By Coinweek Coin News Wire ….
Coin News Wire for January 19, 2018
Brain Food
1.) Who Really Designed the American Dime?
…[I]t takes a keen eye to see the very subtle “JS” just beneath Franklin D. Roosevelt’s truncated neck. These are the initials of John Sinnock, the U.S. Mint’s Chief Engraver from 1925 to 1947, who is credited with sculpting the profile of the 32nd president. However, institutions such as the Smithsonian American Art Museum—and even Roosevelt’s son—credit another sculptor with inspiring the design: Selma Burke, the illustrious Harlem Renaissance sculptor. So where is credit due? The answer is … complicated…
2.) Watch the Most Patient Person on Earth Reconstruct Shredded Money Using Tweezers
Do you love puzzles? Probably not as much as conceptual artist Martin John Callanan does. This mind-numbing, 11-minute timelapse shows him spending an entire work day painstakingly reassembling a five-pound misprinted note that the Bank of England shredded to tiny bits…
3.) Coin press demonstrations resume at Nevada State Museum
The venerable press — which churned out millions of dollars in silver and gold coins during stints at U.S. Mints in Carson City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Denver between 1870 and 1964 — is once again minting medallions after being down for much of 2017 for repairs…
Under the Radar
4.) UAE Central Bank issues commemorative coin
The UAE Central Bank today announced the issuing of a commemorative silver coin on the occasion of the official opening of Oumolat Security Printing…
5.) Taiwan’s central bank to issue Year of the Dog coins
Taiwan’s central bank will issue 120,000 sets of commemorative coins on Jan. 25 ahead of the Chinese lunar calendar’s Year of the Dog, Shih Tsuen-hua (施遵驊), director-general of the bank’s Department of Issuance, said Tuesday…
6.) Royal Canadian Mint to Australia: Destroy $2 million worth of poppy coins or hand them over
Documents filed in Australia’s Federal Court in December allege The Royal Australian Mint used without permission a printing method patented by the Canadian mint — which is now demanding that Australia’s 500,000 commemorative $2 coins, in circulation since 2012, either be turned over to them or “destroy(ed) under supervision.”
7.) Japan to issue silver coin to mark 50th anniversary of Ogasawara Islands return
Japan will issue a ¥1,000 silver coin to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the return of the Ogasawara Islands to Japan from U.S. occupation, according to the Finance Ministry…
8.) Bank of Estonia wants to take 1 and 2-cent coins out of circulation
The Bank of Estonia has come up with a plan to reduce the use of 1-cent and 2-cent coins before eventually removing them from circulation…
Bitcoin & Cryptocurrency
9.) No, You Don’t Have to Buy a Whole Bitcoin
Since so much emphasis is placed on how much “one” bitcoin is worth across the industry, new users often come in thinking that if they want to participate, they’ll have to fork over tens of thousands of dollars to buy a whole bitcoin.
But actually, that isn’t the case – it’s possible to buy a half of a bitcoin, a quarter of a bitcoin or even a fraction of a percent of a bitcoin.
And this confusion is (partly) why developer Jimmy Song argues some standardization should occur in what the industry calls smaller units of bitcoin…
10.) Why Investing in Digital Currencies Like Bitcoin Is So Dangerous
“You shouldn’t invest in stuff you don’t understand, and you shouldn’t be investing money that you can’t afford to lose.”
11.) Sweden Toys with Introducing Their Own Digital Currency, the E-Krona
As the e-krona would function independently of commercial bank infrastructure as it stands, it would make their payments system more robust. In the event of disruption to other elements of financial systems, like card payment processing, the e-krona would act as a stabilizing measure…
12.) The dollar will eventually run like bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, venture capitalist predicts
“The rails in which upon our currencies run, that is really out of date. That can be upgraded,” she added.
13.) Cryptocurrency Crash Sparks Bitcoin’s Nouveau Riche to Run to Gold
The current price swings across seemingly every cryptocurrency are bringing to the fore a question that has loomed over the industry since its inception: to what extent can a virtual asset be a store of value? By swapping out of digital gold and into the real thing, some investors may be providing an answer…
Crime & Punishment
14.) NCIC Crime Bulletin
From the Numismatic Crime Information Center (NCIC):
USPS Package
A USPS package being shipped from Pennsylvania to Florida has been reported stolen. The package contained the following coins.
- 1875 20CENT Commercial Unc., Obverse & Reverse electric blue tone
- 1893-S Morgan Dollar
- 1900 O/CC Morgan Dollar, Brilliant AU, Scarce VAM over mint mark variety
- 1907 Liberty Head Type $2.5D Gold, Choice Unc, Deep brilliant Luster
Leads have been developed in this case.
Request for Information
The Numismatic Crime Information Center is looking for information on a company identified as Florida Coin Gallery.
Please 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].
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The Numismatic Crime Information Center is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit corporation. P.O. Box 14080 Arlington, Texas 76094.
15.) Phoenix Business Owner Shoots Robbery Suspect, Holds Him
The owner of a coin shop shot a robbery suspect and then held him at gunpoint until police arrived. A second suspect, who was not shot, was also held until the police arrived…
16.) Persons of interest in Sydney Loofe case face more unrelated charges
Trail represented himself as “Alan Russell” and approached a person identified as “M.E.” in November 2015, proposing a joint purchase of a gold coin. “Russell” said they would share in the profits of its subsequent sale.
The indictment says he falsely represented the value of the coin’s cost and asked for a money order to facilitate the coin’s sale…
17.) Court Approves $7.5M Settlement With TD Bank Over Coin-Counting Machines
TD Bank has agreed to a $7.5 million settlement of suits claiming that its Penny Arcade coin-counting machines shortchanged depositors…
Counterfeit Cavalcade
18.) Fake yuan notes with record $44m in face value seized
A fake bank note with a face value of 100 yuan now sells for six yuan, compared with only two to three yuan about three years ago, according to the officer in charge of the case.The officer, who declined to be named, said a special task force was set up after police learnt that a gang headed by a resident surnamed Hu had leased a warehouse as a printing facility in Zhongshan in March last year…
19.) Brunei Central Bank dismiss rumors of counterfeit notes
“…upon investigation, has found that the note was paper and does not have the features of a polymer note, specifically a 100-Brunei-dollar polymer note.”
Banknote News
20.) Egypt’s new banknote facility to be built by Giesecke and Devrient
The Central Bank of Egypt has teamed up with banknote printer Giesecke and Devrient (G&D) to plan and build a new banknote plant which will print and process “the majority” of Egypt’s currency.
Expected to be completed in 2020, the new facility will be in Cairo and will help support Egypt “in the smart automation of the cash cycle and in further enhancing banknote security”, the German printer says in a statement.
21.) Zimbabwe gov’t rules out reintroduction of own currency soon
The Zimbabwe government does not plan to drop the surrogate “bond note” currency until the economic fundamentals improve, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa said on Wednesday. Chinamasa told business leaders in Harare that the government and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe were working to improve macroeconomic conditions before reintroducing the Zimbabwe, whose use was suspended in 2009 after years of hyperinflation…
Medals, Tokens & Exonumia
22.) Cashing in on new Fur Rondy coins, Alaska State Medallions
It’s usually a penny for your thoughts, but it will cost more than that at the Alaska Mint, which now displays the new Fur Rondy coins. The coins are available in bronze, silver and 24-carat gold, but they are not the only ones– so are the new state medallions.
The 2018 design features a Cessna 206 with Denali as the background and a bull moose at the bottom of the coin. Local artist Megan Warren designed the coin…
Metal Detecting, Treasure & Archaeology
23.) A pin, two grots and the find of a lifetime
A DREAM find for a Forest metal detectorist started off with a piece of farm machinery and a couple of ‘grots’. But that led to the “once in a lifetime” discovery of a hoard of 2,000-year-old silver Roman coins for detectorist Susan Hurrell of Cinderford.
What makes the collection of eight silver denarii coins unusual is that they all pre-date the Roman invasion of Britain in AD43…
24.) Gold coins stolen in 1877 ship robbery could still be hidden in Inverloch
HOLIDAY-makers running their fingers through the sand near the mouth of the Tarwin River at Inverloch this summer could come close to touching part of an enormous bounty of stolen gold, hidden by a thief who twice dodged authorities 140 years ago…
25.) ‘Looks like a ******* grenade to me’: Magnet fisherman catches more than he bargained for
Andrew Wild uses a magnet on the end of the rope to search for objects along river beds- a hobby described as “deep water metal detecting”.
But he got a bit more than he bargained for during his last cast of the day on Rochdale canal in Greater Manchester – a grenade…
26.) British Veteran Makes Remarkable Roman Discovery
A member of the Detecting for Veterans group has discovered Roman grave containing a rare lead-lined coffin and around 250 Roman coins in a field near Ilminster…
Upcoming Auctions & Events
- Bertolami Fine Arts Auction 41 – January 20
- Naville Numismatics Live Auction 37 – closes January 28
- Cayón Numismática 50th Anniversary Auction – January 31
- A. Karamitsos Public & Live Bid Auction 606 – February 3
- Raffaele Negrini E-Live Auction 2 – February 4
- Gerhard Hirsch Nachfolger Auctions 336-337 – February 7-9
- Künker eLive Auction 303 – February 8-9
- Éditions V. Gadoury Online Auction – February 15
- Davissons Auction 37 – February 21
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