IN OTHER NEWS: MARCH 4, 2018

United States Assay Commission

The Assay Commission had tested the quality of our coinage for nearly two hundred years when it was abolished to save a paltry $2,500. It was the oldest operating federal commission and had first met only a few days after George Washington ended his presidency.

The origin of the Assay Commission may be traced to 13th century England. During the reign of King Henry III (1216-1272) it became obvious that some method was needed to control the quality of the coinage issued by a multitude of mints in that country. By 1250 a trial of the pyx was in operation by which samples of coins produced by the widely scattered minters were tested by men specially appointed by the king. (The pyx was simply the box in which the reserved pieces were stored prior to testing.) By the end of Henry’s reign, the trial was formalized as a regular feature of the coinage.

The Trial of the Pyx, as it is known today, is still carried out in Great Britain with style and dignity. Unfortunately in the United States a short-sighted effort to save a few dollars resulted in the end of an honorable institution.

To read the complete article, see:
Assay Commission abolished 1977 (http://www.numismaticnews.net/article/assay-commission-abolished-1977)

Mike Markowitz Interviews David Vagi

David Vagi (left) and Mike Markowitz

In the following transcription of that interview, Mike asks David about what a grade means on an ancient coin, what the future holds for ancient coin collecting, and what does David have to say about those who think slabbing ancients is anathema to to the hobby…

To read the complete article, see:
Building Museums One Coin at a Time: Mike Markowitz Interviews David Vagi of NGC Ancients (https://coinweek.com/ancient-coins/building-museums-one-coin-time-mike-markowitz-interviews-davd-vagi-ngc-ancients/)

Famous Faces on Bank of England Notes

Famous faces on bank notes: A brief history (http://www.bbc.com/news/av/business-43171779/famous-faces-on-bank-notes-a-brief-history)

Treasure Hunt Claims a Fourth Victim
A man who died after falling 500 feet in Yellowstone National Park last year was searching for Santa Fe author and antiquities dealer Forrest Fenn’s hidden treasure.

Jeff Murphy, 53, of Batavia, Ill., is the fourth man in the past two years to die while reportedly looking for an antique chest containing gold, coins, jewelry and other rare artifacts that Fenn says he hid somewhere in the Rocky Mountain region in 2010.

To read the complete articles, see:
Santa Fe author’s treasure hunt claims a fourth victim (https://www.abqjournal.com/1135807/santa-fe-authors-treasure-hunt-claims-a-fourth-victim-ex-man-who-fell-to-his-death-in-yellowstone-last-year-was-searching-for-the-infamous-antique-chest.html)
FOURTH treasure hunter dies searching for Forrest Fenn's $2m 'hidden cache of gold and jewels' that the art dealer claims he stashed somewhere in the Rocky Mountains years ago (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5415105/FOURTH-man-dies-searching-Fenns-2m-treasure.html)

To read earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
TREASURE SEEKERS SEARCH FOR AUTHOR'S HIDDEN CHEST (http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v18n29a41.html)
AUTHOR'S TREASURE SEARCH BRINGS ANOTHER DEATH (http://www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n26a35.html)

Airport Catches Gold Smugglers

A group of South Korean tourists went to painful lengths to avoid tax - by hiding blocks of gold up their rectums.

Seven would-be smugglers, all women in their 50s and 60s, were caught out at customs at Chubu International Airport, Japan, last month when X-rays revealed each of them was carrying at least five metal objects in her abdomen, The Asahi Shimbun reported.

Each block weighed in at some 200 grams.

To read the complete article, see:
Seven women are caught with gold bars hidden in their rectums at Japanese airport (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5416515/Smugglers-caught-gold-rectums-failed-tax-dodge.html)

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