Marilyn Monroe 2012 Silver Proof Coin

On 5th August 2012, it will be the 50th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe passing. Today, The Perth Mint has released a special commemorative coin to celebrate the occasion. Struck from 1oz of 99.9% pure silver in proof quality, the Marilyn Monroe™ coin depicts a photographic image of the actress set against a background of film with stars. The design also includes a representation of Marilyn’s signature and The Perth Mint’s ‘P’ mintmark. The coin only have 12,500 pieces mintage and will be presented in a prestigious display case illustrated with the image of Marilyn Monroe and a film roll.

The coin reverse show a photographic image of Marilyn Monroe set against a background of film and stars. The design also includes The Perth Mint’s ‘P’ mintmark and a representation of Marilyn’s signature. Issued as legal tender under the authority of the Government of Tuvalu. The coin obverse shows the Ian Rank-Broadley effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the 2012 year-date.

An American actress, singer and model who graced the screen with her luminous beauty, Marilyn Monroe was considered the epitome of the blond bombshell. Marilyn Monroe ( 1 June 1926 – 5 August 1962) was born Norma Jeane Mortenson and baptized Norma Jeane Baker. Monroe began her career as a model, which led to a film contract in 1946. Her early film appearances were minor but well received. By 1953, Monroe had progressed to the leading roles in many popular films of her time, with her talent hailed by critics. During her career, Marilyn received a prestigious BAFTA award and a Golden Globe.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
Silver Content (Troy oz): 1
Monetary Denomination (TVD): 1
Fineness (% purity): 99.9
Minimum Gross Weight (g): 31.135
Maximum Diameter (mm): 40.60
Maximum Thickness (mm): 4.00
Designer: Aleysha Howarth

Priced at $110, the 2012 Marilyn Monroe™ 1oz Silver Coin is available from The Perth Mint on toll free 1800 098 817 (Australia), +61 8 9421 7218 (International) or www.perthmint.com.au.

Photographed by Milton H Greene © 2012 Joshua Greene

Marilyn Monroe™; Rights of Publicity and Persona Rights: The Estate of Marilyn Monroe, LLC marilynmonroe.com

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Happy anniversary Prince William & Kate Middleton

Today mark one year of The Royal Wedding, Happy 1st anniversary to Prince William and Kate Middleton. The wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine Middleton took place on 29 April 2011 at Westminster Abbey in London. Last year, many mint are producing the Royal Wedding coins. Some coins are minted in gold, while some other are minted in Silver. The coins has became a valuable collectibles for fan of the famous couple in the world. Today, I am sharing some of the coins that I had been sharing in this blog to celebrate the Royal Wedding Anniversary.

Royal Wedding coins of Prince William & Kate Middleton 2011:

Royal Mint Official Royal Wedding coin 2011
The only Official Royal Wedding UK coin has gone into production on 17 March 2011 at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, South Wales. Approved by the Royal Household and the Government, the coin features relaxed, modern portraits of the couple, an approach also evident in the informal use of their names and the date of the wedding circulating their portraits. The obverse bears a portrait of Prince William’s grandmother, The Queen. The coin has been designed by Mark Richards, Fellow of the Royal Society of British Sculptors, following an invitation- only tender process involving a handful of British sculptors.

Royal Wedding gold kilo coin
The Royal Mint has been releasing a Royal Wedding gold kilo coin a day before the Royal Wedding ceremony on 29 April 2011. The 22 carat gold kilo coins, featuring a traditional portrait of Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton, have been struck at its site in Llantrisant, South Wales. Each kilo coin is 10 centimetres in diameter, nearly four and a half times the size of a standard £1 coin. Produced individually and finished by hand, the Alderney coins have a face value of £1,000, which is five hundred times greater than the highest value coin in circulation – the £2 coin. The coin selling for £40,000, making them amongst the most expensive, rare and exclusive items to commemorate the Royal Wedding.

Birmingham Mint Royal Wedding Medal
This is a medal created by Birmingham Mint with no monetary value but it became popular most probably because of its design. The medal features a picture of the engaged couple and on its reverse is the date of their marriage and the initials C and W. Around 50,000 are being produced at the Birmingham Mint in honour of the marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

£5 Royal Wedding Platinum Piedfort Coin
The only wedding coins in Platinum. Extremely rare and tarnish resistant, this precious silver-white metal makes a fitting tribute to Prince William and his bride. Only 200 Platinum coins will be made available by Royal Mint.

Canadian Mint Royal Wedding Coins

The Royal Canadian Mint's $20 fine silver collector coin displays an exquisite engraving on its reverse side of the newly engaged HRH Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton. This design was created by accomplished Canadian artist and coin designer Laurie McGaw of Guelph, Ontario and expertly engraved by Mint Engraver Jose Osio. The obverse or “face” side of this coin features the effigy of Prince William's grandmother, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, created by Canadian portrait artist Susanna Blunt in 2003. Inserted beneath their romantic portrait is a CRYSTALLIZED™ - Swarovski Elements sapphire-coloured crystal reminiscent of the 18-carat sapphire and diamond engagement ring presented by Prince William to his fiancée and which had once belonged to his mother Diana, Princess of Wales.

Perth Mint Royal Wedding 1oz silver proof coin

Perth Mint Royal Wedding 1oz silver proof coin struck from 1 ounce of 99.9% pure silver. No more than 12,500 of these coins will be released by The Perth Mint, maximum 5 coins per customer. The reverse design bears an official image of the happy couple, the beaming smiles on their jubilant faces realistically portrayed in colour. The design also includes an intricately-detailed, sculpture of Westminster Abbey in the background. The reverse of the coin also features the inscriptions ‘Royal Wedding 29.04.2011’ and ‘H.R.H. Prince William of Wales & Miss Catherine Middleton’.

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1961 Tuanku Munawir coronation

I found a coronation video of Tuanku Munawir ibni Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman while searching for information about 14th Malaysian King Installation 2012. This coronation video by Video Filem Negara Malaysia is a installation ceremony of Tuanku Munawir when he was elected Yang di-Pertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan on 17 April 1961. Born on 29 March 1922, Tuanku Munawir was the eldest son of Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia 1st Yang Dipertuan Agong. He was elected as Yang di Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan upon his father death from 5 April 1960 until 14 April 1967.

Tuanku Munawir received his early education at the Seri Menanti Malay School and went on to attend The Malay College Kuala Kangsar, the King George V School in Seremban and finally, the School of Oriental Studies in London. Between 1937 to 1939, he served in the FMS Volunteer Forces. He then briefly served in the civil service in Seremban before being made a Home Guard officer in Tampin in the mid-1950s. In 1954, he was appointed Regent of Negeri Sembilan while his father traveled to the United Kingdom. He served again as regent between 1957 and 1960, when his father held the position of Yang di-Pertuan Agong. In 1967, Tuanku Munawir succumbed to ilness and was succeeded by his half brother, Tuanku Jaafar.

Source: Wikipedia, The Rulers of Malaysia book.

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14th Malaysian King Installation 2012

The 14th Malaysian King Installation ceremony in 11 April 2012 has been a successful historic event that most Malaysian will not forget. Some of you might have been busy and cannot see the live telecast by National TV, I am sharing a full video of the coronation of the new Agong. Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah was installed as Malaysia's 14th King on Wednesday at the Malaysia New National Palace in Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur. The King was wearing a Muskat regalia made of black wool and embroidered with gold threads, a golden short and Keris, a royal head-dress and a gold and ruby studded royal buckle. Her Majesty Haminah Hamidun wore a platinum diamond-studded tiara. His installation ceremony attended by monarchs, state governors, cabinet ministers and foreign diplomats.

Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah and Queen Hamidah Hamidun

The new king installation are unique because:

• Tuanku Abdul Halim was installed as the Fifth Yang di-Pertuan Agong on 21 September 1970 and as the 14th Yang diPertuan Agong in 2012. Tuanku became the first person to hold the position twice under Malaysia’s unique rotating monarchy.
• In 1970, Malaysia Prime Minister at that time is Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, in 2012, Malaysia Prime Minister is Tun Abdul Razak son, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
• Tuanku Abdul Halim installation ceremony is the first ceremony held at the New Istana Negara.
• He was installed as Sultan of Kedah on 20 February 1959. He is one of the long serving monarchs in the world.
• He is the third youngest monarch to ascend the throne of Yang di-Pertuan Agong after Tuanku Syed Putra of Perlis and Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin of Terengganu.
• On 2 November 2006, Tuanku Abdul Halim was for the second time elected Deputy Yang di-Pertuan Agong to serve a five-year term. He is the third person to have been elected twice to this office, after Tuanku Jaafar of Negeri Sembilan and Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin of Terengganu.

Here are a full video of the coronation ceremony, 3 hours 11 minutes 50 seconds:

Full Installation ceremony of His Royal Highness The 14th King of Malaysia, 2012; Almu'tasimu Billahi Muhibbuddin Tuanku Alhaj Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah Ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Badlishah.

00:59:40 - His Majesty's arrival
01:01:40 - Royal salute
01:45:10 - HRH entered the ceremonial hall
01:48:50 - Installation ceremony began
02:00:55 - Proclamation by the Prime Minister
02:08:25 - HRH taking the oath of office
02:11:40 - Long Live The King & National Anthem

Here are some pictures of the ceremony:

Picture by the Star: Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah arrive at Istana Negara

Picture by Bernama: Sultan Abdul Halim arrive at Istana Negara

Picture by the Star: Tuanku give a royal salute to Guard of Honour

Picture by AFP: Tuanku and Queen Hamidah Hamidun

Picture by AFP: Agong kisses a copy of the Koran as a symbol of the sanctity to Islam, Malaysia official religion.

Picture by Bernama: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak proclaims the enthronement of Tuanku Abdul Halim

 Picture by Bernama: Tuanku Abdul Halim kisses Keris Panjang Diraja

Picture by Bernama: Sultan Abdul Halim take Oath of Installation

Source: Wikipedia, NST, The Star, Bernama.

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Malaysia 1st series coin designer

Do you know that they're competition to design Malaysia 1st series of coins in 1966 and in the end, the coin design has not been selected because the designs have animal pictures on them? You can read about it in my old post were I meet Dickson Niew for the first time; I meet Malaysia expert. I read some rumour said that the coin design has been rejected by Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia 1st Prime Minister because he think Parliament is a better design for our 1st Malaysia coins. The story bring us to Malaysia 1st series coin designer, with his coin design start circulating on 12 June 1967 in denominations of 1 sen, 5 sen, 10 sen, 20 sen & 50 sen.

Almost all Parliament coins have initial GC on the coin reverse, below the Parliament House. Do you know what the initial GC meant? Some newbies mistakenly think that the initial is for "Government Coin" and some think it is Mint Mark but it is exactly an initial for Geoffrey Colley, Malaysia 1st series coin designer. Some of your coin might don't have that the initial GC because of a die error. Just beware, some seller will try to sell this (Parliament coins without GC) at a higher price and tell you it is a rare varieties because it don't have "Mint Mark". It is just a lie for their own profit.

Geoffrey Colley born in Gillenham, UK in 1934 and studied art in Kent and London. He attended the Medway college of Art, Eastgate, Rochester, 1950-55 winning the George Ward Memorial prize and extra year as a deserving student. A further scholarship followed to the Royal Academy School, 1955-58, where he studied under Maurice Lambert, R.A., gaining the Landseer Medal and prize for sculpture. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Society of British sculptors in 1960 and Fellow in 1970. Source: here.

Malaysia trial pattern coin, more info here: Dickson Niew blog.

He has design coin for over 150 designs, among them are Bahrain, Iceland, Iraq, Malaysia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Trinidad & Tobago, and United Arab Emirates. He also is the designer for decimal circulations coins of Malaysia, Nigeria and United Arab Emirates. Among his medallic creations are: Battle of Britain 25th Anniversary; Desert War 25th Anniversary; Albert Einstien; Maiden Voyage of Queen Elizabeth II 1969; 46 General Dwight David Eisenhower; 900th Anniversary of the Norman Conquest 1966; and eight medals honoring the American Revolution.Designs: Aruba O&R/ 10 F. 2002 (com.) KM-24. Bermuda R/ 1 Cr. KM-13, 14. Fiji R/ 1 D. 1970 KM-33.

Some of the pictures of him:

Source: www.worldofcoins.eu

Geoffrey Colley, also listed in a free ebook coin designer list that I posted before. Some of the coins he design don't have his initial because some government maybe don't allowed it. Here are some of the coins design by Mr. Geoff Colley:

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10 Euro Silver Coin Sweepstakes

Want to win free 10 Euro Silver Coin Sweepstakes? Krause Publications recently has start a New Sweepstakes, 3 lucky winners will have a chance to win 2009 Austria €10 Silver Coin "Basilisk of Vienna". The coin is the first issue in a series of six from Austrian Mint's very popular, " Tales and Legends of Austria" series. The coin comes encapsulated and boxed with certificate of authenticity. The Basilisk is a horrendous creature of unnatural birth, part rooster and part toad. The sweepstakes start from 28 February 2012 and ended on 1 April 2012.

The obverse shows the site of the legend, the baker’s house in the lane called “Schönlanterngasse” (Lovely Lantern Lane), with the impressive Holy Cross Court at the end of the street. The house is a protected building with the story of the legend painted on its facade. The reverse shows the terrifying basilisk just as the young apprentice holds the mirror before it. At the top of the wall the frightend baker and the counselor watch the outcome of the confrontation below.

Fore more information and to enter the sweepstakes, visit www.NumismaticNews.net and click on "Sweepstakes" or "Win an Austrian coin".

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2011 Spongebob coin set

I know one of my Facebook friend is a fan of Spongebob Squarepants cartoon merchandise. This spongebob coin set maybe a perfect gift for her birthday. New Zealand Mint and PFG Precious Metals has released a coin set of Spongebob and his friends on a square, legal tender bullion coin. This precious bullion already available for shipping since 15 December 2011. The entire SpongeBob Coin Set is housed in a distinctive treasure chest. Each coin in the SpongeBob SquarePants set is struck from 1oz of pure silver. No more than 100,000 coins for each design (SpongeBob, Patrick, Sandy and Gary) will be issued by the New Zealand Mint. The coins are legal tender of Niue Island.

On the reverse of each coins show the characters of SpongeBob SquarePants and his friends Patrick, Sandy and Gary.

The obverse of the coin features the Raphael Maklouf effigy of Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II sovereign of the commonwealth of Niue.

Technical Specifications:
Purity: 1oz Fine Silver .999
Weight: 1 troy oz per coin
Dimensions: 35 mm x 35 mm
Edge: Plain
Finish: Bullion Quality
Denomination: $2
Country of Issue: Niue
Year of Issue: 2011
Mintage Per Design: 100,000

Each SpongeBob Set includes four - 1 troy oz silver coins and an individually numbered Certificate of Authenticity issued by New Zealand Mint. The silver bullion coin set will be packaged in a unique treasure chest. For more info and if you are interested on buying the coin set, you can visit New Zealand Mint at www.nzmint.com.

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South Africa Mandela banknote

On Saturday, South Africa President, Jacob Zuma announce a new South Africa Mandela banknote. The Nelson Mandela's face will feature on all South Africa's bank notes to honour the former president's role in fighting apartheid. The announcement coincides with the 22nd anniversary of Mandela's release from prison after serving 27 years in jail for his opposition to white-only rule. On 11 February 1990, President Nelson Mandela walked out of prison a free man, after has been jailed 27 years in Robben Island Prison.

The currency will have the same denominations (10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 rand), sizes and colours but the front of all notes will carry a specially designed engraving of former President Nelson Mandela. The reverse side of each denomination will have an image of one of the big five animals; lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and Cape buffalo. The new Mandela banknote, who became South Africa's first democratically elected president in 1994, will be in circulation by the end of the year.

South African Reserve Bank also announce that the current notes remain legal tender and there will be a programme of replacement with the new notes over time. Further details will be communicated to the public during the course of the year.

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Andy Warhol Silver Coin 2011

Andy Warhol Silver coin 2011 is one of the coins that I had missed in my last year post. The 2011 France €10 Silver Proof "Andy Warhol" minted by Monnaie de Paris or France Mint. The coin is created to commemorate 25th anniversary of his death. It minted in .900 Silver Proof quality with only 10,000 pieces available worldwide. Andy Warhol was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. He worked in a range of mediums, including painting, sculpture, film, and music. I love his art design and it will be a joy for at least keeping a coin that show one of his artwork.

On the Obverse, is Andy Warhol  artwork "Dollar Sign" (1981) in full color is used with the year 2011.

On the reverse, an Andy Warhol self- portrait from 1964 appears with the year dates of his birth and death (1928-1987). In the background is the famous quote "Making money is art".

Technical Specification:
Mint: Monnaie de Paris
Denomination: €10
Quality: Proof
Issue limit: 10,000 pcs.
Alloy: 90% Silver
Diameter: 37 mm
Weight: 22.2 g
Box/Capsule: Yes/Yes
Certificate: Yes
Price: $89.95

This coin is still available at Royal Scandinavian Mint, you can go to their website rsmint.com.

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Tan Sri Ali Abul Hassan story

On 7 September 1998, Tan Sri Ali Abul Hassan were appointed as the sixth governor of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). Born in Penang, Ali Abul Hassan served as the director-general of the Economic Planning Unit in the Prime Minister's Department for seven years until 5 September 1998. He also served as secretary to the National Economic Action Council from September 1998. When he took over as BNM governor, Asian already having a financial crisis. The ringgit were pegged at RM3.80 per USD1 in September 1998. During his tenure, he adopted a proactive and business-friendly policy to revive the economy. His main focus was to improve Malaysia’s economy with specific initiatives to stimulate domestic and foreign investments.

"The national gain from the pegging of the ringgit outweights the private gains," Ali said in NST on 30 March 2000.

On 29 July 1999, BNM announced the consolidation programme for domestic banking sector. The original plan for 55 Malaysia banking institution at that time to merge into 6 anchor banks. The move to get bank in a merger already started in 1980 but has been dismal. The need to merge became imperative when world trade organization giving pressure for countries to open up their financial market to foreign bank. In August 1999, merger of the 6 anchor bank in Malaysia started. The anchor banks were Malayan Banking Bhd, Bank of Commerce (M) Bhd/Bank Bumiputra Malaysia Berhad, Public Bank Bhd, Southern Bank Bhd, Perwira Affin Bank Bhd and Multi-Purpose Bank Berhad. In October 1999 All 58 domestic banking institutions, commercial banks, merchant banks and finance companies have signed a memorandum of understanding with respect to the merger programme. Few months later, BNM  scrapped the ambitious blueprint to merge all of the country's financial institutions into six banking groups. Instead, banks were allowed to choose their own partners in mergers to be completed by December 2000.

Many mistakenly read Tan Sri Ali Abul singnature as BNM Aishah signature.

Tan Sri Ali Abul Hassan retired in 1 May 2000 and was succeeded by Tan Sri Dato Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz. On 17 April 2001, Tan Sri Ali Abul Hassan were appointed as Special economic adviser to Tun Dr. Mahathir.

Source: New Straits Times, The Star.

Malaysia Previous Bank Governors:

• Tan Sri William Howard Wilcock
• Tun Ismail Mohamed Ali
• Tan Sri Dato Abdul Aziz bin Haji Taha
• Tan Sri Ahmad Mohd Don
• Tan Sri Dato' Jaffar bin Hussein
• Tan Sri Ali Abul Hassan

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€50 Adele Bloch-Bauer Gold coin

On 25 January 2012, The Austrian Mint had issued the first gold coin of a new 5 part gold coin series celebrating one of the leading luminaries of the art nouveau movement, Gustav Klimt, and his primary subject, women. The new coin is struck in 986 fine gold to a maximum mintage of 30,000 pieces in proof quality only. The diameter of the coin is 22mm and it contains 10 grams of fine gold. The series commencing this year also marks the 150th anniversary of Klimt’s birth. The next four coins of the series are: 2013: Expectation from Stoclet Frieze; 2014: Judith II; 2015: Hygieia from the faculty painting Medicine; 2016: The Kiss.

The reverse shows a portion of the famous painting of Adele Bloch-Bauer I. The many complex mosaic-like details surround her somewhat sad but serene face. Her beautiful long neck is highlighted with the lovely elaborate choker encircling it. In the bottom left of the design field is the letter “K", the first letter of Klimt’s last name. Mint engraver Herbert Waehner completed the engraving of the reverse. 

The obverse of the coin bears a portrait of Klimt based on a photograph by Moriz Naehr from about 1917/1918, framed in a square, that brings to mind the canvas of a painting. The use of the square is also to highlight one of the most common shapes repeatedly used by Klimt in his paintings. In the bottom right corner of the square is Gustav Klimt’s signature based on his signature that he used on his many paintings. To the right of the square is a spiral, much like Klimt used, to ornament the coin. Also on this side appears the country of issue, “Republik Oesterreich” or Republic of Austria, and the face value of 50 euros and year of issue, 2012. The Mint’s chief engraver, Thomas Pesendorfer, engraved the obverse.

Technical Specification:
quality: proof
face value: 50 Euro
date of issue: 25.01.2012
coin design: Thomas Pesendorfer / Herbert Waehner
diameter: 22.00 mm
alloy: Gold Au 986
fine weight: 10.00 g
total weight: 10.14 g

Each coin is packed in an attractive box with a numbered certificate of authenticity, which is six pages in length and provides detailed background and technical information about the quality and design of the coin. A beautiful wooden collection case for the whole series, “Klimt and his Women”, may be purchased separately. It contains a booklet explaining the whole series. If you are interested on buying this coin, you can visit Austria Mint at www.muenzeoesterreich.at.

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Do you know this BNM girl?

A friend MMS me yesterday and asked, "Do you know this BNM girl? Can you find information about her because I think I am falling in love with her. Everytime new commemorative coins or banknotes by Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), she will be the model, holding the commemorative." She have become one of the celebrity for Malaysia collectors. Many of my friends also talk about her in forum, facebook or even when I meet up with them during our monthly meeting. Some of them coming to BNM, hoping to meet her while buying the new commemorative banknotes. Maybe that all because we saw many pictures of her last year.

I do some searching for that particular friend, I found many information about her. Her name is Noor Aimah Mohd Nor, 32 years old. She is actually a blogger too and have some blogs that already not active. Her current blog is at Tipahbebel.blogspot.com. Look like she has been giving some inside info about the new commemoratives all this while. To all my collector friends who are dreaming to meet her at the BNM counter, she don't work there. I found many more informations about her but since it is personal information, sorry, I will not share them with anyone but you can asked her yourself at tipahvogue@gmail.com. (PS: Sorry, some of her personal data I delete in here after she personally requested).

Here are some pictures of her from last year:

To Noor Aimah Mohd Nor, this is just a reply to my reader who is your fan. I don't share any of your personal information with anyone, don't worry.

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14th Yang di-Pertuan Agong coin?

Everyone already knew, yesterday, Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah took his oath as the 14th Yang Dipertuan Agong at Istana Negara. One question that most probably in all Malaysian coin collectors mind, will Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) mint any commemorative coin for the new 14th YDP Agong coronation. The last two YDP Agong have their coins minted by Bank Negara. But this time, the oldest monarch in Malaysia History (84 years old) is making history as the first head of state to become King/YDPA twice. He previously served as the fifth Yang di-Pertuan Agong from 1970 to 1975.

I had been asking about it in BNM Facebook page but still with no reply from BNM Admin. In my opinion, BNM should mint two types of coins,  fifth Yang di-Pertuan Agong and 14th Yang di-Pertuan Agong coins. I know Kedah people love their King so much, BNM will have no problem to sell those coins. The only problem is if the King agree/give his approval to mint the coins. In my opinion as a coin collector, it will be a great piece of coin to collect since we can keep a coin with a young King face and a coin with current pictures of the King.

A little bit biography of Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah. He born on 28 November 1927.  Tuanku Abdul Halim married twice: In 1956 to Tuanku Bahiyah, daughter of Tuanku Abdul Rahman of Negeri Sembilan by whom he has three daughters. In 1975 to Cik Haminah binti Hamidun, a commoner from Perak, who was titled Che Puan Kedah until 9 January 2004 when she was promoted to Sultanah of Kedah On 15 July 2008. On 15 July 2008, Tuanku Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah celebrated his Golden Jubilee as the Sultan of Kedah. He is only the fourth Sultan in a line of 28 Sultans who have celebrated 50 years of reign in Kedah.

With so much history in the men himself, I think BNM should mint a new coin for 14th Yang di-Pertuan Agong. I will update if there is any news about any new coins for 14th YDPA. In the meanwhile, you can read my post about a petition for BNM to make an online shop for us collector; BNM online shop petition. So far, over 20 collectors has signed the petition.

Please share your opinions about the new YDPA coins.

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BSP will release Jose Rizal coin

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will release a Jose Rizal commemorate coin this December to commemorate 150th years of The Philippine national heroes which the country celebrated last June 19, 2011. The face of the coin will feature the portrait of the hero and the markings, “150 years,” “Republika ng Pilipinas” and “1861-2011.” Etched on the reverse side are the new BSP seal, “1-piso” and “2011.” BSP will produce 10 million pieces of the round, grayish, nickel-plated steel coin which has the same size (24-millimeters in diameter) and weight (5.35 grams) as the one-piso coin currently in circulation. The Office of the President and BSP’s Monetary Board have both approved the issuance of the coin. He also has been feature in 2 dalawang piso banknote before.

José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896), was a Filipino polymath, nationalist and the most prominent advocate for reforms in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is considered the Philippines' national hero and the anniversary of Rizal's death is commemorated as a Philippine holiday called Rizal Day. Rizal's 1896 military trial and execution made him a martyr of the Philippine Revolution. As a political figure, Rizal was the founder of La Liga Filipina, a civic organization that subsequently gave birth to the Katipunan led by Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Aguinaldo. He was a proponent of institutional reforms by peaceful means rather than by violent revolution. The general consensus among Rizal scholars, however, attributed his martyred death as the catalyst that precipitated the Philippine Revolution. Rizal was executed at Bagumbayan, now Luneta, on 30 December 1896 which ushered in the Philippine Revolution against Spain.

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