I believe the addition of the members of the ANA will give greater insight to the importance and need for more numismatic knowledge. Your weekly publication of news will provide constant instruction that coin collecting has depth and deep study that only the more advanced collector generally sees. The E-Sylum is a great source of information towards the continuous advancement of numismatics.

I remember when The Numismatist was the main source of information; later Numismatic Scrapbook joined the monthly distribution of news, and when the introduction of Numismatic News and Coin World on a weekly basis joined the information train, I feel that all together they helped make the ANA and the hobby grow.

Later of course came to the market other numismatic magazines and then the electronic world led to the growth of the interest and knowledge about coins on virtually a daily basis. Of course, your dedication to The E-Sylum which is a super effort you've done virtually on a one man basis in charge of publication weekly, became the super source for literature and information to keep collectors aware what is happening in the hobby.

Best wishes on your new collaboration.

Some observations: In the 1930s Eastman Kodak promoted the Recordak camera that used 16 mm black and white film to record old newspapers and other material. Their promotions said that tons of old newspapers that were taking up space could now be tossed. The result TODAY is that most historical newspapers are gone forever, and that the 16 mm images, widely available on various Internet sources, are in all instances fuzzy and never crisp.

Today, digital tech can solve that. Here are some basic rules:

1. Most printed material such as books and postcards if imaged at 300 dpi will be about as good as the originals. Lower dpi will result in fuzzy edges to the letters, etc. If you use 400 dpi, as I do, any later use will be 100% as sharp as the originals.

For bank notes and engravings, I use 800 dpi. This enables the most delicate engraving details to be captured perfectly. Absent the above, any modern scans will be sub-par if anyone wants to reproduce them.

The New Hampshire Historical Society, of which I am a trustee, uses 700 dpi for everything, including tens of thousands of historical photographs. This insures that if any originals ever are lost, the digitized images are just as good.

Over the years I have had many inquiries from researchers, and the above advice/commentary has ALWAYS worked to the delight of everyone.

The medal described as possibly a previously unknown Canadian or Jesuit Indian Peace medal is nothing more than a Catholic Sacred Heart of Jesus devotional piece. Christ's heart is shown surrounded by the crown of thorns of the Passion and is aflame with his love for mankind. So the iconography is described by the Sisters of Carmel. Medals of the same general design can be bought in any Catholic religious store and online from scores of sites. I do not think the piece shown is particularly old.

The Kalamazoo Chapter of the Fraternal Order Of Leatherheads Society has honored the Fire Chief who was killed on duty earlier this year with a commemorative medal. Too bad they don't show an image of the medal. I love these stories of local medals with meaning.

Thanks for mentioning this sad occurrence. The Chief was universally respected in the greater Kalamazoo area (Comstock is an eastern suburb of Kalamazoo). My poor hometown has suffered a lot in the past 18 months: a murderous rampage by a deranged Uber driver, a group of bicyclists mowed down by a badly impaired motorist, and now this. We are hoping for better things in the future.