News & Notes Volume XI, No. 34

February 3, 2026

 From the Internet Bookshelf

  Name Changes (and Naming Issues) on (Mostly) National Bank Notes

• Early PA Town Names -- Mckee's Port vs. McKeesport (Stack's Bowes). From 2026.
• On the Subject of Funny Town Names (Stack's Bowers). From 2025.
• German-Titled Bank Names of Wisconsin (Numismatic News). From 2024.
• Coaldale, PA -- Two Different Towns, Two Issuing Banks (Numismatic News). From 2024.
• National Notes from Mars (Numismatic News). From 2023.
• College and University National Banks (Numismatic News). From 2022.
• Town Name Changes on Series 1929 Nationals (Numismatic News). From 2018.
• Counting Down the Federal Reserve Districts (PMG). From 2018.
• Different Notes, Different Spellings? (Stack's Bowers). From 2013.
• Town Spelling Varieties and the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (Paper Money). From 2010. Pdf at link.
• What's in a Name? (Paper Money). From 1990. Pdf at link.
• A Bank that Changed its Title (Paper Money). From 1978. Pdf at link.
• Banks with Unusual Names (Paper Money). From 1976. Pdf at link.

Currency Coming and Going

• Armenia begins withdrawing older notes from circulation (MRI Bankers' Guide).
• Bulgaria has retired 75% of levs from circulation (the Sophia Globe).
• Should South Africa issue a R500 note? (Two Oceans View).
• Pakistani lawmakers debate the adoption of polymer banknotes (Pro Pakistani).
• The Panic of 1857: An Austrian View (Mises Institute).
• The Silver Panic of 1893 (E-Sylum).
• The Emperor Norton Scrip Note Engraving (E-Sylum).
• Usury and the Creative "Triple Contracts" (The Tontine Coffee-House).
• European Union to enforce common limit on cash transactions (EuroWeekly News).
• A paean to Oman's 1 rial note (Oman Daily Observer).

The Business of Collecting

• Stack's launches e-commerce Marketplace (Stack's Bowers).
• A Curious Design Choice for an American Banknote (Stack's Bowers).
• Rare Straits Settlements banknotes from the William J. Pardee Collection (Stack's Bowers).
• When Turkish banknotes lost six zeros (Banknote World).
• China celebrates the Year of the Horse (Banknote World).
• The Thomas De La Rue 100 Test Note (Banknote World).
• Bremen Chapter of the Banknote Book (Banknote News).
• Schaumburg-Lippe Chapter of the Banknote Book (Banknote News).
• Capacity problems in the silver market (Numismatic News). "Total disconnect" in the silver market (Coinweek).

New Banknote Issues

• Korea to offer "connected" commemorative banknotes (The Asia Business Daily).
• Bangladesh issues new 10 taka banknote (MRI Bankers' Guide).
• Papua New Guinea honors its former Prime Minister, Sir Julius Chan (MRI Bankers' Guide).
• Iran's 5 million rial "cheque" (Journal).
• What's New in Banknotes (Numismatic News).
• St. Helena's shift to polymer (Geldscheine-online, in German).
• Honduras's new 200 lempiras banknote (Geldscheine-online, in German).
• The Czech National Bank centennial commemorative (Geldscheine-online, in German).

Local Coin/Numismatic Shows Happening this Week

     Multi-Day Shows​

• Venice Coin and Currency Show, Venice, FL, February 6-7 (Coinzip).
• Vicksburg Coin Show, Vicksburg, MS, February 6-7 (Coinzip).
• Knoxville Coin and Currency Show, Knoxville, TN, February 6-7 (Coinzip).
• Virginia Beach Coin Show, Virginia Beach, VA, February 6-7 (Tidewater Coin Club).
• Texas Coin Show, Grapevine, TX, February 6-8 (Coinzip).

                    (Always call ahead to confirm)

      February 7

• Burnaby, BC; Tampa, FL; Manhattan, KS; Timonium, MD; Grand Rapids, MI; Joplin, MO
  Pittsburgh, PA; Drummondville, QC; Kent, WA

      February 8

• Phoenix, AZ; Orange, CT; Melbourne, FL; Marietta, GA; Countryside, IL; Indianapolis, IN; Auburn, MA
  Commerce Twp, MI; Maple Grove, MN; Burlington, NJ; Melville, NY; Telford, PA

Upcoming Online Currency Auctions

• Crown Currency Auction 49, February 3 (Crown Currency).
• Heritage U.S. Currency Auction, February 3 (HA).
• The Ibrahim Salem Collection of Syria and Lebanon, February 12 (Noonans Mayfair).
• CGB Internet Auction, February 17 (CGB Numismatique).
• Stack's World Collector's Choice auction, February 23 (Stack's Bowers).

Major Coin and Currency Shows

• ANA's National Money Show, Savannah, GA, February 26-28 (ANA).
• Whitman Expo, Baltimore, MD, March 5-7 (Whitman Expos).
• Numismata Munich, Munich, Germany, March 7-8 (Numismata).

Banknote, Security Printing, and Cash Management Industries

• The UAE looks into "sustainable" banknote recycling (Fast Company).
• De La Rue's passport venture with Canadian Bank Note (EIN Presswire).
• Bank of England wants "woke" money printing (City AM).

Upcoming Industry Conferences

• High Security Printing -EMEA, Rabat, Morocco, March 2-4, 2026 (Reconnaissance).
• High Security Printing-Latin America, Guatemala City, Guatemala, June 1-3, 2026 (Reconnaissance).
• Security Designers Forum, Istanbul, Turkey, September 7-10. 2026 (Security Designers Form).

From the Annals of Crime

• Why Kenya frowns on money bouquets for Valentine's Day (The Star). Also here (BBC).
• Counterfeiters applied holograms like peelable stickers (BBC).
• Fake banknotes on Crete (Greek City Times).
• Coupon counterfeiting in Soviet-occupied Germany (Geldscheine-online, in German).
• Museum thieves go for bullion value (Numismatic News).
• Texas counterfeiter's strategy was exhausted (Fox San Antonio).

Websites to Like 

(in no particular order)

• Paper Money Forum (Numismatic discussion threads)
• Newman Numismatic Portal (Digital numismatic library)
• Numismatic Bibliomania Society (Includes E-Sylum, the weekly online complement to the NBS's journal, The Asylum)
• The American Revenue Association (Hobby website).
• The Souvenir Card Collectors Society
• New York Toll Script and Tokens (Collector website)..
• The American Historical Print Collectors Society (Hobby website).
• International Bank Note Society (useful features even for non-members).
• The Banknote Den (David Lok's website, with superb essays as well as a link to his book, The Many Faces of Money).
• The Higgins Museum (the one in Okoboji, IA, not Worcester, MA)
• Cigar History Museum's coupon gallery
• Boordgeld (Dutch ships' money)
• Depression Scrip (emergency money of the 1930s, and more)
• Wisconsin Depression Scrip
• Caishen's Temple-Asia Money
• Elkader Auction House
• Minnesota Nice
• The Currency Collector (more good essays by John Sandrock).
• COINWeek (numismatic aggregator with some paper money content).
• MRI Bankers' Guide (for its updates of new banknotes).
• Mujand (fantasy banknote maker).
• Alternative Banknotes and Coins (Alternatehistory). Fantasy thread.
• Stane Straus's Polymer Banknotes of the World
• Banknote News (roundup of news and promotional website for The Banknote Book).
• Mintage World (online museum of Indian numismatics).
• Chattanooga Money (site details historical episodes in Chattanooga, Tennessee's monetary and banking history)
• My Georgia Collection (collector site devoted to "Georgia State Notes, Obsolete Currency, Bonds, and Alternative Scrip")
• Banknotesworld ("THE German-language Banknote forum") Discussion threads and more.
• Scotsbanknotes
• Cash Essentials (Industry website devoted to promoting cash usage).
• Kuster's Engineering (Company website). Your expert in currency disintegration.
• PYMNTS.com (Industry website).
• Currency Research (Industry website).
• International Association of Currency Affairs (Industry website).
• De La Rue (Company website).
• Giesecke & Devrient (Company website).
• Our Passports (travel documents and other ephemera)
• Social Money (a Flickr album of photographs illustrating modern complementary currencies, heavy on Argentina).
• Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (search for banknotes etc.).
• Where's George? (currency tracking project).
• Banknoter
• Numismondo
• CoinsWeekly, numismatic website run by Ursula Kampmann. German-language version is here. Content is not identical.
• Blog du CNA (Club Numismatique  d'Argenteuil)
• AFEP   Association Française pour l'Étude du Papier-monnaie
• Monnaies Locales Complementaires
• Our Money (Eurozone currency).
• The Ephemera Society of America (Hobby website, with archived articles on ephemera topics)
• A Library of Scrip and Local Currency
• Fictional currency galleries (Deviant Art).
• Pakistani Currency