European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 28, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday january 2b, 1987 the stars and stripes Kitchen caper temporarily abandoning politics for culinary chores British prime minister Margaret Thatcher wears in Pron she prepares ii meal with red cabbage in her Kitchen at 10 dawning Freel Lon Don whatever the meal she s cooking up it s ice Duke to appear soon on a bbl to program. Sales of Eagle coins assure . Profit Washington up buyer worldwide have snapped up nearly 8 i million Gold and Silver coins in the three months since the , mini began producing them virtually assuring the government will gel Al least the j8 million profit it expected demand for the Gold and Silver coins Lias been so great thai he government did not even bother to advertise until two months after minting began and then Only to Tell people to be patient forthe coins. Sales also have led to the reopening of american mines and to Hopes by mint director Donna Pope that the Eagle coins will dethrone Canada s Maple Leaf series As the world s top Selling Bullion coins. Pope said last week that when Sale begun in october she expected to pro Duce about 2.2 million ounces Worth of coins the first year. But the initial inventory was gone in two Days and within three non los the mint sold 1.8 million ounces. The sales were overwhelming far far greater than anybody had expected she said the Gold coins come in sizes of one tenth one Quarter one half and a full ounce while the Silver is available on Yin the one ounce format. Pieces carry face values ranging from$1 for the Silver Coin to $50 for the one ounce Gold piece and thai is How much they would buy if used at the supermarket it costs much More to Purchase the mat a Coin shop however. The Price is hosed on the current value of Gold an Silver plus dealer markup. An ounce of Gold Cost about 5405 per ounce in Lon Don on monday while Silver Cost nearly $6 per  october and Early january the mint sold nearly  million of the Silver coins 1.35 million of the one ounce Gold pieces and 2 million More Gold coins in smaller denominations. The mint recorded $785 million insoles from those coins but nearly All of that income went to buy the Gold an Silver used. By Law nearly All the raw product for the coins must come fro american mines and not from .  mint clean about a 1 percent profit on the Sale of each one ounce Goldcoin a bit More on he other issues and even More on special editions such Althe highly polished proofs that Coin collectors  initially estimated an $8 million profit if 2,2 million ounces were sold in year. Now with actual income sure to be far higher she also is assured of Clea Ingmore profit. Beth Doisher editor of Coin world Magazine in Sidney Ohio said the likelihood that relatively few coins would be minted the first year helped generate in Terest in  of the fractional coins Bear ing less than an ounce had close to500,000 vintages she said. For the statue of Liberty coins there were500,000 sold and they More than Dou bled their initial Price. This could be therase for the 1986  Deisher credited the targe sales in Pareto pent up demand for Gold coins thai began when president Reagan banned imports of South Africa s Kru Gnand in september 1985. Britain rings on despite phone Engineer strike London up Britain s Telephone Engineer claimed almost 100 percent support monday for their nationwide strike Over pay and conditions but British telecoms the Telephone Utility reported no major problems. The Telephone network is pretty resilient a Tele com spokesman said. We Are confident that we can manage to maintain an adequate service for some considerable  he said no major problems were reported in Lon Don s financial District where stockbrokers and finance houses rely on computerized trading data transmitted by special Telephone lines. Some 34,000 engineering executives arc exacted Tobe at work repairing major breakdowns servicing big customers and maintaining emergency services. But executives had to break Down the doors to gel to work at some exchanges in the area because saboteurs had blocked up he locks with glue a spokesman said. There is almost 100 percent support for the strike and in addition some 7,000 clerical workers refused to Cross picket lines said a spokeswoman for i Restrike organizers the National communications Union. The Union was getting reports of breakdowns fro mall Over the country the spokeswoman said. North Wales was one area badly hit she said. Line relaying data about heat Levels at two nuclear Power stations had broken Down and an air sea Rescue service also was without phone links she said. The Union has promised to repair lines involving life and death emergencies. Ii called out the nation s 110,000 Telephone Engi neers on strike at Midnight sunday. They stopped work because British telecoms refused to reinstate engineers who took part in walkouts in the past two weeks. The Core of the dispute is about pay and working conditions. British telecoms has offered the engineers a 7 percent pay Rise but this is tied to new working conditions involving greater Job flexibility. The pay offer would Ake the average Telephone Engineer s pay up from about s16,500 to around 117,700, a British telecoms spokesman said. British telecoms was formerly a state run Utility until the government sold it to the Public in 1984 in a record Stock Market donation. It still retains a near monopoly of Telephone communications in Britain. Approves of Dollar s orderly de Washington Secretary James Baker says the do orderly decline is Good for the econ omy particularly in terms of the nation s massive Trade deficit see conversion rates on Page 77. Baker said sunday he is pleased bythe drop in the Dollar relative to other major currencies and White asserting it has not been in a free fall he refused to say where it should  nation s Trade deficit a major concern for the administration Wil Benefit by the Dollar s reasonable and orderly decline Over the past i months he said. When the Dollar sign goods become  for . Cpn$umers4tanonsira1ed Bihe Price  cars. At the same Rincan goods become less Exon foreign markets Lilc saying he was not talking Down the Dollar Baker also said he Klieves Japan and Germany the two partners whose currencies have the Dollar could do More  global economic balance to Milr Bow a Jirden from the american  also said there May Alsea the United states can do incl upcoming to grips with budget adj per the new York  Sun Day that  it incr Way be tween  and its four lie allies the group of to discuss the Dollar and the effect their economic policies have on  times citing unidentified euro Pean and japanese diplomatic sources said a Likely time for such a meeting is feb. 7, and the Likely location is Paris but noted that any one of the five coun tries the United states Japan Ger Many Britain and France could pre vent such a meeting. Treasury spokeswoman Tutwiler after c report was  As say ing or. Bake Ibbs not comment on is rqb0tfpne Way or , appearing on abcs meet press said an earlier report Sinyork times was not in and Borders on being Irres Milc in its implications about  s for a proper level for the Ollaf the times report Mous official said that Baker meeting monday would Tell president Reagan that the accelerated fall of the Dollar has been Good for the Economy and that Baker is not concerned by last week s wild Trad ing on Wall  about the Sharp drop of the Dollar against the japanese yen and Mark. Baker said "1seen the Dollar in a free  be characterized the drop of the Pas week As a period of  but he said you can t talk about what you might or might not do be cause currency markets draw Unwar ranted inferences from official com  to say what Levels might prompt administration action to Shore up the Dollar. Baker said . Officials know there can be trouble if the Dollar Falls Loo far Loo fast. Such a plunge he said could rekindle inflation and increase the Cost of l payments on the s2 trillion a " i of which is owed to overseas Bui he  has remained Low and the Shirrill i Lollar value had absolutely no Dis enable effect on debt service costs