Wikipedia:WikiProject Numismatics/newsletter/July 2020
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The WikiProject Numismatics newsletter |
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| Issue XIII | |
Featured Article of the Month edit
Operation Bernhard was an exercise by Nazi Germany to forge British bank notes. The initial plan was to drop the notes over Britain to bring about a collapse of the British economy during the Second World War. The first phase was run from early 1940 by the Sicherheitsdienst (SD) under the title Unternehmen Andreas (Operation Andreas, Operation Andrew). The unit successfully duplicated the rag paper used by the British, produced near-identical engraving blocks and deduced the algorithm used to create the alpha-numeric serial code on each note. The unit closed in early 1942 after its head, Alfred Naujocks, fell out of favour with his superior officer, Reinhard Heydrich.
The operation was revived later in the year; the aim was changed to forging money to finance German intelligence operations. Instead of a specialist unit within the SD, prisoners from Nazi concentration camps were selected and sent to Sachsenhausen concentration camp to work under SS Major Bernhard Krüger. The unit produced British notes until mid-1945; estimates vary of the number and value of notes printed, from £132.6 million up to £300 million. By the time the unit ceased production, they had perfected the artwork for US dollars, although the paper and serial numbers were still being analysed. The counterfeit money was laundered in exchange for money and other assets. Counterfeit notes from the operation were used to pay the Turkish agent Elyesa Bazna—code named Cicero—for his work in obtaining British secrets from the British ambassador in Ankara, and £100,000 from Operation Bernhard was used to obtain information that helped to free the Italian leader Benito Mussolini in the Gran Sasso raid in September 1943.
In early 1945 the unit was moved to Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp in Austria, then to the Redl-Zipf series of tunnels and finally to Ebensee concentration camp. Because of an overly precise interpretation of a German order, the prisoners were not executed on their arrival; they were liberated shortly afterwards by the American Army. Much of the output of the unit was dumped into the Toplitz and Grundlsee lakes at the end of the war, but enough went into general circulation that the Bank of England stopped releasing new notes and issued a new design after the war. The operation has been dramatised in a comedy-drama miniseries Private Schulz by the BBC and in a 2007 film, The Counterfeiters (Die Fälscher). (Full article...)
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Today's Featured Article edit
| April 29 |
 The Hudson Sesquicentennial half dollar is a fifty-cent piece struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1935 as a commemorative coin. The coin was designed by Chester Beach. Its obverse depicts the Half Moon, flagship of Henry Hudson, after whom the city of Hudson is named. In addition to showing the ship, the coin displays a version of the Hudson city seal, with Neptune riding a whale, a design that has drawn commentary. Although the city of Hudson was a relatively small municipality, legislation to issue a coin in honor of its 150th anniversary went through Congress without opposition and was signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, becoming the Act of May 2, 1935. Most of the coins were likely bought by coin dealers, leaving few for collectors, with the result that prices spiked from the $1 cost at the time of issue. This caused collector anger, but did not lower the coin's value, which has continued to increase in the 80-plus years since it was struck. (Full article...) |
| June 6 |
 Demetrius III's portrait on a tetradrachm Demetrius III Eucaerus was a Seleucid ruler who reigned as King of Syria between 96 and 87 BC. He was a son of Antiochus VIII and, most likely, his Egyptian wife Tryphaena. After his father was assassinated in 96 BC, Demetrius III took control of Damascus. In 89 BC, he invaded Judaea and crushed the forces of its king, Alexander Jannaeus. By 87 BC, Demetrius III had most of Syria under his authority. He attempted to appease the public by promoting the importance of the local Semitic gods, and he might have given Damascus the dynastic name Demetrias. By late 87 BC, Demetrius III attacked his brother, and rival to the throne, Philip I, in the city of Beroea, where Philip I's allies called on the Parthians for help. The allied forces routed Demetrius III and besieged him in his camp; he was forced to surrender and spent the rest of his life in exile in Parthia. Philip I took Antioch, while Antiochus XII, another brother of Demetrius III, took Damascus. (Full article...) |
Picture of the Day edit
| April 13 | .jpg) |
The Portuguese real was the unit of currency of Portugal from around 1430 to 1911. It replaced the dinheiro at the rate of 1 real for 840 dinheiros, and was itself replaced by the escudo as a result of the Republican revolution of 1910 at a rate of 1 escudo for 1,000 réis.
This picture shows a 2,400-real banknote issued as part of Portugal's second issue of paper money in 1798–99. The Portuguese text on the note's obverse (top) translates to: 'The Royal Treasury has to pay the bearer of this policy within one year of today two thousand and four hundred réis. As its representative I swear, Lisbon, 23 April 1799.' It was thus a receipt payable to the bearer of the document, rather than the original depositor. The curved cut in the scrollwork in the left margin was an early anti-counterfeiting measure; the severed portion was retained by the issuing authority and could be compared to the note when it was presented for payment. This banknote is now in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. |
| April 24 Chosen at random from a selection of seven |
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Federal Reserve Bank Notes were banknotes issued by the United States Federal Reserve between 1915 and 1934, differing from Federal Reserve Notes in that they were backed by one of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks, rather than by all of them collectively. They were first issued in 1915 in denominations of $5, $10 and $20, using a design that shared elements with both the National Bank Notes and the Federal Reserve Notes of the time. Additional denominations of $1, $2 and $50 were issued in 1918, a $100 note was designed but not issued, and a series of small-size notes was issued in 1933.
This picture shows a one-dollar note issued in 1918 by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, depicting President George Washington on the obverse, and an eagle with a flag on the reverse. This banknote is in the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. |
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Federal Reserve Bank Notes were banknotes issued by the United States Federal Reserve between 1915 and 1934, differing from Federal Reserve Notes in that they were backed by one of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks, rather than by all of them collectively. They were first issued in 1915 in denominations of $5, $10 and $20, using a design that shared elements with both the National Bank Notes and the Federal Reserve Notes of the time. Additional denominations of $1, $2 and $50 were issued in 1918, a $100 note was designed but not issued, and a series of small-size notes was issued in 1933.
This picture shows a two-dollar note issued in 1918 by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, depicting President Thomas Jefferson on the obverse, and a New York-class battleship on the reverse. This banknote is in the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. | |
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Federal Reserve Bank Notes were banknotes issued by the United States Federal Reserve between 1915 and 1934, differing from Federal Reserve Notes in that they were backed by one of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks, rather than by all of them collectively. They were first issued in 1915 in denominations of $5, $10 and $20, using a design that shared elements with both the National Bank Notes and the Federal Reserve Notes of the time. Additional denominations of $1, $2 and $50 were issued in 1918, a $100 note was designed but not issued, and a series of small-size notes was issued in 1933.
This picture shows a five-dollar note issued in 1918 by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, depicting President Abraham Lincoln on the obverse, and vignettes of Christopher Columbus sighting land and the Pilgrims' landing on the reverse. This banknote is in the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. | |
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Federal Reserve Bank Notes were banknotes issued by the United States Federal Reserve between 1915 and 1934, differing from Federal Reserve Notes in that they were backed by one of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks, rather than by all of them collectively. They were first issued in 1915 in denominations of $5, $10 and $20, using a design that shared elements with both the National Bank Notes and the Federal Reserve Notes of the time. Additional denominations of $1, $2 and $50 were issued in 1918, a $100 note was designed but not issued, and a series of small-size notes was issued in 1933.
This picture shows a ten-dollar note issued in 1915 by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, depicting President Andrew Jackson on the obverse, and vignettes of the agricultural and manufacturing industries on the reverse. This banknote is in the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. | |
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Federal Reserve Bank Notes were banknotes issued by the United States Federal Reserve between 1915 and 1934, differing from Federal Reserve Notes in that they were backed by one of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks, rather than by all of them collectively. They were first issued in 1915 in denominations of $5, $10 and $20, using a design that shared elements with both the National Bank Notes and the Federal Reserve Notes of the time. Additional denominations of $1, $2 and $50 were issued in 1918, a $100 note was designed but not issued, and a series of small-size notes was issued in 1933.
This picture shows a twenty-dollar note issued in 1915 by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, depicting President Grover Cleveland on the obverse, and vignettes of land, air and sea transportation on the reverse. This banknote is in the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. | |
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Federal Reserve Bank Notes were banknotes issued by the United States Federal Reserve between 1915 and 1934, differing from Federal Reserve Notes in that they were backed by one of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks, rather than by all of them collectively. They were first issued in 1915 in denominations of $5, $10 and $20, using a design that shared elements with both the National Bank Notes and the Federal Reserve Notes of the time. Additional denominations of $1, $2 and $50 were issued in 1918, a $100 note was designed but not issued, and a series of small-size notes was issued in 1933.
This picture shows a fifty-dollar note issued in 1918 by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, depicting President Ulysses S. Grant on the obverse, and a personification of Panama between two ships on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans on the reverse. This banknote is in the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. | |
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Federal Reserve Bank Notes were banknotes issued by the United States Federal Reserve between 1915 and 1934, differing from Federal Reserve Notes in that they were backed by one of the twelve Federal Reserve Banks, rather than by all of them collectively. They were first issued in 1915 in denominations of $5, $10 and $20, using a design that shared elements with both the National Bank Notes and the Federal Reserve Notes of the time. Additional denominations of $1, $2 and $50 were issued in 1918, a $100 note was designed but not issued, and a series of small-size notes was issued in 1933.
This picture shows a one-hundred-dollar note printed in 1915 by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, depicting Benjamin Franklin on the obverse; as this note is an unissued proof, there is no design on the reverse. This banknote is in the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. | |
| May 6 Chosen at random from a selection of six |
_one_silver_peso,_1936_(CUB-69b).jpg) |
Silver certificates were issued by the Republic of Cuba between 1934 and 1949. Prior and subsequent issues of Cuban banknotes were engraved and printed by non-governmental private banknote companies in the United States, but the series from 1934 to 1949 was designed, engraved, and printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing of the U.S. government.
This is a certified proof of a one-peso silver certificate, prepared in 1936. The obverse depicts Cuban writer José Martí, with the engraved signatures of Ricardo Ponce (Secretary of the Treasury) and José Agripino Barnet (President of the Republic). The reverse, printed in blue, bears the Cuban coat of arms. This proof is part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. |
_one_silver_peso,_1930s_(CUB-69-reverse).jpg) | ||
_five_silver_pesos,_1936_(CUB-70b).jpg) |
Silver certificates were issued by the Republic of Cuba between 1934 and 1949. Prior and subsequent issues of Cuban banknotes were engraved and printed by non-governmental private banknote companies in the United States, but the series from 1934 to 1949 was designed, engraved, and printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing of the U.S. government.
This is a certified proof of a five-peso silver certificate, prepared in 1936. The obverse depicts Dominican military officer Máximo Gómez, with the engraved signatures of Ricardo Ponce (Secretary of the Treasury) and José Agripino Barnet (President of the Republic). The reverse, printed in orange, bears the Cuban coat of arms. This proof is part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. | |
_five_silver_pesos,_1930s_(CUB-70-reverse).jpg) | ||
_10_silver_pesos,_1936_(CUB-71b).jpg) |
Silver certificates were issued by the Republic of Cuba between 1934 and 1949. Prior and subsequent issues of Cuban banknotes were engraved and printed by non-governmental private banknote companies in the United States, but the series from 1934 to 1949 was designed, engraved, and printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing of the U.S. government.
This is a certified proof of a ten-peso silver certificate, prepared in 1936. The obverse depicts Cuban president Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada, with the engraved signatures of Ricardo Ponce (Secretary of the Treasury) and José Agripino Barnet (President of the Republic). The reverse, printed in brown, bears the Cuban coat of arms. This proof is part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. | |
_10_silver_pesos,_1930s_(CUB-71-reverse).jpg) | ||
_20_silver_pesos,_1936_(CUB-72b).jpg) |
Silver certificates were issued by the Republic of Cuba between 1934 and 1949. Prior and subsequent issues of Cuban banknotes were engraved and printed by non-governmental private banknote companies in the United States, but the series from 1934 to 1949 was designed, engraved, and printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing of the U.S. government.
This is a certified proof of a twenty-peso silver certificate, prepared in 1936. The obverse depicts Cuban general Antonio Maceo Grajales, with the engraved signatures of Ricardo Ponce (Secretary of the Treasury) and José Agripino Barnet (President of the Republic). The reverse, printed in olive green, bears the Cuban coat of arms. This proof is part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. | |
_20_silver_pesos,_1930s_(CUB-72-reverse).jpg) | ||
_50_silver_pesos,_1936_(CUB-73b).jpg) |
Silver certificates were issued by the Republic of Cuba between 1934 and 1949. Prior and subsequent issues of Cuban banknotes were engraved and printed by non-governmental private banknote companies in the United States, but the series from 1934 to 1949 was designed, engraved, and printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing of the U.S. government.
This is a certified proof of a fifty-peso silver certificate, prepared in 1936. The obverse depicts Cuban general Calixto García, with the engraved signatures of Ricardo Ponce (Secretary of the Treasury) and José Agripino Barnet (President of the Republic). The reverse, printed in light orange, bears the Cuban coat of arms. This proof is part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. | |
_50_silver_pesos,_1930s_(CUB-73-reverse).jpg) | ||
_100_silver_pesos,_1936_(CUB-74b).jpg) |
Silver certificates were issued by the Republic of Cuba between 1934 and 1949. Prior and subsequent issues of Cuban banknotes were engraved and printed by non-governmental private banknote companies in the United States, but the series from 1934 to 1949 was designed, engraved, and printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing of the U.S. government.
This is a certified proof of a one-hundred-peso silver certificate, prepared in 1936. The obverse depicts Cuban patriot Francisco Vicente Aguilera, with the engraved signatures of Ricardo Ponce (Secretary of the Treasury) and José Agripino Barnet (President of the Republic). The reverse, printed in purple, bears the Cuban coat of arms, flanked by Havana's El Capitolio on the left and Plaza de la Catedral on the right. This proof is part of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. | |
_100_silver_pesos,_1930s_(CUB-74-reverse).jpg) | ||
| June 2 Chosen at random from a selection of seven |
-%240.03-Fr.1226.jpg) |
Fractional currency, also referred to as shinplasters, was introduced by the United States federal government following the outbreak of the Civil War. These low-denomination banknotes of the U.S. dollar were in use between 21 August 1862 and 15 February 1876; they were issued in denominations of 3, 5, 10, 15, 25 and 50 cents across five issuing periods. The notes could be redeemed by the U.S. Postal Service for the face value in postage stamps.
This picture shows a third-issue three-cent fractional currency note, issued by the United States Department of the Treasury between 5 December 1864 and 16 August 1869, featuring a portrait of George Washington, the first president of the United States, on the obverse. This banknote is in the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. |
-%240.05-Fr.1238.jpg) |
Fractional currency, also referred to as shinplasters, was introduced by the United States federal government following the outbreak of the Civil War. These low-denomination banknotes of the U.S. dollar were in use between 21 August 1862 and 15 February 1876; they were issued in denominations of 3, 5, 10, 15, 25 and 50 cents across five issuing periods. The notes could be redeemed by the U.S. Postal Service for the face value in postage stamps.
This picture shows a third-issue five-cent fractional currency note, issued by the United States Department of the Treasury between 5 December 1864 and 16 August 1869, featuring a portrait of Spencer M. Clark, then supervisor of the Currency Bureau, on the obverse. This banknote is in the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. | |
-%240.10-Fr.1254.jpg) |
Fractional currency, also referred to as shinplasters, was introduced by the United States federal government following the outbreak of the Civil War. These low-denomination banknotes of the U.S. dollar were in use between 21 August 1862 and 15 February 1876; they were issued in denominations of 3, 5, 10, 15, 25 and 50 cents across five issuing periods. The notes could be redeemed by the U.S. Postal Service for the face value in postage stamps.
This picture shows a third-issue ten-cent fractional currency note, issued by the United States Department of the Treasury between 5 December 1864 and 16 August 1869, featuring a portrait of George Washington, the first president of the United States, on the obverse. This banknote is in the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. | |
-%240.25-Fr.1294.jpg) |
Fractional currency, also referred to as shinplasters, was introduced by the United States federal government following the outbreak of the Civil War. These low-denomination banknotes of the U.S. dollar were in use between 21 August 1862 and 15 February 1876; they were issued in denominations of 3, 5, 10, 15, 25 and 50 cents across five issuing periods. The notes could be redeemed by the U.S. Postal Service for the face value in postage stamps.
This picture shows a third-issue twenty-five-cent fractional currency note, issued by the United States Department of the Treasury between 5 December 1864 and 16 August 1869, featuring a portrait of William P. Fessenden, then secretary of the treasury, on the obverse. This banknote is in the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. | |
-%240.50-Fr.1328.jpg) |
Fractional currency, also referred to as shinplasters, was introduced by the United States federal government following the outbreak of the Civil War. These low-denomination banknotes of the U.S. dollar were in use between 21 August 1862 and 15 February 1876; they were issued in denominations of 3, 5, 10, 15, 25 and 50 cents across five issuing periods. The notes could be redeemed by the U.S. Postal Service for the face value in postage stamps.
This picture shows a third-issue fifty-cent fractional currency note (one of three variants of this denomination), issued by the United States Department of the Treasury between 5 December 1864 and 16 August 1869, featuring a portrait of Francis E. Spinner, then treasurer of the United States, on the obverse. This banknote is in the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. | |
-%240.50-Fr.1339.jpg) |
Fractional currency, also referred to as shinplasters, was introduced by the United States federal government following the outbreak of the Civil War. These low-denomination banknotes of the U.S. dollar were in use between 21 August 1862 and 15 February 1876; they were issued in denominations of 3, 5, 10, 15, 25 and 50 cents across five issuing periods. The notes could be redeemed by the U.S. Postal Service for the face value in postage stamps.
This picture shows a third-issue fifty-cent fractional currency note (one of three variants of this denomination), issued by the United States Department of the Treasury between 5 December 1864 and 16 August 1869, featuring a portrait of Francis E. Spinner, then treasurer of the United States, on the obverse. This banknote is in the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. | |
-%240.50-Fr.1355.jpg) |
Fractional currency, also referred to as shinplasters, was introduced by the United States federal government following the outbreak of the Civil War. These low-denomination banknotes of the U.S. dollar were in use between 21 August 1862 and 15 February 1876; they were issued in denominations of 3, 5, 10, 15, 25 and 50 cents across five issuing periods. The notes could be redeemed by the U.S. Postal Service for the face value in postage stamps.
This picture shows a third-issue fifty-cent fractional currency note (one of three variants of this denomination), issued by the United States Department of the Treasury between 5 December 1864 and 16 August 1869, featuring a personification of Justice holding a set of scales on the obverse. This banknote is in the National Numismatic Collection of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. |
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