By Coinweek ….
CoinWeek News Wire for July 28, 2017:
Digital Cash Revolution
1.) UPDATE: “WE ARE DECLARING WAR ON CASH,” BANK SPOKESMAN ANDY GERLT
…[A]mong the people championing the convenience of a cashless society are those who use iphones to buy Starbucks coffee. These devotees who will sacrifice freedom for convenience will not be spared. They will be crushed under the juggernaut when alternate choices of transacted commerce are eliminated.
Kind of like the middle class thinking Trump was going to help them. Or the bitter left that thought Hillary was actually liberal. There are only degrees of authoritarianism now. And those in power are the elitists who state they know what is best for you. It also happens to be what is best for them. And cash – or more correctly control of how cash is spent – is an obstacle to that…
2.) 7 Cryptocurrency Predictions From the Experts
Imagine that “all your waking hours are spent in the Matrix,” he said, referring to a virtual reality in which everyone is enmeshed in the future. As people from all over the world meet and interact, they will need a medium of exchange. “To transact, you can’t just hand over a dollar bill,” Srinivasan said. “You need an international currency for that.”
3.) The SEC May Have Just Popped the Digital Coin Bubble
Theoretically, the coins are a new kind of crowdfunding where entrepreneurs give early investors access to tokens that they’ll be able to exchange for some future product or service… But they often resembled risky securities investments where the products people were supposedly buying didn’t exist and prices fluctuated wildly.
4.) Major Wall Street analyst: Here’s what needs to happen for the bitcoin boom to keep going
“A crucial hurdle” for bitcoin is whether major financial institutions will accept the digital currency as collateral, said Blanch, who is considered by many to be one of the best commodity analysts on Wall Street. “But we are not aware of any major institution that takes cryptocurrency as collateral at the moment.”
Current Events
5.) Trinidad & Tobago: Issuing of one cent coin halted
While [the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago] stopped issuing one cent coins from July 1, the coin remains legal tender and can be used for cash payments until the Bank notifies the public otherwise. The bank expects to demonetize the coin by July 1, 2018…
6.) UC Berkeley to receive about $400K for Mark Twain Project
The United States Mint has been disbursing surcharge funds collected under the Mark Twain Commemorative Coin Program to institutions designated under the Mark Twain Commemorative Coin Act.
The campus is still in process of receiving their part of the surcharge, according to Bob Hirst, general editor for the campus’s Mark Twain Project…
7.) Rs 1000 coin coming? Opposition wants Indian govt to clarify
The Opposition on Wednesday asked Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the Rajya Sabha to clarify whether the government has decided to scrap the newly launched Rs 2,000 note and introduce a Rs 1,000 coin instead…
Brain Food
8.) Tracing Indian history through coins
“The Peru-valluthi coin of the Pandya Sangam age is more than 2,000 years old. It’s a copper coin and has the line diagram of a stylised fish.” He adds that the stylised fish diagrams are characteristics of the Pandya Sangam age.
9.) The Stories Behind Banknote Illustrations
How well do you really know your currency? Check out ForexTime’s great banknote infographic to find out more!
Under the Radar
10.) Panneerselvam thanks Modi for MGR commemorative coin
In his letter in January, Panneerselvam said it would be a fitting tribute to a great leader, an inspiring icon who is eternally embedded in the hearts of the people of Tamil Nadu, to issue a commemorative coin and a special postal stamp…
11.) Collector’s coin commemorates WWII massacres in Warsaw
The National Bank of Poland has issued a collector’s coin to commemorate the victims of two massacres in Warsaw during the WWII occupation of the city by German Nazis.
The Wola massacre was a systematic massacre of 40,000 to 50,000 people in the western Warsaw district by German Nazi troops during the early phase of the Warsaw Uprising, which started on 1 August. Between 5 and 12 August 1944 tens of thousands of Polish civilians along with captured Home Army resistance fighters were systematically murdered in organised mass executions.
The silver PLN 10 coin depicts the kneeling figure of a woman symbolizing the victims of the killings and, behind her, two male silhouettes, symbolizing the killers…
12.) Commemorative coins for palm oil industry 100th anniversary
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) is issuing commemorative coins to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Malaysian palm oil industry. The coloured silver commemorative coin (proof) is made of fine silver with 99.9 purity and weighs 31.10 grams. It has a face value of RM10 and will be sold at RM230 a piece. The mintage quantity is 700 pieces. The nordic gold brilliant uncirculated commemorative coin has a face value of RM1 and will be sold at RM10 each. The mintage quantity is 13,000 pieces…
Crime & Punishment
13.) NCIC Crime Bulletin
From the Numismatic Crime Information Center (NCIC):
FedEx Package Missing/Stolen
The following items have been reported as missing/stolen:
- 33x 2017 1oz Proof Platinum coins in Caps
From Brooklyn NY to Chicago IL
Shipped July 13 Signed for on July 14 near north side Chicago area (Gold Coast neighborhood).
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].
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The Numismatic Crime Information Center is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation. P.O. Box 14080 Arlington, Texas 76094.
14.) Police uncover rare coins, old checks in metro storage unit
Officers found heirlooms dating back about 150 years, and police think they were stolen. Police found coins and checks dating back to the 1800s inside a storage unit near Cemetery Road and Reno Avenue…
15.) Egg Harbor City man accused of stealing $20,000 worth of jewelry, coins from home
Eduardo Maldonado Jr., 24, was arrested Tuesday and charged with third-degree theft, police said Friday…
Counterfeit Cavalcade
16.) Greed makes techie couple lose Rs 3 lakh for fake coins
The man had brought 7 kg of coins and demanded Rs 5 lakh. The couple said they would only give Rs 3 lakh. The man agreed, he gave them the coins, took the money and went away. When the couple took the gold to a jewellers’ shop they found that all were fake…
17.) Malawi Police Arrest 3 Men Over Discovery of Fake K2000 Scam
Malawi Police in Rumphi District have arrested three people for possessing counterfeit money in K2000 bank notes amounting to over K1 million…
18.) Warning: Counterfeit Australian $50 and $100 notes in circulation
Robina Police have taken possession of a number of counterfeit $50 and $100 notes in the last two weeks.
Senior Sergeant Andrew Frick is encouraging members of the public to aware of possible counterfeit notes when buying or selling items. Some are very realistic and can be quite hard to detect.
If you think a note handed to you feels or looks odd, refuse it and ask the customer or retailer to provide another form of payment. If a counterfeit note comes into your possession, contact the police immediately and take the note into your local police station. It will be sent to the Australian Federal Police for analysis however, a refund will not be given.
Banknote News
19.) Nepal political party demands banknote commemorating king
[The Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP)] has demanded the issue of a bank note bearing the picture of King Prithvi Narayan Shah to honor his contribution to national unification, said party spokesperson Bhuwan Pathak…
20.) RBI Stops Printing of Rs 2,000 Notes, Steps Up Effort on Issuing New Rs 200 Notes Soon
The Reserve Bank of India stopped printing of Rs 2,000 notes nearly five months ago and it is unlikely to print the note of higher denomination in the current financial year, sources said. On the other hand, the central bank has stepped up the printing of other denominations, including new Rs 200 note … likely to come into circulation next month.
21.) Introduction of composite money economically justified, Armenian central bank says
The introduction of new banknotes in 2018 is timed with the 25th anniversary of the national currency – the dram. The current banknotes will be gradually replaced by new generation banknotes. In addition, new images will appear on the bills, and a banknote with a nominal value of 2,000 drams will be introduced, while 100,000 drams banknotes will not be issued at all due to low demand…
Gold, Bullion & Precious Metals
22.) Did The Dutch Central Bank Lie About Its Gold Bar List?
Head of the Financial Markets Division of the Dutch central bank, Aerdt Houben, stated in an interview for newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad published in October 2016 that releasing a bar list of the Dutch official gold reserves “would cost hundreds of thousands of euros”. In this post we’ll expose this is virtually impossible – the costs to publish the bar list should be close to zero – and speculate about the far reaching implications of this falsehood…
23.) This Miner’s $190 Billion Tax Bill Would Take Centuries to Pay
Tanzania sent Acacia Mining Plc a tax bill equal to almost two centuries worth of the gold producer’s revenue.
The giant tax bill is the latest twist in an increasingly ugly spat between the government and Acacia. In March, Tanzania banned exports of unprocessed gold and copper, a move Acacia said is costing it about $1 million a day in lost revenue. The situation escalated when the government accused the firm of operating illegally in the country and said mine operators had been evading taxes…
24.) Philippines’ Duterte wants to put a stop to mineral exportation
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday he wants all mineral resources extracted from the country to be processed domestically and, if possible, to stop exporting such commodities…
25.) London Metal Exchange to publish gold, silver reference prices within weeks
The London Metal Exchange (LME) will start publishing gold and silver reference prices … potentially challenging the dominance of benchmarks administered by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). Precious metals producers and consumers around the world use benchmarks owned by the London Bullion Market Association to price contracts.
Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) sets the LBMA Gold Price twice a day via an electronic auction, and was selected this month to administer the LBMA Silver Price, defeating a rival bid by the LME…
Treasure & Archaeology
26.) Anglo Saxon coin found at a key Pictish fort
Experts believe the fort was a significant seat of power in the kingdom of the Picts – often described as the ‘lost’ ancient people of Scotland – dating between 500AD and 1,000AD…
27.) Sunken Warship Near Iceland May Contain $130 Million Of Nazi Gold
Several British tabloids are reporting that a British ship has discovered a cache of this Nazi gold 120 kilometers (75 miles) off the coast of Iceland. The crew of an Advanced Marine Services vessel decided to explore the sunken wreckage of the wartime SS Minden, within which resides at least one chest that tantalizingly remains locked.
This ship was scuttling en route from Brazil to Germany in 1939 when it was confronted by two British warships, and the contemporary crew claim that the golden treasure suspected to exist within is worth at least $130 million…
Meals, Tokens & Exonumia
28.) Sheriff Makes Hobby out of Unique Collection
One widely known challenge coin in the United States Air Force was the “Bull Dog” challenge coin exclusive to B-52 enlisted tail gunners. Because the B-52 gunner position was phased out in 1991, this famous challenge coin has become more rare…
29.) Coins challenge SUNY Canton students to complete college on time
When SUNY Canton President Zvi Szafran was new to campus he met with members of the college’s Veteran’s Association. At that meeting, he was given a challenge coin.
Mr. Szafran was impressed with the coin and he wondered how it could be applied to students…
Upcoming Auctions & Events
30.) Florida auctioning unclaimed jewelry, rare currency and gold coins
When banks are left with unclaimed valuables after three years, they hand them off to the state Department of Financial Services, which spends another two years looking for the owner. Then — not having a large vault of its own to store all the stuff — the state auctions off the valuables.
The proceeds are kept in bank accounts so that if the owners of the valuables ever come forward, the money can be given to them…
World of the Weird
31.) 2017 $1 Silver Eagle MS70 Trump & Hillary Balloon Label from ANACS
[So this is a thing… —CW]
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