“There was great excitement among both international and Israeli coin collectors on the day of the initial offering of the first Israeli bullion coin,” the Israel Coins and Medals Corp. said in a statement Wednesday. “In the morning, the telephone lines at our order call center crashed because of high demand and interest for the special gold coin.”

The Bank of Israel has issued and aptly named this series “Jerusalem of Gold”. The coins in the series are legal tender. Each contains 1 oz. of fine gold.9999 and has a face value of 20 New Sheqalim (NIS).

These are the very first Israeli gold bullion coins, priced in accordance with the daily international price of gold, plus a reasonable mark up over gold.

These bullion coins are equally valuable as collectors items and as financial investments. The Gold Bullion Coins in the “Jerusalem of Gold” Series will depict a treasured historical site in the eternal city of Jerusalem.

The obverse features the The Tower of David, rising above the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, near Jaffa Gate. The word “Jerusalem” appears above the Tower, again in all 3 languages, the Face Value of 20 New Sheqalim (NIS), mint mark and year. On the right side appear the words “1 oz. fine gold .9999” in Hebrew and English.

The reverse of each coin will depict The Lion of Megiddo, with its stylized curved tail, is taken from an ancient seal excavated in Megiddo (Armageddon) in the Jordan Valley, dating from the 8th cent. BCE. The seal belonged to Shema, the servant of Jeroboam II, Israelite King. The lion is also the symbol of the Tribe of Judah and of the eternal capital of Israel, Jerusalem. The same Lion of Megiddo appeared in the past on the Israeli 5 Lira Banknote (1958), 5 Lira Coin (1978), and on the Half Sheqel Coin (1980). Above the figure of the lion appears the State of Israel Emblem and below it the word “Israel” in English, Hebrew and Arabic..

One coin will be issued annually, starting from 2010 with the “Tower of David”. The 2011 coin in the series, will feature another timeless treasure, “The Western Wall” the last remnant of the Second Holy Temple.

The gold coins are valuable as collector’s items and as financial investments. The Tower of David edition will be limited to 3,600 coins. In addition, there is a strict limit of five gold coins per customer.

The coins in the series are legal tender and are issued by the Bank of Israel.

“King of South African Coins”, the unique and historic 1898 Single 9 Pond, sells for a record multi-million rand price and is certified by NGC.

The sale of South Africa’s rarest and most celebrated coin, the 1898 Single 9 Pond, has been concluded for an unprecedented multi-million rand figure. [Editor: $1.00 USD = 7.51133 ZAR]

The sale, like the prior two sales of the same coin, was facilitated by Mr. Walter Fivaz. The buyer, who wishes to remain anonymous, is thrilled to own such an impressive and important part of South Africa’s heritage. The Single 9 has justifiably been dubbed the “King of South African Coins” and is among the most valuable rare coins in the world.

Upon completion of the purchase, the coin was promptly sent to NGC for certification. NGC was selected because of their consistency in grading, their extensive South African numismatic knowledge and the prestige offered by NGC certification. The coin graded MS 63 PL by NGC. The grade of MS 63 identifies it as a choice uncirculated example. Many coins of such illustrious provenance have been mishandled, and fortunately this coin has retained its original surface quality. Additionally, the fields of the coin are mirror-like, indicating that it was struck from freshly polished dies. Accordingly, it has been designated PL, for proof-like, which is assigned to coins that possess some of the special attributes that are often seen on presentation coinage.

“We are very proud to certify such an important and historic coin. Seldom does a coin play so significant a role in cultural history and for many years this coin has been considered the most coveted of all coins struck on the African continent,” commented Ken Krah, NGC vice president, who heads NGC’s world coin grading department.

The details surrounding the creation of the Single 9 Pond form one of the most compelling stories in numismatics. The Single 9 was the first one pound gold coin produced during the Anglo-Boer War between South African and the British Empire in 1899. At that time, the government of the South African Republic sought legitimacy in the eyes of the international community. One of the best ways of doing this was to manufacture their own coins and currency. Since they did not have a facility to produce dies for coinage in South Africa, the government contracted with a mint in Germany to create dies for 1899 coinage. En route from Germany to the Transvaal, the shipment of dies was intercepted and seized by the British. (more…)

Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (NasdaqCM: OMEX) has filed its Appellate Brief in the “Black Swan” case with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

In the brief, Odyssey demonstrates that the district court erroneously dismissed the case by using flawed legal analysis and by failing to acknowledge or understand several major aspects of the case, including the issue of sovereign immunity.

Odyssey’s brief cites the recent favorable ruling by the Eleventh Circuit for the salvor in the Aqua Log (Aqua Log, Inc. vs. State of Georgia, 594 F.3d 1330, 11th Cir. 2010) case. This ruling was made shortly after the district court ruled in the “Black Swan” case and is a beneficial clarification of sovereign immunity in support of Odyssey’s position. In the Aqua Log case, the Court ruled that the sovereign must be in possession of the salvaged items in order to claim immunity from the courts in an admiralty case.

“The precedent set in the Aqua Log case is very relevant to the ‘Black Swan’ case and Spain’s sovereign immunity claim. The Eleventh Circuit found, as we had argued to the district court in our case, that a sovereign could not claim to be immune from the jurisdiction of the court when it did not have possession of the salvaged goods. It’s clear that Spain never owned the majority of the cargo here and did not have possession of them either,” said Melinda MacConnel, Odyssey Vice President and General Counsel. “The district court apparently dismissed the fact that there was no vessel present at the “Black Swan” site. The concretions of coins found by Odyssey were scattered over an area bigger than six football fields, with no coherent ship’s hull or structure. Even if that cargo did come from the Mercedes, it is well documented that the majority of the Mercedes’ cargo was owned by private merchants who paid for its transport and the Mercedes was carrying paying passengers. Under well-established U.S. and international law, vessels on such commercial voyages do not have sovereign immunity.”

The opening brief also points out several erroneous factual findings and legal conclusions made by the district court including the following:

• The district court did not conduct an evidentiary hearing on the disputed issues of fact, unquestioningly accepting testimony presented by Spain. This was a violation of due process for all of the claimants as well as Odyssey.
• The district court erred in failing to recognize that the Defendant in the case (an in rem proceeding) was NOT Spain or a vessel owned by Spain. The actual Defendant in the case was the group of coins and artifacts (the res in this case) discovered and recovered by Odyssey.

(more…)