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 Thursday, June 28, 2007
CIA's 'family jewels' disappoint
Posted by David
For all the mainstream news coverage of their release, the Central Intelligence Agency's "family jewels" are a numismatic disappointment. The collection of memos and reports — assembled in 1973 to document CIA activities dating back to 1959 that might be "delicate," "inappropriate" or have "flap potential" — contains no mention of currency. No partially censored notes about cooperation with the Secret Service in an operation to mop up any 1964-D Peace dollars that might have escaped the Denver Mint. No orders for CIA staff to create a 1944-dated export license for a 1933 $20 gold piece — wouldn't that be fun! I admit I did not read all 693 pages. The closest they appear to get to collecting, though, is concern that a Silver Spring, Md., police shooting of a gun collector could be construed to have connection to the agency because it had supplied some equipment and training to the police. Police intercepted a phone call in which Mr. Ballou spoke of a plan to "kill a cop." If Mr. Ballou had thrown a coin at officers instead of picking up an antique gun, we'd have a real hobby tie. He also likely would not have been paralyzed. I don't mean to make light of these activities. I'm just looking for hobby aspects. There's a lot of ground to cover in there, about CIA surveillance of Americans (such as politically active college students, John Lennon, and journalists of the time including Brit Hume), about a plot to assassinate Fidel Castro using a member of the mob and, one that seems odd to me, about CIA sharing costs of a White House mailing after public comments about Cambodia resulted in massive public response. And there's plenty more. Maybe someone in the Cuban Numismatic Association can tell us if there are any direct connections between the CIA's activities and people involved with Cuba's currency. If you see any numismatic ties to the CIA "family jewels," do tell.
6/28/2007 11:33:02 AM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00) 
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Wednesday, June 27, 2007
What's source of POW*MIA overstamp?
Posted by David
 This $5 bill with something stamped on its right end caught my eye in circulation. The stamped design shows a person's head in silhouette with a guard tower behind, what might be a strand of razor wire running horizontally near the chin, and the letters POW*MIA above. There may be more lettering intended below the central design that I can't make out. Given the design elements and familiar acronyms for "Prisoner of War" and "Missing in Action," a military theme is clearly intended. I suppose it was stamped onto the note to encourage people to remember those who have been prisoners of war or who have been categorized as missing in action. But this is a Series 1999 $5 bill. Isn't it unusual that this overstamp appears on this note? I'm curious. Can anyone shed light on the source or specific meaning of this overstamp?
6/27/2007 4:54:37 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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Wednesday, June 20, 2007
You watching, BEP?
Posted by David
I see that Wal-Mart is expanding its financial services business. Its new product is a prepaid debit card, adding to its ongoing offerings of payroll check cashing, bill payment, money orders, money transfers and its own store credit cards. Look at all those alternatives to physical U.S. currency! If this were some other company, it might not hit the radar. But this is Wal-Mart, the juggernaut of volume retailing. The U.S. government partnered with the company to distribute the first Sacagawea dollar coins in 2000. The Federal Reserve clearly recognizes how much money flows through the Wal-Mart check-out lines. Why not exchange your payroll check for Wal-Mart credit devices and live the new simple life, not the down-on-the-farm sort that Paris Hilton flirted with on TV, but the one-shop-for-everything sort. Sounds particularly good for the RV travelers who I'm told are showering at Wal-Marts already. (Is that true?) I'm sure the Fed is watching Wal-Mart, I just hope that our friends at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing can survive the results of any future drop in currency printing needs. Maybe I should get in early and start a collection of Wal-Mart debit cards today!
6/20/2007 5:46:23 PM (Central Daylight Time, UTC-05:00)
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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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