Perak Gold Dinar launch today

Today, the Perak (state in Malaysia) government, introduced Gold dinars and silver dirhams. Menteri Besar of Perak, Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir launch the world's first financial instrument ever made of gold and silver with a purity of 99.9 per cent or 24 karats at the Perak state secretary building in Jalan Panglima Bukit Gantang Wahab, Ipoh. For a start, 1,000 pieces of gold dinars and silver dirhams had been manufactured and would be marketed through Yayasan Pembangunan Ekonomi Islam (Yapeim) and Nusantara Bullion Exchange (Nubex Sdn Bhd).

Photo by Ikhwan Munir NST: Perak Silver Dirham & Gold Dinar.

Datuk Seri Dr Zambry said Perak Dinar also had higher level of quality as compared to the dinars and dirhams first produced by Islamic scholar Khalifa Abdul Malik ibn Marwan about 1,357 years ago.

"Gold dinars and silver dirhams produced then contained 97 per cent of gold and silver purity, but what we launched today are of higher quality because they are equivalent to 24 karats.

"Nevertheless, they are not made in the form of currency, but more of a new financial instrument for saving and investment," he told reporters after the launch of the gold dinars and silver dirhams here today.

He said the discussion on the production of the new financial instrument began in 2005 and it had been decided that they would be produced by Goldnet International Sdn Bhd, a joint-venture company with the Perak State Development Corporation.

The new financial instrument comes in four denominations, namely half a gold dinar weighing 2.125gm and priced at RM345, one gold dinar weighing 4.25gm and priced at RM690, two gold dinars weighing 8.5gm and priced at RM1,380 and a set of silver dirhams priced at RM260. The face of the instrument is printed with the Perak state emblem while the back is with a similar instrument produced during the era of Khalifa Abdul Malik ibn Marwan.

Source: Bernama

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1824 £1 Bank in Essex note

£1 note which was issued by a bank in Essex in 1824 is being displayed in a Chelmsford museum. The handwritten note was issued 187 years ago by The Chelmsford Bank, which was owned by the Crickitt family. The note belonged to the Chaplin family, who have farmed in the Galleywood area of Chelmsford for several generations. It was given to the Galleywood Heritage Centre and passed on to Chelmsford council, which donated £350 in return.

"In the early days of the 19th Century, there weren't national banks, they were all individual town and county banks," said Nick Wickendon, head of Chelmsford Museum services.

"What's so interesting is 1824 was just a year before Crickitt and Company went bust."

At the time, a number of investors were investing in a country in South America called Poyais, which turned out to be fictitious. The subsequent stock market crash forced Crickett and Company to collapse on Christmas Eve 1825, and they were followed by several other town banks.

A spokesperson for Chelmsford Borough Council said: "The council contributed £350 to the Galleywood Heritage Centre towards local fundraising efforts in exchange for the unique bank note which we now proudly exhibit in the museum as a piece of local history."

Source: BBC News.

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New 500 krone banknote

Denmarks Nationalbank, nationalbanken already launched the new 500-krone banknote on 15 February 2011 as the fourth banknote in the new banknote series. The banknotes are designed by the artist Karin Birgitte Lund. The National Banks had been showing some pictures and videos about the release of the new banknote. The 500 krone banknote from the 1997-series will still be legal tender. All Danish banknotes issued since the substitution of money in 1945 can be exchanged at face value at Danmarks Nationalbank.

The front page of the banknote depicts the bridge Dronning Alexandrine's Bro. The bridge which links Zealand to the island of Møn is also known as the Møn Bridge and was inaugurated in 1943. Dronning Alexandrines Bro is 746 metres long and has a maximum vertical clearance of 26 metres. On the back of the 500-krone banknote show the bronze pail from Keldby on the island of Møn was unearthed by a plough near Trehøje in the period before 1826. Judging by the clearly Greek inspired ornamentation and shape, the pail could have been made in Macedonia or the Greek Black Sea colonies. The vessel is exhibited in the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen.

The motivation for issuing the new Danish banknote series is to improve the security features. The new banknotes have a number of advanced security features, including a hologram and a window thread with a moving wave pattern. The security features are to make it even more difficult to counterfeit the banknotes. The banknotes also have security features that are not visible to the naked eye. When placing the banknote under a microscope, it shows micro-lettering with hidden symbols and numbers e.g. in the water surface next to the belt plate.

The 500-krone banknote, together with the 100- and 200-krone banknote, is among the most common banknotes used in ATM's. There are approximately 28 million 500-krone banknotes in circulation compared to a total number of banknotes of 163 million. The banknote stands for one fourth of the total value of notes in circulation of just over kr. 56 billion. After the 500-krone banknote the 1000-krone banknote will be launched in May 2011 as the last banknote in the new banknote series. The 50-krone banknote was launched in August 2009, the 100-krone banknote in May 2010 and the 200-krone banknote in October 2010.

Read more about the new banknotes at nationalbanken.dk

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£2 Mary Rose coin will be issued

A £2 Mary Rose coin will be issued to mark the 500th anniversary of the launch of Henry VIII's flagship, the Mary Rose. The Mary Rose sank during a battle with a French invasion fleet in 1545, and was raised from the sea bed in 1982. The limited edition coin will enter circulation later this year. Special commemorative versions will be struck in gold and silver. A new museum to house the ship will open in Portsmouth in 2012.

The new £2 coin depicts the ship in a design created by the artist John Bergdahl. He said he got the idea during a trip to the current Mary Rose museum: "I was immediately inspired by the only acknowledged painting of this iconic vessel, an image that I used as the basis for my design."

The coin bears the ship's famous name in Tudor script, while the words YOUR NOBLEST SHIPPE 1511 are inscribed around the edge. The words are from a letter written by Sir Edward Howard, Lord Admiral onboard the Mary Rose, to the King in March 1513. The Mary Rose was the flagship of the Tudor Navy when it was launched in Portsmouth in 1511. It was one of the first ships to be able to fire a broadside with its guns. Experts say her rediscovery and raising were seminal events in the history of nautical archaeology. The new museum is due to open in 2012 at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. It will reunite the ship and 19,000 of its artefacts - including the skeleton of Hatch, the ship's dog.

The chief executive of the Mary Rose Trust, Rear Adm John Lippiett, said "This elegant new coin is a fitting tribute to the world's only surviving Tudor warship."

He urged people to donate £2 each to the fund for the museum. He said without the money "the future of this national icon is not yet secured".

Dr Kevin Clancy, head of historical services at the Royal Mint, said: "We were especially impressed with the way the designer captured the stature and presence of this great Tudor ship on the coin."

Source: BBC News.

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1 kilo Olympic coin will be legal tender

The solid gold 1 kilo Olympic coin will be legal tender accorind to a news reported by The Telegraph. This will be the first ever legal tender £1,000 gold coin produced by the Royal Mint. The coin was the most expensive item of a large range of official Olympic merchandise unveiled earlier this month, including beach towels, fridge magnets, silver cufflinks, egg cups, bed linen and even train sets. Royal Mint new mega coins had cleared its first hurdle in the House of Commons early this month. The law currently prevents coins from being minted outside of regulation weights.

Because it is legal tender any person who buys the coin will, in theory, be able to take it into a shop and use it to buy something. In practice, this is highly unlikely to happen, because though the coin has a face value of £1,000, it is expected to cost between £40,00 and £45,000, meaning the coins will only be bought by collectors. There have been one kilo gold coins produced by the Royal Mint previously, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. However, these were not legal tender in the United Kingdom as they were technically Alderney coins; minted on behalf of the Channel Island.

The coins, the largest ever to be circulated in the UK, would cost an estimated £40,000 and £1,250 respectively and were part of London's bid for the Games. All of them would be put up for sale while Britain's best-known artists would design the coins. In total 60 will be made, alongside 14,000 silver £500 coins.

Source: The Telegraph

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Most valuable British coin: Double Leopard

What is the most valuable British coin today? England’s first large gold coin, the Edward III 1344 Double Leopard. The coin sold on 26 June 2006 for a staggering £460,000 (US$841,800) by Spink in London. This is a small amount compare to world's most expensive coin: 1794 Silver Dollar. This coin was discovered and dug up by a metal detectorist in the south of England. Only 3 known specimen for this coin. The two other examples, found in the bed of the river Tyne in 1857, are now both in the British Museum. This is therefore the only example in private hands. It is a slightly different variety to either of those in the British Museum.

The Gold Double Florin, authorised on 14 December 1343, was to circulate at a value of six-shillings. The Double Leopard was an attempt by English king Edward III to produce a gold coinage suitable for use in Europe as well as in England. The florin, based on a French coin and ultimately on coins issued in Florence, Italy, in 1252, was a standard coin widely used internationally, with a value of six shillings. Unfortunately the gold used to strike the coins was overvalued, resulting in the coins being unacceptable to merchants, and the coins were withdrawn after only a few months in circulation, in August 1344, to be melted down to produce the more popular gold Noble.

Edward III (1327-77) gold "Double Florin", also known as Double Leopard, struck in 1344. It had a face value of 6 shillings, and is 35 mm diameter. It was first authorised on 14 December 1343, but was replaced by a new coinage of Nobles on 9th July 1344. It was therefore only issued for seven months.

The obverse of the coin shows the King enthroned beneath a canopy, with two leopards' heads at the sides (the leopard being the heraldic "lion" on the English coat of arms); the legend is EDWR D GRA REX ANGL Z FRANC DNS HIB (Edward by the Grace of God King of England and France Lord of Ireland). The reverse of the coin shows the Royal cross within a quatrefoil, a leopard in each spandrel; the legend is IHC TRANSIENS PER MEDIUM ILLORUM IBAT (But Jesus passing through their midst went his way).

Source: Spink, Wikipedia.

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Birmingham Mint Royal Wedding Medal

Birmingham Mint Royal Wedding Medal already start its production yesterday. The medal created by Birmingham Mint has no monetary value but is designed to be a souvenir of the ceremony on April 29. 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. They will hold no monetary value but the Mint is hoping that the coins, which cost £5, will be sold out by the time of the wedding.

Birmingham, which was established in 1794 and believes it is the world's oldest independent mint, is selling the medals for £5 but is offering them to schools and charities for just £3. Some 23,000 schools around Britain have already received the offer and it is hoped some will buy discounted medals and sell them on as a way of fundraising.

Product manager Phil Majevadia said: "With the country in the doldrums and a harsh economic climate, the Royal Wedding will lift everyone.

"We just wanted to add to the good-feel factor around the wedding and help to give everyone a lift."

This is a much better design then the official coin of Prince William and Kate Middleton by Royal Mint that has been receiving so many critics due to the poor design. Images of the couple on the memento bear little resemblance to either the prince or his 28-year-old betrothed. Middleton appears plump in the face and lips and has bags under her eyes. Some critics claim William looks like Al Gore.

Schools and charities can order the coins at the www.birmingham-mint.com website.

Source: BBC, The Press Association.

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Berjaya Times Square dealers

This is a Berjaya Times Square coin dealers list. Berjaya Times Square KL is a twin tower complex containing a shopping centre and two five star hotels located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was opened in October 2003 by the then Prime Minister of Malaysia, YAB Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad. Both towers are 203 metres (666 ft) tall, with 48 floors and with 7.5 million square feet (700,000 m²) of built up floor area. It offers shopping, luxury accommodation, business, food and entertainment. Currently, it has space for more than 1,000 retail shops, 1,200 luxury service suites, 65 food outlets to suit many tastes and entertainment attractions.

How do you go to Berjaya Times Square? If you came from KLIA, you can go to KL Sentral using ERL (Express Rail Link). In KL Sentral, there is many public transportation that you can find. If you're using taxi, just asked them to go to Berjaya Times Square Mall, the fare should be around RM10. You can also walk a little bit, go find a Monorail and buy a ticket to Plaza Imbi, the fare will be around RM2.00. This Building is near the Bukit Bintang area. Its should be no problem asking people where is this building situated since this is one of Kuala lumpur major landmark.


They're three shop in this building. A suggestion from me, if you want to go to this shop, you better go after 3pm. Most of the owner will only open their shop at that time and closed around 7pm. Called them first to check if they open during your visit. I only manage to meet two of the shop owners during this visit but their working time are almost similar. All of the shops are at 7th floor and open everyday (including Sunday) from 2pm to 8pm.

Eastern Stamps, coins and Antiques
Lot 07-47, 7th Floor,
Berjaya Times Square,
No: 1, Jalan Imbi,
55100 Kuala Lumpur.
Owner: Bob T.C Chew.
Handphone: +6016-2832507.
Deals: Stamps, Numismatic, Antiques.

Yip's Collections
Lot 07-50, 7th Floor,
Berjaya Times Square,
No: 1, Jalan Imbi,
55100 Kuala Lumpur.
Owner: Yip Fook Keong.
Handphone: +6012-3604928.
Deals: Stamps, Numismatic, Postal History, Documents, Phone cards, Posters, Ang Pow & Various Collectibles.

Kedai Cenderamata Leong Antiquity Enterprise
Lot 07-30A, 7th Floor,
Berjaya Times Square,
No: 1, Jalan Imbi,
55100 Kuala Lumpur.

For other lists of Kuala Lumpur coin dealers, you can check my Klang Valley coin dealer list. If you want to find a Steven Tan standard catalogue book, you should check this post, Steven Tan Shop. For KN Boon Book, you can read my review 5th edition 2010 KN Boon book.

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Estonian rewarded 100,000 euros

An honest Estonian rewarded with nearly 100,000 euros for a pot of silver ancient coins he found last year. His identity was not made public. He turned in a treasure of more than a thousand ancient silver coins he dug up in a field in Estonia and got his reward on Thursday, when the Estonian government decided to give him nearly 100,000 euros.

Estonia Map by Wikipedia.

"Under Estonian law, a person who finds and turns over ancient treasure to the authorities is entitled to the half of its value," the Estonian government said on its website.

"An expert study by Estonian heritage authorities found the treasure is worth 198,126 euros ($273,000)," it said.

"Most of the nearly thousand years old coins; (80 percent of them) are from Germany and the rest from England, Sweden, Denmark and Hungary. One silver coin seems to be from Italy," Mauri Kiudsoo, a Tallinn University expert, told reporters in the Estonian capital Thursday.

The man made the rare discovery on August 16 last year while digging in a farmer's field near Tallinn. The treasure, contained in a broken clay pot, comprised 1,329 silver coins and nine other silver items. The find came three years to the day after the previous such discovery in Estonia, when five treasure hunters discovered a trove of almost 1,000 coins, mostly from the 17th century, on Saaremaa Island off the west coast. They were rewarded with 32,650 euros for handing in the money from Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands.

Source: AFP.

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RCMP Counterfeit Canadian Coin Website

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) under its Federal Commercial Crime Section’s Integrated Counterfeit Enforcement Team (ICET) has recently launched a website aimed at educating the public in the detection of counterfeit Canadian coins. The website is designed to provide information on how to detect counterfeit money and how to avoid becoming a victim. The public and more specifically coin collectors can familiarize themselves with the methods of detecting counterfeit Canadian coins by reviewing the counterfeit coin examples on the RCMP website. The site will regularly be updated with digital images, specifications and identifiers for all recently identified counterfeit Canadian coins circulating in Canada and abroad.

During the past few years, Canadian Coin collectors have been noticing a substantial increase in the number of Counterfeit Canadian coins that have surfaced over the internet and at coin shows across the country. Sgt. Tony FARAHBAKHCHIAN, the RCMP Pacific Region Counterfeit Coordinator, believes that this problem is directly related to the level of sophistication used by overseas manufacturers in the production of fake coins and the ease at which they are being sold over the internet.

In 2009, it was brought to the attention of the RCMP that sellers from Asia had been selling counterfeit coins on eBay. These coins were replicas of rare Canadian coins from the turn of the century. Upon consultation with the RCMP, eBay cooperated fully with the RCMP’s request to remove all current listings from the Canada and USA sites. However, a substantial number of these counterfeits have already made their way into private collections, which is another reason it is important for people to be aware of this website. You can visit the RCMP counterfeit site for any counterfeit coin identifying tips.

Released by:
Sgt. Tony Farahbakhchian
RCMP Pacific Region Counterfeit Coordinator
E-Division Federal Commercial Crime Section
604-598-5393

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Happy Chinese New Year 2011

I wish a Happy Chinese New Year 2011-CNY to all lunaticg.blogspot.com readers and friends who will be celebrating them this Thursday in Malaysia. Also a Happy Federal Territory Day to everyone who are in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan. I know most of you already "balik kampung" (going back to their hometown) by now since today also a Federal Territory Day Holiday. We already past the year of tiger in 2010, wish everyone will have a prosperous 2011 rabbit year ahead and may it bring a tonnes of luck to you. To all my collecting friends, may this year you will add more treasures in your collection. Just make sure you don't forget to share them in your blog or whenever I have time to meet you.

Last week, when I go to Berjaya Times Square doing my blog work, I found this shop selling a red packet or ang pow with a celebrity faces on it. Some of them are already over 10 years old and the owner said that people do collect this kind of ang pow. I never seen something like this before but if any of you receive an ang pow with this design, I suggest you start collecting them. To anyone who don't know, Ang pow are passed out during the Chinese New Year's celebrations, from married couples or the elderly to unmarried juniors. The red color of the envelope symbolizes good luck and is supposed to ward off evil spirits. The amount of money contained in the envelope usually ends with an even digit, in accordance with Chinese beliefs. I will write a report on my Berjaya Times Square trip and share them with everyone next week.

By now, we can see red all over the places in Malaysia, red lanterns, red calligraphies, red packets, red carpets and almost all Mall, Hotel and offices in Malaysia are already in red by now. I therefore take this opportunity to wish all Malaysian Chinese and anyone who celebrate a

Happy Chinese New Year 2011.

"兔年吉祥！
Tù nián jí xiáng!
Good Luck in the Year of the Rabbit!"
from lunaticg banknote & coin

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