PREV ARTICLE
NEXT ARTICLE
FULL ISSUE
PREV FULL ISSUE
LOOSE CHANGE: NOVEMBER 30, 2025Here are some additional items in the media this week that may be of interest. -Editor The Toledo Blade published an editorial about the American Numismatic Society's announcement of its planned move to that city. Great headline! -Editor
To read the complete article (subscription required), see:
The sale may be over by the time most of you read this, but here goes. CoinWeek published an article about a massive 1,069.5-ounce fine silver ingot recovered from the wreck of the S.S. Gairsoppa. -Editor
Few pieces of WWII-era bullion ever surface with the raw historical energy of the massive 1,069.5-ounce fine silver ingot recovered from the wreck of the S.S. Gairsoppa. On November 30, 2025, at 8:07:30 PM Pacific, GreatCollections will offer one of the most imposing artifacts of underwater numismatics: Ingot No. JZ459-5, a 99.9% fine silver bar weighing more than 1,057 troy ounces of pure silver (ASW), accompanied by its original Odyssey Marine Exploration certificate of authenticity.
To read the complete article, see:
Dick Hanscom sent along an article about a 3,000-year-old gold mining and processing complex in Egypt. Thanks. Some Ptolemaic bronze coins were among the unearthed artifacts. -Editor 
According to a press statement issued by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the complex dates from as early as 3,000-years-ago during the Third Intermediate Period of Egypt. This period is considered a time of decline and political instability characterised by state fragmentation. It coincided with the Late Bronze Age collapse, which saw the downfall of civilisations across the ancient Near East and Eastern Mediterranean, including the onset of the Greek Dark Ages. SCA Secretary-General Mohamed Ismail Khaled, said: "Excavations revealed a 3,000-year-old gold processing complex, featuring grinding and crushing stations, filtration and sedimentation basins, and ancient clay furnaces used for smelting gold extracted from quartz veins." Excavations also revealed an associated residential district which served as the home of gold miners and workers in the complex, as well as workshops, temples, administrative buildings, and bathhouses that date from the Ptolemaic era. Architectural remnants from the Roman and Islamic periods indicate that the site remained active for at least 1,000 years, highlighting the regions historical significance for gold mining and processing among Egypt's various ruling cultures.
To read the complete articles, see:
Kavan Ratnatunga passed along this article with an interesting and detailed discussion of the concept of a BRICS currency. Thank you. -Editor
The creation of a potentially gold-backed currency, known as the "Unit," as a US dollar alternative is also under consideration by BRICS members. However, whether or not these countries can fully separate themselves from the ruling global currency is up for debate even amongst themselves. At the 2024 BRICS Summit, the movement away from US dollar supremacy really came to a head when Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared on stage holding what appeared as a prototype of a possible BRICS banknote. However, he soon backed away from his previous aggressive calls for de-dollarization, stating the goal of the BRICS member nations is not to move away from the US dollar-dominated SWIFT platform, but rather to deter the "weaponization" of the US dollar by developing alternative systems for using local currencies in financial transactions between BRICS countries and with trading partners.
To read the complete article, see:
Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: Subscribe All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
|
