World Coin News September 2021

Heritage Auctions, the world’s largest collectibles auctioneer, has eclipsed 1.5 million online bidder-members who take advantage of the online platform (HA.com) to buy and sell collectibles from more than 40 categories. “Heritage Auctions remains on the cutting edge of auction technology, and our free database of more than 5.5 million lots has reached a global community of collectors,” Heritage Auctions CEO Steve Ivy said. “Our 1.5 million bidder members have identified and verified HA.com as the premier destination for buyers and sellers of collectibles, unique artworks and luxury items.” The most heavily visited website for fine arts and collectibles, HA.com offers access to Heritage’s Make Offer to Owner program, which enables members to bid on lots that already have been sold to other collectors. The Make Offer to Owner program is just…

Why do we continue to identify coins by using mint marks? Is it really necessary? At a time specie coinage was in circulation it was important to know who to blame if the coinage was found to be substandard. The mint of origin or the moneyer responsible for the coinage has been identified on coins since the time of the ancient Greeks for this reason. In our modern fiat money world the mint mark and even the date are meaningless to the general public and the government, the exception being modern bullion composition coins. I’m new to collecting medieval coins. Can you give me an idea what areas are the most popular? Most medieval European coins are rather crude unattractive coins only able to be identified through the legends on them. The more…

ALL OF THE KINGS of the current Thai dynasty are named Rama, plus their other long Thai names, which incorporate titles. The current King of Thailand is Rama X. Modern Thailand was created by the work of King Rama V. Part of his longer name was Chulalongkorn. Over his 42-year reign he put a western style government in place, including a western style military and a western style finance system, had railroads built, schools, international trade, etc. Like Japan, but not as much. Mostly because in Japan the power of the nobility was definitively destroyed. Not so much in Thailand. They got about half way there. Nobles always put their personal requirements first. If you are an absolute monarch, and there are barons out there with their own power base, they will never…

IN THE MIDDLE AGES, Poland was one of the great nations of Europe, justly famed for its culture and toleration, both religious and racial. Warsaw came to be known as the ‘Paris of the East’ with good reason. Yet, in their quest for the rights of the individual, the Poles lost sight of the right of the nation for security from aggression; by the seventeenth century the strong military power of the country had eroded seriously. In the early 1700s Poland slowly became a pawn of surrounding nations. In 1764 the situation had deteriorated to the point that Russian Empress Catherine II was able to put one of her former favorites, Stanislaus Poniatowksi, on the Polish throne as Stanislaus Augustus. It was the beginning of the end. The new king turned out to…

PALESTINIANS CONSIDER DIGITAL CURRENCY There is plenty of cash sitting in banks in Gaza and the West Bank territories occupied by the Palestinian National Authority. So, why is the Palestinian Monetary Authority looking into a digital currency?The region under the control of the PNA has been called the State of Palestine since 2013. It is a Fatahcontrolled region as a consequence of the 1993-1995 Oslo Accords. The region has been controlled by Israel since the Six-Day war of 1967 despite the PNA’s attempts to gain recognition as an independent state.Under accords agreed to between Israel and the Palestinians during the 1990s the Palestinians can’t create their own currency system. Their economy primarily uses the Israeli shekel, Jordanian dinar, and the U.S. dollar.Israel manages the Palestinians’ taxes. The West Bank has been subject…

THE HERITAGE HKINF closed in late June and continued the trend of offering glamorous rarities in stunning conditions. The main focus was on Chinese coinage of the 19th century, with great classics from various provinces including Fengtien, Chili, Kirin, Kwangtung and Hupeh. Included in the Heritage HKINF auction were many pattern pieces from several states and eras of China’s history but for this article I will keep to the business and proof strikes of regular issue coins. The Kwangtung offering was outstanding in quality. Of particular interest were a pair of Heaton mint restrikes Y203 specimen dollar strike graded SP67 by PCGS and a specimen trial strike 20 cents Y196 graded Sp63 by NGC. Each is so stunning in quality of strike and eye appeal as to boggle the mind. On the other…