Heritage 0% Sellers Fee - Sell it Where You Bought it

In reading my Heritage email this morning, I noticed a bit of spectacular news. Heritage is instituting a new program for all it's auctions, in coins and in other collecting fields. It's a simple concept, but I can't recall any coin auction firm ever doing anything like this before. I asked friend and fellow blogger, George Cuhaj and he too does not recall any firm offering a deal like this in the past. For those of you buying high quality coins, this presents the possibility of a real money saving proposition, so better check it out.

Here's the details:

Reduced auction commissions when you resell your winnings!

When you win any lot worth with a hammer price of $1,000 or more (or $2,500 for Art and Natural History lots), you will receive a coupon that entitles you (or your heirs) to re-consign that lot to Heritage at a reduced seller's commission. Selling through Heritage is a convenient and hassle free way to maximize your return (find out why). Maybe you'll need to make room in your collection for something better, perhaps your collecting tastes will change, or maybe it will be your heirs that benefit; but be sure to save the coupon, which could be worth hundreds or thousands of dollars.

• Coins: 0% Seller's Commission for all items $1K or more.
• Comics: 50% of the usual Seller's Commission for all items between $1K & $10K, and 0% for items $10K and over.
• All Other Categories: 50% of the usual Seller's Commission for everything else over $1K ($2,500 for Art & Natural History).

Sometimes a simple little idea can be genius. The best deals are always good for both parties and in this case Heritage has struck upon something that benefits many of their regular high high end customers, while ensuring future business for their firm. A win, win situation.

Mongolian Wolverine Wins Coin of the Year

Only about a week now until our little band of four, Lisa Bellavin, Dave Harper, Scott Tappa and myself travels to Berlin for this years World Money Fair. It's been a busy few weeks of preparations for the show, scheduling meetings, exploring special side trips and planning for big events like the Media Forum and the Coin of the Year (COTY) awards ceremony. Hard work, but well worth the time invested to be sure we get everything we can accomplished at the worlds most dazzling coin show.

On the COTY front, big news this week, as the 10 catagory winners and the top COTY overall winner were all announced. A stunningly sculpted silver 500 Tugrik of Mongolia featuring a full-on face of a Wolverine, with diamond eyes, took the top COTY honors. The coin was struck by Mayer Mint, who will have a team, lead by mint President Alex Wegner, on hand at the World Money Fair to receive the award. I'm looking forward to meeting Mr. Wegner and his team as Mayer Mint has held such an important place in numismatics for so many generations its like an icon to our hobby. Look carefully and you will find Mayer Mint coins and medals all over the globe.

Want Electronic World Coin News Delivery? Let Us Know!

I read, with great interest, in George Cuhaj's blog Current Currency yesterday about the American Numismatic Associations offer of a Green Numismatist. George said he was offered an option from the ANA to get his mo nthly Numismatist journal delivered by electronic means trather that getting a paper product delivered by USPS mail. George happily took this option and is looking forward to a little less clutter, with just as much coin information.

That's great news for George and others like him who want to cut down on the paper clutter in their lives. Many of us have moved over to reading our daily news not in a paper, but online. It's quicker and easier for me, plus I can cover so much more news and so many more opinions in so much less time!

So this posting by George go me to thinking. How many of our World Coin News readership might like to have the same option presented to them? If I were in Thailand, I certainly would rather have an electronic WCN on my laptop, rather that waiting for a paper one to arrive by mail.

So, loyal readership, what say you? Would any of you like to see World Coin News or any of the other Krause Publications products available as downloads, RSS feeds, or other types of electronic media? If so, here's you chance to voice an opinion. Just post a comment on this blog posting and I'll read and relay all thoughts to our publisher, Scott Tappa.

Scott and I, along with Lisa Bellavin and Dave Harper will all be traveling to Berlin for the World Money Fair the first week in February, providing ample opportuntiy for discussion on this topic.

Presidential Dollars - Of The Future?

Have you been collecting Presidential Dollars yet? I have been saving them as I come across them in circulation. My wife even got me a pair of Presidential Dollar boards to save them in and just this week a packaging company - Armored Brand USA - sent me a sample of a super bookcase style binder designed for collecting Presidential Dollars.

Recently the Andrew Jackson Dollar was released and his wild haired presence on a circulating coin is what poped into my head when I came to the end of my next presidential adventure, related below. Keep reading, and don't worry, I won't cross political views with coin collecting too seriously!

The other evening I made a choice to watch the Discovery Channel with my sons and DVR the Presidential candidates debate for later viewing. One of the many commercial interuptions we sat through while watching our shows was a political campaign endorsement for one Bob Barr and my youngest son asked who this fellow was, as he had not previously seen his ads.

My youngest son has been watching and discussing the debates with classmates at school this election year and so the prospect of a new candidate, this Bob Barr fellow, both interested and agitated him. In way of explaination, I sought out a website that offered pictures of and links to all known 2008 Presidential candidates who appear on one or more State ballots. There's quite a number of them, and several websites designed to introduce us to them. Take a look for yourself at: Vote Smart or Politics 1 or Wikipedia.

After looking through a number of pages and seeing so many hopeful future presidential faces, I began to wonder, who in all this crowd might one day find their likeness on a Presidental Dollar? Do any of them look like good Presidential Dollar material to you?

Metals On The Slide

This week has been tough on commodities with Gold and the other precious metals we coin collectors follow regularly not beening spared this time around. Gold hit a one month low just below $800 an ounce, with silver below $10, and nearing $9.50. Platinum down is dramatically to about $875, with Palladium crashing well below $200 down to about $170 this morning.

Crude oil has dropped mercifully just below $70 a barrel, giving consumers a big break at the gas pump and the U.S. dollar has solidified with some nice gains against most other major world currencies.

Most silver and gold commemorative coins will remain high in the coin market for a while however, as they react more slowly to a decline than they do to rising spot prices. Platinum and Palladium coins generally hold less demand in the collector market, making them react more quickly to both the rise and fall of spot metals prices.

Expanded Bailout Plane Passes Senate, Economists Rage

The $700,000,000,000 bailout plan passed through the Senate today with lot's of bits and pieces added on, expanding it from an original 3 page plan to over 450 pages. The present plan has so many added sweeteners that I have yet to hear about them all, but the highlights include mandated mental heathcare coverage, an elimination of insurance companies avoidance of coverage through pre-existing condition clauses and a boost to FDIC bank account coverage from $100,000 to $250,000 per customer per bank. Also in the new plan is a heafty helping of greasy pork that will cost taxpayers loads of dough, including $478,000,000 in tax write-offs to the film industry, basically allowing production companies to write off their production costs on their taxes. I may have to start producing films.

An ever growing number of professional economists are massing in oppossition to the Big Buck Bailout. Their numbers have grown from about 160 last week to about 250 today. Reasons for their concern are varied, but most see this as a gigantic waste of taxpayers money. Most offer much simpler solutions to ease our credit crunch and get the economies wheels turning again. In short, none of them think throwing heaping helpings of good money at financial firms with bad business practices is a wise idea. You think? And all of them think the added pork will strain the average tax paying citizen.

On the market fronts the Dow again dipped today, while the dollar soared and commodities such as gold, silver, platinum, palladium and crude oil all dropped.  

Gold in the Age of Commodities

As President Bush expands his immense bailout effort for the largest of our nations financial institutions, investors are running for cover. Most are afraid of a falling U.S. Dollar, a reasonable concern. Many are buying gold, physical as well as contract.

With the spot price of all precious metals again on the rise, everyone is voicing an opinion, all with an eye towards what the future may hold for the U.S and ultimately World economies. One of today's blog postings, by David Bailey on Seeking Alpha, stirred up a flurry of goldbug commentary. Take a moment and read through both the posting and it's comments and let me know what you think.

Regardless of the validity of what Bailey puts forth about gold as currency or economic deflation, I found his comments about a loss in faith to ring true. Seems to me, given personal comments from friends and acquaintences, that many ordinary folks do not truely have any great ideas for what to do with their investment money. They fear many options, including the stock market and now banks, but few have any particular investments in which they have faith.

Do you have a viable alternative for investment money? Is it gold?

Homer Hobo Euro Amusement

My posting from last week about the discovery of a Spanish Euro coin artistically modified to sport a portrait of world renowned cartoon character Homer Simpson solicitied several comments from readers. My favorite came from friend and fellow numismatic humorist, Joe Zaffern who glibly offered two dozen doughnuts for any Homer Simpson Euro coin. Joe went on to suggest one of our more creative Unusal World Coin people might want to start a doughnut currency series.

That got me to thinking...which of course Joe knows can be dangerous.

Here's what I am wondering. What world coin could best be modified to showcase Marge, Lisa and Bart? Which, in turn, makes me wonder if there are any coins out there suitable to be worked into displaying Peter, Lois, Chris, Meg, Stewie or Brian Griffin from Family Guy?

Take a few minute out of your busy day and think about your favorite cartoon charcaters. Are there any coins out there aching for a bit of modification to host your personal cartoon hero? It'll be good for a laugh and we all need a few of those.

Gold Bounce a Back A Bit

After enduring a harsh pounding to finish off a tough week, gold is seeing a bit of a rebound this morning with spot sprices rising from $786.50 to about $791.50 as of this posting. Silver also recouped a bit of it's last weeks loss moving from a Friday fix below $13 to about $13.15 as of this posting. 

Platinum and Palladium however, are still on the decline this morning. Palladium slipped from Friday's close of $295.50 to arround $280 as of this posting, with Platinum retreating from $1400 at Friday's London pm fix to the neighborhood of $1390 this morning.

Precious Metals Slide Further

The precious metals slide continued this morning with Gold slipping below the $820 mark and all the rest following suit. Little purks of buying are making for choppy waters however, so we may see minor support at this level.

Platinum sits at $1465 and palladium $315 as of this posting. Sillver has steadied at a little over $14.65.

Crude oil has caught some buyer interest and is experiencing some up-swing. At present crude has climbed to about $115.50.

Gold Dive Continues Below $825

Precious metals continued their nose-dive today with gold falling below $825, silver dropping to $14.65, platinum slipping to about $1525 and Palladium hovering at about $320 at the time of this posting.

A surging dollar and falling crude oil round out the rest of the picture. Crude oil has dropped to about $114.50 as of this posting, with the U.S. dollar at about $1.50 to the Euro this afternoon.

Gold Experiences Freefall to $850 Level

Morning trading has shown us that Gold's light support at the $875 level has given way with spot gold dropping down to the $850 level. Silver is down to about $15.40, palladium is sitting around $330 and Platinum is trading at about $1540.

Looks like a vicious ending to a very tough week for bullion investors. Check The Bullion Desk for current updates.

Gold Down to $875

Gold has hit $875 this afternoon, as it continues it's summer slip 'n" slide ride. Silver is down to $16.45, palladium is at $348 and Paltinum has hovering at $1570.

Tomorrow will bring the Fed meeting, but it is unlikely that they will take any interest rate action. Never-the-less, some potential gold buyers may be holding off, just in case. I also noticed this morning that crude oil was down to $120.90 a barrel. It's decline surely has had an effect on investors interest in gold, just as it has lightened the economic pressures on the dollar. This afternoon crude has seemed to join gold on the slip 'n' slide with a decline to $118.70 as of this posting.

Gold Slips Below $900 Again

Once again the Monday morning blues have hit precious metals, driving gold down below $900 and silver back down to $17. A present spot gold is trading at $897.

Last Monday the same cycle occured and we spent the rest of the week watching gold build back up to about $920 by weeks end. Now we'll see what this week has to offer.

The annual American Numismatic Association convention was held last week in Baltimre and from early reports it seems to have been a successful show. From the world coin end of the market I heard nothing but good talk and excited outlooks. Seems that most dealers are seeing good potential for continued increases in value for most classic world coins. Every time period from Medieval to modern issue has a following and each are experiencing healthy demand.

UBS Predicts Gold Turn In 2008

Amidst plenty of bullist talk about the upside for gold prices, Allen Sheals of UBS spoke out today in Singapore about the possibilities of a bearish market turn. The two main factors driving Sheals comments were a break-up of demand and the forthcoming unloading of European Central Bank stock holds.

Sheals cited indications from the jewelry trade, pending Central bank actions, growing scrap supply, stable mining supply and an end to producer dehedging.

The massive numbers of investor dollars moving into Exchange Traded Funds and gold tied or based funds is also an indicator. Common sense should tell you that if you see a whole lot of people running frantically in one direction, you might be wise to calmly walk the other way.

My advice? Watch the Federal Reserve and Central Banks as they attempt to stem inflation. If they hit on a winning combination, gold and silver may settle down quickly.

Work Founds Numiszendium Encyclopedia Site

You may have noticed a new addition to my blogrolls this morning, as news came from friend Aidan Work, that he had established a new base for building an encyclopedia of numismatic knowledge under the banner of Numiszendium.

Numiszendium is a MediaWiki format website where knowledgeable numismatists can enter information about coins, banknotes, tokens and medallic coins. Aidan's hope is that this site can eventually be built to encyclopedic size and provide a good source for coin collectors and researchers both to pull from and deposit into.

It's brand new and you can register for free and begin being an active part of the hobby of numismatics today. It will take a lot of work to make Numiszendium useful, as it is jut an empty vehicle at the moment, but Aidan and his friends are dedicated and really do want to provide a broad forum for all numismatists.

Take a moment and check it out today at Numiszendium.

Looking For Signs in Gold Market

Precious metals have been bouncing around this week, up one day, back down the next. Lot's of fluctuation, but no significant trend or direction and the floor seems solid at about $875 for gold and $16.50 or so for silver.

In times like these, I always find it enlightening to keep an eye open for indicators. Read the articles, blogs and opinion pieces, but also look for news stories which may offer some clues about the nebulous future of precious metals prices.

One article of special interest turned up today from the Shanghai Daily, through the China.org.cn website. In general this story indicated that gold demand in China for the second quarter was weak, due to buyer indecision. Looks like market price fluctuations have created a wait and see attitude among all types of buyers in the second quarter and I think this may be true of other markets, not just China.

As we sit on this precious metals ledge,with the Federal Reserve considering a directional turn in raisring interest rates to strengthen the dollar, it would seem that we have come to a potential pivot point for the U.S. economy and in turn the world economy and in turn gold.

Gold Bomb on the Horizon?

Volatility in spot gold prices is leading to some wide and varied predictions for the most popluar of the precious metals. Reading through many, many comments over the last few weeks leaves one wondering where gold and the other precious metals might be headed. No one has a supreme answer, but several traders are now expecting extended corrections for gold over the next few months.

Some are looking for spot gold to drop down to the $800 an ounce level by June or July at which point they can see lots of support. Here are links to a few of the more interesting predictions along these lines of thought:

From the Resource Investor site, a prediction by Interfax-China 

From Jim Rogers of the Quantum Fund, a buying level

Precious Metals in Decline

Gold continued it's steady decline yesterday and slipped below $870 shortly this afternoon. Investors seem wary in light of the expected Federal Reserve interest rate cut which may come tomorrow.

Silver sits just above $16.50 at the time of this posting with Platinum just below $1920 and palladium at $420. All showing significant drops in afternoon trading.

Gold Nips at a Rally

There is talk today that Gold needs to get going again or risk a big spill. Gold's lack of movement as crude oil rocketed to new highs near $118 a barrel, may indicate a break in the traditional ties we have been observing over the last year or so.

With the dollar hovering around $1.60 to the Euro and oil rising, gold should have moved upwards into the $950 to $975 range, but buyers seem cautious. Investment money is fickle and some in the numismatic trade are wondering if the attraction has worn off gold.

This mornings spark , with gold skipping upward to about $920 as of this posting, may be the beginning of the overdue rally for precious metals. For the dubious investor, silver may be the better metal to sink into at the moment. As of this posting silver has risen to about $17.70, with high hopes and less apparent downside risk.

Profit Taking Forces Metals Correction

I have been back in Iola for about one week now and am finally getting my bearings again. So much information to process from Berlin, so much catching up to do regards the 20th and 21st Century Standard Catalog of World Coins production and of course so many requests to fulfill for those I made contact with at the World Money Fair.

Most of that is all still in play and I am sure to be very busy for the next few weeks, but this morning I did have a moment to look at precious metals trading and found that outside pressures have driven investors into a sell-off mode. The four metals we numismatists watch most closely all took a ride during the week I was in Berlin and continued their climb last week as well. But as the big pair approached thier biggest ever marks; $1000 for gold, $2000 for platinum, they stalled and today we are seeing a sell-off and subsequent correction. As of this posting gold sits at $900, platinum rests at $1932 and silver is just over $17.

These are not sharp drops. the floor for all precious metals is very firm and high at the moment, so later in the week we will probably see another run at cracking those big landmark figures.

Gold & Platinum Setting New Records

It's been a rollicking day in the precious metals market. From morning through afternoon, right up until this posting Gold, Platinum and Silver have been driving into unexplored territory. Gold has hit a new record high just above $926 and Platinum is riding near $1725, with Silver at $16.66 as of this posting.

Palladium also has run up a bit to about $385, though this pales in comparison to it's tremendous highs from just a few years ago.

The continued depression of the dollar, coupled with recent concerns over possible Gold shortages due to mining power outages, seems to be at the root of the present run.

Gold Rises Further in Afternoon Trading

Gold drove above $910 in this afternoons trading, marking a new high, While Platinum broken the $1600 mark and silver rose to nearly $16.40 as of this posting.

Speculation that the Fed will again slice interest rates next Tuesday seems to be a central concern in the present investor driven push. Fund managers may be looking at the broader indicators evident in some overseas markets. Either way, the attitude that gold will reach $1000 is prevalent.

Gold Holds Solid, But Big Players Cautious

Gold made another little run this morning up to about $916, then backed off to $910 as of this posting. Though ETF's are growing leaps and bounds, larger investment players are behaving very cautiously on long term gold, keeping the market from breaking out further for the moment.

Let's just say the Bull is resting a bit before contemplating another run, while the Bear watches carefully from the wayside.

Whenever the large investment firms back off, the little investor should mind the cue. Don't be caught out there with large holdings in gold when the market turns.

Gold Holds a New Benchmark

Three hours after breaking the $900 mark and rising to $914, gold is holding it's own. At the time of this posting it's riding steady at $908. Keep an eye on The Bullion Desk for further developements throughout the day.

Talk of $1000 is again heating up, though most are expecting this figure to be a peak from which gold will drop. Forecasts from many analysts are predicting an average figure for gold during 2008 between $750 and $825. Gold Bugs are thinking much higher. Larger firms are showing gradual floors rising steadily for gold over the next three years.

Gold Aims for $900

In this afternoons trading Gold broke through $895 and remains strong, just slightly below that level as of this posting. This is all new territory for the most popular of precious metals, but investors are exibiting exceptional confidence in gold as a cautionary infaltion hedge.

If conditions remain the same, you can expect to see record breaking $900 an ounce gold today or tomorrow. If gold holds well at this benchmark, the bull may keep running.

Activity at FUN and NYINC must be crazy! Check in with Dave Harper at Buzz and George Cuhaj at Current Currency for updates from these two pace setting shows over the new few days.

Gold Breaks Through For Record High

Amidst economic and political concerns investors ran wildly towards gold and silver today, pushing the spot price of gold as high as $880 before it backed off to $878 as of this posting.

Silver was carried along for the ride, edging up above the $15.70 mark as this is written.

Another day of Dollar dropping must have been just too much for money mavens to stand.

Talk of gold as the worlds currency has been circulating around the internet in Blogs and opinion pieces the last few days and more folks seem to be looking at these comments much more seriously than before. As I have mentioned in past postings, gold will continue to swing opposite against the dollar, so look for gold to back off when the dollar has it's good days and drive when it fails.

Current pursuit of gold as an inflation preemtory hedge seems to be at paranoid levels.

Gold Continues it's Run

After brief profit taking, Gold continued it's climb today, cracking the $865 barrier before slipping back to $862 as of this posting. Silver was pulled along too and sits at $15.36 as of this afternoon.

Crude oil remains within sight of $100 a barrel and the dollar is floundering against most all other major currencies.

With it's new record price, it will be interesting to see what gold does next. Some are predicting an almost certain downturn in gold, similar to what the precious metals market experienced after the surge of 1980. Given that much of this current drive is based on speculative investment, I find myself thinking the same way. Without exceptionally strong demand from the jewelry trade and industrial sector, the only support gold has comes from the hopes of it's proponents. As of this moment however, those hopes are very strong and reflect a definitive lack of confidence in the U.S. dollar, and the U.S. economy.

Silver Holding Nicely

Through all the hubbub and attention the media has been paying to the spot price movements of Gold, the less valuable precious metal, Silver has been holding it's own very nicely. Silver has stayed above $14 pretty well since late October.

Future visions of silver's outlook are being raised by analysts. The long term prospects for silver are that it will hold at the $14 to $15 level, even with increased production. Demand is expected to outstrip supply over the next three years.

This is the kind of stability long term investors look for in an inflation hedge vehicle. The single largest factor in the accuracy of these optimistic forecasts and in silvers subsequent ability to remain at these levels, would be the continued weakness of the U.S. dollar.

Precious Metals Rebound, After Rough Day

After a slow day, with gold below the $800 mark for much of the trading, the precious metal has rebounded this morning pushing spot up to $814 at the time of this posting. Platinum bounced back big time, gaining over $25 to touch $1440 an ounce.

Silver too has seen a bit of a rebirth with spot rising above $15 and ounce. Palladium seems to be in a rut, probably due to expectations of surpluses for this industrial metal for 2007 and 2008.

Overall, I think investors will see several hills and valleys for Gold, Silver and Platinum over the next few months until the end of 2007. As the dollar slumps, or crude oil prices soften, gold and silver will surge. On days when the Dollar rallies against the Euro, expect to see some sell-off of gold. With Central Bank gold sales generally on the decline, it would seem clear that gold will hold at, or near these higher levels so long as demand remains as strong as it has been during the last few weeks.

One additional factor, which is growing in prominence, is the rising cost of health insurance and health care costs both to consumers and businesses. These pressures, unchecked by any government regulation or intervention at this time, are presenting themselves as a growing factor in the buying power of the US dollar and subsequent movement into the foothills of inflation. When inflation concerns are on the rise, demand for gold will follow suit. When inflation concerns lessen, crude oil and gold tend to have lower demand and softer prices.

Gold in Free-Fall

The U.S. dollar rallied this morning throwing gold into a free-fall, dropping spot below the $800 mark shortly before rebounding a bit to the $804. Silver, platinum and Palladium are all being effected; with Platinum hit the worst, falling below the $1400 ledge.

Other aggravating factors in today’s precious metals plunge include a stronger Yen and slipping crude oil. Investors seem to be fleeing any commodity with a perceived high-risk level and futures for precious metals have been hit severely. Consider this a wake-up call for more caution in this bandwagon atmosphere.

Gold & Silver on the Move Again This Morning

Gold On The Risen Again

Spot gold prices held above $800 an ounce in Monday mornings trading. After a light backslide of just a few dollars the worlds favorite precious metal is again on the rise having cracked $810 by the time of this posting.

Some major analysts are seeing signs that an even more substantial increase may be on it's way, with supply and demand laying a new foundation for higher prices than ever before. Increasing investor demand and several factors limiting current gold supply are at the heart of this anticipated new market structure.

Bull Market in Gold Runs On

The bull market for gold crashed through the $800 an ounce barrier to $807 at the time of this posting in the late afternoon Friday. This is the highest spot gold price has been in the last 28 years. Oil too is again rising and investor concerns over inflation and recession seem to be at the heart of this drive.

Reuters reported that gold futures buyers stepped in to support the run when weakness was sensed. Concerns over rising energy costs looming as the North American winter approaches and the dollar loosing ground against most every world currency, seems to be fueling investor demand for gold as a safe haven from the imminent possibility of rising consumer goods prices.

Relatively conservative analysts are now predicting $850 spot gold by years end and $900 an ounce spot gold prices in 2008.

Big Correction in Gold!

Drops in all precious Metals

A quick glance at this mornings precious metals trading reveals that gold, silver, platinum and palladium are all on the decline. After a nice run for gold earlier in the week brought us near the $680 mark, this mornings dip of almost $11.50 as of 11AM eastern time, pulls it back below $665.

Burgeoning investor interest in gold and other precious metals has led to an increased volatility and heightened sensitivity to all kinds of market factors. Collectors should keep an eye out for bargains, as well as selling opportunites.

China Has A New Great Wall

Just when they thought they were out, the government pulls them back in, to paraphrase Al Pacino in Godfather III.

A few weeks ago I mentioned that I am starting to notice an increase in new coin issue distribution through eBay. Several of the sellers are not U.S. based and one of the major ones offering some of the most interesting items is based in China. This was a very encouraging sign for me, as I see China as the biggest emerging market for the future of global numismatics.

But yesterday I was a bit disheartened by a CNN story about the email problems China has been experiencing recently. It has become clear that government instituted electronic censorship of email content has created problems for Chinas growing concern of Internet users. Most importantly, this could have a big effect on business development and interaction between worldwide customers and Chinese firms. Nothing can stop this 900-pound gorilla, but building a second GreatWall, in electronic communications, could really slow it down.

After my Geocaching post went live, I got a correction back from my Brother-in-law Jim, who introduced my family to the sport. He wanted to clarify a few things about geocoins and their purpose for my readers. Jim wrote " The coins do not actually have an emitter. They are placed at a location and the coordinates are provided at geocaching.com. We download the coordinates and find the cache with our GPS. Each location lists what geocoins or travelbugs are contained in the cache."

For the most part, geocoins are not collected within the sport, although Jim said that some people do keep ones they find specially attractive. The main point is that you do not take something out of a geocache without replacing it with another item. At theGeocaching.com site they mention three basic rules:

·                     Take something from the cache

·                     Leave something in the cache

·                     Write about it in the logbook

It's that simple. Visit the Geocaching.com site to find out more!

Ivory Restrictions Show eBay Looking Out for Animal Welfare 

Read on FoxNews today that eBay has agreed to ban cross-border sales of Ivory items on their site. In fact, the German branch of eBay had already taken these steps last spring, which reduced Ivory offering substantially, but with the US end now joining the cause it should dramatically curtail the interenation trade in illegal ivory trinkets made since initial world restrictions were set up by Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in 1975.   

The eBay ban, as negotiated by International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) would only apply to trades across country borders and to items produced after the 1975 CITES ban. This should mean that any early ivory tokens would still be able to be traded among collectors. Of course the Keeling Cocos Island tokens from 1913 , which are refered to as Ivory, but are really ivory looking plastic would be uneffected altogether. Classic ivory carvings from pre-1975 should also not be effected, nor should early forms of Odd & Curious Monies such as full elephant tusks, tusk rings and tusk disks used as money by Chiefs in various areas of Africa. Individual countries laws will apply within thier borders and Ebay will not restrict sales within any country, but international trade of modern ivory trinkets will not be allowed.

A quick check of the eBay announcement board showed no information yet on this developement, but the public announcement for the press was made yesterday during a CITES conference in The Hague.