International News
Following the usual flurry of activity in and around the New York International Convention (NYINC) in the first week of December, the numismatic community entered its relative, mid-winter lull. Perhaps the most noteworthy news was sad indeed, the death at the turn of the year of ANS Life Fellow Charles Hersh. This giant's career, so recently commemorated by the publication on the occasion of his 75th birthday in June of a scholarly Festschrift (Coins of Macedonia and Rome: Essays in Honor of Charles Hersh, 1998, Spinks, London) will be summarized elsewhere. It is worthy of special note, however, that he left his collection of Macedonian coinage, renowned as one of the finest in private hands, to the British Museum.
Asia
March 4 – Taisei-Baldwin-Gillio's Singapore sale.
March 15 – The Baldwin firm will offer Islamic coins at a major sale in Dubai.
March 24-25 – Noble Numismatics conducts a two-day sale in Sydney.
Europe
March 3-5 – The first day of the Giessener Münzhandlung auction in Munich will be devoted to ancient coins, the following two days to medieval and modern.
March 6 – A Jean Elsen sale in Brussels. March 18-19 – Münzen und Medaillen Germany will hold a general sale in Stuttgart.
March 24 – Bonham's London auction. April 19-20 – The firm of L. Schulman will conduct a general sale in Bussum, the Netherlands.
April 27-30 – A four-day general sale by the Frankfurt am Main firm of Dr. Busso Peus Nachfolger.
May 4-5 – Baldwin's London sale features ancient and world coins on the first day, British on the second.
May 5-7 – Gerhard Hirsch Nachfolger will offer both coins and medals at a general sale in Munich.
May 17 – Münzen und Medaillen's Swiss branch conducts a general sale in Basel.
May 18-19 – Ancients are the focus of the two-day Leu Numismatics auction in Zurich.
May 20-23 – The International Association of Professional Numismatists (IAPN) convenes its 48th General Assembly.
Issues
The smooth launch of the Euro, the new common currency for eleven member states of the European Union on January 1, has, as noted in earlier columns, implications for numismatists. Late in 1998, the EU's Monetary Committee reached agreement on guidelines for Euro collector coins (commemoratives and bullion coin with legal status but not produced for entry into circulation). The Committee, which first consulted with commercial numismatists and other interested parties in Europe, concluded that "the issue of collector coin is to be welcomed and must be allowed to flourish, not least because it gives expression to cultural and local values and traditions." It instructed that "collector coin must be readily distinguishable from coin intended for circulation" and asked EU member states to consult before issuing such coin to "ensure this differentiation." Commemorative issues must also satisfy rules of the new European Central Bank with respect to volume of Euro- denominated coins and notes in circulation. The Frankfurt-based institution will exercise broad supervisory powers to ensure this.
Nevertheless, collectors will have to wait several years before they can obtain new Euro commemoratives. While the Euro has existed since the beginning of the year for banking, commercial, credit card and other bookkeeping transactions, the first coins and notes will not appear until January 1, 2002, and the Monetary Committee has determined that collector coin denominated in Euro should likewise not be issued before that date. Any existing issues in Euro (or in ECU, the now defunct formal unit of account previously used by the European Union) were to be terminated by January 1, 1999. The Monetary Committee, whose findings required a formal approval by EU Finance Ministers, also asked member states to respect a moratorium on commemorative coins intended for actual circulation "in the early years of the new notes and coin."
Contributions Welcome
The author of this column continues to solicit contributions of announcements and news, including news of international members, from the readership.
G. Jonathan Greenwald
c/o The American Numismatic Society
Broadway at 155th Street
New York, NY 10032
E-mail: 101651.1764@compuserve.com
Fax: 703/237-4804