Welcome to The E-sylum: Volume 2, Number 19:  May 9, 1999: 
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society. 
   

SUBSCRIBER UPDATES  

   NBS Member Carlos Jara is the latest subscriber to the 
   E-Sylum.  Welcome aboard! 
   

THE NEXT ASYLUM  

   Secretary-Treasurer Dave Hirt is working on the latest snag 
   in the process of getting the Asylum to NBS members.  They 
   have been printed, but the printer wanted to re-establish our 
   credit with the switch in editors (it's still us, honest!)    
   But the issue should soon be on its way.   Our new Editor  
   Marilyn Reback sends the following preview of the issue's  
   contents: 
   

   1. "President's Message":  Mike Sullivan calls for nominations 
         for officers and Board of Trustees.  

   2. "Between the Covers":  Bill Murray discusses condition as 
        it applies to books.  

   3. "The Printer's Devil":  Joel Orosz offers "A Glimpse into the 
        Lost World of Antebellum Coin Dealers"  

   4. "News from the Net": Pete Smith summarizes topics 
        discussed in "The E-sylum" since the beginning of the year.  

   5. "The World Turned Upside Down":  Joel Orosz on how 
        Dr. Robert Bilinski's March 20, 1957, announcement of his 
        Guide to Coin Investment changed numismatic tradition.  

   6. "The Development of the Coin Album: Part 4"  David Lange 
        continues the saga of Whitman folders with a look at some 
        of the company's lesser-known products. 
   

E-SYLUM ARCHIVE  

   Back issues of the E-Sylum are now being archived on the 
   NBS web site.  Latecomers - see what you might have 
   missed:  Go to our web site at http://www.coinbooks.org/ 
   and click on "E-Sylum Archive". 
   

BIBLIOGRAPHY UPDATES  

   The following Medieval Coinages sections of the bibliography 
   are updated or new:  

    45.  MEROVINGIANS & CAROLINGIANS 
    49.  ENGLAND 
    50.  SCOTLAND 
    51.  IRELAND 
    52.  IBERIAN AND HISPANO-ARABIC 
    53.  FRANCE  

   The bibliography also resides on our web site. 
   Click on Bibliography. 
   

FUNCTION ASSOCIATES SALE 46  

   Fred Lake announces that "Function Associates is offering 
   over 700 lots of numismatic literature in its 46th mail-bid sale 
   which has a closing date of June 8, 1999.  

   You may receive a copy of the catalog via email. The file 
   attachment is written in MSWord so that most can read it. 
   Please request the catalog from us at fredlake@aol.com" 
   

KOLBE BASS 2 SALE  

   NBS Founder and former Asylum editor George Frederick 
   Kolbe announces that his next sale of Harry Bass library 
   material will go out in the mail this week.  The closing date is 
   June 5, 1999.   Catalogs may be downloaded from his web 
   site (http://www.numislit.com), and for those not already on 
   his mailing list, hardcopies may be purchased.  Contact 
   George for details at numislit@compuserve.com.  

   Some highlights of the 650-lot sale:  

   * W. Elliot Woodward's large paper set of his sales 1-8. 
   * A. M. Hart's 1851 "Paper Money of the American Colonies" 
      with the extremely rare large folding "Historical Chart" 
   * J. N. T. Levick's annotated copy of the 1881 first edition of 
       Frank Andrews' "Varieties of U.S. Cents, 1816-57." 
   

EMAIL ADDRESS CONFIDENTIALITY  

   Morten Eske Mortensen of Copenhagen wrote: "I have found 
   good use of the e-mail addresses from the E-sylum to get in 
   touch with persons I already knew by name and reputation, but 
   didn't know the address of to write to.  

   Suggestion:  To make a listing of names and e-mail addresses 
  of  those who e.g. subscribe to the e-sylum. I believe quite a few 
  of the subscription list would have an interest in this kind of  
  list."  

   Our policy has always been to protect the confidentiality of 
   subscriber email addresses, only publishing them or giving them 
   out with express permission, such as when someone requests 
   correspondence on a research topic.  

   At some point this year, we'll publish a special Survey Issue 
   of the E-Sylum, to collect feedback on features and policies. 
   At that time we'll poll subscribers for their opinions on this 
   and other issues.  In the meantime, feel free to send in your 
   opinions and questions on any E-sylum or NBS topic. 
   

BARRA'S  "SOMETHING ABOUT COINS"  

   While your editor was working his day job on Friday, 
   Dave Hirt was cherrypicking numismatic literature at 
   the Pennsylvania Association of Numismatists (PAN) 
   coin show near Pittsburgh.  His big find:   a rare 1863 
   pamphlet published in San Francisco by E. J. Barra, 
   titled "Something About Coins" (Attinelli, p.103)  

   Have any of our subscribers seen one of these?  It's a 
   quaint early tract on coinage, filled with little-known 
   "facts" such as the mint mark "A" on coins from the 
   U.S. Minting facility in Auroria, Pike's Peak, Colorado 
   Territory. 
   

FEATURED WEB SITE  

   As a companion to the newest bibliography sections, this 
   weeks' featured web site is John F. Lhotka's Medieval 
   Coinage page:   http://www.pnc.com.au/~cen/Medeival.htm 
   

  Wayne Homren 
  Numismatic Bibliomania Society  

  The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a 
  non-profit organization promoting numismatic 
  literature.   For more information please see 
  our web site at http://www.coinbooks.org/ 
  There is a membership application available on 
  the web site.  To join, print the application and 
  return it with your check to the address printed 
  on the application.   For those without web access, 
  contact Dave Hirt, NBS Secretary-Treasurer, 
  5911 Quinn Orchard Road, Frederick, MD 21701  

  (To be removed from this mailing list 
   write to me at whomren@coinlibrary.com)