By Coinweek ….
CoinWeek News Wire for October 20, 2017:
Brain Food
1.) ‘Like stars in a complex constellation, these objects convey the sweep of Jewish history’
This exceptionally rare gold coin was minted in Judaea immediately after the conquest of Jerusalem and brought with a deployment of Roman troops to England soon afterwards. Two thousand years later, it was struck for a second time in a field in Oxfordshire, this time by a farmer’s plough…
2.) The real deal? The lowdown on counterfeits you meet day to day
Even if you baulk at the idea of buying fake goods, it’s more than likely you’ve used them without even realising it. But there are some simple ways to know whether you’re buying the real deal, if you know what to look out for…
3.) Peru’s Inti Currency Is Just One Reminder of When Peruvian Economy Went Crazy
If you are Peruvian and over the age of 35, you probably remember the time when Peru’s economy went crazy, especially during the second half of the 1980s. During those years, words like inflation –along with its superlative, hyperinflation – shortages, scarcity and maquinita trended in everyday language (maquinita, literally “little machine”, was a colloquial way to refer to the inorganic emission of currency not backed by the Central Reserve Bank of Peru, the country’s issuing entity).
It was during this time that the government created a new currency called the inti (the Quechuan word for “sun”), a short-lived currency that existed between 1985 and 1991…
Current Events
4.) Paris Mint lures tourists with treasures
On the banks of the River Seine, workers chisel, press and engrave medals and memorabilia in the factory that advertises itself as the oldest in the French capital, with a history stretching back to the year 864.
Since the introduction of the euro in 2002, the mint – or the ‘Monnaie de Paris’ – has passed industrial-scale production of everyday coinage to a plant in the southwestern town of Pessac.
Its workforce, about 150-strong, is now counting on collectors, the curious and tourists to give it a longer lease of life…
5.) Mutilated coin recycling program soon to restart
The Washington-based Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI) has posted a notice on its website saying the United States Mint has announced its intention to resume the mutilated coin redemption program after a three-year suspension following concerns of fraud…
6.) The U.S. Is Withdrawing from UNESCO—What Happens Now?
[T]he United States owes in the region of $550 million to UNESCO, a sum that would keep growing should the U.S. remain in the organization and not foot its bill—the “mounting arrears” highlighted by the State Department. This ever-increasing figure was a significant factor contributing to the U.S. decision to leave…
7.) Business leaders welcome Jamaica’s decision to demonetise ‘red money’
The [Bank of Jamaica] … anticipates formal demonetisation of the coins by the first quarter of 2018…
8.) Kiwi sculptor wins US-mint competition to design American World War I centennial coin
Transfield himself has personal links to the Great War also. His grandmother Peti Hinewetea Parata’s brother, Huriwhenua Taiaroa, and cousin, Te Oti Taiaroa, both served.
[He] will travel to the US Mint premises in Philadelphia next month where he will attend the first-strike ceremony – the making of the first copy of the coin…
Going Cashless
9.) Cash Is Quickly Becoming Obsolete in China
CLSA, a research investment company based in Hong Kong, predicts that electronic payments in China will reach a volume of $45 trillion by 2021. Even now, everything from bike rental to fast food can be paid for with a smartphone — and sometimes cash isn’t a valid form of payment…
10.) Inspector General: US Mint Should Consider Bitcoin’s Impact
“In addition, BEP and the Mint need to consider the effect of alternative payment methods and other technological advances (such as stored value cards, the Internet, smartphones, and virtual currencies) as well as consumer demand on their respective business models, practices, future planning and interactions with their customers, and the Federal Reserve Bank.”
Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency
11.) The Cryptography of Bitcoin
From a technical perspective, there are many interesting concepts that make up a blockchain – distributed databases and consensus (or, decentralized governance) are both fascinating. Fundamentally, however, the basic building block for blockchain systems is cryptography…
12.) Russia Issuing ‘CryptoRuble’
Russian President Vladimir Putin has officially stated that Russia will issue its own ‘CryptoRuble’ at a closed door meeting in Moscow… [T]he state issued cryptocurrency cannot be mined and will be issued and controlled and maintained only by the authorities. The CryptoRubles can be exchanged for regular Rubles at any time, though if the holder is unable to explain where the CryptoRubles came from, a 13 percent tax will be levied…
13.) South Korea Prepares to Tax Bitcoin Use
South Korea is preparing to tax bitcoin use after the cryptocurrency’s trading volume skyrocketed past that of Kosdaq. Han Seung-hee, the commissioner of the country’s National Tax Service, told lawmakers this weekend that the issue of how to best tax cryptocurrencies is being discussed, including the areas of capital gains tax, the VAT, and gift tax…
14.) WikiLeaks founder Assange claims 50,000% return on bitcoin thanks to the US government
Julian Assange thanked the U.S. government after it pushed companies like MasterCard to block payments to WikiLeaks in 2010…
15.) Bitcoin Market Capitalization Approaches $100 Billion USD
If compared with the market cap of the top 100 global companies according to Pricewaterhouse Coopers, bitcoin would rank 81st, just three places shy of Goldman Sachs – which boasts a market capitalization of $96 billion USD according to the data…
Banknote News
16.) Vietnam importing more equipment for printing banknotes
[O]rganisations which are allowed to import equipment and materials for printing banknotes will be expanded, in order to meet the central bank’s demand for printing money. Currently, only the National Banknote Printing Plant is allowed to import equipment and materials…
17.) Why Adafruit thinks it’s legal to stamp Harriet Tubman over Andrew Jackson on the US $20
Adafruit greeted the news that Trump Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin had cancelled the plan to make the great hero Harriet Tubman the first African-American … woman on US currency with a video and tutorial for 3D printing a Harriet Tubman stamp that you could use to blot out the genocidal racist scoundrel Andrew Jackson on your money.
Today, Adafruit posts a long legal reasoning for why they believe this does not violate statutes that prohibit defacement of currency…
18.) Pensioner stunned after withdrawing £5 note only to discover it’s missing something very important
A pensioner was left stunned when he withdrew a £5 note only to discover it was missing – the QUEEN’S HEAD…
Crime & Punishment
19.) NCIC Crime Bulletin
From the Numismatic Crime Information Center (NCIC):
Virginia Burglary
The Gloucester County, Virginia Sheriff’s Office is investigating a burglary resulting in the loss of over $42,000 in gold and silver coins.
Investigator’s are requesting information on any dealer or coin/pawn shop who has done business with an individual identified as Ronald Shawn Altizer.
Anyone with information contact Investigator T.M. Iverson, Gloucester County Sheriff’s Office, at [email protected] or (804) 210-1909.
You may also 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.
20.) Nunavut RCMP warn against fake bills in Iqaluit
Iqaluit has seen an influx of counterfeit currency printed on non-polymer Canadian bills, the RCMP said Oct. 12.
It’s not the first time that counterfeit money has circulated in Iqaluit. In 2011, police nabbed counterfeit $50 and $100 bills in Iqaluit and also arrested a man found with a money-making device in his home. The man was subsequently arrested and faced charges of possessing counterfeit money under Section 450 of the Criminal Code.
Then, in 2012, Iqaluit police were on the lookout for phony $10 and $20 bills…
21.) National Museum of Scotland suffers £60,000 of thefts in five years
The five items include some rare finds including two James VI coins from the 17th century and a Mary, Queen of Scots gold three pound piece from 1555.
It was part of a group of three coins stolen from the museum in 2015.
Edinburgh coin expert Hiram Brown estimated the coins were worth around £20,000 [approx. $26,400 USD. —CW].
Gold, Precious Metals & Bullion
22.) Gold refiners urge LBMA to boost scrutiny of good delivery list
The effectiveness of the London Bullion Market Association’s Good Delivery List was questioned during a panel session Tuesday at the annual LBMA/LPPM conference in Barcelona. Perth Mint CEO Richard Hayes, Valcambi CEO Michael Mesaric, Asahi President Grant Angwin, and MKS South Africa Chairman Marwan Shakarchi all agreed that the LBMA needed to have a plan and agenda to maintain the credibility of the global gold market as well as its own reputation…
Medals, Tokens & Exonumia
23.) The Medal Maker
In 1929 the Medallic Art Company made a film featuring famed sculptor Laura Gardin-Fraser as she created the Special Medal of Honor for the National Sculpture Society. After being lost for decades, the film was rediscovered in the late 1990s and remastered in 2009. It is now available on YouTube:
A designer and manufacturer of coins for the Canadian military has a soft spot for the Pictou County Military Heritage Museum. Over 1,500 different military coins can be found now among the extensive collections of the museum…
25.) The Challenge Coin Tradition: Do You Know How It Started?
Spink also sent me an article called “Coining a Tradition” that was printed in a 1994 edition of Soldiers Magazine. It offered a similar version of the Vietnam story, the World War I tale and one other option, which dates back to the early 1960s:
“A member of the 11th Special Forces Group took old coins, had them overstamped with a different emblem, then presented them to unit members, according to Roxanne Merritt, curator of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Museum at Fort Bragg, N.C. A former commander of the 10th SFG picked up on the idea, becoming the first to mint a unit coin for the U.S. military unit. The 10th group remained the only Army unit with its own coin until the mid-1980s, Merritt said, when ‘an explosion took place and everybody started minting coins.’”
Museums & Exhibits
26.) The revolutionary design of communist currencies
The British Museum explores the history and design of communist banknotes in its latest exhibition, open this week. But the show’s title, “The Currency of Communism,” is — in theory — a contradiction in terms, according to curator Thomas Hockenhull.
Instead of eliminating money altogether, which may have caused economic chaos, communist states pursued a different approach: “The currency was symbolically devalued, to give citizens an indication that they should not value monetary wealth, but other things such as social interaction and access to art and culture.”
Stripped of value, money instead carried a message: “It became an organ of state propaganda, a visual representation of the state’s aspirations, and easily the most circulated one,” said Hockenhull.
27.) Exhibition looks at the use of Uncommon Currency in London
The term legal tender only applies where a person is seeking to repay a debt, and if the lender says “I want repayment in goose eggs”, the payment can be forced on them by means of legal tender.
That is the one and only time that legal tender has any meaning.
It is the very narrow, and to all intents, rarely enforced definition of what is legal tender that lets (Un)common Currencies exist in the first place. From early tokens to modern Brixton Pounds, they exist because hardly anyone ever needs to use currency as legal tender, to settle a debt that the lender wants settled some other way…
Upcoming Auctions & Events
- Solidus Numismatik Premium Auction 20 – October 21
- Sincona Auctions 41-45 – October 23-26
- Numismatica Ars Classica (NAC) Auctions 101 & 102 – October 24
- Classical Numismatic Group Electronic Auction 408 – October 25
- Legend Rare Coin Auctions Regency Auction XXIII – October 25-28
- Leu Numismatik Auction 1 – October 25
- Roma Numismatics E-Sale 40 – October 28
- Naville Numismatics Live Auction 35 – October 29
- Dix Noonan Webb Tokens, Tickets and Passes Auction – November 8
- Stack’s Bowers November 2017 Baltimore Auction – November 8-10
- Stack’s Bowers November 2017 Baltimore Internet-Only – November 13-14
- Heidelberger Münzhandlung Auction 73 – November 14-15
- Goldberg Auctioneers Manuscript, Collectibles, Stamp, Space and Jewelry Auction – November 18-19
- Rago Arts and Auction Center Coin & Currency Auction – November 30
- Editions V. Gadoury Annual Auction – December 2
In Memoriam
28.) Wolfgang Haney (1924-2017)
On October 13, 2017, Wolfgang Haney died. He ranked among the most distinguished collectors of Judaica with which he illustrated the everyday history of anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. Comprising more than 12,000 objects, parts of his collection were on display in numerous exhibitions in Europe and overseas – together with the ‘Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung’ (Federal Agency for Civic Education), he organized nearly 70 presentations in Germany alone. He authored several books. The community of collectors has lost a man who firmly believed that his actions could change the world for the better. He fought to prevent something terrible as the Holocaust from ever happening again…
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