Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2019 i World Coin News

Coincraft have announced an extraordinary silver double penny of King Henry III for sale. It is one of the rarest English hammered coins ever minted and could well be unique. The obverse depicts a front-facing crowned effigy of Henry III with sceptre accompanied by the legend HENRICUS REX III. The reverse shows the long cross introduced in 1247 as part of coinage reform. The moneyer’s name and location is given as WILLEMM ON CANTT [Canterbury]. The coin is first known to have been offered for sale at a Sotheby auction in 1920 when it sold for £250 as part of the Talbot Ready Collection. It was sold again in 1930, 1939, and 1950 before featuring in Spink auctions in 1978 and 1986. The last time it went on the block…

A funny thing happened. I quick ordered the HMZ catalog, Volume 2, and it arrived with the cover upside down. An extremely rare error book! What I see overall in Renaissance to 18th century Swiss coinage is spottiness. It seems like no place in Switzerland was wealthy enough to float any kind of coinage over decades. In 16th century France and Germany, there were many places producing long date runs of low denominations, some date runs of larger coins. Nothing like that in Switzerland. They apparently made small coins only when they had to and large coins for various kinds of personal or corporate egotistical reasons. This tells us that they were probably using lots of foreign coins. We know they were using foreign gold, as they essentially did not…

The use of physical cash in Great Britain may have declined by 50 percent throughout the past decade, but a recent study indicates that despite this trend bank notes and coins are a necessity for about eight million people. The pros and cons of a cashless society continue, but for now it appears both will continue to be used in tandem. A recent Access to Cash study supporting this notion was funded by the cash machine network operator Link. The study was, however, conducted independent from Link by financial expert Natalie Ceeney. According to Ceeney, “As cash use continues to fall, we need to safeguard the use of cash for those who need it and at the same time work hard to ensure that everyone can participate in this digital…

Perhaps the mix between cash and cybermoney is reaching a critical crossroad in Great Britain, but physical cash continues to dominate the landscape of the European Union. According to a Jan. 3 Deutsche Welle media company article, a recent EU study ranked Germans as the top users of physical cash, with an average of 103 euro (about $117 U.S.) in coins and bank notes carried in their wallets. By contrast, the average person in France carries a paltry 32 euro (about $36 U.S.) in cash. Statistics for nearly cash-free Sweden were not offered. While the amount of physical currency being used in Germany may sound impressive, another study conducted by the German Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank, concluded cash payments by value were down from 50 to 48 percent in 2017.…

When the dust settled at Stack’s Bowers’ NYINC world coin sale, ten of the top twelve items came from Germany or Britain. Six of those ten consisted of historic German gold. Top-selling lot by a very long chalk was a magnificent, extremely rare, 27.84 g gold Nürnberg (Nuremberg) 8 ducat of 1721-PGN once owned by Nürnberg specialist Herbert J. Erlanger (KM-287; Fr-1904). The coin was struck with the same dies used for the silver Taler issue (Dav-2476). Charles VI dominates the obverse. On the reverse, a single-headed eagle wearing the crown of Charlemagne and carrying orb and scepter soars over a city, presumably Nürnberg. For readers wanting a challenge, the date is a chronogram woven into the reverse legend. Graded NGC AU55, it had no problems making $78,000 on a…

In late January, the Classical Numismatic Group announced that their annual Triton sale had realized $10,482,153 on pre-sale total estimates of $7,831,550. The catalog featured 1,456 lots of Greek, Celtic, Oriental Greek, Central Asian, Roman Provincial, Roman Republican & Imperatorial, and Roman Imperial coinage. Thrown in for good measure was a selection of Byzantine, Early Medieval, Islamic, World, and British coinage plus a number of choice large lots. Four outstanding collections dominated the sale: • The Gasvoda Collection consisted of exceptional Greek and Roman coins with an emphasis on Magna Graecia and Sicily. It realized $3,047,376 on a $1,850,700 estimate. • Seleukid coinage from the MNL Collection took $282,270 on a $172,250 estimate. • The Michel Prieur Collection of Syro-Phoenician silver coinage sold for $500,844 on a $216,550 estimate. •…

This month we will lead off with mistakes: first, items that were purchased in error, and then a cataloging error discovered as a result. Coins of the 1634 siege of Minden have been on my want list for years, so I was pleased to spot an 8 groschen on a German site. I knew there was a copper 8 groschen, but I did not realize there was also one in silver, and as it appeared to be copper in the photos, I purchased it. Upon receipt, I investigated and discovered my error. The copper version has the eight in Roman numerals. Since it was my error, I did not attempt to return it. I did, however, contact a collector who specializes in siege coins. He was not interested in the…

Seventy-five years ago on Tuesday, June 6, 1944, the largest seaborne invasion in history took place when Allied troops stormed ashore in Normandy. The operation to liberate German-occupied France had begun. Among the allies were 14,000 Canadians who landed at Juno Beach. To mark the 75th anniversary of this event, the Royal Canadian Mint has launched two coins. Top of the line is a 27 mm, 12 g, .583 fine gold $100 proof. The reverse design by Glean Loates shows a boot print in the sands of Juno Beach. Mintage is 1,200. Second is a 36.07 mm, 23.17 g, .9999 fine silver $1 proof. Tony Bianco’s highly detailed design puts a human face on history. It shows the apprehension on one young Canadian soldier’s face as he leaves his landing…

The rulers of England have long been of interest to American numismatists, but not all of the kings and queens are that well known. King James I, who ruled from 1603 to 1625, clearly falls in the little-known category. This is perhaps unfortunate, because many of the important events that shaped early colonial America came during this reign. Despite this lack of knowledge, in 2007 we celebrated the 400th anniversary of the English settlement at Jamestown, named for this very king. Captain John Smith, who was instrumental in saving this early colony from extinction, was the same person who was involved with Pocahontas and even presented her in person to the king. There is one more item of which many of us are aware and which is directly connected to…

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. MARCH Mar 1-2 LA, Bossier City. Northwest Louisiana Money Show. Hilton Garden Inn, 2515 Old Minden Rd.,. SH: Fri. 1pm - 6pm; Sat. 9am - 5pm. SP: NWLAMS. A: $2. T: 35. F: $210/1, $320/2. Charles…

Since 2008, Monnaie de Paris has revisited a number of historic French numismatic themes. Two years ago, it commenced a trilogy paying tribute to Marianne, whose face first appeared on a French coin in 1871, a 5 centime (KM-821.1). In 2017, Monnaie de Paris linked Marianne with Liberty. In 2018, she espoused Equality. This year, the series concludes with Fraternity. “Marianne 2019” is the work of Chief Engraver Joaquin Jimenez. He took for his inspiration a bronze medal by Eugene-André Oudiné, the sculptor responsible for her first numismatic outing. Marianne’s face is portrayed with considerable delicacy beneath a Phrygian cap topped by an oak and olive spray. To her right, the “F” of Fraternity inspires a dance of hands that seek out one another in an allegory of a united…

The Singapore Mint has become an official submission center for third party certification services Numismatic Guaranty Corporation, Numismatic Conservation Services, and Paper Money Guaranty. The mint was founded by Singapore Minister of Finance Dr. Goh Keng Swee in 1968, initially being contracted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to strike coins for the city-state. The mint has evolved since its inception from a production facility for circulating domestic coinage to a business that produces commemorative coins for Bhutan and Macau as well as for Singapore, a variety of gold products, and what the mint web site describes as “quality currency-related gifts and collectibles, lifestyle products and services to both local and international markets.” The mint operates as a subsidiary of SembCorp Industries Ltd., a utilities, energy, and water services company…

Argentina recently introduced two new coin denominations, these completing a currency overhaul needed due to the creation of an electronic platform mode of payment for consumers in addition to interbank exchanges of bank notes. The new 2- and 10-peso coins, expressed as $2 and $10, complete the Trees of the Argentine Republic series, replacing bank notes of the same values. The equivalent bank note denominations will continue to circulate alongside the new coins, according to the Banco de la Republica, Argentina’s central bank. The new coinage series is part of a wider plan to standardize the currency system. The immediate problem will be that the older currency will continue to be legal tender alongside the newer coins and bank notes. The bank note denominations now being issued are 20, 50,…

In Virginia, a man paid the Division of Motor Vehicles the sales tax on two new cars with 300,000 one-cent coins. In Michigan, someone paid a $10 parking fine with coins of that same denomination once he learned he would be surcharged $1.75 if he paid the fine using a credit card. In Singapore, someone purchased a car by paying nearly S$20,000 in Singdollar coins while a mobile shop at Sim Lim Square-issued refunds using about S$1,000 in coins. In the United States, coins can still be used in such transactions. That is no longer true in Singapore. On Jan. 14, Singapore’s Parliament passed The Currency (Amendment) Bill, through which the number of coins allowed to be used in any single transaction is capped. The same legislation supports use of…

Tucked away towards the back of DNW’s January coin and medal catalog was a noteworthy historic piece with strong U.S. connections: a Green Cross of Florida, Amalia Island Medal of 1817 in copper (BHM 957; E 1093; MH 806a; Rulau 10). This scarce 33 mm medal bears a plain Greek Cross enclosed in a wreath and the legend DUCE MAC GREGORIO LIBERTAS FLORIDARUM [Liberty for the Floridas under the leadership of MacGregor]. The reverse shows the date 29 JUNII 1817 within a wreath surrounded by AMALIA VENI VIDI VICI [Amalia, I Came, I Saw, I Conquered]. The piece was struck and issued by one of the more colorful characters to bestride South & Central America in the early 19th century: General Gregor MacGregor, Scottish soldier, adventurer, and con artist. The…

A number of rare gold 10 ducats in superior grade provided a highlight of Spink’s NYINC Numismatic Collector’s Sale held over Jan. 13-17. Earning the top bid was a 34.62 g Transylvanian issue of the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I. Struck at the Klausenburg [Cluj] mint and dated 1696, it shows the monarch laureate, draped, and cuirassed, wearing the Badge of the Golden Fleece. The reverse carries a crowned double-headed eagle bearing on its breast the coat of the Principality of Transylvania (F-482; Huszár 835; Resch 16). The coin came in a desirable EF and had little problem in racing past its somewhat conservative $20,000-25,000 estimate to realize $186,000. Other top-selling 10 ducats included an undated, 35.43 g Hamburg, Freie Hansestadt, gold portugaloser c. 1578-1582 (Gaedechens vol.II, p.213, no.1; F-1091).…

Fifty years ago, the Great British heptagonal cupro-nickel 50 pence arrived in pockets, purses, and wallets throughout the United Kingdom. To celebrate the anniversary, Britain’s Royal Mint has announced the striking of a set of five commemorative coins. The five subjects are those that have proved most popular among collectors over the past five decades: Britannia, Roger Bannister’s sub-four-minute mile, Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, and Kew Gardens. In 1969, Britannia was brought back by popular demand. She had reigned on British coins from 1672 until her last appearance on pre-decimal circulating coins in 1967. Public public outcry at her disappearance is why she appeared on the 50p one year after the other decimal coins were introduced in 1968. Christopher Ironside chose to depict her seated with her lion at her…

The latest 39.62 mm, 1 oz .999 fine silver domed proof $5 in the Royal Australian Mint’s “Earth & Beyond Series” celebrates our sun. Mintage is 5,000. The sun is the G-type main-sequence star at the center of our solar system. It measures about 864,000 miles across with a mass some 330,000 times that of Earth. In fact, it accounts for some 99.86% of the total mass of the solar system. It consists largely of hydrogen (73%) and helium (25%) with small amounts of oxygen, carbon, neon, and iron. For most of its life, the sun has been busy fusing that hydrogen into helium. It does so at a rate of about 600 million tons a second, and it has been doing this for four billion years. It should continue…

Two major auctions early in the New Year featured 2,500-year-old high-grade gold staters of Kroisos [Croesus], King of Lydia from 560 to 546 BCE. One was a first-issue heavy type weighing 10.74 g. The second was an example of the later light variety of 8.09 g. Both came in a desirable NGC 5/5 - 5/5. Both figured among top-priced lots in each sale. For better or for worse, Kroisos is credited with issuing the first gold and silver coins of a standard fineness and weight for general circulation. In doing so, he created the world’s first bimetallic monetary system. Some numismatic historians, however, dispute this. They credit Kroisos’ father, Alyattes (c.591–560 BCE), as responsible for history’s first “coins.” While these were of uniform weights, their fineness varied. In effect, they…

The British Treasury has recently given permission for the type coin it bills as “the most secure of its kind in the world” to be used by overseas territories and crown dependencies. Great Britain’s “round pound” was replaced by a 12-sided £1 coin in 2017 due to rampant counterfeiting of the earlier coin. The nickel-brass £1 was introduced in 1983, the bank note of the same denomination no longer being issued beginning in the following year but remaining officially in circulation through 1988. The notes are still redeemable today at the offices of the Bank of England. The round-shaped coin was replaced with the new dodecagonal ringed bimetal coin once the British Royal Mint indicated counterfeiting had become a growing problem. In 2002 to 2003, it had been estimated 0.98…

In an effort to alleviate a small change problem, war-torn Syria recently issued a 50-pound coin to replace a bank note of the same value. The Syrian Civil War began in 2011, inspired by the Arab Spring revolutions elsewhere in the Arab world. In July of that year, army defectors formed the Free Syrian Army, which is dominated by Sunni Muslims. The government of President Bashar al-Assad is predominantly Alawite Muslim. The president ran unopposed when he was elected in 2000. The United Nations has estimated 400,000 people had been killed in the ongoing war by October 2017, a war that has involved the United States. The 50- and 100-pound Central Bank of Syria bank notes had an exchange rate of $0.095 U.S. and $0.19 U.S., respectively, at the time…

A significant collection of coins is among the treasure discovered in a secret chamber in the basement of a house owned by a controversial member of the Imperial Russian family at the time of the 1917 Russian Revolution. Archeologists in Uzbekistan announced the million-dollar find in mid-January. The treasure includes coins, gold bullion, rare books, paintings, and other forms of fine art. The find was encountered in a secret chamber under the basement of a house in Tashkent, capital of present Uzbekistan, which was formerly part of the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union. Photographs posted to the Kun.us news website show 18th and 19th century Russian gold, silver, and copper coins, as well as what is described as eight kilograms of gold in ingot form. Other items in…

When Chris Rudd put the gold stater from the 1885 Freckenham hoard up for sale on Jan. 13, it produced quite a fight. If nothing else, this small coin demonstrated that while grade and rarity are primary determiners of price, pedigree can weigh most heavily. And this Great British ancient had an enviable provenance. Rudd is no novice at the Celtic coin game and had put this stater on the block with an estimate of £1,500 with a starting price of £1,200. It all seemed so reasonable until several collectors decided they wanted to be the one whose name would become inscribed alongside those of Sir John Evans, Bernard Roth, Richard Lockett, and Commander Richard Mack. It sold for £2,800, giving a total price with premium of £3,360, or $4,322.…

There is just one word to describe the results of Heritage’s NYINC world coins sale. That word is, “Wow!” The total realized for the Jan. 6-7 rostrum auction was $15,280,183. Of that, over $8,000,000 was achieved at the Jan.7 Platinum Night. All told, 15 items took in excess of $100,000. A further 258 managed between $10,000 and $99,999. Top price of $336,000 was achieved by a 42 mm, 40.15 g gold Netherlands East Indies proof pattern ducaton of 1728 struck for Holland (KM-71a, cf. Dav-417, Scholten-31). This is an off-metal strike of the silver rider issue presumably produced as a presentation piece. It had certainly been well looked after for almost 300 years and had no problems in achieving a PR64 NGC grade. As far as Heritage is aware, this…

On Oct. 24, 2018, the longest sea crossing and the longest fixed link on the planet was opened to the public: the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge (HZMB). This is a 55 km (34 mile) bridge-tunnel system that connects the three major cities on the Pearl River Delta: Hong Kong, Macau, and Zhuhai. It consists of three cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel, and four artificial islands. Its construction took nine years and cost $18.77 billion. To commemorate its opening, the People’s Bank of China has issued a 40 mm, 30 g, .999 fine silver 10 yuan proof. Mintage is 20,000. The coin was minted by Shenzhen Guobao Mint and is distributed solely by China Gold Coin Incorporation.…

On Jan. 4, Pobjoy Mint unveiled a new purple titanium coin for 2019: a 36.10 mm, 28.28 g crown struck for Ascension Island. The reverse design features the majestic Queen Triggerfish (Balistes vetula). Mintage is 7.500. It is Ascension’s second titanium coin. As with all titanium coins, each is different since titanium reacts differently with every strike.…

How can I tell if my Chinese knife or spade money is genuine? There are many fake primitive money objects offered for sale. First, check the patina to see if it appears to be flaky. An experienced collector can tell the difference in calligraphy on a fake. If areas are incorrectly filled with metal, this indicates the piece is a modern casting. What is particularly challenging is that even genuine examples are cast. Cowry shells appear to have been an almost universally accepted form of odd and curious money. Was there a weight standard by which cowry shells were valued? Cowry shells appear to have been valued by their relative availability to an area in which they were accepted as money. The further inland from their source the shells were…