“Bank of Hades” busy during Tet
VietnamNet - 01-26-2006
VietNamNet – Hanoi’s Cot village is known as the “Bank of Hades” with vast quantities of votive money made and traded daily. Cot village in Yen Hoa ward, Cau Giay District, specializes in producing instruments and money for the afterlife. I visited the village early in the morning close to Tet, as “banking staff’ from various areas came to make transactions. .

Midale Mustangs celebrate reunion with token
Numismatic News - 01-26-2006
The Midale Mustangs Alumni Association has issued a $5 municipal trade token to commemorate its reunion. Currency value for the tokens ended Jan. 1. Produced from designs by Ken Turner, the Great Canadian Mint produced the 39mm token.

Coins to honour the Victoria Cross
ICWales - 01-26-2006
TWO new 50p coins are to be released by the Royal Mint to mark the 150th anniversary of the Victoria Cross. One coin seeks to illustrate an act of bravery and was created by sculptor Clive Duncan. "Each and every time the coins cross our palms, I would like to feel that thoughts of those who have acted so bravely will cross our mind," he said..

2006 NYINC numbers up
Numismatic News - 01-26-2006
The numbers tell the story of the success of the 2006 New York International Numismatic Convention, held Jan. 12-15 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City: A 34.5-percent increase in attendance from the previous year; a 21.6-percent increase in Early Bird attendance; and more than $15 million in auction sales..

Buying Bullion Keeps Getting Easier
Safehaven - 01-26-2006
While most investors seem satisfied using the shares of mining companies as high-beta substitutes for the metal, more and more individuals are becoming interested in owning some physical gold itself. Unfortunately, most investors don't know how best to buy and store the precious metal..

Counterfeit money discovered in Lymo fare boxes
Myrtle Beach News - 01-26-2006
A crackdown on fare fraud at Lymo has caused at least one bus rider to find a more creative and illegal way to beat the system. The mass transit agency has found three counterfeit $1 bills in its fare boxes on three separate occasions in recent weeks, according to Myers Rollins Jr., Lymo's general manager..

Rs.5 notes go out of circulation
NewKerala.com - 01-26-2006
Rs. 5 notes have become history in Pakistan. The State Bank of Pakistan stopped the circulation of the green Rs.5 noted in the middle of last year. But the big decision was not taken without informing the citizens. .

RBI Introduces Security Feature to Check Fake Note Circulation
DaijiWorld - 01-26-2006
To check forgery and circulation of counterfeit notes, the Reserve Bank of India recently introduced an "anti-xeroxing" security feature in Rs. 50, Rs. 100, Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 notes..

Austrian 'Gold Jet' May Set Japan Gold Coin Sales Flying
Yahoo Finance - 01-26-2006
TOKYO (Dow Jones)--A rather unusual plane touched down at Narita Airport earlier this month, carrying with it the potential to lift Japanese gold coin sales out of a three-year slump. The Austrian Mint has teamed up with Austrian Airlines AG (AUA.VI) to cover the fuselage of one of its Airbus A340-300 jets with a motif based on its popular Vienna Philharmonic gold coin. .

Escala Scales New Heights
MSN - 01-26-2006
Roughly two months ago, I announced that I'd be selling my shares in Escala(Nasdaq: ESCL), the leading international coin and stamp trading house, over concerns I had regarding its relationship with AfinsaBienes Tangibles, the Spanish collectibles company that happens to be Escala's majority owner..

Shipwreck hunter Clifton treasures their history
Ocean City Today - 01-27-2006
It all started when Dale Clifton found a small black disc on the beach. He rubbed it with his thumb, revealing the image of King George II. That image changed his life. “I started when I was 14 years old,” Clifton said. “I had a love for shipwrecks and wanted to find buried pirate treasure. I tell people it became a hobby, then an obsession and now it’s my career..

Know all about old money here
The Hindu - 01-27-2006
"Nanyadarshini-2006", a unique all-India exhibition of rare coins and currencies organised by the Karnataka Numismatic Society is all about old money, a peep into bygone eras and a glimpse of the economics of yore. Inaugurated on Wednesday, the exhibition will be on at Sri Basava Bhavana in High Grounds till Saturday..

Book of great price re-enters market
SMH.com - 01-27-2006
EVEN well-heeled collectors occasionally find themselves a bit short of ready cash when something special comes up. Rodney Davidson, the amiable Melbourne former solicitor who has built up a vast collection of rare Australian books, many valued at more than $100,000 apiece, relates an anecdote about his patient pursuit of one of the fabled rarities of Australian exploration - the "unpublished" first edition of Hamilton Hume and William Hovell's Journey of Discovery to Port Phillip, New South Wales of 1831..

Central Bank Gold Sales Seen Falling Short of Quota
TheBusinessOnline.com - 01-27-2006
LONDON -(Dow Jones)- European central banks are highly unlikely to sell the total 2,500 metric tons of gold permitted under the five-year Central Bank Gold Agreement, HSBC analyst Alan Williamson said Friday. Total confirmed and probable sales under the renewed agreement currently stand at 1,441 tons, of which 599 tons has already taken place and a further 842 tons are expected to take place over the balance of the agreement, Williamson said. .

Akkademja’ wants Dun Karm image on euro coin
The Independant - 01-27-2006
The Akkademja tal-Malti is encouraging the public to take part in the competition organised by the National Euro Changeover Committee to choose the three designs that will be used on the country’s euro coins. .

SBV to release polymer 10k and 20k notes
VietNamNet - 01-27-2006
The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) plans to issue polymer banknotes of VND10,000 and VND20,000, officials announced recently. Director of the SBV’s HCM City Branch Tran Ngoc Minh announced the news yesterday, January 26, declining, however, to discuss a timeframe and volume for issue..

Funds Push Silver To 19-Year High
NASDAQ - 01-27-2006
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Fund buying enabled silver futures to hit 19-year highs Thursday. Some of the move may be a "catch-up" to gains that previously had been occurring in gold, and some of the buying also continues to be the market speculating that Barclays Global Investors may win government approval to launch a silver exchange-traded fund..

Beehive doesn't belong on the Utah commemorative quarter
Salt lake Tribune - 01-29-2006
I've never been a serious collector of anything. But from the time Caesar Rodney galloped into view on the back of the Delaware quarter, I've been hooked. At first glance, I wondered why Paul Revere was on the back of the commemorative quarter for Delaware. Wasn't Revere from Massachusetts?.

Row over the £2.6bn of gold coins lost at sea
The Herald UK - 01-29-2006
A diplomatic stand-off between Britain and Spain has been triggered by salvage attempts on a shipwreck and the richest haul of sunken treasure in maritime history. The remains of HMS Sussex, an 80-gun warship which sank in a storm off the Straits of Gibraltar in 1694, lie almost half a mile down in what Madrid says are its sovereign waters and which London prefers to think of as the high seas..

Price of gold may exceed US$800 an ounce if Iran’s nuclear issue heats up
VHeadline.com - 01-29-2006
THE INTERNATIONAL FORECASTER editor Bob Chapman writes: J. P. Morgan says the price of gold may exceed US$800 an ounce if Iran’s nuclear issue heats up ... otherwise it is $600 by the end of the year. Last week the gold net long position was up only 80,000 ounces. Gold rose $12.00 again due to short covering ... the gold ETF only added 7.12 tonnes, which tells us they are short gold. .

Lucky loonie ready for centre stage
Edmounton Journal - 01-29-2006
Will the loonie be lucky again in Turin? "We won't know until after," said Trent Evans, the man who started Canada's lucky loonie legend. The coin Evans planted at centre ice of the E-Center at the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, where both the Canadian men's and women's hockey teams won gold.... .

A glittering comeback
St Petersburg Times - 01-29-2006
With gold at a 25-year high and silver close to $10 an ounce, both are showing their precious mettle. Some investors are taking notice - again. The good times are back for those ever-patient investors who put their money in metals. Gold hit a 25-year high Wednesday at $562.20 an ounce and finished the week at $558.70. Silver is approaching $10 an ounce, a level it hasn't seen since 1984. It closed Friday at $9.65 an ounce..

Russia-Belarus Union to have common currency starting from 2008
ITAR-TASS - 01-29-2006
KAZAN, January 27 (Itar-Tass) -- The Union of Russia and Belarus will have a common currency starting from January 1, 2008, representatives of the Interbank Currency Council said on Friday. They were received by Tatarstan President Mintimer Shaimiyev..

Why no women on mighty dollar
South Coast Today - 01-29-2006
In 1979, at what was the height of the so-called "women's movement" in America, a dollar coin was issued featuring the image of feminist suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony. The coin so closely resembled the 25-cent piece that detractors soon named it "Carter's quarter" after the then president. .

Fake banknote syndicate shut down
News.gov.hk - 01-29-2006
Police have shut down a counterfeit banknote manufacturing syndicate, arresting six men and seizing 24 fake notes. Since September, people, including taxi-drivers and shop owners, have told Police they received bogus notes..

A Sunken Warship Sets Off a New Mediterranean Battle
NY Times - 01-29-2006
What is probably the world's richest sunken treasure — the Sussex, a British warship that went to the bottom of the Mediterranean in 1694 with a cargo of coins now worth up to $4 billion — has become embroiled in a bitter diplomatic dispute that pits Spain against Britain, the United States and an American company that wants to salvage the wreck..

Thomas Ferguson retires as BEP director
Banknote Reporter - 01-29-2006
After 32 years at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, seven of them as its director, Thomas Ferguson retired as of Jan. 3. Ferguson became BEP director on Dec. 7, 1998. He served as deputy director in the 11 months prior to that. .

GoldenEagleCoin.com Launches Coin Collecting Tip Site at LifeTips.com
Press Release - 01-29-2006
Laurel, MD (PRWEB) January 29, 2006 -- LifeTips announces the launch of the Coin Collecting Tip Site in the LifeTips network, providing information to millions of information seekers at LifeTips.com. GoldenEagleCoin.com will become now the exclusive Coin Collecting client in the LifeTips network..

Maltese Cross, Dun Karm and St Paul in last minute push for euro coins
Independant Online - 01-29-2006
If one looks up the word Maltese in the Oxford English Dictionary, part of the definition is Maltese poodle and the following: Maltese cross – a cross with arms of equal length broadening from the centre, often indented at the ends..

Five rarities determine value of 1909-40 sets of Lincoln cents
Columbus Dispatch - 01-29-2006
Dear Mr. Stebinsky: I have seven gold coins, a trade dollar and two complete sets of Lincoln cents from 1909 through 1940. Could you give me an idea of their approximate value? - The gold coins are 1909, 1910 and 1911 $2.50; 1904 and 1909 1910-D and 1928 The trade dollar is dated 1877-S. .

Montgomery explains lack of review on 1st Noe contract
Toledo Blade - 01-29-2006
COLUMBUS - Ohio Auditor Betty Montgomery, who last week announced she was running for her old job as the state's attorney general, blamed a lack of state lawyers for why she didn't review the contract that gave GOP contributor Tom Noe the first $25 million in state money to invest in rare coins..

Larry Felix named new BEP director
Banknote Reporter - 01-29-2006
Larry R. Felix has been named director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Treasury Secretary John W. Snow made the announcement Jan. 11. .

Penny less than sum of parts
Pittsburgh Live - 01-29-2006
Your two cents might be worth more than you think. That's the case if you're holding pennies minted before 1982. For just the second time since 1793, when the U.S. government authorized the minting of one-cent coins, a penny is worth more than one cent because the price of copper has skyrocketed to historic highs..

ROYAL MINT HONOURS 150th ANNIVERSARY
Royal Mint - 01-29-2006
Today the Royal Mint is launching two new 50p coin designs in honour of the 150th anniversary of the institution of the Victoria Cross. The Royal Warrant was signed by Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace on 29th January 1856..

Time for a change: Coining a design for our money
Nevada Appeal - 01-29-2006
It began simply as a way to generate more funding for the U.S. Mint and has evolved into a phenomenon that has gained the attention of nearly every household in the country. The faces and adornments featured on American coins have been an anchor of the U.S. Mint. .

Big week for sales activity, new Mint products
Numismatic News - 01-29-2006
There’s lots of news to get to this week, so let’s not waste any time. Things are going on sale. Stuff is going off sale. It’s a madhouse here at Crazy Pete’s Mint Statistics emporium. Everything must go! It’s just too bad I can’t offer you rock-bottom prices. You’ll have to talk to the Mint about that. .

Unique numismatic literature titles in Kolbe sale
Numismatic News - 01-29-2006
Rare and out of print numismatic literature will be featured in George Frederick Kolbe/Fine Numismatic Books’ 99th sale, to be held March 9. A total of 705 lots on a great variety of topics will be offered. Catalogs may be ordered by sending $15 to Kolbe at P. O. Drawer 3100, Crestline, CA 92325 or to access the catalog free of charge, visit www.numislit.com. .

Ancient coins exempted
Numismatic News - 01-29-2006
Ancient coins will remain exempt from the import restrictions on cultural property from Italy, at least for another five years. On Jan. 19, The U.S. State Department extended existing restrictions, originally approved in 2001, on importation of certain cultural items from Italy. Coins were exempted from the original decision and it was decided to continue to do so..

Jules Reiver Collection Auction Is A Hit!
Press Release - 01-30-2006
Dallas, Texas: Heritage Auction Galleries held their Signature Auction of the Jules Reiver Collection of US Coinage on January 24-28, 2006 in their Dallas headquarters. This auction, held with no reserves, realized $8,534,146 in its nine sessions, with 2,815 total bidders participating, 654 of them successfully, for 4,642 total lots. With the On-Line Session closing on January 30, totals for this auction will climb even higher..

PCGS 2006 World Series of Coin Trading™
Press Release - 01-30-2006
(Newport Beach, California) - Have you ever wondered what you'd do with a million dollar rare coin portfolio? To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) has announced the PCGS 2006 World Series of Coin Trading™, a competition with two $10,000 top prizes. The prize money will be real, but the coin trading will be a fantasy adventure with contestants building imaginary numismatic portfolios. .

Commodities Boom Has Years to Run
Reuters UK - 01-30-2006
The boom in commodities prices still has "a good few years to run" with gold, base metals and even uranium prices among those set to climb further, the manager of a new commodity fund said in an interview. "There are great benefits to holding commodities. The bull run began in 2000 ... and there are a good few years to run on this," said Jeremy Charlesworth, Alternative Investment Strategy Director for BDO Stoy Hayward Investment Management..

All that glitters is gold
Sify.com - 01-31-2006
Gold can now be used in various forms. It is no longer a tool for hedging and speculation but a bankable asset. It can be bought from banks in form of gold coins. Investors will soon look at gold-backed exchange traded funds as tools of investment. While gold can be used a security against personal loans, banks also provide loans to buy gold. Gone are the days when a future contract was the only way to involve gold in your investment portfolio..

Thousands show up for Nevada quarter event
Las Vegas Sun - 01-31-2006
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - About 3,500 people were treated to band music, singing, a Paiute prayer, brief speeches and - for children - free, freshly minted quarters at an event Tuesday marking circulation of the first of more than 600 million "Nevada quarters.".

Money Museum Exhibit Celebrates Ben Franklin’s Influence on the Nation’s Money
ANA Press Release from Jan 26 - 01-31-2006
Ben Franklin was many things: inventor, statesman, philosopher, patriot, writer and founding father. But he also left his mark on the world of numismatics by printing money and devising ways to prevent counterfeiting.. Franklin’s impact on numismatics is reflected in a new exhibit to be displayed in the American Numismatic Association’s Money Museum lobby beginning Feb. 7. .

WILD HORSES GALLOP INTO HISTORY ON NEVADA QUARTER
US Mint Press Release - 01-31-2006
Carson City, Nevada –Wild horses on the run, sagebrush and the sun rising behind snow-capped mountains grace the Nevada commemorative quarter-dollar coin, the newest coin in the United States Mint’s popular 50 State Quarters® Program. United States Mint Acting Director David A. Lebryk, Nevada Governor Kenny C. Guinn and State Treasurer Brian K. Krolicki launched the Nevada quarter-dollar today on the steps of the State Capitol Building in Carson City..

ONE EURO BANKNOTE TO BE REVIEWED
AGI Online - 01-31-2006
The proposal that there be a one euro banknote is to be discussed further because "Europe has to change what people understand, starting with small things,". The Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti, has been proposing that there be a one euro banknote since 2001.

Ringside seat on history
StateQuarters.com - 01-31-2006
State quarter events offer collectors opportunity to participate in history Have you had a ringside seat to watch history being made? You have if you've attended one of the official launch ceremonies for any of the 35 State quarter dollars released into circulation. But you also watched history being made if you have attended one of the collectors' forums the U.S. Mint hosts. -.

Rare double eagle brings high price in Stack's auction
Coin Values - 01-31-2006
The top price, $322,000, was paid for a 1907 Saint-Gaudens, Roman Numeral, High Relief, Partial Wire Rim, Plain Edge gold $20 double eagle, in a Stack's auction of more than 3,800 lots of U.S. and Colonial coins, medals and paper money in three evening sessions Jan. 16, 17 and 18 in New York City. The sessions followed Stack's 13th auction from the John J. Ford Jr. Collection (Coin World, Feb. 6 issue)..

Reiver sale by Heritage brings out collectors
Coin Values - 01-31-2006
Demand was strong and so were prices overall in the first sessions of the auction, starting Jan. 24, of the collection formed by Jules Reiver. Reiver spent about 70 years forming his collection before he died in February 2004. He focused on copper and silver coins issued between 1793 and 1839, collecting by die varieties and die states, amassing more than 5,000 significant issues. Experts agree this collection will never be duplicated in scope. Some collectors may be able to duplicate this feat in individual series, but not in all the many series Reiver collected..

PCGS January 2006 Grading Summit Video Now Available
PCGS - 01-31-2006
On Friday, January 6, 2006, PCGS hosted a luncheon at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando, Florida, for PCGS Set Registry members, PCGS Collectors Club members, and PCGS Authorized Dealers. Six nationally recognized numismatists participated in a panel discussion about the history of grading, the grading scale, and the future of grading which also included a discussion on whether or not the rare coin market should adopt a 100-point grading scale..

Gold Rises as Investors Buy for Haven on Middle East Concern
Bloomberg - 01-31-2006
Jan. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Gold prices rose in Asia to a 25- year high as some investors bought the bullion as a haven amid concern about Iran's nuclear program and the incoming Hamas-led Palestinian government..

Test your knowledge of the Federal Reserve
BusinessWeek - 01-31-2006
How much Federal Reserve trivia do you know? 1. What year did Congress establish the Federal Reserve? A: 1935 B: 1860 C: 1913 - (Correct answer is C) Congress passed the Federal Reserve Act in 1913, which created the Federal Reserve -- the central bank of the United States. The legislation was signed into law by President Wilson on Dec. 23, 1913 .

Priyamvada idols coins for Diwali worship only
The Stateman - 01-31-2006
The five gold coins and the two gold idols given by Priyamvada Birla to Mrs KK Birla for puja purposes would be wor shipped where the latter had done so provided she was willing, Mr Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sengupta of Calcutta High Court held today. Mrs KK Birla, in possession of the coins and idols as their custodian would.

Give to Caesar what is Caesar's
Malta Times - 01-31-2006
Since the euro or ewro committee publicised the various images that have been proposed to be placed on the euro coin and put them up for public voting, a number of e-mails have come my way urging me to vote for the image of the statue of the Baptism of Christ that is found behind the main altar of St John's Cathedral. In a nutshell, whoever came up with the bright idea is under the impression that by placing an image of Christ on the euro coin we Maltese would be "voting Christ back into Europe"!.

Gold coin found after donor's note
Pantagraph.com - 01-31-2006
BLOOMINGTON -- A clue has surfaced about the identity of the person who leaves a single 1-ounce gold coin in the red kettles of the Salvation Army of McLean County every Christmas. He or she reads The Pantagraph..

RBI to issue new Rs 50 currency notes
WebIndia - 01-31-2006
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will soon issue Rs 50 denomination notes with the picture of Mahatma Gandhi and inset letter ''R'' in both numbering panels, bearing the signature of Dr Y V Reddy, Governor..

CBN to Redesign Naira
AllAfrica.com - 01-31-2006
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is planning to redesign the nation's currency, the Naira, this year, in an exercise that may lead to the introduction of more coins and polymer notes among the denominations of the naira..

Baptism of Christ and national emblem most voted for euro
Malta Today - 01-31-2006
Religion and the nation are predictably expected to be represented on Malta’s euro coins as most of the people have opted for the Baptism of Christ and Malta’s coat of arms in the dozen thousand votes cast by SMS until late last week..

Bank Note Clinic: Steer roping depicted on Canadian issue
Banknote Reporter - 01-31-2006
I’ve heard of some bills called “rodeo bank notes.” What can you tell me about them? - There are at least two Canadian bank notes that fall into this classification. The Union Bank of Canada, Quebec branch, issued $10 notes in 1903 and 1907 depicting a cowboy roping a steer..

Littleton creates folder for $1 Presidential coins
Numismatic News - 01-31-2006
Littleton Coin Company has created a new collectors’ folder for the new series of $1 Presidential coins. On Dec. 22, 2005, George W. Bush signed into law the Presidential $1 Coin Act. The series will begin in January 2007 and will feature $1 coins depicting the image of a U.S. president in order of their tenure..

New book studies 1894-S dime
Numismatic News - 01-31-2006
In 1894, only 24 dimes were struck at the San Francisco Mint. That makes them the lowest regular-issue business strike for a U.S. Mint. Now, the story of the coins is detailed in a book entitled The 1894-S Dime, A Mystery Unraveled by Kevin Flynn..