Parent of Krause Publications Files for Bankruptcy — Will Sell Off Assets
While searching for something else, I came across a story that F+W Media, the parent company of Krause Publications, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 10. As part of its bankruptcy filing, the company plans to liquidate its assets to pay its creditors.
According to the bankruptcy filing, F+W owes $105.2 million in outstanding debt to between 1,000 and 5,000 creditors (filing is not specific and I did not want to count the over 500-page filing). The most money is owed to LSC Communications, a company that provides printing and distribution services with over $2.7 million owed.
F+W is also asking the court to approve $8 million in financing to be used as working capital. They claim to have over $10 million in assets.
F+W has been a hobby publisher for many years. The company was founded in 1913 and was named for its two initial publications Farm Quarterly and Writer’s Digest. Farm Quarterly ceased publication in 1955.
Since 2000, F+W has been on a buying spree trying to diversify its portfolio. In 2000, F+W bought UK-based book publisher David & Charles and later renamed it F+W International. In 2002, they bought Krause Publications. In 2012, F+W Media acquired Interweave, an arts and crafts media company, and in 2014 purchased New Track Media.
F+W has had a failed Internet strategy that was not coherent across imprints. While those of us who regularly read Antique Trader find it difficult to understand why Numismatic News does not have a website to match. After scanning the bankruptcy filing, it is apparent that the lack of a cohesive e-commerce strategy led to the failure of the Numismaster website.
The bankruptcy of F+W will be felt across a lot of hobbies. They report that the company averages 600 new titles every year and has over 4,000 titles in print. The company produces 42 magazines, not all are weekly publications like Numismatic News. It lacks a cohesive e-commerce strategy and their idea of selling e-books is producing PDF files of their publications.
From a reader’s perspective, F+W magazines have no integration. Several times I have written to the writers and editors of Antique Trader and Old Cars Weekly magazines when there is a numismatic-related mistake in their publications. The response is almost as if they do not realize the other publications exist.
Krause Publications publishes more than numismatic-related magazines and books. Many of their books are collector and buyers guides for other hobbies. Books like Antique Trader Antiques & Collectibles, Warman’s Antiques & Collectibles, Goldmine Price Guide (vinyl records), and Military Trader magazine define these industries.
For the sake of numismatics, I hope that the Krause publications survive. This includes the Standard Catalog books, which are a hobby staple. In fact, because of the Standard Catalogs, Krause should have a significant database of numismatic information that should beat almost anyone. With a lot of imagination, that data could be put to great use for the benefit of numismatics and a way to produce premium content in order to generate the revenue to support its existence.
Just their database could create a treasure trove of possibilities that could be used beyond the numismatic community. All it would take is someone with money (which I don’t have) and imagination (which I have plenty).
Gold Coin Found in Salvation Army Red Kettle
Every year, after Thanksgiving, it seems that the Salvation Army’s Red Kettles seem to sprout like weeds on the landscape. Their bell ringers can be seen in almost every city, town, and hamlet in the United States. It is a tradition that the Salvation Army has been doing since 1891 to raise money for their programs.
Every year, it seems that someone anonymously drops something of great value into a kettle. Reports of large amounts of currency, rare and gold coins, and expensive jewelry seem to generate nice public interest news reports. This year was no different when it was reported that a 1908 Indian Head quarter eagle gold coin was retrieved from a red kettle that was located at the Berlin Mall in Vermont.
Depending on the condition, the coin can be worth up to $14,000.
It was reported that more than 300 gold coins have been found in red kettles primarily in the Chicago area, a tradition that started in 1982. Gold coins have been found in a dozen states over the years with the previous one being found in Connecticut. This is the first time that a gold coin was found in a red kettle in Vermont.
Family of Israel Switt Sues Mint For Double Eagles
The family of Israel Switt is suing the US Mint claiming that the government illegally seized ten 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle gold coins found in a safe deposit box where Switt stored the coins. The coins were found by Switt’s surviving daughter, Joan Langbord, in 2003. Langbord reported the find to the Mint to “attempt to reach an amicable resolution of any issues that might be raised.” When Langbord gave the coins to the Mint to be authenticated, the Mint confiscated the coins.
Knowing the history of these coins, it was curious as to why Langbord gave the coins to the Mint. With the exception of the two examples held by the Smithsonian Institute and the one that was once owned by King Farouk of Egypt that was sold in 2002 for $7.59 million, other 1933 double eagles were confiscated and subsequent law suits upheld the Mint’s actions.
The suit was filed in US District Court in Philadelphia by Barry H. Berke on behalf of Langbord and her sons Roy and David. Berke is no stranger to these types of law suits. He represented the plaintiffs in the case that resulted in the sale of the Farouk coin in 2002. But the Farouk coin was different. King Farouk purchased the coin using an emissary in the United States from an unnamed dealer. The emissary applied for an export license with the State Department in order to allow the coin to be shipped to Egypt. Even though the coin was not formally issued by the Mint cashier, a requirement for coins to be circulated, the papers issued by a federal agency. Legally, this allowed the owner to consider the coin as legally owned and made the government’s case questionable. The case was settled with the parties involved agreeing to split the proceeds from the sale.
Unlike the Farouk coin, the ten coins that were confiscated from the family of Israel Switt, who has been accused of illegally obtaining the coins in 1934 probably from the cashier or his assistant, does not have any legal paperwork or other proceedings to declare the coins legal in any way. In fact, the precedence of the at least dozen confiscated coins prior to the Farouk coin strengthens the government’s case.
Unless congress intervenes, the Langbords are likely going to loose these coins the way others have done. Case law is replete with precedences acknowledging the government’s right to follow it’s procedures even when not codified in law or via the Code of Federal Regulations. In fact, the Mint’s coining and distribution policies and procedures extend beyond the law and into policies that now date to the reforms of James Ross Snowdon in the mid 19th century.
The story of the 1933 Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle gold coins has to be one of the strangest and most entertaining in the history of the US Mint. This chapter should add to that legend!
My Latest Acquisition
I know I have not been making many posts lately. While I have been working and having fun with my hobby, my wife and I were preparing for a new addition to our family. We have been anticipating this event for a while and have been making sure that the house is safe and friendly for this new addition. Now that he is here, let me introduce him.
Meet Boomer. Boomer is a 9-week old Puggle, a cross between a Pug and a Beagle. We picked up Boomer from the breeder in southwest Virginia yesterday. With today being his first full day in his new home, we are getting to see his personality as it is forming. He definitely is showing a lot of his Beagle personality. That will be fun later in the spring at the nearby dog park. But for now, we have to work on his training. He’s only a pup, so it will be both frustrating and fun!
If any of the new hybrid breeds are of interest (Puggles, Pekapoo, Yorkiepoo, Cockapoo, etc.), you should seek out a breeder committed to raising healthy dogs in a healthy environment. You should stay away from breeding houses who just do this because there is money to be made. Do not be afraid to ask questions and make sure you are comfortable with the answers. For us, we found wonderful breeders at Piney Mountain Puppies after seeing a report on a local television news show. Michelle and Fred are based in southwest Virginia and raise a number of hybrid breeds on a large tract of land. So far, Boomer seems to be a healthy and normal pup with all the neurotic actions that come from puppies—which will keep him fun!
Thank you for indulging me and I promise to write about something numismatic-related in the next few days!
US Currency Discriminates Against the Blind
US District Court for the District of Columbia Judge James Robertson has ruled that the Department of the Treasury is violating Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act by not designing currency so that it is distinguishable to the visually impaired. In a suit filed by the American Council of the Blind (ACB), Judge Robertson wrote, “It can no longer be successfully argued that a blind person has ‘meaningful access’ to currency if she cannot accurately identify paper money without assistance.”
US currency has been undergoing gradual changes since 1996 to add security features to fight counterfeiters. In the last few years, new notes have included splashes of color to further thwart the new imaging equipment that can create convincing copies of US currency. The next change will come in 2008 with a change to the $5 note.
During this time, no effort was made to provide features that could be used by the visually impaired to distinguish between the different denominations. This prompted the lawsuit from the ACB. In the ruling, Judge Robertson wrote that the ACB proposed several possible changes to including “dimensions varied by denomination, embossed dots, foil, micro-perforations, and raised intaglio printing.”
“Of the more than 180 countries that issue paper currency, only the United States prints bills that are identical in size and color in all their denominations,” Judge Robertson wrote. “More than 100 of the other issuers vary their bills in size according to denomination, and every other issuer includes at least some features that help the visually impaired.”
Judge Robertson noted that the cost to make the changes to the printing process would require less than 5-percent of the expenses generated by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing during the last ten years.
Treasury Department has 30 days to submit a plan to comply with the order.
There has been no comment from the Department of the Treasury. Stay tuned!
ANA Reports: SF Commem Sales Extended
The American Numismatic Association (ANA) is reporting that the “U.S. Mint has extended the deadline for individual purchases of San Francisco Old Mint commemorative coins until Dec. 15, and will allow bulk purchases of the coins from Dec. 1 through Dec. 20.”
In an email sent on behalf of ANA Executive Director Chris Cipoletti to ANA members who signed up to receive announcement from the organization, the Mint reports about half of the 500,000 silver and 100,000 gold commemoratives have been sold thus far. The program would raise $8.5 million if these commemoratives are sold out. Total cost for the restoration of the San Francisco Old Mint is estimated at $86 million and should be completed in 2010.
To purchase these commemorative coins, visit the Mint’s online catalog at catalog.usmint.gov.
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