From esylum at binhost.com Sun Apr 2 22:37:31 2006 From: esylum at binhost.com (esylum@binhost.com) Date: Sun Apr 2 22:38:09 2006 Subject: The E-Sylum v9#14, April 2, 2006 Message-ID: <00ac01c656c7$8f2512d0$0207000a@laptop035> Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 9, Number 14, April 2, 2006: an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society. Copyright (c) 2006, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society. WAYNE'S WORDS Among our recent subscribers is Kate Cahill of Littleton Coin Company. Welcome aboard! We now have 870 subscribers. It's been another good week for interesting firsthand numismatic accounts, research updates and breaking news from various numismatic areas. A new book has been published on Philippine Counterstamped coins, The Colonial Newsletter gains a subtitle, and several readers provide additional information on Thompson's 1783 Essay on Coining. In ancient coins, a 2,000-year-old counterfeit has been unmasked. Research questions this week concern patents for banknote anti-counterfeiting devices, FCC BOYD counterstamps, and the recipient of a particular American Institute medal. You people are sharp when it comes to noticing errors in The E_Sylum. Ray Flanigan took issue with the Wall Street Journal's statement that "The Denver Mint opened in 1862." He writes: "The Denver Mint was not really in existence in 1862. An Assay Office was. The 'mint' didn't come about until 1906 and produced the first coins in 1907." Regarding the title of one of last week's articles, Ken Berger writes: "Since you meant INVERTEBRATE (notice the second E), should we retitle the article TYPO TYPO TIME?" In the believe-it-or-not department, someone's WWII medals, including a Purple Heart, were recently saved from the trash when discovered during the cleanup of decades-old trash from the basement of a service station. All this and more, including previously unpublished stories by Russ Rulau relating to John Ford. And to learn why the Denver Mint employee who runs the furnace that anneals coin blanks shouted "Wooh, wooh!", read on. Have a great week, everyone. Wayne Homren Numismatic Bibliomania Society LAKE BOOKS 84TH SALE CATALOG AVAILABLE Fred Lake writes: "Our 84th mail-bid sale of numismatic literature is now available for viewing on the Lake Books web site. The sale has a full variety of United States auction catalogs including Chapmans, Frossards, B. Max Mehl sales, Steigerwalts, hardbound McCawley-Grellman sales, etc. A large selection of "A Guide Book of United States Coins" (the Redbook) features many of the special editions and one edition signed by Dick Yeo (Richard Yeoman's real name.) Works on Ancient coins and Spanish material are offered and a new section devoted to Orders, Medals, and Decorations contains some beautifully photographed books. Bids may be placed by email, fax, telephone or regular mail. You may view the twenty-page catalog at: http://www.lakebooks.com/current.html" BOOK: FORTICH'S PHILIPPINE COUNTERSTAMPED COINS Howard A. Daniel III writes: "I just received a copy of "Philippine Counterstamped Coins, 1828-1839" by Dr. Quint Jose Ma. Oropilla Y Fortich. It is a large hardbound book with tons of historical and economic history behind the issue of the coins. There are also several original documents from the Philippine National Archives. For anyone who collects the Philippines, Spanish Colonial; Southeast Asia; and economists and historians of the Philippines and Southeast Asia, this book is a must for their library. My copy was obtained from Ray Czahor, the creator of the Philippine Collectors Forums at the ANA Conventions, and there will be one at the Denver ANA. You can contact Ray at CJCPI@ComCast.com or at P.O. Box 597, Columbia, MD 21045-0597, or me at HADaniel3@msn.com." THOMPSON'S 1783 ESSAY ON COINING David Gladfelter writes: "Jim Spilman relied heavily on the information in Thompson's essay (and on Diderot and other sources) for a series of essays titled "An Overview of Early American Coinage Technology" that ran in The Colonial Newsletter from April 1982 through July 1983. The subject was recently revisited by Dr. Philip Mossman, "Error Coins of Pre-Federal America," The Colonial Newsletter, April 2004. The ANS did recently publish, with annotations, a small edition of a manuscript in its collection, written in the 1950s by Damon G. Douglas on New Jersey coppers. Possibly the Thompson manuscript would lend itself to similar study with a view toward possible publication." James C. Spilman writes "I can add a bit of information to the discussion in the The E-Sylum v9#13, March 26, 2006 on THOMPSON'S 1783 ESSAY ON COINING. This holographic manuscript was discovered in the ANS Library in the late 1970s by the late Edward R. Barnsley. Ned and I went to the Library and made a complete set of 35 mm negatives for use in CNL. The first use of any of this material appeared in CNL 62 (April 1982) on pages 765 and 767. The publication of this information made such an impression on Eric P. Newman that I am told he made a special trip to New York, from St. Louis, for the sole purpose of reviewing the document. At the time Frank Campbell was an Assistant Librarian and I remember his buzzing around like an angry bee while we were doing the photography. Subsequently, a photoprint version of the document was produced by CNLF (about 1985) and Xerox copies were placed in the CNL Library and , later, in the C4 library. C4 carried the publication a step further (ca. 1995) by producing a "translation" of the old English script into a typewritten manuscript that made for much easier reading for those unfamiliar with early English script. These edited copies and a Xerox "original" now reside in the C4 Library where they can be checked out on loan to the membership. I am told that quite a number of copies were produced and distributed to all C4 members who wanted one, so there is no lack of copies available today in both the "original" and the edited version. Check with C4 Librarian Leo Shane at Leo_J_Shane@hotmail.com for additional information as to availability." [Many thanks to all who provided information on Thompson's Essay. This is great information, and the kind to thing that makes editing The E-Sylum both fun and rewarding. -Editor] COLONIAL NEWSLETTER RENAMED Actually, the 46-year-old publication "Colonial Newsletter" has a new subtitle: "A Research Journal in Early American Numismatics." In his Message from the Editor Gary Trudgen writes: "After several discussions, the CNL staff unanimously agreed that a subtitle should be added in order to allow new readers and institutions to easily identify the purpose of our periodical. CNL has published some of the most scholarly and seminal studies in early American numismatics over the years. Thus, it was felt that a title change was desirable since today, Newsletter infers a publication with less academic content than we attempt to provide. Therefore, the subtitle, "A Research Journal in Early American Numismatics" is now part of our publication name." THE HENRY CHAPMAN CATALOG FIND AT THE FREE LIBRARY OF PHILADELPHIA Bob Vail published an article about remnants of the Henry Chapman Library in the holdings of the Free Library of Philadelphia in the March 2006 issue of Penny-Wise, the official publication of Early American Coppers, Inc. After Del Bland tipped him off in 1995 to a Numismatist article by Pete Smith mentioning the remnants, Bob made arrangements for the two of them to visit the library during the May 1996 EAC Convention in Philadelphia. "When I called back later, a lady assistant who was listening to my request asked me to hold while she went to check a pile of stuff. Several minutes later she came back on the line and asked me if the name "Matthew Stickney" meant anything to me. DID IT EVER!" "In our wildest imagination we didn't come close to imagining the "goodies" that awaited our perusal." The pair reviewed three carts of books over a two-day period. Bob's article contains a partial list of the material. GEORGE FULD ON THE BAKER LIBRARY SCOVILL ARCHIVES George Fuld writes: "I appreciate Dick Johnson's updates on the Scovill story. Some ten years ago I spent two full days at the Baker library looking over the Scovill archives. I was most disappointed in what I found - there was very little if any information on early tokens or medals. I did find the mintage on a rare New Orleans token, some several thousand (about 5 or 6 now known) I did this for the ANS Coinage of the Americas Conference on Civil War cents in the late nineties. There was little to help the story." [Many thanks to George as well for sharing his recollections with us. Stay tuned for future notes about the Hopkins and Picker per last week's request. -Editor] ROCHESTER CLUB GOES ELECTRONIC Scott Fybush, editor, RNA News writes: "Just a quick note to let you - and your readers - know that the Rochester (NY) Numismatic Association's "RNA News" has made the leap into electronic distribution. Our monthly newsletter is now available as a PDF at our club website, www.the-rna.com, and we're delighted to be able to share it with the rest of the numismatic world. This month's issue celebrates National Coin Week, with the (remarkable, if I do say so) results of our junior club's poster competition, as well as a cautionary tale about what happens when you complain to the local newspaper about those ads they run for overpriced junk coins. We have archives available back to the beginning of 2006, and will soon be supplementing those with issues going back to the relaunch of our newsletter in its current form in 2002. Thanks again for all your hard work on The E-Sylum. I look forward to it every Sunday!" ANTI-COUNTERFEITING PATENT INFORMATION SOUGHT Dave Bowers writes: "In connection with a book I am writing I desire to correspond with anyone who has information regarding some of the more obscure patents and processes regarding anti- counterfeiting. I do not need the Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson ?green tint? of 1857, or the National patent of 1860, or any of Perkins? patents, or Lyman?s or Seropyan?s patent. I would like to learn more about the Congreve Patent Check Plate (used in the USA by New England Bank Note Co., perhaps related to Sir Wm. Congreve of English bank note renown), Star?s patent, Desopyn?s patent, Atwater?s patent, and any related patents. Many of these arose in the 1850s when there was a scare about photographic counterfeits of bank notes. Also, if anyone has some paper scrip notes of New York City, fractional amounts, with dates from May through August 1837, I would be desirous of obtaining some images. Thanks to anyone who can help! Will be in Atlanta at Whitman this coming week, and Thursday and Friday at the ANA Money Show." AMERICAN INSTITUTE MEDAL INFORMATION SOUGHT Lynn Tumulty writes: "I read Katherine Jaeger's article on medals and minting. It was sent to me by a librarian at the New-York Historical Society because I had inquired about the origin of a medal from the American Institute in my possession. Ms Jaeger's update was interesting as well. I'm trying to find out more about this medal. It was awarded to an ancestor of mine in 1867 and it is signed by G.H.L. - George Lovett, her ancestor. It was awarded to F. Gleantzer who I think was a silver or goldsmith for Cartier's in New York working on the molds used to make large sterling silver platters, etc. but I'm not certain. How could I find out more about him and this piece? Can I tap into the records on line? Maybe Ms. Jaeger has run across his name in her research." I forwarded Lynn's query to Katie Jaeger. She writes: "I looked it up in the 1989 Harkness Token and Medal Society article and she has a Harkness 110, the "Large Gold Medal" struck between 1856 and 1867. I asked her to measure it, to confirm the I.D. Harkness says these 35mm medals were intentionally made the same size as the U.S. $20 gold piece, because the institute wanted to use $20 gold pieces as planchets. He states "none have been located in gold," which apparently holds true for her piece, which has pits. It does look to be gilded, however, so was probably intended as a gold medal. I assume her ancestor's fair entry merited some special recognition, to have won the larger medal. I don't have any records for 1867 here, but in 1857, there were only 20 large gold medals awarded (as opposed to 12 small gold, 100 small silver, 114 large silver, and 250 bronze.) It may seem like they awarded medals up the wazoo, but in fact each fair had 2000+ entries so winning a large gold was a real accomplishment. It may well be she will find her ancestor in the newspaper recaps of the fair." Katie in turn forwarded a request to Kay Freeman, who specializes in silver and goldsmith research. Katie adds: "My friend K.O. Freeman with newspaper access found exactly what her ancestor, Gleantzer, won in the 1867 fair recap: "a third premium for a banjo." So her medal is plain ole bronze! Lynn Tumulty writes: "Now I know he didn't invent the banjo, but I can't imagine what he did to one to make it so special." [Can any of our readers suggest additional places to look for information that haven't already been discussed in The E-Sylum? For example, were there printed programs with information on exhibitors? Awards banquet programs? -Editor] ANCIENT COUNTERFEITERS INVENTED EARLY ELECTROPLATE-LIKE TECHNIQUE It is said that counterfeiting is the world's second-oldest profession. A report in the journal Nature pointed out to us by the Explorator Newsletter (via Arthur Shippee) concerns ancient coins recently discovered to be contemporary counterfeits. "An ingenious counterfeit-coin scam has been rumbled by scientists in Italy. But no one is going to jail, because the forgers lived more than 2,000 years ago. Giuseppe Giovannelli of the University of Rome 'La Sapienza' and his colleagues took a close look at what seemed to be a silver coin minted in southern Italy in the third century BC. It turned out to be a lump of lead with a thin silver coating. This is not the first example of counterfeiting in the ancient world, but the researchers say that in this case the silver coating seems to have been created by a sophisticated chemical process. "We are not yet aware of any other counterfeit coins like this one," says Giovannelli. " "A couple of simple counterfeiting methods have been spotted before. Old forgers could cover a metal lump with thin silver foil and heat it to fuse the foil on to the surface. They could also fake the look of a coin by chemically treating the surface of an alloy (which may or may not have contained precious metals) to give it a silvery or golden sheen. But the microscopic structure of the silver layer in this case differs from that produced by either of these methods. Instead it looks like something generated by a much more modern electroplating process, say researchers. Metallurgists of the time are not thought to have known about this technique. To solve the mystery, the Italian researchers devised a treatment that produces an effect similar to electroplating, using only materials known to be available in the third century BC." To read the complete article, see: http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060327/full/060327-8.html INDIA BECOMING A BANKNOTE POWERHOUSE? According to a March 31 article in The Economic Times of India, "India may soon be the popular choice of several nations as a printer of currency. It produces the largest volume of bank notes in the world, at a third of the cost of production of established leaders." "The multi-billion dollar market is now dominated by companies like De la Rue and Royal Mint, both from the UK, Canadian Banknote Company and Orell Fussli Security Printing of Switzerland, among others." "The government has already held discussions with some big banners who have shown keen interest in sourcing some key operations from here. Apart from working on lower costs, the new public sector company also has a highly-trained work force that can churn out notes and coins with advanced security features." To read the complete article, see: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1471677.cms SPECTRUM NUMISMATICS WINS SECRET OHIO CLOSED-BID COIN AUCTION Guess what? According to a March 31 report in The Toledo Blade, "The state of Ohio announced today it rejected a series of closed bids from dealers and instead sold a batch of rare coins and currency connected to a state scandal to Spectrum Numismatics International for $7.5 million. The stock of collectibles was part of a $50 million Ohio Bureau of Workers? Compensation investment with former Toledo-area coin dealer Tom Noe and is now part of the evidence in a criminal case against him. The $7.5 million bid was the pre-set minimum that Spectrum agreed to pay if a so-called auction ? one held over several days in a secret location and open only to select dealers who provided $10,000 deposits ? did not raise more. Six other bidders placed bids totaling nearly $2.03 million on 37 of the 100 lots for sale, said Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro?s office. Bidding was from March 21 to Wednesday." To read the complete article, see http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060331/DEVELOPINGNEWS/60 331019 DENVER MINT WORKER'S CLASS-ACTION SUIT SETTLED According to a report in the Saturday Rocky Mountain News, "Scores of women who say they suffered ... harassment, ... discrimination and retaliation at the Denver Mint will share a settlement of nearly $9 million, it was announced Friday. "Yes!" about 20 of the women shouted Friday afternoon in front of the mint, thrusting their fists in the air, when they were asked what they think of the settlement ending their three-year class-action complaint. Mint officials acknowledged no wrongdoing, but agreed to the settlement to avoid a long, expensive legal battle, said U.S. Mint spokeswoman Becky Bailey in Washington, D.C." "In addition, five tiers of payment have been established, meaning women with the strongest cases will receive the most money, she said." "Violet Lamorie, 41, of Englewood, continues to work at the mint running the furnace that anneals the blanks of the coins. A mother of four, ages 8 to 22, she has been with the mint for 11 years and was elated when she learned of the settlement Thursday. "Wooh, wooh!" she recalled shouting when she heard of the Proposed settlement. Lamorie said she hopes the work environment will continue to improve for her and all employees, female and male." To read the complete story, see: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4588003,0 0.html JP MORGAN CHASE'S NUMISMATIC HOLDINGS A subscriber writes: "Referring to the article which appeared in this week's E-sylum about the $10,000 bill, I read the original article in the Krause Newsletter. I was a frequent visitor to the Chase Manhattan Money Museum as a kid back in the 1950's. I think these visits whetted my numismatic appetite and accelerated my desire to be a more advanced collector. While reading the Krause article, I was struck by the fact that JP Morgan Chase didn't own a $10,000 bill. This would have been a wonderful item for the museum, a real drawing card for the public, and with the portrait of the bank's namesake. I couldn't believe they didn't have one of these. I e-mailed Gene Hessler, the last curator of the museum. He said the Chase Manhattan Money Museum had owned a $10,000 and also had a $100,000 bill on loan from the Treasury. As you probably know, the $10,000's are legal for anyone to own, whereas the $100,000's were only for Treasury and Federal Reserve use. According to Gene, when the museum folded, the only material he could convince the bank to retain in their archives were the items pertaining to the bank's history (such as National Bank notes of banks absorbed by Chase Manhattan). Commenting on the Krause article's statement that the bank is considering a new museum, Gene said they would never be able to approach what they once had. As I recall, the museum was founded during the 1920's by acquiring the collection of Farran Zerbe, who then became the museum's first curator." CONGRESSMAN PROPOSES ADMISSION FEES FOR SMITHSONIAN MUSEUMS Washington, D.C. is a tourist's paradise because of the 160 year old free-admission policy at the Smithsonian museums. But visiting the National Numismatic Collection display and other exhibits could someday require an admission fee if a Congressman has his way. "The suggestion, by Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.), came during congressional hearings at which a Smithsonian official said the complex is crumbling because there is not enough money for critical repairs. "Personally, I don't understand why we don't charge a fee," said Moran, a member of the appropriations panel that approves Smithsonian funding." To read the complete story, see: http://tinyurl.com/o4zsa [It would be sad to see the tradition end, but I think it's only fair that visitors help pay part of the burden. Similarly, as a longstanding practice, most coin shows charge no admission fee. But a number of larger shows do charge a fee and it's the accepted practice for virtually every other type of trade fair from gun shows to bridal shows to home shows. Over time the market dictates the appropriate amount for an admission fee - shows that try to charge too much will see their attendance drop. But an appropriately modest admission fee would not scare away many interested attendees and would help offset the costs of running the show. -Editor] JOURNAL FOR DIE ENGRAVERS SOUGHT Web site visitor Alon Dagan writes: "I am a sculptor-engraver located in Israel. I run my own private die shop. I read your article about the reducing machines in The E-Sylum and I wish to know, if you can recommend a magazine/website that I can subscribe to, that talks about information and development in the coin production industry? If there isn't one, how can I stay updated?" I forwarded Alon's query to Dick Johnson, our resident minting technology expect. Dick writes: "There is an American monthly publication, The Engravers Journal, which, unfortunately is more for businesses that have equipment which does flat engraving for the award industry, not the modulated engraving required for dies. There is a bright spot on the horizon, however. A new museum of coin and medal engraving and all related technology has been created here in America, Gallery Mint Museum. A major portion is concerned with die preparation. One of their proposed projects is just such a publication you are seeking. It should be first published in a year or two. Here are some contacts: The Engravers Journal P.O. Box 318 Brighton, Michigan 48116-0318 U.S.A. website: http://engraversjournal.com/ Subscription is expensive, $125 US for international air mail. Further subscription information on the website. Ron Landis, President Gallery Mint Museum P.O. Box 101 Eureka Springs, Arkansas 72632 U.S.A. website: http://www.gallerymint.com" THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS FANTASIES Regarding Dave Bowers' mention of the "Republic of Texas" doubloons in last week's issue, Rich Hartzog writes: "On behalf of Greg Brunk, I'd like to note that the Brunk "Merchant and Privately Countermarked Coins" book lists four "Republic of Texas" pieces in the Fantasies section, along with the Union Mine fantasies, both made from the same punches. The Brunk collection of countermarked coins, and many other rare US and World medals and tokens are coming up at auction in our Fall 2006 sale 2006 - watch our web site for more details: http://www.exonumia.com. Happy Collecting!" WESTERN ASSAY INGOT RESEARCH UPDATE Regarding John Kleeberg's discovery of a reference to Paul Franklin's counterfeiting arrest, Fred Holabird writes: "This article contains a very important discovery, which must be addressed. It does not, however, make all western assay ingots fake. We must continue to let science do the talking, and make the discoveries regarding authenticity through applied science. We are on an important road to discovery, but we aren't there yet. There are a number of spurious ingots, both silver and gold, that have gone through the marketplace, that have caused all of us serious concern. As technology develops, we hope to find ways to uncover the secrets of antiquarian metallurgy. Our current metals fingerprinting work, which involves colleagues from major gold-producing regions around the globe, involves looking at gold and silver on an isotopic level allowing us to "source" the metal. We are currently building that database, which is costly, but very necessary. Already we have made significant discoveries regarding some spurious ingots, but much more work is required. Another important goal is a communal effort of experimentation trying to "date" the metal "pours" by looking at various isotope ratios, etc. that may lead to the proximal date an ingot was poured (simply put, visualize Carbon-14 dating, of which you all are familiar). If we are successful, we can then test the questionable pieces, as well as known legitimate ingots. Some of this methodology has already been used in geology to date the formation of specific minerals in rocks. The problems with new research are many. First and foremost is funding. We need independent funding for this research that can be applied in both the US and Australia, which appears to eliminate, at least in part, the NSF. Private funding is desirable, because it is quite simply a faster means to achieve a goal. Our team currently is composed of gold experts from around the world. Myself, David Fitch, John Watling (University of Western Australia) and an incredible group from Lawrence Livermore Labs involving Gerald English and his colleagues, who have been working in a parallel direction on similar problems. While we are still in the planning stages regarding the dating issue, we all are of the opinion that it must be investigated. Meanwhile, we might find other solutions to the problem after we all get together for a think-tank session later this spring." F.C.C. BOYD COUNTERSTAMPED BUST HALF INFORMATION SOUGHT Ray Flanigan writes: "I'm looking for some help on F.C.C. Boyd. I recently came across a Bust Half with FCC BOYD counterstamped across the face. Boyd was a prominent numismatist in the early 1900s, joined the ANA and served 3 terms as President of the New York Numismatic Club. That's where my meager library left me. Does anyone know of sources of information on FCC Boyd or how the coins came to be counterstamped? My email address is RFlanigan@ec.rr.com" [We've published some information on Boyd in previous E-Sylum issues; here are a few of interest: F.C.C.BOYD http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v06n20a08.html WHAT DOES THE F. C. C. STAND FOR? http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v06n21a02.html JOHN J. FORD JR. COLLECTION CATALOG PUBLISHED http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v06n39a02.html This last article, referring to the Ford I sale by Stack's (October 14, 2003) notes that "Many of Ford's key coins came from the estate of F.C.C. Boyd, and the catalog includes a 3-page essay on Boyd." Perhaps one of the Bust Half collectors among our readership can tell us more about Boyd's counterstamped halves. -Editor] WHY THERE WILL ALWAYS BE MARDI GRAS DOUBLOONS Paul MacAuley writes: "I was pleasantly surprised to read your comments about Mardi Gras doubloons, since this gives me cover to admit that I actually collect some of these cheap ?throws?. I?m only a tangential doubloon collector -- my specialty is Confederate-themed coins, and so far I?ve found about 35 doubloons that meet my criteria. I estimate that there are 3,000 to 10,000 different doubloons out there. This topic could really use a good book or two. It would make some of the most colorful reading in the entire numismatic literature. The doubloons themselves are gaudy fun, but the stories of the hundreds of krewes and characters who produced these doubloons could fill a dozen books. The only books I?ve found are basically checklists developed by doubloon collectors and traders, and even these are hard to get. Probably the best of these books is privately- produced by Chuck Cox, Mardi Gras Doubloon Checklist and Swappers Guide (2004), and I was told that the inventory was lost in Katrina. You are partly justified in your concern that Mardi Gras doubloons are being edged out by bead necklaces, panties, stuffed toys, poker chips, plastics cups, etc. In part this is because Asian-made trinkets are cheaper than doubloons which are still American-made. But more importantly necklaces are easier to catch, especially by women who are often the intended recipients. When an uncaught doubloon hits the ground a scramble ensues, increasingly with Darwinian results. The heyday of the aluminum Mardi Gras doubloons was probably from the mid-Sixties to the mid-Nineties, but they are unlikely to disappear. Despite Katrina, I have already seen more than 50 different 2006 doubloons on Ebay, and I?m sure there are more. The krewes are proud of their doubloons, and the crowds will always grab for them. If only they would write more about it..." PURPLE HEART, OTHER WWII MEDALS SAVED FROM TRASH AT SERVICE STATION The following item is from the Eagle Tribune of Andover, MA: "An unusual find while cleaning out the basement of a gas station prompted a call to the city's Veterans Affairs office. Bill McDaniel and Emile Levasseur, owners of Larry's Service at 665 Haverhill St., came across three war medals ? a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star Medal and a Good Conduct Medal from World War II ? hidden in a 5-gallon bucket and sealed in a plastic bag. The only clue they had to the owner was the name embossed on the medals ? Walter F. Lanen." "Neither McDaniel nor Levasseur know how the medals got there or how long they had been in the cellar. McDaniel said the building is about 80 years old, and they have owned the service station since 1971." "McDaniel is just as anxious to return the medals to the rightful owner. "Obviously he worked for it," McDaniel said. "I'd rather see it go to someone in the family than on eBay." If you have any information regarding Walter F. Lanen, contact Dan Lannan, director of the Lawrence Veterans Affairs office at (978) 794-5846." To read the complete story, see: http://www.ecnnews.com/cgi-bin/15/etstory.pl?-sec-News+fn-fn-fn-medals.ybe-2 0060329-fn WWII SUPPLY OF PURPLE HEARTS LASTED HALF A CENTURY I came across an interesting 2003 article noting that nearly half a million Purple Heart medals had been struck but remained unissued at the end of World War II. The stockpile had been created in anticipation of massive losses in a ground invasion of Japan. The U.S. government still had 120,000 unissued Purple Hearts as of 2003, and the remainders of that massive hoard are likely still being awarded today. "In all, approximately 1,506,000 Purple Hearts were produced for the war effort with production reaching its peak as the Armed Services geared up for the invasion of Japan. Despite wastage, pilfering and items that were simply lost, the number of decorations was approximately 495,000 after the war." "The organization ordered a small number of medals in 1976 to bolster the "shelf worn" portions of the earlier production still retained by the Armed Services at scattered locations around the globe. It wasn?t long, however, before an untouched warehouse load of the medal was rediscovered after falling off the books. The DSCP suddenly found themselves in possession of nearly 125,000 more Purple Hearts. "Gary Hoebecke is one of the soldiers who received Purple Hearts during service in Vietnam for wounds suffered in 1965, 1968 and 1969. The retired lieutenant colonel was amazed that the decades-old medals are still being used. "With all the waste and screw-ups," said Hoebecke, "it?s quite remarkable that they have kept track of that stock and are still using them." When told that 125,000 had effectively been lost until after the Vietnam War, Hoebecke laughed. "Now that?s the Army I know!" he said, adding, "I?m glad we didn?t have to use them." But perhaps the most poignant appreciation came from a fellow Vietnam vet who learned for the first time that he had received a medal minted for the grandfathers of he and his buddies. "I will never look at my Purple Heart the same way again," he said." MILITARY MONEY GRADING SERVICE CREATED According to a report in yesterday's MPCGram (v7n1448), a new grading service for military currency has been created: "Professional Official Grading Service, a new numismatic grading service has been created and began operating today. Steve Swoish, founder and CEO, announced today that the service has been created to fulfill a demand that he has seen developing for properly graded and encapsulated material. Unlike other grading services that have evolved into including military notes among types services, Swoish states that military notes will be the backbone of the service." "The grading service holders are going to include the best features of existing holders and introduce new features. The holders will be completely inert to protect the notes. They will also be perfectly transparent and very rigid to further protect the notes. They will also be extremely thin allowing the special sensation of touch." THE GREAT SILVER DOLLAR FLOOD OF 1894 Coin World published a great article in the March 27, 2006 issue about an unusual event at the Philadelphia Mint. Written by Nancy Oliver and Richard Kelly, the article concerns an avalanche of silver dollars that shook the building like an earthquake and had workers running for their lives. Based on accounts of the incident in contemporary newspapers, the article recounts events that unfolded once officials decided to inventory 50 million silver dollars that had been moldering in a vault for over 60 years. "On Tuesday, May 1, at about 5 o'clock, Clerk Wellington Morris was up on top of one of the huge mounds raking in some loose silver coins when suddenly a bag beneath him burst and spewed its contents. Like a snowball on a mountainside, the mass of sliding silver dollars grew in size. There was a massive rumble as bags began to break by the dozens, and looking up, the workmen could see a flood of silver rushing toward them. Seeing the impending danger, the workmen rushed for the door, just barely in time to keep from being crushed by 112,000 pounds of falling coins." The workers feared the worst for Morris, but he managed to exit the vault unharmed. CALVACADE OF SPORTS BROCHURE WANTED Dick Johnson writes: "In 1967 twelve medals were issued by Paramount International in a series termed "Calvacade of Sports." The twelve medals were created by four sculptors, Abram Belskie, Albino Manca, Bruno Mankowski, and Robert Weinman. A 16-page brochures was issued with the set. I am looking to identify what sculptor created what medal and I am hopeful this is detailed in the brochure. I would like to borrow, purchase, or obtain a photocopy of this brochure. Anyone? My email address is dick.johnson@snet.net" SIMILLE SIMILARITIES AND JEFFERSON PORTRAITS Regarding Bob Neale's question in last week's E-Sylum, Mark Tomasko writes: "I was puzzled at the inquiry about whether James Smillie or Charles Burt engraved the portrait of Jefferson for stamps and currency. James Smillie was an etcher, and did not do portraits, which in the bank note tradition are all "cutting", i.e., with a graver, as opposed to etching. I would e interested to know where James Smillie is credited with engraving a Jefferson portrait ( I suspect it was Fred Smillie - see below). Charles Burt did the portrait of Jefferson used on the $2 United States Note, series 1869 and 1874-1917. There is a portrait of Jefferson done by George Frederick Cumming ("Fred") Smillie for U. S. stamps, used, for example, on the 50 cent stamp of the 1902 & 1903 series. I recommend my friend Gene Hessler's book The Engravers Line for further information about James Smillie, G.F.C. Smillie and Charles Burt. The Smillies had a remarkable bank note industry family tradition, and I sorted the various Smillies out (particularly how Fred Smillie was related to James Smillie and James D. Smillie) in an article I did for the Bank Note Reporter on the estate sale of Fred Smillie's son's collection several years ago." Bob Neale writes: "Many thanks for your reply to my inquiry regarding Jefferson portrait on notes starting in 1869. I recall (perhaps incorrectly...) that James Smillie is credited in a couple of books but, most definitely, in the 15th edition of Friedberg, page 17. My upcoming exhibit "Jefferson - On Paper" at our local coin show here in Wilmington, NC, will now contain the correct information." HAMMERED GOLD COIN HEAVY, BUT NOT THAT HEAVY Regarding last week's quote from a newspaper article about the auction of the heaviest hammered British gold coin, Martin Purdy writes: "That should be ?20 - it certainly doesn't weigh 20 lbs! And even at ?20 Scots, it was only worth about ?1 13s 4d in English currency at the time. Still a lovely coin, though." [The article referred to the coin as "The 20lb gold piece". Martin wrote to The Scotsman, and they replied: "You are dead right. We have carried an apology." -Editor] ANA MONEYMARKET CLEARANCE SALE Cary Hardy, Enterprise Manager, ANA - MoneyMarket writes: "I appreciate the comment Dick Johnson wrote in E-Sylum to buy from our clearance sale, however, "The American Numismatic Association needs money..." at the beginning of his sentence was a bit unnecessary. I organized this sale catalog to reduce inventory of once popular books that do not sell anymore or outdated editions still in inventory, to clear the warehouse of cases of old books and reprints from the 80s or earlier and leftover convention medals, all items sitting around collecting dust, which benefits no one. His comment projects a negative feeling for the catalog and the association. Nothing in this catalog or its intentions should give anyone the impression of his comment. The MoneyMarket catalog is published at least twice a year." [Dick's comment was meant to be innocuous - what organization doesn't need money? I don't think either of us believed his comment would be taken seriously as an indication that the organization is in dire straits. But I agree with Cary that it was unnecessary and could have been edited out. I've made some orders myself recently from the MoneyMarket catalog, and Cary runs a very professional operation. I encourage all of our readers to take another look at the catalog - there are a number of good bargains in the current sale. See www.money.org -Editor] DO PRESIDENTS POSE FOR MEDAL ARTISTS? WILSON VS THEODORE ROOSEVELT Roger Burdette writes: "Regarding the topic of presidents posing for medallists, during the Wilson administration, Philadelphia Mint engraver Charles Barber made repeated requests to visit the White House to capture President Wilson's likeness. Wilson consistently refused and Barber finally gave up and worked from photographs. One letter I recall reading in the archives indicated that Barber would not be responsible for the quality of the likeness if he had to work from photos. President Theodore Roosevelt seemed to enjoy having artists about the White House and Oyster Bay, and may have been the most sketched-painted-sculpted President - at least from life." INTERNET, MAIL, TELEPHONE BIDDING Our resident joker Dick Johnson writes: "A term for all forms of bidding, as requested in last week's E-Sylum: How about "poly channel bidding"? The icon can be a parrot perched on a pastiche of a telephone, letter, computer." DUTCH-MADE ISRAELI ERROR COINS Leon Worden writes: "Last week you asked about a Dutch-made Israeli coin error. You cite a report about a year-ago delivery of 9.5 million 1 shekel coins, of which 40 percent were faulty. There must have been two error coins made at roughly the same time, because a story by Pinchas Bar-Zeev of Tel Aviv in the July-August 2005 issue of The Shekel (the journal of the American Israel Numismatic Association) chronicles a commemorative "error shekel" with a reported mintage limit of only 1,500 pieces. The coin is inscribed in English, Hebrew and Arabic. The error was in Arabic script. The coin in Bar-Zeev's story was a "miniaturized version" of a previously issued "Jacob and Rachel" 1 New Shekel gold coin, released in late 2004 and/or early 2005. An excerpt: "(A) collector with a good knowledge of written Arabic and very keen eyes noticed that the miniscule Arabic word ISRA'IL was ... written incorrectly, and that the middle letter A was completely missing. Not just some freak die flaw" (note: the letter is formed by a small, relatively straight line), "but a real spelling error by either designers or engravers had quietly slipped through all quality control checkpoints of all parties involved: the Royal Netherlands Mint, the Bank of Israel and the Israel Government Coins & Medals Corporation. The same collector informed the IGCMC of the blunder, who [sic] in turn interrupted the coin's sales at its stores and franchise outlets all over Israel and recalled all outstanding stocks." According to Bar-Zeev's story, the Dutch mint was instructed to manufacture new coins from new, corrected dies. "The first 'corrected' coins reached the Israeli collectors market (in) early April 2005, and a few Israeli numismatists ... are now lucky and proud owners of a set of 'Jacob and Rachel' miniature gold coins: one error variety plus one 'corrected' version." ADVERTISING AGE, DAVE BOWERS AND THE HUNDRED THOUSAND-CENT MURAL Dick Johnson writes: "I was introduced to the trade publication "Advertising Age" in a college class at Washington University business school. I liked it so well I subscribed for a half dozen years or so early in my career after college. Among the illustrations of notable ads were often ones where ad agencies made small sculptures of the clients' products, like a bird made of colored rheostats or something. Agencies must have thought this was great art that would help sell the product. I had similar disdain for buildings made of coins -- like the Capitol built of silver dollars -- or the guy who pasted coins all over his auto. A waste of time and unintended use of good money -- PLAYING with coins! However, I must be getting mellow in my old age. I like the idea of the mural in Minneapolis made of 100,000 cents. There must have been some artistic talent required to form a design, even of a taco!, based on the color variations of the toning of the cents. I would like to see a color photo of that mural. Incidently, speaking of "Advertising Age," in an issue, must have been in the late fifties, was a photo of a special class in advertising. Seated in the front row was a numismatic personality, none other than Q. David Bowers. Maybe that's how he learned to write all those full page ads over the next fifty years!" [April Fool! Like all cons, the best April Fool stories have an element of truth, and in this case there really is a 100,000 cent coin mural in Minneapolis. I changed the subject to a taco in my excerpts to see if anyone would question it. The item is repeated below sans my ham-handed changes. Dick's wish for a color photo has been granted - see Michael Orzano's article on p52 of the March 27 issue of COIN World. -Editor] RECORD-SETTING FLAG MURAL MADE OF 100,000 CENTS [This item ran in last week's E-Sylum, but with a few changes. As an April Fool's joke I changed the subject of the mural from a U.S. Flag to a taco, and the setting from a coin shop to a taco shop. Here's the original, unedited version. -Editor] According to an article in the Pioneer Press of Minneapolis, "It's almost official: The largest permanent mural made of coins is in Minneapolis. On Saturday, Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer measured a mural inside a coin shop at Seventh Street and Marquette Avenue in downtown Minneapolis and, at 209.5 square feet, pronounced it larger than the previous record holder in Ranchero, Calif. Now all Bill Himmelwright has to do is send in the paperwork to Guinness World Records, culminating 2? months of plastering pennies to the wall of his store to make a giant U.S. flag. The mural measures 10? feet tall by almost 20 feet wide and is made up of 100,000 pennies, give or take. That's about $1,000." "Himmelwright crafted the flag's stripes and other features using natural color variation in pennies. He estimates he and friends combed through 365,000 pennies to come up with 55,000 coins that were brown." To read the complete article, see: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/twincities/news/local/14133500.htm RULAU'S JOHN J. FORD OBITUARY, PART II Russ Rulau published a lengthy article on John J. Ford, Jr. in the March 21 edition of Numismatic News (p34,36). Russ has given us permission to publish additional parts of the article which did not make the final cut, and a few selections are shown below. DONALD MILLER Donald Miller of Indiana, Pa., an insatiable U.S. token enthusiast, an attorney of solid bodily structure, and John J. Ford Jr. were bidding at a penthouse auction sale of rare Hard Times tokens in the mid-1950?s. Each was bidding on a pristine HT 1 (Low 1) variety, a pro-Andrew Jackson ?Bank Must Perish? piece. Ford approached Miller to whisper something and a vicious verbal exchange erupted. The argument was carried out of the auction room and onto the terrace, which had a rather low wall. A great struggle ensued; Miller grabbed Ford and pushed him against the barrier and it seemed Ford might be thrown to eternity many floors below. Four men rushed to restrain the now-violent Miller, two of whom are still alive. One of these, the very young (then) Dave Bowers confirmed this report to me July 15, after it had been published in The E-Sylum by the other living participant. [See http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v08n29a07.html -Editor] Bowers said Miller ?had a bit too much to drink.? The Don Miller I knew was a very self-controlled person who updated Edgar Adams? 1920 U.S. token catalog in 1962, and whose numbering system I still use in the Merchant Token segment of my ?Standard Catalog of U.S. Tokens 1700-1900,? now in its fourth edition. John Ford could enrage almost anyone, it seems. INVASION OF LOUISVILLE Collector James H. Adams of Wisconsin wrote that he was honored to be among 40 guests visiting Armand Champa?s numismatic library during the 1988 Cincinnati ANA gathering. John Ford used Champa?s Louisville, Ky. bedroom to hold forth in his booming basso voice on subject after subject in numismatics. John loved an admiring audience. This episode appeared in Bank Note Reporter for June, 2005, pgs. 62-64. Two of the greatest ?lobby sitters? in numismatics were Ray Byrne and J. William Ross. I sat in on several of their post-bourse all-nighters talking coins, paper money, tokens, crooked coin dealers and of course girls. The Sixties held the ?lobby sitters? conclaves and anyone was welcome. They differed from the Ford pontifications in that everyone got their say. A Ford conversation was actually more a listening session. JJF never joined any ?lobby sit-in? of which I?m aware, but regulars were John Pittman Gordon Dodrill, Amon Carter, Grover Criswell and similar folks -- all now sadly gathered to their Maker. PAUL FRANKLIN AND THE "MASSAPEQUA MINT" (quoting from the internet Kleeberg article) ?Trained as an engineer, Paul Franklin was an expert tool and die maker. From 1933 until 1975 it was illegal for Americans to hold gold unless it had a numismatic premium .... but bullion traded in the black market. Colonial coin dealer Richard Picker dubbed the activities of Ford and Franklin ?the Massapequa Mint.? Ford lived in Rockville Centre and Franklin in nearby Massapequa. ?John Ford?s charisma won him clients -- Frederick C. C. Boyd, Mrs. Emery Norweb, John Murrell. Ford sold the $140 pioneer bar ostensibly from Dawson City, Yukon to Mrs. Norweb for $5,250. He sold a fantasy Republic of Texas countermark to Murrell. OLD FEUDS GO MARCHING ON A fitting epitaph for this article was penned by Ed Reiter, ex-coin columnist for the New York Times in a 1999 Numismati Literary Guild bash, sung to the strains of the Battle Hymn of the Republic: ?Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of John Ford. ?They have gazed on Doctor Sheldon?s coins when they were being stored. ?They have glimpsed the brouhaha about the Western assay hoard. ?Old feuds go marching on.? [Many thanks to Russ for sharing these writeups with us. I knew Don Miller and he told me the story of that famous rooftop struggle with Ford. I was also lucky to be among the Fortunate Forty bibliophiles at Armand Champa's that day, and I vividly remember Ford holding forth from his perch on the bed in Armand's stepdaughter's room. Whatever happened to the videotapes of that day? Armand hired a videographer and parts of Ford's exposition were caught on tape. Do any of our readers have a copy? -Editor] FEATURED WEB PAGE: This week's featured web page is "Observations on a Tiffin Token", an article by Greg Burns originally published in The Journal, a publication of The Canadian Numismatic Association, Vol. 39, No. 2 [3/94]. The tokens were produced around 1832 by a Montreal grocer named Tiffin, but dated 1812. http://www.glencoin.com/Observat.htm Wayne Homren Numismatic Bibliomania Society The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. For more information please see our web site at http://www.coinbooks.org/. There is a membership application available on the web site at this address: http://www.coinbooks.org/club_nbs_member_app.html To join, print the application and return it with your check to the address printed on the application. Membership is only $15 to addresses in the U.S., $20 elsewhere. For those without web access, write to: David M. Sundman, Secretary/Treasurer Numismatic Bibliomania Society, P. O. Box 82 Littleton, NH 03561 For Asylum mailing address changes and other membership questions, contact David at this email address: dsundman@LittletonCoin.com To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, just Reply to this message, or write to the Editor at this address: whomren@coinlibrary.com Those wishing to become new E-Sylum subscribers (or wishing to Unsubscribe) can go to the following web page: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All past E-Sylum issues are archived on the NBS web site at this address: http://www.coinbooks.org/club_nbs_esylum_archive.html Issues from September 2002 to date are also archived at this address: http://my.binhost.com/pipermail/esylum From esylum at binhost.com Sun Apr 9 21:51:51 2006 From: esylum at binhost.com (esylum@binhost.com) Date: Sun Apr 9 21:53:33 2006 Subject: The E-Sylum v9#15, April 9, 2006 Message-ID: <00a301c65c41$56f4a0e0$0207000a@laptop035> Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 9, Number 15, April 9, 2006: an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society. Copyright (c) 2006, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society. WAYNE'S WORDS Among our recent subscribers are Neil Berman, J.S.G. Boggs, and Chris Jones. Welcome aboard! We now have 873 subscribers. I'm sad to report that we lead off this week's issue with word of the loss of two of our hobby's leading lights, R.A.G. Carson and William Dewey. Our thoughts go out to their families and friends. A family vacation has cut into my editing time this week, so some submissions which arrived over the weekend could not be included in this issue and will be held for the next issue - sorry! In the correction department, the author of the Coin World article about Bill Himmelwright and his shop was MICHELE Orzano, not Michael. My apologies to Michele. I know better, but it was a typo I shouldn't have let happen. Arthur Shippee noted that I'd forgotten to include the link to the source of the 2003 article on the half a million Purple Heart medals remaining unissued at the end of World War II. Sorry - it's http://hnn.us/articles/1801.html In a correction of a correction, Tom Delorey notes that "The Denver Mint produced regular issue Dimes, Quarters, Half Dollars, Half Eagles, Eagles and Double Eagles in 1906." Ray Flanigan's note stated that the Denver Mint "produced the first coins in 1907." Neil Shafer also reported this one. Some of you figured out that the item from the MPCGram was an April Fool's joke. One reader wrote: "Surely the new military money grading service, which was announced April 1, is just that, another April 1 joke? POGS? Come on..." Last week's mention of an ancient coin counterfeiting technique prompts Dick Johnson to discuss firebranding and galvanoplasty, Allan Davisson provides some background information on the recently-sold 1575 ?20 gold piece of James VI, and Alan Weinberg provides some interesting anecdotes about John Ford bidding at auction. New numismatic products debuting or on their way include a "pink quarter" from Canada and Mozambique debates new coin and banknote designs as part of a proposed currency revaluation. In other news, the WWII medals discovered last week in a service station basement have been returned to the recipient's family, a businessman in Marco Island, Florida adopts the Liberty Dollar, and a Canberra mint worker is caught smuggling coins in his steel-toed workboots. And to learn how a group of Germans hoped to turn decades-old Franklin Mint products into a million dollar profit, read on. Have a great week, everyone. Wayne Homren Numismatic Bibliomania Society OBITUARY: WILLIAM DEWEY 1905-2006 Former American Numismatic Association Librarian William Dewey passed away this week at the age of 100. Jim Majoros, President, Ocean County Coin Club writes: "Bill Dewey celebrated his 100th birthday on Dec 5, 2005, it is sad to say that Bill passed away on Sunday, April 2nd at the nursing home in Woodcliff Lake, NJ, where he had been for a number of years. Bill, a professional engineer by trade and a direct descendent of Admiral George Dewey, had a long and remarkable life with interests in numismatics that began in 1932. These interests led him to research and writing about a number of subjects, primarily the Bergen Iron Works Tokens and Early Manchester and William Torrey. He took to numismatics just as a fish takes to water and was the ANA librarian in the late thirties. He co-founded the Westchester County (NY) Coin Club and received the Numismatic Ambassador Award amongst many other individual recognitions. Just recently, he was honored with two special citations on his 100th birthday, presented by ANA president Bill Horton at the Nursing home. A number of members of New Jersey's Ocean County Coin Club will always remember Bill for his dedication and interests in the club and its members, consistently being available to discuss some of his numismatic findings at the club's "show & tell" sessions. Bill Dewey has been missed the past twenty years ever since he moved to his nursing home in north Jersey and he will continue to be missed by all who knew him. He never forgot us and we will never forget him. Bill's daughter, Autumn said there will be a memorial service on Sunday, April 23, 2006 at 1 pm at the 1st Congregational Church in River Edge, NJ (off exit 161 of the Garden State Parkway to Route 4) for those who would like to attend. Cards may be sent to Mr.& Mrs. Robert H. Owens at 390 Fifth Ave, River Edge, NJ 07661." David Gladfelter adds: "He was ANA librarian in 1940 when the 51 year index to the Numismatist was published, and was on the committee that published it. In 1987 he received the Krause Numismatic Ambassador award. I believe he won a Heath Award from the ANA for articles in the Numismatist on his relative, Admiral George Dewey. He had a fine collection of Admiral Dewey medals. He wrote 2 books on New Jersey historical subjects, "Early Manchester and William Torrey," in 1982 and "The Bergen Iron Works and its Tokens" published by the Ocean County (N.J.) Historical Society in 1989. He won the Society of Paper Money Collectors literary award in 1984 for a series of articles on the S. W. and W. A. Torrey railroad scrip, and again in 1998 for an article (with me) on Bergen Iron Works scrip. He was a professional engineer who retired in 1966. And was a hell of a guy." David also forwarded the following from the introduction to Dewey's first book. David's comments are in brackets []: "Born in New York City in 1905 and educated in Mt. Vernon public schools, Mr. Dewey received his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering in 1927 from Union College in Schenectady, New York. A licensed professional engineer in New York, he retired in 1966 after many years of service in the engineering department of New York Telephone." "He has been honored many times for his varied activities, among those of which he is most proud -- the Gold Medal Award from the Alumni Council, Union College; President Emeritus, Cruiser Olympia Association of Philadelphia [the Cruiser Olympia was Admiral Dewey's flag ship in the Spanish-American war, now docked at the Philadelphia waterfront]; honorary membership in the Bergen County (N. J.) Coin Club; and the Heath Literary Award of the American Numismatic Association in 1959." "While active in research and uncovering past mysteries, Mr. Dewey still enjoys the violin and though he no longer participates in lacrosse and cross country running as he did in school [that must be why we hit it off], keeps in excellent physical shape with brisk walks and exercise." Bob Mitchell writes: "I first contacted Bill around April 1974, when I was stationed in Ethiopia. My aunt had sent me a newspaper clipping about a man that was researching the "Torrey" family. She knew that I had collected the Torrey scrip and I immediately wrote Bill. His reply dated May 12th arrived soon afterwards, and we started our exchange of information and many years of friendship to follow. Bill told me in a letter dated Dec 13, 1996 that he was sorry to have had to turn over all his records and collections and stop research and writing. (Torrey stuff went to the Lakehurst Historical Society, and I believe some of the notes went to a fellow NJ collector with the stipulation they be donated to the Ocean County Historical Society upon his death). Bill had just turned 91 and said he was thankful to be alive and still be able to add 2+2. And he only complained about increasing difficulty in hearing! He was such an energetic man in mind and spirit, certainly an example for all of us to live by. I think I have every letter Bill wrote me since 1974 because we exchanged so much information on our mutual interests in the Ocean County money and scrip. Now I can look them over and enjoy the memories he left me with." To read previous E-Sylum items on Bill Dewey, see: http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v06n52a11.html http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v08n52a02.html OBITUARY: R.A.G. CARSON, 1918-2006 On April 3 The Independent of London published an obituary of British Museum curator and Roman coin expert R.A. G. Carson: "Robert Andrew Glendinning Carson, museum curator and numismatist: born Kirkcudbright 7 April 1918; Assistant Keeper, Department of Coins and Medals, British Museum 1947-65, Deputy Keeper 1965-78, Keeper 1978-83; FBA 1980;" "Robert Carson was the leading British expert of his generation on Roman coins. He joined the staff of the British Museum as Assistant Keeper of Roman Coins in the Department of Coins and Medals in 1947, a few months after his life-long colleague Kenneth Jenkins, an expert in Greek coins." "Their arrival coincided with the start of the slow recovery of the museum from the effects of the Second World War, when most of the staff had left to take part in the war effort and the collections were evacuated from London. The fabric of the museum, including the offices of the Coin Department, was much damaged by bombing and it was not until about 1960 that the department was able to return to permanent accommodation when its bombed offices were finally rebuilt." "Robert Carson was in great demand as a reviewer and also as an editor. It is typical of his generosity and selflessness that he spent so much of his own time bringing other people's work to publication. He was always willing to share his time and expertise, especially with a younger generation of his colleagues, one of whom at least has every cause to be grateful for his endless patience." "After his retirement, Robert Carson and his wife Fransisca moved to Australia to join one of their children who had emigrated there." To read the complete article, see: http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article355391.ece ESHBACH STEIGERWALT LITERATURE EXHIBIT IN ATLANTA NBS President Pete Smith writes: "I just returned from the ANA Money Show in Atlanta. This show does not have a classification for numismatic literature exhibits but there was an excellent literature exhibit in the History and Politics class. ?The Numismatic Publications of Charles Trissler Steigerwalt? was placed by John Eshbach. I talked with John briefly about his research and his unsuccessful search for a photo of Steigerwalt?s house. I was not aware of Steigerwalt?s middle name so I learned something from the exhibit." HENRY CHAPMAN LIBRARY REMNANTS FOLLOWUP Charles Davis writes: "Bob Vail's account of the Henry Chapman Library discovery published in the latest issue of Penny Wise has probably resulted in a number of phone calls to the Art Department of the Philadelphia Free Library from EAC members hoping to view or acquire some of the holdings. Bob should have continued the story by noting that he contacted me and I was able to obtain the library, and it was sold at public auction at the 1997 ANA Convention in Cleveland. The $100,000 generated was used to set up an endowment for conservation of needy works in the Free Library's collection. The Chapman material had laid untouched for over 50 years, hidden in the Art Department where it was "triple shelved" - eg Chapman book in the back with an art book in front of it and another art book in front of that. As the collection had never been "accessioned," there was no problem in "de-accessioning it." Had it made it to the library's card file, it would no doubt still be there tied up in bureaucratic red tape." NEW $10 BILLS ARE "UGLY", BUT OLD FIVES ARE "NASTY" We've seen a number of articles with a numismatic theme from the Daily News of Newburyport relating to the Jacob Perkins building and the "roofer hoard" of banknotes. On April 5th the paper published an article on another common theme, criticism of new designs - in this case, the new U.S. $10 bill. "Although the new $10 hasn't caused major headaches for local businesses, some have had to make changes to equipment that handles the bills. Bonnie Demars, owner of the Village Washtub Laundromat, had to change a computerized chip for the washing machines three times to accommodate the new $10s." "The new bill is real currency, but many say it looks like "play money." Janette Hill, branch supervisor at TD Banknorth in Newburyport, said she's had customers make comments. "Some people like them and some people don't. But a few people have said it looks like it's been sitting in rusting water," she said, referring to the bill's background colors of red, orange and yellow that look dingy to some. Teller Amanda Hardy has also had similar responses. "A lot of people question it because it looks like play money," she said. "It looks like foreign currency more than anything." But both agree that the $5 bills need a makeover, too. Hill said the $5 bills are "nasty;" Hardy said they haven't had a new look in years." Derek DeBoisbriand, a salesperson at Richdale's, said that older people seem to question the validity of the new $10 bill more than other customers, because they're used to the older bills." "While he says "personally I think it's really ugly" and like coffee has been spilled on it, he did add that he likes the numeral 10 in the right-hand corner of the new bill, because it turns from copper to green, depending how one looks at it." To read the complete article, see: http://tinyurl.com/kdynj CANDADA'S PINK QUARTER DEBUTS The Edmonton Journal published an article March 31 about Canada's new "pink quarter": "The Royal Canadian Mint, together with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, on Friday unveiled a 25-cent coin, featuring the iconic pink ribbon. The "breast cancer awareness" quarter, according to the RCM, is the second coloured circulation coin to be produced following the popular 25-cent poppy coin in the fall of 2004. The RCM said it plans to produce up to 30 million "pink" coins, which will enter into circulation beginning on Saturday." "As part of the unveiling of the coin, 12 Canadian fashion designers generously created and donated one-of-a kind fashion items featuring the new coin. From travel wallets to corsets, all items will be auctioned on the RCM website with the proceeds directed to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation." To read the complete article, see: http://tinyurl.com/geas8 [Has anyone seen these coins? How are they manufactured? Is there some sort of insert for the ribbon, or is the coloring applied after striking, like enameling? There are many bimetallic coins being made today, but other than the Canadian Poppy quarter mentioned in the article, are there other coins with similar color features? -Editor] PROVENANCE OF SCOTTISH GOLD COIN UNCOVERED Allan Davisson writes: "A bit more on the 1575 ?20 gold piece of James VI (And a story with a brief moral for those who do not adequately value important old auction catalogs....) The cataloger did not catch the fact that the piece was part of the great Murdoch sale of May 1903 (lot 266) where it realized ?81, a huge sum for the day. In general, Murdoch had the means and opportunity to collect the finest known examples of everything in his huge collection and coins from his collection show that he did, in fact, obtain the best. In 1997, DNW offered this piece as lot 214. Their publicity at the time, as I recall, referred to a "new and formerly unrecorded" example of the piece and the catalog notes that "To the best of our knowledge, this coin has never before been offered at Public auction." It sold to Lucien LaRiviere for ?22,500 in a sale that had virtually nothing of significance otherwise in the Scottish series. The Spink catalogers also missed this extremely important bit of provenance. The coin was estimated at a moderate ?30,000 to ?40,000 and sold for ?48,000, again a modest sum, it seems to me, for one of the most important and dramatic coins in the Scottish series if not the entire British series. And this great coin also happened to be a part of the most renowned of British collections." QUERY: JOHN PINKERTON AND MEDALLIC ILLUSTRATIONS Kay Platt writes: "I have a question that I am hoping a member of the NBS could answer, or just steer me in the right direction to find an answer. I have four different versions of The Medallic History of England attributed to John Pinkerton, two with text, two without text. The spine of one contains his name, otherwise there is no mention of his name anywhere else. The information on the four volumes may be summarized as follows: (A) The Medallic History of England to the Revolution, with Forty Plates. Dated 1790, No author?s name on the title page, but Pinkerton's name appears on the original spine. ?Printed for Edwards and Sons, Pall Mall, Faulder, in New Bond Street.? This volume contains 40 plates and commentary on each medal. (B) The Medallic History of England, Illustrated by Forty Plates. Dated 1802. Pinkerton's name does not appear on the original spine, which is badly deteriorated. ?Printed, at the Oriental Press, by Wilson and Co for E. Harding, No. 98, Pall-Mall; and J. Scott, St. Martin?s Court ? This edition contains 40 plates, no preface but the same commentary as (A). (C) The Medals of England, consisting of 384 Specimens Engraved on Forty Plates. Undated. No author. ?Nichols & Son, 25 Parliament St.? This edition contains 40 plates and commentary, but no preface or commentary. This copy is bound together with Adam d. Cardonnel?s Numismata Scotiae (1786). (D) 384 Medals of England, Engraved on Forty Plates. Dated 1831. No author. ?Printed for JB Nichols & Son, 25, Parliament-Street.? No preface or commentary. Binding (red leather?) appears to be a later replacement for the original. I also have Snelling?s Thirty Three Plates of English Medals (1776). This is, of course the source of about 2/3 of the 40 plates, although Snelling had died in 1773. Some questions are: How did Pinkerton?s name come to be associated with Snelling?s work? Did he purchase the rights from Snelling?s family, or did he just appropriate the work and have the additional plates added and publish the revised work for his profit? After all, it would appear that Pinkerton had a great interest in medals. But he was also accused of having appropriated other authors? works without attribution. Perhaps the most basic question is, how do I really know that Pinkerton had anything to do with the publication of the ?40 Plates? works, other than his name appearing on the spine of one of the four volumes, and in libraries? Also, did Pinkerton actually write the text that accompanied the plates, or did he hire someone to do it (or did the publisher write the preface and text), and why the (odd, to me) appearance of incomplete later editions lacking the accompanying text? And, finally, was he associated with all four versions? Any light a member could shed on the Pinkerton relationship with Snelling?s original work, and the four later editions would be greatly appreciated. Any references to commentaries or works which would shed light on these questions would especially be welcomed. More broadly, recommendations to any other essential sources on the eminent writers on medals of the 17th century would also be appreciated. I have Evelyn, Vertue, Pinkerton?s Essays on Medals (not of much value), Henfrey, Turner?s Pinkerton?s Correspondence, Pinkerton?s earlier work, On Medals, and of course the works mentioned above. More generally, I have Medallic Illustrations, Helen Farquhar?s articles, Besly?s book (and article on for the Forlorn Hope in The Medal), Mayo, Lessen?s articles, and Nathanson?s small work on Simon. Is any other essential book missing that I should have that would provide more information on the writers mentioned? Many thanks in advance for your readers? help." PRIVATE MONEY: MARCO ISLAND ADOPTS LIBERTY DOLLAR The Naples Daily News of Naples, Florida reports that a local entrepreneur plans to market Liberty Dollars. "Seeking to liberate his neighbors from a monetary system that he believes has lost some of its juice, Marco Island accountant Al Wagner plans to launch an independent Liberty Dollar franchise next month. But he's mostly in it for the fun, Wagner said. The silver-based money is neither endorsed by Marco Island government, nor Marco Island Chamber of Commerce leaders. Newly elected Marco Councilman Rob Popoff is an investor in Wagner's project." "Wagner won the right to distribute the currency throughout Collier County. It is a $20 silver minted circle, which he plans to unveil on April 6 at an event at the Esplanade on Marco. Wagner said he can't use the word "coin" because that is legally defined as U.S. government money." "The Liberty Dollar is a national franchise, initiated in 1999 by self-described monetary architect Bernard von NotHaus, because American money is no longer backed by the silver and gold that was once protected at Fort Knox." "Claudia Dickens, spokeswoman for the U.S. Treasury Bureau of Engraving and Printing, said no matter how the Liberty Dollar is presented, it is not legal currency. "We have heard of Liberty Dollars," she said. "This agency prints U.S. currency, and it is the only legal currency." Dickens compared Liberty Dollars with Disney Dollars, used exclusively at Walt Disney amusement parks. Like poppet beads at Club Med, Disney Dollars are bought with real money, but are not real U.S. currency. "If a merchant wants to accept Liberty Dollars, that is their right," Dickens said. "As long as the person doesn't claim it is the legal tender of the land." Wagner said he regards the comparison with Disney Dollars as "derogatory." "Disney Dollars are not real silver," Wagner said." To read the complete article, see: http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/apr/01/marco_liberty_dollar/?local_news BOOK ON MARDI GRAS DOUBLOONS In response to the article on Doubloons by Paul MacAuley, numismatic literature dealer Richard Stockley writes: "I sell a book called "Doubloons Commemorative Medals" by Jerry Ledet Sr. I don?t know if it is updated every year - mine is a 1994 edition. It is basically a listing, not illustrated, of the doubloons along with a couple of other items. If anyone is interested, I can be contacted at rstockley@sympatico.ca. To those collecting these items, enjoy!" WASHINGTON, D.C. BOOKSTORES SOUGHT Michael Savinelli writes: "I will be visiting Washington, DC at the beginning of May on a business trip. Does anyone know whether there are any good used bookstores there (and preferably ones that might have numismatic literature)? I will be staying at the Marriott at H & 12th Streets. I will not have a rental car, so any suggestions for bookstores within walking distance would be appreciated. Thanks." NOE BEHIND NEW GOLD COINS; PUSHED FOR PALLADIUM Tom DeLorey writes: "The Sunday, April 2 Toledo Blade has an amazing article which reveals that Tom Noe was the driving force behind the creation of the 2006 one ounce .9999 find gold bullion coin bearing the image of Fraser's 1913 Buffalo nickel, and the 2007 and subsequent half ounce .9999 fine gold "First Lady" coins. If Mr. Noe is ever convicted of anything (and of course he remains innocent until proven guilty), does this mean that righteous collectors should boycott these coins? If not, should we at least refer to the one ounce Buffalo Nickel coin as the "Noe Bull Chit?" [The lengthy article quotes coinage committee member Ute Wartenberg Kagan, executive director of the American Numismatic Society, Scott Travers, and several government officials. In addition to the gold bullion coins, Noe suggested a palladium coin as well. The following are some brief excerpts. -Editor] "Last week, Greg Weinman, the Mint?s senior counsel and ethics official, told The Blade that the Treasury Department?s inspector general had opened an investigation into Mr. Noe?s role as a member and chairman of the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee, a panel that advises the Treasury secretary on themes and designs for coins and congressional gold medals. In May, 2003, the White House and House Speaker Dennis Hastert recommended that Mr. Noe get a seat on the influential 11-member committee. Treasury Secretary John Snow appointed Mr. Noe, less than six months after the Toledo-area coin dealer expressed interest in joining a Mint committee to Henrietta Fore, then director of the Mint. ?I have always had interest in getting more involved on the national level,? Mr. Noe wrote to Ms. Fore." To read the complete article, see: http://tinyurl.com/jqz7e [A commercial web site claims that "In 1967, Tonga issued palladium coins on the occasion of the Coronation of King Taufa Ahau Tupou IV, thereby achieving a world's first." Is that true? Were the first palladium coins issued by Tonga? http://www.24carat.co.uk/tongapalladiumcoins.html -Editor.] AUSTRALIAN MINT WORKER SMUGGLED COINS IN HIS BOOTS Philip Mernick forwarded a story published April 6 by the BBC News about a Canberra mint worker who stole coins by concealing them in his workboots: "An ex-worker at Australia's mint has admitted stealing tens of thousands of dollars in coins he put in steel-capped boots to avoid metal detectors. Prosecutors said William Bosia Grzeskowiak stole more than AU$155,000 (?65,000) in new two-dollar coins over a year at the Canberra mint. Grzeskowiak, 48, was arrested two months ago while trying to change a large number of coins into notes." "Workers are not required to remove boots during random screening. They said they found AU$100,000 in coins hidden in plastic buckets and shopping bags in the garage of Grzeskowiak's mother." "The case triggered a review of security at the mint during which Australian Federal Police found a host of problems. The mint has since upgraded security." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4882560.stm PORTION OF SCOVILL ARCHIVES SAVED FROM DESTRUCTION Dick Johnson writes: "I too, share friend George Fuld?s appraisal of the shortcoming of material at the Baker Business Library at Harvard. A researcher must be pleased however, with the material he does find in any archives. Pleased with what you have to work with, but not satisfied to stop looking for more ? keep digging!) Case in point: The Philadelphia Mint could not meet the demands of the Columbian Exposition officials who wanted raised lettering on all the Expo Award Medals after the1892-93 Expo. This is a large chore to make an "insert die" for every medal. The Philadelphia Mint contracted this to private industry, Scovill Manufacturing with whom they had a long relationship. (The technology is simple, but very labor intensive. A cavity must be created in one side of the award medal dies. A large quantity of steel "inserts" must be made to EXACTLY fit that cavity. Then each one of the inserts must be engraved with the lettering to appear as raised lettering on the medal.) The Baker Library has the journal in the Scovill archives which recorded the exact inscription on every Columbian Expo award medal. The trouble is that they have only one journal. The order of 23,757 medals required TWO journals to record all those names. One journal is missing. The existing journal is gargantuan! It must be 4 feet tall, with numbers down the left hand side of each page and a nice hand script entry of the insert die lettering. Does the other journal still exist? It may. Keep digging. In all, it took Scovill two years to complete this striking order even with a small team of workers. Several engravers creating those insert dies. A pressman or two for striking. A finisher to patina the medals. And several clerks to keep the records straight and to enter those names in that journal. Oh! I do hope the other journal exists. What should be saved for the archives? Another case in point: When the old Scovill headquarters building was demolished in Waterbury in 1995 to make room for a shopping mall (Brass Center Mall) the demolition crew came across one room that was sealed. No one could get the door open to enter. A worker climbed down from the roof, broke open a window and entered the sealed room. They discovered it was the office of the press officer. It was filled with material. Filing cabinets and shelving filled with reports, pamphlets, books, magazines, clippings, company publications, on and on. One of the demolition crew saved the material, instead of hauling it to the dump (bless him!). From four filing cabinets and lots of shelving he filled 46 boxes. He contacted a friend of mine, who knew of my interest in Scovill history. He had his company driver drop off two sample boxes at my home for me to examine and return. It is exactly what a press officer would save. (I know; I was one once!) Gist for some future article or report. This is the corporate intelligence that senior management often needs to make enlightened decisions (and often needs in a hurry). Perhaps we should be grateful the room was sealed, and that the material hadn?t been discarded before. My suggestion was this material should go to the Baker Library to join the rest of the Scovill archives. I contacted the curator I had worked with when I researched in their library. He, in turn, went to his administration. The reply came back, in essence, they would accept it for donation but would not for purchase. My friend has the 46 boxes stored at his Waterbury company storeroom. The material is for sale. The purchaser can be a Scovill buff, or someone who can make the purchase and donate it to the Baker Library. (Or it could be a lifetime of very dry r eading!)" [It?s tragic what gets thrown away sometimes. We owe a lot to the people who take the initiative to save this sort of material, and it's only right that they should be compensated for their effort. Several years ago, someone walking past the Pittsburgh City Courthouse discovered a large number of boxes of documents on the sidewalk awaiting trash pickup. A crew had cleaned out the attic and documents decades or even a century old were being thrown out. A number of boxes were salvaged but a lot went to a dump. I've gotten a few items for my numismatic library by being in the right place at the right time with a catcher's mitt as things were being thrown in the trash, including a few complete years of Mehl's Numismatic Monthly and some numismatic correspondence of Howard Gibbs. Do any of our readers have a "saved from the trash" story to tell? -Editor] LANEN WWII MEDAL FIND FOLLOW-UP David Klinger writes: "Here is an article with the follow up to the story about the medals of Walter F. Lanen, found in the trash at a gas station." "With a slight trace of tears in his eyes, William J. Lanen stood still and straight as the 87-year-old retired Army colonel stared down at his younger brother's grave. "He was a good soldier," Lanen said of Private First Class Walter F. Lanen, who is buried at the Immaculate Conception Cemetery. A few minutes earlier, two strangers had handed William Lanen long-lost mementos of his brother. They included a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart with two clusters, and two other medals that Walter Lanen had earned while serving with the 339th Regimental Combat Team in the US Army during World War II." The medals were discovered this week in the basement of Larry's Service Station on Haverhill Street as co-owners Emile Levasseur and Bill McDaniel were cleaning up." "We have no idea how they got there," Levasseur said. "Not a clue." "A newspaper account in The Eagle-Tribune led a producer from the television station CBS4 to find William Lanen, who is living in retirement in Bow, N.H." To read the complete article, see: http://tinyurl.com/otjw4 Howard A. Daniel III forwarded a link to a similar article with Images of the medals: http://www.cnhins.com/newsrollup/cnhinsmilitary_story_090012942.html JOHN FORD BIDDING AT AUCTION Inspired by Russ Rulau's account of the famous John Ford - Don Miller auction fistfight last week, Alan V. Weinberg writes: "I distinctly recall at an early 60's (Howard Egolf sale?) NYC Stack's auction John Ford standing up at the back of the room and confronting cigar-wielding NYC coin dealer Max Kaplan, a few feet apart, as Max drove him up and up on a desired coin. This resulted in a shouting match as each man, with a booming voice, tried to get in the last word, disrupting the auction. I believe a young Dave Bowers and Johnny Rowe were present, as was I. At the 1984 NYC Bowers & Merena Virgil Brand Part II auction, John bellowed out loud "Whaddya want this put-together cockamamie thing for?" as John Hamilton bid him up on a unique 1850 gold hand-constructed "Eureka" San Francisco medal which JJF won for $9900. I remember these and other incidents as not disparaging but adding to the colorful history of a colorful collector/dealer." TAXAY AND THOMPSON'S 1783 ESSAY ON COINING Eric P. Newman writes: "Since there has been recent comment in The E-Sylum on when the discovery in the ANS library of the "Essay on Coining" manuscript was made and a mention of my being excited about it, I feel I should point out that Don Taxay in 1966 published The U.S. Mint and Coinage in which, beginning on page 88, a group of images from "Essay on Coinage" and information from the text was included." DAVE BOWERS, ADVERTISING AGE, AND DICK CLARK Regaridng the Advertising Age photo mentioned by Dick Johnson last week, Dave Bowers writes: "Although I don't remember the photo, I have always been a student of advertising, of the old John Caples, et al., mail-order variety, "Which Ad Pulled Best," and so on. For a number of years in the early 1960s I went to the annual seminar held by Advertising Age in Chicago. Often after hearing a presentation the attendees would break into study groups. I remember I was in one such small group with Dick Clark, of rock and roll memory now of current rock and roll fame back then." 1906 SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE SURVIVORS Jeff Reichenberger writes: "I'm pleased Werner Mayer and Dave Kellogg (volume 9, number 13, March 26, 2006) mentioned the fine article in the Smithsonian magazine about the San Francisco Mint and the earthquake. Coupled with the equally fine story in the April Numismatist you really get a feel for the mint, the fury, and the chaos there a hundred years ago. A highlighted column within the Smithsonian article features a group of survivors who get together every year on that day. Centenarians now, all but one, who claims being conceived the night of the earthquake! She says she danced at the saloon where her father worked when she was six. Longshoremen threw nickels and pennies at her feet. One wonders, what nickels? What pennies? Perhaps 1912 S Liberty nickels, 1909 S VDB pennies, or how about 1894 S dimes.... Are there any centenarians in our group?" ANOTHER LIVING NON-HEAD-OF-STATE HONORED: DESMOND TUTU Regarding living non-heads of state on coinage Dr K.A. Rodgers writes: "I think this topic has had its day, but the South African Mint has just announced its 2006 Protea designs featuring the very much alive Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu. This leads to looking at other folks on previous Proteas. It looks like at least one other living South African has been featured there." MOZAMBIQUE MULLS NEW NOTES AMID CURRENCY REVALUATION An article posted April 4, 2006 discussed plans of the Mozambican parliament on currency reform. While politicians debate, the Bank of Mozambique is moving ahead with plans to produce revalued coins and banknotes: "Back in November the Assembly passed a government bill intended to make the Mozambican currency, the metical, more manageable, by lopping off the last three digits. The bill established a rate of conversion of one to a thousand. Thus the current 1,000 metical coin will be worth one metical in what the government refers to as the "new family" of the currency. The largest current banknote, for 500,000 meticais, will be worth 500 meticais in the "new family"." "The government stresses that the metical is not being abolished, and the country is not embracing a new currency. All that is happening is a simple mathematical operation - division by a thousand. The name of the currency is unchanged and the old notes and coins will remain legal tender for a lengthy transition period, as they are gradually withdrawn from circulation." "Meanwhile, the Bank of Mozambique is pushing ahead its preparations for the introduction of the new banknotes and coins. As from 1 April it became compulsory for shops and other business to indicate their prices both in the existing meticais, and in the "new family" meticais. Posters and leaflets explaining the changes have been distributed all over the country, and the new notes should be unveiled on 1 July." To read the complete article, see: http://allafrica.com/stories/200604040691.html PHILIPPINE COUNTERSTAMP BOOK NOT NEW Ken Berger writes: "You state that "A new book has been published on Philippine Counterstamped coins". Then you mention that Howard Daniel received a copy of "Philippine Counterstamped Coins, 1828-1839" by Dr. Quint Jose Ma. Oropilla Y Fortich. This is not a new book. It was published in 2001. I've had mine for over two years! I got it from Bill Elwell of Bishop Coins. Ponterio has has been advertising this book on eBay for almost 3 years." ON FREE ADMISSION Regarding a proposal to charge admission for the Smithsonian Museums, last week I wrote: "It would be sad to see the tradition end, but I think it's only fair that visitors help pay part of the burden." Pete Morelewicz writes: "The Smithsonian is supported by our tax dollars. Similarly, a "road to nowhere" in Alaska, for example, is paid for by tax dollars, even if few people ever use it. That the Smithsonian be subject to usage fees when other, arguably less important, projects are not is, in my opinion, ludicrous. (Phew! -- needed to get that off my chest. Not having a vote in Congress can subject one to such sudden outbursts.) Oh, and the comparison to gun/coin/boat shows is faulty, as these are not government-funded events." [Government funding subsidizes public transportation, too, but the rides aren't free, and I would argue that they shouldn't be. Some part of the burden rightly rests on the user of the service. But every taxpayer is entitled to an opinion. -Editor] ANCIENT COUNTERFEITERS COULD HAVE USED FIREGILDING TECHNOLOGY Dick Johnson writes: "It is understandable an ancient coin that appeared silverplated would raise many questions (as noted in last week?s E-Sylum). The process of electrolysis was developed by a German physicist and engineer, Moritz Herman Jacobi (1801-1874), in 1837. He called his process "galvanoplasty" and it led to the fields of electroforming and electroplating (great for the silverware industry). The process required an electric current, so from 1837 until 1890, when electric generation became available (thank you Thomas Edison!), it had to be accomplished with primitive batteries. There was a technique that could have been used this early. It was the technique of "firegilding." The ancients knew how to coat an object with gold by using mercury. They could have accomplished this with silver just as well (but I have not heard of the term "firesilvering" nor have I heard of such an object). [Museum Curators Note: Please prove me wrong that such a silver-coated object DOES exist, particularly before 1837.] The process shorted the lives of those who did firegilding. The mercury fumes are deadly. I?ll describe the process, but don?t try this at home. [Official Disclaimer ? We Are Not Responsible If You Are Stupid Enough To Try This!] You need a "gilding stone" a flat surface like marble will do. You need gold, mercury, a brass brush, nitrate of bioxide of mercury and a stove. That?s all. Shortly before you do this, mix the gold and mercury together, it becomes waxy between the fingers. Make a ball and place this under water until use. When ready take the ball and rub all over the gilding stone until it covers a large spot. Dip the brass brush in nitrate of bioxide of mercury. Rub the brass brush on the gilding stone until the mercury-gold is deposited on the brass bristles. It will be white in color. Then brush the object to be gilded with the brass brush. It will take considerable brushing to get an even deposit of the mercury-gold on the object (well cleaned and degreased). Then heat the object. The mercury fumes will burn off. Don?t get anywhere near these fumes ? they will kill you! The gold is left on the object. Several applications may be necessary. It is not a thick coating like goldplating. The thin coating is susceptible to wearing off, particularly on the highpoints. In later years firegilt objects may have an uneven gold color (with dark areas) and sometimes only left in the crevices of the relief. This gave rise to the term "parcel-gilt" which may have been intended (only a portion of the relief with gold) or a result of wearing off. The ancients could have done firesilvering by suing silver instead of gold. Renaissance medals frequently show evidence of firegilding. Japanese had a similar process where they gilded sword guards ? tsuba ? 400 years ago. In America, firegilding was done as early as 1820 by Scovill Manufacturing (there?s that name again!). They used this process to coat with gold, silver, copper and zinc but converted to electroplating entirely by 1844." [You never know which E-Sylum item will trigger an interesting response from one of our readers. Leave it to Dick Johnson to provide us with background on another fascinating aspect of numismatics and minting technology. -Editor] REPUBLIC OF TEXAS FANTASY Bob Merchant writes: "I have one of the Republic of Texas fantasy countermarks in my collection, on a 1746 British LIMA Half Crown. It is countermarked with the two punches "TEXAS / 6 BITS". To view an image of the piece, see: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v607/bobm/texas-6-bits-a.jpg COOK ISLAND COINS PRESENTED FOR PAYMENT The Cook Island Herald reported on a previously hushed-up scheme to redeem Cook Island "coins" for profit, which prompted the country to update its coinage laws. "Cook Islanders do not know it, but early last year, a crisis arose which was kept quiet and which has remained unpublicised until now. Such was the urgency that the Minister of Finance of the time relied on the Herald not to publicise the matter. In June, government rushed a much-needed amendment to legislation through all three stages in the House." "He told the House that coins left the country as souvenirs and that was good for the Cook Islands. Then he dropped a big clue as to the nature of the crisis. He said he heard that some coins had somehow come back to the Cook Islands and payments had been demanded. Then he referred to a few who, ?Would come back to a developing country and try to rip us off.? The coins Dr Maoate referred to, are $50 silver coins. According to Greta Little of the Numismatic Bureau, the coins involved are the ?explorer series, it is a set of $50 silver coins which mark the 500th anniversary of America 1492-1992. They are currently not on display at the bureau. While the face value of the coin is $50, the rise and fall of the price of silver on the market also affects the coin?s true value. Little says that last year, some German collectors whom she describes as scam artists, tried to ?cash in? some of the $50 coins and asked for the money to be sent overseas to them. They had somehow acquired a lot of the coins at a lower value. Unfortunately, Cook Islands currency legislation did not provide any safeguard against someone wanting to cash them in." The Herald understood the Finance Secretary had estimated that the Germans stood to make many millions of dollars. The exact figure was not known. There needed to be a law change or some contingency built into the upcoming budget to provide for a very large payout." To read the complete story: http://www.ciherald.co.ck/h296a.html FEATURED WEB SITE: BANK OF CANADA BANKNOTES This week's featured web site is the Bank of Canada's Bank Note Series, 1935 to present. http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/banknotes/general/character/index.html Wayne Homren Numismatic Bibliomania Society The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. For more information please see our web site at http://www.coinbooks.org/. There is a membership application available on the web site at this address: http://www.coinbooks.org/club_nbs_member_app.html To join, print the application and return it with your check to the address printed on the application. Membership is only $15 to addresses in the U.S., $20 elsewhere. For those without web access, write to: David M. Sundman, Secretary/Treasurer Numismatic Bibliomania Society, P. O. Box 82 Littleton, NH 03561 For Asylum mailing address changes and other membership questions, contact David at this email address: dsundman@LittletonCoin.com To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, just Reply to this message, or write to the Editor at this address: whomren@coinlibrary.com Those wishing to become new E-Sylum subscribers (or wishing to Unsubscribe) can go to the following web page: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All past E-Sylum issues are archived on the NBS web site at this address: http://www.coinbooks.org/club_nbs_esylum_archive.html Issues from September 2002 to date are also archived at this address: http://my.binhost.com/pipermail/esylum From esylum at binhost.com Sun Apr 16 13:16:58 2006 From: esylum at binhost.com (esylum@binhost.com) Date: Sun Apr 16 13:18:15 2006 Subject: The E-Sylum v9#16, April 16, 2006 Message-ID: <001f01c66179$91824a90$0769c747@laptop035> Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 9, Number 16, April 16, 2006: an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society. Copyright (c) 2006, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society. WAYNE'S WORDS Among our recent subscribers are Joe Fitzgerald (courtesy of John Eshbach), Dennis P. Skea and Barry Jablon. Welcome aboard! We now have 878 subscribers. We're publishing a little early today because of the holiday. Lots of submissions this week, on topics old and new. One highlight for me has been reading Barry Jablon's recollections of his days working in department store coin shops, a topic discussed by several readers last year. Barry found us as a result of a web search which led him to the E-Sylum archive. Viva Internet! In the news, another quarter-million dollars worth of coins and gold bars have been recovered from the Atocha shipwreck, copper and zinc prices imperil the U.S. cent, hackers stuff the electronic ballot box with votes for their favorite Washington State quarter design, and new legislation could mandate better record-keeping at the U.S. Mint and provide funds for displaying more of the National Numismatic Collection. And finally, to learn why some people fry their ATM cards in a microwave oven, read on. Have a great week, everyone. Wayne Homren Numismatic Bibliomania Society ROGER BURDETTE'S 1905-1908 VOLUME PUBLISHED Roger Burdette writes: "There will be a color ad in Coin World next week announcing availability of my new book "Renaissance of American Coinage 1905-1908." Copies will be available for $44.95 + $5.00 shipping until May 10. Thereafter the regular retail price is $64.95 plus shipping. The book is an in-depth examination of the origin and initial production of the Saint-Gaudens $20 and $10 of 1907 and the Pratt $5 and $2.50 released in 1908. As with the previous book, the work is based on hundreds of original documents, drawings and photos - many never before published. There are more than 100 previously- unknown letters relating to the new coins! In 400 pages of text and images, the story of the collaboration between Theodore Roosevelt and Saint-Gaudens is revealed in a new light. The book even expands on the decades-long animosity between Saint-Gaudens and Philadelphia Mint Engraver Charles Barber." The following is from the press material already sent to hobby publications: "Authoritative text, extensive illustrations and thorough referencing make "Renaissance of American Coinage 1905-1908" the only comprehensive source for this important, but poorly understood aspect of American art and numismatics. This book will be of special interest to historians of the early 20th century, coin collectors, numismatic auction companies, researchers and fine art historians. It is intended to become a standard reference for libraries and research facilities. Renaissance of American Coinage 1905-1908 is the second of three books exploring the coinage redesign of 1907-1921. A companion volume covering the 1916-1921 period (ISBN 0-9768986-0-8, available from the publisher.) was released in October 2005, and a third volume covering 1909-1915 is planned for release in late 2007. The book is available direct from Seneca Mill Press LLC, PO Box 1423, Great Falls VA 22066 for $64.95 plus $5 postage." [Roger's latest volume is eagerly anticipated. Few numismatic authors today go to the lengths Roger has in seeking and finding previously unpublished original source material. The book and its companion volumes are a must for libraries of American numismatic literature. -Editor] AMERICAN NUMISMATIC RARITIES LAUNCHES PAPER MONEY REVIEW The following is from the April 14 American Numismatic Rarities eNews: "Christine Karstedt, President of American Numismatic Rarities, is pleased to announce the launch of another company magazine, The Paper Money Review, which will join the highly popular Numismatic Sun. Emphasis in the new title will be paper money of America?ranging from colonial times through obsoletes, scrip, and providing the main focus, federal issues from 1861 to date. Edited by Q. David Bowers, the inaugural issue will feature a mix of research articles, interesting tidbits from history and market information, along with a panorama of currency for sale, including many of the more beautiful and rare federal issues, as well as the ever-popular ?type? notes, such as the 1896 Educational series, various ?nickname? notes (?Woodchopper,? ?Battleship,? ?Silver Dollar?), and more. Paper money enthusiasts on the American Numismatic Rarities customer list will all receive a copy. However, a limited number of extra copies have been made available, and, subject to the supply on hand, interested readers can request one free of charge by sending their mailing information by email, mail or fax to the attention of Mary Tocci; maryt@anrcoins.com; ANR; PO Box 1804; Wolfeboro, NH 03894. Fax 603-569-3875. Publication is anticipated for late April." JAPANESE OCCUPATION PATTERN COIN AND BOOK David Klinger writes: "Recently, I have been doing a world tour of numismatic museums on the Internet. My latest visit was to the Money Museum of the Bank Negara Malaysia, in Kuala Lumpur. There, I found a very interesting Japanese Occupation Pattern Coin on display. The curator of the museum sent me some details about this coin. The Japanese did not issue any coinage for their occupation of Malaya in WWII. All the occupation currency, including denominations of less than one dollar were printed on paper. Of course, many Americans refer to these issues as Japanese Invasion Money (JIM). However, the pattern coin on display in this museum, and some others, are a clear indicator that occupation coinage was considered. The pattern on display is a 20 cent aluminum pattern coin inscribed on the obverse with the name MALAYSIA, and the date 2602, which translated from the Japanese calendar is 1942 A.D. Inscribed on the reverse is a typical Japanese design of a sun ray with sakura flowers, with 20 CENTS at the top. It is interesting that the name MALAYSIA was used on a pattern coin of 1942, given that the name for this country was not changed from MALAYA to MALAYSIA until 16 September, 1963. However, that name had actually been in common use since the 19th Century. Mr. Saran Singh of the Malaysian Numismatic Society received verification from the Osaka Finance Ministry, Japan, that this pattern coin had indeed been minted at the Osaka Mint, and that the name MALAYSIA was the Japanese name for that region, at that time. In a new book entitled ''Malaysian Numismatic Heritage" to be released in May, 2006, by the Money Museum, Central Bank of Malaysia, it states: "This specimen coin is the most unique [sic] in the Money Museum's collection". (I was sent some excerpts from an advanced copy of this book.) It has also been reported in Schwan/ Boling WWII Remembered (p 619) that the Japanese produced other related pattern coins: Two one cent occupation coins with a pattern of a wooden head, dated 2603 (1943) and 2604 (1944). One five cent occupation coin , with a pattern of a shadow puppet, dated 2604 (1944). Two 10 cent occupation coins made from an alloy of zinc and nickel, dated 2603 (1943) and 2604 (1944). You can visit the Money museum of the Central Bank of Malaysia here: http://moneymuseum.bnm.gov.my/ You can view the Occupation Pattern 20c Coin here: http://davidklinger.blogspot.com You can purchase the book "Malaysian Numismatic Heritage" published by Central Bank of Malaysia from the following address. The book will be available for direct sale in May 2006 at RM100.00. Money Museum & Art Centre Bank Negara Malaysia Jalan Dato Onn P.O. Box 10922 50929 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia" CANADIAN NUMISMATIC BIBLIOGRAPHY UPDATE In a note to advance subscribers to the Canadian Numismatic Bibliography Project, Ronald Greene writes: "I was in Toronto this last week and had the opportunity to meet with the copy editor, Paul Petch. We went over what has been done and what needs to be done, and I must say that the part of the bibliography that I saw completed looks extremely nice. I trust that when it finally gets into your hands you will be pleased with it. It is certainly much more comprehensive than anything attempted before by a factor of ten or more times. It has also been significantly more complex and time consuming a project than ever envisioned. We thought that we were ready to go to press in 2003 after seven years of work. We obviously were not ready then, and all concerned in the project regret the delays since we started selling the work. However, we are getting much closer and no one will be happier than Darryl, Paul and I when the finished product is in your hands. The text is essentially complete. The main task that needs to be done is the completion of the insertion of the photographs and illustrations, much of which has already been done. However, this work is complex, detailed and covers over 1,200 pages in the finished two volume set, so it is very time-consuming. The copy editing is a job that needs to be done by one person, so that consistency and control can be maintained. We are very fortunate that we have a copy editor with the necessary technical skills and numismatic knowledge. Paul is spending four to six hours per day on the project and has set the objective of finishing the editing by mid May, if all goes well. However, not everything has gone smoothly to this point. If we meet the mid May target the printer estimates that he can have finished copies ready to be delivered at the C.N.A. convention. If that is the case, then I will try to bring as many copies as I can when I go to the convention. Some time in June, please let me know if you will be attending and would be willing to accept your copies at the convention. If you have moved or changed your mailing address in the last three years it would be wise to provide us with an update. We?re optimistic with the progress being made and we do thank all the subscribers for their patience." [This is a very worthwhile project, and I'm sure purchasers will feel it's worth the wait. Subscriptions are closed however, and no more will be sold at the originally published price. -Editor] QUEEN DISTRIBUTES MAUNDY COINS David Sundman forwarded this story about Great Britain's annual Maundy Money ceremony: "The Queen has distributed Maundy Money to 160 pensioners in a service ahead of her 80th birthday next week. She gave 80 men and 80 women two purses each at the ceremony at Guildford Cathedral, which she attended with the Duke of Edinburgh. The purses contain 80p in Maundy coins and a ?5 coin both of which mark the Queen's forthcoming 80th birthday." "One of the purses presented by the Queen also contains a 50p coin marking 150 years of the Victoria Cross. All the coins are newly minted this year." "The Maundy service dates back centuries. Until the 18th Century the monarch would also wash the feet of the poor selected to receive the coins. In modern times the monarch has distributed the money without washing the recipients' feet." "Canterbury Cathedral spokesman Christopher Robinson said the feet washing ceremony at the cathedral was re-instated in 2003 after a 400-year absence." To read the complete story, see: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4905376.stm OTHER NUMISMATIC LITERATURE EXHIBITS IN ATLANTA At the recent ANA Convention in Atlanta, there was more than one exhibit related to numismatic literature or topics discussed recently in The E-Sylum. Congratulations to all the exhibitors, E-Sylum subscribers every one. We'd love to hear more about your exhibits! Third place, History and Politics: John Eshbach, The Numismatic Publications of Charles Trissler Steigerwalt." Third place, Economics: Nancy Wilson, "Scovill Manufacturing Company." Second place, The Arts: John Wilson, "Early ANA Ephemera." Larry Gaye adds: "I too was at the ANA in Atlanta and enjoyed ?The Numismatic Publications of Charles Trissler Steigerwalt? exhibit. It was very well done. The other exhibits were excellent too. The checks and other items in the Scovill exhibit were complete and really well done. Howard Daniel III was very busy at the club table. He had a real haul and was giving stuff away faster than gas burns. He is a true WAG, for the uninitiated, "What A Guy." Howard reports: "When I arrived at the Atlanta ANA, I had 82 references donated by NBS and other numismatists to give to new and young collectors. It was a great time and I gave all of them away except three!!!" NEW ANA JOURNAL SEEKS AUTHORS The following item is from the American Numismatic Association's April e-Newsletter: "April marked the debut of the ANA Journal, a quarterly scholarly publication devoted to in-depth numismatic topics featuring member- submitted articles and original numismatic research. The ANA is seeking content for the Summer 2006 and later editions. Manuscripts are evaluated by a review panel on the basis of scholarship, presentation and suitability of illustrations." [For more information on the Journal, see: http://www.money.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Communications/ANAJournal/default.htm Contact Research Editor David Sklow (phone 719-482-9823, e-mail sklow@money.org. -Editor] BARRY JABLON'S GREAT DEPARTMENT STORE COIN SHOP ADVENTURE New subscriber Barry Jablon writes: "I recently came across your articles written about people who purchased stamps and coins at department stores around the county in the early 1960s thru the 1980s. I was lucky enough to apprentice with Ernst Kraus at the Gimbel's in Philadelphia. I then became manager of the newly opened coin department in Hutzler's Department store in Baltimore when I was eighteen years old. I transferred back to Philadelphia when I was nineteen and worked for Gimbel's (actually Jack and Bob Friedberg) at their suburban Gimbel's outside Philadelphia. In 1962, I left the company and went to the Air Force and then went on to become a school teacher. I recently retired. I have some great stories about some of the purchases I made in Philly and in Baltimore and about meeting Louis Eliasberg and the Stefanelli's in Washington (curators of the Smithsonian coin exhibit)." I invited Barry to share some of his stories with us. He writes: "I have thought a lot about my years in the coin business and the excitement associated with it. As far back as I can remember, I was a coin collector. The old Whitman coin albums were sold everywhere for $.35. I would go through my father's change every night and fill in the holes. Of course, there were always those holes which would remain empty. To own a 1909-S VDB or a 1914-D was as remote to me as owning a DaVinci painting. However, I could gaze upon these rarities any Saturday, and for free. All I had to do was to take the subway to center city Philadelphia, walk a block to Gimbel's, and gaze into the old wooden display cabinets at all of those coins that we would never own. Just imagine how I felt, when I was sixteen and happened to be staring into the cases in front where the manager was standing, and I heard him talking on the phone about being able to hire a part-time salesperson. I got up the nerve to ask for the job. One half hour later, I was filling in forms and was starting my career as a coin dealer for Coins and Currency Institute, who leased space all around the country in the largest department stores along with Jacques Minkus (stamps)." "Each of the coin departments owned by the Friedberg/Minkus group was allocated as much money as it needed to make purchases from the public who came to the counter with their coins or currency. Mr. Kraus, who ran the Philadelphia Gimbel's coin dept., was from New York. He had been a member of the Brooklyn Coin Club with the Kagins and other famous people in the coin hobby and business. He trained me to know all coins. American, foreign, ancients, patterns, etc. I wasn't allowed to make purchases on my own. After a few months on the job, he allowed me to evaluate a collection someone had for sale, but I had to clear the price I was going to pay with him. One Saturday afternoon, we had the usual crowd around the department, when Mr. Kraus called me over to where he was standing talking to two well-dressed gentlemen. "Barry" he said, "this gentleman has a coin he wants to sell, you handle it." He walked away, smiling to himself. Here I was, about to make my first purchase, totally on my own. I took the jeweler's tray from under the counter and asked the gentleman what he wanted to sell. He reached into his coat pocket and took out a square Lucite coin holder and, literally, tossed the holder onto the jeweler's tray. I took out my jeweler's loop and picked up the coin. It was a 1913 liberty nickel! The gentleman's name was Wolfson. I don't recall his first name. He was in town for an A.N.A. show at the old Ben Franklin Hotel in Philadelphia. He was a friend of Mr. Kraus, and they thought they would have some fun with the "new kid". The coin was to be put on display at the show. But, of course, at the time, I didn't know any of this. "Well" he laughed, "will you give me enough for the coin so I can take you and Ernie out for lunch?" My hands were still shaking when Mr. Kraus came over to me and took the coin, and gave it back to his friend. So, here I was, sixteen years old, and I had held one of the rarest coins in the world in my hands. This was going to be a great job." RESEARCHER SEEKS 1930S HOBBY SHOP PRICES REALIZED LIST Dave Lange writes: "I'm hoping that one of our pack-rat readers has the prices realized list for The Hobby Shop's sale of March 15, 1930. The final lot, 545, either is or includes a 1918/7-D nickel, and I'd like to know what it brought." NUMISMATIC TITLES REPRINTED BY UNIVERSITY OF MIGHIGAN Ed Snible writes: "The University of Michigan Library has gotten into the reprint business. Their first numismatic titles were issued late last year. Amazon lists the publisher as "Scholarly Publishing Office, University of Michigan Library". That office has a web site, http://spo.umdl.umich.edu/, but it doesn't mention reprints. Quality control can't be very high, as at least one title is Misspelled. Also, the UofM has neglected to supply author's names to Amazon, except as part of titles. Some of these books are also available for free through books.google.com -- but not all -- suggesting that the UofM is picking titles rather than reprinting everything Google scans. The first title choices are rather odd, though. Not what I would have chosen. I recently used the UofM's MITS service (Michigan Information Transfer Source) http://www.lib.umich.edu/mits/ to obtain a printout of a rare 1885 book. MITS prices are about the same as other libraries' copy services, 25 cents a page, the benefit of MITS is that you get the option of downloading a PDF instead of waiting in the mail for Xeroxes. MITS won't copy whole copyrighted books, though. I recommend this service." http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1425529755 http://books.google.com/books?&id=mYrIOzZ_GLQC&pg=PR1 The coinages of the world; ancient and modern. By Geo. D. Mathews. Illustrated with several hundred engravings of the principal coins (312 pages, $24, reprint from 1876) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1425545599 A description of ancient and modern coins, in the cabinet collection at the Mint of the United States. Prepared and arranged under the direction of James Ross Snowden (420 pages, $27, year ???) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1418199567 Catalogue of a selection from Colonel Leake's Greek coins, exhibited in the Fitzwilliam museum, by Churchill Babington (54 pages, $15, from 1867) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1418198161 Catalogue of the cabinet of coins belonging to Yale college, deposited in the College library (48 pages, $12, from 1863) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1425528368 Coins, medals, and seals, ancient and modern. Illustrated and described. With a sketch of the history of coins and coinage, instructions for young collectors, ... and American coins, medals and tokens, &c. (302 pages, $24, from 1861) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1425509355 New varieties of gold and silver coins, counterfeit coins, ad bullion; with mint values(SIC!) (132 pages, $17, from 1850)" FINDING USED BOOK STORES Regarding last week's query, Steve Woodland writes: "I don't know of any specific bookstores in Washington, D.C., but readers going there can search for bookstores on abebooks.com before they go. Just browse to www.abebooks.com, choose "Bookstores" from the red menu bar, then choose "USA" and "District of Columbia" and click on search. When I did the search, there were 20 stores listed in the Washington, D.C. area. The potential buyer could then browse the store inventory and view contact information online to determine which ones to visit. Unfortunately, the listings are by state, not by city. So readers headed for other cities may not find this feature as useful." Warner Talso writes: "In the The E-Sylum: Volume 9, Number 15, April 9, 2006, there was an article seeking information on bookstores in Washington D.C. For Michael and other travelers, I suggest searching on "mapmuse" or checking this website: http://find.mapmuse.com/re1/mmHomeBrands.php One can search anywhere in the country for any kind of interest or product." SAME BOOK, DIFFERENT TITLE? Darryl Atchison writes: "Here is a quick question for our readers. I came across a reference to a publication recently on the Internet which seemed somewhat familiar to me but yet somehow not quite as per my recollection so I did a further check on a couple of websites to corroborate my suspicions. The text I came across was entitled "Matthew Boulton: Master Silversmith 1760 - 1790" by Eric Delieb and Michael Roberts. It was published in New York in 1971 by Clarkson N. Potter. I was already familiar with another book by Delieb and Roberts entitled "Great Silver Manufactory: Matthew Boulton and the Birmingham Silversmiths, 1760 - 1790. This book was also published in 1971 in London, England by Studio Vista. Both books are 144 pages in length. I suspect that these two books are, in fact, the same publication but that they were published simultaneously under different titles for both British and U.S. markets. I wonder if our readers can either verify or disprove this theory, or comment upon other numismatic books which may have been simultaneously published under different titles. Thanks." MORE ON DON TAXAY AND THOMPSON'S ESSAY ON COINING Recently Eric Newman noted that in 1966 Don Taxay published "The U.S. Mint and Coinage" which included a group of images from Thompson's 1783 "Essay on Coinage" Jim Spilman writes: "As usual -- Eric is correct. I wish that my memory was as good as his. It may well be that Barnsley's information on the Thompson document came from Taxay and that Barnsley's information was inaccurate. I wish he were here so that we could ask him. I have a copy of Taxay's book in my library, but Barnsley did not as I have his library -- rather small -- that he gifted to me personally, and there is no copy in it. If I had known of the Taxay discussion I would have reported it in The Colonial Newsletter, so apparently I totally missed it, and at best we can give Barnsley the credit for "rediscovering" the actual document in the ANS Library. I believe that all the other information in my earlier letter is correct. I have a color slide, someplace, of Ned Barnsley holding open the original manuscript in the ANS Library that I made while we were there. I shall try to locate it." PLAY MONEY: IT'S ALL RELATIVE Regarding the criticism of the new $10 bills, Gary Dunaier writes: "If memory serves me right, the current $10 bills, with the larger portrait off to a side, also looked like "play money" when they were first introduced. Once people get used to the new bills, as well as once the bills themselves become less "crisp" and more "circulated," I'm sure people won't have any problem seeing them as what they are -- real money." CORRECTION: FIREGILDING, NOT FIREBRANDING Dick Johnson writes: "One of last week's "Wayne's Words" was incorrect. The technology I proposed for silver coating ancient coins could have been a form of :"firegilding" not "firebranding." Did you have cattle branding on your mind, Wayne? If you did, it reminds me of a charming instance of California sculptor Spero Anaygros who designed the Salinas California Centennial Medal of 1984. He depicted a horse in the design and signed the medal with his initials "S" over "A" on the horse's haunch like a cattle brand. That's "firebranding" in numismatics. That's charming." [Where "firebranding" came from, I have no idea. This is what happens when an editor doesn't have an editor of his own to keep him honest. But that's what corrections are for. Sorry, Dick! Besides, if it weren't for my boneheaded mistake, we wouldn't have learned about Spero Anaygros' charming signature. -Editor] NEW FIND OF ATOCHA GOLD BARS AND COINS According to an April 11 Associated Press report, "Divers returned to port Monday with two gold bars and 15 silver coins they unearthed, which had been buried beneath the ocean floor for almost 400 years. The objects are believed to be from the shipwreck of the Nuestra Senora de Atocha, a Spanish galleon that sank off Key West in 1622." "The first bar found weighed one pound and measured about 7 inches long, while the second weighed two pounds and was 7.25 inches long. Kim Fisher, the president of the Fisher company, estimated the value of the find to be about $250,000." To read the complete article, see: http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060411/BREAKINGNEWS/60411002 WHY PEOPLE MICROWAVE THEIR ATM CARDS In previous issues, we've discussed the use of RFID (radio frequency identification) tags in currency and credit cards. On April 10 the Wall Street Journal published a related article titled, "Why Some People Put These Credit Cards In the Microwave." "When Brenden Walker got his new MasterCard PayPass ATM card in the mail last month, he headed to the gas station to try it out. To test the card's "Tap N Go" convenience, he passed it in front of the scanner, which activated with a beep and displayed the word "authorizing..." on its LCD screen. That was quite enough for Mr. Walker. Without completing the transaction, he put the card down on the pavement and took a hammer to it." "The PayPass card, which contains an embedded radio chip, had worked perfectly.... But Mr. Walker, a 37-year-old software engineer in Canton, Ohio, is one of a growing number of computer and technology experts who are becoming anxious about possible abuses of the technology. Mr. Walker fears that thieves will be able to eavesdrop on the radio transmission and buy gas at his expense." "Others are using do-it-yourself methods for disabling radio chips, including microwaving them. The electromagnetic energy emitted by a microwave oven fries the chip and renders it useless. The downside: Tagged items might burst into flames in the process..." LEITZMANN, JOHN PINKERTON AND MEDALLIC ILLUSTRATIONS Regarding Kay Platt's query about different versions of "The Medallic History of England", David Gladfelter writes: "Attribution of the 1802 edition to Pinkerton goes back at least to 1867, when Leitzmann listed him as the author in the supplement to Lipsius's "Bibliotheca Numaria." That doesn't prove anything, of course." HEROIC NURSE'S WWI MEDAL SELLS AT AUCTION According to the UK's Greenock Telegraph, "A rare medal won by a Greenock war heroine has sold for more than ?3,000. The Military Medal was awarded to nurse Kate Carruthers for showing bravery in the face of the enemy during the First World War. Miss Carruthers was one of only a few women to receive the award for her heroic efforts in treating the wounded on the frontline." "The 30-year-old nurse was stationed on the Western Front in 1917 when her field hospital came under attack. She was injured in the fighting but battled bravely through the pain barrier to continue treating the wounded. In 1917 she became one of only a few women to be awarded the prestigious Military Medal, which was created by King George V in 1916." "The medal was bought on behalf of an unknown collector. It had lain forgotten in a bank vault until Miss Carruthers died in 1969. It was left in her will to the Haylie House nursing home in Largs, where she spent her final days. The medal, along with a newspaper cutting announcing the award, was sold on behalf of the home." To read the complete article, see: http://www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/readstory.php?id=7109 AUSTRALIANS WATCHING SCRAP VALUE OF AMERICAN CENTS Dick Johnson writes: "Are American cents destined to be melted for their scrap value? Metal experts in London say a rise in copper and zinc prices equal to what has happened in the last three weeks could exceed the metal value of the lowly U.S. cent. In a report by Kevin Morrison in London, published in The Australian, he quotes market analysts who follow international metal prices. Copper is up 30 percent, zinc is up 55 percent in the last three weeks. The experts project this could have a dramatic effect on the world?s largest storehouse of these two medals ? the United States cents in circulation. What happens when the scrap value of a cent is greater than its face value? Nothing, at first, say the experts. Prices go up, prices go down. The price could descend without notice, negating a mass meltdown of America?s lowest denomination coin. Each U.S. cent is 97.5 percent zinc and 02.5 percent copper [since 1982]. There are 160 cents to the pound. At present copper and zinc prices those 160 cents have a scrap value of $1.36 according to this article. You might want to read this report. The prices are quoted in American dollars: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/printpage/0,5942,18786863,00.html DICK JOHNSON ON FUTURE COINS Dick Johnson writes: "I have praised the United States Treasury officials in previous writings for choosing the copper clad zinc composition for the U.S. cent and converting to this coinage alloy in 1982. World market prices of metal are rising. Should they rise even more ? an even-money possibility ? it would make U.S. cents in circulation vulnerable to hoarding at first, scrapping in the long run. Treasury officials will be faced with an immediate dilemma ? what composition for cents being struck? What to do with all the cents in circulation? It could be the great silver meltdown of the 1960s on a smaller scale, deju vu all over again. The brilliance of the copper clad zinc is that melting these coins, the metal could be easily reformulated into ? brass! (Pick a formula, add a little virgin copper, you could have a highly successful brass coinage alloy!) The Treasury has two options. One. Use this brass to strike a new cent coin; unfortunately it will have to be a smaller diameter or we might face this monster recoinage problem again, shortly. Two. Abolish the cent. Hold on, collectors, all is not lost in removing this coin from circulation. I have written a 41-page plan titled "Future Coins" which addresses this problem. My advice -- don?t attack this cent problem alone. Restructure the entire U.S. coinage schedule with advance planning (a 50-year plan!) and enlightened understanding in a Master Plan For All U.S. Coins. Plan for the long run. Eliminate politics. Use common sense. Plan ahead. More later."