First ‘Coins’ Issue Spotlights Unearthly Money

Editor’s Note: For nearly 60 years, the feature-rich pages of Coins magazine, Numismatic News’ venerable sister publication, have tracked the history, fun and the growth of this great hobby, while also attracting new collectors to pursue what was once deemed the “hobby of kings.” Dusting off these time-aged issues, from the early 1960s and beyond, each installment of “Past Times with Coins,” written by its former longtime editor, explores what nuggets of interest they contain.

Did you ever want to own a piece of outer space? Well, save up your joules and celestons and it could be yours.

In the January, the first issue to be called by that name, was the story of Jim Mangan, who in 1949 declared ownership of all of outer space.