Notable News (March 10-16, 2026)

This week’s headlines include Philadelphia Mint entrance renovations, a freed treasure hunter, the dime’s missing olive branch, and a Phoenician coin discovery.

The Philadelphia Mint has suspended tours and gift shop access while the building’s front entrance undergoes renovations. Tours are expected to resume by late April. The new entrance will feature updated exhibits and a larger assembly space.

Photo: Getty Images/DC Productions

Deep-sea treasure hunter Tommy Thompson, who discovered the S.S. Central America “Ship of Gold,” has been released from prison after spending over a decade in jail. He was convicted for refusing court orders to reveal the location of 500 missing gold coins.

Photo: Wikipedia.org

Several news outlets report that the olive branch—a symbol of peace—was removed from the eagle’s talons on the reverse of the 2026 semiquincentennial dime. The designer said the change was intentional and is meant to reference the colonists’ fight during the Revolutionary War.

Photo: U.S. Mint

In the 1950s, a bus driver from Leeds, England, discovered a 2,000-year-old Phoenician coin from ancient Gadir, Spain, in the fare box. Decades later, the cashier’s grandson donated the mysterious coin to the Leeds Museums and Galleries.

Photo: Getty Images/angi71