It seems there’s no danger of your spare change spying on you after all. A U.S. government defence agency has suddenly retracted its claim that Canadian coins containing tiny transmitters were planted on at least three American contractors who visited Canada. It’s the latest twist in an intriguing cash caper.

Canadians began carefully scrutinizing their loonies following the Virginia-based Defense Security Service’s claim that specially doctored coins were a new tool of the trade for shadowy figures out to steal sensitive U.S. military technology. “On at least three separate occasions between October 2005 and January 2006, cleared defense contractors’ employees traveling through Canada have discovered radio frequency transmitters embedded in Canadian coins placed on their persons,” said the service’s annual counterintelligence report for 2006.

The most interesting field in American numismatics is, in my humble opinion, the broad spectrum of proposed designs, experimental alloys and finished or unfinished die trial pieces collectively known as Patterns. Some of these pieces are much more beautiful than the predictably uninspired work the U.S. Mint is producing today, while others recollect bold new ideas of form and function that a timid Treasury was afraid to adopt for fear of change and the reaction to it.

Just yesterday I held a specimen of an 1877 pattern half dollar in silver, Judd-1528, with a crested helmet that rivals in beauty the Athenian "new style" tetradrachms of two millennia before, brought up to date with a defiant American eagle engraved upon the side of the helmet. The reverse of the piece bears a Heraldic Eagle design as traditional as that of the $2-1/2 gold piece of 1796 and as up to date as the American Eagle silver dollar currently being produced.

Some people consider the first U.S. pattern to be the 1776 Continental Dollar struck in silver and/or in brass, the pewter version being the regular issue for the denomination. Unfortunately, nobody knows for sure what metal the Continental Congress actually intended to be the ultimate composition of this first U.S. dollar coin, and so many pattern specialists refuse to recognize any version of it as an actual trial piece.

Theoretically, there is very little difference between a coin grading Proof or Mint State 69 in comparison to the same design coin grading a perfect Proof or Mint State 70. In fact, a loupe is often required to find the minute blemishes in a 69-graded coin that keep it from a perfect grade. To the naked eye, these coins should look virtually identical.

So, why are there wide variations in prices between these two grades, and even for the same grades? The answer partially lies in people's preferences for coins endorsed as "perfect" by third-party grading services. Many of them are very affordable for most collectors, especially the more common Proof strikes (higher values for MS-70 circulation strikes are due to their higher rarity).

Dallas, Texas: For collectors of the Liberty quarter eagles, the 1854-S is considered the ultimate issue. This series presents several challenges, including the 1841 "Little Princess" and other rarities, but just 12 examples of the '54-S are known from the original mintage of 246 coins in April 1854. This issue was entirely unknown in numismatic circles until discovery of the first specimen less than a century ago in 1910.

“This is a landmark rarity in the field of United States numismatics,” said Greg Rohan, President of Dallas-based Heritage Auction Galleries, “a classic piece with few peers. With just a dozen pieces known, it has a rarity similar to coins such as the 1804 silver dollar, the 1907 Ultra High Relief double eagle, the 1927-D double eagle, and the 1894-S Barber dime, all coins that have broken the million-dollar barrier. So far, the record price for an 1854-S quarter eagle is just $254,000.”

“The specimen that we are offering is from the Rio Rancho Collection,” Rohan said, “sold by Superior in October 1974 (lot 89), and apparently off the market since that time. In fact, that auction appearance over 32 years ago is the only time that this specimen has ever been sold.

C enturies ago, gold was the global investment, the ultimate store of value and the commodity on which entire economies were based. Now, mining companies would be happy if more investors devoted just a small slice of their portfolios to the metal.Gold's investment reputation was badly damaged in the aftermath of the bursting of a precious-metals price bubble a quarter century ago. Over the two decades that followed, gold was nudged aside by stocks, bonds, mutual funds and other financial assets.

But gold has more than doubled in price over the past few years, becoming relevant again in investment circles. And economic and global pressures could make it shine even more.

"Demand has grown faster than supply," said Katharine Pulvermacher, investment research and marketing manager for the London-based World Gold Council. "The positive factors supporting the price are still there."

A n open meeting was held by the board of governors of the American Numismatic Association Jan. 4 during the Florida United Numismatists convention in Orlando.

Chaired by President William H. Horton Jr., the meeting provided members with an opportunity to speak to various ANA issues, including the current process to change and update the bylaws.

At the end of January, revised bylaws proposals will be posted on the ANA Web site, www.money.org, and they will also be published in the March issue of Numismatist Magazine, the official ANA monthly publication.

“I thought the meeting was very positive. It went well. People asked questions. People are concerned about the nominating committee.” Horton said the draft proposal would be revised and posted by the end of the month.

Hobo Nickels

Numismatic News - 1/19/2007

A new one-day record for the sale of Hobo nickels was set on Jan. 6, at the Florida United Numismatists Convention in Orlanda, Fla., said Ralph Winter, an OHNS board member. Winter reported the record of $84,376 was set with the combined totals of the Original Hobo Nickel Society’s hobo nickel auction sales of $33,381.50 and the $50,995 collected for Hobo nickels during the Heritage Signature Auction.

Joseph Brant

Press Release.- Jan 19, 2007

The Royal Canadian Mint continued its tradition of issuing its Commemorative Silver Dollar as the first collector coin of the year. Honouring Canadian native hero Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant), the 2007 Silver dollar coin was officially unveiled today at the Joseph Brant Museum in Burlington, Ontario.

In The News

Santa Monica Mirror.- Jan 19, 2007

Money was in the news big time last week. There were the usual NYSE and NASDQ reports (both of which hit record highs), but also a bizarre story about spy coins of Canadian currency with embedded transmitters. Nobody knows where the transmitter coins came from – our government is certain that Canada is not spying on us since they are our best friend in the world (although not a member of the Coalition-of-the-Willing in Iraq).

ResourceInvestor.com - Jan.19, 2007

St. LOUIS -- GFMS released its second update to Gold Survey 2006 today, making some bold predictions for the first half of 2007 despite the see-saw price action of late. At a seminar in Toronto, Paul Walker, CEO of GFMS, said the consultancy believes gold should hit $670s in upcoming months on revived investment demand. In a summary of the report, Walker said, “we should be seeing prices getting in the $670s in the first half,” with little threat from stop loss selling or profit taking in the near term.

Globe and Mail - Jan.19, 2007

WASHINGTON — Reversing itself, the Defence Department says an espionage report it produced that warned about Canadian coins with tiny radio frequency transmitters was not true. The Defence Security Service said it never could substantiate its own published claims about the mysterious coins. It has begun an internal review to determine how the false information was included in a 29-page report about espionage concerns.