Our Article on International Banknote Society Journal - Jun 2016 issue
Our article on the short snorter was published in the June 2016 issue of International Banknote Society (IBNS) Journal. The journal is published quarterly and it was an honor to work with the journal editor for my article submission.
The International Bank Note Society (IBNS) was founded in 1961. It operates as a non-profit educational organization and in furtherance of such purpose, its objectives are to promote, stimulate, and advance the study and knowledge of worldwide banknotes and paper currencies and all matters related thereto along educational, scientific and historical lines. Currently the IBNS has over 2,000 members in more than 90 countries
Last but not least, lots of thanks for Joe Boling for his encouragement ! This is only the first of many to come, hope to be a regular contributor some day. Most of all, many thanks to all our readers!
Ending the Rubber Export Coupon “B. L. & P.” Conundrum
For Malaysian and Singaporean collectors as well as
numismatist, the rubber export coupons is all the rage these days. We have
observed a significant uptick in interest and prices of these items in the past
18 months, most notably since the Spink Auction held in Singapore back in
August 2015.
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| Fig 1. The infamous B. L. & P. rubber coupon, 25 katis. |
The Mystery of Who Signed this Oceania 10 Shillings JIM Short Snorter - Part I
Good buddy of mine showed me this interesting little piece of 10 Shillings Japanese Invasion Money (JIM), issued in 1942, asking if I can help identify the history and origin; and if possible to grade it.
Take a look :
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| Fig 1 : A short snorter of JIM 10 Shillings |
This piece has some writings on it and they are commonly referred to as "short snorters". To quote Michael Marotta's definition from "The Numismatist" - "Short Snorters are pieces of paper money circulating during the war and/or in a combat zone signed by friends or comrades." They are in essence an improvised scrap book of sorts during World War II. These artefacts usually commemorates events, location, people, dates etc.
New BNM Governor in less than 30 days, so what's the last PREFIX?
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| Fig 1 : Tan Sri Dato' Sri Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz. [Source : globalaccessibilitynews.com] |
Malaysians can look forward to having a new central bank governor in less than 30 days' time. The
current governor Tan Sri Dato' Sri Dr. Zeti Akhtar Aziz, the 7th in line since the central bank was established in 1959; will be stepping down by end of March 2016 when her contract expires.
With 16 years at the helm, she is the longest serving BNM Governor yet. She is also the first woman to be appointed for this prestigious but challenging job. To her credit she was won many accolades, awards and recognition from renowned international organizations such as EuroMoney, University of Pennsylvannia (Wharton) just to name a few. In 2011 Bloomberg reported that she was considered as a potential candidate for the International Monetary Fund (IMF). If anything, she has put Malaysia on the financial services industry map.
Illegal to own the 1934 U.S. $100,000 Gold Certificate
Over the past year, we have received several calls about the United States $100,000 Gold Certificate (banknote) with the portrait of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, asking us to estimate the value of the piece, hoping that it will be worth millions and they can sell it and solve all their financial problems.
Well, we've got bad news ...... if that piece is real, you can be ARRESTED for owning it!
According to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing under the U.S. Treasury, this was indeed printed in the 1930s and ONLY used for transactions between the Federal Reserve Banks and its branches, it is NOT meant for general circulation at all. The size of the note is 157 mm x 66 mm or 6 3/16 in x 2 5/8 inches. There were only 42,000 pieces of these printed and ALL of them have been accounted for, it remains the property of the Government of United States.
As such it is ILLEGAL to own any of such pieces.
If you see any of these, they are either STOLEN PROPERTY or REPLICAS/COUNTERFEITS. Both of which can get you into serious trouble.
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| Fig. 1 : US $100,000 Gold Certificate, 1934 Series, Obverse |
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| Fig 2: US $100,000 Gold Certificate - Reverse |
We DO NOT buy or sell any of these, therefore please stop calling us about this piece.
Thank you & Happy Collecting, just don't collect the illegal stuff like this one!
International Coin & Currency Events in Asia in H1 2016
Just a quick run down of the upcoming numismatic events in the Asian region in the first half of 2016. As usual we kick off the year's first one with the Singapore Coin Fair 2016.
If you know of any other regional numismatic events, please email us the details at help@alphanumis.com
Happy Hunting!
Event
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1-3 April 2016
Singapore
Singapore International Coin Fair (SICF)
Marina Bay Sands
Website :
http://sgcoinfair.com/about
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8-10 April 2016
Hong Kong, China
Hong Kong International Coin Convention (HICC)
Holiday Inn Golden Mile
Website : - Coming Soon -
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Poster Unavailable
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1-3 May 2016
Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo International Coin Convention (TICC)
Royal Park Hotel
Website : http://jnda.or.jp/com/index.html
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Poster Unavailable
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20-22 May 2016
China International Coin Expo (CICE)
Beijing, China
Beijing GuoCuiYuan
Website : http://www.chinacoinshow.com
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24-26 June 2016
Hong Kong, China
Hong Kong International Numismatic Fair (HKINF)
The Mira Hong Kong
Website : http://www.eternity-hkinf.com
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Banknote ink transfer errors
A collector from Johor sent us an interesting piece last week. This is a fine example of an ink transfer of the obverse on to the reverse of a Malaysian 1976-81 50 Ringgit banknote signed by bank governor Ismail bin Ali (Pick# 16 / BNM-B16 / KNB16 ). This piece was printed by Bradbury & Wilkinson of Surrey, England.
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| Fig 1: Ink transfer to the reverse of the 50 Ringgit banknote |
As you all know the portrait of the Agong (or King) is suppose to be on the obverse :
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| Fig 2 : The obverse of the same banknote |
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| Fig 3 : Normal printing process |
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| Fig 4 : Momentary break in paper feed, image of top drum is transferred to bottom drum |
And when the paper feed resumes, the wet ink on drum B gets printed to the bottom of the same paper. The image transferred will fade as more paper gets fed into the printing drums :
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| Fig 5 : Ink with image on drum B is transferred to the back of the paper |
Hope this will provide some clarity on how such ink transfer can happen when banknotes are being printed.
Happy Collecting !
History of BEP - where US Dollars bills are printed
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| Fig 1 : Cover of BEP History booklet |
There is an interesting booklet of 36 pages, in downloadable PDF form, that chronicles the history of the U.S. Bureau of Printing and Engraving since the Civil War in 1860s. It is a different entity from the US Mint, which produces the US coins. Both agencies are under the US Department of Treasury.
If you want to understand how banknotes or "Dollar bills" are produced, this booklet will give you a good idea how it's done.
When BEP first started out, those banknotes were printed by private firms and then sent to the BEP in sheets of 4 to be hand cut and trimmed. Those days, the signatures were hand signed ! Sheets of 32 which we are all familiar with came much later. There is also an timeline that summarizes the history of BEP, from 1861 to 2005. Lots of interesting information, complete with many photos that gives good insight into the business of making money. The booklet is free and you can access it here.
How to get the ANA Diploma in Numismatics - A Personal Experience
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| Fig 1 : The ANA "Numismatic Scholar" certificate |
1. How much does it cost? How do I pay the fees?
2. Was the ANA course difficult to do? Are the subjects difficult to understand?
3. How long did it take for you to finish it?
4. Are there any exams?
5. How many questions are there and what type of questions?
6. What is the passing mark? Is the failure rate high?
7. Do I really need to study for it ? (Duh !)
8. Is it difficult to study the subject ?
The questions posed mainly revolves around how "difficult" is it to obtain the qualification.
As of the time of writing, there is still ONLY 1 MALAYSIAN (Update : As of 2016 there are 2 Malaysians) who has been awarded the qualification of "Numismatic Scholar" under the ANA Numismatic Diploma Program, according to their records (Yes, I have written confirmation from ANA on that ... in case you really want to know). As some of you already know, I received my Diploma in Numismatics back in 24 July 2014, after spending just under 1 year pursuing it. Of course, there has been a few hundred "numismatic scholars" who have completed the course - if I recall correctly there are more than 600 worldwide.
If you are serious about numismatics, whether you are a dealer or a collector, you should enroll this course to get in depth knowledge on this subject area. At the very least, you are less likely to get conned into buying fake / counterfeit or OVER GRADED items and most of all able to sense if someone is telling you the real facts or just trying to bulls**t you. The returns definitely justifies the price you pay for this course.
If you REALLY want to know how to get one for yourself, read on.
A Visit to the Japan Mint Museum in Osaka
The Japan Mint is located in city of Osaka, it is the third largest city after Tokyo and Kyoto. It was established on 4 April 1871, a time when there is no heavy industries to speak of in Japan. Everything needed to make coins were imported and all the raw materials were produced on site, which explains the size of the mint facility. The mint was also build next to the Okawa river, which joins the main Yodo river ((淀川) and flows into Osaka Bay. This allow ships to bring in to unload the materials needed for the mint.
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| Fig 1 : Facade of the Main Building |
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