By Coinweek ….
CoinWeek News Wire for September 22, 2017:
Brain Food
1.) The ATM at 50: How it’s changed consumer behavior
The wide acceptance of the ATMs changed the types of cash Americans typically carry in the pocketbooks. Since ATMs became more widely available in the early 1980s, the $20 bill has regularly been the second-most printed bank note each year by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The first place spot is held by the $1 bill…
2.) Who Stole ‘The Big Maple Leaf,’ the Biggest Coin in the World?
“It would have been much different if… they had stolen a year one shekel of the Jewish War and they melted that for $8 of silver and that coin is a million dollar coin. That would have been a tragedy,” Bierrenbach says. “This coin, from the collector perspective, from the numismatic perspective, and the historical perspective, it’s meaningless. It’s the same as [if] somebody just stole a bunch of gold bars.”
[We think he might have a different take on it if he had it up for auction ;-) —CoinWeek]
Under the Radar
3.) New batch of late King commemorative Thai coins big hit
The second batch of commemorative coins minted for the funeral of His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej have proved very popular after being available for reservations on Monday.
The coins are so popular that only 18 people could reserve them online from this Songkhla office within 10 minutes of them being available. The coins were fully booked within 10 minutes of opening, with only 15 people making reservations from this office, said office head Samran Muangnin, adding that the fast reservation rate was [fueled] by all banks in the province being able to take reservations…
4.) Royal Mint releases limited number of Royal Air Corps £2 coins at Duxford Air Show
Aviation enthusiasts visiting the Imperial War Museums Battle of Britain Air Show at Duxford this weekend, on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 September, may receive a rather distinctive £2 coin in their change…
Current Events
5.) Zimbabwe: Zim Mints More Bond Coins
Zimbabwe is moving to inject additional bond coins valued at $3 million into the local market, it has emerged. According to a September 20, 2017 invoice seen by The Source from South African Mint chief financial officer, Gerda Janse van Vuuren, addressed to Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s Deputy Director Banking Operations, Professor Kuveya, 126 drums of the coins were minted at a cost of $386,125…
The Future Is Now
6.) Nano-structure printing process could thwart bank-note fakers
The Glasgow technique allows the ‘printing’ of two entirely different, but highly detailed, full-colour images within the same surface area, something which the group claims has never been done before using ‘structural colour’ techniques. This has been achieved by the development of special nano-scale plasmonic colour filters that display different colours depending on the orientation of the light which hits it.
According to the team, the process enables the creation of far-higher resolution prints than is possible with conventional printing techniques. For instance, whilst a typical printed image in a magazine might consist of around 300 coloured dots per inch of page, a page ‘printed’ with structural colour techniques could reach a resolution of 100,000 DPI or more…
Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency
7.) Bitcoin is fiat money, too
The developers behind distributed ledgers, however, often talk as if governance is something they are beyond. They are not. Computer code is just a set of rules. Code is governance. And it can change…
8.) The Pirate Bay is Pirating Your Processor for Bitcoin Mining
It has come to light that well-known illegal piracy site, The Pirate Bay, has been “borrowing” its visitors CPU processing power in order to mine digital currencies as a source of revenue…
9.) Japan Becomes Largest Bitcoin Market as Traders Leave China
Prior to the nationwide Bitcoin exchange ban by China, the US exchange market had consistently secured its position as the largest market in the world.
However, almost immediately after the announcement of the country’s three largest Bitcoin exchanges, BTCC, Huobi and OKCoin, were released, traders moved over to the Japanese Bitcoin exchange market. The abrupt migration of traders led to the short-term surge in the trading volume of Japan, allowing the market to overtake the US by over 20 percent in global Bitcoin exchange market share…
Crime & Punishment
10.) NCIC Crime Bulletin
From the Numismatic Crime Information Center (NCIC):
Stolen Obsolete Notes
The Coweta County, GA Sheriff’s Department is investigating a burglary resulting in the loss of the following Obsolete notes.
- Merchants and Planters Bank $1 (1857) $1 (1859) $2 $3 $5 $10 $20 $50 $100
- Timber Cutters Bank $1 $2 $10 $20 $50
- State of Georgia Bank of Commerce $1 $2 $5 $20
- Farmers and Mechanics Bank $1 $2 $5 $10 $100
- Planters Bank $1
All were in a black binder marked “Currency Album” in gold leaf. All notes were from the 1850, and drawn on Savannah, GA chartered banks.
The victims vehicle was burglarized at a hotel in Newman, Georgia. The victims vehicle was packed with personal belongings due to the hurricane.
Please contact the NCIC’s Doug Davis if you have any questions or information about 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.) Five arrested for duping people by selling fake coins
A police officer said that the accused had adopted a unique modus operandi in cheating people…
12.) Canadian police warn public about counterfeit money
The South Porcupine Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is sending out an advisory to businesses and the general public to be aware of circulating counterfeit money. The counterfeit money is currently sold on the internet as replica game currency. It is described as:
- Paper bank notes
- Chinese markings
- No serial number
13.) 7 persons held in connection with 88 kg gold seizure in Nepal
Police on Wednesday said that at least seven persons have been arrested in connection with 88 kg gold, largest ever gold [seizure] in Nepal, recently…
14.) Missing woman’s husband to be arraigned on coin charges Sept. 26
Lewis Bennett, facing federal charges of transporting stolen coins but also the key figure in the May 15 reported disappearance of suburban Delray Beach real estate broker Isabella Hellmann, will be arraigned Sept. 26 in Fort Lauderdale…
15.) Former Downham police officer told to pay back £15,000 for rare coin theft
During 2014 and 2015 Cockle, who had been given permission to pursue his metal detecting hobby on farmland, located a number of Merovingian Tremissis gold coins.
The items were believed to derive from seventh-century Gaul and estimated to be valued at around £4,000 each.
But he failed to report the find and instead sought to sell them to reap the maximum reward from his discovery.
Gold, Precious Metals & Bullion
16.) Diwali, Lord Rama, and the Return of Gold from Exile
Diwali is one of the biggest festivals for Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains. It is a lavish celebration of the victory of light over darkness with its gleaming candles, luxurious works of art, and opulent feasts. Diwali is also characterized by gift giving. Buying and gifting gold is considered auspicious during Diwali.
Given the nature of the holiday and the number of people who celebrate it … the past few years have seen a tendency for the gold price to rise around Diwali…
Banknote News
17.) Olympic 2,000 won note prompts buying spree
Commemorative currency typically comes as coins, but the Bank of Korea decided to issue the 2,000 won paper notes, the rarity of which has piqued people’s interests. The lowest denominations of Korean won are typically the 1,000 won and 5,000 won bills, and this is the first time the bank has issued a 2,000 won note…
18.) Weaving Canada’s Indigenous Traditions into the Canada 150 Bank Note
James Gladstone or Akay-na-muka (his Blackfoot name) was a member of the Kainai First Nation (Blood Tribe). In 1958, he became Canada’s first senator of First Nations origin. He is also the first Indigenous person in Canada to appear as a portrait subject on a Bank of Canada note.
Gladstone committed himself to the betterment of Indigenous peoples. At the time of his appointment to the Senate, he, like all Status Indians, did not yet have the right to vote. He advocated for this right, which was won in 1960, when the right to vote was extended to all Indigenous Canadians. He also advocated for improved education, economic opportunities, equality and greater self-determination for Canada’s Indigenous peoples…
Upcoming Auctions & Events
- ANA September YN Auction – September 23
- InAsta Auction 70 – September 23
- Devens Monthly Coin Show – September 24
- Nomisma Auction 56 – October 17-18
- Numismatica Ars Classica (NAC) Auctions 101 & 102 – October 24
- Leu Numismatik Auction 1 – October 25
- Rago Arts and Auction Center Coin & Currency Auction – November 30
Museums & Exhibits
19.) Mysteries at your Museum: Apollo, Athena and Poseidon request your presence
On display in your Vanishing Texana Museum are thirty-five coins from the John Taylor Collection. These coins date from 500 BC to 1000 AD. It is an impressive exhibition and so impressed a visitor from Tyler, Mr. Frank Graham, that he graciously loaned the museum three additional ancient coins. These bronze coins date from 312 to 146 BC and depict the ancient Greek gods Apollo, Athena, and Poseidon…
World of the Weird
20.) Police say the $120,000 flushed down the toilet in Geneva is ‘weird, but not criminal’
Two Spanish citizens are allegedly responsible for the handiwork, cutting up 500-euro bills with scissors and attempting to dispose of them this summer in toilets in a branch of the Swiss bank UBS, and in the bathrooms of three restaurants in Geneva’s historic center…
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