By John Browne for the Pittsburgh Tribune Review

In 2003, a bottle of 1785 Chateau d’Yquem once belonging to Thomas Jefferson was sold in London for $56,588, making it the most expensive bottle of white wine and earning d’Yquem the title of “Liquid Gold.”

What more fitting wine for a toast to the alluring yellow metal that has fascinated humankind for most of recorded time?

Why is it now an appropriate time to drink to gold? Because gold is possibly near to shaking-off a sustained and coordinated attack on its monetary credibility by some of the world’s most powerful central banks. Investors could win back an asset that offers protection against the financial abuse of governments.

Most wines are priced as commodities on the basis of quality, supply and demand. Others, undrinkable, such as the 200-year-old d’Yquem, are sold as collectors items or investments.

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By KAREN W. ARENSON for the NY Times

When Stanley J. Seeger gave Princeton $2 million for Hellenic studies nearly three decades ago, the gift’s income paid for two courses in modern Greek and trips to Greece for five.

But the Seeger money, which must be spent only on matters Greek, is now worth $33 million, multiplying through aggressive investing like the rest of Princeton’s endowment. So the university offers Greek, Greek and more Greek — 13 courses this semester, including “The Image of Greece in European Cinema” and “Problems in Greek History: Greek Democracy,” as well as trips to Greece and nearby areas for more than 90 students and faculty members last year. The history department recently hired its second Byzantine specialist. And the fund paid half the cost of a collection of 800 rare coins from medieval Greece.

“Institutions do get shaped by the interests of donors,” said Robert K. Durkee, vice president and secretary of Princeton.

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BY ERIC HERMAN Criminal Courts Reporter for the Sun Times

More than a year after the son of a Niles jewelry and coin dealer was shot dead in the dealer’s home, prosecutors have charged a Chicago man with the crime.

Frank Limardo, 25, faces first-degree murder and home-invasion charges in the slaying of Michael Childers, 28, during a robbery attempt on Feb. 21, 2007.

“We expect the evidence to show it was a home invasion, and that during the course of the struggle the victim was shot three times,” said Assistant State’s Attorney Diann Sheridan.

At a hearing Thursday, Judge Consuelo Bedoya-Witt set Limardo’s bond at $2 million.

Prosecutors say Limardo, of the 5700 block of West Wellington, went to the home of Leonard Bird — Childers’ father — armed with a handgun. During a struggle between Limbardo and Childers, Bird heard a voice yell, “Where’s the safe?” Sheridan said.

Limardo then allegedly fled to a van waiting in a cul de sac, where another person drove him away. A witness identified the van, Sheridan said. Read Full Sun Times Article

by Tom Butenhoff for the Action Advertiser

Have you noticed the new five-dollar bills? They’re circulating now, and they are a little different, thanks to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

The National Bureau of Engraving and Printing was established back on August 29, 1862. It was started in a single room in the basement of the main treasury building where two men and four women separated and sealed by hand one- and two-dollar United States notes, which had been printed by private bank note companies.

Today, there are approximately 25,000 employees who work out of two buildings in Washington, DC, and at a new facility located in Forth Worth, TX. The official opening of the western currency facility took place on April 26, 1991.

Electric lighting came to the bureau in 1888. Along with the nation’s currency, the bureau took over the printing of all revenue stamps in 1876 and began printing postage stamps in 1894. During World War II, the bureau over printed stocks of regular currency notes with distinguishing identification for use in the Hawaiian Islands.

The Bureau of Engraving and Printing has printed currency for the governments of the Republic of Cuba (1934), Siam (1945), Korea (1947), and the Philippines (1928).

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