Weekly World Numismatic News for June 5, 2022

The college-age child of a friend accepted a summer job in London and went early to witness the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Earlier today, I joined my friend on a video talk with the group of U.S. students staying in a London hotel.

During the discussion about the atmosphere around the streets of London, I asked about coins and medals that they encountered. All of the students found a 50 pence coin issued by the Royal Mint, and almost every shop and street vendor carried the coin they included in making change.

Other souvenirs the group collected are aluminum tokens with images commemorating the jubilee. The tokens were reminiscent of Mardi Gras tokens. Some found tokens that were the size of the old large penny with images of the Queen at various ages.

A few found currency-looking commemoratives, and they were designed as ÂŁ70 notes with images of the Queen. The reverse has the name and address of a London business using the notes as an advertising opportunity.

The jubilee celebration is over, but the collectibles will live on.

And now the news…

 May 31, 2022
JEDDAH: For artist Hisham Al-Najjar, painting on canvas or papers is conventional. Instead, the Jeddah-based artist uses pennies and other international coins as the backdrop for his impressive paintings.  → Read more at arabnews.com

 June 1, 2022
There is a coin worth up to 40.000 Euro! It sounds crazy, but coin collecting also has these little rarities. Coins that, due to their unobtainability and value, are likely to be worthy of becoming part of the museum’s collection.  → Read more at hardwoodparoxysm.com

 June 2, 2022
There's a new trend that has been sweeping YouTube with hundreds of videos — one that claims you can earn hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars with this hobby. It's called “coin roll hunting.” And it's pretty much exactly what you imagine it is: searching through rolls of coins to hunt for collectible and valuable coinage.
  → Read more at outsiderclub.com
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Weekly World Numismatic News for December 19, 2021

It is the time of year for retrospectives, looking back on the good and bad of the past year. But there is still time left in the year, and there is still news to cover.

Breaking late in the week, a Royal Proclamation passed to create a 50 pence coin to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the British Broadcasting Company. The BBC was founded and made its first broadcast in 1922 on the recommendation of the General Post Office, which had problems managing broadcast licenses.

Gold has been hovering between $1760 and $1810 for the last two months. Although the gold spot price is close to the $1900 that some have predicted for the year-end price of gold, the $28 prediction of silver will fall short.

Silver has been on a steady fall since hitting $30 in February. Earlier in the year, the pandemic caused the closing of mines and processing facilities. The advancement of COVID-19 vaccines allows facilities to ramp up processing, and the increased supply allows prices to fall.

There are two weeks left in 2021 and time for more news.

And now the news…

 December 16, 2021
If you like seeing ancient coins and understanding history through the coins, then Aloyseum, a museum at St Aloysius College in Mangaluru, is the place for you. Nearly 1,328 coins from 82 countries are on display.  → Read more at deccanherald.com

 December 16, 2021
MANILA, Philippines – The decision of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to exclude World War II heroes from the new P1,000 polymer banknotes met outrage from Filipinos.  Descendants of Josefa Llanes Escoda, Vicente Lim, and Jose Abad Santos urged the BSP to keep the martyrs’ portraits and place the Philippine eagle – or other plants and animals the central bank wants to feature – on the other side of the bill.  → Read more at rappler.com
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No news this week.

 

Weekly World Numismatic News for December 6, 2020

For this week’s update, here are some news shorts:

The White House announced that the president signed H.R. 4104, the Negro Leagues Baseball Centennial Commemorative Coin Act. The law creates a commemorative coin program in 2022 that includes a gold $5, silver dollar, and half-dollar coins in honor of the centennial of the Negro Leagues. Treasury will pay the surcharges to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

More stories keep appearing that say the current coin shortage is leading us toward a cashless society. All of the articles are the same. They claim that without circulating coins, more people “may” be relying on electronic payments. At the same time, they note that the U.S. Mint has increased production and the Federal Reserve reports that market indicators suggest that for non-online purchases, the public is spending cash at a higher rate than using credit cards.

I noticed a pattern when reviewing my notes. The latest article and many others with these conflicts were published by NPR or an NPR affiliate radio station. It seems as if NPR has an agenda.

The Royal Mint has released another 50 pence circulating commemorative coin for Christmas and is as popular as their previous issues. While U.S. collectors complain about new programs, the Brits embrace the new collectibles. The 50p coins have become so popular that it is becoming challenging to find 50p coins in circulation.

Finally, my End of World War II 75th Anniversary American Silver Eagle Proof Coin arrived this last week. Although the privy mark is not that exciting, they should have made the privy mark bigger. It’s still an American Silver Eagle. I love large silver coins!

And now the news…

 December 1, 2020
On November 14, 2015, near the village of Chrysovitsi in Arcadia, Greece, a group of German poachers discovered an ancient silver coin weighing 12 grams. They named it “Olympia”. On its front the coin depicted an eagle with open wings holding a hare with its claws, and on the back it showed the winged Goddess Niki (Victory), just like the Niki of Samothraki statue which is now located at the Louvre Museum in Paris.  → Read more at greekcitytimes.com

 December 4, 2020
The change drawer of the cash register at Symbiote Collectibles in West Reading, Pennsylvania, on July 9, 2020. (Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images)  → Read more at wbur.org

 December 5, 2020
UK Trending Editor Royal Mint release 50p coin selling for over £1000.  → Read more at southwalesargus.co.uk
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Weekly World Numismatic News for September 20, 2020

It has been two weeks and two days since my last Weekly World Numismatic News update. It was a case of Real Life™ getting in the way. The launch of my books also added to my time. But the news continues.

Agatha Christie ÂŁ2 Commemorative Coin

A brilliant uncirculated version of the new £2 coin, which features jigsaw pieces and a replication of Dame Agatha Christie’s signature (The Royal Mint/PA)

News in the numismatic world of the United States has focused on the U.S. Mint. First, the U.S. Mint announced that they have partnered with the Royal Mint to collaborate a British coin and U.S. medal to commemorate the 400th Anniversary of the landing of the Mayflower in the New World. Response from the U.S. collecting public ranged from tepid to wondering if this is the best these two mints can do.

In the meantime, the Royal Mint issued a £2 coin commemorating the 100th Anniversary the publishing of Agatha Christie’s first novel, The Mysterious Affair At Styles. The exciting design featuring a puzzle with a missing piece and implements from the novel had several Coin Collectors Blog readers wondering why the U.S. Mint could not produce something similar for American literature.

Then there was the announcement that the late owner of the Utah Jazz amassed a collection of 1,600 quality coins that is estimated to be worth about $25 million. Larry H. Miller, an entrepreneur from Salt Lake City, was a fixture of the city’s business scene for his business and his support of professional sports. Miller died in 2009 at 64 years old, leaving behind the collection that nobody other than his family knew about.

The Larry H. Miller Collection, which includes an 1804 Draped Bust Dollar, will be auctioned by Stack’s Bowers Galleries later this year. The proceeds from the auction will go toward constructing a children’s hospital in Lehi, Utah, a city south of Salt Lake City.

The news of the Miller Collection appeared to excite more people in the collecting world than the other stories. Although the other coins are obtainable to the average collector, numismatic rubberneckers watch the rarities that most cannot afford.

Just as rubbernecking slows down traffic on the highway, numismatic rubbernecking slows down the growth of the hobby. The hobby can revel in a previously unknown collection uncovered from their hiding places, but it should not be the standard in which collections are judged.

We should be collecting stories with the coins. Without the stories, the coins are just pieces of metal with designs. Yes, the 1804 Dollar has a heck of a story, but very few can afford to collect that story. But show me someone who collects coins based on comic book characters, historical humans, historic events, sports themes, or has created a theme that tells their story, and you will be showing me someone who is enjoying their collection.

And now the news…

 September 10, 2020
WASHINGTON – The United States Mint and The Royal Mint (United Kingdom) have collaborated to create two limited-edition sets marking the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower voyage.  → Read more at metrowestdailynews.com

 September 10, 2020
As the price of gold reached a record above $2,000 in August, gold-backed exchange-traded funds attracted new assets for the ninth consecutive month, although the pace slowed, according to new data released on Wednesday by the World Gold Council.  → Read more at barrons.com

 September 13, 2020
New £2 coins celebrating 100 years since Dame Agatha Christie’s first novel was published are being put on sale by the Royal Mint.  → Read more at uk.news.yahoo.com

 September 14, 2020
Editor's note: This article is a part of a series reviewing Utah and U.S. history for KSL.com's Historic section. SALT LAKE CITY — For years until his death in 2009, Larry H.  → Read more at ksl.com

 September 17, 2020
Gold has had a fantastic year so far in 2020, with its price climbing from around $1,500 per ounce at the end of 2019 to briefly above $2,000 per ounce recently. That's put the cherry on top of a nice five-year bull market that has seen the yellow metal almost double in price.  → Read more at fool.com

 September 19, 2020
Anyone who likes to see a new production date on their coins is set for a disappointing decade. The Royal Mint has no plans to make new 2p or £2 coins for the next 10 years. → Read more at finance.yahoo.com
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Queen of the Collection

Reverse of the ÂŁ5 Queen Coin

Reverse of the ÂŁ5 Queen Coin

Growing up in the 1970s allowed me to enjoy the height of the Progressive Rock era. Today, the music is called Classic Rock and is popular with Baby Boomers and our offspring. One of those popular bands was Queen.

Queen’s frontman and principal writer was Farrokh Bulsara, better known by his stage name Freddie Mercury. Mercury was talented, charismatic, and a showman whose first big hit “Killer Queen” put them on the radar of young rockers in the 1970s.

In 1975, Queen released A Night at the Opera with the iconic “Bohemian Rhapsody” that always appears on the Top 10 lists of all-time songs. A Day at the Races followed, sometimes considered Part 2 to A Night at the Opera. Next was News of the World featuring “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions” that continue to be featured as anthems in sports stadiums.

There is also the phenomenal performance by Queen at the 1985 Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium.

Earlier this year, the Royal Mint issued the first coin in their “Music Legends” collection to honor Queen. Still featuring his long curly hair, Brian May, help the Royal Mint launch the new coin series.

The coins are available as a half-ounce silver proof and a ÂŁ5 uncirculated coin with limited edition slipcases. The Royal Mint partnered with the Royal Mail to produce a coin cover.

Coin covers, known as Philatelic Numismatic Covers (PNC), are covers with coins or medals encased and usually postmarked on the First Day of Issue of the stamps. PNCs are popular in Europe. The colorful cache with the stamps and coins gives the collectible more context and appeal.

My collection contains every coin cover issued by the U.S. Mint, some issued by private companies, and several by the Royal Mint and Royal Mint with global interest topics. When I discovered that they issued a coin cover with the Queen coin, it was an opportunity to add a great collectible to my collection.

The covers are a great way to collect something numismatic that ties to other interests. Aside from classic rock, I noticed that the Royal Mint and Royal Mail has two limited edition covers celebrating Sherlock Holmes. I first read Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles for a college literature class. I thought it was fantastic. When discussing the book, the professor said that Doyle wrote many short stories featuring Holmes. As a poor college student, I was able to find an affordable two-volume set of Doyle’s 56 short stories in a used bookstore. Later, I read the four Sherlock Holmes novels.

As you can see, the coin covers add additional context to the collection. It bridges numismatics with other subjects that allow the enjoyment of both. In fact, I was listening to the Top 700 countdown of the 1970s hits on SiriusXM’s 70s on 7 channel that reminded me to write about the cover.

For the record, the listeners of the 70s on 7 voted Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” as the Number 1 song of the 1970s. “We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions” was Number 10.

Weekly World Numismatic News for July 12, 2020

2020 Elton John Uncirculated Coin

Reverse of the 2020 Elton John Uncirculated Coin (Courtesy of the Royal Mint)

This past week, the Royal Mint announced the next coin release in their Music Legends series to honor Sir Elton John. He is an international legend coming out of the British music scene who made his mark with talent and flamboyance. His long-time partnership with Bernie Taupin has entertained us since the 1960s.

Coins are available from the Royal Mint in gold, silver, and uncirculated. Uncirculated coins come in a special folder honoring Elton John.

There will be those that will complain that these coins hurt the hobby. To borrow a term from our British friends: RUBBISH! If these coins bring people into the hobby, then they are great.

What is bad for the hobby is buying surplus coins from the U.S. Mint and calling it a hoard! For years, the U.S. Mint has been selling off its excess inventory or melting precious metals. This time, someone bought them, sent them to be slabbed, and would jack up the prices under the guise of something special. When the buyer goes to sell them and finds out that they are not worth what they paid, that will have people running away from the hobby. It is similar to the overpriced crap sold on television during the 50 State Quarters program.

Even GovMint.com is getting into the junk selling hype. They have been on satellite radio hawking the emergency production bullion coins struck at Philadelphia after COVID-19 temporarily closed the West Point Mint. Their ad for “P-Mint designated” coins touts them as something special. They are not unique or rare, as the commercial insinuates. Bullion coins are struck at Philadelphia. The difference is that there was a way to determine which mint struck these coins.

What is more damaging to the hobby, selling over-priced bullion or common leftover coins or non-circulating legal tender (NCLT) coins with themes that some old-timers do not seem to like?

Here, let me make some of you upset. I visited the website for the Royal Mint and found something that I will add to my collection:

Queen Coin Cover

Queen Coin Cover is created in cooperation with the Royal Mint and Royal Mail (Image courtesy of the Royal Mint).

If that makes you upset, then you need to rethink your attitude on the hobby!

And now the news…

 July 2, 2020
A flag flies in front of the federal courthouse in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. Scott G Winterton, Deseret News  → Read more at deseret.com

 July 6, 2020
Connor Shumate holding his metal detector and treasure. Photo: Malcolm Andrews. Rising Brownsville second grader Connor Shumate may have found pirate treasure right in his own yard!  → Read more at crozetgazette.com

 July 7, 2020
Treasure hunters hit the jackpot as they discover Roman coins at racecourse  → Read more at gazette-news.co.uk

 July 8, 2020
Royal Mint The coin depicts Sir Elton John's trademark glasses as musical notes Rock legend Elton John is to be commemorated on a £1,000 gold coin celebrating his musical legacy.  → Read more at bbc.com

 July 8, 2020
The design for the new gold $1 Elizabeth Peratrovich coin was on display during the Elizabeth Peratrovich Day celebration at the Tlingit and Haida Community Council on Feb. 16, 2020.  → Read more at juneauempire.com

 July 10, 2020
CRANSTON — Just weeks after being granted compassionate release from federal prison, the self-proclaimed “world’s greatest counterfeiter,” Louis “The Coin” Colavecchio, died Monday at age 78. He was in hospice care after struggling with dementia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension and other ailments.  → Read more at providencejournal.com

 July 10, 2020
In the summer of 2020, we received multiple inquiries from readers about the accuracy of news reports and social media posts that referred to an ongoing shortage of coins across the United States.  → Read more at snopes.com
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Weekly World Numismatic News for February 2, 2020

Congratulation to the Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs for winning Super Bowl LIV!

Reverse of the 2020 Brexit coin

Reverse of the 2020 Brexit coin (Image courtesy of the Royal Mint)

The grammar police are snobs.

The grammar police are those people who expect everyone to read and write in proper form. They want everything from signs to notices to be grammatically correct. There is no compromise because compromise leads to illiteracy.

These are the claims by novelist Philip Pullman who as called for a boycott of the Brexit 50p coin because it leaves out the Oxford comma.

For those who are not grammar snobs, the Oxford comma is also known as the serial comma. It is the comma placed after the second-to-last (penultimate) item of a list before the conjunction. Its use first appeared in 1894 in Hart’s Rules for Compositors and Readers at the University Press, Oxford. Hart’s Rules has been the defacto standard for English usage since its publication.

Oxford University Press has updated the rules over the years with the last version published in 2002. Now called The Oxford Style Manual, it does not waiver in its proper use of the Queen’s English. Thus, people like Pullman cling onto it to create an air of superiority.

When there were rumors that the use of the Oxford comma was going to be eliminated from the style guide, reportedly one such snob said, “Are you people insane? The Oxford comma is what separates us from the animals.” The rumors were not true.

Sometimes, the lack of a serial comma can cause problems. In 2014, someone sued a Maine company because the absence of a comma caused an alleged misinterpretation of workplace policies.

But this argument is over a coin.

What is worse is that the phrase used on the coin is being picked apart by grammar snobs everywhere. The phrase on the reverse of the coin, “Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations,” was adapted from Thomas Jefferson’s First Inaugural Address. As Jefferson was outlining the principles of his administration, Jefferson included, “peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none.” With its ties to Jefferson, some suggest its usage will (GASP!) Americanize the Queen’s English!

I thought that the argument over coin designs in the United States is ridiculous. The Brits have surpassed even the most half-witted commentary from the United States.

And now the news…

 January 27, 2020
‘The lack of a comma after “prosperity” is killing me,’ says Stig Abell … the Brexit 50p. Photograph: HM Treasury/PA  → Read more at theguardian.com

 January 27, 2020
The gold coin "Big Maple Leaf" on display at Berlin's Bode Museum. Thieves stole the gold coin with a face value of $1 million and weighing 100 kilograms (220 pounds) from Berlin's Bode Museum on March 27, 2017.  → Read more at thevintagenews.com

 January 27, 2020
A cache of 232 ancient coins was recovered from the house of a known antiquities thief in Kfar Kana last week by the Israel Antiquities Authority’s Theft Prevention Unit. The trove of coins includes samples from the 5th century BCE Persian period, to the later Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods, and to the early Ottoman period in the circa 16th century.  → Read more at timesofisrael.com

 January 28, 2020
PA Media The coins had to be re-produced after Brexit was delayed A commemorative 50p coin marking the UK's departure from the EU has been unveiled by Chancellor Sajid Javid.  → Read more at bbc.com

 January 29, 2020
Screenshot: HM Treasury  → Read more at jezebel.com

 February 2, 2020
A rare 1,300-year-old coin featuring the face of an obscure Saxon king could sell for £15,000 at auction after its owner spent three years trying to prove its authenticity. Experts and scholars dismissed the silver penny Andy Hall unearthed in a muddy field in Wiltshire, as it featured the head of a virtually-unknown Saxon king.  → Read more at dailymail.co.uk

 February 2, 2020
Jersey Heritage Some of the coins are on display at La Hougue Bie Museum in Jersey Two men who found a huge hoard of pre-Christian coins in a field in Jersey have been recognised as record-setters.  → Read more at bbc.com

 February 2, 2020
The French treasury is considering European plans to phase out one and two-cent coins in the coming years.  → Read more at connexionfrance.com

 February 8, 2020
The former Carson CIty Mint, home to the Nevada State Museum since 1941, will be celebrated for 150 years on Tuesday, Feb. 4.  → Read more at kolotv.com
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Weekly World Numismatic News for January 26, 2020

Queen 2020 UK Half Ounce Silver Proof Coin reverse - UK20QUHS

Queen 2020 UK Half Ounce Silver Proof Coin

Like many of my age, I was introduced to Queen in 1975 when they released their fourth studio album, Night at the Opera. It was the album they premiered the iconic “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

You younguns found out about this song in Wayne’s World. I remember listening to it on FM radio when FM radio was cool. (You can now say collectively: OK, BOOMER!)

Their next album, A Day at the Races, produced several hits, including a song with fantastic harmony “Somebody to Love,” but it was News of the World that gave us the stadium anthems “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions.” In case you forgot, “We Will Rock You” was on the B-side of “We Are the Champions.” Now they are played as if they are one song.

So why am I waxing poetic about Queen, and what does that have to do with numismatics? This week, the Royal Mint announced that they released a coin with the queen, as in Queen Elizabeth II, and a tribute to Queen on the reverse.

According to the Royal Mint, it is the first of a “Music Legends” collection. Other British musical artists will be featured on coins, but Queen is the first.

Brian May of Queen

Dr. Brian May of Queen holding a 50p coin produced by the Royal Mint celebrating the band.

As someone who owns their first 12 albums on vinyl and their last three on compact disc plus several gigabytes of downloads because it is difficult to rip vinyl, I will be a buyer of some version of this coin.

For the record (pun intended), Queen is the third most requested artist in my shop, after the Beatles and the Grateful Dead.

And now the News of the Numismatic World…

 January 20, 2020
BERLIN — German prosecutors are seeking lengthy prison terms for four men accused of staging the brazen theft of a 100-kilogram (221-pound) Canadian gold coin that disappeared from a Berlin museum almost three years ago.  → Read more at abcnews.go.com

 January 21, 2020
Queen's Brian May with the new £5 coin (Image credit: The Royal Mint)  → Read more at loudersound.com

 January 22, 2020
(Kitco News) – Scientists have discovered a method to create 18-carat gold using a mixture of protein fibers and a polymer latex instead of a conventional recipe of gold and base metals, according to research published earlier this month.  → Read more at kitco.com

 January 25, 2020
A Maryland mail carrier has been charged with theft after police say he admitted to stealing mailed items, including two rare coins worth nearly $3,000. All told, Lorenzo Pugh, 32, of Greenbelt, is suspected of stealing several items from his Silver Spring mail route from March 2019 through this month, according to Montgomery County police.  → Read more at wtop.com
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 Reporting suspected fake coins (Jan 22, 2020)

 

Weekly World Numismatic News for October 27, 2019

2019 UK Peter Rabbit 50p Silver Proof Coin

Reverse of the 2019 Peter Rabbit 50p Silver Proof Coin. Peter Rabbit was created by Beatrix Potter. (Image courtesy of the Royal Mint)

At least once per month, one story that catches my eye and causes a reaction. Many times I let it pass without comment because I know there is more to the story than what the news reports. This time I looked a bit deeper.

Mints around the world do business differently than the U.S. Mint. In many cases, these mints are public corporations or private corporations contracted to strike coins on behalf of the government. Very few are state agencies like the U.S. Mint.

From what I can tell, the United States is the only country where coin design is governed by the whim of 535 people whose design esthetics are eclipsed by their inability to understand the effects of their decisions. In other countries, themes and designs are managed through the mint in cooperation with the central bank and the government.

In the United Kingdom, the committee advising the Royal Mint has a membership of ten men and three women. According to reports, this committee is usually lead by a Cabinet Minister. It is the practice that the minister is selected from the House of the Lords, the least powerful branch of the government.

As it turns out, most of the Lords are male. Since the chair of the committee selects the members, most of the members of the committee are male.

A Controversy is now brewing in the U.K. because a proposal to honor Emily and Charlotte Bronte with commemorative coins were rejected. Even U.S. educated children know about the Bronte sisters having been assigned to read Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre in school.

It is not the first time that the committee rejected the selection of a woman author. The committee had decided not to honor Enid Blyton, a children’s author. Blyton wrote over 600 children’s books that echoed her conservative and moral lifestyle. Although she continues to be criticized by more literary critics, her books remain popular.

The committee decided that Blyton was not worthy of the honor.

The British women authors are up in arms over the decision. But could this be a tempest in a teapot?

This year, the Royal Mint issued coins celebrating the 20th anniversary of The Gruffalo and Mouse. The Gruffalo is a children’s book written by Julia Donaldson. The book is about a mouse’s adventures walking through the woods until it meets the mythical Gruffalo.

The award-winning book was translated into 59 languages and made into an animated short film.

Although the Royal Mint did not honor Donaldson on a coin, her characters are so honored.

The Royal Mint has also issued 50p coins honoring Paddington Bear, a character that became popular in the United States through the movie. While Michael Bond wrote Paddington Bear, the books were initially illustrated by Peggy Fortnum.

We learned that whether committees or politicians design coins, they will get it wrong. We also learned that maybe we should stop trying to put humans on coins because regardless of the decision, someone is going to be upset. Sometimes, it is not worth the hassle.

And now the news…

 October 21, 2019
BRYAN, Ohio — Tom Reed of Bryan, Ohio donated more than 50 books to the Williams County Public Library, which mainly center on numismatics, also known as coin collecting. Reed saw a need for books on coin collecting to be available to the public, and decided to offer many books from his personal collection to the Williams County Public Library, said a news release.  → Read more at kpcnews.com

 October 24, 2019
WINNIPEG—The Royal Canadian Mint has issued a new coin featuring a portrait of Louis Riel, an important Métis leader and the founder of Manitoba. The coin was launched on the 175th anniversary of Riel’s birth.  → Read more at thestar.com

 October 24, 2019
OSAKA — While a 500-yen coin may not go as far as it used to, at least it still weighs the same. That's the verdict of the annual weight test of coinage, which was held at the Japan Mint in Osaka's Kita Ward on Oct.  → Read more at asahi.com

 October 24, 2019
Hobo nickel is a term used to describe the 18th century sculptural art form of hand-engraving coins, resulting in miniature bas-relief sculptures that you can hold in the palm of your hand. While the ancient art is rarely practised today, Russian artist Roman Booteen keeps the craft alive with his extraordinary coin carving designs.  → Read more at mymodernmet.com

 October 24, 2019
The original 29 March 2019 design for the Brexit 50p. The date was changed to October 31 and now, presumably, will be altered again  Credit: Treasury A small batch of special Brexit 50p coins minted with October 31 are expected to become collectors' items now that it looks almost certain Britain will not have left the EU by then.  → Read more at telegraph.co.uk

 October 24, 2019
Are you a coin collector who wants to get a job in the coin business? Plenty of numismatic jobs are out there! Today, I’m going to show you how to find a job working with coins.  → Read more at coins.thefuntimesguide.com

 October 24, 2019
The production of thousands of special commemorative Brexit coins has been put on hold amid continuing uncertainty over when the UK will leave the EU. The Royal Mint had been asked to make new 50p pieces featuring the 31 October date on which the UK was due to leave and a message of "Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations".  → Read more at bbc.com

 October 24, 2019
An extremely rare 1879 $4 gold coin could sell for $1 million when it is auctioned next month. The 400 cent piece, known as the $4 Gold Stella, is valued at roughly $200,000 but could sell for $1 million, according to auction house Stack’s Bowers Galleries.  → Read more at foxnews.com

 October 26, 2019
– Umayyad, a historic Islamic coin which was made around 723AD has sold for £3.7m – Among the inscriptions said to be on the coin is one that reads "Mine of the Commander of the Faithful" – The coin was initially billed to sell £1.6m but increased at the auction because of much interest  → Read more at legit.ng

 October 26, 2019
Royal Mint bosses have been accused of sexism for rejecting plans to honour novelist sisters Emily and Charlotte Bronte with special coins. The Mint’s male-dominated advisory committee on commemorative coins was accused of failing to ‘take women seriously’ after snubbing the authors of Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre.  → Read more at dailymail.co.uk
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Weekly World Numismatic News for October 20, 2019

2019 American Innovaation $1 - DelawarePerusing the wide world of coins, I noticed that it is only here in the United States that collectors complain about modern coinage. Why?

My Twitter followers (@coinsblog) have seen the articles coming from the United Kingdom. U.K. news outlets have staff that follows the special issues from the Royal Mint that are selling for hundreds of times over their face value in online auctions. These coins have a limited run and are issued as circulating commemorative coins.

Similarly, the Royal Australian Mint recently released an alphabet series, similar to what the Royal Mint did in 2018. As part of the series, they created a stir when they used the letter “X” to highlight a small village in Western Australia. Aussies learned something about their own country.

In the United States, we bemoan new issues by the U.S. Mint. We look at the coins and come up with some reason to dislike them. Many of the reasons range from the parochial to the absurd.

Dealers do not like them because they make more money on selling you what they think are “better” coins. Rather than try to use the opportunity to get people interested and into their shop, they would rather sell a more expensive coin. Note to dealer: selling 100 coins at a $1 profit is the same as selling one coin for a $100 profit except that you now have 100 new customers rather than recycling old ones.

Another reason I hear is that modern coins are not worth the money and, therefore, not worth the time. Really? Are you collecting or investing? Are you enjoying your collection, or is it something to do?

Recently, I sold off my Morgan Dollar collection. I started the collection many years ago and realized that I did not have the eye for coins that I have today. I also lost interest.

2019 Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Quarter - IdahoSomeone asked what am I collecting today. I respond with modern circulating commemoratives. When I get a strange look, I have been responding with, “do you know what the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness is?”

Who is Frank Church, and what is the River of No Return? If you paid attention to the American the Beautiful Quarters program, you would learn more about your own country. I did not know about this wilderness area in Idaho until I looked at the quarter.

I also learned that the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam, both United States territories, have beautiful memorials to those who gave their lives in World War II.

Now collectors are lamenting the new American Innovation $1 coins. Why? Because they do not circulate? Then go pick up a roll and start spending them! You can show people the series that is beginning with honoring Annie Jump Cannon, who invented a system for classifying the stars still used today. Aside from being a Delaware native, Cannon was a suffragist and hearing impaired.

Stop being so stuck up about modern coins, buy a roll, and give someone a William Henry Harrison dollar. Then ask them why Harrison is so important to U.S. history? Pick a president who is not famous and do the same exercise.

If you have children, why not plan a trip based on the quarter that has been released. If you cannot travel to Guam to see the War in the Pacific National Park, then a trip to San Antonio Missions National Historic Park. You can also Remember the Alamo and visit a fascinating area of the country.

Collecting modern coins may not make the dealers rich or be a great investment. But there is enough material to have fun beyond just accumulating metal discs.

And now the news…

 October 10, 2019
Weet-Bix is given the “W” in an A-to-Z collection depicting “all things Australian.” Weet-Bix, a breakfast cereal manufactured by a Seventh-day Adventist health food company in Australia, is set to cement its icon status.  → Read more at adventistreview.org

 October 11, 2019
Finance minister Tito Mboweni on Friday finalised the designs for the 2020 silver Kruger Rand and the R25 Natura Series collectable coin due next year. He also gazetted an update to a coin design that makes a leopard featured in a Big 5 collectable coin series somewhat less angry.  → Read more at businessinsider.co.za

 October 12, 2019
As many as 96 varieties of coins used during the period of the Western Ganga dynasty, which ruled Karnataka, are among the attractions at the three-day philately and numismatic exhibition here. Among the other exhibits at the 12th State Level Philately Exhibition organised by the Karnataka Postal Circle are commemorative coins, Chinese gold panda coins, stamps on 100 years of Indian cinema.  → Read more at thehindu.com

 October 12, 2019
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A young Alaska Native woman left an impression on Alaska’s territorial Senate in 1945, delivering a speech that led to the passage of the nation’s first anti-discrimination law.  → Read more at seattletimes.com

 October 15, 2019
MURRELLS INLET — The ship owned by the richest man in America is giving up its gold, again. The North Carolina was a side-wheeled steam packet, a coastal transport that carried mail and was owned by Cornelius Vanderbilt.  → Read more at postandcourier.com

 October 16, 2019
One of the rarest coins in the world is set to sell at auction for an incredible £1.6million. The Umayyad gold dinar dates back to 723AD and was made from gold mined at a location owned by the Caliph – one of the successors to the Prophet Muhammad.  → Read more at dailymail.co.uk

 October 16, 2019
A Bunbury businessman has unearthed one of Australia’s rarest coins — worth more than $10,000 in mint condition —while birdwatching in the Goldfields outback. Mick Cross was photographing birds at Malcolm Dam near Leonora when he picked up a small coin sitting in the dirt metres from the popular camp site.  → Read more at thewest.com.au

 October 16, 2019
Calling all Antique Roadshow enthusiasts. Have you ever seen a large metal coin featuring an old lamp with the number 60 on it? After discovering this mysterious-looking coin among her Grandmmother’s collection, a woman from Chilliwack is asking the public if they have any idea what it is.  → Read more at coastmountainnews.com

 October 18, 2019
Nowadays, having savings and investments both have equal weight in importance and necessity as well. In terms of investments, there are a lot of options for you to choose from. These options range from stock investments to mutual funds to cryptocurrency.  → Read more at nuwireinvestor.com

 October 19, 2019
Binyamin Elkin, the six-year-old son of Jerusalem Affairs and Heritage Minister Ze'ev Elkin discovered a 2,000-year-old coin from the City of David excavations at the President's Residence on Thursday.  → Read more at israelnationalnews.com
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