Another new book - Saudi Gold - Draft cover design 1 1

[Zebo]

I was just wondering about that - good to hear.

[GoldFinger1969]

On 5/8/2022 at 9:49 PM, RWB said:

It has not been printed and released yet. I delayed publication, but am now making the final edits and proof reading. Should go to the printer by the end of the week. Trying to hold price down without cutting quality.

If folks are interested in this topic and appreciate your work, I can't believe a few $$$ is going to impact their buying decision.

Your Saints book wasn't cheap but I consider it among the best $$$ I ever spent on a book. 

[RWB]

The Saudi Gold story is one chapter in the book - not the entire contents. Here's the first page of that chapter, and a later page:

 

 

Edited May 10, 2022 by RWB

[Alex in PA.]

This is an excellent post.  Another of my 'Learning

[Woods020]

Roger I’m sure you saw the recent article in coinweek on the Saudi Gold. Ironically I saw the first one in the wild for sale this week. Ugly critters but a neat story. 
 

https://coinweek.com/coins/unique-unusual/unusual-items-us-mint-gold-disks-made-for-oil-payments-to-saudi-arabia/?fbclid=IwAR3XpU7j0f8eYRDWDSuPzEMPO_VguDCAJ4UBum8bOQZcUwCN50xdh3xGkCc

 

[RWB]

On 5/13/2022 at 10:25 PM, Woods020 said:

Roger I’m sure you saw the recent article in coinweek on the Saudi Gold. Ironically I saw the first one in the wild for sale this week. Ugly critters but a neat story. 
 

https://coinweek.com/coins/unique-unusual/unusual-items-us-mint-gold-disks-made-for-oil-payments-to-saudi-arabia/?fbclid=IwAR3XpU7j0f8eYRDWDSuPzEMPO_VguDCAJ4UBum8bOQZcUwCN50xdh3xGkCc

 

The glued together article and the two "source" articles are mostly nonsense. Here's a 1-sovereign equivalent disc that I own. Obverse is mostly PL around the inscription and reverse is PL in untextured areas. The "grade" is MS-64, but it's one of the best I've found. I'd love to find an equivalent condition 4-sovereign piece.

Yes, I "overpaid" for the disc because I wanted quality and not merely some paper label. The owner of the 1933 DE will fully understand.

 

Edited May 29, 2022 by RWB

[Henri Charriere]

Yikes! It's got more gold than a Rooster 🐓 and is finer, to boot.   Well done. Very well done! 👏 

[Zebo]

Roger, any update on the book? Came across this photo which prompted my question. 

[RWB]

Saudi Gold and other Tales from the Mint, has been received from the printer. I am also sending copies to the ANA Library for loans to members, and my local county Library for nationwide Interlibrary Loan (ILL). Copies are on their way to hobby publications for review.

The cover and an excerpt (above) have already been posted. Go to the Coin Marketplace forum to read the press release.

Edited March 3, 2023 by RWB

[GoldFinger1969]

I wonder how Saudi Arabai, the folks at Bretton Wood, or anybody could really "trust" the U.S. government on a gold pledge after what they did in 1933 ?

[RWB]

On 3/3/2023 at 6:23 PM, GoldFinger1969 said:

I wonder how Saudi Arabai, the folks at Bretton Wood, or anybody could really "trust" the U.S. government on a gold pledge after what they did in 1933 ?

The free market in gold was already above $27 when the surrender EO was published. You're somehow confusing trying to maintain a gol;d standard agains the entire rest of the world, with imminent failure of the American economy..... I do not understand the narrowness.

[GoldFinger1969]

On 3/3/2023 at 7:17 PM, RWB said:

The free market in gold was already above $27 when the surrender EO was published. You're somehow confusing trying to maintain a gol;d standard agains the entire rest of the world, with imminent failure of the American economy..... I do not understand the narrowness.

I just look at it as breaking one's word.  Doing lots of reading on the months before and after EO 6102 and it's fascinating.  I'll report back when I do more DD.

[RWB]

In 1933 the only other "country" on a circulation gold exchange standard was South Africa -- which was a dependency of Britain.

[GoldFinger1969]

On 3/3/2023 at 10:02 PM, RWB said:

In 1933 the only other "country" on a circulation gold exchange standard was South Africa -- which was a dependency of Britain.

Yeah, the book mentions some of the smaller "holdouts" but once the U.S. and U.K. went off that was all she wrote.

[RWB]

On 3/4/2023 at 1:34 AM, GoldFinger1969 said:

Yeah, the book mentions some of the smaller "holdouts" but once the U.S. and U.K. went off that was all she wrote.

Meaning --- there was no longer any international "standard" or valuation fix to monies. The purpose of an internal standard price of gold was gone, also. The conservative-pragmatic approach to such a situation is to get rid of something (especially an expense) that no longer operates or is not needed.

[GoldFinger1969]

On 3/4/2023 at 12:06 PM, RWB said:

Meaning --- there was no longer any international "standard" or valuation fix to monies. The purpose of an internal standard price of gold was gone, also. The conservative-pragmatic approach to such a situation is to get rid of something (especially an expense) that no longer operates or is not needed.

At the time, it was probably needed.  I don't think a gold standard works today and is impractical in dealing with exogenous shocks (2008, 2020).

Forcing sales of gold is entirely separate IMO and my main beef with FDR.

[RWB]

If most countries were not using it, it was not needed in the US either.  It meant that if the US Govt held domestic price at $20.67, and the non-US price floated above that, then every ounce would be exported. If the Govt prohibited export, the market would shift to smuggling. It put the US in speculative conflict. Prohibition was a good example of the US trying and failing to buck everyone else.

[RWB]

Details on the new book are on the Coin Marketplace.

But, members can ask questions here.

[RWB]

There's a nice review in Coin World for this week.

[Zebo]

On 3/12/2023 at 8:44 PM, RWB said:

There's a nice review in Coin World for this week.

Haven’t seen the review, but the book should be here any day. Look forward to reading it. 
 

The chapters are an interesting progression and I’m particularly eager to see what you share in the last chapter. Interesting end.

Edited March 13, 2023 by Zebo

[roadbike]

I'll want to read this book.

 

Might you consider, instead of a white color as the background on the book jacket, a beige or "light gold" background?

[RWB]

On 3/25/2023 at 3:55 PM, roadbike said:

I'll want to read this book.

 

Might you consider, instead of a white color as the background on the book jacket, a beige or "light gold" background?

The book has already been printed. More detail is on the Coin Marketplace forum.

I specifically wanted a bright white on the cover to make the green text "pop out" a little. Beige-range colors tend to indicate bland or generic -- that's why home builders use beige carpet and paint.

[Zebo]

On 3/25/2023 at 4:12 PM, RWB said:

The book has already been printed. More detail is on the Coin Marketplace forum.

I specifically wanted a bright white on the cover to make the green text "pop out" a little. Beige-range colors tend to indicate bland or generic -- that's why home builders use beige carpet and paint.

I have the book and the green does pop! 

[Henri Charriere]

[@roadbike:  Pardon my impertinence, but as someone with a life-long intermittent familiarity with publishers who edit at will, excise entire chapters--and even have a say in the title you choose and how many pages your book must have, how would you feel if you walked into a bike shop and it were suggested (as Henry Ford famously said) you could have any color bike you want as long as it's black?]

Edited March 25, 2023 by Quintus Arrius
Insertion of closing bracket.

[RWB]

To me, roadbike asked a reasonable question to which I gave a reasonable and truthful answer. It's a useful kind of question because it's part of design and color which are important factors in attracting attention and in presenting the author's attitude and approach to the subject. Several years ago, while working on the CD-book, Silver Dollars Struck Under the Pittman Act of 1918, I was trying out different cover designs. The first was of a Colorado silver mine, albeit, abandoned. It was a stark but eye catching image....,much as melted silver dollars were a reminder of a era past.

Yet, as I looked more closely, the design was cluttered -- too many parts and shapes. It was also ominous in rust and gray. Colors and triangular image were excellent, but.....it was not "right" for the subject. So I went back to WW 1 designs and looked for stronger symbolism. I found that in a poster showing an American eagle placing a crown of laurel ("victory") on the British lion's brow....wasn't our Pittman Act part of that victory, part of supporting our allies, part of rewarding freedom over totalitarianism? (Will America be able to crown a free Ukrainian tryzub with laurel in the same manner?)

The original was black and beige - no other color. I recolored the laurel and mimicked the eagle's head color with a darker shade background. The composition is direct, simple and evocative of respect and shared responsibility. Here, roadbike's suggestion made perfect sense emphasizing a tight vertical column ending with broad eagle wings.

Roadbike and Quintus each make valid points, and it's nice for me to have an opportunity to delve into how and why I choose certain cover designs.

Edited March 26, 2023 by RWB

[RWB]

As for the current book -- the design is simple, direct and emphasizes a subject of vast confusion to coin collectors here and in Europe. The green text is part of that and is the same color as in the Saudi flag. It is all intended to catch the eye of someone looking at a book display at a coin show or a dealer's store.

[roadbike]

On 3/25/2023 at 6:11 PM, Quintus Arrius said:

[@roadbike:  Pardon my impertinence, but as someone with a life-long intermittent familiarity with publishers who edit at will, excise entire chapters--and even have a say in the title you choose and how many pages your book must have, how would you feel if you walked into a bike shop and it were suggested (as Henry Ford famously said) you could have any color bike you want as long as it's black?]

Please don't apologize, posts like yours keep the discussion going. When a publisher edits, changes chapter, etc. it usually mean that they care about the book very much. To do this uses much precious time that editors etc. lack. It might be a good idea if all bikes were the same color--then consumers could examine all the technical qualities of the bikes. 

Sadly, I bought a carbon frame bike because of the color and later learned carbon frames can break if you drop a wrench on them. Wish I had known about the difference between aluminum bike frames and carbon ones.

[RWB]

Your carbon frame bike broke? Yikes! Sorry to hear that.

[roadbike]

Not yet--but I've been warned. I really miss my old Schwinn!