AY Honors/Currency - Advanced/Answer Key 4

1. Have the Currency (Coins) Honor

For tips and instruction see Currency.

2. Select a coin or note from your collection and present an oral or written report on the historical or other significance of the person(s), place(s), item(s) or symbol(s) found on both sides.

Suggestions:

• Commemorative Coins of France
• Commemorative Coins of Ireland
• Commemorative Coins of Germany

Too many countries - look here

3. What are the laws regarding counterfeiting in your country and what devices are used in your nation's currency to prevent it?

European Union

In preparation for the arrival of the Euro on the continent on 1 January 2002, all Member States, bear an obligation to co-operate fully in the fight against currency counterfeiting. To reflect this, the EC has passed two Regulations – 1338/2001 and 1339/2001 (both passed on 28 June 2001) – each of which is intended to prevent counterfeiting of the new Euro notes and coins.

Regulation 1338 places obligations on those Member States which have adopted the Euro as their single currency; Regulation 1339 then extends these obligations to the other Member States. Article 6 of the former requires the Member States to implement “effective, proportionate and deterrent sanctions” on institutions which fail to withdraw and hand over counterfeit Euros to the country’s ‘Competent National Authorities’.

Individuals who fail to withdraw counterfeit Euros from circulation will be liable to up to two years in prison and those who fail to hand them in to the proper authorities could be fined.

• EU Fight Against Counterfeiting
• Interpol on what to do about counterfeits

Anti-counterfeiting measures

Banknotes

Many security features have been incorporated into the euro banknotes. They will help you to recognise a genuine banknote at a glance.

• The notes have raised print – a special printing processes give banknotes a unique feel.

• Look at the banknote against the light for a watermark, a security thread and the see-through number. All three features should be seen from the front and back of genuine banknotes.

• Tilt the banknote and on the front, you should see the shifting image on the hologram. On the back, you should see the glossy stripe (on the €5, €10 and €20 banknotes) or the colour-changing number (on the €50, €100, €200 and €500 banknotes).

Also see Security Features on Euro banknotes

Coins

Euro coins have machine-readable characteristics. They can be used in vending machines throughout the euro area - no matter where they were issued.

• A sophisticated bi-metal and sandwich technology have been incorporated into the €1 and €2 coins.
• The material of the 10, 20 and 50 cent coins is a unique alloy (Nordic gold), which is difficult to melt and used exclusively for coins.

Additionally there is lettering around the edge of the €2 coin and a unique metal composition is used for the 10, 20 and 50 cent coins to protect against counterfeiting.

Also see Security Features for Euro coins

4. Attend a meeting of a local coin club and report on your experience. Possible items to consider:
a. Level of expertise of members as demonstrated by presentations and dialogues.
b. Average general age of attendees.
c. Ideas which might help the club extend its collector interest to a wider audience.
d. How newcomer friendly is the organization.
e. Suggestions on how these people might be reached with the gospel through a manner which they would find attractive.

Search Suggestions

• Coin Collecting at Meetup.com
• Coin Collecting groups on Yahoo! Groups

5. Select one of the three categories of your collection as required under the Currency Honor requirements 7 and 8, and increase your collection to include twice the total number of specimens.

Requirements 7 & 8 reproduced below for simplicity

Requirement 7. Collect and mount a type set of coins from your country of any date 
               currently being minted or in circulation. Proof, commemorative, rare,
               silver, or expensive coins are not needed. In your collection:
               a. Possess at least one coin from each mint in the type set.
               b. Locate and identify the mint mark (if any) on each coin.
               c. Locate and identify the initials (if any) of each coin's designer(s).

Requirement 8. Do two of the following:
               a. Make enlarged drawings of both sides of ten different denominations or
                  forms of coins for your country no longer in circulation.
               b. Collect, identify, and mount 25 different foreign coins. No two coins alike.
               c. Collect and mount a type set of coins from your country minted during the 20th Century.
               d. Collect and mount a date set of series of coins for your country beginning 
                  with your birth year. (Commemorative, gold, proof, expensive, or rare coins need not be included.)

6. Add to your collection at least one of the unusual (odd and curious) forms learned about in requirement 1 of the Currency Honor requirements and have in your Currency Honor files, at least a paragraph summarizing how, when and where this item was used as currency.

Requirement 1 reproduced below for simplicity

Requirement 1. Relate briefly the story of barter, showing three reasons why money came into
               being and naming at least ten strange forms of money used in place of coins or currency.

References

• European Central Bank
• Euro coins
• Euro banknotes