Was There Consideration for a Minting Facility in New Jersey?

Which counterfeiting organization should be considered the best in modern history?

That dubious distinction should likely be shared between Nazi Germany and North Korea. Nazi Germany’s World War Two Operation Bernhard British bank note forgeries were even used to pay German spies operating in Great Britain. North Korea denies printing U.S. $100 “super notes” in what has been called the Kattalio Game, but there are speculations that North Korea continues to produce theses bogus bills.

Whose bank notes are considered to be the easiest to counterfeit?

When asked that question in 2014, notorious counterfeiter Frank Bourassi said the U.S. bank note was the easiest to counterfeit. According to Bourassi, “Even third world countries in Africa have polymer bills already.” Other favorite targets are notes of China, the European Union, Great Britain, India, and Mexico.

Why was there overlap in coins of Mexico, that is, coins being issued in both peso and reale denomination simultaneously?

Mexico didn’t adopt its decimal reale coinage until 1857, although the country was independent of Spain after 1810. It wasn’t until the overthrow of Emperor Maximilian I in 1869 that Mexico replaced the reale with the peso.

Was consideration ever given to having a minting facility in New Jersey during the early 19th century?

There was a privately owned button factory turned into a mint in Belleville, N.J., Stephens, Thomas and Fuller, that was in operation during the 1830s. Coins were struck for Brazil, Haiti, and Liberia. It appears copper blanks may have made for the U.S. Mint as well. The Belleville mint closed in about 1839, it’s die engraver Joseph Gardener and his assistant Joseph Campbell were arrested for counterfeiting U.S. and French coins.

I’ve noticed the price of ancient Jewish lepta generally known as Widow’s Mites has been going up recently. I thought these were extremely common coins. Any idea what is happening?

Lepta of Alexander Jannaeus, likely the Widow’s Mite of the Bible, are a relatively common ancient coin. It is my understanding that at one time the Israeli government allowed these to be listed as a bulk group of coins when being exported. The government now wants each to be declared separately or in small groups, making their export more difficult.

There are numerous depictions of Jesus on Byzantine gold coins. Why isn’t a consistent portrait used?

The iconography of Jesus changed periodically, the portraits being based on the images appearing on various icons or in some cases due to political convenience. E-mail inquiries to Giedroyc@Bright.net. Because of space limitations, we are unable to publish all questions.