Oct 10, 2013 | BEP, currency, dollar, Federal Reserve, news, video
With the fanfare of a hard cough, the Federal Reserve released the new $100 Federal Reserve Note on Tuesday, October 8, 2013 to financial institutions. Various factors will effect how quickly these notes are seen in circulation including the demand and ordering policy of the financial institutions. In fact, the launch was introduced with a video by Sonja Danburg, Program Manager of the U.S. Currency Education Program at the Federal Reserve.
This launch is three years in the making as Bureau of Engraving and Printing reported problems with folding during the printing of the new notes. The announcement on April 21, 2010 said that the new notes would be released on February 10, 2011. On October 1, 2010, the Federal Reserve announced that the new note would be delayed. Later, the folding problems were revealed following a report released by the Treasury Office of the Inspector General.
The reason for the new notes are for the addition of security features. Aside from the ecurity thread, portrait watermark, color-shifting ink, microprinting, and the strategic use of color, the new note has a 3-D security ribbon and the use of color-shifting ink used to reveal a bell in the inkwell. If you look at the blue ribbon on the front of the note, tilt the note and watch the bells on the ribbon change to “100s” as the reflection of light changes. The 3-D ribbon is embedded in the paper and not printed. Looking at the copper-colored inkwell on the front of the note, tilting the note will reveal a bell that was embedded using color-shifting ink. Using these light sensitive features, the Federal Reserve hopes to significantly reduce the number of counterfeit notes, especially overseas where half of the $100 notes are known to circulate.
The Federal Reserve released a video about the new anti-counterfeiting features:
As an aside, the Bank of England recently announced that they will be transitioning to polymer banknotes by 2015.
Sep 30, 2013 | BEP, coins, currency, Federal Reserve, news, policy, US Mint
In the ongoing drama that is United States Federal government, a shutdown is looming over the shear idiocy of idiot-loges on both sides of the aisle attempting the rule and not govern. All 537 politicians elected to federal office are in need of a good spanking.
First, here are some impacts:
- According to the Office of Management and Budget, a government shutdown will cost taxpayers an extra $40-60 million per day.
- The District of Columbia is reporting that a shutdown will cost the city about $2 million per day in lost revenues.
- Maryland and Virginia has not reported their potential economic impact of a shutdown.
- UPDATE (4:40pm): Local news reports say that over 835,000 workers will be effected by a shutdown with at least 80-percent being in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Some estimates are saying that it could cost the region up to $20 million per day.
What does this mean for the money manufacturing bureaus of the country?
- The U.S. Mint is not answering inquiries about pending shutdown. Media is directed to contact OMB for more information.
UPDATE (1:40pm): The U.S. Mint will not allow tours of the Philadelphia and Denver mints during a government shutdown.
- Office of Management and Budget is not answering the telephone. Rather, they requested that an email be sent with detailed questions. Email inquiries have yet to be answered.
- When calling the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, their phone is either busy or when trying to get past the voice response system for the Office of External Relations, the system says “the person you attempted to reach is unavailable.” An email was sent to the BEP’s general inquiry account and OMB asking about the operations at the BEP.
UPDATE (3:30pm): An email note was received from the BEP saying to contact a spokesperson at the Department of the Treasury. Telephone and email messages have not been returned.
UPDATE (4:10pm): Both the Washington and Fort Worth plants will not hold tours if there is a government shutdown at midnight tonight.
- Since the Federal Reserve is an independent organization and not subject to congressional appropriations, they will remain open during a shutdown. The shutdown will not affect the launch of the new $100 Federal Reserve Note planned for October 8.
UPDATE (5:30pm): According to the Treasury Department:
Operations of the following bureaus are funded from sources other than annual Congressional appropriations, and would operate normally if a government shutdown were to occur: the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the United States Mint, and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP).
This post will be updated as new information is provided.
Representatives of these agencies may contact me via email to provide additional information. Please note that I do respect the confidentiality of sources!
NOTE: I am not a member of any political party. I am a proponent of government employees who do not deserve the way they are being treated by the elected officials.
Aug 13, 2013 | awards, coins, news, shows
Some things are just too good to not share. Yesterday, Professional Numismatic Guild presented their annual awards at the eve of the American Numismatic Association’s World’s Fair of Money in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont. The picture accompanying the announcement is priceless.
Eloise Ullman, who is retiring soon as Executive Director of the Industry Council For Tangible Assets, was awarded the PNG’s Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her years of dedicated service and achievements in numismatics.
The award was presented to Ullman by ICTA Industry Affairs Director and PNG Associate Member Diane Piret. Ullman has provided the numismatic hobby and profession with 23 years of service as ICTA Executive Director, and the PNG is grateful for her outstanding efforts on legislative and tax issues facing dealers and collectors across the country.
Piret was honored with the PNG’s Significant Contribution Award for her40 years of dedication and significant contributions to numismatics. The award was jointly presented by PNG Board of Directors members Dana Samuelson and Barry Stuppler.
But the picture of Ullman’s reaction is priceless.
I met Ullman last year when I began to work with the Gold & Silver Political Action Committee. From what I could see she was a tireless working for ICTA for over 23 years and they will have a difficult time finding someone to succeed her.
Congratulations Eloise and the other PNG Award winnerss.
Image courtesy of Donn Pearlman.
Aug 12, 2013 | ANA, coins, news, shows
The American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money begins tomorrow, August 13 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. Rosemont is a suburb of Chicago and not far from O’Hare Airport.
As with any World’s Fair of Money, there will be quite a few announcements. Some may appear here others will be tweeted as they come in.
Terry Hanlon, newly elected president of the Professional Numismatists Guild
PNG’s Board of Directors are Mitchell A. Battino of Hudson Rare Coins, Princeton, New Jersey; PNG Immediate Past President Jeffrey Bernberg of Rare Coin Company of America, Willowbrook, Illinois; John Maben of John Maben Rare Coins, Sarasota, Florida; James A. Simek of Numisgraphic Enterprises, Westchester, Illinois; and Richard A. Weaver of Delaware Valley Rare Coin, Broomhall, Pennsylvania.
Congratulations to all!
Professional Coin Grading Service announced that they are teaming with eBay to expand the eBay U.S. and Canada Coins Catalog feature. When the new catalog from PCGS goes online this fall it will immediately grow from the current 8,500 products to more than 41,000.
The renewed U.S. and Canada coins catalog will allow for more detailed descriptions of specific coin attributes, as well as further differentiation for the collecting community. These detailed descriptions, item specifics and high resolution images in the catalog will allow novice and experienced sellers alike to more accurately identify the coin they are selling on eBay.
An expanded catalog should help provide education to collectors buying and selling on eBay. Anything that makes that marketplace safer os good for the hobby.
Although the ribbon cutting is on Tuesday, my schedule will not allow me to get away until Wednesday night. Stay tuned for more news.
Jun 29, 2013 | ANA, news
On Friday, the American Numismatic Association announced that President Tom Hallenbeck will announce the results of the 2013 ANA elections online on July 3, 2013 at 4:30 P.M. Mountain Time (6:30 P.M. on the east coast). The broadcast will be over YouTube on the ANA’s YouTube channel. Walt Ostromecki, who ran for president unopposed, Jeff Garrett, who was unopposed for vice president, and the 14 members running for the remaining seven seats on the Board of Governors will participate by telephone.
For me, this will be interesting since the time is during my commute. Those who have not had the privilege of being in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area during rush hour wonders why it is called “rush hour” since it looks like nobody is rushing and it lasts a lot more than an hour. We laugh cynically at all the reports that consistently rank this area’s traffic amongst the worst in the nation even topping Los Angeles. Even though it appears that many people will take the opportunity to go on vacation, the day before a holiday always raises the traffic levels. With it being the day before Independence Day, it should make traffic more fun!
If I cannot leave my office early, I will be on the telephone from my car—hands-free as it is the law in Maryland and the District of Columbia—probably sitting in Beltway traffic. I will probably have my favorite beverage with two additional shots while driving and on the phone. This will make the commute very interesting!
For those who missed the announcement, the following is the press release issued by the ANA:
ANA Board of Governor election results to be broadcast online
President Tom Hallenbeck will announce 2013-15 board during live broadcast
American Numismatic Association President Tom Hallenbeck will announce the winners of the 2013-15 Board of Governors election during a live online broadcast at 4:30 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time on Wednesday, July 3, 2013.
The broadcast will be available at Money.org/Elections and on the ANA’s YouTube channel at YouTube.com/AmericanNumismatic.
A press release announcing the newly elected board members will be issued to the ANA membership and the media immediately following the broadcast. Results will be posted on Money.org as well as on the ANA’s Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn accounts.
The election was conducted by Survey & Ballot Systems Inc., headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minn. For the first time ever, ANA members were given the option of voting online or with a traditional mail-in ballot.
The American Numismatic Association is a congressionally chartered nonprofit educational organization dedicated to encouraging people to study and collect money and related items. The ANA helps its 28,000 members and the public discover and explore the world of money through its vast array of education and outreach programs, as well as its museum, library, publications, conventions and seminars. For more information, call 719-632-2646 or go to www.money.org.
Jun 7, 2013 | bullion, coins, Eagles, gold, news, silver, US Mint, video
This year, the U.S. Mint Facility at West Point, New York turn 75 years old. When opened in 1937, it was to be the nation’s silver bullion depository giving it the nickname “The Fort Knox of Silver.” In 1988, West Point was granted mint status.
The “W” mintmark on U.S. coins is highly prized since it is the only mint not to strike circulating coins with its own mintmark. While the West Point Mint did strike cents from 1973 through 1986, the coins produced were not struck with a mintmark.
Today, the West Point Mint only strikes precious metal coins. From commemoratives through bullion American Eagle coins, West Point produces more precious metal coins than any other Mint in the world, including the San Francisco Mint.
Located just outside the United States Military Academy, the West Point Mint does not allow visitors or tours for security reasons. However, exceptions are made. With the facility celebrating its 75th anniversary, the U.S. Mint has been allowing journalists to visit and take pictures of their operations.
Thus far, the best set of images were published in the Daily News. In the article, “West Point Mint, with $80 billion in precious metals, celebrates 75th anniversary,” the reporters visit the West Point Mint and bring back some very interesting picture. You can read the story on the Daily News’s website or if you just want to see the pictures, you can see this board I created on Pinterest.
The Daily News also created a two-minute video looking inside the facility. The video follows (if it begins with a commercial, it is being sent by the Daily News—the cost of embedding their video):
If you are having problems seeing the video, go here.
All images and the video courtesy of the Daily News.
Apr 24, 2013 | BEP, currency, Federal Reserve, news, video
Earlier today, the Federal Reserve issued a press release announcing that the redesigned $100 Federal Reserve Note will be issued on October 8, 2013.
The redesign of the $100 note was announced with a press release that was to be held on April 21, 2010 at the Department of the Treasury Cash Room with all of the usual suspects: then Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Ben Bernanke, Treasurer of the United States Rosie Rios, and the since retired Director of the United States Secret Service Mark Sullivan.
The date of the announcement, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and Federal Reserve announced that Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board Ben S. Bernanke said, “When the new design $100 note is issued on February 10, 2011, the approximately 6.5 billion older design $100s already in circulation will remain legal tender.”
Throughout the summer of 2010, the BEP and Federal Reserve released a lot of training and education materials in anticipation of the release of the new notes.
Everything seemed to be going well until October 1, 2010 when the Federal Reserve “announced a delay in the issue date of the redesigned $100 note.” The Federal Reserve and BEP said that there was a problem with creasing of the paper during the printing process. That was the last we heard from the Federal Reserve until today’s announcement.
Magnified images of the creasing showing up on the new $100 notes.
In the mean time, the Treasury Office of the Inspector General issued a report (OIG-12-038 [PDF]) that said the BEP did not handle this process properly. The report said:
We consider the delayed introduction of the NexGen $100 note to be a production failure that potentially could have been avoided and has already resulted in increased costs. We found that BEP did not (1) perform necessary and required testing to resolve technical problems before starting full production of the NexGen $100 note, (2) implement comprehensive project management for the NexGen $100 note program, and (3) adequately complete a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis for the disposition of the approximately 1.4 billion finished NexGen $100 notes already printed but not accepted by FRB. [Federal Reserve Board]
After the report noted that the BEP basic responded by saying that they were sorry and are looking into it, the OIG caved and said that even though the BEP was bad, the corrective actions “are responsive to our recommendations.”
Then nothing. No follow up by the OIG or the Government Accountability Office. In fact, we have not heard from the GAO since their 2005 report suggesting whether a second supplier of currency paper is needed (see GAO-05-368).
Of course it is easy for the BEP to say that Crane & Co., the Dalton, Massachusetts company that has been the exclusive currency paper supplier since 1879, because it would be easy to justify. Some of the arguments against finding a second supplier includes the cost of entering the market and the established relationship with Crane who the BEP allows to “own” the innovations paid with taxpayer money. There was also the case of having two of the most powerful senators, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry, there to protect Crane. Neither are the senators from Massachusetts today.
While the BEP has been struggling with rag-bond paper, countries have been moving to using polymer “paper.”. The polymer “paper” was developed by the Reserve Bank of Australia to enhance the durability of the notes and to incorporate security features not possible with paper or rag-based paper. RBA has been distributing polymer notes since 1992. While the polymer substrate costs little more and the production is only marginally more expensive, the benefit will come from the reduction in counterfeiting and the durability of the note. Polymer will last three-to-six times longer than rag-based paper.
The Bank of Canada has reissued its C$100, C$50, and C$20 notes using the polymer paper and will issue the new C$5 and C$10 notes later this year.
Switching to polymer notes, especially for higher denominations, would be a better decision. It will reduce counterfeiting and reduce the costs over the lifetime of the note. And there is no law that would prevent the Federal Reserve from using the polymer paper.
Considering the Bureau of Engraving and Printing’s previous performance with the $100 notes, this should not be consider the time to celebrate. Especially since a pre-solicitation notice asking for information about purchasing a Single Note Inspection System is still open at FedBizOpps.gov and the BEP has not issued a request for proposal (RFP) to purchase such a system. Let’s wait for the BEP to deliver the notes to the Federal Reserve for distribution before considering this a success.
While waiting, enjoy this video announcement narrated by Federal Reserve Deputy Associate Director Michael Lambert about the new release date.
Images courtesy of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
Video courtesy of the Federal Reserve.
Apr 23, 2013 | ancient, coins, ethics, foreign, history, news, policy
While the State Department’s Cultural Advisory Committee (CPAC) continues to kowtow the the whims of foreign government looking to use the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (CPIA; 19 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et seq.) as some sort of virtual tool to attack the United States, little seems to be said by the foreign archeological supporters when a Paris court ruled for a French auction house allowing them to sell Native American artifacts.
The case involves the sale of 70 artifacts from Arizona’s Hopi Tribe by the Paris auction house Néret-Minet. Hopi tribe members and historians believe that the items were illegally obtained. Representatives from Néret-Minet claim that the items were purchased legally from a collector in the United States.
A visitor looks at antique tribal masks revered as sacred ritual artifacts by a Native American tribe in Arizona which are displayed at an auction house in Paris April 11, 2013. (REUTERS/John Schults)
Following the ruling, Néret-Minet went ahead with the auction. According to The New York Times, the auction generated $1.2 million in sales (with buyer’s premiums). Five of the 70 items did not sell and not sold for less than their estimated value.
According to The New York Times:
Before starting, the auctioneer, Gilles Néret-Minet, told the crowd that the sale had been found by a judge to be perfectly legal, and that the objects were no longer sacred but had become “important works of art.” He added, “In France you cannot just up and seize the property of a person that is lawfully his.”
So let me get this straight, religious objects that are allegedly protected by the same treaties as ancient coins and United States law can be sold as “art objects” while foreign governments confront a dealer on a bourse floor while the State Department does little to protect collectors and those who have legitimate claims?
If France can do this with items of religious and cultural significance to the Hopi tribe, then will happen to the coin collecting hobby? I know some people can take their hobby seriously, but it is not religion. Most countries already have examples of the coins in question, so why are additional examples “culturally significant.” Remember, it was reported that when a dealer was approached in Baltimore by representatives of a foreign government, they were only interested in the more expensive coins and not the common coins from the same country with a lesser value.
The State Department is not doing enough to protect the American people, whether it is to protect what is really culturally significant items like the artifacts from the Hopi tribe or the abuse of international law as demonstrated by the actions of the State Department’s CPAC and the confrontation in Baltimore. This is something that must be addressed by the president!
Please take action!
I renew my request that all of my readers to go to http://wh.gov/MD2O and sign the petition. Share it on social media. I made it easy—just see the widget at the top of the right column. Petitions require 100,000 signatures in order to be answered by the White House. So far there are five signatures (THANK YOU!). Let’s see if we can motivate the coin collecting community to add more before you will not be able to own any foreign coin older than 100 years old!
A French supporter of the Indian cause, who refused to give his name, left, holds a flag of the American Indian Movement and an American exchange student, member of the Arizona’s Hopi tribe, Bo Lomahquahu, right, stand outside of the Druout’s auction house to protest the auction of Native American Hopi tribe masks in Paris, Friday, April 12, 2013. A contested auction of dozens of Native American tribal masks went ahead Friday afternoon following a Paris court ruling, in spite of appeals for a delay by the Hopi tribe, its supporters including actor Robert Redford, and the U.S. government. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Apr 14, 2013 | coins, news, other, personal
Series 1934 $1000 Federal Reserve Note
It is written as a one followed by three zeros.
In scientific notation it is written as 1 × 10³.
In the metric system, kilo- is the prefix for 1,000 of something like a kilogram is 1,000 grams or a kilometer is 1,000 meters.
A millennium is one thousand years.
One thousand days ago from today (April 14, 2013, the day this is posted) was Monday, July 19, 2010.
One thousand days from today will be Saturday, January 9, 2016. I wonder if it will snow?
“Grand” is slang for one thousand and Grover Cleveland appeared on the last one grand note produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
In Roman Numerals, one thousand is represented as “M.”
For the computer geeks, one thousand can be written as 1111101000 in binary, 01750 in octal (base 8), and 0x3E8 in hexadecimal (base 16).
If “A picture is worth a thousand words,” then what would one thousand blog posts be worth? You are reading what I never thought would occur. This is the one thousandth post to the Coin Collectors Blog!
When I started this blog on October 29, 2005, there were few websites for coin collectors. Back then, the numismatic publications were barely online and mostly as a place to subscribe to their print editions. Since starting this blog, there has been a growth in numismatic news outlets and other information. Rather than reporting the news, I moved to a little more analysis and opinion on the numismatic news of the day while keeping with other collecting information.
I like to think I started a trend but there are a lot of smart people out there with ideas of their own. I welcome them to online numismatic community.
It has been 7 years, 5 months, 16 days since my first post. I have had a lot of fun writing about my experiences, looking at the numismatic community, reporting some news, providing some analysis, and writing about whatever comes to mind. After all this time I can say that I am still having fun!
To those who have been around from the beginning, thank you for staying with me.
To those who joined since the beginning, thank you for reading.
Now onto the next 1000!
2007 Australia 1000 Dollars Lunar coins obverse
Mar 26, 2013 | ANA, news
The American Numismatic Association has posted the list of candidates for the 2013 Board of Governor elections. Although the nomination process officially concludes on March 31, all of the qualified nominated candidates have accepted their nomination. The 2013 candidates are as follows:
President
Walter Ostromecki (unopposed)
Vice President
Jeff Garrett (unopposed)
Governors (7 seats)
Gary Adkins
Scott Barman
Steve D’Ippolito
Mike Ellis
William D. Hyder
Richard Jozefiak
Greg Lyon
Tom Mulvaney
Oded Paz
Ralph Ross
Scott Rottinghaus
Laura Sperber
Jeff Swindling
Jeff Wuller
After the official close of the nomination period, the ANA will post the candidates biographies and statement on the website. They will also be printed in The Numismatist.
A candidates forum will be held on May 11, noon through 2:00 PM at the National Money Show in New Orleans. ANA members attending the show should make time to attend and make sure the candidates hear your concerns about the organization. If you are not sure whether you want to go to the National Money Show, I would recommend that you go. Aside from going to an ANA show, which is a great experience in and of itself, it is in New Orleans. New Orleans is a fun town with great sites and excellent food! I am still looking forward to a nice café au lait at Café Du Monde in the French Market!
Elections will be held during the month of June with ballots due by July 1. If you would like to vote electronically, you can go here to register for online voting.
NOTE: As I type this the ANA website is not able to process logins because of a software issue as a result of bad decisions made many years ago that does not involve the current ANA staff. I want to work to ensure that the ANA staff has better tools to support the ANA’s mission.
ALSO NOTE: Electronic balloting will be conducted by a vetted third-party with experience as an independent election auditor who has also performed online elections for other organizations. Issues and concerns with regard to the ANA website are not a factor with the online election process.
The ANA will announce election results at least 10 days prior to the World’s Fair of Money that will be held in Chicago, August 13-17, 2013. The new Board of Governors will be installed on August 16, 2013 at the show.
Your support for me and the ANA are greatly appreciated!
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