CoinWeek News Wire for October 27, 2017: The Bitcoin Revue, Vending Machines for Crows

October 27, 2017

By Coinweek ….

CoinWeek News Wire for October 27, 2017:

Brain Food

1.) Coin stash that puts new spin on China’s 100 years of humiliation

Inside a nondescript Hong Kong warehouse sit seven tons of Qing dynasty coins – proof, their owner says, that it was the imperial monetary system, not the opium trade, that brought China low in the 19th century…

2.) Like Magic: The Tech That Goes Into Making Money Harder To Fake

Crane’s motion technology is in use in more than 100 denominations worldwide, and Cape says further refinements are in the pipeline that will allow for larger images and more engaging three-dimensional effects. Imagine the Founding Fathers walking across the bills in your wallet or waving at store clerks when you go to make a purchase. Short movies may be possible, even interactive games — quick bursts of animation with striking effects…

Under the Radar

3.) Libyan Bayda-based Central Bank issues LYD1 coin

The central bank announced on its Facebook Thursday that the coin will be circulating in the banks starting November 2nd. It also added that the reason for the coin currency is that the LYD1 banknote became so old, which urged the bank to issue a coin substitute.

However, it added that the coins will be circulating alongside the banknotes and no withdrawal of the banknotes will take place.

4.) Royal Canadian Mint Launches Justice League Coin Collection at 2017 Central Canada Comic Con

The Royal Canadian Mint is celebrating pop culture with comic book fans from all over the country attending Central Canada Comic Con (C4) by introducing its new Justice League series of coloured coins, crafted in cupro-nickel, gold and silver, which feature artwork specially conceived by [Canadian] Justice League artists Jason Fabok and Brad Anderson…

Banknote News

5.) No black money data available post demonetisation, says RBI

An RTI query has revealed that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has processed 9,711.62 million demonetised notes of Rs 500 and 4,709.72 million of Rs 1,000 notes. The central bank also said that it doesn’t have any data on counterfeit notes, according to Times of India report…

Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency

6.) Bitcoin Makes Even Smart People Feel Dumb

The deeper you peer into the Bitcoin realm, the more viscerally you come to grips with the essential fragility of all money—the “consensual hallucination” that sits at civilization’s foundations. Money stores value only because other human beings agree to treat it that way. (You precious metals believers who are about to chime in, don’t crow—gold has no intrinsic value, either, beyond how much others covet it.) If the agreement shatters, so does the value…

7.) Is Bitcoin A Giffen Good?

Giffen goods are defined as ‘those goods whose demand rises as their price rises’. This is the opposite of how most goods behave – as prices rise, demand falls off. In the case of Bitcoin, it seems clear to me that we are in a stage where rising prices fuels further demand – like a Giffen good…

8.) Getting Your Feet Wet In Cryptos

By now, many people know Bitcoin is not the only cryptocurrency. Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple are a few of the other large ones. Yet, few know that bitcoin or any crypto currency is not the real innovation. It is Blockchain technology which is the true breakthrough. Although Blockchain is a challenging concept to understand, it is probably the biggest innovation in the internet since the URL…

9.) Why Bitcoin Matters More Than Blockchain

The currency “Bitcoin” is the incentive for anyone in the world to run the software that changes the way the financial system works. Banks love blockchain because they get to continue to maintain the ledger of transactions by running the software on their own computers. But Bitcoin creates competition for the banks in the form of anyone with a computer and an internet connection…

10.) Kansas panel rejects bitcoin campaign contributions

The Federal Election Commission issued an advisory opinion in 2014 saying federal campaigns could purchase bitcoins as investments and could accept them as a form of contributions under limited conditions.

But the commission noted that having bitcoins does not relieve the campaign “of its obligations to return or refund a bitcoin contribution that is from a prohibited source, that exceeds the contributor’s annual contribution limit, or that is otherwise not legal.”

11.) Bitcoin Crushing Other Cryptocurrencies, Before They Can Crush Bitcoin

Bitcoin’s biggest long-term threat isn’t big governments and central banks. It’s the very technology behind Bitcoin that can be used to create other cryptocurrencies…

12.) Attorney General Jeff Sessions: Bitcoin on Dark Web ‘Is a Big Problem’

Law enforcement officials have long expressed concern about the use of cryptocurrencies by dark markets, arguing that they obscure the paper trail that investigators might follow. Agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation have targeted this use case when seeking funds to bolster their cybercrime efforts, a trend that arguably began in the wake of the closure of the Silk Road, once the world’s top dark market.

Sessions’ appearance yesterday also led to indications that Congress may take up specific measures related to dark markets…

13.) Bitcoin is breaking all kinds of price records in cash-strapped Zimbabwe

Interest in bitcoin trade is soaring in Zimbabwe and so is the price of the crypto-currency, which hit new record highs of nearly $10,000 earlier this month in a worsening economy that the government is struggling to turn around…

14.) MasterCard Announces Blockchain B2B Payments Despite Rejection of Bitcoin

MasterCard recently announced a way for businesses to make direct business to business (B2B) payments over their Blockchain technology-based network. The company has dubbed its offering “MasterCard Blockchain API,” and it will be debuted at the Money 20/20 Hackathon in Las Vegas in a few days…

Crime & Punishment

15.) NCIC Crime Bulletin

From the Numismatic Crime Information Center (NCIC):

Recovered Coins

The Parma Heights, Ohio Police Department is requesting assistance in locating a victim involving the attached coins. The coins were in the possession of a known drug user and possibly taken in the commission of a vehicle or residential burglary.

Partial Listing of Recovered Coins

Anyone with information contact Detective Sgt. Greene of the Parma Heights Police Department at (440) 481-3097 or [email protected].

Missing Package

A package has been reported missing after being sent out for delivery from the Petaluma, CA post office facility. The package contained a large amount of DMPL Morgan dollars.

PCGS:

1878 DMPL 7TF R/78 MS63 81889935
1878 DMPL 7TF MS63 13331903
1879O 7TF DMPL MS63 81881972
1881 DMPL MS62 31801815
1881CC DMPL MS63 04176529
1881O DMPL MS63 02550391
1882CC DMPL MS62 81798831
1882CC DMPL MS63 21817209
1883CC DMPL MS63 21462933
1883O DMPL MS63 32194267
1884O DMPL MS63 07532966
1885 DMPL MS61 01789094
1885 DMPL MS63 04252928
1885CC DMPL MS62 18316151
1885CC DMPL MS63 21328388
1885CC DMPL MS63 21584568
1885O DMPL MS63 32192814
1886 DMPL MS63 03794148
1887O DMPL MS63 81798824
1888S DMPL MS63 06699573
1888S DMPL MS63 21513641
1889 DMPL MS63 81651696
1889O DMPL MS63 81798633
1891CC DMPL MS62 80826482
1891CC DMPL MS63 13728505
1891CC DMPL MS63 21696878
1891S DMPL MS63 09233159
1896 DMPL MS63 04579277
1897S DMPL MS63 02552909
1897S DMPL MS63 90029959
1898O DMPL MS63 31801813
1898O DMPL MS63 05241303

You may also 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].

* * *

The Numismatic Crime Information Center is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation. P.O. Box 14080 Arlington, Texas 76094.

16.) Reward offered for stolen coin collection

Murray’s coin collection was an inheritance piece from her father-in-law, an impressive snapshot of currency across South Africa’s history.

“The coin collection was massive; it had shillings, ‘tickeys’ and modern coins.”

She is now offering a R10,000 reward for its return [approx. $730 USD. —CW]. Anyone with information which can lead to the return of the collection is requested to contact the Newcastle Advertiser on 034 312 6021 or [email protected].

17.) Owner Of Westwood Rare Coin Gets 15-Month Prison Sentence For Identity Theft And Tax Evasion

Sixty-nine-year-old William Dominick of Collier County, Florida owned and operated Westwood Rare Coin in Old Tappan. He failed to report $400,000 in income earned during the calendar year 2013. He avoided detection by utilizing credit cards in other people’s names, according to court documents…

Treasure & Archaeology

18.) Coins unearthed – 700 years later

The excited members of Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Metal-Detecting Club were on a group dig at a farm in Sawley when enthusiast John Ward discovered a silver coin dating from the reign of King Edward I, followed by another, and another, until 29 coins were discovered.

“They are all silver one penny pieces in quite good condition, dating from the reign of Edward I. I find a number of the same coins in nearby Pendleton earlier this year so there was obviously a lot of activity in this area at that time.”

Museums & Exhibits

19.) Harvard Art Museums Host British Coin Expert

Carmen Arnold-Biucchi, Curator of Ancient Coins at the Harvard Art Museums, said that she paid for [Roger] Bland’s visit using money drawn from Harvard’s Ilse and Leo Mildenberg fund, a fund intended to promote the study of coins–called numismatics–at the University. She said she hopes Bland’s visit taught Harvard affiliates the importance of the field.

“Numismatics in this country is still considered sort of an antiquarian discipline. In Europe, it is really part of academia,” Arnold-Biucchi said. “But here, it remains a hobby for collectors, so we are trying here at Harvard to emphasize that it is a very important historical discipline because coins are documents of ancient history.”

Bland stopped by campus just days after receiving the prestigious Huntington Medal Award at an Oct. 20 ceremony in New York City.

20.) Bulgarian National Museum of History receives gold, silver, and unique finds

Today, the NMH received a gold coin of Emperor Andronicus II, 1282-1328, found in Rusokastro Fortress in Burgas, where the largest feudal castle in Bulgaria with an area of 2.5 decares was discovered earlier this year…

Upcoming Auctions & Events

Just for Fun

21.) Crow uses a vending machine

[In 1960, Jane Goodall showed the world that man was not the only animal to use tools. Apparently he is also not the only animal to use coins as money. Will the U.S. Mint now have to take the needs of the corvine vending machine industry into account when changing the nation’s coinage? —CW]