| Worldwide Bi-Metallic Collectors Club Newsmail #290 |
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WBCC Newsmail 290, Volume 7, March 2, 2002
-------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear WBCC members and non WBCC members, I hope you really enjoy reading this weeks WBCC Newsmail !! 1. New WBCC Member ... by Martin Peeters, WBCC Focal Point Name: Jason Childers (WBCC member #245), USA Age: 32 Profession: Staff Assistant to NY Senator Charles Schumer Hobby: World coins especially Bi- and/or Tri-metallics Goal: To get a complete set of European Bi-metallics How did I know about the WBCC: Was told about it by fellow local coin club member (Darlene Corio). 2. Bi-metallic 1 and 2 Euro Vaticane ... by Martin Peeters, Netherlands Last week I received an official order from the Ufficio Filatelico e Numismatico of Vaticane (Numismatic Office of Vatican City). With this order form one could order the annual 2002 Euro set of Vaticane. There will be issue 65,000 sets and each set costs 12 Euro (postage not included). This price is normal and looking what several people are bidding in ebay for the set, well that's crazy. The address of UFN is: Ufficio Filatelico e Numismatico Governmento 00120 Citta del Vaticano Fax: 0039 06 6988 3799 Phone: 0039 06 6988 3708 Orderform (BTW Some people this this is a fake orderform) Or in Newsgroup: alt.binaries.pictures.numismatic With the orderfrom I reived by post, there was a leaflet with the following
information: The Numismatic Office of Vatican City is pleased to presentr to collectors the series of coins in Vatican Euros bearing the date "2002" and the legend "the 24th year of the Pontificate of His Holiness John Paul II". The Vatican Numismatic Office, with its glorious and prestigious past of more than 1,000 years of minting, is open to the future and hope, welcomes the Europe of a single currency and is taking part in a grandiose project that has now become reality. Here then are the coins of 2 and 1 Euros, and those of 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 Eurocents; in accordance with the law common to all countryes with wich we have now been living for some time, and the national side, on wich appears the profile of John Paul II, Sovereign of Vatican City State, masterfully portrayed by Prof. Guido Veroi. In addition, the Numismatic Office is offering the public, along the lines of the established tradition, the divisional series in the Brilliant Uncirculated version, contained in the classical case so appreciated by our collectors. --Unquote 3. Bi-metallic tokens from the Netherlands ... By Frans Dubois In January, the first two dancing issues of Bi-metallic consumption tokens were issued. The first is from Dancing "Ambianz" dated 2002 with silver colored centre and red copper ring. The second is from Dancing "De Morgenzon" also dated 2002 with yellow copper centre and silver colored ring. There is something special concerning the Dutch mintmarks. The last 4 years there are used 4 different Mintmarks on the Dutch coins and tokens struck at the Dutch Mint! This year there is a star added to the Mintmark which means that there is no Mintmaster at the moment. This little star is added to the Mintmark of the "Morgenzon" Bi-metallic but not on the "Ambianz" Bi-metallic token of 2002. So probably this token is minted in 2001 with the date 2002. 4. The WBCC Bi-metallic Quiz Game #290 ... by Jack Hepler and Paul Baker A rhinoceros is portrayed on one Bi-metallic coin. The obverse that is
common to all of the coins of this country is the soapstone bird, based
on a totem found in ancient ruins and now found in the National Museum.
What country features the rhinoceros on a Bi-metallic coin? Answer to Bi-metallic Quiz Game question #289.
One country has designed the Bi-metallic Euro to display the value on
both sides of the coins. What traditional color is the river that runs
through the capitol of this country? Answer to Question #289 is "d" The traditional color of the Danube or Donau River is Blue, though I have from usually reliable sources that the current color may be a bit different now. Thanks to Hans Bucek for the suggestion for this question. Summary of answers to Quiz Game Question #288: 100% correct. Seven players. You may be able to see the answer to many questions in earlier Newsmail issues. 5. WMF 2002 report in the WBCC Website ... by JD White, WBCC Webmaster As last year the WBCC Website provided it members the World Money Fair report. Now you can read this years WMF report at: WMF 2002 6. WBCC Member #1 Honored ... by WBCC Board The members of the WBCC Board, Jack Hepler, Cliff Anderson, Larry Friemel, JD White, Rod Sell, Frans Dubois, Paul Baker and Ray Lockwood honored WBCC's Focal Point, Martin peeters. WBCC MEMBER#1 RECEIVES CERTIFICATE The WBCC Board presented Martin Peeters, The WBCCs Focal Point, a "Certificate of Appreciation" for all of his hard work and dedication to Bi-metallic collecting. The Certificate was inspired by Rod Sell, composed and coordinated by Jack Hepler and had the design tweaked by JD White. Cliff Anderson found innovative mailing techniques and mailed the certificate twice. Ray Lockwood was a quick turnaround artist, Larry Friemel made the first international flight and Paul Baker pushed it across the English Channel. And, last but not least, Frans Dubois got out of his sick bed to frame the certificate and present it to Martin. A truly International effort. Congratulations Martin, you are an inspiration to us all. 7. WBCC Auction 41 ... by Rod Sell, WBCC Auction Provider Auction 41 is now open and lot can be viewed at: Auction 41. Please note this auction will close 12 hours later than before at 11AM, Sunday 10th March, Sydney time. I am now accepting lots for Auction 42 in April. Please email your bid to me: Rod Sell 8. Coin World article ... by Martin Peeters, Netherlands Copyright 2001 by Amos Press Inc., reprinted by permission from the January 18, 2001, issue of Coin World. --Quote Owners of euro coin-operated machinery are finding an unwelcome foreign visitor in the coin boxes of their cigarette and gambling machines throughout the European Union - Thailand's 10-baht coin, which is mimicking the much-more valuable 2-euro coin. Angry merchants in Europe have found that the Thai 10-baht coin can be used in at least some coin-operated machines accepting the 2-euro coin. That's a problem for owners of cigarette machines in Spain and gambling machines in Holland, for example, because the Thai coin is worth much less than what the euro coin is worth. A 10-baht coin is worth about 23 U.S. cents, while a 2-euro coin is worth approximately $1.80 in U.S. funds. The problem is apparently caused by a similarity in size and configuration between the two ringed bimetallic coins, although their compositions are dissimilar. The outer ring of the 2-euro coin is composed of copper-nickel, with the center portion being made of a clad composition of two outer layers of nickel-brass bonded to an inner layer of nickel. The 2-euro coin normally weighs 8.5 grams, is 2.20 millimeters thick and has a diameter of 25.75 millimeters, although as with any coin, the specifications of a particular piece may deviate slightly from the norm and still be considered within tolerance. The 10-baht coin is also a ringed bimetallic piece, but with an outer ring composed of stainless steel and a center core made of aluminum-bronze. According to a Dutch institute called Technical Universety Delft, which tested the 10-baht coin and examples of 2-euro coins from seven different countries last year, the Thai coin weighs 8.45734 grams, is 1.95 millimeters thick and is 26.08 mm in diameter. The institute's test results were published Dec. 20 by a Dutch news program. According to The National Business Review, a New Zealand publication, the use of 10-baht coins in vending machines as substitutes for 2-euro coins was first noticed in Spain at a bar near Barcelona. The owner found five 10-baht coins in a cigarette machine in his bar in late January. According to the New Zealand publication, bar owner Alejandro Diaz ran tests after finding the five Thai coins. He found that the 10-baht coins mimicked 2-euro coins not only in his cigarette machine but in a slot machine in his bar as well. The New Zealand magazine quotes Diaz as already being angry about being forced to adapt his equipment to accept the new euro coinage, which he said he was told were safe and counterfeit-proof. Euro coinage and paper money replaced traditional currencies in 12 European Union nations Jan. 1. "So it turns out there is a coin that is identical, has a much lower value and is legal tender - that's the funniest part - in Thailand," The National Business Review quotes Diaz. The improper use of the 10-baht coins in Europe could worsen in the weeks to come. The New Zealand magazine reports employees of banks and currency exchange counters in Thailand have witnessed increased demand for 10-baht coins since early January. The National Business Review quotes an employee at the Thai Military Bank booth at a Thai airport as saying: "Dozens of tourists, mostly Westerners, specifically asked for 10-baht coins. Some of them wanted as many as 50 coins." The use of the 10-baht coins in Europe appears to be spreading. Martin Peeters of the Worldwide Bi-Metallic Collectors Club, author of a guide to ringed bimetallic coinage and who lives in Holland, told Coin World Jan. 30, "Yes, indeed, the 10 baht is used here in vending machines, gambling machines and parking machines." A deputy chief of the Thailand Treasury Department sees the euro-baht confusion as a European Union problem, according to The National Business Review. According to the Bangkok Post, 559 million 10-baht coins are in circulation in Thailand. The 10-baht coin has existed in its current form much longer than the 2-euro coin. Thailand introduced the ringed bimetallic coin in 1988, although few of that year's coins entered circulation, making it something of a collector rarity. General circulation began in 1989, with the coin being produced in most years since then, according to The Standard Catalog of World Coins. While the euro and baht are similar in weight, diameter and color, their designs are much different. The Thai coin depicts King Rama IX and a temple, with legends and dates in non-Western scrip. Various commemorative 10-baht coins have also been produced. The standard reverse of the 2-euro coin depicts a map of the European Union and the legend 2 EURO, with the numeral 2 of a much larger size than the letters in EURO. Each European Union nation using the 2-euro coin has developed a unique obverse design reflecting the issuing nation's heritage. James Benfield, executive director of the Coin Coalition, a group prompting use of a U.S. dollar coin, expressed surprise that two coins with such dissimilar compositions would work in the same coin-operated equipment. He said that a simple magnet, like those found in many U.S. coin-operated machines, would probably cause a coin with a stainless steel composition to be rejected.--Unquote "See you", next week, The Worldwide Bi-metallic Collectors Club (WBCC) was 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 Websmaster, JD White, USA. WBCC Auction Provider, Rod Sell, Australia. WBCC DoCu-Centre: Frans Dubois, Netherlands. WBCC Public Relations: Cliff Anderson,USA. WBCC Research Centre: Paul Baker, UK. WBCC Developement Centre: Jack Hepler, USA. WBCC Focal Point: ANA Convention 2001, Ray Lockwood, USA. WBCC Focal Point: Martin Peeters, Netherlands WBCC Website Bi-metallic Forum Page The WBCC is officially sponsored for the Basel World Money Fair by: * Imprensa Nacional - Casa da Moeda, S.A (The Portuguese Mint) and Schuler Presses, Germany. |
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