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 Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Artist Johnny Swing make use of coins in his furniture series
Posted by george
At the opening of the Museum of American Finance, I had the opportunity to speak with featured artist Johnny Swing.
Mr. Swing makes couches, chairs, tables, bowls from circulating clad or other base metal coinage.
Mostly nickels and quarters.
He welds the coins together, and supports them on bars, which then attach to other bars forming the main support and structural design.
They are sold at prices far exceeding face value. As an artist I appreciated the innovative technique and the comfortable form of the finished product.
2/27/2008 7:22:48 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00) 
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Serbian and Yugoslav Paper Money reference by Stojanovic
Posted by george
Zeljko Stojanovic recently released his Standard Reference Guide to Serbian and Yugoslav Paper Money book.
It is wonderful !
Presented in a handy 5-1/2 x 8 size, the 278 pages include full color reduced size illustrations of bank notes, and listings presented in Yugoslav, German and English. Prices in multiple conditions are also included.
Each note is accorded its own catalog page, or more, if detailed variety information warrents. Note from 1876 to present are included, and are referenced to the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money catalog numbers.
Books are available directly from the author, and are priced at 35 Euro, or $50.00 USD plus postage. Contact Zeljko Stojanovic at: catalogpmserbia@yahoo.com
2/27/2008 7:06:53 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Stack's Feb. 26-27 Sale offers goodies.
Posted by george
Often called the currency of fame, the portrait medal is a special item. Not many of us have one to present to friends. Today is primary day in Wisconsin. Politics have been on my mind of late, I've even received (electronic) phone calls from most of the remaining candidates, their husbands or past governors for support.
However, when all is said and done, and the November election is over, this fall a bi-partisan inaugural committee will select a sculptor to honor the inauguration of the next president.
For Franklin Roosevelt's first term, Paul Manship was selected. For another Manship work, might I recommend the Prometheus statue at Rockefeller Center in NYC, just past the ice skating rink, and under their Christmas tree.
The medal is a beautiful high relief portrait. The series of inaugural medals by this committee are only about 110 years old. It is a very nice set.
Stack's Rare Coins, in NYC is offering this medal, as well a many others from 1897 thru 1960. Check out the firms website at
www.stacks.com
.George
2/19/2008 4:13:53 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Tuesday, February 12, 2008
An anniversary - 40 years in Scouting, 32 since Eagle
Posted by george
Lincoln's Birthday.
It is an interesting association / reminder date for me. 32 years ago on February 12th, I sat for my board of review held by members of our boy scout troop's committee and a representative from our district for the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. Yes, and they saw fit to approve the application too!
It was in the meeting rooms of the Astoria Presbyterian Church on 33rd street, next door to where I lived. Troop 90 was sponsored by the church since 1928.
Scouting was good for me. The program kept me off the streets while growing up. Scouting got me out of the city for weekend trips to the country. Events got me comfortable with alergies. The advancement program expanded my horizons. The merit badge program re-enforced things I liked to do - stamp collecting, coin collecting and railroading were my first three merit badges, followed eventually by printing, computers and photography. All topics which have become connected with my profession. (I have often said that if you look at a fellows merit badge sash you could see what he was to become in life.)
Being in a troop taught me a bit about group dynamics, personalities, different opinions and religious beliefs. 
I was involved in the program since a cub scout, so at 16 when I became Eagle, I was in the scout uniform for half my life. It was a big thing to have completed the advancement levels.
It has been a foundation to give back. I followed the example of the scoutmaster at the time, Joseph Chavatel. He earned his Eagle Award in the troop in 1964, and when he returned from service in Vietnam got involved in the troop as scoutmaster for 7 years. When his job took him to Washington DC, after a short interium, I took over the troop as scoutmaster which I did for 15 years until moving out to Wisconsin. Sadly after the short service of the scoutmaster after me, and 70 years in Astoria the troop closed.
However, I still see the program as a positive, and have remained active on a Venture Crew committee here in Central Wisconsin.
I've even gotten to write a book - the Standard Price Guide of U.S. Scouting Collectibles, which is still availale (autographed) from the author at a discounted $15.00 postpaid.
Do I disagree with some of the policies of the movement? Yes. (Can you say the three Gs) But as Michael Bloomberg reminded us in attendance during a Greater New York Council Eagle Scout Dinner some years ago (before becoming mayor of NYC) it is better to remain in the movement and try to affect change from within than leave the movement and try to do it from the outside as a non-member.
2/12/2008 12:54:47 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Monday, February 11, 2008
eBay community Feb. 18-25 strike! Sellers of the world unite!
Posted by george
eBay Strike !
Well it certainly was news to me, but now it has gotten my attention.
I’ve been active on the internet auction site for just over ten years now. I’ve both sold items globally, and bought things locally - the stuff that we crowd into our lives for comfort or profit – and have had the opportunity to have some great email exchanges about experiences.
However, while reading a CNN story over the weekend, it alerted me to the strike. Then I went out to YouTube, and there was a very informative video. They I got to read on the eBay site the listing of all the fee changes to go into effect February 20th.
Yikes. A shot across the bow.
At times this winter I have had over 50 items listed each week. Now I have one, and next week, it goes away for a week.
George
2/11/2008 9:31:30 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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U.S. Mint and Cent Production make 60 Minutes
Posted by george
Last evening after dinner while channel surfing on the TV, itired of the weekend primary pundent reports already, I came by 60 Minutes.
It was featuring a segment by Morley on the price the U.S. Mint is having to pay to produce our cent and our nickel, because the public demands them.
Interviews with Mint Director Moy were well done. Interviews with the MIT Student who figured our a formula for the value of the time wasted by each of us to count out cents for use in transactions at a cash register in the course of a year ($41.00 for every person).
What was even more exciting for a type collector was to see some of the designs for the 2009 circulating commemorative of the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth and the centennial of the cent.
So, how can we stop the cent use? It all comes down to understanding rounding.
As my co-worker Dave Harper just informed me on our walk into the building from the parking lot, it will be a savy merchant who would advertise - We always round down.
For the rest of us, the rounding occurs at the final total purchase, at the end of the 75.98 grocery bill, or the 29.59 in gas purchase. Rounding does not occur on each of the 15 items in the grocery cart.
During the interview Moy suggests that there will be a one time inflation of prices (two cents!) and then things will stablize. This also happened in the Euro zone countries where items got rounded up in the transition form national currencies. But then prices stayed steady for a longer periord to absorb that it.
I'm willing to take the hit. We have enough stupid decisions made in government that waste money, we do not have to do it on money too.
2/11/2008 9:03:20 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, February 07, 2008
Krueger's Men, a new book on WWII Nazi counterfeiting.
Posted by george
A new book – Krueger’s Men, The Secret Nazi Counterfeit Plot and the Prisoners of Block 19 by Lawrence Malkin has been recently published by Little, Brown.
I was pleased to receive a copy of the recently released Krueger’s Men book after a lengthy phone conversation with the author. I found the book a good read, and informative. It mostly deals with the particulars of the people involved in the German production of counterfeit Bank of England currency during WWII, their daily routine, the bureaucracy in which they needed to operate and what the prisoners had to deal with in the production of the items, and what all did after the war. There is an 8-page photo section of the principals involved and some of the sites. Only two notes are illustrated.
This is a historical novel, a good story based on facts with a bit of a bias slant.
It is not in any way an identification guide for the counterfeit notes. If you want a guide to the notes, and how to identify them, I must recommend Nazi Counterfeiting of British Currency during World War II by Bryan Burke. 1987. ISBN: 0-9618274-0-8.
The specifics for Krueger’s Men: ISBN-13: 978-0-316-05700-4 $24.99, 287 pgs, 6x9 format, hardcover.
George
2/7/2008 9:17:59 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Cyprus (and Malta) Change over to the Euro !
Posted by george
Cyprus makes the change over to the Euro
It is sad when a nation losses its national currency, and this month we have the Euro converson for Cyprus. After two years or so of dual prices posted in stores and markets, so folks could get accustomed to the conscpt, the actual period of one month of dual circulation just ended, with the Euro now the sole currency in use.
This has caused a great interest in high grade older notes, and with that, the prices for many pre 1985 have increased tremendously, and even the 1980 and 1990 issues have seen good upward movement. But remember, it is usually only seen with uncirculated grade notes!
The Central Bank has for some time sold uncirculated notes to collectors, but in the recent past they have instituted a premium surcharge for this service. Last year they raised the prices in anticipation of the increased collector demand during the last year of the Cypriot Lira.
Malta also made the change to the Euro. More about that later.
George
2/6/2008 8:50:31 AM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)
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