CoinWeek News Wire for August 7, 2017: War on Cash and Coins, Monday Edition

August 7, 2017

CoinWeek News Wire - August 4, 2017

By Coinweek ….

CoinWeek News Wire for August 7, 2017:

The War on Cash 4: The Cash Master

1.) Is e-payment fast rendering cash extinct?

As a Guardian newspaper article points out in January, “If you begin to insist on cashlessness, it does put pressure on you to be banked and signed up to financial system, and many of the poorest are likely to remain outside of that system. So there is this real danger of exclusion.”

2.) Digital ‘absolutely cannibalizing’ cash as stores, shoppers snub bills

Some may think that older generations would be more reticent to adapt. But Segal says it’s actually tweens, who may not have their own bank accounts and whose only source of cash may be spending money from their parents, that present the only challenge. Mad Radish is working on a solution, such as a reloadable gift card, he says…

3.) The panhandler’s lament: In an increasingly cashless world, fewer have a dime to spare

Even as panhandling becomes harder, he finds a certain joy in it. “People don’t owe you nothing,” he says. “It’s all about the love.” His regulars, at least, still usually have change for him — or if they don’t, they might buy him a sandwich.

“For some people, it’s a social outlet,” says Columbia’s O’Flaherty. “They have regular customers, relationships that develop all the time.”

Brain Food

4.) Coins Tell the Story of Parthian Empire

Historian and author Jalal Dilmaghani has released History of Parthia based on Coins, an account of this obscure part of the past with the help of coinage.

The Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD), also known as the Arsacid Empire, was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran and Iraq. However what we usually know of their history is limited or vague…

5.) THE STRANGE HISTORY OF MASONS IN AMERICA

Take out a dollar bill (United States currency, that is). Look at the back. On the left side, granted as much space as the American eagle symbol on the right, is a seeing eye and a pyramid, placed there for no apparent reason. But for those in the know, the eye above the pyramid is a Masonic symbol, produced by a secret society which has influenced American history from its beginnings…

6.) Newark 1646 and the story of English Civil War siege coins at auction

Poor old Newark. A bit like Belgium and Poland over the centuries, in the English Civil War the English Midlands town ended up in the wrong place in wartime – stuck in the middle – as armies trampled back and forth across it or lay siege. The town’s misfortune is a coin collector’s gain, however, as the lozenge-shaped coins minted in Newark during the conflict have become familiar and fairly common visitors to the salerooms…

Under the Radar

7.) Bulgaria prepares coin emissions for EU presidency

In collaboration with the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB), we are preparing the special emission of two types of coins to be used as gifts during the presidency … The emission will include a silver coin with gold for the highest-ranking guests and a special BGN 2 coin that will also be presented in a special way to the guests…

8.) Double Victoria Cross Passchendaele hero honoured by Royal Mint

The only British serviceman to be awarded the Victoria Cross twice during the First World War is to be honoured by The Royal Mint on a commemorative coin.

Captain Noel Godfrey Chavasse, a doctor in the Royal Army Medical Corps, saved the lives of at least 20 soldiers while tending to the wounded under heavy enemy fire during the Battle of The Somme in 1916.

He was subsequently awarded Britain’s highest military honour, and a year later was back in the thick of the action at the Third Battle of Ypres, commonly known as Passchendaele.

9.) Mongolia issues commemorative coin of endangered Gobi brown bear

The Central Bank of Mongolia has issued a commemorative coin dedicated to the Gobi brown bear which is on the verge of extinction. The coin made of pure silver has the shape of a circle with a diameter of 38.61 mm and a price of 300,000 togrog (122 U.S. dollars)…

Current Events

10.) ISIS Rolls Out New Pennies, Bans Use of ‘Satanic’ U.S. Dollars

In a new short video … an American-accented narrator describes how ISIS has introduced a smaller unit of currency — the bronze fals — to add to their gold dinar and silver dirham…

11.) Why the quest for a single currency for West Africa won’t materialize soon

The decision to create a single monetary zone for West Africa was reached by Heads of State of the 15 member countries at a summit of the Economic Community of West African States, the region’s economic commission, in Lome, Togo in 1999…

12.) Proposal to put philanthropist’s portrait on Taiwan’s 10-dollar coins gains momentum

The netizen put forward the proposal on a public policy online participation platform to replace Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) portrait on the 10-dollar coin with that of Chuang Chu Yu-nu（莊朱玉女), a woman who sold meals for NT$10 for decades to help low-income families, who passed away in February 2015. The proposal has garnered more than 5,000 signatures within the required two-month period, the threshold required to force a government response…

13.) SA WON’T RUN OUT OF CASH, SAYS SARB AMID STRIKE BY BANK NOTE COMPANY

The Reserve Bank says South Africans need not worry about the country running out of cash due to a strike at the South African Bank Note Company.

The printing of bank notes has come to a standstill after workers embarked on a wage strike…

Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency

14.) How To Create Your Own Cryptocurrency

When you look at the complexities that go into making a physical dollar bill it’s plain to see why most people don’t start trying to print a new form of currency every day, but making a new digital currency is surprisingly easy for someone with even basic coding skills. But coding isn’t the only step to getting your digital currency off the ground. Here are the five steps you should follow according to the makers of three cryptocurrencies…

15.) How Are New Bitcoins Created? A Brief Guide to Bitcoin Mining

However, mining on personal computers has only been feasible in the early years of Bitcoin. By now, the network is so competitive, that using specialized hardware is the only way to make a profit…

Banknote News

16.) Zimbabwe to Print Additional $300 Million Bond Notes

Zimbabwe’s Central Bank says it will print additional bond notes worth $300 million in an effort to ease biting cash shortages, stoking fears that the country could return to the era of money printing and hyperinflation…

17.) BSP to demonetize P100,000 and P2,000 commemorative bills

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Tuesday, August 1, announced that the P100,000 and P2,000 centennial commemorative banknotes issued during the term of former president Joseph Estrada in 1998 would be demonetized.

The BSP said the centennial commemorative banknotes will remain legal tender (mode of payment) up to July 31, 2018.

These limited edition bills can be exchanged for New Generation Currency (NGC) banknotes at full face value with the BSP from August 1, 2018 to July 31, 2019…

Crime & Punishment

18.) 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.

www.numismaticcrimes.org

19.) Man Steals Over $100K In Jewelry, Rare Coins From Tulsa Store

Police said Parker broke into the Tulsa Gold and Silver building near 41st and Sheridan by climbing a pipe and going all the way to the top of the building.

Surveillance video shows Parker quickly making his way up the wall at Tulsa Gold and Silver near 41st and Sheridan. He then went through the air conditioning unit and lands on a counter…

20.) US Bank Note Counterfeit Gang Busted And 1.2 Million Fake Dollars Seized

A nine-member gang that allegedly printed and sold counterfeit US dollar bills in Thailand has been bust in a combined operation by Thai police and US Secret Service officers…

Gold, Precious Metals & Bullion

21.) China’s $11 billion surge on Perth Mint’s gold brings miners their aura

Despite China being the largest producer of gold in the world, exports of Australian gold to the middle kingdom have soared in the past six years.

The Perth Mint sold $11 billion worth of bullion to China last year alone, and demand continues to climb.

Demand is so strong that Perth Mint brings in gold from mines in other countries like Papua New Guinea and New Zealand, and jewellery from south-east Asia that is refined down to the Mint’s signature 99.99 per cent gold bullion…

Treasure & Archaeology

22.) Treasure hunter discovers £500million Nazi loot in forest BUT landowner BLOCKS dig

Hans Glueck, 76, who has quested after the hoard of gold, diamonds, artworks and rare postage stamps for two decades – loot intended to fund the post Nazi defeat “Werewolf” resistance units – says the owner of the land wants the treasure for himself.

But without the map and coordinates he has obtained down the years “he is as blind as a mole,” says Mr Glueck…

Medals, Tokens & Exonumia

23.) Disneyland Railroad Commemorative Coins Now Available

The Disneyland Railroad and Rivers of America re-opened [July 29]. To celebrate, Disney is offering a commemorative coin available at the Westward Ho Trading Co. and Disneyana.

Upcoming Auctions & Events

Museums & Exhibits

24.) Roman Boldre Hoard goes on display at St. Barbe Museum

A hoard of Roman coins dating back to the 3rd Century has gone on public display for the first time. Metal detector enthusiasts unearthed 1,608 coins in a field in Boldre, near Lymington in Hampshire, in 2014…

25.) Reclaiming our heritage – Can’t coin history: Nizam’s rare currency trapped in mint closet

Heritage activists demand that the old mint building in Saifabad should be converted into a numismatics and royal mint museum of Hyderabad with access to the common man…

Worthy Additions to Your Library

26.) New Zealand History Coined (Coins of New Zealand 1933-1965)

After years of research and preparation, ‘New Zealand History Coined’ was launched at the Decimal 50 Conference in Auckland, New Zealand on 15 July 2017. This book, written by Robert Pepping, looks at all of New Zealand’s coins from 1933 to 1965 but also contains information on other significant numismatic items and events such as the New Zealand Pattern Penny of 1879, the Royal Visit Medal of 1953 and the proposed coinage of King Edward VIII…