The E-Sylum:  Volume 8, Number 11, March 13, 2005, Article 23

FILTHY LUCRE

Chick Ambrass writes: "Concerning the comments about "dirty"
money, I have a few comments in response. It's been a number
of years since I've attended Pharmacy School, but I do continue
with my required Continuing Education, and new antibiotics
come to the market every year, and I do try to keep up as
much as possible. The practice of putting the money in
"quarantine" for a day to help with the SARS epidemic was
just so they could say they were doing something...many
bacteria, spores, and viruses can remain dormant for very
long periods, just waiting for the right amount of heat, moisture,
and susceptible host to become active. The comment about
metals and their electroactivity being anti-microbial, as far as
I know....that pertains to silver almost exclusively. The
Phoencians would put silver coins in their water containers to
keep the water fresh over long sea journeys. Right here in the
United States, the explorers heading west during the 1800's also
practiced the same. The comment "born with a silver spoon
in his mouth" was not a statement about wealth...but of "health".
You see, children fed with a silver spoon, as opposed to a
wooden spoon (which was more likely to harbor bacteria)
generally were healthier babies...but it was due to the silver...
not any other substance, either wood, nor copper.

As far as the metal coins having less bacteria because they
are metal....generally accepted as the "dirtiest" item in your
home, is not the floor, not the toilet...but the door knob most
often has more bacteria stuck on its surface than anything
else in your home.

So wash your hands after every time you touch the door
knob, and don't worry about the money, you'll be much
better off."

  Wayne Homren, Editor

	coinbooks.org Web

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization 
promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor 
at this address: whomren@coinlibrary.com

To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum