Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2019 i World Coin News

The Vietnam War at the time was Australia’s longest. It may have begun with a small commitment of 30 military advisors in 1962, but by the time of the troops’ withdrawal 10 years later, over 61,000 military personnel had been involved. Of those, 521 were killed, with some 3,000 wounded. To remember and honor those who served, Downies has released a four-piece silver dollar proof set struck for Niue. The 40.00 mm, 1 oz .999 fine silver dollars honor “Gunline,” “Callsign Magpie,” “Dustoff,” and “Cordon & Search,” respectively. Mintage is 500.…

Belgium, Finland, Ireland, and The Netherlands have already done so. France is considering it. Now so is Luxembourg – each of these European Union euro countries has or is now thinking about dropping all use of 1- and 2-cent euro coins. The Eurozone’s currency system continues to evolve. The 500-euro bank note is no longer produced, primarily because there is concern the notes might be used for illegal activities (especially terrorism) that could otherwise be detected if the same value was exchanged using some form of electronic payment. The 1- and 2-eurocent coins are the lowest denominations in the EU currency system. Their continuing demise can be blamed in part on the cost of producing them and partially on inflation making them redundant. Each of these two coin denominations is…

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Well, lions anyway, but tigers and bears are not indigenous to Kenya. For that reason, neither accompanies a lion on Kenya’s new circulating coins released on Dec. 11, 2018. The newly designed coins are significant not only because they are easy for the sight impaired to differentiate but because Kenya has broken with its recent tradition of depicting portraits of its first President, Jomo Kenyatta, or of former presidents Daniel Arap Moi and Mwai Kibaki, in favor of some of Kenya’s rich wildlife heritage. The obverse of the new 1 shilling depicts a giraffe, the 5 shillings depicts a rhino, the 10 shillings depicts a lion, and the 20 shillings depicts an elephant. The current Central Bank of Kenya 50-, 100-, 200-, 500-,…

The size of the Treasure of Mosovec (Slovakia) may not appear to be overly impressive, but its scope certainly is. The recent find consists of 40 silver Celtic coins. However, several of the coins are reported to be of the seldom encountered tetradrachm or 4-drachms denomination rather than drachms. The discovery was made public in late November 2018. The coins were encountered near Turcianske Teplice. The exact number of tetradrachms in the find wasn’t disclosed at the time this article was being written, but Archaeological Institute of Slovak Academy of Sciences Deputy Director Karol Pieta indicated the coins were about 2,000 years old. The hoard was originally wrapped in cloth made from organic material that has since disintegrated. The find was scattered on what has been described as an “extremely…

Can you explain boat money to me? Between about 1400 and about 1900, odd and curious (primitive) money resembling a canoe was issued by the Kingdom of Lan Xang in what is today Thailand. Silver and bronze composition “hoy” resembles a chala boat. “Lad hoy” is smaller and unmarked. Bronze or brass composition “lad” were typically molded by the public. Other similar boat money called “hang” and “tu” were issued in Annam. When did Russia first begin issuing coins on which a denomination appears? The denomination did not ordinarily appear on Russian coins until 1700, this being initiated through a reform meant to end weighing coins to determine their value. Why are dates used on bullion coins such as the U.S. American Eagle or Canadian Maple Leaf series? I think…

The Chinese coin market is healthy. Heritage Auctions’ December sale in Hong Kong proved it. Of the 1,349 lots cataloged, four took in excess of $100,000 apiece and 50 between $10,000 and $99,999. The total realized including buyer’s premium, was $3,171,794. Star of the show was a magnificent Kuang-hsü gold pattern Kuping tael (liang) of year Bing Wu (1906) struck at Tientsin mint (KM-Pn301, Kann-1540). Ex. Zhu H.J. Collection and graded MS63 NGC, it was bid up to $204,000 on a $130,000-$150,000 estimate. From the same collection came a second Kuang-hsü gold pattern Kuping tael (liang), the so-called “small clouds” variety struck in the year Guang Xu (1907) also by Tientsin mint (KM-Pn302, Kann-1541). Graded MS62 NGC, it took an easy $132,000. A further “small clouds” example in MS-61 NGC…

For 953 years, Her Majesty’s Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London has stood on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It was constructed on the orders of William I shortly after his 1066 conquest of England, tucked into the southeast corner of London’s old Roman walls. If he was to retain his hold on England, William had to stamp his authority on London and its unruly populace prone to mob rule at the drop of a hat. The size and might of The Tower was effective in achieving this goal. Today, The Tower is arguably one of the best known and most visited tourist destinations in the city. On Dec. 3, Britain’s Royal Mint announced a set of four 2019 commemorative coin designs…

Going cashless means no more coins or bank notes. Since it costs money to make these physical forms of money, think of the cash a country would save by turning off the presses. While the problems originating from one form of payments fade away, the cashless society concept will pose an entirely new set of challenges. Since Sweden appears to be on the brink of going cashless, the government of that Scandinavian country is now beginning to apply the brakes, encouraging banks to continue encouraging the use of coins and bank notes while the Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank, tests an e-krona digital currency and assesses what dumping all physical currency will do to Swedish society. Swedish banks have been encouraging people to use debit and credit cards for some time.…

Commemorative coins have become the means through which many recent innovations in coin technology have been introduced. While these innovations have at first appeared to be novelties, some have been adapted to circulation strike coins. While some of these innovations are meant to thwart counterfeiters, others are meant to help differentiate denominations. Some of these innovations include micro-printing, color enhancement, ringed bimetal and trimetal plachets, holographic devices, and new metal compositions. Some new metal compositions have been introduced as substitutes for other coinage metals due to rising materials costs, while others have been adapted due to environmental concerns, wear, or to create specific electronic signatures to be detected when a coin is vended. It increasingly appears polymer-composition coins may be the next innovation currently used exclusively in commemorative coins that…

If it ever was, it isn’t a secret now. It costs more to strike an Indian 1-rupee coin than the coin’s face value. It took some doing for the newspaper India Today to get the facts, but eventually two of India’s mints disclosed the requested statistics. According to a news article published Dec. 6, 2018, the Reserve Bank of India gave India Today mintage data but declined to disclose the cost of striking the 1-rupee coin citing Section 8 (1) (d) of The Right To Information Act, 2005. According to the newspaper, its request for production cost information was declined by the Mumbai branch of the Indian Government Mint; however, the RBI also forwarded the newspaper’s request to the mint in Hyderabad, which had no problem in disclosing the production…

The death of Queen Elizabeth I in March 1603 was to signal major changes in the role of a king in the affairs of England. Prior to that date, Scotland was an independent nation, but the new ruler, James I, was from that country, and now the two nations were united in the person of a single ruler. The reign of James I was a difficult one, though he was able, through careful diplomacy, to avert major problems throughout his long tenure on the throne. When he died in February 1625, the nation was at peace, but his son and successor, Charles I, could claim no such triumph during his time on the throne. The future Charles I was born at Dunfermline in November 1600, the second son of the…

On solar date Feb. 5, 2019, a new lunar year dawns. It is the start of Year of the Pig [YoP], or the Year of the Boar [YoB], or the Year of the Swine [YoS], or whatever your preferred porcine fancy might be. Specifically, it is the Year of the Earth Pig year. In continuous Huángdi reckoning, it is Year 4717. For the past 12 months or more, mints around the world have been busy, anxious to cash in on the world’s largest numismatic program. The first lunar coins for the YoP were announced in February 2018 at Berlin’s World Money Fair by MDM Münzhandelsgesellschaft mbH. By August 2018, new issues were coming thick and fast. Many of the early releases were from Pacific countries. That said, the trend noted…

Hard on the heels of last year’s successful Looney Tunes silver dollars come a couple of new issues from The Perth Mint. November saw issue of an aluminum-bronze Porky Pig dollar struck for Tuvalu as part of a philatelic-numismatic cover. This same design is now available as a partly colored 40.60 mm, 31.107 g (one ounce) .9999 fine silver dollar, also for Tuvalu. Mintage is 5,000. A similar silver dollar with the same mintage became available in early January showing Bugs Bunny in a big squeeze with girlfriend Lola. Perth suggests this coin is “Perfect as a fun Valentine’s gift for that special someone.” If your favorite dealer is unable to supply, check out Perth’s online shop at http://www.perthmint.com.…

High medieval European numismatics can be kind of an intimidating field because how do you organize it? There are literally thousands of coin-issuing jurisdictions over several centuries, with that overlay of dynastic privileges exercised by counts through emperors. These various authorities coexisted and interpenetrated each other. It was not at all unusual to live in a city that had its own administration and coinage, the land around owned by a duke, the cathedral downtown with a mint privilege from the emperor, and the emperor having a coin-issuing garrison in town to keep the duke from getting any ideas. And maybe all of the coinages are to different standards and you have to consult the money changers to know what your money is worth. Or maybe you are a peasant who…

Heritage Auctions’ November sale of the Dr. Hans Wilski Ottoman Collection included a most desirable rarity: a 41 mm, 26.72 g reform kurush overstruck on a Dutch lion daalder at the Constantinople Mint. The catalog listing spells out its rarity, “KM-Unl., ICV-Unl., Mitch-Unl., Pere-Unl., Damali-22-K-G1-Mim 5.” The coin represents the efforts of Sultan Mustafa II to both replace the long-reigning small silver akce as the primary silver denomination of the Ottoman economy and to rid the country of European taler-type coins then in wide circulation. To this end, an Imperial Order was issued in AH 1108 (1697) that all foreign coins circulating in the open market were to be collected and reminted with the Sultan’s toughra. This was his signature or seal. It effectively guaranteed the legitimacy and quality of…

Could coin collecting be harmful to your health? If you live in Iran, this question is something to be taken seriously. On Nov. 14, 2018, the Islamic Republic of Iran executed two men for allegedly hoarding gold coins. Vahid Mazloumin, better known as the “Sultan of Coins,” and his alleged accomplice, Mohammad-Esmaeil Qassemi, were convicted in October 2018 of operating a “smuggling gang” that manipulated domestic currency markets by making “illegal deals” that resulted in “spreading corruption on earth.” Qassemi was another financial trader. The two men were executed by hanging, according to multiple reliable media outlets. Mazloumin had amassed approximately two tons of gold coins, these likely being the Bahar Azadi or Spring of Freedom gold bullion coins introduced in 1979 at the time of the establishment of Iran’s…

A recent gold coin find at the Caesarea National Park in Israel appears to document trade between two cities while likely being physical evidence of the conquest of the port city of Caesarea by the 11th century Crusaders. The Dec. 1, 2018, announcement made by the Israel Antiquities Authority reported a small bronze pot containing 24 gold coins and a single gold earring had been found several days earlier. The IAA said the treasure was found hidden between two stones in a 1.5-meter-deep subterranean watering hole in the side of a wall in a house dating from the Abbasid and Fatimid periods of 909 to 1171. The coins, according to the IAA, coincide with the date of the Crusader conquest of Caesarea in 1101. Caesarea Maritima had been an important…

Innovation is the name of the game at the Royal Canadian Mint. A spate of advanced testing at the mint’s R&D lab has seen the RCM boldly go where no mint has gone before. In December, it launched a massive 60 mm, 311.5 g (10 ounce) .9999 fine silver, double concave, proof $100 dated 2019. The coin measures 16 mm at its edge but just 4 mm at its center. Much of the research involved in production of this coin was aimed at determining the optimal shape of the blank that would permit the highest amount of relief possible while ensuring a symmetrical curvature. That relief is used to depict a Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) on the reverse splashing its way across a salmon-rich river in western Canada. Against a…

In recent years, each New Year’s Day has seen The Royal Australian Mint release a distinctive commemorative dollar with various versions of the coin issued throughout the year. Commonly, these dollars highlight aspects of the country’s history. Last year saw the start of a three-year Colonial Australia series. The 2018 coins were focused on the “Rascals & Ratbags,” Britain’s convicts who provided the reason for the first European settlement of Australia. This year, the RAM celebrates Australian Bushrangers, or as the RAM refers to them, “The Bold, the Bad, and the Ugly.” For those unfamiliar with the term as used Down Under, a bushranger is an outlaw such as bank robber or highwayman. As in past years, four 25.00 mm, 9.00 g aluminum-bronze UNC dollars are available as a set…

A Pig is highly suited to a career in: law, medicine, education, business, entertainment, acting, coaching, real estate … Well-known Earth Pigs are: Fred Astaire, Humphrey Bogart, Ernest Hemingway, Alfred Hitchcock, John McEnroe … Other Prominent Pigs include: Henry Ford, Julie Andrews, Ronald Reagan, Hillary Clinton, Alice Cooper, Amy Winehouse, Meat Loaf, Oliver Cromwell, Elton John, The Dalai Lama, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Lucille Ball, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Ginger Rogers, Jules Verne, Carl Jung, Andrew Jackson ……

In December, the British Royal Mint announced that it is offering the public the opportunity to purchase a limited selection of coins that have been through the Trial of the Pyx. This is a historic ceremony that sees samples of coins struck by the Mint selected at random and subjected to analysis. In short, it is a quality control procedure. The Trial was first held in public in 1282. Today, it is conducted at Goldsmiths’ Hall in London where it is presided over by the Queen’s Remembrancer or their deputy, assisted by an independent jury of Liverymen of the Goldsmiths’ Company. Among the coins offered for sale are the £5 gold proof marking the 1,000th anniversary of the coronation of King Canute, a Welsh Dragon £20, a gold proof £1…

For complete show listings visit NumisMaster.com The World Coin News club show and commercial events calendar is a guide to events with a focus for world-coin collectors. Domestic events scheduled up to 10 weeks in advance of the issue date and foreign events up to six months in advance are listed. Abbreviations used: “A” – Admission charge; “T” – number of tables; “F” – Table fee; “N/A” – not available. Other data required for submitting a listing: name and address of show site, and name and address of bourse chairman or other contact person. FEBRUARY Feb 1-2 FL, Venice. Venice Coin & Currency Show. Venice United Church of Christ, 620 Shamrock Blvd.. SH: 9am - 3pm. SP: Venice Coin Club. A: Free. T: 30. F: $175. Vic Skidmore, PO Box…