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 Thursday, June 14, 2007
New Confederate variety discovered
Posted by David
A variety of CSA Type 47 has been discovered by Dale Alberstone, who acquired it in Smythe's April 13 auction of the Western Reserve Historical Society collection.  The visible difference is in the shield next to Liberty's legs at upper center of the note. Alberstone's new find has cross hatching or a checkerboard appearance in the lower portion of the shield rather than the usual vertical bands of alternating light and dark. So far, even though specialists Alberstone has contacted have been looking through their holdings, only this one example of the new variety has been found. If you've got one, the CSA collecting and research community would be pleased to hear about it. You can e-mail me at david.kranz@fwpubs.com. An image would be a big plus. Pierre Fricke, author of Collecting Confederate Paper Money, also reported the find in the news section of his Web site www.csaquotes.com. You can see a photo of the normal T-47 shield at his site, and in the upcoming July editon of Bank Note Reporter. Alberstone said Fricke, Hugh Shull and George Tremmel plan to list the variety in future editions of their CSA references. The T-47 note is believed to be some sort of essay or fantasy note rather than a regular issue of Confederate Currency, but since Grover Criswell gave it a type number years ago, collectors have considered it an issue to be collected in the pursuit of a complete CSA set.
6/14/2007 9:51:14 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00) 
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Friday, June 01, 2007
High stakes counterfeiting
Posted by David
When President Bush accused North Korea of counterfeiting U.S. paper money, that nation broke from dismantling its nuclear weapons program. Now, Swiss federal police say they doubt that North Korea is capable of making high-quality fakes. In an article in the New York Times in July 2006, Stephen Mihm quoted a Treasury Department official saying that evidence points to North Korea as a source of high-quality counterfeit $100 Federal Reserve Notes, nicknamed "supernotes." The Swiss Bundeskriminalpolizei says that the U.S. Secret Service has supplied no information to aid it and provided no evidence, but adds that if concrete evidence could be found pointing to North Korea, the United States would have "basis for going to war." Start a war over counterfeit paper money — do you think that's sufficient cause? Is spread of this Swiss police report more of a political step, trying to get the United States to take some other course, or sending warning to the world that war is technically a possibility if proof is found? We've heard something like that before, when then U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell addressed the United Nations about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
6/1/2007 12:13:58 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, May 31, 2007
No wiser than a daw?
Posted by David
If you didn't know who the Silver Surfer is, you will soon. With his power cosmic and Shakespearian lingo, he has ridden a wave into numismatic history — to the chagrin of the U.S. Mint. The Marvel Comics hero features in the upcoming movie Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, due for U.S. release June 15. As a promotion for the film, the Franklin Mint placed Silver Surfer stickers on the reverses of 40,000 California state quarters. These were then circulated nationwide. Aye, there's the rub. Putting them into circulation may run afoul of the law. (Dick the Butcher's comment about lawyers in 2 Henry VI might be more or less applicable here, depending on your view of the situation.) David L. Ganz explains pertinent legal issues in a Numismatic News story. Even if the Franklin Mint, 20th Century Fox or Marvel Comics are fined, the promotion appears a success — at least among numismatists.
5/31/2007 2:30:19 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, May 30, 2007
First 2006 $1 turns up
Posted by David
5/30/2007 9:40:12 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Azpiazu offers pizzazz
Posted by David
Thirty-five years of collecting have come to a head: Bob Azpiazu is selling his low and fancy serial numbered notes. Robert is a paper money dealer, but I don't mind giving a free plug here because these notes have been a collecting passion over and above his dealing. Further, he shares his information, notably in the form of a book on $1 Federal Reserve Notes he self-published last year. If you're looking to add some pizzazz to a small-size note collection — like a serial No. 3 1957 $1 Silver Certificate in gem uncirculated instead of a common type example — give his Azpiazu Collection price lists a look. Two lists have come out so far; you can e-mail him at fstctycu@bellsouth.net to request them. He'll also have many of the notes at the Long Beach Expo May 31-June 2 in Long Beach, Calif.
5/23/2007 2:36:38 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Friday, May 18, 2007
Detect imperfections at Memphis
Posted by David
The best defense is offense, the sports axiom goes. It can apply in the hobby marketplace as well when it comes to grading. There's a certain flexibility in labeling a bank note's condition, all part of "the art" of grading. The more you know about it, though, the better prepared you will be to assess someone else's grading. To help, longtime bank note collector, researcher and author Wendell Wolka will conduct a program July 7 in Memphis on paper money grading and imperfection detection. His program is free and open to all. It will be part of the Saturday meeting of the Society of Paper Money Collectors at the 31st International Paper Money Show.
5/18/2007 2:08:41 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, May 17, 2007
Web enhances June BNR
Posted by David
Something new with the June issue
of Bank Note Reporter, which should reach most subscribers within the next week, is a stepped-up effort to point out that we're
also putting information online. For example, George Cuhaj blogged Tuesday that a new holographic technology called Motion™ will be used in the next U.S. $100 bill. That news is in BNR. But we learned of it too close to deadline to include a long story. Rather than waiting a month for the next BNR, though, you can read a story on the topic by former Bureau of Engraving and Printing Director Robert J. Leuver. It's available right now at the BNR Web site. Click here to read his story. And enjoy the June issue when it comes!
5/17/2007 12:06:54 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, May 10, 2007
Look like a million dollars
Posted by David
In his Current Currency blog, George Cuhaj takes note of the new Canadian $1,000,000 coin ( read about the coin here) and looks for the highest-value bank note. As Dave Harper says in his blog Buzz, the million-dollar coin is a great public relations concept. I wonder if this will lead to more incredibly high-denomination note issues. Will we have a real million-dollar note one day?
5/10/2007 6:16:34 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Industry group honors excellence in currency
Posted by David
 The International Association of Currency Affairs announced its first-ever Excellence in Currency awards last night. Never heard of these awards before? Well, these were the first ever, given out at IACA's currency conference in Bangkok, Thailand. Congratulations to Tom Ferguson (shown at right in a 2003 photo), former director of the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award. Ferguson was at BEP for 32 years, seven as its director, retiring in January 2006. His tenure culminated in the process of bank note redesign and technological advancement that began in the 1990s and continues today under Director Larry Felix. BEP also was honored, for its public education program associated with release of the new $10 Federal Reserve Note. Crane, De La Rue, the nation of Kazakhstan and others also received awards from IACA chairman Rick Haycock. Check out link for more award winners.
5/10/2007 11:53:24 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, May 09, 2007
BEP honors Jamestown's 400th
Posted by David
 This just in: The Bureau of Engraving and Printing's Jamestown
commemorative intaglio print, marking the 400th anniversary of the
founding of the Jamestown settlement, will go on sale Friday, May 18.
While the card doesn't feature a bank note, it does show an engraving
of Capt. John Smith, a portrait used for a "Jamestown Exhibit Souvenir Plate, 1907," according to the BEP.
5/9/2007 2:43:21 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Thursday, May 03, 2007
South Korea plans higher denomination notes
Posted by David
South Korea will issue 100,000-won and 50,000-won notes, possibly in the
first half of 2009, the Bank of
Korea announced yesterday in Seoul. The nation's current highest denomination
note in circulation is the 10,000 won, worth about U.S. $10.79 at the moment. The
two new high-denomination notes would be worth about U.S. $54 and $108. I don't know much about prices or daily life in South Korea — can anyone comment on how useful the new bills will be? According to an editorial in The Korea Herald online, it's about time, and revaluation of the won would be nice, too. Further news of the announcement can be seen here. People needing larger denominations are currently forced to use credit cards, electronic transfers and pre-denominated, single-use checks supplied by banks. Addition of the new denominations reflects a need for larger bills in circulation, the bank says, citing this as a sign of
increasing prosperity. The Bank of Korea's Web site doesn't mention the new notes yet, but does show notes and coins
currently in circulation, here. A separate section is devoted
to the bank's ongoing bank note redesign.
5/3/2007 3:17:07 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Digital currency a threat to bank note hobby?
Posted by David
Use of digital currency appears to be growing. At least, banks with online
banking options are heavily marketing their services. Did you know
you can get an online savings account that pays nearly 6 percent interest? I
read about it in a blog called Bank
Deals. When saving for hobby purchases, every little bit can help. Of
course, I'm not recommending any specific bank or account, nor does the Bank
Deals blogger. News reports about online banking say that use of online accounts grew rapidly in the 2000-2005
period. Growth slowed in 2006 — perhaps that's a simple enough explanation
for why marketing efforts were stepped up. Now large banks and small are
fishing for dollars online, and people are biting on the attractive rates.
Is online banking, and by extension digital currency, a threat to
our bank note collecting hobby? In our lifetimes, I don't think so. It may
even add fuel to the desire to collect. What do you think?
5/3/2007 2:39:30 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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