By Coinweek ….
CoinWeek News Wire for August 11, 2017:
Brain Food
1.) Rare coins have Holdrege, Colorado link
Kinkaid began researching the history of the Lesher Dollar in 1984. In 1992, he hired Holdrege genealogist Sandra Slater as the research director for the project. While Kinkaid said many in the coin hobby don’t know what a Lesher Dollar is, the rare coin has a unique connection to the Holdrege [Nebraska] area…
2.) Cultural currency: How the Old U.S. Mint evolved from making money to making music
The Old U.S. Mint still stands as a beautiful historical landmark and home to the New Orleans Jazz Museum. Admission is free, and visitors can see a wide range of exhibits, including its permanent collection, which tells the history of the building as a mint, as well as rotating exhibits of the city’s musical history…
Under the Radar
3.) New Isle of Man £5 coin commemorates TT anniversary
A new £5 Isle of Man coin and pack commemorating this year’s 110th anniversary of the TT Races is launched [Monday 7 August, 2017]. Produced for the Manx Government by Tower Mint Ltd, the coin depicts the famous Senior TT Trophy…
4.) Cumberland Island to get America the Beautiful quarter in August 2018
Donna Weaver’s design depicts a snowy egret perched with its wings spread on a branch with a salt marsh in the background. Inscribed along the edge are, Cumberland Island, Georgia, 2018 and e pluribus unum. Mint sculptor-engraver Don Everhart sculpted the coin…
Current Events
5.) Belgium’s mint to close in 2018
The Royal Mint of Belgium will cease operation on January 1, 2018, due to a surplus of coins produced in the eurozone…
6.) Royal Mint will supply Argentina with 150 million Peso coin blanks
According to Argentine media the blanks’ contract is worth US$ 1.7 million. An official from the Argentine counterpart said that there was an international bid because “there are no manufacturers of blanks in the country”.
However the official added it was not the only recent international bid. In effect the Spanish blanks mint, Ceco SA, was awarded a contract for the new 5 Pesos coin. The Spanish company will supply 200 million blanks in association with Germany’s Deutsche Nickel company…
Going Cashless
7.) Unleashing Indonesia’s digital economy potential
[A]ccording to Mastercard, as of 2013, non-cash payments accounted only 3.1 percent of the total value of consumer payments in Indonesia, and were far behind those of Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, accounting for 69 percent, 45 percent, and 41 percent respectively, out of the total value of consumer payments, in their respective countries…
Chinese consumers spent US$5.5 trillion via mobile payment platforms last year, about 50 times more than their American counterparts. By the end of 2016, Tencent alone saw both its active mobile payment accounts and average daily payment transactions exceed 600 million…
Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency
9.) This Putin Ally Wants to Get in on the Bitcoin Mining Craze
Russia has 20 gigawatts of excess power capacity, with consumer electricity prices as low as 80 kopeks (1.3 cents) per kilowatt hour, which is less than in China, RMC said in the presentation. The company initially plans to locate mining computers based on Bitfury chips in individual Russian households to challenge Bitmain by using Russia’s lower power prices…
10.) Goldman Sachs: ‘Real Dollars At Work’ in Cryptocurrency Markets
Goldman Sachs has published a question-and-answer report focused on cryptocurrencies in which it suggests that clients should be keeping a closer eye on the market.
The authors wrote:
“Whether or not you believe in the merit of investing in cryptocurrencies (you know who you are), real dollars are at work here and warrant watching.”
Banknote News
11.) Solomon Islands: Be aware of fake banknotes
There is a notable increase of fake or counterfeit banknotes currently circulating within the country, the Central Bank of Solomon Islands (CBSI) has warned on Wednesday…
12.) New Indian Rs 500, 2000 notes have unique dimension
“Bank notes in each denomination has a distinct dimension. The size of new design Rs 500 bank note is 66mm x 150mm and the size of new design Rs 2,000 bank note is 66mm x 166mm,” Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal said…
Gold, Precious Metals & Bullion
13.) London Precious Metals Vault Holdings
As at 31 March, 2017, there were 7,449 tonnes of gold, valued at $298 billion and 32,078 tonnes of silver valued at $19 billion. This equates to approximately 596,000 gold bars and 1,069,255 silver bars…
14.) Chinese gold reserves to surpass 4,000 tons
China’s burgeoning gold reserves, which some analysts estimated to have surpassed 4,000 tons as of June, reflects the nation’s plan to diversify its reserves away from US dollars at a time when the dollar’s value has plummeted, as well as to strengthen the country’s standing in the global financial market, experts said…
15.) Is there a pattern to Russia’s central bank gold purchases?
[O]verall it does look as though the Russian central bank is looking to build its gold reserve base by around 200 tonnes a year at the moment. In that there was a zero increase in gold holdings in December last year is, perhaps, a confirmation of this target figure as the 200 tonne total had already been achieved in November…
Treasure & Archaeology
16.) 2017 World Invitational Gold Panning Winners
There’s gold in them thar hills! The District of Taylor held its annual Gold Panning Championships over the BC Day long weekend…
Crime & Punishment
17.) NCIC Crime Bulletin
From the Numismatic Crime Information Center (NCIC):
USPS Package Missing/Stolen
The following items have been reported as missing/stolen from the Carson City post office in transit to Northern Nevada:
- 1893 S PCGS VG10
- 1893CC PCGS AU55
- 18930 PCGS MS63
- 1896S PCGS MS63
- 1880CC $5 Gold NGC VF30
- 1892CC $5 Gold PCGS AU53
Anyone with information contact Howard Frydman at (516) 369-4104 or contact the NCIC’s Doug Davis if you have any questions or information about the case above. You can reach him at (817) 723-7231 or email him at [email protected].
* * *
The Numismatic Crime Information Center is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation. P.O. Box 14080 Arlington, Texas 76094.
18.) Mass. Man Steals $40K In Coins From Littleton Coin Co.
Wayne Nordstrom accused Of writing bad checks; police say other coin dealers also victims…
19.) Man arrested with fake Australian banknotes in Murray Bridge
The clearly counterfeit notes — in denominations of $20, $50 and $100 — were found when police arrested a man who was acting suspiciously on Old Swanport Rd on Monday night. Each note has Chinese characters stamped across the clear window as well as dotted lines over the denomination number.
They are believed to have come from China — where they are used for training bank staff.
While the notes are easily distinguishable as fake, SA Police are concerned that in dark places or with distracted customers, they may have been temporarily passed as genuine…
Upcoming Auctions & Events
- Rago Arts Coins & Currency Auction – August 24
- Ellis Island Quarter Launch – August 30
- Warsaw Coin Expo – September 1-2
- InAsta Auction 70 – September 23
Just for Fun
20.) Coin Worth $300 Hidden in Columbus
As a part of the Wild Wild West Columbus Days, a gold Buffalo Bill coin has been hidden somewhere in the Columbus area. If you can find the coin, you can turn it into the Columbus Area Chamber and win $300, or you can rent out the Henry on 11th building for free…
* * *
Follow CoinWeek on 
and 
— Subscribe to CoinWeek’s YouTube channel.
U.S. Mint Proof Sets Currently Available on eBay
[wpebayads]
