The American Numismatic Association’s School of Numismatics is coming to the Whitman Baltimore Coin and Currency Convention, Nov. 16-18. The ANA will offer two courses of great value and interest to collectors: Understanding Die Varieties and Coin Collecting 101. “The Association is always looking for new ways to introduce people to the world of coin collecting, and Coin Collecting 101 is a wonderful place to start. Our Understanding Die Varieties course can help numismatists enhance their abilities and collect with confidence,” ANA Acting Executive Director Ken Hallenbeck said.

Designed for the novice or the expert, Understanding Die Varieties focuses on the four major divisions of die varieties for 20th century U.S. coinage: design changes, mintmark styles, doubled dies and repunched mintmarks. Instructor James Wiles, author of The Modern Minting Process and U.S. Minting Errors and Varieties: An ANA Correspondence Course, will give presentations in each area including explanations of the origins, major identifying features, cataloging systems and rarities for the “cherrypicker.” Walk away with new knowledge and a fresh enthusiasm for collecting die varieties. The class will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 17 at the Baltimore Convention Center, Charles Street Entrance, Hall C, South Show Office.
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BRITISH police say Ross Cowie is the audacious frontman of a counterfeit gang that sought to defraud the Bank of England out of $64 billion.

His Australian family says the 62-year-old grandfather is a patsy.

“That’s the word we’ve been bandying about,” his daughter Tiffany Cowie said yesterday. “In any business relationship, if you’re performing contracted work for other people, it’s a situation where you have to take the word of people you’re associating with.”

In this instance, Cowie’s associates and fellow defendants are five Chinese nationals - and a New Zealander still at large. It’s not disputed Cowie was their point man.

The question to be settled over the next six weeks in Southwark Crown Court is whether or not Cowie was suckered into believing a story so crazy it could never, as it turned out, be true. To wit, six Chinese people, aged between 109 and 116 years, had been hoarding £28billion from pre-Communist days. They had decided to exchange the money for modern notes and share it among their offspring.

The yarn goes from quirky to quackery with claims that the cash included a small mountain of £1000 notes, which were in circulation until 1943 - and only 63 are said to remain outside the bank’s vaults - and the inclusion of hundreds of special issue £500,000 notes that, in fact, never existed. Read Full Article

KEOKUK — The coins and paper currency spread along the display tables at the River City Mall Saturday came in all shapes and sizes.

Double-sized dollar bills from the 1920s required a double-take just to make sure they were real, and brightly colored paper money originating in every country from Japan to Brazil looked like Monopoly bills to the untrained eye.

But all the money at the Keokuk Coin Club and Hobby Show had one thing in common. Every red (and non-red) cent is a piece of history. “It’s a piece of history you can hold in your hands,” said Keokuk Coin Club member Keith Bruns.

Bruns’ most prized piece of money is a $3 bill from 1857 that was issued by the city of Keokuk. Unlike the predictable designs of modern money, the art on the back showcases a couple of men, one on a horse, overlooking a river. Read Full Story

After unveiling its own “currency” bearing Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul’s likeness this year, The Liberty Dollar of Evansville, Ind., an “alternative” mint that has tried to print its own money to compete with the U.S. dollar, has now minted coins that advocate an end to the war in Iraq.

The Liberty Dollar made its name minting coins pegged to commodity prices. It has now released the 2008 Peace Dollar, with a face value of 10 Liberty Dollars and containing a half-ounce of pure silver.

The $20 Ron Paul Dollar was minted in support of the Republican presidential candidate, who has ridden a wave of Internet buzz to increased prominence. Also available are $1,000 gold denominations. Read Full Story

The Collectors Society has won The Web Marketing Association’s Standard of Excellence WebAward in the category of On-line Community. Now in its 11th year, the Web Marketing Association’s WebAwards are the premier annual website awards competition, naming the best Web sites across 96 industries.

Entries in the competition go head to head with other sites in their industry category, and are judged on seven criteria including design, innovation, content, technology, interactivity, copywriting and ease of use. Sites are ranked for each criterion on a scale of 0-10 points.

For scoring above the average in their category at 55 total points, Collectors Society was awarded a 2007 WebAward Standard of Excellence, taking their place in the winner’s circle. Contest judges noted “Good use of color to create a clean environment. Interesting use of navigation menus with several horizontal menus stacked near the top of the page. Information is suitable for the target audience. Solid site.” (more…)