Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near Isaiah 55:6KJV
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It’s a shame. Where have the most basic human morals vanished too? It’s frightening to watch the decay of our human society as it snowballs down and continues to Devolve.
Mick you think an awful lot like me my brother.
Nice to See VERT gone for sure
Not sure that is true but I will check.
JER1
AUMY
OS
468,129,991
AS
1,025,000,000
Float
285,013,648
JER1
Keeping an Eye on AUMY
http://investorshub.advfn.com/JER1%E2%80%99s-Investment-Trading-&-News-Chat-21922/
JER1
The following PEPSI products are manufactured using aborted fetal cells:
PEPSI BEVERAGES
- All Pepsi soft drinks
- Sierra Mist soft drinks
- Mountain Dew soft drinks
- Mug root beer and other soft drinks
- No Fear beverages
- Ocean Spray beverages
- Seattle's Best Coffee
- Tazo beverages
- AMP Energy beverages
- Aquafina water
- Aquafina flavored beverages
- DoubleShot energy beverages
- Frappuccino beverages
- Lipton tea and other beverages
- Propel beverages
- SoBe beverages
- Gatorade beverages
- Fiesta Miranda beverages
- Tropicana juices and beverages
NESTLE PRODUCTS
- All coffee creamers
- Maggi Brand instant soups, bouillon cubes, ketchups, sauces, seasoning, instant noodles
KRAFT - CADBURY ADAMS PRODUCTS
- Black Jack chewing gum
- Bubbaloo bubble gum
- Bubblicious bubble gum
- Chiclets
- Clorets
- Dentyne
- Freshen Up Gum
- Sour Cherry Gum (Limited)
- Sour Apple Gum (Limited)
- Stride
- Trident
CADBURY ADAMS CANDIES
- Sour Cherry Blasters
- Fruit Mania
- Bassett's Liquorice All sorts
- Maynards Wine Gum
- Swedish Fish
- Swedish Berries
- Juicy Squirts
- Original Gummies
- Fuzzy Peach
- Sour Chillers
- Sour Patch Kids
- Mini Fruit Gums
OTHER CADBURY ADAMS PRODUCTS
- Certs breath mints
- Halls Cough Drops
NEOCUTIS PRODUCTS
This company produces anti wrinkle creams that contain cells from a 14 week gestation aborted male baby. Following is the list of the creams, but we recommend a full boycott of all Neocutis Products.
-Bio-Gel Prevedem Journee
-Bio-Serum Lumiere
-Bio Restorative Skin Cream
VACCINES
-MMR II (Merck)
-ProQuad (MMR + Chickenpox -- Merck)
-Varivax (Chickenpox -- Merck)
-Pentacel (Polio + DTaP + HiB -- Sanofi Pasteur) -Vaqta (Hepatitis-A -- Merck) -Havrix (Hepatitis-A -- Glaxo SmithKline) -Twinrix (Hepatitis-A and B combo -- Glaxo) -Zostavax (Shingles -- Merck) -Imovax (Rabies -- Sanofi Pasteur)
Obama agency rules Pepsi's use of aborted fetal cells in soft drinks constitutes 'ordinary business operations'
The Obama Administration has given its blessing to PepsiCo to continue utilizing the services of a company that produces flavor chemicals for the beverage giant using aborted human fetal tissue. LifeSiteNews.com reports that the Obama Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has decided that PepsiCo's arrangement with San Diego, Cal.-based Senomyx, which produces flavor enhancing chemicals for Pepsi using human embryonic kidney tissue, simply constitutes "ordinary business operations."
The issue began in 2011 when the non-profit group Children of God for Life (CGL) first broke the news about Pepsi's alliance with Senomyx, which led to massive outcry and a worldwide boycott of Pepsi products. At that time, it was revealed that Pepsi had many other options at its disposal to produce flavor chemicals, which is what its competitors do, but had instead chosen to continue using aborted fetal cells -- or as Senomyx deceptively puts it, "isolated human taste receptors" (http://www.naturalnews.com).
A few months later, Pepsi' shareholders filed a resolution petitioning the company to "adopt a corporate policy that recognizes human rights and employs ethical standards which do not involve using the remains of aborted human beings in both private and collaborative research and development agreements." But the Obama Administration shut down this 36-page proposal, deciding instead that Pepsi's used of aborted babies to flavor its beverage products is just business as usual, and not a significant concern.
"We're not talking about what kind of pencils PepsiCo wants to use -- we are talking about exploiting the remains of an aborted child for profit," said Debi Vinnedge, Executive Director of CGL, concerning the SEC decision. "Using human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) to produce flavor enhancers for their beverages is a far cry from routine operations!"
To be clear, the aborted fetal tissue used to make Pepsi's flavor chemicals does not end up in the final product sold to customers, according to reports -- it is used, instead, to evaluate how actual human taste receptors respond to these chemical flavorings. But the fact that Pepsi uses them at all when viable, non-human alternatives are available illustrates the company's blatant disregard for ethical and moral concerns in the matter.
Back in January, Oklahoma Senator Ralph Shortey proposed legislation to ban the production of aborted fetal cell-derived flavor chemicals in his home state. If passed, S.B. 1418 would also reportedly ban the sale of any products that contain flavor chemicals derived from human fetal tissue, which includes Pepsi products as well as products produced by Kraft and Nestle (http://www.naturalnews.com).
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/035276_Pepsi_fetal_cells_business_operations.html#ixzz1uwbpz0az
The following products are manufactured using aborted fetal cells:
PEPSI BEVERAGES
- All Pepsi soft drinks
- Sierra Mist soft drinks
- Mountain Dew soft drinks
- Mug root beer and other soft drinks
- No Fear beverages
- Ocean Spray beverages
- Seattle's Best Coffee
- Tazo beverages
- AMP Energy beverages
- Aquafina water
- Aquafina flavored beverages
- DoubleShot energy beverages
- Frappuccino beverages
- Lipton tea and other beverages
- Propel beverages
- SoBe beverages
- Gatorade beverages
- Fiesta Miranda beverages
- Tropicana juices and beverages
NESTLE PRODUCTS
- All coffee creamers
- Maggi Brand instant soups, bouillon cubes, ketchups, sauces, seasoning, instant noodles
KRAFT - CADBURY ADAMS PRODUCTS
- Black Jack chewing gum
- Bubbaloo bubble gum
- Bubblicious bubble gum
- Chiclets
- Clorets
- Dentyne
- Freshen Up Gum
- Sour Cherry Gum (Limited)
- Sour Apple Gum (Limited)
- Stride
- Trident
CADBURY ADAMS CANDIES
- Sour Cherry Blasters
- Fruit Mania
- Bassett's Liquorice All sorts
- Maynards Wine Gum
- Swedish Fish
- Swedish Berries
- Juicy Squirts
- Original Gummies
- Fuzzy Peach
- Sour Chillers
- Sour Patch Kids
- Mini Fruit Gums
OTHER CADBURY ADAMS PRODUCTS
- Certs breath mints
- Halls Cough Drops
NEOCUTIS PRODUCTS
This company produces anti wrinkle creams that contain cells from a 14 week gestation aborted male baby. Following is the list of the creams, but we recommend a full boycott of all Neocutis Products.
-Bio-Gel Prevedem Journee
-Bio-Serum Lumiere
-Bio Restorative Skin Cream
VACCINES
-MMR II (Merck)
-ProQuad (MMR + Chickenpox -- Merck)
-Varivax (Chickenpox -- Merck)
-Pentacel (Polio + DTaP + HiB -- Sanofi Pasteur)
-Vaqta (Hepatitis-A -- Merck)
-Havrix (Hepatitis-A -- Glaxo SmithKline)
-Twinrix (Hepatitis-A and B combo -- Glaxo)
-Zostavax (Shingles -- Merck)
-Imovax (Rabies -- Sanofi Pasteur)
OTHER MEDICINES:
-Pulmozyme (Cystic Fibrosis -- Genetech)
-Enbrel (Rheumatoid Arthritis -- Amgen)
Sounds like a good buying opportunity to me ;)
JER1
Is Central Bank Intervention Only a Matter Of Time?
If Greece heads to another round of elections, the anti-austerity movement is expected to strengthen. It appears to be only a matter of time before central bankers have to step in again. The Spanish 10-year is hovering at yield levels not seen since November 2011, before the ECB’s unlimited three-year loan program for banks.
It is possible we are looking at a similar scenario to summer 2010, when stocks weakened considerably between May and July. Things did not turn around until Ben Bernanke strongly hinted at QE2 in his August 2010 Jackson Hole speech.
Is Central Bank Intervention Only a Matter Of Time?
If Greece heads to another round of elections, the anti-austerity movement is expected to strengthen. It appears to be only a matter of time before central bankers have to step in again. The Spanish 10-year is hovering at yield levels not seen since November 2011, before the ECB’s unlimited three-year loan program for banks.
It is possible we are looking at a similar scenario to summer 2010, when stocks weakened considerably between May and July. Things did not turn around until Ben Bernanke strongly hinted at QE2 in his August 2010 Jackson Hole speech.
The Long-Term Case for Commodities: “When Push Comes to Shove, They’re Going to Print Money”
Gold, oil, copper and a host of other commodities were heading lower Monday morning, continuing a recent pattern that has some wondering if the commodity "super-cycle" has come to an end.
After falling 13% in 2011, the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index entered this week at its lowest level since September 2010 amid concern about slowing global growth hurting demand. In addition, the dollar has benefited from Europe's ongoing debt crisis, resulting in lower prices for hard assets, notably gold and silver.
More weakness is likely in the short-term, in part due to seasonal factors as well as the slowdown of the economy, says Frank Holmes, CEO and CIO of U.S. Global Investors. Crude, for example, could "easily" fall to as low as $80 mid-summer he says, predicting continued near-term weakness for gold as well.
But Holmes -- a long-time, long-term bull on resource assets -- says additional short-term weakness will prove to be a long-term buying opportunity for one big reason: "When push comes to shove, they're going to print money."
As has been the case for many years, Holmes says commodities will continue to benefit from the easy money policies of central bankers here and abroad. While the Federal Reserve gets the headlines, he notes central banks in emerging markets have switched back to stimulus after being in tightening mode a year ago.
"Long term there's no fortitude, no courage for governments to turn around and be financially disciplined," he says, referring not just to the U.S. but Europe, Japan and England as well.
Because global central banks remain highly accommodating, interest rates are negative in many of the world's leading economies, meaning inflation is above short-term interest rates.
Historically speaking, gold is a good buy unless and until interest rates are 2% above the inflation rate, Holmes says. With CPI up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis, that would mean the fed funds rate would have to approach 5% before gold becomes uneconomical.
"If I start seeing interest rates rise 2% above CPI in the seven biggest GDPs in the world, that would be huge turning point," he says. Instead, policy making is going in the opposite direction, toward more stimulus -- of both the monetary and fiscal varieties.
In sum, Holmes believes the commodity "super cycle" remains very much intact and compares the recent downdraft to the many setbacks -- including the 1987 crash --- stocks suffered during their historic rally from 1982 to 2000.
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/long-term-case-commodities-push-comes-shove-going-141058084.html
Yeah, I Find it very intresting as well. India is also consuming as much if not more than China as well. I have been buying a gold and silver for a while now to persurve money as our Fed continues to print currency out of control.
JER1
I'm getting pretty sick of it you know
Time to stop drinking Pepsi
Obama agency rules Pepsi's use of aborted fetal cells in soft drinks constitutes 'ordinary business operations'
The Obama Administration has given its blessing to PepsiCo to continue utilizing the services of a company that produces flavor chemicals for the beverage giant using aborted human fetal tissue. LifeSiteNews.com reports that the Obama Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has decided that PepsiCo's arrangement with San Diego, Cal.-based Senomyx, which produces flavor enhancing chemicals for Pepsi using human embryonic kidney tissue, simply constitutes "ordinary business operations."
The issue began in 2011 when the non-profit group Children of God for Life (CGL) first broke the news about Pepsi's alliance with Senomyx, which led to massive outcry and a worldwide boycott of Pepsi products. At that time, it was revealed that Pepsi had many other options at its disposal to produce flavor chemicals, which is what its competitors do, but had instead chosen to continue using aborted fetal cells -- or as Senomyx deceptively puts it, "isolated human taste receptors" (http://www.naturalnews.com).
A few months later, Pepsi' shareholders filed a resolution petitioning the company to "adopt a corporate policy that recognizes human rights and employs ethical standards which do not involve using the remains of aborted human beings in both private and collaborative research and development agreements." But the Obama Administration shut down this 36-page proposal, deciding instead that Pepsi's used of aborted babies to flavor its beverage products is just business as usual, and not a significant concern.
"We're not talking about what kind of pencils PepsiCo wants to use -- we are talking about exploiting the remains of an aborted child for profit," said Debi Vinnedge, Executive Director of CGL, concerning the SEC decision. "Using human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) to produce flavor enhancers for their beverages is a far cry from routine operations!"
To be clear, the aborted fetal tissue used to make Pepsi's flavor chemicals does not end up in the final product sold to customers, according to reports -- it is used, instead, to evaluate how actual human taste receptors respond to these chemical flavorings. But the fact that Pepsi uses them at all when viable, non-human alternatives are available illustrates the company's blatant disregard for ethical and moral concerns in the matter.
Back in January, Oklahoma Senator Ralph Shortey proposed legislation to ban the production of aborted fetal cell-derived flavor chemicals in his home state. If passed, S.B. 1418 would also reportedly ban the sale of any products that contain flavor chemicals derived from human fetal tissue, which includes Pepsi products as well as products produced by Kraft and Nestle.
http://www.naturalnews.com/035276_Pepsi_fetal_cells_business_operations.html#ixzz1usro4veY
Have you seen this! Obama agency rules Pepsi's use of aborted fetal cells in soft drinks constitutes 'ordinary business operations'
The Obama Administration has given its blessing to PepsiCo to continue utilizing the services of a company that produces flavor chemicals for the beverage giant using aborted human fetal tissue. LifeSiteNews.com reports that the Obama Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has decided that PepsiCo's arrangement with San Diego, Cal.-based Senomyx, which produces flavor enhancing chemicals for Pepsi using human embryonic kidney tissue, simply constitutes "ordinary business operations."
The issue began in 2011 when the non-profit group Children of God for Life (CGL) first broke the news about Pepsi's alliance with Senomyx, which led to massive outcry and a worldwide boycott of Pepsi products. At that time, it was revealed that Pepsi had many other options at its disposal to produce flavor chemicals, which is what its competitors do, but had instead chosen to continue using aborted fetal cells -- or as Senomyx deceptively puts it, "isolated human taste receptors" (http://www.naturalnews.com).
A few months later, Pepsi' shareholders filed a resolution petitioning the company to "adopt a corporate policy that recognizes human rights and employs ethical standards which do not involve using the remains of aborted human beings in both private and collaborative research and development agreements." But the Obama Administration shut down this 36-page proposal, deciding instead that Pepsi's used of aborted babies to flavor its beverage products is just business as usual, and not a significant concern.
"We're not talking about what kind of pencils PepsiCo wants to use -- we are talking about exploiting the remains of an aborted child for profit," said Debi Vinnedge, Executive Director of CGL, concerning the SEC decision. "Using human embryonic kidney (HEK-293) to produce flavor enhancers for their beverages is a far cry from routine operations!"
To be clear, the aborted fetal tissue used to make Pepsi's flavor chemicals does not end up in the final product sold to customers, according to reports -- it is used, instead, to evaluate how actual human taste receptors respond to these chemical flavorings. But the fact that Pepsi uses them at all when viable, non-human alternatives are available illustrates the company's blatant disregard for ethical and moral concerns in the matter.
Back in January, Oklahoma Senator Ralph Shortey proposed legislation to ban the production of aborted fetal cell-derived flavor chemicals in his home state. If passed, S.B. 1418 would also reportedly ban the sale of any products that contain flavor chemicals derived from human fetal tissue, which includes Pepsi products as well as products produced by Kraft and Nestle.
http://www.naturalnews.com/035276_Pepsi_fetal_cells_business_operations.html#ixzz1usro4veY
Whats that?
Thanks, nice to have you post over here again
JER1
Nice Board,I like it! BM
Check out my board when you get the chance-
http://investorshub.advfn.com/JER1%E2%80%99s-Investment-Trading-&-News-Chat-21922/
JER1
Executive Order -- Identifying and Reducing Regulatory Burdens
EXECUTIVE ORDER
- - - - - - -
IDENTIFYING AND REDUCING REGULATORY BURDENS
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in order to modernize our regulatory system and to reduce unjustified regulatory burdens and costs, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Policy. Regulations play an indispensable role in protecting public health, welfare, safety, and our environment, but they can also impose significant burdens and costs. During challenging economic times, we should be especially careful not to impose unjustified regulatory requirements. For this reason, it is particularly important for agencies to conduct retrospective analyses of existing rules to examine whether they remain justified and whether they should be modified or streamlined in light of changed circumstances, including the rise of new technologies.
Executive Order 13563 of January 18, 2011 (Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review), states that our regulatory system "must measure, and seek to improve, the actual results of regulatory requirements." To promote this goal, that Executive Order requires agencies not merely to conduct a single exercise, but to engage in "periodic review of existing significant regulations." Pursuant to section 6(b) of that Executive Order, agencies are required to develop retrospective review plans to review existing significant regulations in order to "determine whether any such regulations should be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed." The purpose of this requirement is to "make the agency's regulatory program more effective or less burdensome in achieving the regulatory objectives."
In response to Executive Order 13563, agencies have developed and made available for public comment retrospective review plans that identify over five hundred initiatives. A small fraction of those initiatives, already finalized or formally proposed to the public, are anticipated to eliminate billions of dollars in regulatory costs and tens of millions of hours in annual paperwork burdens. Significantly larger savings are anticipated as the plans are implemented and as action is taken on additional initiatives.
As a matter of longstanding practice and to satisfy statutory obligations, many agencies engaged in periodic review of existing regulations prior to the issuance of Executive Order 13563. But further steps should be taken, consistent with law, agency resources, and regulatory priorities, to promote public participation in retrospective review, to modernize our regulatory system, and to institutionalize regular assessment of significant regulations.
Sec. 2. Public Participation in Retrospective Review. Members of the public, including those directly and indirectly affected by regulations, as well as State, local, and tribal governments, have important information about the actual effects of existing regulations. For this reason, and consistent with Executive Order 13563, agencies shall invite, on a regular basis (to be determined by the agency head in consultation with the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA)), public suggestions about regulations in need of retrospective review and about appropriate modifications to such regulations. To promote an open exchange of information, retrospective analyses of regulations, including supporting data, shall be released to the public online wherever practicable.
Sec. 3. Setting Priorities. In implementing and improving their retrospective review plans, and in considering retrospective review suggestions from the public, agencies shall give priority, consistent with law, to those initiatives that will produce significant quantifiable monetary savings or significant quantifiable reductions in paperwork burdens while protecting public health, welfare, safety, and our environment. To the extent practicable and permitted by law, agencies shall also give special consideration to initiatives that would reduce unjustified regulatory burdens or simplify or harmonize regulatory requirements imposed on small businesses. Consistent with Executive Order 13563 and Executive Order 12866 of September 30, 1993 (Regulatory Planning and Review), agencies shall give consideration to the cumulative effects of their own regulations, including cumulative burdens, and shall to the extent practicable and consistent with law give priority to reforms that would make significant progress in reducing those burdens while protecting public health, welfare, safety, and our environment.
Sec. 4. Accountability. Agencies shall regularly report on the status of their retrospective review efforts to OIRA. Agency reports should describe progress, anticipated accomplishments, and proposed timelines for relevant actions, with an emphasis on the priorities described in section 3 of this order. Agencies shall submit draft reports to OIRA on September 10, 2012, and on the second Monday of January and July for each year thereafter, unless directed otherwise through subsequent guidance from OIRA. Agencies shall make final reports available to the public within a reasonable period (not to exceed three weeks from the date of submission of draft reports to OIRA).
Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) For purposes of this order, "agency" means any authority of the United States that is an "agency" under 44 U.S.C. 3502(1), other than those considered to be independent regulatory agencies, as defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(5).
(b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to a department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(c) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(d) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
BARACK OBAMA
Keynesian Vs. Austrian Economics
Keynesian economists argue that deflation is bad for an economy because it incentivizes individuals and businesses to save money rather than invest in businesses and create jobs. The Austrian school of thought counters this criticism, claiming that as deflation occurs in all stages of production, entrepreneurs who invest benefit from it. As a result, profit ratios tend to stay the same and only their magnitudes change. In other words, in a deflationary environment, goods and services decrease in price, but at the same time the cost for the production of these goods and services tend to decrease proportionally, effectively not affecting profits. Price deflation encourages an increase in hoarding - hence savings - which in turn tends to lower interest rates and increase the incentive for entrepreneurs to invest in projects of longer
JER1
Future of money on the minds of mint officials
The future of currency, physical and digital, consumed much of the discussion time during the 27th Mint Director’s Conference conducted May 7 and 8 in Austria.
The conference, hosted by the Austrian Mint in Vienna, was an industry gathering for officials from the mints that strike coins, the central banks that issue them, and the equipment manufacturers and material providers employed in the process.
Also participating were affiliated parties including some of the dealers and distributors that channel the coins to customers.
The theme of the conference was “Tradition meets innovation,” but it may well have been “remaining relevant in a digital age,” based on the presentations and discussions that resulted.
“Coins will not go away in our lifetime,” said Jin Roy Ryu, chairman and CEO of Poongsan Group, the South Korean conglomerate that produces coinage strip and ammunition, during the gala dinner May 8, an event sponsored by Poongsan. “That’s a problem for future generations to worry about.”
Others in attendance at the conference aren’t so sure about that timetable, and the diminishing demand for coinage — and ways to forestall it — was on the minds of the estimated 350 or so attendees, many of whom rely for their livelihood on coinage playing a vital role in commerce.
Gerhard Starsich, director general of the Austrian Mint, said that he is “strongly convinced that [multiple] ways of payment will continue to coexist but mints will have to deliver improvements in technology development, security features, improvements in processing and distributing coins and manufacturing coins. But we also have to improve our skills and efforts at marketing — in the global market, now we have to market our product as everyone else does.”
Leading the challenge, experts agreed, are the myriad digital payment systems that are meant to ease transactions and smooth the barriers of commerce, especially when smaller payment amounts are involved.
Digital payment systems
One of the latest initiatives, dubbed MintChip, is from the Royal Canadian Mint.
J. Marc Brûlé, vice president of finance and administration and CFO of the RCM, outlined the growth of the project, noting that by 2015 an estimated two-thirds of Internet users will be located in developing markets and 80 percent of their Internet connections will be made through mobile phones.
MintChip “can be as private as cash, can be person-to-person,” Brûlé said. Users would load data onto a chip, a USB card, a computer, tablet, into the “cloud” or “maybe some future device that doesn’t even exist yet.”
No age restrictions would hamper users and no bank account would be needed (for more about MintChip, see related story on page 5).
MintChip’s main benefit would be for smaller transactions, especially those under $1 (nanotransactions), Brûlé said. It can be a cost effective tool for transactions of that type, he said.
MintChip is “mobile commerce meets social commerce. ... Money as we know it today is fine, but tomorrow is another story,” he said.
Carmen Whateley, managing executive of financial services at the South African mobile phone company Vodacom, sees a similar future.
Vodacom has developed its own mobile payment system, named M-Pesa, allowing users to accept or transfer money through their mobile phone; one’s phone number in essence becomes the user’s bank account.
Users do not need to be Vodacom customers to establish an M-Pesa account, but money always has to be in the account for it to remain open.
“New doesn’t displace the old, it’s an evolution, not a revolution, it’s additive rather than displacive. ... Cash is not necessarily going to be replaced, it’s going to be enhanced,” Whateley said.
Collector coin challenges
With circulation coinage generating less and less activity and profit, as digital payments diminish coinage demand, collector coins are going to be an increasingly important segment for world mints, many participants at the conference said.
Rodolphe Krempp of the Monnaie de Paris (the French Mint) explained how the mint has helped develop a collector market in France for precious metal silver and gold coins at face value over the past few years, thus establishing a new market.
The French Mint’s offerings of this kind have also generated a new wave of collector that the mint was not previously reaching.
Ivor Masters of New Zealand Post also spoke about reaching new collectors with novel approaches, in this case relying upon the ties between stamp and coin collectors.
Coin collectors, who he described as being different from stamp collectors, have very similar psychographic and demographic qualities to stamp collectors, he acknowledged.
He noted that New Zealand Post’s products already reflected New Zealand’s unique identity, which is also the aim of commemorative coins.
The philatelic agency took over the rights to issue collector coins for New Zealand about 2001, and over the past decade has expanded from what was a very traditional agency, dedicated to issuing stamps with traditional themes, to a company that, rather than relying on serving an existing base of collectors, offers products geared to generate new customers.
“The [old] business model was not sustainable in the long run,” Masters said, noting the increasing ages of customers and dwindling order size experienced during the 1990s.
Product themes of the agency have included New Zealand’s culture, history, landscape, wildlife and more, and in many instances themes were celebrated on both coins and stamps, according to Masters.
“Like coins, stamps are little works of art. ... Stamp collectors in general are more likely to buy a coin than coin collectors are to buy stamps,” he said.
Pseudo coins
Among the subjects discussed were pseudo coins, with one mint official taking a stance generally in opposition to such pieces, prompting a later response from a firm that strikes commemorative coins for various nations.
René J.R. van Dijk of the Royal Dutch Mint took aim at what he called “pseudo coins” in the collector realm, what collectors know as “noncirculating legal tender” coins.
A major component of the “pseudo coins” category are official legal tender coins issued on behalf of tiny island outposts like the Cook Islands or Niue Island.
These are generally minted for sale to collectors only and, therefore, advanced collectors typically avoid them, van Dijk said, who added that “for this reason there is only a shallow secondary market for pseudo coins, so that they can only be sold at melt value.”
Issuers try to hide the status of pseudo coins by using certain terms like “legal tender,” “limited mintage,” and “demanded by collectors,” among others, van Dijk said.
These coins are often the vehicle for color, different shapes or other exciting technology, and “beautiful examples in terms of craftsmanship can be found,” van Dijk said.
The fact that some world mints strike these pseudo coins lends an air of credibility to their issue, he said.
However, “it would be interesting to see whether a supermarket on the Cook Islands would accept these coins as payment — as I said the basic functionality of a coin — if anybody in his right mind would try to offer the coin as such,” van Dijk said.
He identified other categories of pseudo coins, including medals issued in the name of islands with no inhabitants and medals resembling legal tender circulation coins, but intended to confuse and deceive, the latter including “euro look-alike coins” from Denmark and the United Kingdom, “countries that clearly don’t use the euro at this moment.”
Van Dijk acknowledged that the Royal Dutch Mint offers some of the pseudo coins in its Web shop, as a concession to the fact that a collector market for these coins exists.
“And whether we like it or not, the fact that this market exists means that, on the demand side, collectors were not satisfied with the products that the regular mints brought onto the market,” Van Dijk said.
A focus on product development can turn the tide back toward national mints, van Dijk said, pointing to the Netherlands’ issue recently of a commemorative coin with color, celebrating the relationship between the Netherlands, Turkey and the tulip, as well as the issue in 2011 of a coin that featured a QR code.
Mints have a role to educate customers on the differences between legal tender and nonlegal tender issues, between coins and medals and their official status, but ultimately, it is up to the collectors to decide whether to collect such items.
“If he favors a pseudo coin because he thinks it is beautiful, so be it. This means that we as mints have not succeeded to fulfill his needs [which is] an extra incentive to focus on product development, and to create products that do fulfill his needs.”
An opposing view
Niels Hagemann, managing director of MdM, a large European coin firm that often spearheads the issuance of commemorative coins from places like Palau and Samoa, wasted no time in challenging van Dijk.
Hagemann noted that it is up to the mints that strike the coins in the names of these nations to demand the official paperwork from dealers distributing “pseudo coins” proving that they have been approved by the issuing authority, which he said MdM has received for all of its issues.
http://www.coinworld.com/articles/future-of-money-on-the-minds-of-mint-official/