LOOSE CHANGE: JUNE 9, 2019

Washington Before Boston Medal

A newly discovered silver Washington Before Boston medal struck at the Paris Mint circa 1789 brought $156,000 on May 24 at Stack's Bowers Galleries' Baltimore Expo auction.

Discovered in the estate of attorney New York attorney Alfred B. Carb, it is the 11th example recorded, with some of the others housed in the collections of major museums including Boston's Museum of Fine Arts and New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna and the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.

To read the complete article, see:
Newly discovered medals go to public auction in Baltimore (https://www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/2019/06/newly-discovered-medals-go-to-auction-in-baltimore.html)

Recent Medals by Joel Iskowitz

The gold medal, endorsed by NASA and struck by the Sunshine Mint in Idaho, features an obverse inspired by the famous Apollo 11 mission patch designed by astronaut Michael Collins, who remained on the Lunar model nicknamed "Eagle" during the time Armstrong and Aldrin were on the lunar surface. There are also inscriptions for "1969", "Half Ounce" and ".9999 GOLD." Joel noted that "the design was received very enthusiastically by NASA authorities," which is something they rarely do for a private-sector design.

The reverse shows an astronaut proudly saluting the American flag (in the center of the design) planted on the moon during the mission (which had been required by law), as well as a boot print on the lunar surface. On the lunar horizon is the earth with the United States visible.

Joel added:
"The astronaut saluting the American Flag is both meant to be symbolic of all the astronauts in the NASA programs from the early days of the Mercury program right on through the future explorers who will ultimately visit other planets in our solar system such as Mars as well as to refer specifically to Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong, who indeed saluted the flag on the lunar surface on July 20, 1969. Similarly, the boot print on the lunar surface is intended to represent both the generic first footprint of an earthling on another celestial body as well as specifically Neil Armstrong's imprint on the Sea of Tranquility."

To read the complete article, see:
The Coin Analyst – Recent Medallic Works by Joel Iskowitz on Apollo 11 and World War I (https://coinweek.com/coins/medals-and-tokens/the-coin-analyst-recent-medallic-works-by-joel-iskowitz-on-apollo-11-and-world-war-i/)

Where are Liberia's missing millions?

In September 2018, local media reported that shipping containers filled with newly printed Liberian dollars from Swedish banknote manufacturer Crane AB disappeared from Liberia's entry ports between 2016 and 2017.

The Central Bank of Liberia denied the allegations and stated that the money was stored in vaults across the city.

But there were a number of concerns around the exercise and unanswered questions about the shipments of cash into Liberia. Two reports were commissioned to examine the details. The government's Presidential Investigative Team (PIT) completed one. Risk advisory firm Kroll, the other.

Both found major flaws in how government policy was implemented in each case, and neither the PIT nor Kroll were able to account for all of the newly printed Liberian dollars or the additional US dollars in the country.

To read the complete article, see:
Where are Liberia's missing millions? (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-48540699)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
LIBERIAN BANKNOTE SCHEME REVEALED

Wayne Homren, Editor

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