Weekly World Numismatic News for June 7, 2021
Life in the United States is coming back. Although COVID-19 continues to be a concern, the vaccines seem to be mitigating many of the issues that closed down the country last year. According to many reports, the United States is doing better than other countries with vaccinations. The result is a decrease in the number of infections and deaths.
COVID-19 will change how we live life, at least for the next few years. Aside from the loss of family members, I am no longer shaking hands. I will fist-bump with someone. Maybe we should learn from the Japanese and bow in respect.
Another change is the reduction in handling items. When I go to a store, I continue to wear nitrile gloves. Even though science has proven that COVID-19 cannot live on surfaces for long times, studies have shown that a dollar bill can have more bacteria than a toilet seat.
The next question is what will happen at coin shows. When we go to shows, people will examine coins, currency, and exonumia before they purchase. Collectors will be digging through junk boxes, those long storage boxes, and flipping pages in notebooks. Collectors will handle slabs and flip through pages of the available books. While this is no different from shows in the past, the COVID-19 pandemic scared everyone. A result of the heightened awareness of viruses was a significant reduction in flu cases.
People traveling to long-distance shows will be required to wear masks in the airport and on airplanes. Show venues will continue to require people to wear masks and social distancing that will reduce dealer participation.
COVID-19 restrictions require the ANA to reduce the number of dealers to maintain social distancing. What we do not know are the other restrictions that the ANA will have to follow. Will there be restrictions on the number of people on the bourse floor? What about attendance restrictions on the peripheral sessions like Money Talks and the auctions? How will the exhibits be handled? What other restrictions will the ANA be required to follow?
It is good that life is resuming, but there are more questions than answers. Get vaccinated and stay safe.
And now the news…
June 1, 2021
→ Read more at marketresearchtelecast.com
June 3, 2021 → Read more at cnn.com
June 4, 2021 → Read more at globenewswire.com
December 2016 Legislative Review and the end of the 114th Congress
While trying to find the right words to describe 2016 and the anticipation for 2017, I came across a quote from an 1898 speech by British statesman Joseph Chamberlain, father of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain:
I think that you will all agree that we are living in most interesting times. (Hear, hear.) I never remember myself a time in which our history was so full, in which day by day brought us new objects of interest, and, let me say also, new objects for anxiety. (Hear, hear.)
Although working on numismatic-related legislation was not expected during this lame duck session, congress surprised everyone and passed a bill that I really wanted to see passed. Considering the country’s history of the time, there is nothing more iconic than Apollo 11’s trip to the moon. It is the single event that inspired my life in technology.
Public Law No. 114-282: Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act
See the final text of the law at http://bit.ly/114-HR2726.
The 115th Congress of the United States will officially convene at noon on January 3, 2017. The 45th president will take office at noon on January 20, 2017. We are living in most interesting times with new objects for anxiety.
Happy 2017!
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- Design for the 2017 Boys Town Commemorative $5 Gold Coin Obverse
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- 2017 Lions Clubs Commemorative Silver Dollar Proof Obverse
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In October, I asked if there was an interest in receiving a newsletter of containing the coin, currency, and bullion-related stories I find on the Internet that is being reported in the non-numismatic media. With a significant number of you who responded with interest, I decided to move forward to see what I can do.
After a month of collecting stories, editing templates, and making sure as much of the process can be automated as possible, I am almost ready to move forward.
Right now, I am the only subscriber to what I am calling the Weekly Numismatic World Newsletter. There have been two test issues. Since I am happy with the results, I think I am ready for a broader test.
I am opening up the subscription to all of my readers. If you would like to receive the last test issue, you can use the signup form here or click on the “Weekly Newsletter” link on the menu. There is a warning on the page that the newsletter is in Beta Testing. Don’t worry about that. If you want to receive the last test run, then signup.
The last test newsletter will be generated as of Sunday night/Monday morning based on my clock here on the east coast of the United States. When the newsletter is ready for regular production, it will be produced around the same time each week. It will only contain news from the previous seven days.
If there are any comments or questions, you can either post them here or drop me an email note. Let’s see how this goes!
Quick catch up…
Last I reported, I had travelled to Philadelphia to see the students at Juaniata Park Academy that we raised money to visit the U.S. Mint and Federal Reserve. I did make it to the school despite the flat tire and other problems my Chevy Avalanche experienced along the way. We did have a one-hour visit to talk about coins, currency, and the history they reveal. I had a lot of fun. Rather than talk about it in this update, I will write a longer post soon.
Counterfeiting is on the rise. The number of reported arrests for counterfeiters has increased. Some of it may be attributed to the largest seizure of counterfeit currency in Peru. Although not confirmed, there is speculation that the arrests in Peru provided leads into the distribution network. The Peru notes are amongst the best counterfeits produced outside of the United States. Unfortunately, there is no simple way to determine if you have one of these notes. The U.S. Secret Service has been advising cash-related businesses to be wary of people making unusual large cash purchases.
The U.S. Mint is preparing for an increase in sale of bullion American Eagle coins. Gold is down over $230 since its high in July or $151 since the election. Even with the strong dollar, the lower price of gold and the trust in the American Eagle coin is driving buyers to authorized dealers. One dealer said that 2017 pre-orders are their highest in a while.
The market for silver is facing a similar downward slide. From the $20.17 close in the beginning of August, the price as this is being written is $15.90. A 21-percent drop in silver spot prices is quite large over this period and greater than the 17-percent drop in the gold spot price.
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- Year-to-date Gold Chart as of Dec 27, 2016
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- Year-to-date Silver Chart as of Dec 27, 2016
Lower spot prices may be driving speculators to the market. Since the Federal Reserve Board increased the discount rate, the rate they charge for overnight loans to their large customers that are required to have a certain amount of liquidity at market close, by 250 basis points (.25 percent), there are some that believe that the markets are getting ready for a shift. Precious metals are always used as a hedge against inflation investments and may be a sign that some are expecting an economic crash.
A future post will discuss the coin-op industry’s reaction (albeit late reaction) to the GAO Report U.S. Coins: Implications of Changing Medal Compositions (GAO-16-177, Dec. 10, 2015). It appears to be an attempt for the coin-op industry to fight composition changes in U.S. coinage. Although most of their argument reads like a complaint that they do not want to undergo the cost of converting machines, they do make a point in that some of the alternatives has the potential to create a market for counterfeiting coins that would hurt the economy. One example they site is that it may be easier to counterfeit plated steel coins because the technology that checks for electromagnetic signatures of the coins would not be able to detect a real coin from a slug.
Following my post about the scrap industry not being able to return mutilated coins to the U.S. Mint I was contacted by someone in the industry who thanked me for the story. I was asked to emphasize that although the current court case involves companies based in China, the problems affect scrap dealers throughout the United States. Following this conversation, I was able to speak with a broker who has been buying scrap coins from smaller companies who said that the U.S. Mint has been discussing a way forward but in a way that makes it sound like they are not happy with having to deal with this situation. The U.S. Mint will not comment as long as there is an active case in federal courts.
The Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Commemorative Coin Act is now Public Law 114-282. Although I am not a collector of commemorative coins other than for topics that interest me, I am interested in this topic. Although I am a fan of silver coins, I am going to try to buy the gold Apollo 11 commemorative coin. I have two years to save my pennies!
Finally, I am working on creating a weekly newsletter opt-in containing numismatic-related stories from non-numismatic media sources from around the world. I will curate the news that appears in the newsletter but want to automate some of the processes. Automation of the workflow is in progress. Watch for the signup process to appear here soon!
Correction and Update on Jeppson’s position at the Mint
Rhett Jeppson, Principal Deputy Director of the U.S. Mint
When a representative of the U.S. Mint contacted me to clarify the error, it was not clear as to what authority that Jeppson could be appointed as a “Principal Deputy Director” without confirmation by the Senate. A public policy attorney working for a public watchdog group believes that the White House used their discretionary authority to transfer Jeppson’s position from the Small Business Administration to the U.S. Mint. Although this is not confirmed, there was no other logical that could be found based on the law and public filings.
The U.S. Mint has been without a permanent director since Edmund Moy’s resignation became effective in January 2011. When Moy resigned, Richard Peterson became acting director, which he could do for a limited time, then became Deputy Director but in charge of everything. While that is not the technically correct term, essentially, Peterson was the acting director.
In September of 2012, President Obama nominated Bibiana Boerio, the former Managing Director of Jaguar Cars Ltd., for director. Since her nomination had not been acted upon, her nomination died in committee when congress adjourned following the 2012 election.
Peterson remained, essentially, the acting director until January 9, 2015, when it was announced that Jeppson was joining the U.S. Mint as Principal Deputy Director. His formal nomination was announced on Friday, July 9, 2015. Finally, the Senate Banking Committee held a hearing for his nomination on the Ides of March, Tuesday, March 15, 2016. Since then, as congress has done for most things they did not have to do to prevent a disaster, sat on the nomination.
Essentially, the clock has run out on Jeppson’s nomination. It is likely his appointment will not be reported out of committee and, like Boerio, will see his nomination fade into the ether.
According to the U.S. Mint, Jeppson was asked to tender his resignation effective on January 20, 2017, as have all Obama Administration appointees. It will be up to the next president to determine whether he stays.
Your government at work.
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