I predict: Because of the impending tax on gold coin purchases, buyers will try to beat the deadline by buying heavily at ANA Boston convention this August.

Many months ago I asked, and you posted, my question of what to do with several hundred European auction catalogs from about 1980 to 2000. I didn't receive any answers and I just got confirmation of my suspicion. I asked George Kolbe and he confirmed that despite their quality and cost to the issuer they aren't worth the cost of inventorying, packaging, and shipping them to him. A few years ago I checked at local coin clubs and they are not interested in non-USA material. I may cut some pictures from some of the catalogs but I'm running out of space so they will be trashed.

"Does anyone know how to contact Carlson R. Chambliss? I understand he has produced a poster of Military Payment Certificates. I am mounting an exhibit on July 1st in the Harriotte B. Smith Library on board Marine Corps Base Camp LeJeune and heard from currency dealer Daryl C. Spekbring of Virginia Beach, Virginia that such a poster exists. I would like to obtain one to use to accompany the exhibit either from Chambliss or another available source.

This has to be one of the longest times between inquiries and replies...eight years!

In checking over references to me on the Internet I noticed that you wanted to contact me about the MPC replica notes that I made a few years ago. I still have plenty of them both as cut singles and in sheets. There are a total of 107 different notes in the full set from Series 461 (first used in 1946) to Series 701 (the last unissued set intended for Vietnam).

There are three different sheets - fractionals, middle size notes (i. e., $1 and small-size $5 notes), and the large-size notes. They are very large in size - 28 x 40 inches. This is because the plates were extremely expensive, and I had to keep the number of plates to a minimum.

My postal address is P. O. Box 804, Kutztown, PA 19530 and my telephone number is 1-610-683-6572. My email address is crchamblis@verizon.net (Note one "s" only.)

About thirty years ago, when I was still at the American Numismatic Society, I got a letter from someone in port of Spain calling himself the Kane Detection Agency. Seems he had a 1923 silver dollar that had belonged to President Harding and was actually on his person when he died. Kane said he'd already been offered a million and a half for it, and would we offer more for it? I wrote back, told him that if someone offered me a million and a half for a coin worth seven dollars of so, I, personally, would go for it.

He must've taken the offer, because I never heard from him again.

Many thanks to Michael Sullivan and Kim Ghobrial for the wonderful suggestions, and to Wayne Homren for posting the original question to the group. I've shared these responses with others in my colonial coins groups and believe the answers given will make those who do have leather bound books take notice and act appropriately.

Although I assumed the majority of those who have rare or expensive leather bound editions would know this, I found that some had never given it a thought until now! Thank you once again for helping to save some beautiful numismatic books to be enjoyed by future generations of coin collectors!