WBCC Newsmail 149, Volume 4, June 19, 1999 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Composed with help from members of the Worldwide Bi-metallic Collectors Club (WBCC) and weekly published by Martin Peeters, Netherlands, Focal Point of the WBCC, martinp@westbrabant.net -------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear WBCC members and non WBCC members, Again a WBCC Newsmail with great Bi-metallic news. I realy hope you enjoy reading it !! 1. My new E-mail address...by Manuel Conzalez, Spain Please read my new e-mail address, Manuel Conzalez: manuelcoins@mixmail.com 2. My new E-mail address...by Gionatha Ferrari, Italy Please read my new e-mail address, Gionatha Ferrari, gmssoft@tin.it 3. Bi-metallic token from the city Driebergen.....by Frans Dubois To the last mentioned number of Bimetallic tokens issued last weeks there is another to add. The Dutch city of Driebergen (near Utrecht) issued last Wednesday June 16 a new bi-metallic token. There is no image or info availlable but in newsmail 150 (!) here will be more about it. The name of the token issued in St.Anna Parochie is called 't Skelpy. There is a red copper ring and a white nickel centre. If you are interested in one, contact me at dubois.f@wxs.nl. 4. Bi-metallic Canada 2 Dollar 1999 (1)...by Dean Neald, Canada Just wanted to give the members an update on the distribution plans for the Nunavut commemerative. The mint will be making special collector versions which they will be selling through their dealer network. The mint will also be making a regular circulating version, but they may have problems getting it into circulation. Right now banks are the ones who order new coinage for circulation, and the banks pay the shipping charges to get the coins to the regions where they are needed. The major banks are having a dispute with the Bank of Canada and the Mint. The banks are saying that they have to many coins (mostly $1 coins) on hand and do not need any more coinage for normal business purposes. They are reported to have as much as $75 million in excess coinage. This excess coinage can not be exchanged for new coins in denominations that the public want. This demand would be for the new millennium quarters (25 cents) and of course the new Nunavut Bi-metallic $2 coin. So far the banks are refusing to obtain the June quarters for distribution and they are saying that they will not be bringing in the Nunavut coin until this dispute is resolved. So this may create an artifical shortage due to the fact that the $2 coin will be hard to get, with the majority of the mintage sitting in a warehouse somewhere. Note that with the Bi-metallic $2 coin, the only date you actually see in circulation is the 1996. So the 1997 + 1998 mintage are also sitting in storage. o it may be a long time before the Nunavut commemrative actually begins to circulate. 5. Bi-metallic Canada 2 Dollar 1999 (2) presse release...by Martin Peeters The following Presse Release I could read in the Royal Candian Mint Homepage: --Quote Royal Canadian Mint's Millennium $2 Circulation Coin celebrates birth of Nunavut OTTAWA, May 27 /CNW/ - The Honourable Alfonso Gagliano, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister responsible for the Royal Canadian Mint, along with Mrs. Danielle Wetherup, President and Master of the Mint, today gave another reason to celebrate the new millennium, at a special ceremony on Parliament Hill, with the latest unveiling in a series of the new Millennium coins: The Nunavut - 1999 Millennium $2 circulation coin which marks the birth of the new territory, home to the Inuit people of Canada's North. The new coin was designed by the talented Inuit artist, Germaine Arnaktauyok. The historic coin features the drum dance, an age-old Aboriginal ritual that remains central to Inuit culture in Nunavut today. "It is most appropriate that we mark the arrival of the millennium by celebrating the birth of Canada's newest territory,'' remarked Minister Gagliano. "At the same time, however, the long and proud traditions of the Inuit people are an important reminder of this country's rich heritage. What better way to celebrate both Canada's achievements and aspirations than by honouring this historic milestone?'' "The new $2 coin is a beautiful complement to our series of Millennium coins,'' added Mrs. Wetherup. "It will be a valuable addition to coin collectors' private collections and a welcome gift for anyone looking for a lasting souvenir of this rare and important global event.'' A mail drop to all Canadian households, following today's launch, will highlight the significance of a new millennium, a new territory and a new $2 coin, and encourage Canadians to share in this momentous event by carrying a little piece of history in their hands. The design for the new $2 bi-metallic coin will temporarily replace the polar bear design. The 1999 Millennium $2 coin design will, in turn, be replaced by a design specially produced to celebrate the arrival of year 2000. The polar bear coin will return to circulation in 2001. In addition to the new $2 circulation coin, the Royal Canadian Mint will also produce collector quality Millennium $2 coins for Canadian and foreign markets. The Nunavut - 1999 Millennium $2 coin will be available in 22-karat gold, sterling silver and as part of a complete coin sets. The Mint's 1999 numismatic products can be purchased from the Royal Canadian Mint's global network of dealers and distributors. In North America, numismatic products can be purchased directly from the Royal Canadian Mint by calling 1-800-267-1871 in Canada or 1-800-268-6468 in the United States. The $2 coin is the latest in the Mint's series of Millennium coins. Additional information on the Royal Canadian Mint and its products can be found on the Mint's Web site at www.rcmint.ca or by contacting: Pierre L. Morin The Royal Canadian Mint, Communication Advisor Tel: (613) 993-9999, (613) 991-5342 Cell: (613) 797-9125 E-mail: morin@rcmint.ca --Unquote 6. Bi-metallic 'turn-token'.......by Frans Dubois, Netherlands Last weekend Martin and I visited the Dutch Mint on the 'Open Day' at the mint. I noticed that the 10 Euro Bi-metallic commemoratives were all sold out and I couldn't find one at all! There were also two little auctions of very different numismatic material. Martins eyes felt on a very interesting item, a "turn-token", to compare the rate of the Euro and the Guilder. You could turn the centre of the token and at one side you could read the Guilders and at the reverse was the value in Euro's. This Bi-metallic is the first I saw with this special technique! It was finaly sold for 185 Dutch Guilders (not by Martin). I am told that there were made only 100 pieces of this token. 7. Bi-metallic mail bid sale......by Rich Hartzog, USA I now have my Bi-metallics from my 29 June 1999 mail bid sale up in a separate web page: http://www.exonumia.com/sale10/bimetal.htm 8. Saw in eBay pages...by Martin Peeters, Netherlands The following Bi-metallic I saw in the Ebay pages: --Quote Title of item: EURO: Finland 5 Euro Olavinlinna '96 bi-metal Item #117399714 Currently $15.50 First bid $9.99 Ends 06/21/99, 04:13:46 PDT To bid on the item, go to: http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=117399714 --Unquote 9. Bi-metallic Euros from Itay...by Fabio Guerrieri, Italy Now available the following Bi-metallic Euro's from Italy : * Napoli City, Maschio Angioino, 5.00 US$ * Padre Pio Saint Year 2000, -Variety-, 5.00US$ * Milan football, 4.00 US$ If you have interest, please E-mail me at: guerrie@tin.it 10. New Bi-metallic images......by Rod Sell, WBCC Homepage Provider New Bi-metallic images this week. (http://www.geocities.com/RodeoDrive/7513/wbcc/wbcc.html) * Algeria 1996 50 Dinar The following 4 images are from Rich Hartzog and are lots in his mail bid sale that ends on the 29th June. Click on mail bid sale above to see the other lots not illustrated. * Lot 2438 Dawson N.M. 5c Southwestern Mercantile Company. * Lot 2480 Spokane WA. W.H. Brower, * Lot 3087 1897 Bickford Dollar * Lot 3449 Sagendorp's Battery. The following series of Bi-metallics were produced by the ICB as essais or patterns for possible clients. Many of these coins may still be available from Paul Davis of Arctic Coins in Ottawa. The coins have 2 edge types plain or milled. Armenia * 25 Drams, face of Jesus Guatemala * 1 Quetzal * 10 Quetzales * 50 Quetzales Honduras * 10 Lempiras. Image from Rod Sell Maldives. * 250 Rufiyaa. 2 Varieties one with colour Peru. * The Peru coins for ATHENS and BERLIN have all 3 different obverses above. The other 4 venues do not have the middle obverse variety. 20 Nuevos Soles. * Reverses Athens 1896, London 1908 and Los Angeles 1932 * Reverses Berlin 1936, Mexico 1968 and Seoul 1988 Romania. * 1996 100 Lei. The vaule is on the edge of the coin Tanzania * There are 2 obverse varieties. The 2nd variety with the correct spelling of 2000 Shilingi is only used with the Mens Sprint reverse. * Reverse Boxing, Discus and Mens Sprint (This one has the type 2 obverse). * Reverses Decathlon, Judo and Hurdles * Netherlands 1999 Alfa Romeo 156 Challenge * Netherlands 750th Anniversary of Woensdrecht * Italy Pope John Paul II Token with Variety L'EURO * Italy Padre Pio 1 Euro Token 2nd Variety * Italy Naples 1 Euro MTT * Romania 1998 Soccer Champions Token * Greece. Playboy Casino Token from the Island of Rodos * Zambia Year 2000 10,000 Kwacha Inlay 11. Bi-metallic Trade Tokens...by Martin Peeters, Netherlands Refering to WBCC Newsmail 148, item 3, about the Bi-metallic Trade Tokens, I received the following message from Michael Wehner, USA --Quote As listed in "Video Arcade, Pinball, Slot Machines and Other Amusement Tokens of North America" by Stephen P. Albert and Kenneth E. Smith. These are, of course, similar to the one that I posted last month (phrases 60 GLL Bronze and brass). They are likely early slot machine tokens, although from where in the US is probably impossible to say. The time period is probably the 1930's. The hole was used by the slot machine as some sort of control device to separate tokens from coins. An excellent reference on these early machines is "Slot Machines, A pictorial history of the first 100 years" by Marshall Fey. The author is the grandson of Charles Fey, the inventor of the 3 reel slot machine (one-armed bandit). Charles Fey was located in San Francisco, then Chicago but such machines were in many localities by the 1930's. Regards, Michael Wehner wehner@mypad.com http://www.homestead.com/Exonumia --Unquote "See" you next week, Martin Peeters, Focal Point of the Worldwide Bi-metallic Collectors Club martinp@westbrabant.net -------------------------------------------------------------- The Worldwide Bi-metallic Collectors Club has been established September 14, 1996 and is the very first Worldwide Collectors Club using the Internet. Goal of the WBCC is exchange Bi-metallics and exchange knowledge about Bi-metallics WBCC Organisation: WBCC Homepage Provider: Rod Sell, Australia, Rod.Sell@hlos.com.au WBCC DoCu-Centre: Frans Dubois, Netherlands, dubois.f@wxs.nl WBCC Public Relations: Cliff Anderson, USA, chander@mciworld.com WBCC Research Centre: Paul Baker, UK, 113076.167@compuserve.com WBCC Focal Point: Martin Peeters, Netherlands, martinp@westbrabant.net WBCC Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/RodeoDrive/7513/wbcc/wbcc.html WBCC Bi-metallic Web Ring: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Estates/9540/WRhelp.html "All That Is Bi-metallic" Webside: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Estates/9540/bmhome.html