Leading think-tank the Fabian Society is calling for a greater public involvement in deciding who should appear on British banknotes and how they can reflect the diversity of modern Britain. The debate was kicked off by leading historian of Britishness Linda Colley, who asks "Why are the people on British bank notes always white? Why not have Olaudah Equiano, the great 18th century anti-slavery writer and big enlightenment figure on a note? Or the first Indian MP? We had Indian MPs here in the nineteenth, but most people don’t know about it" in an interview on identity and citizenship for the Fabian Review Britishness Issue, published on Tuesday 20th December, to preview the Fabian Society’s Future of Britishness conference with Chancellor Gordon Brown on Saturday January 14th.

AN. 13 10:40 A.M. ET Seizures of counterfeit euro coins went up almost 30 percent last year, the European Commission said Friday. Some 95,959 one-euro, two-euro and 50-cent pieces were taken out of circulation compared with 74,564 the previous year. However, the coin seizures don't come close to the number of fake bank notes -- even though fewer were found this year. The European Central Bank said 579,000 were withdrawn in 2005, less than the 594,000 seized in 2004.

THE spot price of platinum on Friday climbed to a fresh 25-and-three-quarter-year high of $1,027.50 a troy ounce on fund buying of the metal due to its tight fundamentals. At 11:00am, platinum was quoted at $1,027.50/oz, up $5/oz from the metal’s previous close. Platinum had moved higher on buying on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange (Tocom), with the market proving to be very bullish, UK-based TheBullionDesk.com analyst James Moore said. The metal has moved through the $1,020/oz level, where there was some chart congestion, he added.

WASHINGTON – Pouring hundreds of shiny, new 2006 nickels from a silver goblet designed by President Thomas Jefferson, officials at the United States Mint launched into circulation today the Nation’s first circulating coin that features the image of a United States President facing forward. The Nation’s coinage has depicted profiles of presidents for nearly a century. This new image of President Thomas Jefferson is based on a Rembrandt Peale portrait of Jefferson, painted in 1800.

The United States Government today released the inter-agency U.S. Money Laundering Threat Assessment (MLTA), the first government-wide analysis of its kind, which investigates money laundering vulnerabilities across a spectrum of techniques used by criminals. "Before you can effectively treat a problem, you must first have an accurate diagnosis. The Money Laundering Threat Assessment integrates information contributed by sixteen government agencies, as well as vital Bank Secrecy Act data provided to Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to evaluate the range of current and emerging U.S. money laundering threats," said Stuart Levey, Treasury's Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI).

Numismatic museum cashes in on currency - COLORADO SPRINGS - Like the song says, "Money makes the world go ’round." And that’s not just financially speaking. Money provides an artistic, cultural and historical record of a nation and its people. And at the American Numismatic Association Money Museum here, visitors can explore the many ways that money has influenced us, and been influenced by us, through the ages.Located in the shadow of Pikes Peak, the ANA Money Museum is a literal treasure-trove of rare and unusual coins, paper currency, medals, tokens and exonumia (a fancy term for numismatic materials other than coins and paper money) dating from ancient times to the present.

Tension between the leadership and the membership of the American Numismatic Association was apparent at a special forum held Jan. 6 in conjunction with the Florida United Numismatists convention. Titled, “Where is the ANA Going, Why are We Changing and What Does it Mean to You?” the one-hour seminar featured President Bill Horton and Executive Director Chris Cipoletti facing a room packed with approximately 130 concerned members. Cipoletti made a presentation telling members that the organization is expanding its educational role by starting to make its library and collections more accessible by putting books and images online. Also, there will be more seminars around the country and an expansion of the Summer Seminar. The museum will also develop a traveling exhibit schedule.

SHAH ALAM: Playing on the Chinese fondness for good luck, the Royal Mint International launched its 2006 series yesterday – cleverly pricing its products at feel good prices containing the favourite digit eight, a number sounding like the word fatt (prosper) in Cantonese. At RM18, one can buy the single ingot on a pewter stand. Add another RM50 to get a single gold plated coin featuring a dog. On the higher end, there is the 18-piece ingot in a rosewood box priced at RM188 and the set of 12 Chinese lunar series at RM238.

We’re going to have a great year in numismatics if the Florida United Numismatists convention is any guide. This first major show of the new year was held Jan. 5-8 in Orlando, its traditional home. I had a great time. I met a lot of interesting people, including regular readers of this column. One reader, Conan Popovich, even had his wife snap my photograph with him and with Cliff Mishler. He e-mailed me a copy. Thanks! This occurred following a meeting of the Sarasota Coin Club that was held Saturday afternoon in conjunction with the show. The members took a chartered bus to attend. They are truly committed hobbyists.

To buy or not buy? That's a question for Chinese foreign exchange authorities. They have been urged to expand gold reserve since the Renminbi appreciation, but the decision is hard to make since the gold prices are rocketing. Some economists have been appealing to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange to expand China's gold reserve after the Renminbi appreciation in a bid to reduce the country's reliance on the greenback. But others believe it's not a proper time to buy gold at such high prices. The State Administration of Foreign Exchange did not let out their voice, but folk economists have been prompting them to take actions.

2005 was a banner year for Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers, with the company reporting $477,802,341 in sales.Heritage officials say it was by far the best overall year in its history “This was an exceptional year, right from the very beginning,” said Greg Rohan, president of HG&A. “We started the year with a record-breaking auction at the Florida United Numismatists convention – over $61 million, making it the biggest coin and currency auction ever held – and went on to break record after record as the year progressed.” A hot currency market helped Heritage.

American Numismatic Rarities LLC realized $5,000,250.60 in an offering of about 1,300 U.S. lots Jan. 3 in Orlando, Fla., prior to the Florida United Numismatists convention in the same city. More than 100 lots of patterns and dies trials drew strong bids, according to ANR, although many fell short of reserve prices. The attention reflects an increasing demand since recent revision of the standard reference by J. Hewitt Judd and inclusion of selected listings in A Guide Book of United States Coins, according to ANR.

Safe Haven -How does one reconcile the powerful Santa Claus rallies that are underway on global equity markets, while the gold market is simultaneously enjoying its greatest bull market in 25-years? Gold is not just moving swiftly higher against the US dollar. Gold has more than doubled in Japanese yen terms from 5-years ago, to stand at 64,000 yen per ounce, its highest in 18-years. Against the Euro, gold is trading at 460 Euros per ounce, an all time high, and 32% higher from just four month ago.

The cultural diversity of the EU is reflected in a conflict over how the common currency should be spelt, with new members objecting to the existing spelling - Frankfurt: You say euro, we say eiro — Latvia is thumbing its nose at the European Central Bank (ECB) and insisting on using a different spelling for the European single currency. Government ministers last week voted to spell the euro, which Latvia hopes to adopt in 2008, the “eiro” in national law and translations of European Union law, although banknotes and coins would carry the “euro” spelling.

TORONTO -- Fakery-plagued Sir Wilfrid Laurier will be getting his stripes on the $5 bill later this year. And in confirming security upgrades for the last of its "Canadian Journey" notes, Bank of Canada spokeswoman Monica Lamoureux said yesterday that current versions will be pulled from circulation "within a one-year period. "As technology improves, our ability to improve our security features improves, but at the same time counterfeiters have access to new technology," she said.

Instituted by Queen Victoria in 1856, a total 1,351 Victoria Crosses have been awarded to British and Commonwealth military forces. Ninety-four of them have been awarded to Canadians - 8 for acts of bravery carried out prior to and during the South African War (1899-1902); 70 during the First World War (1914-1918); and 16 during the Second World War (1939-1945). MADE WITH 99.99% PURE SILVER

A Silver Legend: The Story of the Maria Theresa Thaler - At Talh market in northern Yemen, I once watched an old man pay for a fresh clip of Kalashnikov ammunition with some weighty silver coins. Neither Yemeni or Saudi riyals, these reassuringly hefty discs were date-stamped 1780 and bore the image of a large busty woman on one side, an impressively feathery eagle on the other. They were silver dollars of the Austro-Hungarian empire and the woman was Maria Theresa, empress from 1740 to 1780.Despite generous offers from the market-trader to sell me various machine guns, bazookas and even a tank ("only two days to deliver!"), I bought the money from him instead, paying a small premium to avoid some obvious forgeries.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) Tuesday unveiled the design of a new 1,000-won banknote with new features designed to stem forgery. The collar of the new note will change from the current reddish violet to blue and its size will be smaller than the old one. The new bill is 13.6 centimeters long and 6.8 centimeters wide; 6 millimeters smaller than the new 5,000-won bill in width and exactly the same in length.

OTTAWA, Ontario, January 18, 2006 –The Royal Canadian Mint is proud to issue Canada’s newest circulation coin, the 2006 Lucky Loonie. This one-dollar coin, which features the familiar loon in flight along with the official emblem of the Canadian Olympic Team, will serve as a good luck charm for Canadian athletes competing at the 2006 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. The Royal Canadian Mint has provided each member of the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic teams with a Lucky Loonie

Air warfare was a new phenomenon during World War I, when the army created flying squadrons and manned them with volunteer pilots from every walk of civilian life. As the legend goes, one Ivy Leaguer, a wealthy lieutenant, ordered small, solid-bronze medallions (or coins) struck, which he then presented to the other pilots in his squadron as mementos of their service together. The coin was gold-plated, bore the squadron's insignia, and was quite valuable. One of the pilots in the squadron, who had never owned anything like the coin, placed it in a leather pouch he wore around his neck for safekeeping.

VANCOUVER, Jan. 18 /CNW/ - Pan American Silver Corp. (PAAS: NASDAQ; PAA: TSX) is pleased to announce that as of today, more than 500,000 ounces of Pan American silver coins and bars have been sold by the Northwest Territorial Mint since sales began April 26, 2005. The line of bullion products, each featuring Pan American's trademark "silver hammer", comprise .999 pure silver rounds and bars in one, five and ten ounce weights using silver supplied from Pan American's La Colorada mine in Mexico.