Thanks for news of the Platt & Platt book on British historical medals of the 17th century, which I hastened to buy on Tuesday 8th August. I look forward to reading it.

An amazing report. Just so you know, I did find one minor error, in the caption for the picture of me and the painting--the painting was by John Ward Dunsmore, not by Pete Smith.

As a reminder the Central States Author grant applications must be received by 8/31/2017 for those who are interested in applying.

The grants are for a maximum of $5000. Interested individuals should email Ray Lockwood CSNS Education Director for applications and additional information.

After purchasing the Quint in 1979 Walter Perschke put it in his safe deposit box where it remained for 32 years. When he decided to bring it out, he discussed it with me and we decided to display it at my booth at the Chicago ANA convention in August of 2011. He produced a color tri-fold which we handed out at my table.

We discussed $1,000,000 insurance for transporting it to the show. We contacted our respective insurance companies, as well as Brinks and a private armed courier service. Nothing seemed to be practical or cost effective. Without telling anyone Walter simply drove to the convention, took the Quint from his pocket at placed it in my showcase.

One of my prized possessions is lot 61211 in the upcoming Stacks Bowers Auction in Hong Kong. It is a plaque of Rama V of Siam (Thailand) which was made in Paris after he was visiting there in 1897. The image was used on many numismatic pieces. Many years ago before a Baltimore ANA, Joe Boling and I were walking through some antiques a dealer had set up in the pre-ANA. We separated to cover more ground and would yell at each other about something the other might want. One of Joe's yells at me was pointing out the plaque. I almost had a heart attack when I saw it. I brought it to the seller and asked him what was the price for it. He was surprised that I wanted that old "Chinese" item. He told me his price and I almost tore my wallet in half to get the money out of it. There are two other plaques known but they are round and mine is only one that is rectangular. Rama V is a very famous and much loved king of Siam. One of his major accomplishments was eliminating slavery. I told my wife, Phung, about him as I showed her the plaque after returning home. We had it framed in a very nice frame and hung it in our home. When I decided it was time for it to find a new home, she really did not want to let it go but she finally told me it was OK. Now that I am 75, I need to start downsizing. The plaque has a full page in the catalog and I hope it ends up in the hands of a numismatist who also appreciates Rama V.

In regards to the piece on the Half Dime Token. You had shared my blog in a previous issue. It caught me off guard because I have only seen a few of these and for a moment thought you had re-used the article. It is one of my favorite pieces.

Regarding the mystery Japanese items, I remember seeing similar items in a Hans Schulman sale catalogue. I checked, and the Edward Kann Collection sale of June 18-20, 1971 has plate photos similar to those you've shown (lots 1417-1424). The catalogue description lists these as Japanese "koban", although only the gold type is represented in the listings.

The oval gold and silver pieces are imitations of Japanese oban or koban (depending on weight) gold coins issued from the 1600's into the 1800's. These were most likely made as souvenirs or store promotions or perhaps made for a collector to give out as gifts. The markings on the back will probably provide the key, but they are too faint to make out.

These are not legitimate coins issued by the Japanese. These are fantasy issues made for foreigners in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s as they did not want the real coins leaving the country. They come in a plethora of shapes, sizes and denominations with many varieties struck in gold and silver.

None of the reference material either in English or Japanese list these or any of the fantasy issues, but you can occasionally find them in Japanese and foreign auctions. The Japanese list them as fantasy issues while the foreign auctions may list them as genuine items or fantasy issues (It really depends on the auction house and if they really know the series or not).

You mentioned Helen Wang's note on collector Justus Doolittle. He was an American missionary who lived in China from 1850 to 1873, mostly in the area of Foochow (now Fuzhou). His book, "Social Life of the Chinese", contains a wealth of information on Chinese coins and amulets. I have a 1960's reprint of the book, but have never seen the original with Wang Mang spade coin on the spine.

His other book, "Vocabulary and Handbook of the Chinese Language", is also very interesting. I have not seen Volume One, which I imagine is a Chinese-English dictionary, but Volume Two (695 pages) is a collection of miscellaneous information in Chinese and English, arranged in 85 chapters! Chapter 75 is on Chinese coinage and Chapter 79 is on the compradore and shroff. The latter is the employee responsible for examining and testing silver coins received in business, and the one who applied a chopmark to coins found acceptable. Volume Two is available as a print-on-demand reprint.

Doolittle's coin collection is a little more complicated that stated. According to American Journal of Numismatics, July 1866, Doolittle had already sold his collection to B. J. Lake, a Chicago banker, who loaned it to Lake Forest University. In 1872 the collection is said to have passed to Horace Fletcher of San Francisco. Then in June 1881 the collection was cataloged by W. Elliot Woodward and sold by Bangs & Company, consisting of lots 1425 through 1439. When Fletcher bought the collection, it consisted of 464 bronze coins.

Alexander Del Mar (1836-1926) examined the collection and illustrated some of the coins in his "Monograph on the History of Money in China" (1881). This was reprinted in the American Journal of Numismatics in three parts during 1885. Most of the coins are actually forgeries, and my note on Del Mar's monograph reads "A mass of misinformation; totally useless."

Doolittle's diary he kept in China during 1850-1872, is at Hamilton College in Clinton, NY. For some comments on him see page 109 of "Autobiography & Across the Desert of Gobi" by Mark Williams.