United States Currency

For years it was tucked away in a safe deposit box, but soon a rare two-tailed coin will be in the national spotlight. The 1965 Washington quarter-dollar struck from two reverse dies has been authenticated by one of the nation's top coin certification services, which estimated its value at between $75,00 and $100,000. The coin's owner, an Encino-based collector and dealer, will display the unusual quarter for the first time next month at the American Numismatic Assn.

The buck is back--at least for now. The dollar Thursday climbed to its strongest levels against the euro and yen since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, boosted by gains in U.S. stocks and optimism the economy will recover in coming months. "The dollar's expressing the view that U.S. military efforts are going well" and that the U.S. economy will rebound soon, said Jeremy Fand, head of currency strategy at UBS Warburg in Stamford, Conn.

A dollar isn't what it used to be, and to many Americans, a penny is close to trash. It may have inspired the folk wisdom that "A penny saved is a penny earned," but the coin, now made of zinc with a copper coating, is tossed away like a candy or cigarette wrappers at newsstands and food stores. Many shops throughout the country keep cups of pennies by registers with hand-scrawled signs encouraging customers to drop in extras or pick out what they need to pay a bill.

The dollar fell to a six-month low against the euro Monday as U.S. stocks tumbled on concern last week's terrorist attacks will sink the world's biggest economy into recession. Foreign investors sold dollars after dumping U.S. stocks, analysts said. It took 92.40 cents to buy a euro, up from 92.07 late Friday. But the dollar inched up against the yen, ending in New York at 117.73 yen from 117.29 Friday, after an early dive. The dollar's recent weakness concerns traders.

Currency is made by the government's master craftsmen, who use engraved plates and printing equipment designed for that purpose. Most counterfeiters use a photomechanical or "offset" method to make a printing plate from a photograph of a genuine note. You can help guard against taking counterfeit notes by becoming more familiar with United States money. Look at the currency you receive.

Fearful of the skills and machinery of high-tech counterfeiters, the Treasury Department announced Wednesday the first major redesign of U.S. currency since 1929, unveiling plans for a new $100 bill with an off-center, and much larger, portrait of Benjamin Franklin. The revised C-note will be available starting in 1996, with new bills for smaller denominations issued later. By the year 2000, new versions of all bills from $1 to $100 will be in circulation.

A high-powered, multinational move to arrest the steep fall of the dollar emerged Wednesday as Japanese Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa met with Treasury Secretary James A. Baker III and interest rate cuts appeared imminent in both Japan and West Germany. But Miyazawa left the hastily scheduled meeting in Washington apparently without a firm agreement from Baker to intervene in currency markets to support the dollar.

The government of Iran, in an unorthodox effort to ease its own budget deficit and make trouble for the American economy, is printing and circulating billions of dollars of counterfeit U.S. $100 bills, a congressional report charged Wednesday.

A sense of crisis swept Japan Wednesday as the dollar fell in Tokyo to yet another post-World War II low. "I can't think of any way to describe our feelings except to say that we're in shock," said Minoru Tsukada, spokesman for Oki Electric Industry Co., a leading manufacturer of communications equipment. "We never expected that the yen would get this strong." His comment reflected virtually universal sentiment here as the currency fell to a new global low of 88.

In the age of the $5 cup of coffee, people no longer covet those little disks of silver and copper that fall between the sofa cushions. Pennies are deemed passe, and no one gives a plug nickel for the dime. A quarter barely cuts it at the wishing well, and when was the last time someone besides the Tooth Fairy spent a Kennedy half dollar? But next week, Orange County residents will be asked to change the way they think about change.

The dollar, strongman of world currencies for most of the last six years, has dropped 9% against the euro since early July, cheering both U.S. manufacturers and European politicians--but unnerving some global investors. The dollar also has eased against the Japanese yen, despite continued economic woes in Japan.

To Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.), pennies represent a waste of space. They're inefficient, bothersome, nearly worthless. And, if Kolbe has his way, the coins would be largely taken out of circulation. Kolbe has introduced a bill in Congress to greatly reduce the use of pennies in daily transactions.

The dollar rose in early trading today, halting a four-day decline against the yen, after leaders from the eight biggest industrialized nations didn't focus on currencies during their weekend summit, erasing concerns that President Bush might ask to stem the dollar's rise. U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul H. O'Neill also reiterated Sunday, "I believe a strong dollar is in the interest of the United States." The U.S. currency rose to 123.53 yen from 122.

For years it was tucked away in a safe deposit box, but soon a rare two-tailed coin will be in the national spotlight. The 1965 Washington quarter-dollar struck from two reverse dies has been authenticated by one of the nation's top coin certification services, which estimated its value at between $75,00 and $100,000. The coin's owner, an Encino-based collector and dealer, will display the unusual quarter for the first time next month at the American Numismatic Assn.

Can anything stop the dollar? The U.S. currency surged Thursday to an eight-month high against the euro and a three-month high against the yen as traders continued to judge the U.S. economy's prospects superior to its rivals'. It took 83.64 cents to buy a euro Thursday in New York, down from 84.78 cents Tuesday and the weakest level for the euro since October. Meanwhile, one dollar bought 125.77 yen in New York, up from 124.45 Tuesday and the most since 126.80 on April 2.

and Bloomberg News The dollar powered higher against the world's three other major currencies Monday as the slowed U.S. economy still looks better than the alternatives to many global investors. The dollar hit a six-month high against the euro and a 16-year high against the British pound before profit-taking set in.

A strengthening dollar could soon take the fun--and profit--out of international stock investing, which only recently became the hottest game going for individual investors. The dollar has surged in value against key foreign currencies over the past two months, tracking the U.S. economy's brightening prospects. The result: The value of U.S. investors' overseas stock holdings has taken a haircut. Take the German market, for example. The price of the average stock there fell 0.

The dollar's recent rise against major currencies has provided an immediate boon to travelers and a promise of lower prices for buyers of costly foreign goods. However, the strengthened dollar hurts investors in some U.S. and foreign stocks and bonds. Although it's not clear whether the dollar will continue to gain, here are some questions and answers on how the greenback's comeback is already affecting consumers and investors: * Q: How will the dollar's rise help vacationers?

The U.S. Mint is reviewing security procedures at its Denver branch, a spokesman said Wednesday, amid published reports that some potentially valuable "error" coins were found in employees' lockers and toolboxes. The error coins, which are often ones struck twice, are sometimes considered very valuable to coin collectors. "As part of an ongoing evaluation of our procedures, the U.S. Mint recently conducted a review of the Denver facility," U.S. Mint spokesman Michael White said.

Police arrested four people and seized $3,000 in fake bills in a raid on a La Habra home suspected of hiding a counterfeiting operation, authorities said Saturday. Investigators believe the operation was partly responsible for a spike in the number of reports of fake money being passed in the La Habra area over the last few months, police said.