Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2021 i World Coin News

Heritage Auctions, the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer, has eclipsed 1.5 million online bidder-members who take advantage of the online platform (HA.com) to buy and sell collectibles from more than 40 categories. “Heritage Auctions remains on the cutting edge of auction technology, and our free database of more than 5.5 million lots has reached a global community of collectors,” Heritage Auctions CEO Steve Ivy said. “Our 1.5 million bidder members have identified and verified HA.com as the premier destination for buyers and sellers of collectibles, unique artworks and luxury items.” The most heavily visited website for fine arts and collectibles, HA.com offers access to Heritage’s Make Offer to Owner program, which enables members to bid on lots that already have been sold to other collectors. The Make Offer to Owner program…

IN THE MIDDLE AGES, Poland was one of the great nations of Europe, justly famed for its culture and toleration, both religious and racial. Warsaw came to be known as the ‘Paris of the East’ with good reason. Yet, in their quest for the rights of the individual, the Poles lost sight of the right of the nation for security from aggression; by the seventeenth century the strong military power of the country had eroded seriously. In the early 1700s Poland slowly became a pawn of surrounding nations. In 1764 the situation had deteriorated to the point that Russian Empress Catherine II was able to put one of her former favorites, Stanislaus Poniatowksi, on the Polish throne as Stanislaus Augustus. It was the beginning of the end. The new king…

STEPHEN ALBUM RARE COINS held its Internet Auction 10 on June 28, 2021 at its offices in Santa Rosa, Calif. The auction exceeded expectations, with a total hammer price of $213,000 (including buyer’s fees) for 1000 lots, and a sell-through rate of 93.8 percent. The number of bidders grew by over 30 percent compared to the previous Internet Auction 9 held in April, resulting in a new record for the firm. Nearly half of the auction consisted of world coins graded by PCGS. There were some shocking sales results as many items went for multiples of their pre-sale estimates, including the following (prices exclude buyer’s fees): Company CFO Paul Montz was happy with the results. “Many items went for really eye-opening numbers. There will be some catalog prices in great…

PALESTINIANS CONSIDER DIGITAL CURRENCY There is plenty of cash sitting in banks in Gaza and the West Bank territories occupied by the Palestinian National Authority. So, why is the Palestinian Monetary Authority looking into a digital currency?The region under the control of the PNA has been called the State of Palestine since 2013. It is a Fatahcontrolled region as a consequence of the 1993-1995 Oslo Accords. The region has been controlled by Israel since the Six-Day war of 1967 despite the PNA’s attempts to gain recognition as an independent state.Under accords agreed to between Israel and the Palestinians during the 1990s the Palestinians can’t create their own currency system. Their economy primarily uses the Israeli shekel, Jordanian dinar, and the U.S. dollar.Israel manages the Palestinians’ taxes. The West Bank has…

IN THE NARROWEST sense of the word, an illusion is simply a trick. But an illusion of the eyes or an optical illusion is a little more complex. Sometimes our eyes see an illusion in depth perception or contrasts can make us see things in different ways. Geometrical shapes are often used to create illusions in art and a three dimensional illusion can be established with colors. I think the child in each of us enjoys being tricked as much as we enjoy being scared. So it is not surprising that the Swiss Mint embarked on a coin illusion project with Swiss artist Sandro Del-Prete. Del-Prete has a serious canon of work in this arena. In fact he coined a word for his artistic optical illusion work, “illusorism”. A popular…

ALL OF THE KINGS of the current Thai dynasty are named Rama, plus their other long Thai names, which incorporate titles. The current King of Thailand is Rama X. Modern Thailand was created by the work of King Rama V. Part of his longer name was Chulalongkorn. Over his 42-year reign he put a western style government in place, including a western style military and a western style finance system, had railroads built, schools, international trade, etc. Like Japan, but not as much. Mostly because in Japan the power of the nobility was definitively destroyed. Not so much in Thailand. They got about half way there. Nobles always put their personal requirements first. If you are an absolute monarch, and there are barons out there with their own power base,…

THE HERITAGE HKINF closed in late June and continued the trend of offering glamorous rarities in stunning conditions. The main focus was on Chinese coinage of the 19th century, with great classics from various provinces including Fengtien, Chili, Kirin, Kwangtung and Hupeh. Included in the Heritage HKINF auction were many pattern pieces from several states and eras of China’s history but for this article I will keep to the business and proof strikes of regular issue coins. The Kwangtung offering was outstanding in quality. Of particular interest were a pair of Heaton mint restrikes Y203 specimen dollar strike graded SP67 by PCGS and a specimen trial strike 20 cents Y196 graded Sp63 by NGC. Each is so stunning in quality of strike and eye appeal as to boggle the mind.…

NOT TOO MANY coins can make us jump out of our skin when we look at them, but the newest offering from the Cook Islands might qualify. Ravana, king of the demons in the Hindu pantheon, is the subject of the newest issue from the Islands, and presents a visage fierce enough to keep many of us up at night. There won’t be all that many kings of the demons haunting collections, as this coin has a limit of 500 pieces, each of which is numbered as it leaves the Royal Mint. The obverse sports the familiar image of Queen Elizabeth II, states “Cook Islands,” gives the date, and provides indication of a face value of $20. But since this issue is made of gilded silver, the cost will always…

WHEN YOU ARE the emperor, you pretty much can get what you want. Emperor Qin Shihuang, China’s first, wanted his army to accompany him to the next life – and he got it. The terracotta warriors – sometimes called the terracotta army – rank as one of the greatest archaeological finds the world has ever seen, an army made and buried with their emperor. The size and scope of this burial site is enormous, and the work that went into creating it for the emperor is equally impressive. Not only does the site cover a whopping 20 square miles, but each terracotta warrior appears to be distinct in facial features from the others. It appears that they were modeled from real, living soldiers of the emperor, by skilled artisans who…