Security Features of U.S. Paper Money

There are 6 key features that identify real bills and protect the falsification of American money.

• Serial Numbers & EURion Constellation
The most basic form of security on an $100 bill is the serial number. Every bill has a unique number to record data on its production and keep track of how many individual bills are in circulation.

The EURion constellation is star-like grouping of yellow rings near the serial number. It is only detectable by imaging software.

• Color Changing Ink
This ink changes color at different angles thanks to small metallic flakes within the ink itself. The $100 bill, like all other paper bills in the U.S., has its value denoted in color changing ink on the bottom right-hand corner; unlike other bills, it also features a liberty bell image using the ink.

To read the complete article, see:
Visualized: The Security Features of American Money(https://www.visualcapitalist.com/security-features-american-money/)

Egyptian Amulet Found

Students on a field trip hosted by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) in Azor, five miles southeast of Tel Aviv, witnessed archaeology in action when the group's leader Gilad Stern happened upon a 3,000-year-old amulet.

Stern was guiding eighth grade students on the IAA's third annual expedition, educating them about archaeological finds around Azor and beyond, when he saw what first looked like a lost toy on the ground. Stern told the Jerusalem Post.

To read the complete article, see:
A Group of Eighth-Graders on a Field Trip Near Tel Aviv Stumbled Upon a 3,000-Year-Old Sacred Egyptian Amulet(https://news.artnet.com/art-world/student-field-trip-egyptian-amulet-israel-antiquities-authority-2221001)

Atocha Emerald

For years, Mitzi Perdue looked down at her hand and saw history.

The emerald stone on her ring finger told a story stretching back nearly four centuries, to the sinking of a Spanish galleon near the Florida Keys in 1622 and a decades-long effort of a colorful undersea treasure hunter named Mel Fisher to retrieve its payload of gold and silver coins, gold nuggets and jewelry.

It reminded her, too, of her late husband, the chicken magnate Frank Perdue, who received a share of the bounty in return for his investment in Mr. Fisher's search.

Now, 400 years after the Nuestra Señora de Atocha sank in a hurricane, Ms. Perdue, 81, is putting the emerald up for auction on Wednesday at Sotheby's in New York City. All proceeds from the sale of the ring, which Sotheby's says has an estimated value of $50,000 to $70,000, will be donated to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, prompted by Ms. Perdue's visit there this year after the Russian invasion.

To read the complete article, see:
Owner Parts With Rare Emerald From 1622 Shipwreck to Help Ukraine(https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/03/us/emerald-auction-perdue.html)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NUMISMATIC NUGGETS: NOVEMBER 27, 2022 : SS Central America Gold Ring(https://www.coinbooks.org/v25/esylum_v25n48a21.html)