Iraq Coinage One Step Closer to Reality By Richard Giedroyc, World Coin News October 18, 2011 Other News & Articles World Money Supplies Explode Early Gold Type Moves Up Sharply Iraq Coinage One Step Closer to Reality This article was originally printed in World Coin News. >> Subscribe today! Iraq may soon see its first circulating coinage since 2004, but it might be quite different from what was used in the past. Alsumaria Iraqi satellite television reported on Sept. 3 that, “The denomination of the Iraqi currency reached its final stages as the study and draft resolution reached the Cabinet after being sent by [the] Iraq Central Bank. Iraq Central Bank said that it won’t only delete the zeros, but it will also change Iraq monetary structure in order to provide bigger currencies. According to this project, coins will appear again in the Iraqi currency. As for the bank notes, the Central Bank will recourse to international institutions to print them.” Standard Catalog of World Coins 1801-1900 The most comprehensive and current information about 19th century world coins! Get your copy today! In a further reform, the central bank announced that the new bank notes will be printed in three languages, one of which will be Kurdish. The Kurds live primarily in northern Iraq and were enemies of the Saddam government and pro-Saddam insurgents who fought coalition troops following Saddam’s overthrow. The new notes will carry vignettes from Iraqi civilization rather than Saddam’s portrait, which has appeared on notes in the past. Nothing was said regarding the coins and if they too will carry three languages. The central bank stressed the changes are meant to decrease the enormous amount of currency it takes to make cash transactions, but it should not impact the purchasing power of the dinar. Plans call for three zeroes to be removed from all existing bank note denominations. Coins were initially introduced in modern Iraq when Iraq was an independent kingdom, during 1931 and 1932. The coins were issued in denominations of 1, 2, 4, 10, 20, 50 and 200 fils. The 200-fils coin is also known as a rial. In 1953, a 100-fils coin was added to this mix. A new series of coins initially in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 fils was issued at the time of the establishment of the Iraqi Republic, with 250 fils coins being added in 1970 and 500 fils and 1 dinar coins in 1982. All Iraqi coin production ceased after 1990. The Coalition Provisional Authority that followed the overthrow of Saddam authorized new coins and bank notes. In 2004, 25-, 50- and 100-dinar coins were introduced, however they proved to be unpopular and were quickly withdrawn. Coins and low denomination bank notes are a problem since due to inflation, they have little purchasing power. Iraq’s highest currency denomination is the 25,000-dinar bank note, which has an exchange value of about $21 U.S. It will take a currency reform in which three zeros are removed from each existing denomination to make it practical for coins to circulate. Such a currency reform will also benefit the Iraqi government, since the government will be able to spend less on future bank notes when low denomination notes are once more able to circulate. It is expected it will take three years for a currency reform to become a reality. Nothing was immediately available regarding where future coins or bank notes might be produced. Iraq’s currency has been impacted by severe fluctuations in the economy between the later years of Saddam’s dictatorial rule and today. Economic sanctions imposed on the regime caused rampant inflation, which was quickly coupled with massive counterfeiting of bank notes, while all coins vanished from circulation. Once the Saddam regime was blocked from receiving new supplies of high quality bank notes from overseas, the poorer quality notes produced domestically became the target of domestic counterfeiters. It has never been proven, but there is a possibility foreign countries also sanctioned counterfeit Iraqi dinar bank notes as well.

Is U.S. Terrorized by Gold?

By Patrick A. Heller March 22, 2011

Last Friday, Bernard von NotHaus was convicted of four charges of issuing, passing, selling and possessing privately manufactured Liberty Dollars, including the intent to use them as current money and of conspiracy against the United States.

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The trial was held in Statesville, N.C., and lasted eight days. The jury deliberated for only two hours before returning a guilty decision on all charges. Von NotHaus is currently free on bond awaiting sentencing.

In the Department of Justice press release issued March 18 on the conclusion of this trial, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, Anne M. Tompkins, said, “Attempts to undermine the legitimate currency of this country are simply a unique form of domestic terrorism. While these forms of anti-government activities do not involve violence, they are every bit as insidious and represent a clear and present danger to the economic stability of this country.”

Von NotHaus was charged and convicted for the act of issuing silver and gold private barter currency which listed a face value on them. At the times they were issued, the pieces were stamped with a value and traded at prices above the intrinsic metal value.

During the trial, the prosecution’s witnesses admitted that the pieces were of full weight and purity as stated on the pieces, which is why there were no charges for fraudulent description of the merchandise being bartered.

Is it true, as Tompkins’ asserts, that selling gold and silver is an act of “terrorism” that “represents a clear and present danger to the economic stability of this country?” This contention contradicts the U.S. government’s past inaction on this issue.

For example, Christopher Bechtler and his son August of Rutherford County, North Carolina issued $1, $2.50 and $5-denominated gold pieces from 1830 to 1852. It happened that at least some of the issues contained about 1 percent more gold content than coins of the same denomination struck by the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. Despite this long period of operation, the U.S. government never once prosecuted the Bechtler’s for the same charges pressed against von NotHaus. There are reports that the Bechtler coins were so popular that they were readily accepted at par by banks in North Carolina into the early 20th century.

The March 20 issue of “The New York Sun” carries a great editorial. It begins:

“Here is a thought experiment concerning two men who have issued money. One issued gold and silver coins that will today bring more in dollars than he charged for them. The other issued paper notes that are today worth but a fraction of the gold or silver they were worth at the time they were issued. One man is facing the possibility of years in prison after a federal jury found his issuing of money to have been a crime. The other man is walking around free and being treated by the authorities with great deference. Which is which?”

“It turns out that the man walking free is Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve. A $1 note that his bank issued used to be worth – as recently as, say, the start of President Bush’s first term – a 265th of an ounce of gold; today it’s value has plunged to less than 1,400th of an ounce of gold. The man who issued the coins that will fetch more dollars today than when he issued them is Bernard von NotHaus, 67.”

You can read the complete editorial at http://www.nysun.com/editorials/a-unique-form-of-terrorism/87269/.

If selling (and, by implication) buying gold and silver coins is an act of domestic terrorism that needs to be prosecuted, is the Department of Justice going to go after “terrorist organizations” that are major manufacturers and sellers of gold and silver such as the United States Mint, Royal Canadian Mint, Perth Mint, Royal Mint, Austrian Mint, South African Mint, Casa de Moneda, and others? They all produce large quantities of gold and silver issues sold to people who are not purchasing them for their numismatic value but rather for their status as safe haven alternatives to owning Federal Reserve Notes. Then is the Department of Justice going to go after every “domestic terrorist” who owns any gold or silver bullion-priced coins and ingots?

The sales of Liberty Dollars barely totaled $10 million before it was shut down by the U.S. government. Does this comparatively modest amount really “represent a clear and present danger to the economic stability of this country?” If so, shouldn’t the Department of Justice aggressively go after those responsible for the major damage to the economic stability of the U.S. – the President, members of Congress, the Federal Reserve and officials at the U.S. Treasury Department?

Think about it. If the U.S. government issued a sound currency, then actions such as the issuing of Liberty Dollars would have no impact on the economic stability of the U.S. It is only by the actions and inactions of U.S. government officials that the stability of the U.S. dollar ever comes into question. The depreciation of the U.S. dollar is now wreaking havoc among American citizens.

As the value of the U.S. dollar continues to fall (now at a 15-month low) the wealth of Americans is being stolen by the U.S. government as a result of the inflation of the money supply. Von NotHaus is not responsible for this condition, but he has just been convicted of contributing to this problem.

Where is the justice in the von NotHaus conviction?

Contrast that story to the U.S. Supreme Court decision announced March 21 that confirmed a trial judge’s order to the Federal Reserve to release 231 pages of documents related to emergency bank loans made in April and May 2008, along with the loan amounts made by the Fed. These documents are to be released within five days.

This is the second time that the Fed has been ordered to disclose information that it sought to shield from the public. One of the Fed’s objections to the disclosure is that it could affect the future operations of the Fed and banks in pursuing, for instance, economic stability. Should the Department of Justice add the Supreme Court to a list of “terrorists?”

Sacramento ANA Report

The American Numismatic Association National Money Show was held in Sacramento, Calif., this past week. When this show was last held in Sacramento in 1999, it set an all-time attendance record.

Activity was much livelier than I observed at the show in Long Beach six weeks earlier. Still, attendance was significantly less than the prior Sacramento show. The public attendance was well down. As a result, most of the activity was dealer to dealer. As I asked around the floor, dealers told me that they generally had an acceptably good show. Nobody told me they were having a spectacular show and only one dealer considered the show to be not worth his time and cost.

Dealers were willing to step up to purchase inventory, with Morgan dollars probably being the strongest area of interest. During the course of the show, dealer bids for common MS-63 and MS-64 Morgans rose about 5 percent. Mint State rolls and even circulated issues were in demand. There was also some interest in picking up U.S. gold coins, though prices remained relatively static.

A number of dealers told me that it continues to get ever more difficult to find new material to acquire. That was also my experience. My numismatic purchases at the show were the lowest of any show in at least a year, despite my willingness to stretch to buy coins I sought. Still, my surprisingly high sales made the overall result satisfying.

In the previous 10 days, my own company had seen the demand for precious metals fall about 80 percent toward silver and 20 percent to gold. When I asked several dealers around the country about the experience in their shops, they all agreed that demand for silver has been strong – several times the amount they have been selling in gold bullion-priced items. The strongest demand, relative to available supply, seems to be for 1- and 10-ounce size silver rounds and ingots.

One California dealer lamented that he appreciated doing so much bullion business, but he really missed doing as much numismatic volume (with its higher profit margins) as he used to do. Among areas of special demand right now, beyond Morgan and Peace dollars, are U.S. Civil War-dated coinage, Chinese Panda and other issues and ancient coins. There continues to be interest in the classic commemorative half dollars with Civil War-related themes.

Patrick A. Heller owns Liberty Coin Service and Premier Coins & Collectibles in Lansing, Mich., and writes “Liberty’s Outlook,” a monthly newsletter on rare coins and precious metals subjects. Past newsletter issues can be viewed at http://www.libertycoinservice.com. Other commentaries are available at CoinUpdate (http://www.coinupdate.com). He also writes a bi-monthly column on collectibles for “The Greater Lansing Business Monthly” (http://www.lansingbusinessmonthly.com/articles/department-columns). His radio show “Things You ‘Know’ That Just Aren’t So, And Important News You Need To Know” can be heard at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday mornings on 1320-AM WILS in Lansing (which streams live and becomes part of the audio and text archives posted at http://www.1320wils.com).

By Dr Jeffrey Lewis
It wasn’t exactly headline news, but it wasn’t a quiet event either. The Utah state house has passed a new bill that would allow the state to explore solutions to issuing its own currency, one made of gold or silver, and it seeks to allow its citizens to trade in gold and silver as bullion, not as arbitrary dollars. The bill, which many expect to fail in the state Senate, is certainly another small victory in the move toward sound money.

All in Favor, All Opposed
While many have focused purely on the politics of the matter, there are underlying elements of the bill that should be considered individually, if not part of some greater goal of expanding the uses for sound money.

Under the bill, state sales taxes, income taxes, and capital gains taxes would be removed entirely from bullion. Opponents say the taxation changes would lead to lost revenues of up to $300,000 per year, but consider the greater effect.

Thanks to a virtual hodgepodge of tax laws and systems, inflation has become a taxable event. That is, if one were to own $10,000 in gold and silver, and it were to appreciate to $11,000 during a period of 10% inflation, the investor would owe capital gains taxes on that $1,000 of “gains,” even though there was really nothing gained.

Of all the elements of the final bill, this was the one that would resonate with most investors. All told, a majority of states assess some kind of tax on gold and silver, whether it is sales tax, income tax, or capital gains tax, or a combination of each. The sales tax, though, is perhaps the most egregious. To charge a tax for converting $36 of paper money to a $36 silver coin is the equivalent of charging a tax for asking a cashier to give you a $10, $5, and five $1 bills in exchange for a $20 bill.

What This Bill Means for Silver
In the short term, this bill should be labeled as just another one of silver’s excellent spotlights in the press. For the first time in a long time, investors are again considering how inflation plays into their financial futures and their everyday spending habits. This bill is an obvious rejection of fiat money, and it even furthers a stand against a tax code that has encouraged consumption and spending and discouraged real, physical savings.

Remember that the metals markets are still very much comprised of a very small retail side and plenty of institutional shorts; however, with each passing day, it is proposals like these that help bring more people to see the benefits of sound money. With at least some politicians seeing benefit in a hard money currency, there is no better time to start collecting bullion coins in sizes that are suitable for trade. Of particular interest would be smaller coins with silver in smaller proportions. Pre-1964 dimes would be a perfect example investment, especially if bills like these do eventually become law.

UTAH (Commodity Online) : The State of Utah took another step forward in bringing around its own additional currency by forwarding the silver and gold coin bill (Substitute Currency Amendments bill (H.B. 317) 16-7) to Gov. Gary Herbert for his signature.

Last week the senate had passed a law to allow silver and gold coins as a legal tender within the state’s borders.

The Utah legislation is touted as a rejection of fiat money and an opposition against tax code that encourages consumption.

The new wave is not restricted to Utah, as a dozen states have proposed such a bill. If they come through, the demand for gold coins and silver coins could significantly increase. There are even arguments that the said legislation may spur the US Congress to consider adopting gold standard.

In Virginia, the legislature there has passed a bill (which is yet to be signed by the governor) that would allow the state to mint gold, silver and platinum coins. This is expected to protect the state from the scourge of high inflation.

In fact, a Virginia delegate tried to initiate a resolution that would allow the state to have its own currency, but fell through.

 

Some Observations About the 2010 Boston ANA Coin Show

nd I don’t really care that Dealer X spent this much money on those coins at the show. That said, I also know that the ANA is the show that everyone who didn’t attend wants to know about. So, with these people in mind, I thought I’d share a few random observations about the ANA. On a scale of 1-10, I’d rate this show as a solid 6; possibly a 7. Overall, I’d say a was a tiny bit disappointed. I was expecting the show to be an 8 or a 9 because of the fact that it was the first ANA in Boston since 1982 and the fact that Boston is within a few hours of huge numbers of serious collectors. I go to coin shows primarily to buy and from a buying standpoint I was reasonably pleased. I bought some great coins. These include an 1854-O double eagle in PCGS AU55, the Garrett specimen of the 1808 quarter eagle (graded AU53 by PCGS) and over fifty crusty original 19th century gold pieces, most of which have already found their way onto my website. I would have liked to buy more buy, hey, that’s what I say at every show; even when I’m wondering how I’m going to sell all the great coins I just bought. And, yes, this paragraph is self-promotion. Attendance seemed good and the mood among dealers and collectors seemed upbeat and positive. I didn’t have any little old ladies walk up to my table with a New England shilling in a cigar box ( a fella can dream, can’t he?) but I was fairly pleased at the number of fresh coins that I was able to purchase on the floor. I participated in three auctions. The Stack’s sale contained an interesting fresh deal of Liberty Head eagles and prices were amazing (more on this in a future blog). The Bowers and Merena sale was reasonably strong but prices were mainly reflective on the quality of the coins. In other words, nice coins brought good prices while schlock sold cheaply if at all. The Heritage sale was strong although prices didn’t seem as off the charts as in years past. With the exception of the eagles in the Stack’s sale the coins brought basically what they were worth. That sounds trite but, in past ANA sales, many coins brought alot (stress alot) more than they were worth. Alot. In the area of rare gold, I noticed some definite market trends. Early date (i.e., pre-1834) gold was almost non-existent. Even the low end, overpriced stragglers that had been overhanging the market seemed to have disappeared. I can’t remember an ANA at which I saw fewer early gold coins nor a major show that I purchased fewer. There was extremely strong demand for Type One double eagles. The coins that nearly everyone seemed to want were common and somewhat better dates in AU50 and up, especially in the $2,000-7,500 price range. Demand was also strong for interesting Type Ones in the $10,000-20,000 range. Its hard to say what demand was like for expensive, really great Type Ones as there were almost none to be seen at the show. Branch mint gold also was in demand. I bought and sold a few interesting pieces of Dahlonega at the show and had quite a few people come to my table with specific wants. I searched through dozens of dealers’ inventories in a Quest for Crust and was unable to find more than a handful of truly DWN-worthy coins. Another area that suddenly seems strong is Carson City double eagles. I sold a number of interesting CC Twenties and was pleased at the prices thedy bought. I tried to buy an amazing 1872-CC in NGC MS62+ that was far and away the finest known for the date but was outbid despite figuring it for nearly six figures. Congratulations to whoever purchased this coin; it was sensational. Off the subject of coins for a second. I hadn’t been to Boston in about a decade and it was great to return. What a fantastic city. Great places to shop, small and compact with wonderful walking, fantastic architecture; my kind of place. I was able to leave the show early one day and went to the Gardner Museum. The Rembrandt self-portrait and the two Botticellis were breathtaking, to say the least. So, another ANA show has come and gone. After nearly 30 years of ANA’s, I don’t feel the excitement that I used to but this is clearlt THE show of the year and the 2010 edition was memorable. Related posts: 1.Some Random Observations About the 2010 FUN Show 2.THE BOSTON ANA SHOW – Market Report by Legend Numismatics 3.Pre-FUN Observations 4.Numismatic Theatre Schedule Set for ANA Coin Show in Boston 5.An Example of Yap Island Stone Money to be Auctioned During ANA’s Boston Coin Show 6.Eliasberg Gold Results and Observations from St. Louis 7.Rare Coin Market Report: The June 2010 Long Beach Show 8.CoinFest Show Debuts – Show Report from Legend Numismatics 9.PCGS at Boston ANA: On-Site Grading, Award-Winning Proof Copper on Display 10.Classic Coin to Display Two Ultra Rare Double Eagles in Boston Valued at $18 Million Tags: Boston ANA, coin collecting, Coin Market, Coin Shows, doug winter, market report, Rare Date Gold, us gold coins

Viewpoint: Economy Sets Monetary Value

By Tom Altvater, Numismatic News July 09, 2010

This article was originally printed in Numismatic News.
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Folks, let it rest. Gold is no longer money.

It is no longer the basis for money, except in the minds of a few. There is not enough gold in the world to go back to the gold standard. Let’s also drop the reference to fiat money, money that is backed by decree. Fiat should be on the hood of a car, but not in reference to the dollar.

The strength of the economy determines the value of the monetary system. That system is tightly controlled in the United States by the Federal Reserve system using regional banks to provide the stability. The ability to quickly infuse funds into the economy when called for is a strength of the Federal Reserve to control deflation or inflation.

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A gold backed monetary system would not be able to handle the major swings of money supply that we have recently witnessed as the gold supply simply cannot be controlled since it is a commodity dependent on availability and the technology to produce it.

Let’s assume gold becomes more readily available because of some future mining technology. It would make it as common as aluminum is today, which was also extremely rare a little over a 100 years ago. This would create an oversupply and its value would drop. This would also create hyperinflation resulting in increases in costs of all goods and services as happened in the Carter years.

Another downside is that most of the gold in the world is owned by foreigners. Let’s assume we are on the gold standard and China one day wanted to cash in all the debt the U.S. owes in gold. We could empty all our bullion deposits and have very little left over (if any). I’m old enough to remember that prior to ending the gold standard France was demanding to be paid in gold. We have very few friends in the world that would maintain a stable gold supply just to keep the dollar on an even keel.

Do I own gold? Sure do; I have a gold Frank Robinson coin that I treasure and a couple of other commemoratives. It’s a great investment if I had the foresight to purchase lots of it several years ago. It’s a good investment only when its price increases, but not as good as stocks that pay regular dividends.

Here are my $2 of opinion and now I will take my fiat money and go spend it on a new coin set to help out the U.S. economy.

Tom Altvater is a numismatist. Viewpoint is a forum for the expression of opinion on a variety of numismatic subjects. The opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of Numismatic News. To have your opinion considered for Viewpoint, write to David C. Harper, Editor, Numismatic News, 700 E. State St., Iola, WI 54990. Send e-mail to david.harper@fwmedia.com.

By Jim Sinclair

Thoughts For The Day:

Even our school of economics and investors have become habituated to the social, political and financial calamity at hand. The outlaw financial leadership of the entire Western world has sold out our heritage on both sides of the pond.

Governments, states, municipalities, towns and hamlets are broke. Insurance companies, banks and major investment houses are valuing their assets from worth-less to worth-full.

The stampede to the bonus stock holder’s asset give away is clearly because this is the last dip at the well for a decade.

All paper money in the West is the common shares of the bankrupts.

Asia and Africa are rising and their ascension cannot be stopped. They have long term business plans and are working those plans to protect themselves from the multitudinous sins of the West and control world commerce.

Stand back for a moment, without emotion, and look at where we are.

Protect yourselves because no one else is going to do it.

Cling to money that has no liability attached to it, the only honest money, Gold.

Dear ANA Member Dealer,

Beginning with the ANA National Money Show in Fort Worth, early birds will no longer have access to the bourse during dealer set-up. It’s a matter of fairness.

During my two decades as an ANA member dealer, I watched in extreme frustration as early birds combed the bourse floor for the best numismatic material available – leaving smaller dealers like me in a quandary: Do we set up our tables and have them ready for the show, or do we leave our tables to compete against the early birds?

These early bird buyers have, historically, been given an unfair advantage. While dealers invest hundreds or thousands of dollars buying bourse tables, purchasing advertising and sponsorships, staying at our hotels, and eating at local restaurants, early birds pay a small fraction of that amount to, essentially, remove the best material from the floor – at the expense of many dealers who can’t simultaneously set up a table and work the bourse. Furthermore, these early birds often complete their buying sprees, exit the convention site and head for home before the show even opens.

Meantime, fewer collectors are willing to invest the time and money to attend shows because, as I’ve heard time and time again, the best material is often gone by the time the shows open to the public. If early trading was limited to bourse dealers, chances are that most would resell that same sought-after numismatic material to an eager public once the show opens.

While it’s true that early birds generate revenue for dealers, it’s my belief that those same buyers would still attend our shows and purchase their material during public hours. Collectors will be more willing to invest the time and expense of attending the show if they know the best inventory has not been picked over before they arrive. I do not believe this change will result in the loss of business over the course of the show; in fact I believe it may encourage greater competition among buyers of limited merchandise. Conversely, I believe allowing early entry to a limited few is very damaging to the show’s success.

I have put a lot of thought into this, drawing on my experience as a dealer, collector and, for nearly two years, Executive Director of this Association. The ANA should not be in the business of selling favorable treatment to the detriment of those who purchase tables and support our shows. If anyone should get priority, it is the dealers who buy the bourse tables – and I believe everyone would agree that our collector members should all be treated equally. In my opinion, there is just no good reason to give early birds unfair advantage over our dealers or collectors.

I understand that those who traditionally purchase early bird credentials will not like this decision, and I suspect some dealers may also be concerned. But it’s my honest opinion that those who currently purchase early bird badges will attend our shows, regardless. After all, many make a living buying and selling coins – and ANA shows will still have the best inventories available. I believe more collectors will be willing to return to our shows if they feel they can compete fairly for the best material, and any numismatic items traded early among dealers will then be displayed for sale during public hours.

Your feedback is extremely important to me and the ANA Board of Governors. If you think we are doing the right thing, tell us by replying to this email and writing, “agree.” If you think we are wrong, please reply and write, “disagree.” Should you have any additional questions or comments, please send me an email at shepherd@money.org.

I thank you for your time and consideration.

 Sincerely,

 Larry Shepherd, Executive Director
American Numismatic Association