5 COIN LOT $3 PRINCESS GOLD 1854-1878 AU-BU ~BLAZERS~ US $9,500.00 End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 10:59:19 PST

1892 $10 Liberty US $700.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 12:22:28 PST

Bluesheet, Certified Coin Dealer Newsletter US $4.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 14:00:05 PST

25 Alaska Gold Jewelry Nuggets Mining, Gold Bullion US $2.65 (3 Bids) End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 17:23:02 PST

24-Karat Gold Stamp Represent The 12 Animal Signs US $1,777.77 End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 18:24:16 PST

2009 1/10 OZ AUSTRALIAN KANGAROO--.9999 AU GOLD COIN !! US $110.00 (5 Bids) End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 18:54:34 PST

16" Photo Light Studio Tent Cube Get Better Pictures! US $12.99 End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 19:00:24 PST

1853 ARROWS & RAYS SEATED LIBERTY QUARTER ~VF+++ US $10.95 (2 Bids) End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 20:38:33 PST

Solid Oak Coin Display Box for 3,5, or 6 Slabbed Coins US $31.95 End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 21:35:37 PST

*1883 GOLD-PLATED RACKETEER V-NICKEL*** Very Nice!!! US $0.01 (1 Bid) End Date: Thursday Mar-11-2010 23:01:00 PST

1988 GOLD EAGLE SET OF 4 COINS- PCGS PR69 DCAM US $1,825.01 (4 Bids) End Date: Friday Mar-12-2010 0:58:25 PST

24K GOLD LEAF FLAKES GLASS CORKED VIAL Treasures F US $6.99 End Date: Friday Mar-12-2010 13:06:56 PST

24K GOLD LEAF FLAKES in GLASS CORKED BOTTLES Treasures US $6.99 End Date: Friday Mar-12-2010 13:54:32 PST

4 SOLID 14KT GOLD COIN BEZELS - NO RESERVE ! US $20.50 (7 Bids) End Date: Friday Mar-12-2010 16:26:01 PST

BEAUTIFUL-ST. GAUDENS GOLD MINI COIN-TOKEN US $0.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Friday Mar-12-2010 17:22:24 PST

1854-1907 RARE SET 5 GOLD LIBERTY COINS GRADED NGC MS63 US $7,499.00 End Date: Friday Mar-12-2010 18:25:01 PST

25 Alaska Gold Jewelry Nuggets Mining, Gold Bullion US $1.25 (2 Bids) End Date: Friday Mar-12-2010 19:31:26 PST

5 CALIFORNIA GOLD TYPE SET COINS & OCTAGONS US $2.80 (4 Bids) End Date: Friday Mar-12-2010 21:21:08 PST

SILVER GOLD PROSPECTOR COIN with 3 GOLD NUGGETS-bullion US $26.01 (5 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 $2.50 (2 Bids) End Date: Saturday Mar-13-2010 8:08:25 PST

2009 1/10 Ounce Gold From Australia-999 Fine US $6.49 (3 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 $2.75 (2 Bids) End Date: Saturday Mar-13-2010 16:56:34 PST

1983 Canada $5.00 Gold Maple Leaf 1/10 Oz US $78.77 (6 Bids) End Date: Saturday Mar-13-2010 17:12:51 PST

2009 1/10 OZ AMERICAN EAGLE--.999 AU FINE GOLD COIN !! US $31.00 (8 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

2007 Jefferson Liberty First Spouse Gold PCGS FS MS69 US $635.00 End Date: Saturday Mar-13-2010 18:41:45 PST

2007 Jefferson Liberty First Spouse Gold PCGS FS PF69 US $645.00 End Date: Saturday Mar-13-2010 18:43:28 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 $4,600.00 (7 Bids) End Date: Sunday Mar-14-2010 19:05:07 PDT

US Gold Coin Collection Lot of 76 Old Coins & 1oz Bar US $77.00 (0 Bid) 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

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]