That required changing only three denominations of coins, and no notes.

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The average monthly sales figure for the coins in the first three months of 2013 are about 32, 513 ounces and the average monthly sales figures for the bars are 23, 295 ounces.

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Unlike Las Vegas, where most of the profits come from coins fed into slot machines, three-quarters of the revenue in Macau is derived from the enormous bets made in the V.

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For a start, the technical difficulties of reintroducing a national currency, reprogramming computers and vending machines, minting coins and printing notes are huge (three years' preparation was needed for the euro).

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The find includes three bronze cannons, thousands of Spanish and Portuguese gold coins, and several tonnes of elephant tusks.

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It is difficult to say how many licensed coin dealers are telling their customers they don't have what they need, but earlier this year, Ute Wartenberg-Kagan, executive director of the American Numismatic Society, said she was asked by an investor how one could buy 10, 000 coins (they are sold in ounce quantities and three fractional versions below that, at a price that is slightly above market value).

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