Rare US coin could be worth $4 million – gold $3 found in book now up for auction

A rare American $3 gold coin could be worth about $4 million when it is sold at auction next month – and, amazingly, it was found in 1997 by a tourist inside a souvenir book at a shop in San Francisco.

Only two 1870-S coins were made by the San Francisco mint – to be placed at the cornerstone of a public building. The coin up for sale was made from a special cast that had an 'S' carved into it, which is why the $3 piece is so rare.

MAIL STORY
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The things people do when their beloved pets die – cloning and even suicide

Some people it seems will do anything after their much-loved pets die – from spending a fortune on cloning their dogs and cats or, in a more extreme case, committing suicide.

The Telegraph reports on the inquest of a British man who killed himself after he lost his beloved cat.

Michael McAleese, 44, of Poole, Dorset, was so distraught when his 13-year-old tabby cat died that he took a cocktail of drugs. The coroner recorded a verdict that he took his own life.

Meanwhile, in America, a couple paid $155,000 to have their Labrador cloned.

Edgar and Nina Otto wanted another dog just like their dead pet called Sir Lancelot. The replica, Lancelot Encore, is said to share traits with the original. Edgar, the son of NASCAR co-founder Edward Otto, paid the enormous price at an auction.

The Mail Online reports that: 'The cloning itself was done in conjunction with a San Francisco firm called BioArts and the Sooam Biotech Research Foundation in South Korea... BioArt suspended their commercial cloning service in September 2009, though the process is still completed in South Korea.'

The first commercially cloned pet was a cat called Little Nicky and cost a woman in Texas $50,000.

TELEGRAPH SUICIDE STORY

MAIL CLONING STORY


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New iPad launch: it's a 'revolution', but do I really need one?

Apple says it is redefining the tablet with the launch of the 'revolutionary' new iPad – but it's not an iPad3.

At the first launch event in San Francisco since the death of Steve Jobs, Apple bosses Paul Schiller and Tim Cook said the tablet would have the "best mobile display that has ever shipped. It is a revolution".

Graphics will be sharper on the 9.7in screen because it uses a high resolution Retina Display with more pixels than a 50in HD TV.

The camera is improved – to 5MB – video will be 1080p high definition and other features include Voice Dictation.

The new iPad sounds exactly like something I do not need, especially as it uses 4G wireless technology, which will not be available in the UK for at least a year.

My combination of the original iPad plus an iPhone 4Gs – which is brilliant – works well enough for me. I already have voice dictation, and a 5MB camera on a big tablet is unnecessary to a photographer who carries around two cameras which pack more power and quality.

If I were buying again, I would go for the iPad2 and, of course, the iPhone 4Gs.

The new iPad is expected to be available in the UK from March 16, costing £399 for the 16GB Wi-Fi version. The iPad2 is being reduced to £329 for the basic version.

CNN review of the launch

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