Hotels in San Francisco

October 30, 2009 by · 10 Comments 

The beaches in San Francisco are really awesome and the atmosphere is so vibrant you won’t have time to be bored at all. Finding San Francisco hotels is really easy if you know how to look for them. There are many places to visit in San Francisco so you have narrow down your options on places before you try to find San Francisco hotels that work for you.

One of the best places to visit while in San Francisco is the beach. Nothing beats spending the day lying in the sand and getting that glorious tan not to mention that swim on the sparking blue waters. Now if you want to spend a lot of time at the beach, you should find a hotel nearby, preferable a few minutes walk from the beach. If you have a lot of money to burn on this trip, you can always go to those expensive San Francisco hotels facing the sandy beach. These hotels have rooms facing the beach so that even if you don’t do out and walk on the sand, you will still have that gorgeous view of the sea. As an added attraction, there are hotels in San Francisco which offer small a veranda or balcony to their rooms where you can sit and enjoy the beach from the comfort of your room. However, if your budget is limited, you can always stay on those hotels a little bit farther from the beach. These hotels are usually less expensive than those located at the waterfront area. It’s not really difficult to find these budget hotels in San Francisco in the beach areas. You can always find good information on the Internet and can also book your airport hotel reservations online.

San Francisco has a Chinatown and a Japanese town, which are the oldest in the United States. Contrary to common perceptions, these places are mostly safe and the people are friendly. The prices of consumer goods are also very good. So if you are looking for good bargains, these places are for you. There are also very good San Francisco hotels located in these towns. To find them, try surfing the Internet and reserve your lodgings online. You may find many of these San Francisco hotels giving out great discounts if you book online.

Six US Gold Bullion Coins

September 12, 2009 by · 9 Comments 

In the United States, gold coins were first struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 1795. Production of the gold coins was legislated by the Mint Act of 1792 which authorized the ten dollar Gold Eagle, five dollar Half Eagle and the Quarter Eagle whose denomination you would be correct in assuming to be two dollars and fifty cents. So, you see it took a few years before the gold Half Eagles and Eagles were struck, followed by the $2.50 gold Quarter Eagles in 1796. The production of gold coins in the U.S. was more or less continuous until 1933 at the Philadelphia Mint and also at mints in Dahlonega in Georgia, Charlotte in North Carolina, New Orleans in Louisiana, Carson City in Nevada, San Francisco in California, and in Denver, Colorado.

During that period of time there were six denominations of the United States gold bullion coins. By face value they are the twenty dollar Double Eagle containing one ounce of pure gold, the ten dollar Eagle with one half ounce of gold, the five dollar Half Eagle, the four dollar gold Stella (for the 5-pointed star on its reverse), the three dollar gold piece, the $2.50 Quarter Eagle, and last but not least the Gold Dollar weighing in at one-tenth of an ounce of pure gold. The Gold Dollar was produced in 3 design types in the years from 1849 to 1889. The Liberty Head is called Type I and was struck from 1849 until 1854. Type II is the Small Head Indian Princess and was minted from 1854 to 1856. Then from 1856 until 1889 the Type III Gold Dollar was produced and is called the Large Head Indian Princess.

The gold Quarter Eagle, of denomination $2.50 , was in production from 1796 through 1929. During that time there were eight major Quarter Eagle design types. One of the original authorized gold coins, produced only in 1796, is named for its having ‘No Obverse Stars’. From 1796 to 1807 was the Capped Bust, Stars type. The 1808 gold dollar coin type is called Capped Bust to Left. The years 1821 to 1827 saw the production of the type known as Capped Head to Left, Large Diameter, Stars Around Head. The 1829 to 1834 type is the Capped Head to Left, Smaller Diameter, Stars Around Head. From 1834 to 1839 look for the Classic Head type. The Liberty Head gold dollar was minted from 1840 to 1907. And the Indian Head is the type produced from 1908 to 1929.

The minting of $3 Gold Pieces took place in the years from 1854 to 1889. 1879 and 1880 were the only years when the $4 Gold Stellas were produced. The five dollar denomination Half Eagles were minted from 1795 through 1929. Ten dollar Gold Eagles were struck between the years 1795 and 1933. And the period 1849 to 1933 saw the minting of the twenty dollar Gold Double Eagles.

Buying a Sacramento Home

April 22, 2009 by · 14 Comments 

Sacramento, located in the great Central Valley almost in the middle, between San Francisco and Lake Tahoe, is fast growing and a great place to live in California.

Sacramento is just two hours drive from San Francisco and Lake Tahoe and benefits largely from the proximity to the Bay Area. In spite of being so closely located, the Sacramento real estate market is much more affordable than the San Francisco Bay Area market, and is much less congested.

Sacramento offers a variety of housing options to choose from.

Sacramento homes range from low priced condos from the $150s to multi-million dollar homes. Homes are available in a broad variety of styles ranging from the modern to historical landmark homes. One can find houses in many neighborhoods that range from low 200’s and up, in various bed and bath combinations.

If you are thinking of buying real estate in Sacramento, now is the time. Prices are still very affordable, and have even come down a bit.

As the inventory of Sacramento homes for sale increases, the average days on the market increases as well, giving the Sacramento home buyer more homes to choose from when shopping.

The entry level and lower priced homes are selling more frequently, leading to a decrease in the median home price in Sacramento County. In general, sellers of higher priced homes that have been sitting on the market for long, especially those that have been priced above $450,000, have been forced to lower their prices.

The Sacramento real estate market is bustling now with the rise in the number of homes on the market. The Sacramento county MLS active listings are at an all-time high; make sure to check out the online California Realty Directory listings. All this is good news for the buyers as it gives them more real estate to choose from.

Currently, the real estate market is neutral but is fast heading towards becoming a buyer’s market. So, if you are looking forward to buying a Sacramento home, then it’s a good idea to take advantage of these market conditions today. Sacramento homebuyers now have the advantage of more negotiating power as sellers vie to catch the attention of discerning buyers.