From: "MPCgram" To: Subject: MPCGram 1024 Date: Monday, October 13, 2003 10:02 AM =========================================== MPC GRAM =========================================== Covering the entire World of Military Numismatics Series 004 - Number 1024 Monday October 13, 2003 New Dinar BAGHDAD, Oct 11 (Reuters) Iraq's central bank fired up its furnace today and consigned thousands of banknotes bearing the smiling face of Saddam Hussein to the flames ahead of a massive currency swap to start next week. Deputy Central Bank Governor Ahmed Salman Mohammed said the central bank had already absorbed a ''good portion'' of Saddam banknotes still in circulation and would carry on with the systematic destruction in coming weeks. Iraqis have three months from October 15 to swap the estimated four trillion dinars of Saddam bank notes in circulation for new bills bearing pictures of an ancient Babylonian ruler and a 10th century Iraqi mathematician. The Iraqi dinar is worth about 2,000 to the dollar. ''I am optimistic it will go well,'' Mohammed told reporters in the lobby of the Iraqi central bank where tellers counted tall dinar stacks. ''Most of it (the currency swap) could be over in one month.'' The US-led administration in Iraq has ordered all images of Saddam to be removed from monuments, murals and school textbooks. But in the months following the war it was forced to print billions of dinars of banknotes bearing the face of Saddam, to ease a shortage of low-denomination banknotes. Several floors below the central bank lobby in a furnace room opposite the vast doors of one of the vaults, workers threw bundles of Saddam bills into the fire and raked the flaming notes deeper into the inferno. Adnan Chalabi, the manager of the furnaces, said about half a billion to one billion dinars could be in the furnace. Currency is burned weekly by the central bank, mainly to destroy defaced and tattered notes, he said. The layout of the new notes that will be introduced is familiar to Iraqis as they are based on the popularly called ''Swiss dinar,'' which was used in Iraq before the Saddam banknotes were introduced and still circulates in northern Iraq, governed as an autonomous region by Kurds since it was wrested from Saddam's control in 1991. The new notes are printed by the same firm that made the old ''Swiss dinar'' -- Britain's De La Rue Plc. Boxes of the new currency stood in the street outside the central bank building where several machinegun mounted US military Humvees stood in the heavily guarded banking quarter. The Babylonian ruler Hammurabi, credited with creating the first written code of laws in human history, graces the new pink 25,000 dinar note, worth about $12. The other side shows a smiling Kurdish farm worker holding a sheaf of wheat. Astronomer and mathematician Abu Ali al-Hasan ibn al-Haytham, born in Basra in 965 and known as Alhazen to medieval scholars in the West, is on one side of the 10,000 note, the only other human figure on the new notes. Banknote maker De La Rue has reported a boost in profits - thanks to an order for Iraqi banknotes. The Essex-based firm, which is the official printer of UK banknotes, said it had delivered the order for Iraqi dinars ahead of schedule. Its shares surged more than 6% on the news, which it said would help it deliver better-than-expected first half profits. The interim US authority placed an order for new banknotes after it was forced to take the embarrassing step of printing currency bearing the image of Saddam Hussein. Urgent need A spokesman for De La Rue refused to say what image would be on the notes, but said it would not be the former dictator. New banknotes are urgently needed to plug the shortage of local currency on the streets of Iraq, where the exchange rate with the US dollar is about 0.0016. The BBC's Shelley Thakral, in Baghdad, said the removal of Saddam Hussein's image would have great symbolic value for Iraqis. "If you travel around Iraq, you just don't see his face any more, so not to have his face on currency is a big deal," she said. She said speculation in Baghdad was that the new notes would feature "cultural and architectural" scenes. De La Rue announced in July it would lead a consortium of global currency specialists to make new banknotes for Iraq. De La Rue is one of the first British firms to benefit from the multi-billion dollar drive to rebuild the shattered country after the US-led invasion. Its shares, which plunged in late 2002 and early 2003 on a string of profit warnings, were 6.1% higher at 306.5p in late trade on the London stock exchange. Welcome news Paul Jones, an analyst at Numis Securities, said early delivery of the Iraqi banknotes did not change the value of the contract, which analysts have estimated at up to £8m. But he said it proved the firm was operating efficiently and was on track to meet his full-year profit forecast £39m. The Iraq order came as welcome news to De La Rue shareholders, who had seen the value of their investment plunge by around two-thirds since June 2002. The firm has been hit by weakness in its cash systems unit, which sells counting and sorting machines to banks and financial institutions. Distribution Details excerpt from: voanews.com submitted by David Klinger On October 15, 240 banks throughout Iraq will be begin a three-month process to swap out old Iraqi dinars for the new currency, in what has been described as a major logistical event. Some 2,300 tons of new Iraqi currency, printed at facilities around the world, have been flown into Iraq on 27 Boeing 747 jetliners. A week ago, banks began receiving the new currency, which comes in six denominations, and next Wednesday (15 OCT) the distribution process will begin. Down in the Mekong Delta by The Master Sergeant Daniel I have received some emails from Gramsters wanting me to find some stuff for them and I will try to find it. I will also report all MPC to you here for the database and for Gramsters to tell me to buy it or not. Right now, I am down in the Mekong Delta in Cho Lach. This is my wife's hometown in Ben Tre province. It is not far from Vinh Long city, for those of you without very detail maps of Viet Nam. I bought some funeral money for Bill Etgen in Sacramento, which I do with each visit down here. If people collect MPC, I guess they can collect funeral money too! I will be returning to Ho Chi Minh City tomorrow morning and will have a day or two to walk around before my wife and I try to buy train tickets for a long weekend in Nha Trang. I have never been there. Do any Gramsters have any recommended places for me to visit? The family is yelling at me to come for lunch so I have to close this off. =========================================== Editorial/opinion =========================================== Boeing jetliners! Yikes. The new dinar should have been in Iraq six months (or more ) ago and should have been transported by ship. I suppose that security requirements might have trumped the cost of air delivery, but I doubt it. Do we have any experts in this area? The new dinar should have been prepared during the planning stages for the operation, not after the war. Of course, it is possible that it was and we do not know about it, but the news indicates differently. The new Iraqi dinar is (in my opinion) something like the 1948 Special Army Currency for Germany and therefore worthy of our study. As informative as all of the above news is, some of it is contradictory so it should be fun and interesting. I look forward to seeing the notes (just as I still look forward to seeing the new US $20). =========================================== MAIL CALL =========================================== Dear Editor, Please add the following names to the scholarship donor’s list: John & Nancy Wilson John Cheney Neil Schafer Joel Shafer More to come… Marcus Turner Dear Marcus, With pleasure! This is a good time remind everyone of the opportunity to support the summer seminar and our hobby by donating cash (gad) or material. See the scholarship section in every Gram. Marcus, thank you for your service. Editor Hello Gramsters!... Re: "MPC crossword puzzle" Well, okay! Fred seemed to like the idea. So I will give it a try, may need so "editorial work at press time?" ha ha! But when I finish, I will mail a copy to BNR press.... Fred! Hope it turns out well, an you like it, hope others try, hope It is fun! (P.S. I never even played 'em!, except as a kid.) Started tonight!..till then.... Guy! Dear Guy, Good [4 letter word rhyming with truck]. Six letter word starting with E ending in or Dear Editor Thank you for the GRAM. About 10 days ago I heard on the BBC (TV) that the new Iraqi notes were to be issued from Oct. 15. There will be 6 denominations, a pair of notes were shown and they did not bear the portrait of S. Hussein. The old notes might be exchanged during 3 months. Best greetings from Kharkov, Mikhail M.Istomin istom@vlink.kharkov.ua Dear M, Thank YOU for the information. If some of the notes were shown on BBC, we should be able to find some images somewhere on the internet. =========================================== CALENDAR OF EVENTS =========================================== PCDA National and World Paper Money Convention. November 19-23, 2003. St. Louis Hilton Airport Hotel, 10330 Natural Bridge Road, St. Louis, MO 63134. Lyn Knight auction, consignment deadline September 30, 2003 2004 CPMX February 26-28, Lyn Knight auction. Consignment deadline January 10, 2004. March 5-7, MPCFest V, reservations now being accepted. Reservations entered in order received: Roger Urce#$$, John Cheney#$, David Seelye, Harold Kroll, Gail Baker#, Leo May$$$, Kevin Neidy, Cuneyd Tolek, Warner Talso, Cameron Bueschel, Wendell Wolka, John V. Craig#, John Cheney#, Steve Swoish, Joe Bissell#, Sparky Watson, Nick Schrier, Loretta Freyser, Dick Freyser, Ron Waddell, Robert Drew, Ed Arrich#, Neil Shafer#, Dan Freeland#, Bill McNease, Fred Schwan. # new Fester, $ paid. $$ paid single occupancy. Running totals: total 26, new festers 9. Standard rate $148, single occupancy $198, payments may be made by mailing paper instruments of any kind to BNR Press (or MPCFest or even Fred Schwan) at 132 E. Second St., Port Clinton, OH 43452. Payments may also be sent via PayPal ( fredschawan@yahoo.com). Once you have sent your payment, monitor the above list to ensure that it has been received and posted). Show n tell: Gail Baker (education@money.org) Travel coordination: Sparky Watson (mcwatson@yahoo.com) Auction items: Larry Smulczenski (skifla@prodigy.net) Exhibits: Joe Boling (joeboling@aol.com ) The Portland, Oregon, ANA is March 26-28 and it is sponsored by the Willamette Coin Club with Larry Gaye as the show chairman. Howard Sarg Daniel will be manning a NI/NBS/IBNS club table at this show, and moderating meetings for NI and IBNS. As always, Gramsters are welcome at the NI and IBNS meetings and at the club table. Masstricht April 23-25, Valkenburg, The Netherlands, contact Jos Eijsermans, Box 3240, NL 5930 Tegelen Netherlands 2005 date tba, MPCFest VI, reservations now being accepted. Reservations entered in order received: John Cheney$, Fred Schwan. # new Fester, $ paid. $$ paid single occupancy. Running totals: total 2, new festers 0. ======================================== 2004 scholarship fund Donations of cash and numismatic material will be gladly accepted. Generally the numismatic material is auctioned at MPCFest, but might be sold via ebay or other places. Your scholarship donations help the hobby by sending qualified individuals to the ANA summer seminar military money class. Except for unavoidable charges like ebay fees, 100% of your donation goes to scholarships. Al Glaser RA Medina Warner Talso David Seelye Russ Walsh Joe Boling Harold Kroll Pam West Ed Hoffman Ron Wadell Wes Hardy Dick Freyser Robert Drew Brett Irick Kevin Neidy Brian Giese John & Nancy Wilson John Cheney Neil Schafer Joel Shafer 2003 Scholarship Donors Ed Hoffman - RA Medina - Dick Freyser -Larry Smulczenski - David Seelye - Howard Daniel - Steve Feller - Warner Talso - Pam West - Mr. 691 - Leo May - John & Nancy Wilson - Max Spiegel - Gail Baker - Chris Connell - Bill Haines - Joel Shafer - Mikhail (Misha) Istomin - Gary Hicks - Robert Drew - Tom Warburton - Larry Lee - Fred Schwan - Mark Watson - Harold Kroll - Ian Marshall - Marcus Turner - Neil Shafer - Keith & Sue Bauman Contact me at: "Marcus Turner" mail to: maturner@indy.rr.com Checks should be made out to the "Military Numismatists Scholarship." or Marcus Turner 8103 East US Highway 36 Suite 163 Avon, Indiana 46123 USA IMPORTANT SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION Additional information can be found at the link below. We encourage everyone to print copies of this information and distribute it to those who might be interested. Further you are encouraged to e-mail the pdf document to anyone you see fit. Thank you http://www.papermoneyworld.net/news/Military Numismatists Scholarship Fund 2003.pdf Marcus Turner Scholarships from the ANA: See the following location for an application for financial aid to the summer seminar: http://www.money.org/sumsemfin.html =========================================== MPC ANA Museum Project =========================================== ANA collection of MPC: Thanks to donations from Douglas Bell, Dick Fryser, Ed Beaman, Bruce Peacock, David Seelye, Michael Cummings, Ray Czahor, David Pitchford and Mr 691the ANA MPC collection is current as follows: Series 100 - [50 sen], [1Y, 5Y, 10Y, 20Y all A underprint] Series 461 - 5, [10] cents, [$1] Series 471 - [5, 10, 25, 50 cents, $10] Series 472 - [5, 10 cents], [$1, $10] Series 481 - 5 cents, [10, 25 cents], 50 cents, $1, [$5] $10 Series 521 - 5, 10, 25, 50 cents, [$10] Series 541 - 5, 10, 25 cents Series 591 - [5, 10, 25, 50 cents, $1] Series 611 - [5, 10, 25 cents, $1] Series 641 - 5, 10, 25, 50 cents, $1, $5, $10 Series 651 - [$1] Series 661 - [10, 25, 50c], [$5], [$1, $5] $10 Series 681 - 5, 10, 25, 50 cents, $1, [$5], [$20] Series 691 - [$1, $5, $10, $20] Series 692 - 5, 10, 25, 50 cents, $1 Series 701 - [$1, $5, $10, $20] [50c etc.] = notes donated by Gramsters --Chris Connell =========================================== RESEARCH =========================================== New modification to the database you can now retrieve your password if you have forgotten at the main logon screen. Keep in mind syntax is important. The mpc database has changed its name it now going to be referred as, WW II P a p e r M o n e y D a t a B a s e This is just a hint of things to come If you are having trouble logging on please inform Doug Bell At doug@papermoneyworld.net Papermoneyworld maintains an innovative interactive data base of all military payment certificates. Everyone is invited to enter notes in their possession or that they have observed. Visit the site at: http://www.papermoneyworld.net/user/default.asp this project is financially supported by David Seelye http://www.thempcman.net/ , mailto: coinman@rochester.rr.com =========================================== Subscription information: =========================================== You can enter an email address to receive the gram by using the link below. Use this to change your address (add the new one), add a friend or enemy. http://www.papermoneyworld.net/WebMailList/Default.asp ========================================= HOT CONTACT LIST - DEALER & RESOURCE LIST Below is the BNR Press Hot Contact List. This list serves several functions. Obviously it is an outreach by the dealers listed for your business. Most of them buy and sell MPC. Others organize shows or publish periodicals, or furnish information dedicated to this field. They have supported the new Comprehensive Catalog of Military Payment Certificates with their advertising. They deserve your support and patronage! Name phone fax / cell email Allens (614) 882-3937 (614) 882-0662 info@allens.com American Coins & Collectibles (800) 865-3562 American Numismatic Ass'n (800) 367-9723 ana@money.org Guy Araby (562) 945-7891(310) 508-0018 guyaraby@earthlink.net Bob Baker(713) 864-3122 Ken Barr (408) 272-3247 ken@kenbarr.com Fred Bart (810) 979-3400 Dick Balbaton (508) 699-2266 (508) 643-1154 RBalbaton@aol.com Keith and Suzanne Bauman (248) 647 8938 tnaksbauman@earthlink.net Joe Bissell (602) 440-0442 (602) 494-9103 BNR Press (419) 732-6683 (419) 732-6683 fredschwan@yahoo.com Remy Bourne (800) 789-7070 (763) 789-4747 Ed Carne (614) 882-3937 (614) 882-0662 info@allens.com Champion Stamp (212) 489-8130 (212) 581-8130 Cookie Jar Collectibles (301) 604-9225 cjcpi@comcast.net Guido Crapanzano [39] 2-8056228 [39] 2-4459856 Currency Dealer Newsletter (310) 515-7369 David F. Cieniewicz (205) 852-7015 CGC (602) 493-4758 (602) 494-9103 sales@gradedcurrency.com Mike Cummings (863) 603-9899 (863) 603-9880 mpccoin@hotmail.com Cygnet Charters (419) 734-2422 Ray Czahor (301) 604-9225 cjcpi@comcast.net Denlys of Boston (617) 482-8477 denlys@aol.com Doric Coins & Currency (508) 699-2266 (508) 643-1154 FUN (407) 321-8747 Great Lakes Bank Note Company (419) 732-6683 IBNS joeboling@aol.com Essie Kashani (909) 627-3996 (909) 627-2776 kashani10@aol.com Lowel Horwdel (765) 583-2748 (765) 583-4584 horwdel@inshightbb.com Lyn Knight (800) 243-5211 Krause Publications (715) 445-2214 bnr@krause.com Harold Kroll(251) 649-5134 HARBONS@aol.com Leo May (305) 720-0659 LeoMayEnt@aol.com Ian Marshall (416) 445-0286 (416) 445-0286 iam@total.net Memphis Coin Club (901) 757-2515 MPCGram (419) 732-6683 MPCGram@yahoo.com Pomexport Ltd. 1-201-641-6641 / Fax: 1-201-641-1700 E-Mail: Info@pomexport.com // website: http://www.Pomexport.com Bob Reed(504) 361-5684 bobreed@rrcoins.net Fred Schwan (419) 732-6683 (419) 732-6683 FredSchwan@yahoo.com David Seelye (585) 594-1987 (585) 594-2311 coinman@rochester.rr.com Richie Self (318) 868-9077 R. M. Smythe (800) 622-1880 (212) 908-4047 www.smytheonline.com Mel Steinberg & Son (415) 897-1654 (voice and fax) melsteinberg@mindspring.com Military Trader (800) 334-7165 Scott Winslow Associates (603)472-7040 (603) 472-8773 scott@scottwinslow.com George Warner(307) 672-3700 Pam West [44] 0208 641 3224[44] 0208 641 3224 pamwestbritnotes@compuserve.com ======================================= POST / BASE EXCHANGE(PX/BX/NEX) Dump your dupes! Your classified advertisement for items for sale, purchase or trade will be run here for free. Send your ads to the gram. This service is for everyone, most humble dealer or most advanced collector. The point is to make the gram more interesting. In all cases confirm your order via email first. FOR SALE Dear Editor, I have 4 different MPC training bank notes for sale. A $10.00 and three $1.00 as illustrated on page 181 of the 4th. 2 $1.00 notes are not illustrated. All 4 pieces for US$40.00, with $5.00 of every sale donated to the ANA Military Scholarship Fund. Here are the images of the notes. http://www.papermoneyworld.net/grams/images/trainingback.jpg http://www.papermoneyworld.net/grams/images/trainingfront.jpg coinman@rochester.rr.com David E. Seelye P.O. Box 356 North Chili, NY 14514 USA WANTED SECTION: Collectors may submit lists of items wanted for their collections for listing here. Dealers and collectors who have these items, are then encouraged to list them for sale in the above section as a reply. Wanted listings will run for a period of 1 month. WANTED 01; =========================================== MPC Gram Staff: Publisher, editor: Fred Schwan - MPCGram@yahoo.com Subscription Manager:Doug Bell- doug@papermoneyworld.net Tuesday Columnist : JoeBoling- JoeBoling@aol.com Friday Columnis: Warner Talso: wtalso@aol.com Fest Auctioneer: Larry "Ski"Smulczenski - skifla@prodigy.net Critic:Harold Kroll - HARBONS@aol.com Scholarship Coordinator: Marcus Turner - maturner@indy.rr.com Webmaster & Technical Advisors:Doug Bell "Wiz" - doug@papermoneyworld.net Russ Walsh - russ.walsh@gte.net Fact Checker: Warner Talso -Calendar Coordinator: John & Nancy Wilson - The Boss: Judy Schwan ===== MPC Gram is published by BNR Press and papermoneyworld.com as a free service to the community of military money collectors. Your suggestions, criticisms, complaints, editorial contributions, letters, and even praise are very welcome. The entire contents including linked illustrations are copyright protected by the publishers. In the case of contributors, the copyright is protected on behalf of the creators. Please send all correspondence regarding the gram to MPCgram@yahoo.com. Thank you very much for your participation. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search http://shopping.yahoo.com