By Coinweek Coin News Wire ….
Coin News Wire for March 9, 2018
Current Events
1.) How to Enter the Illinois Bicentennial Coin Design Contest
Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs is looking for someone to design the coin that will be created and distributed to commemorate the state’s 200th birthday.
Designs must be submitted by May 1. The public will then have an opportunity to go online in June and vote on the five top designs. The winner will be announced on June 18…
2.) Central Bank of Lithuania to issue world’s first digital collector coin
To choose the underlying technology and specific development solutions, the Bank of Lithuania will be organising a hackathon, bringing together tech companies and IT professionals from around the globe.
Having considered all the relevant factors, final decisions on the mintage, denomination, price and the date of issue of the coin as well as the mode of distribution will be made after the hackathon comes to a close…
3.) Big Nickel creator Ted Szilva had a vision and he made us all see it
Szilva, then a 27-year-old firefighter, presented an idea for a giant coin tourist attraction to Sudbury’s Canada Centennial Committee, which was looking for ideas to celebrate the country’s 100th birthday…
Under the Radar
4.) Sailor Moon Marks 25th Anniversary With Commemorative Coins!
The gold coin itself features a beautiful illustration of Sailor Moon with a warm smile. The silver coin, meanwhile, features Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars, Sailor Venus, Sailor Mercury, and Sailor Jupiter in front of the Moon Kingdom…
Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency
5.) Australian Tax Office To Track Down Bitcoin Tax Evaders
Currently, the ATO considers bitcoin to be an asset rather than money.
The new rules will also extend the jurisdiction of AUSTRAC, Australia’s financial intelligence agency, enabling it to access cryptocurrency exchange records. In addition to following KYC and AML rules, exchanges will be expected to divulge transactions deemed suspicious, as well as any cash transaction in excess of 10,000 Australian dollars…
6.) Estimated Electricity Cost Of Mining One Bitcoin By Country
Overall, Bitcoin’s total electricity consumption is huge. In November last year we reported that Bitcoin Mining Now Consuming More Electricity Than 159 Countries Including Ireland & Most Countries In Africa.
As of March 2018, that number has increased to 173, which would mean if Bitcoin mining activity were a country it would be the 47th largest consumer on earth (slightly less than Kuwait but more than Greece).
Despite the increase in electricity required to mine Bitcoins and dramatic decline in the price ($11,455 USD at the time of writing), mining remains hugely profitable in certain countries with cheap electricity…
7.) Bitcoin faces regulatory crackdown, Bank of England warns
The Bank of England has warned that bitcoin faces a regulatory crackdown, warning that “inherently risky” cryptocurrencies are failing to fulfil their most basic function as money…
8.) Bitcoin’s Tokyo Whale Sold $400 Million and He’s Not Done Yet
The Tokyo attorney and bankruptcy trustee for the now-defunct Mt. Gox exchange disclosed on Wednesday that he sold about $400 million of Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash since late September. Kobayashi, who’s liquidating the tokens on behalf of Mt. Gox creditors, has another $1.9 billion to offload…
9.) Bitcoin enthusiasts take innovative approach, steal 600 computers
Mining for cryptocurrency can be an expensive proposition — albeit less so if you just go ahead and steal 600 powerful computers to do it for you.
That is exactly what 11 people are accused of doing in Iceland…
Crime & Punishment News Wire
10.) NCIC Crime Bulletin
From the Numismatic Crime Information Center (NCIC):
Burglary
California dealer Brad Watts, (Classic Currency), had his home broken into and entire inventory stolen.
The loss included Large and Small size notes, Obsolete notes, coins, a number of graded CC Dollars and silver bullion. What follows is a partial List of stolen inventory.
Large Size Type Notes:
- PCGS 66 Series 1901 $10 Buffalo
- PCGS 65 Series 1896 $ 2 Educational
- PMG 63 Series 1891 $ 2 Mc Pherson
- PMG 64 Series 1891 $ 2 Mc Pherson
- PCGS VF 20 Series 1918 $2 Battleship K. C.
- PCGS 63 Series UNK $ 5 Woodchopper
- PMG 64 Series 1891 $ 5 Thomas
- PMG 64 Series 1886 $2 Hancock
- PMG & PCGS 65 Series 1899 $ 1 Black Eagles
- PMG AU 55 Series 1874 $1 Rainbow
- PCGS 58 PPQ Series UNK $1 Rainbow
- PMG UNK GR Series 1914 $100 Blue Seal
- Raw ASST Large Size Gold Notes
- Raw XF $ 5,2,1, Educational Notes
- Raw VF Series UNK $2 St. Nicolas Lazy Deuce
- Raw National Large Size Silver City NM Notes
- Raw small size Gem Star $5 North Africa US Note Yellow Seal
- Raw small size packs of Hawaii Various denomination notes
- PMG several high grade Military Payment Certificates
- PCGS AU-58 1894 $10 Liberty Gold
- NGC MS-62 1911 $10 Gold Indian
- RAW 1891CC Liberty Gold
- NGC AU-55 1892CC $5 Liberty Gold
- RAW 1890CC $5 Liberty Gold
- PCGS G-DETAILS 1871CC $5 Liberty Gold
- ANACS G-6 1880CC $5 Liberty Gold
- PCGS AU-58 $3 1854 Gold Indian
- NGC MS-62 1884CC $1 MORGAN SILVER
- ICG MS AU-50 1875CC 25CENT Seated Liberty
- PCGS XF-40 1875CC 20CENT
- PCGS XF-40 1878 10 CENT Seated liberty
- PCGS VF-08 1878CC 10 cent Seated Liberty
- NGC G-06 1878CC 10CENT Seated Liberty
- PCGS AU-55 1556 SPANISH GOLD 4 ESCUDO
- PCGS MS-62 1877 MEXICO GOLD 5 PESO
- PCGS UNK GR 8 REALE GOLD PIECE
- CONFEDERATE 1863 $100 PMG-63 ALT
Missing Note – Vehicle Burglary
Missing Note:
The following note has been reported missing: $20 1890 Treasury Note FR#372 Rosecrans/Huston PMG 25, S/N A101595ppC.
Vehicle Burglary Newport Beach, CA:
A dealer was the victim of a car burglary in Newport Beach, California. Stolen were 143 x 1973-s proof Ike dollars in the plastic. No brown box.
Please contact the NCIC’s Doug Davis if you have any questions or information about any of the cases above. You can reach him at (817) 723-7231 or email him at [email protected].
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The Numismatic Crime Information Center is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation. P.O. Box 14080 Arlington, Texas 76094.
11.) Aubrey Trail wants to represent himself in fraud case; judge ‘strongly’ discourages him
Aubrey Trail is back in a Nebraska jail and returned to court Wednesday, where he told a federal judge he wants to represent himself at trial on 14 federal charges for allegedly swindling a Kansas couple of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The 51-year-old is a person of interest in the November disappearance and death of Sydney Loofe. He has a penchant for calling the news media with details and confessions. His letter to a judge led to the hearing…
Counterfeit Cavalcade
12.) The Earliest Days of American Photography
Newspaper articles in the late 1850s began warning of the danger of counterfeit bank notes that had been made using photography. Both had appeared in the United States in the 1830s after President Andrew Jackson eliminated the federal banking system, allowing private banks to issue paper currency under guidelines set by each state. At one point, forgeries accounted for 40 percent of the nation’s currency, with photography often to blame…
13.) Fake Chinese money a kick in the guts for pensioner
In English, part of the Chinese lettering on the notes roughly translates to: “for instruction only, do not circulate”…
Gold, Precious Metals & Bullion
14.) World’s five largest gold nuggets that haven’t been melted down
The world’s second largest nugget in existence, the Great Triangle, was excavated in 1842 in the Miass area of the Russian Urals. The triangular-shaped nugget, owned by the Russian state, weighs 36.2 kg, including a fine gold content of 32.94 kg, or 1,059 troy ounces. The Great Triangle is on display in the Russia’s ‘Diamond Fund’ collection in the Moscow Kremlin…
Banknote News
15.) New banknotes with portrait of King Maha Vajiralongkorn in circulation April 6
The Bank of Thailand announced … that it will put into circulation new banknotes that bear the portraits of His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun on April 6.
The first launch of the new banknotes will come in three dominations, 20, 50, and 100 baht, the central bank governor Veerathai Santipraphob said.
He said the second launch of the new banknotes will be on July 28, the royal birthday anniversary of the King… [T]he second launch will be in two other denominations – 500 and 1,000 baht…
Metal Detecting, Treasure & Archaeology
16.) 15th-Century Coin Cache Found in the Netherlands
The Netherlands Times reports that a cache of fifteenth-century coins was discovered during construction work in the central Netherlands. The collection of 12 gold and hundreds of silver coins was found in a glazed earthenware cooking pot. Fabric in the pot suggests the coins had been placed in textile bags or wrapped in cloth. The coins bear images of King Henry VI of England, Bishop of Utrecht David of Burgundy, and Pope Paul II.
Museums & Exhibits
17.) Museum bid to buy part of piano coin hoard
Saffron Walden Museum said it believed the coins were “deliberately hidden” by a Saffron Walden resident sometime in or after 1926.
It now wants to raise £3,000 to acquire a selection of the coins and the piano for a display and education piece for schoolchildren…
Upcoming Auctions & Events
- Naville Numismatics Live Auction 38 – closes March 11
- Dix Noonan Webb Live Online Auction – March 13-14
- Classical Numismatic Group (CNG) Electronic Auction 416 – March 14
- Stack’s Bowers Galleries Whitman Baltimore Auction – March 21-23
- Stack’s Bowers Galleries Whitman Baltimore Auction (Internet Only) – March 26-27
- Münzenonline E-Live Auction 8 – closes April 27
- Anti-Counterfeit & Currency Expo – November 6-8
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