Regarding your ANA diary - what a great write up. You must have been like a whirlwind. I have great memories of the Reading terminal market. What wonderful tastes there are there.

Thanks for The E-Sylum. I enjoy reading each edition. I never knew there was so much information available in the bibliomania area.

The metalurgical tests on the 1794 and 1795 half dollars are fascinating, even if a tad horrifying. I look forward to seeing the results, and I do hope that each piece was also tested non-destructively on its normal surface, for comparison with the test results of the naked interior. By seeing how close the two test results are, it should allow better specimens to be non-destructively tested in the future with a good idea of how accurate the non-destructive tests are!

"All 1943 cents were supposed to have been struck on zinc-coated steel planchets to save precious copper for more critical wartime production needs. In prior years, cents were struck on planchets made of bronze (95% copper and 5% zinc)."

If I recall correctly, bronze requires tin, which the earlier alloy included (~2.5%) but shell-case cents did not. Thereafter, the pre-war alloy was resumed until 1962, when tin was removed, making them effectively brass (until 1982).

Formerly U.S. Mint Reports carried data on striking pressures of all denominations.

Here is an article from Coin World on striking pressures. The Australian pressures sound about right. The Canadian pressures sound rather high, but that may have been because they were striking pure nickel 10 cent and up coins back then, and it is rather hard.

I want to comment on the Gold Pennsylvania First Defenders medal. I agree with what Gary wrote that Oliver Bosbyshell was involved. I have a book in my library, Pennsylvania at Antietam, published at the dedication of monuments, in 1906, to the Pennsylvania fighters of that battle. Colonel Oliver C. Bosbyshell was a member of the three man committee in charge of this task.

I'm looking for a prices realized list for Milford Bolender's 76th auction held June 11, 1932. I didn't find it through the ANA, ANS (who have a copy of the catalog only), or on the Newman Numismatic Portal. I read in a past issue of The E-Sylum that David Perkins has been a collector of Bolender catalogs for quite sometime.