Royal Mint

• Washington, DC, Feb. 05, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The United States Mint (Mint) will begin accepting pre-orders for products in the 2024 Liberty & Britannia Program on February 8, 2024, at noon EST.
• United States Mint Chief Engraver Joseph Menna and The Royal Mint Chief Engraver, Gordon Summers, have created a stunning design celebrating the harmony of the figures while giving each equal prominence in the design.
• The United States Mint is offering a 24-karat High Relief Gold Proof Coin and a 99.9 percent Silver Proof Medal featuring these collaborative designs.
• Inscriptions on the gold proof coin reverse are “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,” “LIBERTY AND BRITANNIA,” “E PLURIBUS UNUM,” “AU 24 1OZ.,” “IN GOD WE TRUST,” and the denomination, “$100.”  Inscriptions on the silver proof medal reverse are “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” and “LIBERTY AND BRITANNIA.”
  Product options, pricing, and order limits are below.

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are in dire straits. With the market in a severe downturn, it’s safe to assume the NFT bubble has well and truly burst. It was never clear why these digital collectables traded for such large amounts of money. Now they mostly do not. What’s behind their turn of fate? And is there any hope for their future?

What are NFTs?

• “Non-fungible” means unique, as opposed to a “fungible” item such as a five-dollar bill, which is the same as every other five-dollar bill.
• Digital assets are easily copied, so an NFT is essentially a receipt showing you have paid for something that other people can get for free.
• Both sets consist of 10,000 similar-looking but unique figures, distinguished by differing hairstyles, hats, skin colours and so forth.

Why did people buy NFTs?

• Even the venerable auction house Sotheby’s, founded in 1744, jumped on the NFT bandwagon.
• Sotheby’s sold 101 Bored Ape NFTs for more than US$20 million in September 2021.
• As with Bitcoin and similar speculative tokens, the primary driver for buying NFTs was greed.
• Then came the Beanie Baby and dotcom booms of the late 1990s – and more recently, meme stocks and Terra-Luna cryptocurrency.

The NFT crash

• Prices in the NFT market have also seen huge falls.
• One high-profile example is an NFT of the first tweet by then-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.
• Crypto entrepreneur Sina Estavi bought this NFT for US$2.9 million in March 2021.
• What drove the NFT collapse?
• Last year, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced, when he was chancellor of the exchequer (their equivalent of treasurer), the Royal Mint would produce an NFT.

Gone for good?

• Some subjects of past bubbles are still around.
• Poseidon shares, which ran up from 80 cents in September 1969 to $280 in February 1970, are still listed (and currently trading for 2 cents).
• They will probably join the Dutch tulips and dotcoms in the history of speculative follies.

• Working closely with Team Wales, Mauve will support talent from across the country as young athletes prepare for the upcoming Trinbago Youth Games.
• This partnership reflects Mauve Cymru's commitment to supporting local talent and championing Wales on an international platform.
• Over the next 3 years, Mauve Cymru will take part in Team Wales initiatives that give back to the communities in Wales that laid the foundations for its business.
• Sharing her enthusiasm, Rebecca Edwards-Symmons, CEO of Team Wales said:
  "I am thrilled that Mauve are a platinum partner of Team Wales and really look forward to working closely with Ann and her team."

• BIRMINGHAM, England, July 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- UK Metals Expo ( www.ukmetalsexpo.com ), the premier event for the metal manufacturing and engineering sectors, will take place on 13th and 14th September at the NEC in Birmingham, UK.
• A thriving home-based metals sector is the cornerstone of our success, and this Expo will act as a catalyst, fostering collaborations and driving innovation across industries, forging a path towards a greener and more sustainable future," declared Lord Rupert Redesdale, UK Metals Expo Chair.
• UK Metals Expo is the premier marketplace for both domestic and international exhibitors in the industry.
• Best of all, the exhibition, conference, and networking opportunities at UK Metals Expo are completely free!