(Mandeville, Louisiana) – Nationally-known rare coin dealer Paul Hollis, 36, of Mandeville, Louisiana will formally announce his candidacy for the Republican Party’s nomination for the United States Senate on May 12. A number of prominent numismatists are on his campaign committee, such as John Albanese, Jeff Garrett, Paul Montgomery and Douglas Winter.

Hollis began collecting coins at the age of six after receiving a Peace dollar from his grandmother. In recent years, millions of viewers watched him on air when he hosted “The Coin Vault” television program on the Shop at Home network, and he also is known by many collectors and dealers from his earlier work as chief numismatist at Blanchard and Company in New Orleans.

A political science graduate of Louisiana State University, he is the owner of Paul Hollis Rare Coins in Mandeville, Louisiana. In addition to rare U.S. numismatic items, he specializes in ancient coins that circulated during the lifetime of Jesus Christ.

“Paul has the utmost integrity. He will bring enthusiasm and knowledge to the job,” said Winter.

Hollis is the son of former Louisiana State Senator Ken Hollis of Metairie and is a fiscal and social conservative who will run to the right of the only other announced Republican candidate, State Treasurer John Kennedy, a perennial candidate for office.

He will focus on his 18 year history in the Republican Party and contrast that with Kennedy’s recent conversion to the party within the last eight months. In addition, he said he will remind voters that “Kennedy ran for the U.S. Senate in 2004 as a liberal Democrat” and finished third. He intends to personally invest in the campaign and says he has “the ability to raise significant funds from his contacts across the state and the country.” (more…)

Ask Baby Boomer collectors how they got started collecting coins and there’s a strong chance many began by filling holes in blue Whitman coin folders with coins pulled from circulation.

The multiple dates and Mint marks in the holders encouraged many beginning collectors to avidly search their pocket change.

Many of today’s hobbyists, whether neophytes or collectors of long standing, still opt for coin storage boards, whether they are single-board, open space holders; tri-folds; multipage albums with sliding window covers, or something similar.

Coin World’s parent company, Amos Press Inc., through its Amos Advantage program for hobbyists, offers a wide range of coin folders and albums from a number of manufacturers.

Some of these manufacturers, as well as designated distributors, also advertise their products in Coin World.

Advantages, disadvantages

Each coin board, folder or album has its own set of advantages or disadvantages in storage and preservation, depending on the condition and value of the coins that an individual collector may choose to place in them and the composition of the storage medium.

Evolution

In Coin Collecting Boards of the 1930s and 1940s: A Complete History, Catalog and Value Guide, David W. Lange traces the genesis of coin boards from the first board created in 1934 by J.K. Post, who subsequently contracted for their printing with Whitman Publishing.

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Amid glitz and the glamour Bushmills Distillery was put on the world stage April 22nd - by the Bank of Ireland.

In case anyone was unaware of the world famous Bushmills, the Bank of Ireland’s Governor came to Belfast to honour his favourite whiskey.

From yesterday a new Bank of Ireland £5 note bears a picture of the famous distillery with new £10 and £20 notes to follow next month.

Yesterday — in scenes reminiscent of Hollywood — the Bank of Ireland unveiled its series of new notes with a blaze of publicity.

Huge outdoor screens beamed the launch onto the bank’s HQ stopping hundreds of shoppers in their tracks.

The Bank of Ireland’s governor Richard Burrows said it was a special moment for him as back in 1972 he spent four years as the managing director of Bushmills Distillery.

He said: “I spent some very happy years on the North coast of Antrim and today we are celebrating the 400th anniversary of Bushmills Distillery.”

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According to Merriam-Webster:

schol·ar, pronunciation: \’skä-l?r\ is:

1: a person who attends a school or studies under a teacher: pupil.
2 a: a person who has done advanced study in a special field
b: a learned person.
3: a holder of a scholarship.

By this definition, the list of scholars throughout recorded history is extensive. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the oldest continuously operating degree granting institution in the world is the University of Al-Qarawiyyin (Arabic: ????? ?????????) founded in AD 859 at Fes, Morocco.

From that time on, there has been a distinction between institution affiliated scholars and independent scholars. In some fields, the distinction is subtle and the degree of cooperation between institutional scholars and independent scholars is such that one could hardly distinguish the two. That was indeed the case during the formative years of the discipline we call archaeology. As institutional archaeology grew, the resource did not. Consequently, intense competition developed within and between these institutions for the access necessary to legitimize and sustain departments and the associated hierarchy of administrators, teachers and students.

Over time, cooperation with non-affiliated scholars became problematic as it spread the limited resource even further. Out of this, came a pervasive attitude of protectionism that to the rest of the world was perceived as academic elitism. During the latter half of the 20th Century, while cooperation between institutional scholars and independent scholars flourished in most other disciplines, a gulf emerged between these two groups of scholars in the area of cultural property. The codification of institutional views in the UNESCO convention of 1970 marked a turning point in the study of ancient cultures. (more…)