WBCC Newsmail 87, Vol. 3, April 11, 1998 -------------------------------------------------------------------- Composed with help of members of the Worldwide Bi-metallic Collectors Club and published by Martin Peeters, The Netherlands, Focal Point of the WBCC, martinp@concepts.nl or martinp@westbrabant.net -------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear members, Again a great WBCC Newsmail this week, with very much various news about Bi-metallics. I hope you enjoy reading it !! 1. New E-mail addresses......by Martin Peeters, WBCC Focal Point Please notice the following new E-mail addresses: Brett McInnes (WBCC member #29), Singpore matmcinn@leonis.nus.edu.sg Gabor Toth (WBCC member 80), Hungary softcontrol@mail.elender.hu, primary or g_toth@freemail.c3.hu 2. Bi-metallic Netherlands 10 Euro 1998....by Frans Dubois The new Dutch Bi-metallic 10 Euro 1998, "Maarten Tromp "is now availlable at the Dutch Mint. Price 30 Dutch Guilders (15 US Dollars). The adresses are: The Dutch Mint P.O. Box 2407 3500 GK Utrecht Netherlands or The Dutch Mint P.O. Box 1057 Clifton, NJ 07014 USA 3. WBCC Chat Day...by Marion Slaten, USA Worldwide Bi-metallic Collectors Club Day - Saturday, April 11, 1998, ALL DAY. Come, and talk about the collecting of Bi-metallics and meet some members of the WBCC. You don't have to be a member to join in, just have an interest in Bi- and Tri-metallics. I'll do my best to be in the room for at least 1/2 the day but family commitments will keep me from participating the whole day. The last WBCC chat day turned out great and I got to chat with many people. I hope this one turns out just as good. I will continue setting up a WBCC chat day on a monthly basis so as to increase our member (and non-member) involvement and communication. I hope to see you there! http://www.geocities.com/RodeoDrive/7503/chat.html 4. Bi-metallic Brazil 1 Real 1998...by Gerhard Schön, Germany Brazil will issue the following Bi-metallic coin in July 1998 -- R$1,00 (1 Real) 1998, 7.94 g, 27 mm, interrupted edge milling. 5. Bi-metallic Italy 1000 Lire 1997 new version(1)..by Gerhard Schön Recently, the corrected version of the Italian Bi-metallic 1000 Lire coin has been issued. It is dated 1997 and appears to be much scarcer than the error coin. 6. Bi-metallic Italy 1000 Lire new version(2)..by Fabio Guerrieri, Italy Available the new Italian Bi-metallic 1000 Lire 1997, with the just drawing of European map. If you are interested, contact me: guerrif@iol.it 7. Bi-metallic Austria 50 Shilling 1998...by Gabor Toth, Hungary I have attended a Coinshow in Stuttgart last weekend. I saw a new Bi-metallic coin: Austria 50 Shilling 1998, Prasidentschaft Osterreich (Austria) 1998 Silber center, Gold outer ring, Issued: 5 Mai 1998, Normal coin pieces: 1.2 millionen, packed coin pieces: 100.000 8. Bi-metallic Seborga 1996..........by Gerhard Schön, Germany In addition to the Seborga ½ Luigino 1995 (Reference WBCC Newsmail 66, item 5), there is another Bi-metallic item from this village located near Bordighera in Italy: 2 Luigini 1996 on the proclamation of independence 20 August 1996 Weight: 10 grams Diameter: 28 mm Mintage: 5000 pcs. These are available from H.E. Ivàn Florine jr. at the following address: Marketing International Associates Attn. H.E. Ivàn Ivanovich Florine Boîte 34 5140 Sombreffe Belgium E-mail: ivan.ivanovitch@usa.net 9. Tri-metallic Cuban 10 Pesos Essai..by Martin Peeters, Netherlands Regarding the Cuban 10 Pesos 1995 Essai Tri-metallic (reference WBCC Newsmail 67, Item 7), the following statement has been received from the Havana Mint: --Quote Havana City, April 8, 1998 Concerning the 10 Pesos 1995 Mariposas del Caribe PRUEBA/ESSAI, we can tell you that these coins are apocryphals, not struck neither authorized by our Mint and their circulation is unlawful. Juan José Castellanos, General Manager, Casa de la Moneda de Cuba --Unquote 10. Bi-metallic MTT's from France...by Martin Peeters, Netherlands When you look into the WBCC Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/RodeoDrive/7513/wbcc/wbcc.html you can find now pictures of the France Bi-metallic Municipal Trade Tokens of the city Annecy and Arles. The pictures are provided by Larry Friemel. 11. Last two 10 Euro pieces of the series of 12 NAFSEP.....by Frans Dubois The last two pieces are of the French cities Orleans and Dreux. They will be issued in May and July. I am prommissed to get an order-form from the NAFSEP to order these Euro's. If you are interested, let me know. The whole series is complete now with 12 different pieces of Bi-metallic 10 Euro's. The cities are: Strassbourg, Beauvais, Tours, Amboise, Chateau-Renault, Blere, Loches, Richelieu, Arles, Annecy, Orleans and Dreux. E-mail: dubois.f@wxs.nl 12. Dieletters on Bi-metallic 2 Pound of Pobjoy Mint..by Paul Baker,UK Those of you with a number of Isle of Man or Gibraltar circulation coins in your collections may have noticed that most of these have on them a diemark/dieletters e.g. AA, AB, AC,... The letters used are all uppercase letters and they take their distinctive style from Hiberno-Norse runes. In simple terms, one thing distinctive about these letters is that they are made from straight lines only and no curves. Typically the letters are about three-quarters of a millimetre high and on more recent coins (since around 1993) they are often not as plain and clear as they were on earlier pieces. The diemarks always appear on the reverse of the coins. So how does this relate to Bi-metallics? I have an Isle of Man Bi-metallic two Pound coin of 1997, it is a normal strike in the normal "metals", what we call a "business strike". My piece has the diemark "AA", this is to be found under the front of the main car on the reverse. Possibly all such two pound coins will have this diemark especially since it is possible that not all that many pieces were made. Perhaps there will be more than one different diemark on the 1998 pieces as it seems that the more pieces are made, the greater the number of diemarks used. Very often for business strikes the diemark "AA" is followed by "AB" then "AC" etc... Though over the last few years the number of circulation pieces available with more than one diemark does seem to have declined. Does the "business strike" Gibraltar Bi-metallic two Pound coin of 1997 have the "AA" diemark? Has anyone got a 1998 piece of either of these coins? The report on the front cover of the March'98 edition of World Coin News strongly suggests that the Manx and the Gibraltan coins of the "circulation" denominations (this includes the Two Pound coins) will use the new portrait of our Queen starting this year. (Crowns dated 1998 have been issued with a version of the previous portrait, but this is not the version that was used on the circulation coins.) As for the "collector" editions of the above two pound coins, base metal proofs (if these exist) will likely have the "BB" diemark if any AND the silver proof pieces will likely have the "D" diemark, if any. Can anyone tell me what they have (or have seen) in terms of diemarks. Beware - the Pobjoy Mint's illustrations can be misleading regarding finding out which coins have diemarks - actual coins need to be seen. Perhaps a reader from the Pobjoy Mint could help with information about the above... By the way I have a " .BMP " format drawing I did of the diemarks letters "A" through "H" if anyone is interested in this. 13. Eutopia and Bickford Bi-metallics............Francisco Jovel, Argentina Refering to WBCC Newsmail 86, Item 9, more information about the auction of the Eutopia and Bickford Bi-metallics. The discription in the Auction-catalog is as follows: --Quote Lot 1725 Republic o Eutopia Co-Metallic Dollar, 1886. Outer 32mm, 206.25 grain Silver ring, inner 32mm, 12.9 grain gold center. Adams Pa. 589, HK-1005, Kennedy 107. Brilliant Uncirculated. Thincelaborately design private pattern bears the signs of the zodiac symbolizing its hoped-for universal acceptance. One of the 19th century ideas for bi-metallic coinage, it was the brainchild of Pittsburgh resident Nicholas Veeder, struck by Herren Brothers of that city. Irvington, N.Y. professional numismatist Ed. Frossard reported that only three pieces were struck before the die was hopelessly shattered, but apparently five are actually known. This obverse shows a die crack crossing from 8:00 to 1:00, an advance die state which may validate Frossard's basic story, Light toning, bold strike enhanced this rarity's fascination. Ex Michael Steig Collection (Bower and Ruddy Galleries, September 1982, lot 2111), previously from Dr. George P. Hetrich Collection (same firm, January 1981, lot 3103). Lot 1726 Bickford Bimetallic Dollar, 1897. Aluminum and Brass, 28mm. HK-834 Brilliant Uncirculated. Republican Internatl Dollar on 8 mm Brass center. Aluminum outer ring gives equivalent value in 8 foreign currencies and prediction "This combination Coin Will When Adopted Heal all Differences between Gold and Silver Men And FUlly Settle all Financial Questions". Perhaps fewer than 50 known. One of several private bi-metallic proposals of international traveler Bickford, who also inspired the U.S. Mint's Pattern International Gold Eagle of 1874 (Judd 1373) --Unquote 14. Coin shows.............by Joel Anderson, USA A few comments on two coin shows that I recently set up at: The Redwood Empire Coin Club show in Santa Rosa two weeks ago: This is a friendly, club show. There was not much interest in Bi-metallic issues, however I did find some interesting items: The Patrick Mint of Santa Rosa has issued two non-ringed Bi-metallic medals: The first is a replica of the US 1792 silver center cent. The "silver plug" is actually zinc and appears on only the obverse of the medal. I would send a scan, but my scanner is acting up again. For a picture of the items you may want to visit Patrick Mints home page at http://www.sonic.net/themint. I am selling the item for $3 + postage. Patrick Mint also produced a silver medal commemorating the California Gold Rush. Imbedded in the 1/4 oz. silver medal is a small gold nugget. The items is available for $25 + postage. I have one available (but can get more) or you can order through the Patrick Mint. Other Bi-metallic items I picked up is an Alaska 50c Bi-metallic token of Edw. C Willis, Bingle Long. The item catalogs for $400, however a small group was just found so the price is now down to "a more reasonable" $175. I also picked up a small group of Bi-metallic Casino $10 Nevada casino tokens, which I will include in a future Bi-metallic list. The West Coast Expo's Buena Park Coin Show this past weekend: This was a pleasant show in an excellent facility. I just wish more collectors had come. I did see WBCC members Philip Chang and Larry Friemel. Larry and I thought it would be useful if WBCC had some business cards printed up addresses that could be handed out to potential members as there were several other collectors buing Bi-metallic coins. I saw a non-ringed bi-metallic remote memory "phone card". It was a gold on silver medal that was to be issued in conjunction with a Destiny Phone Card Show in Alaska. The show was cancelled after the phone card medal was struck. It was being sold as part of a three medal (or 3 "phone card" set). For further information you may want to contact Richard Nelson at American National Phone Card (a division of The Money Company) at moneyco@earthlink.net 15. Message from MDM Germany...by Martin Peeters, Netherlands The following message I've got from MDM () Germany. The orinal text is in German language, Gerhard Schön has translated into English language. MDM has issued in the past 12 commemorative Bi-metallics, they are: 1995, Com. medal 'Adenauer/De Gaulle' 1995, Com. medal 'Robert Schuman' 1995, Com. medal 'Ludwig van Beethoven' 1995, Com. medal 'Austin Chamberlain' 1995, Com. medal 'Admission of Austria to EU' 1995, Com. medal 'Admission of Finland to EU' 1995, Com. medal 'Admission of Italy to EU' 1995, Com. medal 'Admission of Sweden to EU' 1995, Com. medal 'EU Payment union 1950' 1995, Com. medal 'Election of EU Parliament 1979' 1995, Com. medal 'Maastricht Treaty 1993' 1995, Com. medal 'Gustav Stresemann' Maybe they intend to issue more in the future. --Quote Guten Tag , willkommen im Netz, willkommen bei MDM. Schön, daß Sie den Weg zu uns gefunden haben, sich für den EURO und für MDM interessieren. Mit dem nötigen Quentchen Glück wird Ihnen bald eine echte EURO-Gedenkmünze in edlem Gold gehören. Am 30. April, rechtzeitig zur Eröffnung unzurer neuen Internet-Seiten, werden wir den Gewinner unseres EURO-Spiels auslosen. Ihnen drücken wir dafür ganz besonders die Daumen! Als kleinen Vorgeschmack haben wir für Sie eine Seite aus unserem neuen Auftritt ins Netz gestellt. Schauen Sie doch nochmal bei WWW.MDM.DE vorbei und sagen Sie uns Ihre Meinung zu unserem neuen "Look" !! Wußten Sie übrigens, daß die ersten Gedenkmünzen zum neuen Geld bereits ein hochgehandelter Geheimtip bei Münzliebhabern und Anlegern sind ? Wenn Sie mehr über dieses zukunftsträchtige Sammelgebiet erfahren möchten, rufen Sie einfach unseren Kundenservice unter 0531 / 205666 an, oder senden Sie uns Ihre Adresse, gern auch per E-Mail - dann schicken wir Ihnen umgehend ausführliche Informationen über den EURO, MDM und Ihre Sammlerchancen im neuen Jahrtausend. Frohe Ostern wünscht Ihnen Ihr MDM - Internet - Team --Unquote Following translation © by Gerhard Schön, worldcoins@aol.com --Quote Hello, welcome to the net, welcome at MDM. Congratulations on having found the way to us, and on your interest in the EURO and in MDM. With a little bit of luck, you will soon be the proud owner of a genuine EURO commemorative coin in solid gold. On the 30th of April, just in time for the launch of our new internet pages, we will draw the lucky winner of our EURO game. As a small preview, we have made a sample of our new pages available in the net. Just step by again at "www.mdm.de" and tell us your thoughts about our new look. By the way, did you know that the first commemorative coins of the new currency have already made it to highly prized collector and investor items? If you like to know more about this collecting field and its great future, just call our customer service at 0531 / 205666 or send us your address - you are welcome to do it by email - then you will receive all the information on the EURO, about MDM and your chances in the new millennium. Happy Easter from your MDM Internet Team. --Unquote 16. Bi-metallic Nevade Casino Tokens......by Joel Anderson, USA For those who like the Bi-metallic tokens issued by the Nevada Casino's there is a book that might be of interest: Silver Premium Token Guide, 3rd Ed. 1997 by Marvin Weaver. It lists and pictures the recent silver Bi-metallic tokens, as well as other high denomination non-Bi-metallic tokens. The book is available from the Author. Cover price is $20. With shipping in the US the price is $23, in California with shipping and sales tax the price is $24.65, and the price with shipping to the rest of the world is $35. The author may be contacted at Marv Weaver PO Box 8595 Pittsburgh, CA 94565-8595 USA E-mail adress: MWeaver@compuserve.com Hompage: http://home.earthlink.net/~mweaver/index.html A related item of interest: The Nevada high denomination gambling tokens are made with a silver plug surrounded by a brass ring. They would often state ".999 fine silver" on the brass ring. Nevada has got after the Casino' for misleading advertising by implying the ring is silver, so the new issues have the ".999 fine silver" just on the silver center. 17. My Bi-metallic Tradelist............by Yossi Barzelay, Israel Here is my Bi-metallic trade list Argentina 1 peso k- 1994 Canada 2 $ k-270 1996 France 10 francs k- 1988 Hong Kong 10 $ k-70 1994 Hungary 100 Ft. k-721 1996 Italy 500 L k-111 1986 500 L k-181 1996 500 L k-187 1997 Kenya 10 Shillings k-27 1995 Mexico 1 peso k-550 1992/3 5 pesos k-552 1992 Poland 2 zloty Y-283 1994 5 zloty Y-284 1994 Russia 5 R Y-280 1991 5 R Y-281 1991 10 R Y-295 1991 10 R Y-307 1992 10 R Y-308 1992 10 R Y-309 1992 50 R Y-315 1992 100 R Y-316 1992 San Marino 500 L k-330 1995 Thailand 10 baht Y-227 All coins are between VF-Unc and subject to untrade. Yossi Barzelay, Eimal: ybarzela@study.haifa.ac.il "See" you next week, Martin Peeters, Focal Point of the Worldwide Bi-metallic Collectors Club martinp@concepts.nl or martinp@westbrabant.net ------------------------------------------------------------ The Worldwide Bi-metallic Collectors Club has established September 14, 1996 and is the very first Worldwide Collectors Club using Internet. Goal of the WBCC is exchange Bi-metallics and knowledge about Bi-metallics. -----------------------------------------------------------