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 Saturday, August 11, 2007
World Mints make an impact at the ANA
Posted by tom
 Good Morning From the ANA show in Milwaukee!
This is my last day here in Milwaukee at the annual ANA convention, so I thought I would toss out a few impressions I have had about the world mints who have represented themselves at this show.
First, I should mention, as an adjunct to an earlier posting in my film recommednation catagory, that a representative of the Chinese Mint has a nice booth display here at the ANA. The emphasis of course, is on new issues related to the 2008 Olympics being held in Beijing. Many of the logos and symbols, which I linked to for my film recommendation for The Concrete Revolution are vibrantly represented on the mints colorful display here at the show. Coincidences like this just keep reminding me how little the world has actually become.
On a broader scale, I should mention that there are at least eight or ten mints set up with displays and coins for sale at this show, plus there are a few central banks as well. I find it facinating to compare the approaches of these different businesses. Some have very stable, fixed programs of coinage issue, while others are producing coins at record pace. Some have excellent marketing programs, while others seem to be in need of some assistance. Most all are producing some really nice products that have appeal to various segments within our traditional hobby field and a few are producing coins that reach out to tangential folks looking for an entrance to collecting.
One such person is Sara Wait, a designer with KP. Sara works on the numismatic publications for our firm and does a great job of keeping them classic, yet very lively. Sara is the person I went to when I wanted some special design work done for my Blog. The blue icons you see at the start of each of my postings are Sara's work, as is the top banner with the avatar of me in the corner. So that is Sara's involvement with our hobby, up until yesterday, when she became a coin collector.
While walking the bourse and taking everything in, Sara noticed a Niue coin commemorating Vincent Van Gogh, struck by the Polish Mint, at the Talisman Coin - Polish Mint display. Talisman is a new issues dealer, with an excellent website from which this image was obtained. They work with several mints to bring new new issues to U.S. collectors. In Sara's case they also helped to bring a new collector into the hobby, as she bought the coin that caught her eye and I am guessing that Sara is typical of how many people enter numismatics. They may have some light tie, perhaps a working association, or maybe a friend or relative who collects or used to collect, and then comes some eye catching item that compells them to begin a collection for themselves. Congratulations Sara, and welcome to the hobby! And kudos to Talisman for their friendly personal approach to marketing coins! And of course, compliments to the Polish Mint for continuing to create beautiful coins for our hobby and beyond!
News You Can Use
8/11/2007 11:37:41 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00) 
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Friday, August 10, 2007
Price Updates to Rare Czechoslovakian Dates
Posted by tom
Rare late Date Czechoslovakian Gold Brings High Prices
I arrived at the ANA convention yesterday afternoon with the help of fellow KP workers David Kranz and Katy Gertz, to find a completely new and exciting booth set up for our products and web services. Specially for this major show our staff had set up a wondeful open booth which allowed collectors and dealers to float right in and engage us in conversation, with no table barriers at all. This new set-up coupled with the ready availability of lap-top computers to access NumisMaster for demonstrations lead to some great exchanges of vital information on new issues and coin values.
The great aspect of all this was that I was able examine coins, verify information and immediately enter the new data into NumisMaster, live to all our subscribers, on the spot. What a wonderful world!
Specifically I had an unuexpected visitor from Czechoslovakia, who assisted us in updating values for some of the extremely rare and desirebale late dates in the Czechoslovakian gold Dukat Trade Coinage series. Using notes on auction records and information on private offerings we updated values, sometimes in multiples of two or three times, for the 1936-39 dates and also the tough 1951 dates in the Dukat series. All of this was entered directly into NumisMaster and became available to all subscribers immediately after I verified and entered the data. We were also able to enter a new listing for an interesting coin, struck but never released for circulation, which I was lucky enough to be able to examine at the show.
Price Change of the Week
8/10/2007 10:51:27 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday Fix
Posted by tom
 Friday Fix
London pm fixes for 8-10-07
Gold $668.50
Silver $12.69
Platinum $1,269.00
Palladium $349.00
Friday Fix
8/10/2007 10:36:23 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Thursday, August 09, 2007
Gold and other precious Metals decline
Posted by tom
Drops in all precious Metals
A quick glance at this mornings precious metals trading reveals that gold, silver, platinum and palladium are all on the decline. After a nice run for gold earlier in the week brought us near the $680 mark, this mornings dip of almost $11.50 as of 11AM eastern time, pulls it back below $665.
Burgeoning investor interest in gold and other precious metals has led to an increased volatility and heightened sensitivity to all kinds of market factors. Collectors should keep an eye out for bargains, as well as selling opportunites.
News You Can Use
8/9/2007 11:07:23 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Medieval Coins surface through DNW auction
Posted by tom
Medieval Italian Selection Arrives at DNW
Dix Noonan Webb
- DNW, one of the best London auction firms, is soon presenting thier sale 74B which contains a large selection of Medieval coins. Many are a formed group of Italian States
 
and city issues, including coins from Aquileia, Avignon, Naples, Venice and more. There are some very scarce pieces here and the estimates are very resonable. Don't miss a good opportunity to add a few tough medieval issues to your collection.
 
Also hidden in sale 74B are a wonderful grouping of odd and curious Chinese Zhou Dynasty issues, including Cowrie shells, Bridge money, Fish money, Dagger Axe cons, Hoe money, Knife money and bars and ingots.
Of course the mainstay of the sale is British material, of which there are many fine pieces offered, including a scarce 1790 pattern sixpence with crowned GR and Britannia reverse. This coin is a dazzler and should create some serious interest from specialists in British pattern coinage.
Lots You'll Like
8/8/2007 6:01:37 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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The Concrete Revolution
Posted by tom
Tom's Recommended Film of the Week
The Concrete Revolution
Produced and directed by Xiaolu Guo, The Concrete Revolution is an interesting look into the wrenching transition of Beijing from old world city to modern capital of China, as the government prepares for the 2008 Olympics. This short documentary attempts to show the link between the destruction of old neighborhoods and the decimation of old cultural morays and traditional attitudes. It succeeds by interviewing normal people involved in the destruction and construction work, giving us a close and personal view of China in transition from eastern to western desires.
The Concrete Revolution
is a very basic film, made with a hand held camera and one interviewer, apparently Guo herself. The translations hold the viewer at a bit of a distance, or perhaps it is just the differences in our culture. Generally the film takes an even hand, but occasionally viewpoints are expressed more strongly. The sense of desires of the young exceeding traditions of the old makes for as fascinating a paradox as the clear concept of a communist country wanting to emulate western culture for the sake of global profits.
All together, The Concrete Revolution, offers up a myriad of thought provoking conflicts, while giving the viewer a brief, but rarely seen look into the heart of modern China.
Tom's Recommended Film of the Week
8/8/2007 12:54:46 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday, August 03, 2007
Visit with me at ANA
Posted by tom
KP Update
ANA Comes to Milwaukee
Begining this weekend and running through the 13th of August a majority of our numismatic hobby will be focusing their attention on the American Numismatic Associationsbig annual summer show. It's a broad event which can offer a great deal in the way of buying and selling opportunites for everyone and for all kinds of material. You can find just about any type of U.S coinage or tokens, along with a wide variety of world coins, tokens and medals. There will be paper money from most any nation, probably some stocks and bonds and other fiscal instruments. Several world mints will be present and most major coin dealers. There will be many coin dealers from outside the U.S., set up at tables or walking the bourse floor. Club meetings, vest pocket dealers, collectors, accumulators, specialists, researchers, and more will all bve gathered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for a weeks worth of numismatic fun.
And yes, even publishers will be there. Krause Publications will have a large booth area set up with information on our magazines, newspapers, books and internet products. We will have plenty of staff members there to answer your questions, help with subscriptions, show you our products and walk you through our newest internet product, NumisMaster. I'll be there too, from the 9th to the 11th, so stop by and we'll have a chat, I can sign a book for you, or I can show you how NumisMaster can help you to enjoy a fun hobby even more.
NumisMaster
is a live catalog style database. You can use it to search for coins in your collecting area, identify a coin you may already have, value a coin you may have purchased years ago, or to do any other research live on the Internet. The KP database and catalog staff is updating NumisMaster all the time now, right on the Internet, live to the world. This new system makes for wonderful interaction and great market responsiveness, and you can test drive it live at the ANA convention in Milwaukee next week. See you there!
KP Update
8/3/2007 6:23:37 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday Fix
Posted by tom
Friday Fix
London pm fixes for 3-8-07
Gold $670.50
Silver $12.96
Platinum $1,286.00
Palladium $364.00
Friday Fix
8/3/2007 11:02:30 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Thursday, August 02, 2007
Better Than Any Rain Dance Known to Man!
Posted by tom
Tom's Inescapable Truths
When renovating your home, always remember that, regardless of how long the dry spell has been going on, or how long it is predicted to continue, once you remove your old windows it will rain cats and dogs for at least a day.
Tom's Inescapable Truths
8/2/2007 3:31:33 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Pan's Labyrinth
Posted by tom
Tom's Recommended Film of the Week
El Laberinto del Fauno
or Pan's Labyrinth
Guillermo del Toro
has made a number of stiking films, most in the field of horror, most not mainstream enough for me to recommend to others. Hellboy pushed him out to a wider audience, but with Pan's Labyrinth he has blended his style into a more broadly entertaining film for mass audiences. By telling a fairy tale and basing it in a vibrant historical setting, Toro has made use of the mirror image of joys and horrors between our real world and the fantasy world.
Toro's choice of post Spanish Civil War setting provides an ideal offset to the often unforgiving world of the fairy tale. We are shown evil and good on both sides of the looking glass and Toro, through some beautiful transitions, weaves a fluid tapestry of entertainment using the two parallel story lines. Ivana Baquero is wonderful as the central character Ofelia and Maribel Verdu does a great job of propelling the plot as Mercedes the housekeeper. Sergi Lopez provides some scenes of cold hearted graphic violence, which gained the film an R rating, but do seem necessary to the building of the plot tension, just be prepared.
Nominated in six Oscar categories, Pan's Labyrinth won for Cinematography, Art Direction and Makeup, all deserving. The film garnered nominations for Screenplay and Original Music Score, and though it did not win in those categories, I thought both were essential elements in the films' fine construction.
Tom's Recommended Film of the Week
8/2/2007 11:40:35 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Friday, July 27, 2007
Friday Fix
Posted by tom
Friday Fix
London pm fixes for 7-27-07
Gold $660.50
Silver $12.75
Platinum $1,284.00
Palladium $362.00
Friday Fix
7/27/2007 11:11:16 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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Thursday, July 26, 2007
The Sand Pebbles
Posted by tom
Tom's recommended Film of the Week
The Sand Pebbles
Director, producer Robert Wise was at the apex of his career in the mid 1960's, having made his bones by turning out more that 50 films by 1966. In 1965 he moved up to larger scale films, what they called Roadshow films at the time. These were meant to emulate and compete with stage play and theatre productions. They were longer than most films at the time and had overtures playing as you entered the theater. There was usually an intermission, also with music. Sometimes you had to resrve your tickets in advance!
Wise was just finishing up work on The Sound of Music when things started rolling on The Sand Pebbles. As I said, he was at the height of his game when he made this film and it shows. The story is eye opening for both the characters and viewer. Set in 1926 China, as the era of Warlords and foreign powers was coming to a close and Sun Yat-sen was trying to unite China under new politcal concepts. Wise had purchased the film rights to Richard McKenna's novel in 1962 and asked Robert Anderson to construct a screenplay. Building a strong cast of dedicated actors, Wise gave Steve McQueen the most challenging role of his career, while Candice Bergen, Richard Attenborough, Richard Crenna and new comers Marayat Andriane and Mako each played key rolls in their relationships to McQueen. The acting is good, the story is better and the production quality is great.
The Sand Pebbles has become an almost lost film in many ways, overshadowed by other films of the era with broader audience appeal. But I have found it to be one of the most visually stunning and emotionally complex films ever made. This film will stick with you long after viewing, giving you much to think about and relate to situations in the world today.
Tom's Recommended Film of the Week
7/26/2007 3:00:01 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
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