Celebrated visual artist Romeo Mananquil, who migrated to Canada two decades ago, has an ax to grind with the central bank, for which he designed (together with two other Filipino artists) a series of banknotes and coins during the 1980s.

Our sources say Mananquil (who is identified with the flora and fauna coin series) was upset after recently finding out that his design for the now-demonetized P5 note—the green one that depicts Emilio Aguinaldo hoisting the Philippine flag in Kawit, Cavite—was used by the central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, or BSP, for the P100,000 centennial notes printed in 1999—allegedly without his consent and with some alteration.

Only 1,000 of these notes were issued in 1998 to commemorate the Centennial of Independence from more than 300 years of Spanish colonial rule. The notes were intended for collectors. The initial offering price was 180,000 Piso ($4175), substantially higher than the face value.

The 100,000 Piso note, measuring 356mm x 216mm (about the size of a legal page), is accredited by the Guinness World Records as the world’s largest legal tender note in terms of size.

Mananquil has sent his lawyers to assert his legal rights over the artwork, lamenting its “economic exploitation.”

Its lawyers argue that the central bank is considered as a co-owner of the artwork and therefore has the right to use it with or without the artist’s permission.

The artist’s lawyers recently wrote the Monetary Board, the policymaking body of the BSP, to appeal his case. Will this debate over intellectual property rights erupt into a courtroom battle?

On September 24, 2008, Stack’s will present the Autumn Sale, a diverse offering of U.S. coins that features selections from the Bunting, the M.N. Davis, and the Frank Ford, Jr. collections. Beginning at 1:00 pm in Stack’s own auction gallery at 110 West 57th Street in New York City, the Autumn Sale could be rightly termed a “collector’s sale,” for it offers many exciting rarities that are supported by a broad base of high quality, more mainstream coins.

Colonial and early American coins lead off our sale in the traditional fashion and take us straight into early Federal issues. Notable among these coins is a solid example of a 1793 half cent in VF-20 (PCGS). A well-loved rarity, the 1793 half cent has always been heavily pursued by collectors; the present coin is an excellent example that will fit nicely into any serious half cent collection. Minor coinage continues to impress, with a beautiful 1865 silver 3¢ piece graded Proof-67 by NGC. With only one coin certified as finer by NGC, this example is likely one of the finest known examples on the market today.

U.S. half dimes and dimes offer an admirable selection of coins to choose from, including a 1795 half dime in MS-62 (PCGS), as well as a fabulous 1921-D Mercury dime graded MS-67 FB by NGC. With no coins certified finer by NGC, and no examples certified finer than MS-66 FB by PCGS, this coin represents the utmost in quality and is certainly among the finest survivors of the series. Quarters and half dollars also provide the bidder with good opportunities to acquire major U.S. rarities, as well as the chance to add some more affordable coins to your collection. Highlights here include a richly toned Ex Ashland City 1846 Proof quarter graded Proof-65 (NGC) and a rare 1874-CC Arrows half dollar graded AU-58 (PCGS) (CAC), in addition to the splendid variety of early half dollars offered in between.

Silver dollars will surely be a source of much bidding activity, with an outstanding selection of nice (and affordable!) early dollars offered in the lower grades, punctuated by many high-grade pieces like a 1797 B-1 Draped Bust dollar in AU-55 (PCGS) and a 1799/8 15 Stars Reverse specimen in MS-61 (NGC). Also to note is an exceptional 1803 B-5 dollar graded MS-63 by NGC, a coin that is among the top survivors of both the date and die variety. (more…)

Banks Crumble, Wait for Physical Bullion Gets Longer
By Patrick A. Heller, Market Update
What has happened to the U.S. dollar, stocks and precious metals markets in the past week has followed almost exactly the script I wrote seven days ago. There has been so much media coverage that I won’t repeat all the details here.
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Live Long and Prosper With Gold Coins from Perth
By Kerry Rodgers, World Coin News
The human mind is a wondrous thing. My first sighting of a matched set of gold coins issued by Perth Mint in July brought immediate recall of Mr. Spock’s salutation from Star Trek. The images displayed on Perth’s coins may be tried and true traditional Chinese, yet they embody the same sentiments and philosophy implicit in that celebrated Vulcan greeting.
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The Laredo Collection of Numismatic Masterpieces
Collector News - Heritage Galleries
One of the more intriguing collections featured in our upcoming September Long Beach, CA US Coin Signature Auction, September 17-21, is the Laredo Collection. An eclectic holding of numismatic masterpieces, this small but important collection reflects the interests of a collector who chose not to specialize, but rather to buy beauty and rarity when they most appealed to him.
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Shell cards serve several purposes after Civil War’s end
By By Paul Gilkes - COIN WORLD
A year before the Civil War ended, diesinkers and manufacturers of that period’s patriotic tokens and store cards found themselves with less business because of an April 1864 act that essentially banned the issuance of the cent-size emergency money substitutes. The firms found a new vehicle and a legal alternative to the cent-sized tokens in the form of American store cards referred to as shell cards.
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COUNTERFEIT COIN NEWSLETTER
by Robert Matthews
This edition of the newsletter sees the introduction of “MY COIN DIARY”. This is an attempt to introduce a more informal and personal section that allows brief items to be mentioned that are more coin than counterfeit coin related. It is hoped it will gradually take on the tone of some of the better blogs.
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What are Presidential Oath Dollars?
By Coin Blog.org
It’s a question a lot of people seem to want to figure out lately. Earlier this month, the Home Shopping Network offered a small number of these coins for $79.95. They reportedly sold out in 30 minutes creating a lot of excitement. This post will summarize some of the information available on the coins.
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Spink has announced the sale of the famous Number Eight £1,000,000 note. It is believed that only two notes of this high denomination exist in the world today, the other numbered 000007.

The million pound note was issued in connection with the Marshall Aid Plan after World War II and was intended for internal use as ‘records of movement,’ for a period of six weeks only. It is believed that nine examples were produced and only two, Numbers Seven and Eight, survived.

The two notes were given as mementoes to the respective U.S. and U.K. Treasury Secretaries. The Number Seven was first sold in 1977 and is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as being the highest denomination note in private hands.

The 8-inch-wide green banknote, numbered 000008, was issued by the Bank of England on Aug. 30, 1948, in connection with the Marshall Aid Plan in the aftermath of World War II. It bears the signature of E. E. Bridges in the lower right hand corner and is cancelled over the signature and stamped 6 October 1948, Bank of England.  Spink’s  said the defunct note, entered for sale by the U.K.-based banknote collector Bill Parkinson, may fetch 35,000 pounds to 40,000 pounds at its Oct. 1 sale of world banknotes.

“This is the highest denomination of banknote we’ve ever sold,” said Barnaby Faull, director of banknotes at Spink. “There are hyperinflation Weimar-period notes for 10 billion marks, but they would only have bought a cup of coffee.” (more…)

Shipwreck seeking robot diving for dubloons
By ElectricPig.com - UK
Taking a piggyback on its ship the Odyssey our robotic underwater search machine transports itself to shipwreck sites of old to seek out the booty thats sunk to the bottom of the briny.
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Early Proof Prices Soar
By Mark Ferguson - COIN VALUES
Many collectors are concentrating on obtaining high-grade modern Proof coins, mainly in the Proof 69 and 70 grades for registry sets or just to have near-perfect or perfect coins. Other collectors, however, have been seeking earlier Proof coins from the 19th and 20th centuries.
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Family Helps Bring Coin Board Titan to Life
By David W. Lange - Numismatic News
Last year I wrote an article for Numismatic News (Aug. 7, 2007) which told the story of Joseph Oberwise, a Los Angeles coin dealer and publisher of coin board premium cards during the 1930s and 1940s. Actually, it would be more correct to say that I described what little was known of him at the time. This wasn’t much, consisting mostly of what could be gleaned from federal census records, city directories, old newspapers and his advertisements in numismatic publications.
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Bank Notes of Kuwait Detailed
By Bank Note Reporter
The History of Banknotes in Kuwait by Basem Mohamed Al-Ibrahim, this year’s winner of the International Bank Note Society’s Book of the Year Award, is a fine example of how to make a lot out of a little.
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1999-W 1/10th Eagle $5.00 Gold Matte Finish - Error or Variety?
by Ken Potter - NLG
Some time ago a fellow sent in an error-variety coin with some very interesting questions. He said: “I have a 1999-W $5.00 Gold 1/10th Eagle that was struck by the Mint with an Uncirculated Matte Finish instead of the intended Proof finish for the West Point issue. Is this an error or variety — the grading service states it’s an error? Also, why is it referred to by the grading service as struck with “Unfinished Proof Die” when the die has clearly been “finished” albeit the wrong finish?
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In Defense of Gold
By Christopher Barker - Motley Fool
After recently watching so many courageous athletes give their all to the pursuit of Olympic gold, I simply must defend the honor of this legendary precious metal. I think I actually spoke aloud to myself as I read this recent article by my Foolish colleague Nick Kapur.
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Design of Puerto Rico at issue
By David L. Ganz - Numismatic News
With a choice of two designs, there is an attempt in Puerto Rico to make a third choice for its territorial quarter. With literally days to go before its 2009 territorial quarter design has to be finalized to go before the Commission of Fine Arts and the Citizens Coin Advisory Committee
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