Numismatic Legislation Review: Catching Up
It has been a few months since I reported on the numismatic-related bills in Congress. For the last few months, there has been little to report. Members of Congress have introduced several vanity bills, but watching their actions has been frustrating.
Regardless of the side of the aisle you follow, Congress is a very frustrating body. Members live in their own world, interested in what they can do to make them look better. When a citizen is interested in something that is not prominent in the daily news cycle, the response is cold or non-existent.
In the last few months, I tried to inquire about the scheduling of hearings in the Congressional committees regarding coin legislation. There were no answers.
For the last ten years, every Congress has promised to return to regular order. It seems that what we have now is regular order, meaning that coin-related legislation will not be heard until a holiday period or during the lame-duck session in 2022.
Welcome to the new regular order.
H.R. 4429: Semiquincentennial Commemorative Coin Act
- a designation of the value of the coin;
- an inscription of the years 1776-2026; and
- inscriptions of the words Liberty, In God We Trust, United States of America, and E Pluribus Unum.
Treasury may issue coins under this bill only during the period beginning on January 1, 2026, and ending on December 31, 2026. All sales of coins issued shall include a surcharge as prescribed by this bill. All surcharges received by Treasury from the sale of such coins shall be paid to the America 250 Foundation to fund the restoration, rehabilitation, and interpretation of units of the U.S. National Park System and its related areas, as a legacy of the semiquincentennial commemoration.
S. 2384: Semiquincentennial Commemorative Coin Act
H.R. 4703: Sultana Steamboat Disaster Commemorative Coin Act of 2021
H.R. 5232: Working Dog Commemorative Coin Act
H.R. 5472: To amend title 31, United States Code, to limit the face value of coins.
April 2018 Numismatic Legislation Review
The first of the month is when I usually report about the introduction or progress of numismatic-related legislation in congress for the previous month. For April 2018, there is nothing to report.
Thus far, the 115th Congress passed The American Legion 100th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act (Pub. L. 115-68) which allows for a gold $5, silver dollar, and clad half-dollar coins to commemorate the American Legion in 2019.
There have been no authorizing laws passed for commemoratives after 2019.
Two bills have passed the House of Representatives and are waiting in committees in the Senate for action:
- The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act (H.R. 1235) would allow the minting of q gold $5, silver dollar, and clad half-dollar coins in honor of the 60th anniversary of the Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.
- The American Innovation $1 Coin Act (H.R. 770) would be a 14-year $1 coin program that would issue coins commemorating innovation and innovators representing each state, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.
Just because these bills passed in the House does not mean the Senate will do anything about them. Both can die in committee without any consideration.
So that the record is complete, here are the numismatic-related bills introduced in the House of Representatives waiting in committee:
- Muhammad Ali Commemorative Coin Act (H.R. 579)
- Duty First Act (H.R. 1582)
- National Purple Heart Hall of Honor Commemorative Coin Act (H.R. 1683)
- Cents and Sensibility Act (H.R. 2067)
- Christa McAuliffe Commemorative Coin Act of 2017 (H.R. 2256)
- Currency Optimization, Innovation, and National Savings Act of 2017 (H.R. 2299)
- United States Coast Guard Commemorative Coin Act of 2017 (H.R. 2317)
- President John F. Kennedy Commemorative Coin Act (H.R. 3274)
- 75th Anniversary of the End of World War II Commemorative Coin Act (H.R. 4044)
- Plymouth 400th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act of 2017 (H.R. 4539)
- National Law Enforcement Museum Commemorative Coin Act (H.R. 4732)
- Women’s History and Nineteenth Amendment Centennial Quarter Dollar Coin Program Act (H.R. 5308)
- To define the dollar as a fixed weight of gold. (H.R. 5404)
Not to be outdone, here is the list for the Senate:
- Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park Redesignation Act (S. 312)
- Currency Optimization, Innovation, and National Savings Act of 2017 (S. 759)
- Duty First Act (S. 921)
- United States Coast Guard Commemorative Coin Act of 2017 (S. 1021)
- American Innovation $1 Coin Act (S. 1326)
- Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Commemorative Coin Act (S. 1503)
- President John F. Kennedy Commemorative Coin Act (S. 1568)
- Muhammad Ali Commemorative Coin Act (S. 166)
- 75th Anniversary of the End of World War II Commemorative Coin Act (S. 1718)
- Plymouth 400th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act of 2017 (S. 2189)
- American Innovation $1 Coin Act (S. 2399)
Weekly World Numismatic Newsletter for April 29, 2018
“Find of the Century,” a rare 1854-S $5 Half Eagle authenticated and graded by NGC
The coin was discovered by a New England man who wishes to remain anonymous, asked several dealers about the coin before sending it to Numismatic Guarantee Corporation for authentication. NGC investigated the coin, found it to be authentic with a grade of XF-45
It is one of only four coins known to exist. One is in the Smithsonian, another is in the Pogue collection, and there is one that was stolen in 1967 that has never been found.
All of the stories covering this find have been about the coin and little is known of the current owner. Borris Tavrovsky, a co-owner of Oxbridge Coins in San Francisco, said that the coin could be worth $3-4 million based on the sale of other coins from the Gold Rush-era. Of course, if it goes to auction and if you have two people who desperately want the coin, it could sell for more.
“I think he’s going to be quite rich,” Tavrovsky was quoted as saying. “I can see why he wants to remain a mystery man. Some people who win the lottery don’t want to reveal their identity for fear those cousins start badgering you.”
What would you do if you found a rare coin?
And now the news…
April 24, 2018It's only one of four known to exist — and one of those went missing after it was stolen by masked gun-wielding robbers in 1967. A small gold coin originally thought to be a fake was authenticated in April by experts as an 1854 California Gold Rush coin, one of 268 struck at the San Francisco Mint that year. 
→ Read more at sfgate.com
April 25, 2018The South African Mint has officially launched two new coins which pay tribute to president Nelson Mandela. → Read more at businesstech.co.za
April 25, 2018Share the love → Read more at lovemoney.com
April 25, 2018What: Historic Coins and Medals, Featuring Morgan Silver Dollars from the Collection of Ralph and Lois Stone Where: Sotheby's, 1334 York Ave, New York, NY 10021, USA When: 21 May → Read more at blouinartinfo.com
April 25, 2018NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. retail investors are losing their appetite for physical gold as buoyant stock markets offer tempting alternatives, sending sales of newly minted coins to their lowest in a decade. → Read more at reuters.com
April 28, 2018Hint: You’ve definitely spotted it on Instagram. → Read more at glamour.com
April 28, 2018BRITONS can keep spending their pennies for years to come. → Read more at dailystar.co.uk
Numismatic Showtime
Passing the time after 10:00 PM on Monday night, the television found its way to the History Channel for the return of Pawn Stars, the reality show about a pawn shop in Las Vegas. While the first show of the hour was just interesting it was the second show that started at 10:33 PM that was more intriguing.
Although the show was marked as “NEW” on the visual guide, it first aired last January. To make sure I was able to study the coins more, I found the episode on the History Channel website. It is also available on YouTube at https://youtu.be/yTKbcAKbQtU. (embedded below)
Opening the show, a seller name Walter walked in with two rare coins. The first coin was a 1792 Half Disme and the other a silver Libertas Americana. Two coins dating back to the earliest days of the country’s history.
If you recognize Walter his full name is Walter Husak. In 2008, Husak sold his extraordinary collection of large cents at an auction held during that year’s Long Beach Expo. For this show, he was selling the two coins.
The 1792 Half Disme was graded MS-65 by Numismatic Guarantee Corporation who lists the coin as a TOP POP, meaning no coin has graded higher. There are only two half dismes graded MS-65 by NGC and one appeared on Pawn Stars.
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- 1792 Half Disme obverse graded NGC MS-65 TOP POP (screen grab)
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1792 Half Disme reverse graded NGC MS-65
(screen grab)
The Libertas Americana is one of the rare silver versions and was graded MS-61 by Professional Coin Grading Service
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- obverse of the silver Libertas Americana graded MS-61 by PCGS (screen grab)
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Reverse of the silver Libertas Americana
(screen grab)
As with a lot of these purchases, Rick calls in an expert for assistance. This time, the expert is Jeff Garrett, the founder of Mid-American Rare Coin Galleries in Lexington, Kentucky and immediate past president of the American Numismatic Association.
Jeff Garrett stands next to Walter Husak as they examine the Half Disme and Libertas Americana on Pawn Stars (screen grab)
I noted that Garrett’s firm is in Lexington since the location of the television show is in Las Vegas. While doing a little online investigation into the prices and to see if there was more information, there was a note on the Collectors Universe forums suggesting that the segment was not a reality, but it had been staged.
According to user “cardinal,” he wrote:
I believe Ccardinal is the anonymous person behind the Cardinal Collection who has collected some of the finest coins in the PCGS registry.
Following a discussion on the actual Libertas Americana used for the show, he ends with:
I have heard stories as to how some segments are real and some are staged. When I spoke with Charmy Harker about her appearance in 2012, I was under the impression that her attempt at selling a World War II-era aerial bomber camera was not overly staged. That does not seem to be the case in this episode.
My one complaint is that these two esteemed numismatists mispronounced the name of the coin. Everyone kept pronouncing disme as “DIZ-ME.” In reality, disme is pronounced as if the “s” was not included in the word. Disme is derived from the French term for tenth but pronounced dime—which is why the “s” was dropped after the first issues of 1792 coins.
Oh well… it was a fun segment to watch.
Weekly World Numismatic News for April 22, 2018
The royal mints in the Commonwealth Realm are have returned to court with the Royal Canadian Mint accusing the Royal Australian Mint of stealing the technology it uses to print coins.
In January, it was reported that the Royal Canadian Mint file a patent infringement lawsuit against the Royal Australian Mint when the Aussies issued 2012 Remembrance Day coins that the Canucks claim uses the same or similar technologies.
It is being reported that in March, the Royal Canadian Mint filed additional documents in the Federal Court of Australia claiming that the printing method on the coin that commemorates the Australian children’s book Possum Magic also infringes on their patents.
Reverse of the 2017 Australian Possum Magic Coins: Blue Invisible Hush; Purple Vegemite Hush; Orange Happy Hush
(RA Mint image via The Australian Coin Collecting Blog)
The original claim included the 500,000 coin run from 2012. With this updated filing to include other Remembrance Day coins, Olympic-themed coins, and other commemorative, the total is now 15 million Australian $2 coins. The Royal Canadian Mint wants all of the coins in the Royal Australian Mint’s possession to be turned over or “destroy(ed) under supervision.”
As part of their defense, the Royal Australian Mint is asking the courts to invalidate the patents claiming there is not enough novelty over previous methods. Those who watch technology patent fights here in the United States have heard this argument before.
A hearing is scheduled for June. More claims and counter-claims can be added to this lawsuit between now and then. Stay tune!
And now the news…
April 16, 2018What can you give your country for its 70th anniversary? For thousands of school pupils and volunteers, the answer is the sweat of their brows as they worked to prepare a new public 70-kilometer (43-mile) walking path called the Sanhedrin Trail. → Read more at timesofisrael.com
April 16, 2018An amateur archaeologist and a 13-year-old student have uncovered a stash of thousand-year-old coins, rings and pearls on an island in the Baltic Sea in northern Germany, including items that might be tied to Harald Bluetooth, the famous king who united Denmark. → Read more at npr.org
April 16, 2018OTTAWA — A legal battle between the Royal Canadian Mint and its counterpart in Australia is heating up as Canada cries foul over “Possum Magic” coins. The Canadian Crown corporation is alleging the Royal Australian Mint stole its method for printing colour onto metal, and has expanded a December lawsuit over red poppies on a run of 2012 Remembrance Day coins. → Read more at nationalpost.com
April 18, 2018Maloney, author of the Purple Heart Hall of Honor Commemorative Coin Act, commended Purple Heart Hall of Honor, Inc. after it announced its “Campaign for 290,” which aims to attract at least 290 cosponsors to Rep. Maloney’s legislation by Memorial Day. → Read more at hudsonvalleynewsnetwork.com
April 19, 2018The "Half Eagle" is 164 years old and one of only four known → Read more at heraldtribune.com
April 19, 2018The Royal Canadian Mint claims an Australian Possum Magic-themed coin infringes on their patent. → Read more at bbc.com
April 19, 2018The Ernst Badian Collection gives insight to Roman history, as well as the evolution of currency. → Read more at njtvonline.org
April 19, 2018Silver is, like gold, a commodity store of value and is free of counterparty risk, with energy-intensive replacement costs setting the lower boundary for prices (the same energy proof of value that underlies gold prices). → Read more at goldmoney.com
April 19, 2018The Royal Canadian Mint, which is the official maker of the country’s money, has said the commemorative Australian series, which celebrates the classic Mem Fox children’s book Possum Magic, ripped off its unique process of painting colour onto metal. → Read more at news.com.au
April 20, 2018A former Bank of Japan employee was arrested Friday for allegedly stealing gold coins worth a total of ¥200,000 ($1,850) from the central bank’s Tokyo head office, police said. Koichi Yakushiji, 54, is suspected of stealing the two gold coins on April 2, the police said. → Read more at japantimes.co.jp
Catching up on my reading
This week’s silence was not because I had nothing to say—that would be an anomaly! As part of starting my new business and becoming more organized, I realized how far behind I am in my reading.
Over the course of time, I kept buying books I want to read and let them pile up as other things got in the way including the feeling of obligation to read periodicals because of their timeliness.
The online periodicals are easier to deal with. Right now, I only subscribe to one magazine and The Numismatist for electronic reading. Both seem to get priority over printed items.
I decided that I will set aside one hour each evening before bedtime to catch up on my reading. I started with a non-numismatic book because it has been sitting here the longest and the topic is intriguing. For those interested, I am reading Tesla vs. Edison: The Life-Long Feud that Electrified the World by Nigel Cawthorne (ISBN: 9780785833789). Tesla was a better scientist but Edison was a better businessman.
Next, I will delve into a numismatic book. One that has been sitting on my desk that is really calling my name is Counterfeiting and Technology by Bob McCabe (ISBN: 9780794843953).
While starting and studying my collection of Maryland colonial currency, I learned that the leaf print on the reverse of early notes was an attempt to prevent counterfeiting. Benjamin Franklin devised the nature print, an imprint of a leaf or other natural item with its unpredictable patterns, fine lines, and complex details made it more difficult to copy. (Read more about it here)
Not only have I written a lot about the problems with counterfeiting coins and currency, but I also wrote a six-part series about how to detect counterfeits (start with the first post here).
Ironically, the most read blog post is “How easy is it to pass counterfeit currency,” a post that I wrote after an experience with an iodine pen.
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- 1770 Maryland Colonial 6-dollar note
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- 1774 Maryland colonial 2-dollar note
On first glance, the 480 book looks well researched with a list of a lot of supporting materials. Like most of Whitman’s books, the layout includes a lot of illustrations. What piques my interest is that it does start with colonial currency, the area where my interest in the top began.
After I read about the technology that Tesla pioneered that is still the basis of a lot of what we use today, like the induction engine (used to drive the automobile that bears his name) and the concept of transmitting electricity without wires (see modern-day wireless chargers), then I will dive into the world of counterfeiting.
After note: In memorial…
This post about reading was inspired by the passing of former First Lady Barbara Bush. Mrs. Bush was passionate about literacy and would encourage everyone to read, regardless of age and ability. Without fanfare, Mrs. Bush and the foundation she started made sure literacy was a priority in the lives of everyone she touched.
In 1966, Aaron Feldman placed an advertisement in The Numismatist that read, “Buy the book before the coin.” Although Feldman was trying to entice readers to buy books, it is a sentiment that has survived the test of time and continues to thrive.
Later, Feldman was quoted as saying. “I’ve always thought that if a man doesn’t own one coin, but has the knowledge that is in the books, then he’s a real numismatist.” I am sure this is something that the late First Lady would endorse.
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