WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM APRIL 1, 2012

New subscribers this week include Peter Burnside. Welcome aboard! We have 1,525 email subscribers, plus 174 followers on Facebook.

This week we open with some statistics on The E-Sylum, some background on NBS cofounder Jack Collins, and belated word of the passing of an E-Sylum subscriber and contributor.

Other topics include: CANADA ABOLISHES CENT, the proposed U.S. Mint at The Dalles, OR, portrait vignettes, Cambodian coins at auction, and Schulman's Medallic History of Money and Banking.

To learn more about new varieties of Uruguayan coins and banknotes, the new ANA Executive Director, a medal exhibit at the Victoria and Albert museum, "Phx Bux" coins and paranormal coins and currency, read on. Don't worry, be happy! Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren (whomren@gmail.com)
Numismatic Bibliomania Society

THE E-SYLUM : HOW MANY ISSUES?

Bob Julian writes:

Good idea! Bob's note prompted me to run some numbers. From our inception on September 4, 1998 through last week (March 25, 2012) there have been a total of 712 issues. This includes a few special issues sent midweek with time-sensitive information. But for the most part we've published on a regular weekly basis for going on fourteen years. Early issues had just a handful of articles but this measure grew over time to an average of twenty.

Our total article count to date is a whopping 14,374, all archived on the NBS web site. This should make clear what I've often said over the years - we're not just publishing a weekly newsletter, we're building a web site. It should now also be clear why I make it a point to quote extensive passages from other web sites and store copies of all the images in our own archive - web content often moves or vanishes over time, but our E-Sylum archive has remained intact. Links may grow stale, but the content we published ourselves has been preserved.

None of this could have happened so smoothly without the support of our webmaster Bruce Perdue and John Nebel, who has provided web site hosting gratis for NBS since our web site's inception. Not only that, John did the computer programming required to automate the population of the E-Sylum archive - every Sunday night Bruce uploads the complete E-Sylum issue to the site, and in the wee hours of the morning John's scripts kick in and split the issue into individual article pages, update the tables of contents and create our RSS feed, like obedient little robots.

And I would be remiss not to thank NBS for their funding in late 2007 to pay for web designers and developers who helped spiff up the site and even more importantly, allowed us to make the leap from plain text to HTML in the weekly newsletter - that was like stepping into the Technicolor Land of Oz from the dreary black-and-white past.

If you haven't visited our archive lately, check it out. Bruce and John have already implemented the changes Bob suggested. And thus ends another article. Thanks for sticking with us!

To access the E-Sylum archive, see: www.coinbooks.org/club_nbs_esylum_archive.html

To read the complete E-Sylum Table of Contents, see: www.coinbooks.org/esylum_toc.html

MORE ON NBS COFOUNDER JACK COLLINS

In his obituary of Jack Collins in The Asylum, George Kolbe summed Collins up well when he wrote that whereas some people march to the beat of a different drummer, Collins marched to the beat of a different orchestra. Collins's real name was Charles Meredith Brainard, and he was born in 1939 in Detroit. You will find confirmation of this detail at this link to the 1990 update of the genealogy of the Brainard family: archive.org/stream/1990updatetogene01brai/1990updatetogene01brai_djvu.txt

This can also be confirmed by looking at ANA member directories from the early 1960s, where Charles M. Brainard is listed at the same address in South Gate that Jack Collins is known to have lived at later on. Brainard/Collins was no relation, so far as I know, to Karl M. Brainard, who founded the Numismatic Association of Southern California.

Collins continued to live at the same address in South Gate in Los Angeles County, and his mother, who retained the name Brainard, lived there as well, so the change of identity was somewhat transparent - Collins was no Reggie Perrin (to say nothing of John Stonehouse or John and Anne Darwin).

He was a brilliant photographer - his black and white photographs have a unique look - he lit the coins with a very intense light that makes it easy to see the dies and die states. His photographs are in the Breen half-cent and cent books.

My own experience with Collins was quite positive. I never met him in person, but I once had a good conversation with him on the telephone. He was very helpful to the American Numismatic Society in its search for the large cents that had been stolen by Dr. Sheldon.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: ALAN WEINBERG RECALLS JACK COLLINS (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n13a05.html)

STEPHEN L. PELLEGRINI

Henry Scott Goodman writes:

URUGUAYAN NUMISMATIC PUBLICATION EL SITIO NO. 2 AVAILABLE

Horacio Morero of Montevideo, Uruguay writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: NEW PERIODICAL: EL SITIO (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n01a06.html)

ANA TO NAME NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Fully aware of the importance of their choice to the future of this national institution, the search committee placed a high bar for applicants. First, no lawyers. And yes, ANA counsel Ron Serna has been a good sport throughout the process, stating "I didn't really want the stupid job anyway."

Other important qualifications were, in no particular order, an understanding of high finance, experience running large organizations, a demonstrated fair-to-middling knowledge of numismatics, good teeth, and no impending lawsuits.

Our new Executive Director got his start in numismatics trading ancient coins at Numismatic Fine Arts, later expanding into antiquities under the steady tutelage of Robert Hecht, Jr. His financial dealings led him to the film and sport industries, where he produced movies and bought a professional hockey team. His name? Bruce MacNall.

However, in the early 1990s, he came under suspicion of defrauding banks out of more than $200 million. He eventually pleaded guilty and in 1997, began serving a 70-month sentence in federal prison. But that sentence was later reduced by 13 months for good behavior (and nice teeth). He was released in 2001.

The search committee was quite confident in their choice, stating "Lightning never strikes twice, right? What are the odds he'll end up back in prison this time?"

"I haven't felt stigmatized by my past yet," said MacNall. "Oddly enough, people have welcomed me, which maybe has to do with my great failing. I always tried to make everybody happy."

For more information on the American Numismatic Association, see: www.money.org

ANA NUMISMATIC THEATRE LINEUP FOR 2012 DENVER SHOW

The American Numismatic Association has announced the Numismatic Theatre schedule for the 2012 Spring National Money Show, May 10-12 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver.

Numismatic Theatre consists of 30-45 minute presentations given by some of the hobby's most noted authorities on a wide range of topics. Presentations will be held in room 702. Talks are free, open to the public and no registration is required.

Below is the current schedule of talks:

Friday, May 11

* 9 a.m. - "Stone and Mortar - The Construction of the Denver Mint 1898-1904" by Thomas Fesing
* 10 a.m. - "Tips on Presenting a Fun-Filled Numismatic Presentation to the General Public" by Patrick A. Heller
* 11 a.m. - "Mattathias Antigonus: The Last Hasmonean King's Numismatic Legacy" by Isadore Goldstein
* noon - "Norse American Centennial Medals of 1925: An Update of Those 'Thick' and 'Thins' and More" by Dave Schmidt
* 1 p.m. - "Carson City Half Dollars" by Bill Bugert
* 2 p.m. - "Creative Marketing: Farran Zerbe, the Mint, and the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition Official Medal" by Jeff Shevlin and William D. Hyder
* 3 p.m. - "Introduction to the Numismatics of Colorado" by Douglas Mudd

Saturday, May 12

* 9 a.m. - "Counteracting Global Currency Counterfeits" by Colin Palmer
* 10 a.m. - "My 34 Years at the Denver Mint" by Michael Lanz
* 11 a.m. - "The Private Coinage of Joseph Lesher and his Referendum Medals" by Chris Marchase
* Noon - "Paranormal Coins and Currency" by Walter Ostromecki
* 2 p.m. - "Stone and Mortar - The Construction of the Denver Mint 1898-1904" by Thomas Fesing

A few slots are still open for those interested in giving a Numismatic Theatre talk. If you would like to propose a talk, please contact Education Project Manager Susan McMillan at 719-482-9850 or email mcmillan@money.org

THE PROPOSED U.S MINT AT THE DALLES, OREGON

Last week I asked, "What is the fleeting connection of Dalles, OR with U.S. numismatics?". Here are our reader's responses. -Editor

Phil Iversen writes:

Joe Boling writes:

Ken Barr writes:

An E-Sylum readers writes:

From the club bulletin:

John Mutch writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: HOLABIRD-KAGIN AMERICANA WESTERN STATES TOKEN AUCTION MARCH 2012 (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n13a16.html)

QUIZ ANSWER: THE HARTE-TWAIN NUMISMATIC CONNECTION

Joe Boling was the only reader to hazard a guess on my question about the numismatic location connecting authors Bret Harte and Mark Twain. He writes:

Not correct, but good try. Mark Twain's story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" was published in 1865. It was based on a tale he'd heard while living in the gold fields of California.

The numismatic connection has to do with Harte's day job - he was secretary to the Superintendent of the U.S. Mint in San Francisco. Samuel Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain) worked as a reporter for the San Francisco Morning Call, whose offices happened to be housed in the same building as the branch mint. In 1864 the newspaper's editor introduced Samuel Clemens to Harte, who "was the best-known of a group of young writers in San Francisco who often congregated at his Mint office."

The quoted passage is from a book by James Edward Caron titled " Mark Twain: Unsanctified Newspaper Reporter". See the link below to read the page in Google Books: Mark Twain: Unsanctified Newspaper Reporter .

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: HOLABIRD-KAGIN AMERICANA WESTERN STATES TOKEN AUCTION MARCH 2012 (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n13a16.html)

19TH CENTURY U.S. PORTRAIT IDENTIFICATIONS PROPOSED

Andrew W. Pollack writes:

Gar Travis writes:

David Alexander writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: QUERY: 19TH CENTURY U.S. PORTRAIT IDENTIFICATION SOUGHT (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n13a10.html)

MORE ON THE SPANGENBERGER 1876 CENTENNIAL COLLECTION

Ron Abler writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: MORE ON BRENNER AND EAGLE ENGRAVING & STAMPING (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n13a08.html)

In response to Ron's earlier query, Joe Boling writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: QUERY: SPANGENBERGER 1876 CENTENNIAL COLLECTION SOUGHT (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n13a11.html)

NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: APRIL 1, 2012

Weinberg/Collins
Charlie Davis writes:

German Artist W. Eberbach
Regarding Bob Mueller's mention of Walther Eherbach, David T. Alexander writes:

Tom DeLorey writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: MORE ON MANSHIP'S KULTUR IN BELGIUM MEDAL (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n13a09.html)

Burglar's Bliss
Eric Schena writes:

DAMIN Conference Proceedings Online
Regarding the recent Silver Monetary Depreciation and International Relations conference (Dépréciation de l'Argent Monétaire et relations INternationales), Georges Depeyrot writes:

Georges adds:

Smithsonian Visitors Vote for the Cent
On the topic of the U.S. cent, Dick Doty, curator of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: 10 REASONS WE NO LONGER NEED THE PENNY (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n13a17.html)

The Loeb Classical Library
An email exchange about cross-checking the archived issues of The E-Sylum with a list inspired John Nebel to submit this photo of a recent book-sorting session of his:

a-x clockwise: P is the most common ancient author,
followed by A, then C For Latin, it's Cicero, then the others;
"Greek, Plutarch."

Sweden's Cashless Economy
Regarding Sweden's Cashless Economy, David Ganz writes:

QUERY: CAMBODIAN COIN AUCTION CITATIONS SOUGHT

Howard A. Daniel III writes:

QUERY: PORTRAIT VIGNETTES SOUGHT FOR FRACTIONAL CURRENCY BOOK

I'm helping work on a book related to U.S. fractional currency and I'm looking for some vignettes of some of the following people:

• Spencer M. Clark
• William H. Crawford
• Samuel Dexter
• William Fessenden
• Ulysses S. Grant
• George Washington
• William T. Sherman
• Francis Spinner
• Edwin Stanton

Also looking for individual vignettes of Meriwether Lewis & William Clark. I've attached a vignette of William Meredith which is of the style that I'm looking to find. I don't have any reference materials on vignettes so don't know if they even might exist.

QUERY: SCHULMAN MEDALLIC HISTORY OF MONEY AND BANKING

Web site visitor Holly Ponsell writes:

QUERY: LINCOLN MEDAL ORIGIN SOUGHT

Dick Doty, Curator of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian writes:

EXHIBIT: THE NEW MEDALLISTS

Natasha Ratcliffe, Petra Mills, Sara Richards, Chloe Shaw, Phoebe Stannard and Heidi Hinder are the New Medallists. Their work breathes new life into the centuries-old art of the medal. Usually cast in metal, art medals are small sculptures, made for personal pleasure or contemplation. Often deeply introspective, these objects are best appreciated in the hand, where they may connect intimately with their (be)holder.

In this display, the New Medallists tell us the thoughts behind the medals they created and how works by their mentors and objects from the V&A collections have inspired their practice. The display celebrates the first six years of the New Medallist scheme, an initiative run by the British Art Medal Society (BAMS) in association with the V&A, the British Museum and the Royal Mint and supported by the E.S.G. Robinson Trust. By nurturing a new generation of British medallists, the New Medallist scheme is designed to stimulate the field's originality. In making a contribution to the present, the New Medallists will shape the future of medals in Britain and Ireland.

To read the complete article, see: The New Medallists (www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/the-new-medallists/)

FRELINGHUYSEN STAMP COLLECTION BRINGS RARITIES TO MARKET

Many families have some treasures in the attic. Fred Frelinghuysen knew he had something, too, but he realized its significance only when the time came to let it go.

The Frelinghuysens are among New Jersey's oldest and most distinguished political families, with roots stretching to 1720 and a roster in public service that includes senators, congressmen, a vice presidential candidate and a secretary of state. Schools, streets, a township and even an arboretum are named after them.

There is also, until recently unknown to any but a few family members, a Frelinghuysen stamp collection. It is not your uncle Pete's schoolboy album replete with five-and-dime commemoratives, but a large and expertly curated holding, put together by Peter H. B. Frelinghuysen Jr., a former congressman who died last year at age 95, that includes rarities from the earliest days of American postal history.

Now Peter Frelinghuysen's five children, including Fred and his brother Rodney, who is serving his ninth term representing New Jersey's 11th Congressional district, are putting the collection under the hammer in a two-day auction that began Wednesday in Manhattan.

"It was a passion for him for many years," said Fred Frelinghuysen, 58, discussing the difficult decision to sell his father's stamps in order to settle his estate. "We were always aware of the collection. It was something we would bring out when we were on vacation or had time to relax."

Among the show-stoppers are stamps like the Inverted Jenny, the iconic first American airmail stamp of 1918, on which a little blue biplane, nicknamed Jenny, was printed upside-down by mistake. Just 100 of those exist, and every year a couple of them come up for auction someplace, typically selling for six figures.

Except for Frelinghuysen's. His specimen, to be offered Thursday, has been up for auction only once in the nearly 100 years since it was discovered. At that sale, in 1932, a certain Mrs. F. - young Peter's mother - bought it for her son, paying $2,750. The seller was Peter's second cousin, Joseph S. Frelinghuysen Sr., a former United States senator.

According to Scott Trepel, the head of Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries, which is selling the collection, the Frelinghuysens hold the record for an Inverted Jenny stamp owned for the longest time by one family.

"The emergence of the Frelinghuysen collection answers many questions about the whereabouts of important philatelic rarities, which were known from old photographs, but had seemingly vanished," Mr. Trepel, wrote in the sale catalog. The book includes a wealth of historical information about the stamps' origins, much of it collected in one place for the first time.

Many of these provisional stamps are crudely designed and printed. They are also exceedingly rare, some surviving in only a handful of examples. The total for the 95 lots sold Wednesday was $2.96 million, including the 15 percent buyers' premium.

Many of the United States stamps from the collection being offered Thursday were also salted away for decades. Some items previously thought to be "probably unique," according to the catalog description, now turn out to have long-lost twins, including a block of four three-cent stamps from 1867 with a marginal imprint reading "National Bank Note Co. New York."

To read the complete article, see: A Stamp Collection With Rare Delights Leaves a Family's Holdings for Auction (www.nytimes.com/2012/03/29/nyregion/frelinghuysen-familys-rare
-stamp-collection-goes-to-auction.html)

FERN BAR FOUNDER'S ORIGINAL TIFFANY LAMPS BEING SOLD

The original Tiffany lamps that lined the bar at Eddie Rickenbacker's pub in San Francisco are heading to a New York City auction house, where they are expected to bring more than $2 million, Christie's said Thursday. All six of the table lamps and one Tiffany hanging chandelier will hit the auction block on June 14.

Eddie Rickenbacker's colorful proprietor, Norman Jay Hobday, died in February 2011. He is credited with inventing the "lemon drop" martini and the "fern bar," a term applied to another bar he had owned called Henry Africa because of all the hanging plants. Hobday later adopted Henry Africa as his own name.

His signature decor at Eddie Rickenbacker's included vintage motorcycles hanging from the ceiling and the Tiffany lamps. He purchased his first Tiffany lamp at a 1993 auction, and kept them safe using "a low-tech security system," said Josh Holdeman, Christie's director of 20th century art, who met the bar owner in 2004. "They were intertwined with all the high balls and low balls and the martini glasses and they were secured by a chain around which each had a padlock," he said.

"He was a very eccentric, colorful character," who loved how the lamps made the bar light up with all the vibrant colors that came through the glass, Holdeman said. "He just felt they really made the entire place seem totally alive."

To read the complete article, see: Eddie Rickenbacker's pub in San Francisco Tiffany lamps coming to New York City auction (www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=54470)

To read the complete article, see: Tiffany lamps from SF pub head to auction (www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/29/BA2I1NS6QB.DTL)

ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS PHOENIX "PHX BUX" COINS

It was a comfortably warm day in downtown Phoenix as Crystal Botella sat on Jobot Coffee Shop's patio and drank from a can of root beer with a straw stuck in it.

The Arizona native was dressed in a colorful sundress, with earrings made out of "Phx Bux" coins dangling from her ears.

Botella's designs favor metals, and Phx Bux, silver metal coins with an open hand in the middle, are seen in many of her creations.

"They are a part of Phoenix history," Botella said.

Phx Bux are now a rare commodity in Phoenix since they went out of circulation a few years ago. Botella has roughly 100 left.

The coins were local currency that business partners Joey Grether and John Sagasta launched in summer 2009. The currency was accepted by at least 25 Phoenix businesses.

Participating businesses paid $1 per coin and pledged to accept Phx Bux in addition to traditional forms of payment. Customers could request their change in Phx Bux and take coins to other stores that accepted Phx Bux, where the coins were worth $1. The majority of shops allowed only one coin per purchase.

Grether created Phx Bux to challenge Phoenicians to rethink local currency and who is actually controlling their money.

Layal Rabat, who is frequently downtown, enjoyed using the local currency but said that once the coins were in circulation, people started hoarding or creating art with them.

"I think that if someone thought to trade (Phx Bux) for services or necessities, they would have lasted a lot longer," Rabat said. "They mostly worked like coupons. I used them for coffee but don't recall buying art with them."

Chadwick Uptain, a local artist, carved the original Phx Bux design and created the molds with the help of a former business partner. They created 3,500 coins.

Uptain still has the original sterling silver casting used to make the molds. Grether now owns many of the coins, sharing them occasionally, and has the original $2 design.

"The Phx Bux had the potential to be huge," Uptain said. "I think it failed because the creators, John and Joey, began to realize that in order to maintain and grow such an ambitious project it was going to require a lot of work and money."

Uptain wanted to create multiple coin denominations to generate revenue for advertising, marketing and networking but realized Grether was uncomfortable with the idea of making a profit or the risk of legal consequences.

"We were using it more like a coupon than currency, but if the feds decided to call it counterfeiting, there could have been trouble," Uptain added.

Phx Bux have become a novelty item and are being collected by many people who appreciate the coins' uniqueness and history.

To read the complete article, see: Out of circulation, 'Phx Bux' coins become novelty items for downtown collectors (downtowndevil.com/2012/03/28/24944/phx-bux-coins-become-novelty-collectors/)

CANADA TO ELIMINATE THE CENT

It's the end of the line for Canada's humble penny.

The government has decided our lowest denomination coin is more trouble than it's worth, so the Royal Canadian Mint will stop distributing the penny this fall.

"It's a currency without currency," Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Thursday.

In his budget speech, he said the only surprise is that the penny survived for so long.

"Pennies take up too much space on our dressers at home. They take up far too much time for small businesses trying to grow and create jobs," he said in prepared remarks.

"It costs taxpayers a penny-and-a-half every time we make one. We will, therefore, stop making them."

Cash transactions will soon be rounded to the nearest five-cent increment. So if a coffee costs $1.27, it will be rounded down to $1.25. If it's $1.28, the final cost will be bumped up to $1.30.

Round down: cash transactions that end in one, two, six or seven cents.

Round up: Cash transactions that end in three, four, eight or nine cents.

All cash transactions will be rounded on the final bill of sale, after taxes have been added. But transactions involving debit or credit cards, or cheques, will still be done to the cent.

So if you pay for that $1.27 coffee with a debit card, it won't be rounded to the nearest nickel.

To read the complete article, see: Gov't scraps penny, a 'currency without currency' (www.ctvbc.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120329/
budget-spending-cuts-pennies-120329/20120329?hub=BritishColumbiaHome)

Here's another article: Now the Canadian penny's days are numbered, is the nickel next? (news.nationalpost.com/2012/03/29/now-the-canadian-pennys
-days-are-numbered-is-the-nickel-next/)

DICK JOHNSON: CANADA ABOLISHES CENT

Pull out the 72-point boldface type for this headline: CANADA ABOLISHES CENT.

Subhead: Production of Money Losing Coin To Cease This April; Tally Prices To Be Rounded Off To Nearest 5 Cents

The press -- both print and broadcast -- has responded vociferously, on both sides of the border. Most report Canadian officials in their bold decision for the monetary move. It culminates four years of study in Canada. It is estimated to save $11 million in minting costs alone. Not having to stock, store and distribute cents in making change will save Canadian retail and banking establishments untold millions more.

The last cent coin will be struck this month, April 2012. The Royal Mint will continue to distribute its stock of the coins on hand. It should run out by Fall. There are between 30 and 35 billion Canadian cents in circulation. They will not be demonetized -- they will continue to "circulate" until no longer viable, whenever that may be

Here are some of those press comments in the last three days. Expect more.

Business Week: Repeated a Canadian government statement which said "New Zealand, Australia, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Sweden and others 'have made smooth transitions to a penny-free economy.' It said penny production cost $11 million a year, and that the coins, which feature two maple leaves and Queen Elizabeth II in profile, would remain legal tender until they eventually disappeared from circulation."

CNET News: "Desjardins Group has estimated that the coin costs businesses $150 million a year in counting and transport costs. Meanwhile, it costs a penny and a half to mint every penny, and cutting it will save $11 million annually, according to the Department of Finance. At least Canada is only losing on its pennies -- the Mint says other Canadian coins cost 'well under face value' to produce. It thumbed its nose at the U.S.: "Not so south of the border. It costs the United States Mint 2.41 cents to produce every cent and 11.18 cents for every nickel. In the year to September 30, 2011, that resulted in a loss of $116.7 million, according to Coin Update, a site devoted to coin news."

news.coinupdate.com/cost-to-make-penny-and-nickel-rises-1139/

Forbes quoted Stephen J. Dubner of Freakonomics asks, "Canada Kills Its Penny; Can We Please Be Next?" Not so fast, said an advocacy group, Americans for Common Cents (www.pennies.org), which worries about the alternative to pennies in cash transactions - merchants rounding up, not down. In a survey released this week, the group found that two-thirds of adults polled favored keeping the penny in circulation. [That's obsolete data, public opinion has now swung in favor of abolishment.]

www.freakonomics.com/2012/03/30/canada-kills-its-
penny-can-we-please-be-next/

www.pennies.org

finance.yahoo.com/news/americans-common-cents
-66-americans-215000691.html

Canada Daily News quotes a coin collector and dealer, Chris Linfitt, president of the Mid-Island Coin Club and owner of Nanaimo's West Coast Stamp & Coin, said a penny just doesn't buy anything anymore so "it's about time" that the coin will be discontinued. Further he said he expects it will be a long time before Canadian pennies will be worth anything as collectable coins.

CoinWeek in contrast stated: I suspect that Canadians will start hoarding their cents soon in the hope that they will be worth a premium after they are no longer available in circulation. This is what European Union citizens did during the transition to the euro currency. According to Canadian officials, 17 other countries have already done away with their lowest denomination coin.

Calgary Herald: One of Calgary's most astute business minds, W. Brett Wilson, has also been saying that it's time to punt the penny. After all, the government's move to take the penny out of circulation this fall will save the Canadian economy about $11 million a year.

www.wbrettwilson.ca/

Duluth News Tribune believes the coins will become collectible. It editorialized: So the next time some sly Northland cashier slips Queen Elizabeth and her maple leaves in with your Abe Lincolns, don't fret. You'll have a future collector's item in the palm of your hand.

Reuters reports: "Some Canadians consider the penny more of a nuisance than a useful coin. We often store them in jars, throw them away in water fountains or refuse them as change," the government said in a budget document. Financial institutions face increasing costs for handling, storing and transporting pennies. Over time, the penny's burden to the economy has grown relative to its value as a means of payment," it said.

San Francisco Chronicle: "Saving pennies in a piggy bank may be fun for children, but for banks, the transportation, handling and storage of coins costs about C$20 million each year according to Canadian officials, a cost that has to be passed on to customers in the form of fees. Eliminating the penny saves a portion of the costs associated with processing coins. Some argue that cash registers will have to be reprogrammed to accommodate the switch, but since the penny will remain in circulation until most pennies are out of circulation and taxes will continue to be calculated to the penny, cash registers and other business machines will operate as they always have."

www.investopedia.com/articles/07/banking.asp?
partner=sfgate#axzz1qq9cd0N1

Time Moneyland: "In April, Canada will mint its final penny, and a few months later, it will halt all distribution of pennies to the country's financial institutions as it attempts to withdraw them from circulation. As for how Canadian businesses and consumers deal with a world without pennies, that's largely up to them. The government is suggesting that they either round up or down to the nearest five cents. For those who use debit or credit cards, prices will still be charged to the cent. Still, many businesses will have to deal with logistical issues like reprogramming cash registers and changing their pricing." The Canadian government says it loses $11 million each year making and distributing pennies, and the cuts are part of a larger package of reductions estimated at $5.2 billion.

Read more: moneyland.time.com/2012/03/30/canadas-penny-is-no-more
-is-the-u-s-penny-next/#ixzz1qp3tcld8

A REVIVED EAST INDIA COMPANY STRIKES COINS

Over three hundred years after The East India Company was first given the right to mint its own currency by Charles II in 1677, the company has announced the issue of its legal tender coins returning to its by-gone days in the bullion trade. The Limited Edition gold proof coins are struck by the Royal Mint, who first minted coins for The East India Company over two hundred years ago.

The coin designs are inspired by the main trading currencies The East India Company used in the 17th - 19th century ─ CASH and Mohur. The silver 'CASH' proof coins features a peacock design symbolizing immortality and rebirth and are available in a 1/2oz and 1oz coin equivalent to a 10p and 20p respectively. The gold Mohur proof coins bear the famous Lion & Palm Tree motif denoting wealth and prosperity and are available in a half and one Mohur coin equivalent to 50p and £1 respectively

Commenting on the launch of their legal tender coins Sanjiv Mehta, Managing Director and Chairman of The East India Company, said: "The East India Company is proud to present its first silver and gold coins. The company has been known in the precious metal trade since 1800. It was and still is the only corporate in history to mint its own trading currency. It made sense to commission our own silver and gold coins in this day and age. The precious metal trade formed an important part of The East India Company's trading activities and we plan to re-establish this position for the company today."

To read the complete article, see: The East India Company Issues its First Legal Tender Coins Since 1874 (www.coinweek.com/news/modern-coins/world-mint-news/
the-east-india-company-issues-its-first-legal-tender-coins-since-1874/)

From the company web site:

To visit the company web site, see: www.theeastindiacompany.com

FAMILY HOLDS RECORD FOR VICTORIA CROSS AWARDS

A family has been named the most courageous in Britain after being awarded a record breaking three Victoria Cross Medals for acts of bravery in battle.

In just two generations of the Gough family, three male members were awarded the VCs for acts of 'extreme gallantry and devotion to duty in the face of the enemy'.

The heroic exploits of the Gough family are detailed in a new guide, which lists all 1,353 recipients of the country's highest military honour for the first time.

The online database, by family history website ancestry.co.uk, contains a detailed description of their heroic acts and where they are buried.

It also includes photographs of every recipient, their gravesite and their medal - from the first in 1857 to the last in 2007.

General Sir Charles Gough was the first in his family to be awarded the VC for numerous acts of bravery from the age of 25.

To read the complete article, see: Meet the Goughs: The extraordinary family who were awarded a record-breaking THREE Victoria Cross Medals in just two generations (www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2121419/Britains-bravest-family-awarded-record-breaking-Victoria-Cross-Medals-just-generations.html)

FEATURED WEB SITE: THE BRITISH ART MEDAL SOCIETY

www.bams.org.uk