The groups of coins from both nations individually represent possibly the most complete sets of Japanese and Korean coins and currency ever assembled, and most likely the most important numismatic offerings of both countries in the last half century.

Collectors will not have to wait 10 months to get a look at these amazing coins, however, as highlights will be on display at the New York International Numismatic Convention, at the Waldorf-Astoria, Jan. 6-9, 2011, in conjunction with our New York Signature World and Ancient Coin Auction. This appearance will be the beginning of a “world tour” for the coins, as they visit the Chicago International Coin Fair, April 13-16, 2011, heading to Tokyo in May and coming home for the ANA World’s Fair of Money in Chicago, Aug. 15-21, 2011.

“Collections such as Dr. Jacobs’ is what we live for here at Heritage,” said Cris Bierrenbach, Vice President of International Numismatics at Heritage. “Handling the incredible Asian rarities that Dr. Jacobs dedicated his numismatic life to is a great honor to us. The World Coin department at Heritage, along with our entire company, will be working hard to produce a catalog and an auction that match the fantastic accomplishments of Dr. Jacobs in Korean and Japanese numismatics. The next 10 months are going to be a great ride.”

In 1953, Dr. Jacobs (along with Cornelius Vermeule) wrote the first English language book on Japanese numismatics that covered both ancient and modern coins. It was also the first publication (in any language) to catalog Japanese coins by date and type. That book opened up the world of Japanese (and modern Korean) coinage to western collectors.

The principle highlight of the auction comes from the Korean collection: a unique set of 1909 Korean gold in 5, 10 and 20 Won denominations — the only other set in existence is in the collection of the Bank of Japan.

“The vast majority of these coins, and the core of the collections, were purchased in the 1940s and 1950s,” said Bierrenbach, “during Dr. Jacobs’ time in Asia. He also added significantly to his collection when he worked with Robert Friedberg at Capital Coin of New York in the 1950s. So the vast majority of the ultra rarities have been in his collection for 50+ years.”

Related posts:

1. Avarae Global Buys Japanese Gold Coin Collection
2. Avarae investing its time in Japanese coins
3. $7 Million of World & Ancient Coins Sold at NYINC

The exhibit, co-sponsored by Bowers and Merena Auctions (www.BowersAndMerena.com) and Collateral Finance Corporation (www.cfccoinloans.com), will be displayed at the Bowers and Merena booth, #1205, during the show.

“It is truly an amazing collection that includes some of the finest known examples of United States large cents struck from 1793 to 1857, said Greg Roberts, CEO of Bowers and Merena. “There are 77 large cents in the set, and many are the finest known for their respective date and type.”

This 1793 Chain Cent (S-2), graded PCGS MS65BN, is one of the highlights of the multi-million dollar Cardinal Collection Educational Foundation large cents collection that will be displayed August 10 – 13, 2010 by Bowers and Merena Auctions and Collateral Finance Corporation at the ANA World’s Fair of Money in Boston.  (Photo by PCGS)

While supplies last, visitors to the exhibit can receive a free, 40-page illustrated booklet published by the foundation, “Portraits of Liberty,” that describes the history of U.S. large cents.

Highlights of the exhibit include:

• 1793 Chain Cent (S-2) graded PCGS MS65BN that set a world’s record in 2005 as the most valuable U.S. cent at the time
• 1793 Wreath Cent, PCGS MS69BN, the single highest-graded 18th century U.S. coin of any date of denomination
• 1794 Liberty Cap “Head of 1793″ Cent, PCGS MS64BN, described by Logies as “the single finest representative work of early Mint engraver, Joseph Wright”
• 1803 Draped Bust Cent, PCGS MS66RB, acclaimed by the Early American Coppers society as tied for the finest known Draped Bust cent of any date or variety
• the record-setting 1842 Braided Hair Cent from the Naftzger Collection, PCGS MS65RD, widely acknowledged as the finest existing “Petite Head” type
• and another record-setting coin from the Naftzger Collection, an 1852 Braided Hair Cent, graded PCGS MS65RD, and acknowledged as the finest existing cent from its era.

“The Cardinal Collection Educational Foundation is a non-profit educational organization that focuses on the study and publication of information about early coinage of the United States of America. With the valued assistance of Bowers and Merena and Collateral Finance Corporation, this will be the first opportunity for collectors to see these superb-quality, early American cents in person in the Washington-Baltimore area,” said Martin Logies, a director of the Sunnyvale, California-based foundation.

One of America’s leading rare coin auction houses, Bowers and Merena of Irvine, California holds three of the top seven world-record auction prices for U.S. coins. For additional information call (949) 253-0916 or visit online at www.BowersandMerena.com.

Collateral Finance Corporation of Santa Monica, California offers precious metals financing to dealers and collectors on a wide array of bullion and numismatics. For additional information, call (310) 587-1410 or visit www.CFCcoinloans.com.

The Whitman Coin & Collectibles Baltimore Expo will be held in the Baltimore Convention Center, One Pratt Street, Baltimore. It will be open to the public on Thursday, November 4, from Noon to 6 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, November 5 and 6, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, November 7, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Related posts:

1. Cardinal Collection of US Large Cents On Display in Boston
2. Virtually Complete Early Large Cent Collection of Walter Husak to be Auctioned
3. PCGS Certifies World’s Most Valuable Large Cent

Forty-eight ANA members, showing 68 exhibits, competed in this year’s Collector Exhibits program. There also were 6 non-competitive exhibits.

Brett Irick received the Howland Wood Memorial Award for Best-in-Show for his exhibit, “Canadian Coins of 1947-1948.” The Radford Stearns Memorial Award for Excellence in Exhibiting, presented to the first and second runners-up, was awarded to John W. Jackson for “United States Interest-Bearing Proofs” and Simcha Laib Kuritzky for “The Jewish Lion,” respectively.

Richard Margolis won the Thos. H. Law Award for First-Time Exhibitors for “Benjamin Franklin: Early Medals and Medallions.” The Rodger E. Hershey Memorial People’s Choice Award, chosen by convention attendees, was given to Jeffrey Feuerman for “National Bank Notes of Massachusetts.” Feuerman’s exhibit also received the Ira & Larry Goldberg Award for Best Exhibit of Coins that Made History. Zachary Beier received the Derek Pobjoy Award for Best Exhibit of Modern Circulating Commemorative Coins for “Who Would Have Guessed? From a Log Cabin to the White House.”

The ANA presented competitive exhibit awards for Young Numismatists (YN) age 17 and under. The Charles H. Wolfe Sr. Memorial Award for YN Best-in-Show exhibit was presented to Benjamin Gastfriend for “Elongated Coins Featuring John F. Kennedy.”

Cindy Wibker received the Joseph E. Boling Award for Judging Excellence.

The following class exhibit awards were presented:

Class 1: United States Coins – Lelan G. Rogers Memorial

First Place – John M. Frost, “Rarities, Bargains and Neat Stuff”

Second Place – Carl B. Waltz Jr., “Matte Proof Lincoln Cents, 1909-1916”

Third Place – George B. Fitzgerald, “Rarest U. S. Silver Coin Issued for Circulation”

Class 2: United States Fiscal Paper – Sidney W. Smith/William Donlon Memorial

First Place – John W. Jackson, “United States Interest-Bearing Proofs”

Second Place – Robert Rhue, “The Colored Seal Notes of Colonial Georgia”

Third Place – Josh Wadsworth, “It’s All About the Numbers on U. S. Small-Sized Paper Money”

Class 3: Medals, Orders, Decorations and Badges – Burton Saxton/George Bauer Memorial

First Place – Linda Wolka, “95 Medals and Coins Commemorating the Anniversaries of the Birth of the Protestant Reformation in 1517”

Second Place – John M. Sallay, “School Award Medals”

Third Place – Sandra J. Emme, “A Brief History of Ballooning”

Class 4: Modern U.S. Coins and Modern Medals – American Numismatic Association

First Place – Simcha Laib Kuritzky, “Feline Species Type Set”

Second Place – James Zylstra, “Liberty Dollar: Bona Fide or Bogus?”

Third Place – Joseph Abiuso Jr., “The Story and Examples of Modern Military Challenge Coins”

Class 5: Tokens – B.P. Wright Memorial

First Place – Robert Rhue, “Complete Collection of North American Horsecar Tokens”

Second Place – Not awarded

Third Place – Not awarded

Class 6: Casino Chips and Gaming Tokens – Archie A. Black

First Place – Gerald R. Birl, “Chipco Roulettes—A Revolution in Roulette Chip Artwork”

Second Place – Not awarded

Third Place – Not awarded

Class 7: Engraved Coins – Love Token Society

First Place – Rex Stark, “Enameled Morgan and Trade Dollars”

Second Place – Simcha Laib Kuritzky, “A Zulu Love Token”

Third Place – Fred Schwan, “What Happened on December 31st 1877?”

Class 8: Elongated Coins – Dottie Dow Memorial

First Place – Benjamin Gastfriend, “Elongated Coins Featuring John F. Kennedy”

Second Place – Don Berry, “Progressive Dies (Creating a Masterpiece)”

Third Place – Zachary Beier, “Capturing the Past: Virginia’s Historic Triangle on Elongated Coins”

Class 9: Coins Issued Prior to 1500 A.D. – Dr. Charles W. Crowe Memorial

No exhibits

Class 10: Regional U.S. Numismatics – William C. Henderson/Fred Cihon Memorial

First Place – Gene E. Hynds, “Massachusetts Tiffany Commission Scrip”

Second Place – Christopher Marchase, “The Pioneer Mint of Clark, Gruber and Company”

Third Place – Joseph Abiuso Jr., “The History of the Navajo Squash Blossom Necklace and Use of U.S. Coins”

Class 11: Numismatics of the Americas – Henry Christensen/John Jay Pittman Sr. Memorial

First Place – Brett Irick, “Canadian Coins of 1947-1948”

Second Place – T.E. Klunzinger, “Numismatic Delirium: The Three Singular Notes of 1950 St. Pierre & Miquelon”

Third Place – T.E. Klunzinger, “The Mystery of the Wood Cases for the 1932 Colonization Coins of Brazil”

Class 12: Numismatics of Europe – John S. Davenport Memorial

First Place – Halbert Carmichael, “The History of the English Penny”

Second Place – Michael Morrissy, “Tale of a Short Snorter”

Third Place – T.E. Klunzinger, “The Official Bronze Jubilee Medals of Queen Victoria”

Class 13: Numismatics of Africa and the Middle East – Menachem Chaim and Simcha Tova Mizel Memorial

First Place – Simcha Laib Kuritzky, “The Jewish Lion”

Second Place – James Zylstra, “Traditional Money and the Slave Trade: The Red, Black, White Triangle”

Third Place – Not awarded

Class 14: Numismatics of Asia and the Pacific – William B. Warden, Jr. Memorial

First Place – T.E. Klunzinger, “An 1883-84 Calcutta Exposition Commemorative Medal, Its Maker and Its Recipient”

Second Place – Not awarded

Third Place – Not awarded

Class 15: Gold Coins – Gaston DiBello/Melvin and Leona Kohl Memorial

No exhibits

Class 16: Numismatic Errors and Error Varieties – Numismatic Error Collectors

First Place – Zack Kaleky, “Position is Everything When Collecting Off-Center Cents”

Second Place – Richard J. Ziegler, “1982 Doubled Die Reverse Discovery Coin”

Third Place – Fred Wersan, “Wooden Nickel Errors Help Us Learn About the Printing Process”

Class 17: Numismatic Literature – Aaron Feldman Memorial

No exhibits

Class 18: General, Specialized, and Topical – Robert Hendershott Memorial

First Place – Richard Margolis, “Benjamin Franklin: Early Medals and Medallions”

Second Place – Robert Rhue, “1843-44 Scrip from the Islands of Maui, Hawaii and Tokens Related to One Issuer”

Third place – Thomas J. Leib, “Daniel Chester French’s Lost Architectural League Medallion”

Class 19: Convention Theme – Clifford Mishler

First Place – David Menchell, “Medals of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association Struck at the U.S. Mint”

Second Place – John M. Sallay, “Boston School Medals”

Third Place – John R. Eshbach, “The Women’s Auxiliary of the Massachusetts Service Reform Association Medal of 1905”

2010 ANA YN EXHIBIT AWARDS

Class Y1: United States Coins – Edgerton-Lenker Memorial

First Place – Simon Beier, “Jamestown Celebrated in Coins”

Second Place – Not awarded

Third Place – Not awarded

Class Y2: World Coins – James L. Betton Memorial

First Place – Simon Beier, “Coins of Flight”

Second Place – Andrew Hageman, “Foreign Coins Made at the U.S. Mint”

Third Place – Simon Beier, “Cruise Adventure…Creatures of the Sea”

Class Y3: Paper Money – Kagin Family

First Place – Josh Wadsworth, “It’s All About the Numbers on U.S. Small-Sized Paper Money”

Second Place – Not awarded

Third Place – Not awarded

Class Y4: Israeli or Judaic – J.J. Van Grover Memorial

No exhibits

Class Y5: Medals and Tokens – Charles “Cheech” Litman Memorial

First Place – Benjamin Gastfriend, “Elongated Coins Featuring John F. Kennedy”

Second Place – Not awarded

Third Place – Simon Beier, “Riding the Rails”

Class Y6: Medieval and Ancient – Charles H. Wolfe Sr. Memorial

No exhibits

Class Y7: Errors and Varieties – Alan Herbert

First Place – Zack Kaleky, “Position is Everything When Collecting Off-Center Cents”

Second Place – Nicolas Dresmich, “A Clip Clock of the World’s Fair of Money”

Third Place – Not awarded

The American Numismatic Association is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to encouraging people to study and collect money and related items. The ANA helps its members and the public discover and explore the world of money through its vast array of education and outreach programs, as well as its museum, library, publications, conventions and seminars. For more information, call 719-632-2646 or visit www.money.org.

Related posts:

1. SS Central America Shipwreck “Ship of Gold” Exhibit Comes to ANA World’s Fair of Money in Boston
2. Museum Showcase, World Mints Headline Los Angeles World’s Fair of Money
3. Official ANA World’s Fair Of Money Starts Today in Boston Featuring Amazing and Historically Significant Numismatic Exhibits

Paper money as a form of art might seem the makings of a rather small exhibition, to judge from the modern bills of the United States and Europe. Bank notes, however, have constituted one of the dominant forms of visual communication for the past two centuries, and in many cases can be seen as works of art in their own right. Princeton University’s Numismatic Collection is featuring currency worth looking at in the exhibition “Money on Paper” on view in the August 30, 2010, through January 2, 2011.

New Jersey, 1 shilling, December 31, 1763.
Printed by James Parker, Woodbridge.

Because British colonial policies resulted in a dearth of circulating coins, the American colonies were the home of the earliest regular issues of paper money. Illustration was applied to colonial currency as an anti-counterfeiting device as well as for aesthetic purposes. Not surprisingly, the most inventive printer of paper money of the time was Benjamin Franklin, who devised a system of transferring the vein patterns of tree leaves to printing plates to foil counterfeiters. The Princeton exhibition includes a large selection of Franklin’s nature-print notes, as well as issues of Paul Revere and the South Carolina engraver Thomas Coram, who brought classical imagery to that colony’s bank notes.

One of the highlights of the exhibit will be the first public display of the recently discovered banknote engraving of a grouse by John James Audubon, the great wildlife illustrator’s first published work. On display with a sample sheet containing the vignette will be an original watercolor by Audubon, a steel printing plate from The Birds of America, and the Princeton first edition of the elephant folio book open to the page with Audubon’s drawing of the pinnated grouse.

Asher B. Durand, one of America’s greatest painters, was also a major figure in the development of bank note art in this country. Along with his brother Cyrus, who invented a highly decorative series of anti-counterfeiting devices, he developed a classical, patriotic approach to bank note design that dominated the medium for the first half of the nineteenth century.

Montgomery $1,000
Confederate States of America, $1,000, Montgomery, May 22, 1861.
Portraits of John C. Calhoun and Andrew Jackson.

A section of the Princeton exhibit will explore the divergence of imagery on the bank notes of northern and southern issuers before and during the Civil War. Collectors of paper money will be especially interested by the complete set, in Extremely Fine condition, of six notes printed by the National Bank Note Company in New York and smuggled into the Confederacy in 1861 for distribution as notes of Montgomery, Alabama, and Richmond, Virginia. The American section of the exhibition ends with the high point of American bank note art, the Educational Series of 1896, designed and engraved by some of the most important illustrators of the day.

The stagnation of American paper money design in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries is put into relief by comparison with some of the beautiful and creative examples of European notes, on loan for the exhibition from the collection of Vsevolod Onyshkevych, Princeton Class of 1983. Alfons Mucha, the popular creator of poster art, designed paper money for Czechoslovakia in the 1920s that epitomizes the glory of art nouveau design. Other important artists of the period, such as Emile Vloors in Belgium and Eliel Saarinen in Finland, put their stamp on the currency of the period. In the second half of the twentieth century, R. D. E. Oxenaar and J. T. G. Drupsteen created a distinctive look for the bank notes of the Netherlands. In the era since the euro imposed a bureaucratic sameness to the currency of most of Europe, Switzerland has kept the innovative look of its paper money with the computer-enhanced colorful notes designed by Jörg Zintzmeyer, while the Faroe Islands have issued a series of simple, evocative notes based on the watercolors of Zacharias Heinesen.

A publication entitled Money on Paper, by Princeton’s Curator of Numismatics Alan M. Stahl,accompanies the exhibit. It contains a full catalogue of the bank notes on display with color photographs of many of them. There are three additional illustrated essays in the catalogue: Mark Tomasko writing on “Bank Note Engraving in the United States,” Francis Musella on “Benjamin Franklin’s Nature Printing on Bank Notes,” and an edited version of the newsmaking article by Robert Peck and Eric P. Newman entitled “Discovered! The First Engraving of an Audubon Bird.” The book is available for $40 from the Friends of Princeton University Library, One Washington Road, Princeton, NJ 08544. Inquiries about ordering can made to Linda Oliveira at loliveir@princeton.edu or at (609) 258-3155.

In a public lecture on Sunday, October 17, at 3 p.m. in McCormick Hall 101, Mark D. Tomasko, a well-known expert on paper money, will speak on “The Art of Bank Note Engraving.” The lecture, open to the public without charge, will be followed by a reception in Firestone Library and a curatorial tour of the exhibition. Additional curatorial tours will be held on Sunday, November 22, and Sunday, December 12, both at 3 p.m.

For more information on this exhibition or on the Princeton University Numismatic Collection, contact curator Alan Stahl, astahl@princeton.edu, (609) 258-9127.

Related posts:

1. Princeton University Exhibit on “Numismatics in the Renaissance”
2. Princeton University Numismatic Collection Acquires 7th Century “Jesus” Coin
3. Princeton University Acquires Armenian Ancient and Medieval Heritage Coin Collection

The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West, Florida holds the richest single collection of 17th-century maritime and shipwreck antiquities in the Western Hemisphere, including treasures and artifacts from the Atocha and Santa Margarita.

It was reported that two thieves entered a museum shortly after closing at 5PM and stole a 74.85-ounce, 11-inch (28-centimeter) gold bar which was inside a glass display case with a small opening where visitors could stick a hand inside and lift the bar to examine it.

Photo Credit: Miami Herald/Florida Keys News Bureau

Police and the FBI are working to identify the suspects who took the gold bar which had been on display for more than 20 years. Surveillance captures caught the faces of these two men, believed to be the suspects who walked off with the gold bar.

According to Alyson Crean, Key West Police spokeswoman, one suspect is described as a white male, about six feet tall with dark hair and a medium build. The second suspect is about five feet, six inches tall.

Anyone with information about these men should contact the Key West Police Department at (305) 809-1111.

The Gold bar has an estimated value of $550,000 and the Museums insurance company is offering a $10 thousand reward.

“Everybody who comes to the museum is encouraged to lift the gold bar and to have a firsthand experience with history,” said Melissa Kendrick, the museum’s executive director. “This is one of the most iconic and best-known objects in the museum.”

“The security systems worked because we knew the bar was stolen within 10 minutes, and we have usable video and photos for law enforcement,” Kendrick said. “The museum made a decision to designate this as a handling object, allowing people to touch the artifact, and this was part of the risk involved in granting public access.”

Related posts:

1. Possibly Unique “Ides Of March” Gold Coin to be Displayed at British Museum
2. SS Central America Shipwreck “Ship of Gold” Exhibit Comes to ANA World’s Fair of Money in Boston
3. Odyssey Marine finds 1744 Shipwreck That Could Hold up to 4 Tons Of Gold Coins