TNAG-0717-FCO40-914-Banking-and-monetary-matters-in-the-Dependent-Territories-is-1978 — Page 109

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8. RESULTS OF SURVEY

Contractual terms agreed with promotional companies

8.1

We now turn to a detailed analysis of the contractual

arrangements for the issue of numismatic coins. As expected, the

survey has pointed to a number of fundamental differences between the

US and UK types of contract. In the context of this report "the US promotional" companies are understood to comprise Paramount, Franklin,

World Coin and Italcambio. Other, smaller companies exist. Although

only Franklin has its registered office in the US, their operations

reveal certain similarities and are based substantially on the North

American market. The similarities in the activities of Paramount, Franklin and World Coin are not surprising since the companies appear to be in association (to a degree not yet determined), possibly because

they regard direct competition as damaging. For instance, in its

contracts with both the Cayman Islands and the Solomon Islands, World

Coin reserves the right to assign to Franklin and/or Paramount its

obligations under the agreement. Of the ten countries covered by the

survey, five have contracted exclusively with US promotional companies,

and three exclusively with either Spink and Son or the Royal Mint. Bermuda alone has used the services of more than one promotional company

(see Annex 4).

Duration

8.2(1) With one exception (Bermuda), every territory contracted to

a non-UK company is committed to grant to the company exclusive rights

for the promotion, production, marketing, distribution, etc., of

numismatic coins outside the country of issue for period in excess of

one year. Although it often happens that a territory concludes a

one-year contract for the issue of a specific coin (e.g., commemoration

of Silver Wedding, Silver Jubilee, etc.) this is generally in the

framework of, or complementary to, a five-year agreement for the.

production of proof sets of the circulatory coinage. In most cases

there is a commitment to sanction annual issues of such proof sets, and

where there is no actual written undertaking it appears that in

practice coins are issued annually.

8.2(2)

In the case of those territories dealing with Spinks and

the Royal Mint there is no formal contract as such, but the agreement depends upon an exchange of letters. There is no commitment to issue

coins at regular intervals and each individual proposal is judged on

its merits.