A Canadian oceanographer who discovered what may be the richest shipwreck treasure in history [The Black Swan] has agreed to pay US$216,355 in an insider-trading settlement with U.S. government regulators.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced a civil settlement Thursday with Ernesto Tapanes, an oceanographic consultant after accusing him of illegally profiting from his find.

In March, he discovered a wreck, code-named Black Swan, for Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. as he surveyed off the coast of Gibraltar. The company revealed the Atlantic Ocean discovery of 500,000 colonial-era silver coins, estimated to be worth up to $500 million May 18.

In a civil suit, the SEC alleged in the weeks before the announcement, Tapanes used his inside knowledge of the find when he bought buy 42,000 shares of company stock. Odyssey Marine shares soared nearly 81 per cent on May 18 to $8.32 apiece. Tapanes then sold the stock, reaping a profit of $107,102. Read Full Story

Diane Wolf, who died January 10, was a philanthropist based in Manhattan and Washington, D.C., who once made headlines for masterminding a plan to resign America’s currency.

Wolf died at 53 during a medical procedure at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, her family said.

While serving as a presidential appointee of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts in the 1980s, Wolf became an advocate for redesigning the nation’s coinage. “The designs are nice, but they’re dull and outdated,” she told the Los Angeles Times at the time. Read Full Story

A Central Ohio customer of SIMCO Numismatics, who wishes to remain anonymous, was burglarized a few days before Christmas. The large in-house safe was removed intact. In addition to cash, a substantial amount of jewelry, numerous coins, (some very rare and unique), were stolen. A partial listing includes:

Date Denom. Grading Svc. Grade Cert #

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THE CORE NUMISMATIC LIBRARY OF DR. DANIEL LEONCE KOPPERSMITH:
KEY WORKS ON ARCHAIC & CLASSICAL GREEK COINS AND KINDRED TOPICS

On March 20, 2008 George Frederick Kolbe/Fine Numismatic Books will sell at auction the core numismatic library of Dr. Dan Koppersmith. Beyond the dazzling array of standard references and often rare specialized die-studies in the library, perhaps the most remarkable thing about it is the uniformly superb condition of the contents. The library is perhaps best described by the collector, who writes in the introduction to the sale:

“My library has been carefully and thoughtfully assembled over the past fifteen years. In my opinion, it contains all the important references for Archaic and Classical Greek Coins, including every Sylloge Nummorum Graecorum produced to recent date. Condition is generally exceptional, as worn copies have been replaced. (more…)