Japan’s Ministry of Finance plans to issue 500-yen (five dollar) coins commemorating the centenary of the Japanese immigration to Brazil, but a copyright disagreement regarding the initial coin design has caused a slight bump in the road.
The disputed coin design showed an image of the “Commemoration Statue in the Santos Port”, a monument built by a local association, the “Federation of the Associations of Provinces of Japan in Brazil”. The monument includes bronze sculptures of parents and a child standing in Santos, Brazil, the location where Japanese immigrants landed in 1908 after two months of voyage.
Japan had already minted 4.8 million of the Japan-Brazil Year of Exchange commemorative coins believing an agreement in place with the association covered the rights to reproduce the design. However, it was later learned that a Brazilian artist who Japan had no agreement with also held a copyright to the design.
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House and Senate members have been cracking the whip when it comes to introducing commemorative coin legislation. This year alone there have been a half dozen bills thrown into the mix that would create commemorative silver dollar coins. And that’s with just a few months into the year.
To place some perspective on the quantity of bills, only two commemorative coins may be released in a single year. As such, there is an underlying competitive aspect to each commemorative coin bill.
Outside commemorative coin talk in Congress, legislation has been introduced that would change the composition of coins to make them less expensive to mint. With the price of copper, the cost to produce the penny and nickel has exceeded their face value for some time.
There is also a new proposal to recreate the famous Saint-Gaudens Double Eagle coin in palladium, a precious metal that is less expensive than gold.
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Gold was hit sideways and then fell to a more than three-month low Tuesday as oil prices declined by more than $3, the U.S. dollar gained strength and continued expectations for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates Wednesday for the last time caused pause for the yellow metal.
Gold dropped $18.70 or 2.1 percent to $876.80 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was the lowest closing price for floor trading since January 7. For a time the price had dropped to a low of $873.60 — a level not seen since January 22.
Tomorrow’s Fed meeting is likely an indicator of gold’s near-term future. Should the Fed cut interest rates for the last time and signal their intent to hold rates or raise the potential for their reversal later in the year, gold could take its cue and move further downward.
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The Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) will display the only complete grading set of “Hot Lips” dollars, one of the most interesting of all the different varieties in the popular Morgan dollar series (1878-1921), at the Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectibles Expo, May 29 - 31, 2008.
"Some Morgan dollars were struck at the New Orleans Mint in 1888 with a doubled die obverse that produced significant doubling of Miss Liberty’s lips, nose and chin. A faint second eyelid is also visible," explained Ron Guth, PCGS President.
The unusual variety is listed as 1888-O VAM-4 (for the ‘VAM’ reference book created by Morgan dollar researchers, Leroy C. Van Allen and A. George Mallis), but many collectors refer to it simply as “Hot Lips.”
PCGS will display the Ashmore “Hot Lips” grading set during the show in the Long Beach, California Convention Center.
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Nine-year-old Alexander Granhof and his grandfather Jens have made what is believed to be the largest ever find in southern Sweden of silver coins from the Middle Ages.
Alexander and his granddad were out exploring the site of the Battle of Lund (1676) when the boy happened on some silver coins coated in verdigris. The buried treasure had likely come to the surface when the field in which they were wandering was recently plowed.
A day later, archaeologists from the National Heritage Board arrived at the site with metal detectors and were quickly able to find two clay vessels containing more than 7,000 silver coins dating from around 1300 AD.
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A new House bill recently introduced to celebrate the centennial of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) with the minting of a commemorate silver dollar has exceptionally strong bipartisan support.
Rep Pete Sessions [R-TX] introduced the new bill on April 22, 2008. The bill looks to be soundly popular with an already 296 cosponsors lined up to provide their early signature for the "100 Years of Scouting" commemorative coin.
Rep. Sessions commented,
“Boy Scouts are a significant part of American culture, shaping the values, citizenship, and skills of millions of young men,” Sessions stated. “As an Eagle Scout with four generations of Boy Scouts in my family, I strongly value the Boy Scouts’ history of instilling a sense of duty to God, country, and self.”
Not altogether surprising, in the 110th Congress, 248 members of the House of Representative and the Senate have participated in Boy Scouts of America as Scouts or adult leaders.
The bill, H.R. 5872, is entitled the Boy Scouts of America Centennial Commemorative Coin Act and calls for 350,000 silver $1 coins to be minted in 2010. The collector coin would contain 90% silver and 10% copper.
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Ottawa, Ontario, April 28, 2008 – In 2007, the Royal Canadian Mint recorded an unprecedented profit of $30.7 million, almost double the previous year’s figure. Throughout the year, it also leveraged its innovation advantage, strengthened strategic partnerships and positioned itself for future growth in the global marketplace.
“The past year was one of remarkable accomplishment for the Mint, and this success can be attributed to the dedication and commitment of each and every employee of the Corporation,” said Ian E. Bennett, President and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint.
“As we move forward, we will invest in our infrastructure, our world-renowned technology and in our employees – all of which will ensure our path to continued success.”
Achievements for the Royal Canadian Mint in 2007 included:
If two U.S. senators have their way, in a few years you may be giving your mother a silver coin for Mother’s Day rather than the traditional card, flowers or candy. They propose a commemorative silver dollar to celebrate the event.
Senator Jay Rockefeller [D-WV] and Senator Robert C. Byrd [WV], the longest serving senator in history at age 90, introduced a new bill on April 17, 2008 that seeks the creation of a commemorative silver dollar to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Mother’s Day.
The bill, S. 2883, is entitled the Mother’s Day Centennial Commemorative Coin Act and calls for 400,000 silver $1 coins to be minted in 2014 — six years into the future.
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In stopping by Tom Michael’s blog, Big Ideas, Little World, he reminded readers of a 15% discount on Krause Publications™ Books through Wednesday, April 30.
Krause Publications, also known as "KP" for short, offers an excellent selection of numismatic books by industry experts. They have an assortment of books within the major numismatic categories of:
- World Coins
- Ancient Coins
- United States Coins
- United States Paper Money
- World Paper Money
The books are worth their face value, but saving a few bucks to help purchase that next coin is a welcomed announcement I’m more than happy to pass around.
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Dallas, TX. The Official Currency Auction of the Central States Numismatic Society convention, held by Heritage Auction Galleries, realized $14,164,504, the largest currency auction ever, and the final total will be even higher after Post Auction Buys are concluded. Combining the rare coin and currency results, total prices realized at Central States currently exceed $44.4 million. More than 6,700 bidders participated in Heritage’s Signature events, and another 3,000-plus bid in the Final Sessions.
The auctions were held in Rosemont, Illinois on April 16-18; Images, descriptions, and prices realized for all lots can be viewed at the Heritage website, HA.com.
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