HEADS UP! It’s HERE! The New World Currency Design, Presented to the G-8 Delegations (With Pics)

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

OK, you know how we keep hearing that the new world currency supplanting the dollar is a long way off?  Well, some folks have other ideas…at the very least, they’re getting ready for the day, whenever it comes.   From Bloomberg News:

Medvedev Shows Off Sample Coin of New ‘World Currency’ at G-8

By Lyubov Pronina

July 10 (Bloomberg) — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev illustrated his call for a supranational currency to replace the dollar by pulling from his pocket a sample coin of a “united future world currency.”

“Here it is,” Medvedev told reporters today in L’Aquila, Italy, after a summit of the Group of Eight nations. “You can see it and touch it.”

The coin, which bears the words “unity in diversity,” was minted in Belgium and presented to the heads of G-8 delegations, Medvedev said.

The question of a supranational currency “concerns everyone now, even the mints,” Medvedev said. The test coin “means they’re getting ready. I think it’s a good sign that we understand how interdependent we are.”

Medvedev has repeatedly called for creating a mix of regional reserve currencies as part of the drive to address the global financial crisis, while questioning the U.S. dollar’s future as a global reserve currency. Russia’s proposals for the G-20 meeting in London in April included the creation of a supranational currency.

There’s actually a website for this “United Future World Currency“ .   According to Article 1 of the Manifesto—

ART. 1

“Unity in diversity” is the foundation that drives this initiative, which started up in 1996. Its aim is to bring people together and go beyond national stereotypes. Its historical importance is even greater than its economic one; it is a goal built on faith, common hope, and the unification of cultural and spiritual roots.

So, this project was underway in 1996??????

If you go to The Long Path section, you’ll see the history of this project.  Here’s an excerpt:

In 1996, Sandro Sassoli had the brilliant idea that the “Ecu”, as the Euro was then known, was not the only opportunity for linking different countries together. Dr. Sassoli is an Italian journalist with a number of high-profile projects to his name. He worked on the ITALIA 90 World Cup campaign, promoting a range of products tied to the official mascot and logo, and inventing the Platinum Ball Trophy. As Chief of Special Programs, he developed a “Year 2000 Medals” project on behalf of the Italian State Mint. He was also responsible for the “Gold Books” program, which featured pages in real gold, and official celebrations to mark the end of the Italian Lira (The Last Day of the Lira at Rome’s Trevi fountain, and the Monument to the Lira, made by real coins).

Against this professional background, Dr. Sassoli believed that another new currency could be possible in the wake of the new European single currency. Giving the new future currency the draft name “Eurodollar”, Dr. Sassoli believed that the Eurodollar was a natural consequence of the historical ties between Europe and the United States. A centuries-old relationship formed by common roots, views and goals and a similar melting pot of different races.

An ideal Manifesto for the program, comprising 10 articles, was drafted in Brussels in 1996. This document has been modified since then, and is now definitive. (more)

Gee, as a kid, my relatives always brought me lira and I still have some.  Light–very light–coins, as I recall. Like play money…and worth about as much…

Here’s the page showing the “test” coin that was presented at the G-8:

FIRST TEST ISSUE:
OBVERSE the “Number 1” icon is repeated five times, representing the five continents. The border inscription reads “Unity in Diversity” and includes the first issue date of 2009.

Author: Luc Luycx, Royal Mint of Belgium.

REVERSE: the Tree of Life, with five leaves symbolizing local tree species that grow in the five continents. The border inscription reads “United Future World Currency”.

Author: Laura Cretara, former artistic chief of the Italian State Mint.

---

THIS IS FREAKING ME OUT!

But, apparently, the people in the Photo Gallery are all excited about this!

People from various national mints, even Sophia Loren and MARIO CUOMO, all grinning ear to ear!

And, guess what? There is a School Program that’s been involved in coming up with a name and symbol for the currency.

640 children (325 boys and 315 girls) aged between 7 and 18 years took part in an internal competition to come up with a name and symbol for the new currency. This was after they had received input from journalist Sandro Sassoli, creator of this project from its start in 1996 and numerous other events such as official celebrations of the Italian Lira, and from Professor Guido Crapanzano, monetary consultant for the Bank of Italy and representative for Italy on the European Central Bank (ECB)’s international jury which chose the Euro banknote designs.

An international jury, comprising the heads of the world’s leading mints, economists, Nobel-prize winners, and figures from the world of culture and entertainment (including Sophia Loren and Carlo Rambaldi, creator of E.T.), Luc Luycx (creator of the uniform side of the Euro coin), and Hans-Henning  Goehrum and Albert Beck (presidents of the World Money Fair), will have the task of selecting and rewarding the children’s best work on giving the new currency its name and design.

Last validation date: The works have to be sent within 10 May, 2009.

And what is the prize for the winner?

1st work: 1 Gold Banknote, in pure gold 999.9

2nd work: 1 Gold Coin, official tender

3rd work: 1 silver coin, official tender

Getting the hint now about what to do with your dollars?

Russia-China Proposals; “Rebalancing” Global Currency Reserves: Why the U.S. Can’t Take Anything for Granted Re: the Dollar

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

Nothing like tuning into Turner Classic Movies to find the 1936 film “Things to Come,” a version of the H.G. Wells’ novel about a post-World War collapse of Western civilization and rebuilding efforts through that year.

Not very cheery…and neither is the following…

We touched on Timothy Geithner’s “slip” about the dollar, but this article for yesterday’s Guardian details how the proposal China has put forth for a new role for the IMF (International Monetary Fund) is gaining ground.  And the RIA Novosti news outlet (government run), is reporting that Russia wants a conference that will remove the dollar as the world’s reserve currency.

From The Guardian:

Thursday 26 March 2009 14.42 GMT

Global currency flies with push from Russia and slip from Timothy Geithner

The dollar drops back as China’s proposal for an IMF alternative gains ground

Russia plans to hold an international conference to discuss the creation of a global currency to replace the dollar.

According to the RIA news agency, Andrei Denisov, Russia’s first deputy foreign minister, said: “This proposal is aimed at a practical realisation of the idea about a new global accounting unit or a new global currency. It is a question that should be discussed to create a consensus.”

Denisov’s comments came only hours after the US treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, shocked the markets by saying Washington was open to the idea, though he later qualified his remarks.

The debate about a global reserve currency run by the International Monetary Fund was sparked by a proposal from China this week.

snip

China’s bold proposal has been made before by independent economists, but it has until now met with resistance from the US and other countries with large dollar holdings. Zhou has acknowledged that such a shift could take a long time.

Zhou says it could “take a long time” but if you heard Peter Schiff last night on the Jerry Doyle show, you would have heard him say that China alone can do the job.  They’ve already expressed doubts about U.S. Treasury bonds and we reported a couple of days ago that they are not going to be purchasing any more.

Just yesterday a talking head on FOX’s Shepherd Smith show predicted that the dollar wouldn’t be replaced as the world’s currency at the G-20 meeting, but the agenda of that meeting on April 1-2 sounds an awful lot like what’s coming out of China and Russia.  See our prior posts for details (below).

We also covered the Steve Clemons’/New America Foundation-sponsored Economic Policy Symposium held yesterday in D.C. which featured Laura Tyson and George Soros. Unfortunately, every browser I tried crashed repeatedly as I tried to listen and also when I tied to click through the link below to see the agenda.

I guess we have to be satisfied for now with a summary of sorts by someone I know nothing about, a certain Douglas Rediker,  which was posted yesterday after the forum was over. But I still would love to be able to read/listen to whatever is on the site, without it crashing!

Here’s an excerpt from Rediker’s short post…I suggest reading the whole thing because it has some hard numbers of interest. He takes a different view than Schiff does on what China can do or will do, but the warning is clear (my bolding):

http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/2009/03/rebalancing_glo/

Rebalancing Global Currency Reserves

Thursday, Mar 26 2009, 2:05PM

At this morning’s superb economic event at the New America Foundation and in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday, there was a lot of discussion about China’s recent proposal to consider a move away from the US dollar and towards the use of a new “super-sovereign reserve currency.” The intention according to China’s central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, would be to ultimately “create an international reserve currency that is disconnected from individual nations and is able to remain stable in the long run.”

SNIP

…The short term risk is not that China is about to dump its dollar holdings. Rather, it is the trading floors and fund managers around the world, whose job it is to be ahead of the curve, who may well start to re-weight their holdings on the marginally increased probability that this re-weighting might actually occur in the future. As the numbers above suggest, even a relatively small shift could represent a meaningful shift of capital and resulting impact on the dollar’s value.

There are, of course, multiple forces at work in foreign exchange markets and, among the sure-fire ways to lose money in this world are: 1) to play currency markets and 2) to bet against the US and the US dollar. Nevertheless, the fact that this is now likely to be a discussion topic on the agenda for the London Summit, suggests that the US should not take for granted that the US dollar will retain its current role in the world forever. Currencies are traditionally viewed as a reflection of a country’s economic strength. The US cannot lose sight of the crucial role that the “exorbitant privilege” to print the world’s currency provides and do what it can to ensure that this privilege is not lost. We can’t take anything for granted.

Feeling better now? I’m not…

***

Related Posts:

The Scanner–International Edition, March 24, 2009: Say Goodbye to the Dollar? China, Russia Proposing a New World Currency for “Non-Credit” Based Economies, Echo G-20 Agenda of Expanding IMF; China Will “Consider” Buying IMF Bonds; 10th China Develpment Forum Underway (UPDATE 1X–Geithner Supports China Proposal??)

The Scanner-Politics: March 25, 2009 (G-20; Glenn Beck’s “The One Thing” Segment on the Dollar [Video]; “The Big Takeover”; Al Gore Releasing New Book on Election Day 11/3/2009; Augie the Dog Sends a Deposit to the U.S. Treasury)

A Reminder: Live Streaming of the First “Bernard L. Schwartz Economic Policy Symposium” Today (3/26) With a Rather Interesting Group & Agenda (To End “Fumbling” on Economic Policy)