By Coinweek ….
CoinWeek News Wire for March 10, 2017
Brain Food
1.) Coins tell tales of kings, their fancies
The longest reigning ruler Aurangazeb changed his monetary system so many times in his 49 years of reign that numismatist and author of the book South Asian Coins and Paper Money, Rajender Marudhar, says that it will take him years to count the changes…
2.) William Goetzmann: Money Changes Everything
[An intriguing look at the history of money and finance. The video below is part one; click on the link above for the complete playlist. —CoinWeek]
3.) Australian coins still in use that are worth a pretty penny
Some five cent coins currently in use, that you may have actually even thrown away, are now worth $500. Meanwhile, some twenty cent coins can fetch upwards of $100…
4.) Vietnam-era veteran counterfeited, legally, to make life hard for enemy
Charles J. Zoerb never set foot in Vietnam, but from his printing presses on Okinawa he helped create weapons to expose North Vietnamese infiltrators and help demoralize the enemy…
5.) ‘Galapra’ period coin die made by Roman smiths minted in Sangam Era?
Regarding the date of the coin, Krishnamurthy said, “The coin is die struck and the minting is of high quality. It looks similar to the Roman bronze coin of third century AD. On going through a Roman Coin catalogue, I found a coin similar in diameter and weight. The Galapra coin die might have been designed and made by Roman coin die-makers.”
Under the Radar
6.) Singapore excited over 50 sen coin
News that a 50 sen coin made in 1968 was auctioned off in Singapore for S$6,500 has sent collectors, especially those having coins of the denomination produced from 1967 to 1969, into a frenzy…
7.) Kaziukas’ Fair in Vilnius surprise – unprecedented €1.5
The issuance of coins dedicated to Kaziukas’ Fair, is ‘a first’ in several aspects. It is the first coin in the series ‘Traditional Lithuanian Celebrations’, the first collector coin to be dedicated to Kaziukas’ Fair in particular and, finally, the first coin to be issued in such a peculiar denomination – €1.5. Such denomination is a playful allusion to the Lithuanian pusantrokas (an old 1.5-groat coin), struck at the Vilnius Mint in the 17th c. – the same century that saw the rise of the fair itself,’ said Mindaugas Vaičiulis, Director of the Banking Service of the Bank of Lithuania, Chair of the Board of the Lithuanian Mint…
8.) These Beatrix Potter 50p coins will make you a pretty penny
The value of the Royal Mint anniversary set has rocketed with some people paying upwards of £400 on auction sites.
The coins celebrate the 150th birthday of renowned children’s author behind Peter Rabbit…
An engraving of a full English breakfast was considered to feature on the new £1 coin, the Royal Mint’s chief engraver has said.
Gordon Summers said the fry-up was one of the most popular of more than 6,000 entries in a nationwide competition to find a design to appear on the tails side of the coin…
Current Events
10.) ‘Spend or return over 39 million £1 coins before it’s too late’, says UK Treasury
Residents are being encouraged to spend or return their £1 coins so that they can be melted down and reused for the new coins.
The current £1 coin will stop being legal tender on October 15…
11.) British public stand to lose £1.1bn of loose change hoarded in piggybanks, jars and drawers
The new-look 12-sided £1 will come into circulation across the UK next month and shops have been told to stop accepting the traditional round coins on 15 October.
However, almost nine in 10 – or 87 per cent—of British customers are unaware of the October deadline to spend their old £1 coins, according to a Mastercard’s survey of 2,000 people…
The Future Is Now
12.) China Is Preparing Its Own Bitcoin Alternative
After assembling a research team in 2014, the People’s Bank of China has done trial runs of its prototype cryptocurrency. That’s taking it a step closer to becoming one of the first major central banks to issue digital money that can be used for anything from buying noodles to purchasing a car…
Crime & Punishment
13.) NCIC Crime Bulletin
From the Numismatic Crime Information Center (NCIC):
Check Fraud
Dealers should carefully scrutinize any large orders for gold bullion originating from the Brooklyn, NY area. An investigation is currently in progress involving the purchase of gold bullion in excess of 1 million dollars using a fraudulent check.
Due to the on-going investigation no other information is available at this time. An update will be sent as soon as additional details are provided.
Contact the NCIC’s Doug Davis if you have any questions or information about this case. 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.) Three arrested for stealing Ohio coin collection
Three out-of-state residents were arrested Monday morning at Motel 6 on North Mulberry Street in Elizabethtown for allegedly stealing a coin collection a day earlier from an Ohio home.
Cleo Feltner, 19, and Lashaun Liddell, 21, both of Middletown, Ohio, and Joshua Henry, 22, of Spring Valley, California, all are charged with receiving stolen property of more than $10,000…
15.) Nagpur University finally lodges FIR in coins theft case
In a series of reports, the newspaper had exposed how the precious coins and artefacts, allegedly worth crores in the international market, were stolen from the museum of the NU department of ancient Indian history, culture and archaeology. The university top brass also seemed to be trying to save the culprits by not filing an FIR…
16.) Indian Airport customs seize 16 gold bars worth Rs. 57 lakh
The Air Intelligence Unit intercepted a passenger at Mumbai airport on Saturday morning and seized gold bars worth Rs. 57, 62,000. The sixteen gold bars each weighing 1,866 grams were cleverly concealed in the laptop bag…
17.) Miami County detectives want these 2 women in coin theft case
Miami County sheriff’s detectives are searching for two women suspected of being involved in stealing silver coins from someone’s home. Nicole Fornara, 31, and Sarena Smith, 27, are wanted on charges of theft and receiving stolen property respectively, according to the sheriff’s office…
18.) Rockford Man Pleads Guilty to Robbing a Rockford Bank and a Coin Store
DAVID J. SANDERS, 33, pleaded guilty to the robbery of BMO Harris Bank, 1480 S. Alpine Rd., Rockford, on May 31, 2016, and the robbery of Rockford Coin and Stamps, 4402 Center Terr., Rockford, on June 11, 2016, and to using and carrying a Remington pistol-grip shotgun in furtherance [of] the coin store robbery…
Counterfeit Cavalcade
19.) After Delhi, Meham ATM dispenses fake 2,000 note
The fake note dispensed by an ATM in Delhi on February 22 is no longer an isolated incident. A similar note of the ‘Children Bank of India’ has been dispensed by an ATM of ICICI Bank in Rohtak’s Meham town, sparking fears of the possibility of a larger fraud…
20.) How to spot a fake £5 note amid Bank of England forgery fears
The new plastic £5 note is at the centre of a copycat scare – despite it being “next to impossible” to forge.
The Bank of England has reportedly launched an investigation following police warnings about attempts to produce counterfeit notes…
21.) ‘Children Bank’ note strikes again, fake currency dispensed by Punjab National Bank ATM in Meerut
A primary school teacher from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh revealed that he received a fake Rs 2,000 note from a Punjab National Bank ATM in Meerut…
Gold, Precious Metals & Bullion
22.) The Queen’s Beasts Red Dragon of Wales Bullion Coins
The latest addition to our Queen’s Beasts bullion range takes its inspiration from centuries of royal heraldry. The background for this range comes from the coronation of Her Majesty The Queen, where ten heraldic beasts stood guard, The Queen’s Beasts, sculpted by James Woodford RA for the coronation ceremony…
23.) Higher Gold, Silver Prices Drag Coin Sales Down To 14-Month Lows
Surging gold prices since the start of the year created significant weakness in the physical market, with bullion coin demand falling to its lowest levels in 14 months, according to the latest sales data from the U.S. Mint.
The U.S. Mint’s records show that it sold 27,500 ounces of gold in various denominations of American Eagle gold coins, its lowest sales record since December 2015, when the Mint sold 500 ounces of bullion. Gold coin sales fell 67% compared to sales seen in February 2016…
Treasure & Archaeology
24.) Fabled ‘Atlantis Alloy’ Recovered in Greater Numbers From Ancient Shipwreck
Never before discovered in any great quantities, orichalcum has long been considered a mysterious metal, with its composition and origin widely debated.
According to Greek mythology, it was invented by Cadmus, the Phoenician founder and first king of Thebes.
In Plato’s Critias dialogue, the Athenian figure Critias claims that orichalcum was mined in the mythical Atlantis and was used to cover Poseidon’s temple interior walls, columns, and floors. It was shiny, and Critias suggested that its preciousness was surpassed only by gold…
A rare gold coin dating back to the 15th century and worth £15,000 ($18,000) has been unearthed by an amateur treasure hunter – who thought it was a bottle top.
The prized coin was made during the brief 86-day reign of King Edward V who was murdered in the Tower of London…
26.) Obama Administration Packs CPAC Membership to Lock In Anti-Collecting Bias
In its very last days, the Obama administration took time to pack the membership of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC), filling every available seat for three-year terms and making the committee top-heavy with archaeologists, anthropologists, and people committed to discouraging, if not ending, the trade in international ancient and ethnographic art…
Medals, Tokens & Exonumia
27.) Marine Corps Military Child of the Year gifted command coin
Jackson Beatty has been riding a whirlwind of interviews and appearances since being named Marine Corps Military Child of the Year.
A week after learning he had won following an intense application and interview process, the Lejeune High School senior was recognized by Brig. Gen. Thomas Weidley with the gift of a command coin for his new title Thursday…
Upcoming Auctions & Events
- Gorny & Mosch Auctions 244-246 of Ancient, Medieval and Modern Coins – March 6-7
- Mowbray Collectibles 17th International Auction – March 11
- Künker Auctions 288-292 – March 13-21
- Raffaele Negrini Numismatic Studio Numismatic Auctions 42 & 43 – March 17-18
- Nomisma Auction 55 – April 4-5
- Sincona Auctions 37-40 – May 16-18
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28.) Rare coin collection going up for auction at Kimball Sterling, Inc.
A coin collection that had been boxed up in a Sullivan County home for decades became what Sterling is calling the best he has ever found in his 50 years of antique collecting experience.
There were thousands of dollars-worth of coins and currency including Carson City silver dollars, 3-dollar gold coins and even colonial coins from the 1700’s…
Worthy Additions to Your Library
A long-awaited book is now at the printer and will ship in June: Coins, Artists, and Tyrants: Syracuse in the Time of the Peloponnesian War by Wolfgang R. Fischer-Bossert contains the first fully translated and revised text of Lauri O. Tudeer, Die Tetradrachmenprägung von Syrakus in der Periode der signierenden Künstler, as well as a biography of Tudeer, plus a completely new evaluation of signed coin dies and the artists who produced them. Over 100 years after its first publication, Fischer-Bossert completely updates the scholarship and bibliography on signed Syracusan tetradrachms, making this book the single most important source on the subject. The book includes plates, a full-color die-link chart, and pull-outs featuring Syracusan tetradrachms and hoards…
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