From the desk of your Secretary

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September 22/06 - A Fort Oglethorpe man accused of defrauding more than $180,000 from eBay users appeared in federal court to face charges Thursday. Kary Dean Head, 48, of Fort Oglethorpe, entered a plea of not guilty to nine counts of fraud in front of U.S. District Judge Walter E. Johnson. Head, who was led into the courtroom in handcuffs, was later released on $10,000 bond. He is accused of devising and executing a scheme offering 1-ounce American silver eagle coins on the Internet auction site and then never supplying the winning bidders with the items paid for, according to court documents.

“Criminals who are tempted to hide behind the anonymity of the Internet should know that federal law enforcement will aggressively seek them out for prosecution,” said U.S. Attorney David E. Nahmias.

The indictment states that more than 50 users were defrauded between July 2004 and September 2006 by someone offering goods under the usernames “Headstart Cards and CollectiblesCorners.” At www.ebay.com, CollectiblesCorner is listed as being a user since Sept 14, 2004. All feedback left for this user is positive, but no transactions are listed since April 21, 2005. Headstart Cards is not listed.

The federal charges come from nine specific auction winners paying between $320 and $2,400 for coins in personal and cashiers checks, money orders, credit cards and Internet clearing company PayPal. Nahmias said Head allegedly collected about $180,000. Instead of sending the coins as agreed, Head kept the money and used it for personal purchases, according to the indictment.

September 15/06 - The United States Mint urges consumers considering the purchase or use of “Liberty Dollar” medallions, marketed by the National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve Act and the Internal Revenue Code (NORFED), to be aware that they are not genuine United States Mint bullion coins, and not legal tender. These medallions are privately produced products that are neither backed by, nor affiliated with, the United States Government. Prosecutors with the Department of Justice have determined that the use of these gold and silver NORFED "Liberty Dollar" medallions as circulating money is a Federal crime.

NORFED is headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, and the medallions reportedly are produced by a private mint in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. NORFED claims that more than $20 million dollars worth of Liberty Dollar coins and notes are in circulation.

Consumers may find advertisements for these medallions confusing and should take note of several issues related to them. The advertisements refer to the product as "real money" and "currency." These medallions might look like real money because they:

Bear the inscriptions, "Liberty," "Dollars," "Trust in God" (similar to "In God We Trust"), and "USA" (similar to "United States of America"), and an inscription purporting to denote the year of production.
Depict images that are similar to United States coins, such as the torch on the reverses of the current dime coin, 1986 Statue of Liberty Commemorative Silver Dollar and 1993 Bill of Rights Commemorative Half-Dollar, and the Liberty Head designs on the obverses of United States gold coins from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s. However, despite their misleading appearance, NORFED "Liberty Dollar" medallions are not genuine United States Mint coins, and they are not legal tender.

The advertisements confusingly refer to NORFED "Liberty Dollar" medallions as "legal" and “constitutional." However, under the Constitution (Article I, section 8, clause 5), Congress has the exclusive power to coin money of the United States and to regulate its value. The United States Mint is the only entity in the United States with the lawful authority to mint and issue legal tender United States coins.

Under 18 U.S.C. § 486, it is a Federal crime to pass, or attempt to pass, any coins of gold or silver intended for use as current money except as authorized by law. According to the NORFED website, "Liberty merchants" are encouraged to accept NORFED "Liberty Dollar" medallions and offer them as change in sales transactions of merchandise or services.

NORFED tells "Liberty associates" that they can earn money by obtaining NORFED "Liberty Dollar" medallions at a discount and then can "spend [them] into circulation."

NORFED’s "Liberty Dollar" medallions are specifically marketed to be used as current money in order to limit reliance on, and to compete with the circulating coinage of the United States. Consequently, prosecutors with the United States Department of Justice have concluded that the use of NORFED’s "Liberty Dollar" medallions violates 18 U.S.C. § 486, and is a crime.

The United States Mint has a Consumer Alert with photos of Liberty Dollars at http://www.usmint.gov/consumer/index.cfm?action=HotItems

September 12/06 - New holders for annual coin sets are coming was news announced at a U.S. Mint forum held Aug. 18 in Denver discussing the upcoming Presidential dollars and associated programs. The Mint is investigating new holders for its 2007 uncirculated and proof coin sets. The reason is the four new Presidential dollars will have the date and mintmark on the edge, along with the inscriptions E PLURIBUS UNUM and IN GOD WE TRUST, and collectors will want to see them.

Gloria Eskridge, Mint associate director for sales and marketing, said the Mint recognizes that collectors will need to better see the edge. She was not able to disclose further details. A tentative release schedule was set for the first four Presidential dollars, all due in circulation in 2007:

Feb. 16 for the George Washington dollar
May 18 for John Adams
Aug. 17 for Thomas Jefferson
Nov. 16 for James Madison

The new coins will be treated with a preservative to resist tarnishing, something that has affected Sacagawea dollars made of the same alloy.

September 01/06 - What is the name of Canada’s most recognizable polar bear? This question has puzzled Canadians since the two-dollar coin — affectionately dubbed the Toonie — was first launched in 1996. Now, a contest run by the Royal Canadian Mint asks Canadians to name the bear, in honour of the two-toned coin’s 10th anniversary. The Name Our Polar Bear contest kicked off on Monday and runs till Oct. 5. Participate by visiting www.mint.ca/toonie and voting for one of five names: Churchill, Wilbert, Makwa, Sacha or Plouf. The grand prize is a trip for four to beautiful Manitoba. Winners will be taken on a VIP tour of the mint’s Winnipeg facility, followed by a trip to Churchill to observe real polar bears in their natural habitat.

The mint produces up to 15 million Canadian circulation coins a day. It has also produced circulation coins for 60 countries over the past 25 years.

August 24/0 - Consumer and Business Awareness From The U. S. Mint. Very Important reading.

August 14/06 - COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. The American Numismatic Association, a nonprofit group that educates hobbyists about coin collecting and money, certainly knows how to lose it.

For the past four years, the Colorado Springs-based organization has operated at a loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. But that's just one of its problems.

The 115-year-old group, federally chartered as an educational, historical and scientific organization, is beset by questions over its finances and complaints that its leadership fosters a culture of excessive secrecy and demands loyalty oaths.

Some of the group's 32,000-plus members blame the turmoil on Christopher Cipoletti, a lawyer who took the helm as executive director in 2003.

Cipoletti rejects the criticism and maintains that the organization is financially sound, is more open about its dealings than ever before and is expanding its membership and programs.

And he has taken aim at some of his loudest critics. A civil lawsuit filed by the ANA and Cipoletti claims a group of former employees conspired against Cipoletti, harassed and stalked him, falsely accused him of mismanagement and theft and damaged his reputation.

The dispute casts a cloud over what ought to be heady times for collectors. The U.S. Mint's redesigned state quarters have generated renewed interest in the hobby -- ANA membership is up by 4,000 in the past three years, and traffic at its Money Museum in Colorado Springs is growing.

"It's unfortunate to have such dissension and turmoil in this organization," said Beth Deisher, editor of industry publications Coin World and Coin Values. "That makes it difficult to move forward."

Founded in 1891, the ANA is one of only two federally chartered nonprofits in the nation. The other is the American Red Cross.

The organization does not receive federal funding, but many enthusiasts consider it a quasi-federal institution because of its 1912 charter, a designation no longer given by Congress.

Congress "looks to the association when it comes to numismatic matters," said David Ganz, a New York attorney who served as ANA president from 1993 to 1995 and who has testified before Congress 15 times on coin and money issues.

Deisher said the ANA is expected to be forthcoming about its dealings, but she said she and others have noticed a "shroud of secrecy" they say began when Cipoletti took charge three years ago.

"The types of materials and information that's been available to the press and membership in the past is now being withheld, which is very puzzling to us," Deisher said.

The ANA has delayed publishing financial information, which often is "abbreviated in format," Deisher said, making it "very difficult to understand what all of the holdings and financial standings are."

Cipoletti said the opposite is true.

"We're putting more information out there for the membership than they've had. Before I started, most of the discussions about budgets were done in closed executive session," he said. "People are now learning more about what we're doing, and it gives them more of an ability to challenge what we're doing."

In fiscal year 2001, the organization had a budget surplus of nearly $80,000. The organization has since operated with a deficit.

According to forms filed with the Internal Revenue Service, the ANA posted a loss of $1 million in the 2002 fiscal year. The deficit dropped to $975,000 in 2003 and $266,000 in 2004. Filings for 2005 have not been made, but estimates show a loss of $714,000 for 2005, nearly double the organization's projections.

Edward C. Rochette, who worked at the ANA for nearly 40 years, primarily as executive director, before retiring in 1996, said he remembers occasional years of operating in the red, but nothing like the current situation.

"We worked very hard for a balanced budget, which doesn't mean we didn't have losing years," Rochette said. "But I don't recall ever running the deficits the ANA is now carrying."

The deficits have prompted the ANA to dip into its endowment fund to offset operating expenses, a move criticized by many members. The endowment fund originated from a Texas rancher whose brother was killed by robbers who made off with what was known as one of the best collections of Mexican revolutionary coins and currency.

"They've been not only withdrawing funds from the endowment but also taking money the endowment made as income and not putting it back into the endowment, which decreases the inflationary value of the endowment," said Carl Schwenker, an ANA member from Houston who served for two years as chairman of the organization's now-defunct finance committee.

Cipoletti said one purpose of an endowment is to use the money when it is needed.

"As a nonprofit, you sometimes do lose money because your goal is to fulfill your mission, not make money at everything you do," he said.

He described the organization's financial status as "incredibly healthy," and attributed the deficits to operating and program expenses, including changing computer systems and providing scholarships.

Tax filings for 2004 show that investment balances increased by $500,000 to more than $11 million, with net assets at $17.3 million.

"This is a nonprofit, and not everything it does is to make money," said Thomas Hallenbeck of Hallenbeck Coin Gallery Inc. in Colorado Springs, who is the ANA's assistant treasurer.

"We operate a museum and a library, and museums and libraries lose money. The only thing that makes money are our conventions and seminars, and that's the way it should be. Not everything is about money."

Since Cipoletti came aboard in 2003, about 25 employees have quit, been laid off or fired, or have come and gone. The ANA has 33 staff members.

Last month, its chief operations officer left, the second COO to leave in about a year.

Cipoletti chalked up the turnover to his goals of streamlining operations and reaching younger members with new programs, and normal adjustments that occur with a new leader.

"Anytime you start something new or take something away, you're going to have disagreement," he said. "People see change as somewhat threatening."

The feud within the ANA is now headed to court. A civil lawsuit filed on behalf of the ANA and Cipoletti is scheduled for a jury trial Sept. 26. It alleges that three former employees and a computer services contractor and his company conspired against Cipoletti and the ANA by posting false statements about Cipoletti on several Web sites.

Statements that Cipoletti acted unethically, stole money from the ANA and mismanaged its funds were defamatory and meant to "harm the ANA's ability to conduct business relations" and Cipoletti's reputation, the lawsuit asserts.

The lawsuit accuses all defendants of "civil theft of proprietary business information." Three of the four defendants are accused of breach of loyalty.

Defendants' lawyers have asked El Paso County District Judge Edward Colt to dismiss five of the seven claims.

"This case is clearly nothing more than an attempt to misuse the judicial process to bring a multitude of spurious claims unsupported in fact or in law, as a means of retaliating against concerned members of the ANA for questioning and management of the organization," the defendants' statement reads.

The lawsuit concerns some members, including Mike Ellis of Austin, Texas.

"The vast majority of the membership does not want to bear his burden or pay for his personal complaint against the defendants in this case with membership dues," he said, referring to Cipoletti.

Another issue is that in addition to being executive director, Cipoletti serves as the ANA's general legal counsel. Cipoletti said because he's a plaintiff, it would not make sense for him to defend himself and the organization in the lawsuit, so the ANA has hired a Denver law firm.

His dual role has angered some members.

"There are times the board may question something that's happening and would go to legal counsel for advice. If the question pertains to an action of the executive director, there's a conflict of interest," Deisher said.

Cipoletti's salary reflects his two jobs. In fiscal year 2004, he was paid $233,299 plus benefits. That's nearly double Colorado Springs' average compensation for a nonprofit CEO, $125,000, according to nonprofit researcher Charity Navigator.

Before Cipoletti became executive director, the ANA required its nine-member, elected board of governors to sign a pledge of confidentiality to safeguard auctioneering bids and other contracts. Cipoletti has extended the concept to volunteers and staff.

"If you don't maintain some sort of confidentiality, people make assumptions and there are rumors flying around," Cipoletti said. "It's a security issue; it's not about keeping decisions secret."

James Barry, a 16-year member from Aiken, S.C., said he refused to sign a "loyalty oath" that he considered a violation of his First Amendment rights.

"The organization is chartered as an educational nonprofit coin club," Barry said. "There's nothing in nature that rises to national security that we need to sign a loyalty oath to the ANA, and particularly a confidentiality oath."

Some members, including Schwenker, say Cipoletti inherited many of the problems from the ANA's previous leadership. Schwenker believes much of the situation has to do with something obvious: money.

"What's holding the ANA back now is the finances, and once the lawsuits are litigated and the personnel issues are cleared up, I think the ANA will turn around and head upward with one of the brightest times it's had in recent years," he said.

Others say if the internal problems aren't resolved soon, perhaps by addressing some of the issues at the World's Fair of Money convention in Denver Wednesday through Saturday, the organization will have a tough time recruiting and retaining members and soliciting contributions. The convention is expected to attract 12,000 to 15,000 hobbyists from around the world.

"There's a lot of concern out there," Barry said. "I hope for the sake of the hobby, the organization ends up where it belongs -- with the hobbyists."

August 09/06 - Decision made to redesign U.S. $5

August 07/06 - A powerful and fun new tool for coin collectors and dealers is scheduled for launch by Krause Publications. NumisMaster is an online pricing and information service that also serves as a collection or inventory management system. Collectors will be able to subscribe to the service at various levels of their choosing, giving them the ability to access up-to-date values and information on most of the coins and paper money in the world.

"Krause Publications has the largest numismatic database in the world," according to Bill Reed, Magazine Group President of F+W Publications, parent company of Krause Publications. "NumisMaster opens this database to coin enthusiasts worldwide."

Featuring highest-level security, the service will provide easy access to auction prices realized, expert advice, threaded forums, most-active topics reports, interactive coin show calendar and numerous other benefits for collectors at any level. There will be various buying and selling components. NumisMaster is slated to go live in September. However, demonstrations of the service will be available at the American Numismatic Association's World's Fair of Money in Denver Aug. 16-18 and information will be available throughout the show from Aug. 15-19.

David Harper, editor of Numismatic News, said that NumisMaster will be partnering with some of the leaders in the numismatics field to make the services available as dynamic as possible. "This is an incredibly exciting venture for us" noted Harper. "This will be a valuable service right out of the box, and we will be building more and more features, expanding coin listings and offering valuable buying and selling opportunities. It's going to keep getting better and better."

For years the most comprehensive information available in coin collecting has been available in the Standard Catalog series of coin and paper money books. This information plus more will be available through NumisMaster. "We also will be adding even more grades and coins," Harper noted.

Subscribers will be able to purchase access to all or parts of the database. For instance, they may want to subscribe only to 20th Century coins, or gold coins, or U.S. coins, or U.S. paper money. Or they can subscribe to everything. Dealers will be able to subscribe to the entire system and also get access to special commercial features, such as inventory management.

Many features are in development and anyone is welcome to submit their own ideas as well by emailing Bill Bright, numismatic publisher at william.bright@fwpubs.com.

Interested collectors will be able to do a free search on the system to see how it functions. Collectors are welcome to stop by the NumisMaster booth in the lobby of the Colorado Convention Center during the ANA Show and register for a free demonstration. Demos also will be available at other major coin shows around the country over the next few months.

July 21/06 - John Magruder conceived and developed a project over the past few months to encase Virginia state quarters as mementos of his Boy Scout Troop #304 in Tappahannock. VA. Minted by PPM.

July 18/06 - Legislation was unveiled today in Congress that seeks to eliminate two fundamental cornerstones of the United States monetary system -- the one-cent coin and dollar bill. The "COIN" Act (H.R. 5818) is sponsored by Representative Jim Kolbe, a Republican from the Eighth Congressional District of Arizona. The legislation would force merchants to round transactions to the nickel, which is something Americans abhor. Sums ending in 1, 2, 6 or 7 cents would be rounded down and sums ending in 3, 4, 8 or 9 cents would be rounded up.

July 16/06 - Today begins the 41st year of my wife's keeping me around. Guess I'm pretty lucky! Now that I've recovered from all the celebrating I've reinstated our "Guess Book" (Site Features page) and added a new feature named "Tell-A-Friend" that allows members to recommend our website to others electronically. It is super easy to use as is the guest book. This too is located on the Site Features page. Hopefully those nasty non-members will leave our guess book alone this time and keep their filth to themselves. If not, down it will come again. If you see abuse please let me know so that I can clear the content. The Tell-A-Friend features is not an in-house creation and is provided free of cost to us by BraveNet. The only kicker is that the user is subjected to their advertising. Oh well, everything has a price!

July 11/06 - The United States Mint announced today that it will begin selling the 2006 United States Mint Uncirculated Coin Set on July 18, 2006, at 12:00 noon (ET), featuring the popular satin finish that was introduced last year.

This year’s 20-coin United States Mint Uncirculated Coin Set – available for $16.95 – includes uncirculated versions of each 2006-dated circulating United States coin, bearing the Philadelphia ‘P’ and Denver ‘D’ mint mark: the Lincoln cent, the “Return to Monticello” 5-cent coin (nickel) – featuring the final obverse and reverse designs from the Westward Journey Nickel Series TM – as well as the Roosevelt dime, the Kennedy half-dollar and the Golden Dollar. A shipping and handling fee of $4.95 per order will be added to all orders. Allow approximately two to three weeks for delivery

The set also includes all five of the 2006-dated coins in the United States Mint’s 50 State Quarters® Program – Nevada, Nebraska, Colorado, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Customers can purchase the United States Mint Uncirculated Coin Set through the United States Mint’s secure website at www.usmint.gov, or by calling toll-free 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468) 8:00 a.m. to midnight (ET), seven days a week. Hearing- and speech-impaired customers may order by calling 1-888-321-MINT (6468) 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (ET), Monday through Friday.

The following recently appeared in Numismatic News and I found this on the Coinlink website.

"An encased dime, believed to be the first in the past 40 years, has been issued by Rexdale Publishing of Hackensack, N.J., through Encased Collectors International of Pinch, WV.

The 300 pieces were produced by Penny Press Mint of Spanish Fork, Utah, using uncirculated dimes dated 1947-2006.

The encased was designed to heighten voter registration, education and participation in the electoral process. One side of the encasement reads REPUBLICAN | EDUCATE YOURSELF | AND VOTE Cost is $5 for copper-nickel; $8 for silver and and $12 for a set of two (one of each metal). Add 75 cents for postage. They can be ordered through Elaine Rexdale P.O. Box 563, Hackensack, NJ 07602."

A 1983 cent struck on a copper-alloy planchet was found. At minimum, its value is in the four figures and it could be even higher. This discovery re-emphasizes the point often made by wise collectors in that it pays to continue to check your change. Coin found by Billy G. Crawford

Permitted on eBay.com: Sellers may offer to accept PayPal, credit cards including MasterCard/Visa /Amex/Discover, debit cards and bank electronic payments online for eBay purchases. Sellers may also offer to accept bank-to-bank transfers, often known as bank wire transfers or bank cash transfers. Sellers may accept COD (cash on delivery) or cash for in person transactions. Sellers may offer to accept personal checks, money orders, cashier’s checks, certified checks and other negotiable instruments. Please see the “Some Examples” section of this policy for those evaluated payment services permitted in the eBay marketplace.

Not permitted on eBay.com: Sellers may not solicit buyers to mail cash. Sellers may not ask buyers to send cash through instant cash transfer services (non-bank, point-to-point cash transfers) such as Western Union or Moneygram. Sellers may not solicit payment through “topping off” of a seller’s pre-paid credit or debit card. Finally, sellers may not request payment through online payment methods not specifically permitted in this policy. Please see the “Some Examples” section of this policy for those evaluated payment services not permitted in the eBay marketplace.

Payment Services permitted on eBay: Allpay.net, Bidpay, Canadian Tire Money, cash2india, CertaPay, Checkfree.com, hyperwallet,com, Moneybookers.com, Ozpay.biz, Payko.com, Paymate.com.au, Propay.com, XOOM

Payment Services not permitted on eBay: AlertPay.com, anypay.com, AuctionChex.com, AuctionPix.com, BillPay.ie, ecount.com, cardserviceinternational.com, CCAvenue, ecount, e-gold, eHotPay.com, ePassporte.com, EuroGiro, FastCash.com, Google Checkout, gcash, GearPay, Goldmoney.com, graphcard.com, greenzap.com, ikobo.com, Liberty Dollars, Moneygram.com, neteller.com, Netpay.com, Nochex.com, paychest.com, payingfast.com, paypay, Postepay, Qchex.com, rupay.com, scripophily.com, sendmoneyorder.com, stamps, Stormpay, wmtransfer.com, xcoin.com - Rob Chesnut Senior Vice President, Trust & Safety

~ "eBay is taking a much stronger stand against excessive Shipping & Handling charges. In addition to stepping up enforcement against egregious violations, we have made some clarifications to our Excessive Shipping & Handling policy. The changes outline the types of charges sellers may pass on to the buyer in the form of shipping and handling. They also provide guidelines that sellers can use to make sure their listings are in compliance with the policy. Simply stated, sellers can feel confident they are in compliance by charging actual shipping fees plus actual costs for packaging materials.

Our research confirms -- excessive shipping prices drive buyers from our site. This hurts the entire marketplace. These unfair charges also un-level the playing field, allowing some sellers to hide their costs in the shipping charges to manipulate their priority in search. In the coming months, we will be proactively looking for listings that are in violation of our policy, and we'll be following up on member reports. Please know that it will take some time to clean up the marketplace, but your help and cooperation, we can regain buyer trust and re-level the playing field for the vast majority of honest sellers.

Sellers may charge reasonable shipping and handling fees to cover the costs for mailing, packaging, and handling the items they are selling. While eBay will not prescribe exactly what a seller may or may not charge, eBay will rely on member reports and its own discretion to determine whether or not a seller’s shipping, handling, packaging, and/or insurance charges are excessive. Shipping and handling fees may not be listed as a percentage of the final sale price.

Sellers who want to be sure they are in compliance with this policy may charge actual shipping costs plus actual packaging materials cost (or less).

In addition to the final listing price, sellers are permitted to charge:

Actual Shipping cost: This is the actual cost (i.e. postage) for shipping the item.

Handling Fee: Actual packaging materials costs may be charged. A handling fee in addition to actual shipping cost may be charged if it is not excessive.

Insurance: Sellers offering insurance may only charge the actual fee for insurance. No additional amount may be added, such as “self-insurance”. Sellers who do not use a licensed 3rd party insurance company may not require buyers to purchase insurance. This is a violation of state law.

Tax: Only actual applicable federal, state, country, city, VAT, and equivalent taxes may be charged.

For cross border transactions, sellers may not collect tariffs and duties. However, buyers may be responsible for actual, applicable tariffs, and duties as requested by respective country laws." Sarah Brubacher Global Trust & Safety Policy Team

To test the system I filed an action against a seller who was charging $8.00 to mail two medals. The following in the response I received form eBay. Cecil

"Thank you for taking the time to report this listing for violation of our Excessive Shipping Charges policy.

As you may know, eBay committed to enforcing this policy more aggressively starting June 19. It will take some time before this initiative is fully up and running -- in the short term, we've begun enforcing the most obvious and egregious violations of our Excessive Shipping Charges policy. Over time, our enforcement will expand to include more violations. Therefore, it's possible we won't immediately take action on the report you've submitted -- rest assured, however, that we plan to stop this practice on eBay, and that your reporting this violation is an important step toward achieving that goal.

We very much appreciate your help in identifying sellers who you believe are charging excessively for shipping and would ask that you continue to report to us. We can only clean up this problem by working together. Thanks again for taking the time to report this listing to us. Regards, The eBay Community Watch Team."