I just returned from the Pittsburgh, fall ANA show. It was quite interesting on many levels including the Larry Shepard termination saga.

I also picked up the auction catalogue for Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC upcoming auction of October 26,2011 Treasure and World Coin Auction 10 . It's a most excellent catalogue and well done. I especially appreciate the list of wrecks that was included. I haven't had time to investigate the web site (www.auction.sedwickcoins.com) as of yet but I'm sure it will be superb.

Wednesday, November 9, 7:15pm, LeFrak Concert Hall Biblical-Slide lecture Series. $5/lecture or $8/two; Tickets are available through the Kupferberg Center Box Office: 718-793-8080

In Herod's Pockets: A Numismatist's View of Herod the Great

Dr. Donald Tzvi Ariel, Head of the Coin Department of the Israel Antiquities Authority, and keeper of Israel’s ancient coin collection since 1989. Through his discussion of Herod’s coins and other coins circulating at the time, Ariel will focus on: the Romanization of Judea, including the strife between moderate and more radical Jewish groups; the central role of the Jerusalem cult in Jewish life; the economic boom under Herod; his public works program; and divergent approaches to figurative art in the Second Temple period.

Dr. Ariel received his BA magna cum laude from Brown University in 1976, and thereafter moved to Israel. He completed his MA with honors at Hebrew university and then received his Ph.D. from Tel Aviv University. His dissertation was on the subject of Herodian numismatics. He is the editor of Israel Numismatic Research, the peer-reviewed journal of the Israel Numismatic Society.

I thought the bit about folding dollars was pretty interesting and forwarded it to a woman who used to work with me - she does origami and I thought she would enjoy the pictures. She replied that they looked like they had gone through the washing machine...

Under terms of the Resumption Act, Jan. 1, 1879, was to be an historic day. For the first time since the beginning of the Civil War, Americans were told that gold and silver coins were trading at parity with paper money and the U.S. Treasury would issue the full value of the note in gold or silver coins. All you had to do was present your paper money and ask for coins.

How unlike the dark days of 1863 just before the Battle of Gettysburg when it took $250 in federal paper money to buy $100 in gold coins.

As in other cases when people are told they can have all they want of a previously difficult to obtain commodity, the public decided they did not like bulky coins all that much and since the paper was at long last equal in value to gold and silver coins, they would opt to hold and use federal paper money.

Large quantities of coins were returned to the banking system as a result and mintages of many coin denominations plummeted for roughly a decade.

Your note about my eBay lot featured a deceptive headline, “Buy Paul Bosco’s Inventory for One Low Price.” I am not putting up for sale my ENTIRE inventory. Just the medals (& plaquettes & plaques). Not my coins, tokens, paper money, books, posters, antiques, collectibles, first-born son, copyrights, beer trays, swords & tsubas, model ships, sex aids and anything made of elephant feet or scrota.

The lot is now up to $8,000,001. It started at $6 million. It is true, no one has actually bid, and that the lot is moving up in price because I raised the opening bid a few times. However, that means a lot, because I am the lonely person who actually knows what’s in my inventory.

The use of the descriptive “amusing” does me a grave injustice. I am always serious. Morose, even.

The listing coincided with an eBay “List items for a penny” 1-day promotion. So far there have been 210 page views. This was a pretty cheap advertisement, even before you (the editor) and Mr. Weinberg (your contributor) copied the listing for the discerning, multi-millionaire readers of The E-Sylum. Unfortunately, it may not be clear what I am advertising. Anyway, I hope the notoriety will entice the curious to visit my Manhattan emporium.

Wait till those snipe bids flood in!