Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 7, Number 08, February 22, 2004:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2004, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.


RANDOLPH ZANDER DEAD AT 90

  Granvyl G. Hulse, Jr. writes: "I don't know if you have received
  word, but Randolph Zander passed away on 21 January at the
  age of 90. He was an old and dear friend of mine."

  We had not heard the news.  Our hobby has lost one of its
  greats.  The NBS Writer's Award for 1998 was presented to
  Mr. Zander for his wonderful series of articles on the hobby's
  history in our print journal, The Asylum.


JULES REIVER DEAD AT 87

  Julian Leidman and Gregg Silvas alerted the hobby via last
  week's Early American Coppers email newsletter that another
  of our hobby's greats, Jules Reiver, passed away on February
  11th.  The Delaware News Journal published an obituary
  on February 14th.  Unfortunately, it has already been removed
  from the paper's web site.  Here is an extensive excerpt:

  "Julius Reiver Age 87 and a lifelong Wilmington, DE resident,
  died suddenly February 11, 2004.   Born September 25,
  1916 to Hyman and Ethel Rothman Reiver, Jules graduated
  from Wilmington High School.   After receiving his BME from
  the University of Delaware in 1938, he worked as an engineer
  with the DuPont Company and was instrumental in building its
  first commercial nylon plant.

  He was called into the Army in July 1942. An officer in the
  First Army, he commanded the first antiaircraft battery to land
  on Omaha Beach in the Normandy invasion, for which he
  earned the Certificate of Merit. He was in the vanguard of the
  liberation of Paris. During the Battle of the Bulge, his battery
  turned back the Germans at a huge gasoline dump, for which
  he earned the Bronze Star, and he was promoted to major by
  the end of the war.

  Ernie Pyle, the famous correspondent, devoted a chapter to
  "Reiver's Retrievers" in his book Brave Men.    Jules continued
  in the Army Reserves after the war, retiring as a lieutenant
  colonel in 1966.    An expert marksman, he competed as a
  member of the Sixth Army Pistol Team, winning a national
  second place at the Camp Perry, OH, matches.

  He was president of Hyman Reiver & Co., the floor covering
  business, from 1946 until his retirement in 1978.    He was
  president of the Floor Covering Association of Philadelphia in
  1975 and vice president of the National Floor Covering
  Association in 1976.

  Jules began collecting coins at age 7 and became a specialist
  in early American copper and silver coins.  In 1960, he was
  arrested for refusing to surrender a $10 gold certificate in his
  numismatic collection.    The charges were dropped and a law
  was enacted permitting collectors to hold gold certificates.

  He wrote 5 books on coins, including U.S. Early Silver Dollar
  1793-1803, which won the 1999 National Literary Guild
  Award. He was appointed to the Citizens Commemorative
  Coin Advisory Committee to the U.S. Mint, serving from
  1996-1999. A frequent speaker at numismatic conventions,
  he did coin appraisals both locally and nationally, and wrote
  auction catalogs for special coin sales.

  Jules was a collector of antique cars, including his 1936 Lincoln
  V-12 convertible sedan, which won first prize in the National
  Classic Car show of 1963.   He served in numerous civic
  groups."


BOWERS & MERENA LIBRARY & AUCTIONS SOLD

  On February 19th, Greg Manning Auctions published a press
  release detailing some recent acquisitions:

  "Greg Manning Auctions, Inc. (Nasdaq: GMAI) has acquired
  the business assets of Bowers and Merena Galleries,
  Kingswood Coin Auctions and Superior Sports Auctions from
  Collectors Universe, Inc. (Nasdaq: CLCT).  The total purchase
  price paid by GMAI for the combined assets was $2.5 million.
  The three auction houses and retail coin galleries are projected
  to add $30 million in aggregate sales to GMAI's fiscal year 2005.
  The acquisition was an all-cash transaction and will be financed
  internally.   Spectrum Numismatics International, GMAI's wholly
  owned subsidiary, will administer the new companies through
  GMAI's coin division, headed by Spectrum President Greg
  Roberts."

  "The acquisition from Collectors Universe also gives GMAI
  the rights to all previous Bowers and Merena publications, as
  well as its extensive numismatic library, which includes several
  thousand books and periodicals."

  Thanks to John and Nancy Wilson for providing the URL:
  Complete Story


BRITISH NUMISMATIC SOCIETY PUBLICATIONS

  Tom Fort writes: "In this week's post I received two important
  packages dealing with numismatic literature. The first is a CD
  containing the library catalogue of the British and Royal
  Numismatic Societies. This is a great idea, and much cheaper
  than the bulky ones produced by the ANS several decades ago.
  One needs a computer running Windows and Access to use the
  CD. Presumably Version 2 will be more cross platform and
  searchable with an internet browser.  However, this work is an
  important step forward.

  More important is the second item. 2003 marks the 100th
  anniversary of the foundation of the British Numismatic Society.
  To commemorate this the BNS has published a special issue of
  The British Numismatic Journal. The issue features a history of
  the society and, most importantly, a series of articles reviewing
  the research published in the journal over the past century. It
  turns this issue into a history of British numismatic research over
  the past century. For more information on the BNS go to BNS Web Site."


ARTICLE ON B.E.P. ENGRAVERS

  Newsday published an article based on an interview with
  Jack Ruther, one of four engravers at the Bureau of Engraving
  and Printing in Washington, D.C.  The article is oriented
  toward students learning about careers, and is titled
  "A Job Where You Make Lots of Money."

  "I said I was going to try it for a year and that was 35 years
  ago," said Ruther, who is a banknote designer at the U.S.
  Bureau of Engraving and Printing, where money is designed.
  He also worked on the last redesign of the $20 bill in 1996
  and has designed 11 U.S. postage stamps.

  Behind locked metal turnstiles and security gates,  Ruther
  works on a computer to create new currency designs and
  modify existing ones. Always interested in art, he spent four
  years at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C.
  and from there was accepted to an apprenticeship program
  at the bureau. The seven-year program pairs an apprentice
  with a teacher, called a journeyman."

  To read the full article, see BEP Engravers


CONFEDERATE WALLPAPER PRINTING REFERENCE?

  Larry Mitchell sent the following, which he forwarded from
  the Society for Authorship, Reading and Publishing (SHARP):

  "I am wondering if anyone on the list knows of any good,
  reliable scholarship that documents the use of wallpaper as
  paper for printing in the Confederacy during the Civil War.
  One runs across anecdotal statements about the practice in
  just about every account of Civil War publishing, so I'm not
  looking for citations to general scholarship on Confederate
  publishing.  I'm looking for (or perhaps just hopelessly hoping
  for) scholarship by someone who has actually examined and
  cataloged such instances.  A Google search that got many hits
  of digitized images of such documents printed on wallpaper
  (including currency, book covers, and newspapers) has
  convinced me that the stories are not entirely apocryphal,
  but I'm still hoping for something a little more authoritative.

  Thanks! Please reply off list (mjhomestead at ou.edu).
  Melissa J. Homestead
  Assistant Professor of English
  University of Oklahoma"


BETTS MEDALS STILL RIPE FOR RESEARCH

  John Adams writes: "A thousand thanks for your excellent
  coverage of the 2004 Stack Family Coinage of the Americas
  Conference.  With that roster of presenters plus an exhibition
  of John Ford as well as ANS medals, this should be a truly
  memorable event.

  The press release says that the field of Betts medals was
  "well explored" by Mr. Betts.  That implies to me that there
  is not much virgin territory remaining to be opened up, an
  implication which could not be further from the truth.  Actually
  Betts did a disservice to the collecting of historical medals:
  by defining the field as one which embraced medals issued
  over 200 plus years by 15 countries in six languages, his view
  tends to discourage all but the most dedicated numismatists.
  It is better, in my opinion, to divide the Betts universe into a
  dozen or so specialties which, because they are more finite,
  are also more user-friendly.

  Whether one looks at Betts medals in whole or in part,
  there are reams of errors and omissions. We owe C. Wyllys
  Betts (and his editors William R.T. Marvin and Lyman Low)
  a huge debt for pointing the way. Now modern scholars/
  collectors have the opportunity  to get things right and, in the
  process, develop the close linkage between history and
  numismatics that is inherent."


NUMISMATIC BOOKPLATES

  Last week's item about bookplates prompted David
  Gladfelter to write: "In building a library one acquires, with
  the books, the bookplates of the former owners. They give
  the books a certain cachet. Frank and Laurese Katen,
  Armand Champa and Harry Bass had extensive working
  libraries that are now widely dispersed, with their bookplates,
  to many appreciative new owners. Other books in my library
  have the bookplates of institutional libraries such as ANS,
  ANA and the Library of Congress (sometimes stamped
  "withdrawn" so you won't be suspected of having purloined
  them). My favorite bookplate is that of Doctor Pierre Bastien,
  a noted academic numismatic author, who recently disposed
  of his library in several George Kolbe sales. It is, appropriately,
  in the form of a coin, the obverse bearing the image of a woman
  (Cleopatra?) feeding a snake, the reverse with comic and tragic
  masks, a scroll and a pen upon a manuscript. I now have and
  use Dr. Bastien's set of "Numismatic Literature," beautifully
  bound in Old World style bindings and kept on a chestnut
  bookcase in a garret dormer. I have never met this gentleman,
  but hope to, and would say to him that using his books to do
  a literature search makes the task a pleasant experience. The
  bank note engraver Abner Reed engraved his own bookplates,
  with the sly inscription "With welcome use-but use with care.
  the wicked borrow but never return."


HARD TIMES TOKEN CATALOGS SOUGHT

  Peter Koch writes:  "I'm looking for a few other
  catalogues significant to the Hard Times Token collector:
  Three U.S. Coin Co. (Wayte Raymond) Sales, 1912, 1915
  (Dr. French), and 1916.  William Hesslein, Boston 1924.
  Mehl's Ten Eyck Collection. Elder's Levick Collection
  1907.

  Any one or more of the above would help greatly. A plea
  to anyone reading this: retain your originals, a photocopy
  of simply the front cover, any introductory message re: the
  HTT consignment, and the pertinent HTT listing is sufficient
  for our needs and will be met with your premium ask and
  our genuine thanks."


CELEBRITY COLLECTOR: TED TURNER?

  Don Calucci forwarded an article from the February issue of
  Inc. magazine about businessman Ted Turner.  The author
  notes:

  "As a child, growing up in Savannah, Ga., the young Ted had
  always had interests: Naturalism was one. History another.
  Collecting coins was yet another. His favorite coin: the buffalo
  nickel with its evocative, historical images of Native Americans
  and wild bison. As a man of early middle age with the
  wherewithal to do just about anything, Turner had begun to
  buy land out west and breed bison."

  To read the full article, see Ted Turner Story

  We've discussed celebrity numismatists in previous
  E-Sylum issues, but I don't believe Ted Turner's name
  has come up before.  I anyone aware that he has a
  current interest in the hobby?


WHERE'S GEORGE

  [Editor's note: our spell-checker missed the misspelled
  "curmudeonly" last week.  Sorry.]

  Arthur Shippee writes: "I'll vote for curmudgeonly (with a "g").
  Mr. DeLorey looks at his money;  I believe it's safe to say that
  few study their bills.  (This probably includes their phone &
  credit card bills, too.)  So, if this project is to work at all, it
  would seem important to mark bills in an eye-catching way.

  If everything that I found excessive were toned down or
  removed, our society would look a lot different.  Is one's time
  so expendable that standing in a bank line is worth this quiet
  comment?"

  Chick Ambrass writes: " In response to Tom Delorey's
  reaction to the excessive marking of paper currency by
  "Where's George" enthusiasts:  My initial reaction was "Get a
  life !" But then I thought that perhaps this is a "pet-peeve" of
  Mr. Delorey, as my "pet-peeve" concerns describing U.S.
  citizens as "Americans".   Mr. Delorey, you certainly have
  every right to feel, and react that we you do...I on the other
  hand,  I wouldn't take the time to rip the note (another
  deliberate mutilation)  and take it to the bank. I simply
  would have spent it.


AFGHANISTAN STUDY

  Ralf W. Böpple of Stuttgart, Germany writes: "The following
  might be of interest for the E-Sylum readers, although it is
  slightly out of the field of numismatics:  To all of you who are
  interested in bank history and the economics of banking, I
  would like to bring to your attention a highly interesting
  study of the financial services market in Afghanistan.

  From the abstract of Samuel Munzele Maimbo's "The Money
  Exchange Dealers of Kabul", World Bank Working Paper
  No. 13, September 2003: "Money exchange dealers, or
  hawaladars, have long provided their customers with a reliable,
  convenient, and inexpensive means of transferring funds into
  Afghanistan and among its provinces. They offer a diverse
  range of financial and non-financial business services at the
  local, regional, and international level."

  Once operating parallel to the banking system, after the
  collapse of the latter this traditional and reliable system of
  informal funds transfer is now even used by international
  institutions for the transfer of funds into the region. The
  study can be purchased for download from the World
  Bank publications website. See AFGHANISTAN STUDY


ROMAN COIN HOARD FOUND IN BULGARIA

  Arthur Shippee forwarded this from the Explorator
  newsletter. A major Republican Roman coin hoard
  has been found in Bulgaria:  Bulgaria Coin Hoard


NON-PRESIDENTS QUIZ ANSWERS

  Regarding last week's quiz, David Menchell writes: "The
  "Non-Presidents on Currency" quiz is a breeze:  Alexander
  Hamilton (First Secretary of the Treasury) on the $10 and
  Benjamin Franklin (Printer, scientist, statesman, ambassador,
  Postmaster, etc. etc. etc. but not President) on the $100.
  There would be many more answers if currency from the
  19th and early twentieth century were included with everyone
  and everything from General Sheridan and Daniel Webster to
  Martha Washington and the American Bison."

  [David gets the prize for the first correct answer. You'd think
  a bank representative (quoted in last week's issue) would
  know better than to issue a blanket statement about "Dead
  Presidents."  -Editor]


PURPLE HEART STAMPS

  Buying first-class stamps at the post office recently, I
  discovered a 2003 first-class U.S. stamp picturing the
  Purple Heart.  Text on the printing block states:  "Purple
  Heart / The Medal for the / Combat Wounded."

  There are many issues of worldwide stamps featuring coins,
  most made expressly with collectors in mind.  Is this the
  first U.S. stamp to picture a medal?


SIXTEEN CENTS

  Regarding last week's question about coins circulating in the
  U.S. with a value of sixteen cents, Eric P. Newman writes:
  "I am sure that some of your readers will point out that many
  of the American Coin Chart Manuals of the 1850s illustrated
  the Pine Tree Shilling and valued it at 16 cents. The date of
  the letter was not given but it would indicate that it was about
  the time fractional souvenir gold was first made."

  Bob Leonard writes: "In the second edition of California
  Pioneer Fractional Gold I addressed the question of small
  change in San Francisco in 1851-3.  "Austrian 'zwanzigers
  [20 kreuzer],' worth 18 cents, were accepted for 25, and a
  rich parent in Germany sent a large cask full of them as a
  present to his son in San Francisco..." (p. 16, citing John S.
  Hittell, The Commerce and Industries of the Pacific Coast of
  North America; etc., p. 125).  An ever more likely possibility
  for a "16¢ piece" was turned up by indefatigable researcher
  Dan Owens: [on Nov. 16, 1853, Frank Lecouvreur had in
  his purse] "a greatly overvalued Prussian half-gulden or 1/3
  Reichsthaler which had been passed on him for a quarter."
  (p. 19, citing Lecouvreur's From East Prussia to the
  Golden Gate, 1906, pp. 288-92).

  These examples only scratch the surface of the bewildering
  variety of coins used in Gold Rush California, not excluding
  (in a "small" way) the California gold quarters, halves, and
  dollars."

  John M. Kleeberg concurs.  He writes: " The coin would be an
  Austrian Zwanziger. Edgar Adams, in his Private Gold Coinage
  of California (1913), page vii, mentions three foreign coins in
  circulation in California as quarters: Spanish pesetas, Austrian
  Zwanzigers, and French francs.  Of these three, the Zwanziger
  (the 20 kreuzer piece) is closest in silver value to sixteen cents.
  Sixteen cents worth of silver, before the weight reduction of
  February 1853, is .12368 troy ounces.  A Zwanziger contains
  .1252 troy ounces of silver.  Allowing for a little rounding down
  to take account of wear and the cost of re-coining at the mint, it
  would pass at sixteen cents in the United States.  One can
  understand why the coin would be called a "sixteen cent piece"
  - "Zwanziger" can be a difficult word for non-German speakers.
  DeLorey mentions that the reference probably does not refer to
  pistareens, for it would be unlikely for pistareens to be in
  circulation at this point.  This is correct.  I did an exhaustive study
  of the circulation of the pistareen in the Colonial News-Letter
  Number 109 (December 1998), and showed that the pistareen
  disappeared from US circulation in the 1830s, when it was
  exported to Cuba and Puerto Rico."

  Jack Wadlington writes: "Tom DeLorey asked if anyone could
  provide a reference to this usage [sixteen cent pieces].

  "The Coin Chart Manual, Supplementary to the Bank Note
  and Commercial Reporter, ..." compiled and arranged by J.
  Thompson, Banker and Broker, published at No. 12 Spruce
  Street, New York, 1853,   gives several possibilities for
  identification of the sixteen cent piece mentioned by the letter
  writer.  This publication has line drawings of all the gold and
  silver coins "found in circulation"  in the United States in 1853.
  Under each coin's picture is the value in U. S.  dollars and cents.
  [My copy was lot #1180 in Remy Bourne's April 9 & 10,
  1999 auction].

  page 8 ... "Silver coins of the U. S. of America."  ...
  "Pine-tree shilling, 16 cents"

  page 11 ... "Two reals, 16 cents" ... image of a coin with
  legend "Republica De Chile" and dated 1844.
  [Two real coins from other places had values from 15c to 20c
  but this was the only one valued at 16 c].

  page 15  ... "Silver coins of Portugal and Brazil."...
  200 reis, 16 cts"

  page 15 ... "Silver coins of Spain."  ...
  "Pistareen, 16 cents"  ...

  Five additional images of Pistareens are shown on page 17. ...
  "Pistareen, 16 cents" ... "Silver coins of Spain."

  The obverse and reverse images of a peseta with legend
   "En * Barcelona* 1811" are also on page 17.  "peseta,
  16 cents" ...

  page 23 ...  "Silver Coins of France" ... "20 sols, 16 cents."

  page 27 ... "Silver Coins of Italy"  ...  "Drachmi, 16 cts"
  [Yes, I know, but that's what this author wrote.]

  page 34 ... "Silver Coins of Germany"  ...   "Lira 16 cts"
  [for an Italian province of the Austrian Empire]

  page 45 ... "Silver Coins of Sweden, Denmark and
  Norway"  ...  "16 cents"


EARLY "RED BOOKS"

  David Gladfelter writes: "For early "Red Books" how about
  the "Coin Collector's Manual" published in Philadelphia by
  George F. Jones in 1860? See Davis 547, Attinelli p. 110.
  Mine is ex Harry Bass IV:341 and is technically maroon
  (like the very early Whitman Red Books and some of the]
  special editions)."


ROYAL MINT CANTEEN TOKENS

  Philip Mernick writes: "The old Royal Mint in London also
  used tokens. They are metal, uniface, square with rounded
  corners and reading ROYAL MINT CANTEEN around
  the value. I have seen denominations of 1/2 and 1 and I
  believe there were others. Until very recently the Mint
  Museum had none of them as they were so commonplace
  at the time that they hadn't bothered to put any aside!
  They will probably date from the late 60s/early 70s as the
  Mint moved to Wales in 1975. "


FREDERICK AYER, NUMISMATICS, AND LITERATURE

  A few issues ago I mentioned a book by Frederick Ayer, which
  provided some background material on the J.C. Ayer Company,
  prolific advertisers on encased postage stamps, which circulated
  as money during the U. S. Civil War.  Charles Davis writes:
  "Watching CNN tonight I saw that one of the best sellers on the
  New York Times list was Walter the The Farting Dog.  I was
  reminded that Frederick Ayer Jr, grandson of the snake oil
  magnate who was mentioned a month or so ago, wrote a book
  in 1957 called "Walter the Improbable Hound."  Walter, a
  Bassett, was very much the dog about Wenham during the 1950s.
  From the book's dust jacket we are told that "Walter was
  housebroken at Wenham Massachusetts.  He has led an active
  life and traveled many thousand of miles and earned a reputation
  as an outstanding gourmand if not gourmet. He has held no town
  offices other than Town Bum.  His owner is a sometimes author
  Fred Ayer Jr, who has previously written millions of words for
  various governmental agencies and also a book 'Yankee G-Men.' "
  Surprisingly the copy I have is a second printing - must have been
  a best seller!   So the Ayer family has given us numismatics and
  literature. Perhaps someone in the family will one day be moved
  to combine the two."


FIRST COIN COLLECTOR?

  Dave Kellogg writes: "With reference to John Kleeburg's
  interest in the "first documented coin collector", Kleeberg
  writes: "Petrarch, in the fourteenth Century, is generally
  considered to have been the first coin collector in modern
  times."

  This makes one wonder who was the first collector in
  ancient times?  Somewhere I read that the emperor Augustus
  had a curiosity about coins from different places and kept
  examples to discuss and give to his guests."


COLLECTING COINS BY EMAIL: THE WEIRDEST BOOK I EVER BOUGHT

  Michel van den Heuvel writes: "Some months ago I wrote to
  5000 people to ask if they would help my son with his world
  coin collection.  The collection is now complete, and is a daily
  joy for Johannes and Adam ( his brother).

  I did send out over 5000 e-mails to get his world coin collection
  and a lot of people helped.  Now I have written a book about
  this project , it has a lot of e-mails from the people that
  contributed and some very nice stories.

  The result is, a nice book. In the book you can read about the
  wedding proposals that I got, How I became a Godfather,
  the difference between writing to male and female E-mail users.
  The cultural difference between countries.

  I had to write to 243 Americans to get a positive response
  and only to one person in Sudan.

  The book also gives insight in how one can bring a coin
  collection up to date.

  But most important is the way people behave when asked to
  help via e-mail.

  The book is printed in Denmark, using print on demand technique.
  The web site is homemade and a nightmare for web designers.
  The reason why I have kept it all simple is to safe on the cost,
  and make it cheaper for you to buy the book. the book cost 22
  us dollars ( this is the cost price including shipping. I am sorry
  that it is so expensive ) Bookstores get a 30 % discount

  If you would like to order the book, than you can send me an
  E-mail to heuvel at hlgroup.dk or use the ISBN  87-7888-97643
  to read more about the book see the web site WEIRDEST BOOK I EVER BOUGHT

  Here are some of the responses from other readers.

  "The best book I ever read about E-mail, Interesting to
  see how much difference there is between cultures"

  "In about 6 weeks I will have a full coin collection"

  "The next time you should improve the layout. It is by far
  the weirdest book I ever bought, but fun reading"

  "I know more about Vanuatu now than I know about my
  own country"

  "Mail me for your next book"

  "I have no interest in coins, but somehow I just had to
   read the next page and the next one and so on, thanks for
   a good story"


BARBER IN VIOLATION OF HIS POSITION?

  Adrián González of  Monterrey, N.L. México writes:
  Maybe this item could be interesting to The E-Sylum
  readers..."   Attached was a link to an online auction
  of a letter from Mint Engraver Charles Barber.  From
  the lot description:

  CHARLES BARBER American engraver, his principal
  work was as an engraver of coin dies, including the Barber
  Half, Barber dimes, Liberty head nickel, and many other
  coins and medals. Good content A.L.S. "Chas. E. [Barber],
  on Mint of the United States letterhead, Philadelphia, Nov.
  24, 1891 to H. H. Zearing. In part: "...I suppose you know
  there is no machine that will give a finished work, the reduction
  in [?] case statuette or die requiring considerable labor to
  finish. I therefore take it for granted you wish me to furnish the
  die finished, reduced from your mold. The cost of a pair of dies
  such as you desire will be about $200.00....[I] would prefer
  having the model if you have it, say three or four inches larger
  than medal required..."

  The cataloger adds: "Particularly interesting is the fact that it
  appears Barber has undertaken work beyond his official duties
  at the Mint, likely in violation of his position."

  [Moonlighting among mint engravers is nothing new, is it?
  Has there ever been a ban on mint employees performing
  outside work?  -Editor]


HENRY BERGOS ADDRESS UPDATE

  Subscriber Henry Bergos, who recently married, writes:
  "I hope to be out of New York within one week. Please
  print my new address as: POB 1041 Resaca, Ga. 30735.


YAP STONE MONEY ARTICLE

  The Federal Reserve has produced another article of
  numismatic interest.  "Island Money" by Michael F. Bryan
  was published February 1, 2004.

  "On a small group of islands in the South Pacific, the people
  use a money so astonishing it often gets mentioned in classroom
  discussions on the subject.  This Commentary takes a closer
  look at the stone money of Yap and asks what such an odd
  form of money can teach us about our own.

  To read the article, see YAP STONE MONEY ARTICLE


A CURIOUS CASE OF COIN SWALLOWING

  Len Augsberger sent a link to a story about a patient in
  France found to have hundreds of coins in his belly:

  "French doctors were taken aback when they discovered
  the reason for a patient's sore, swollen belly: He had
  swallowed around 350 coins -- $650 worth -- along with
  assorted necklaces and needles.

  The 62-year-old man came to the emergency room of Cholet
  General Hospital in western France in 2002. He had a history
  of major psychiatric illness, was suffering from stomach pain,
  and could not eat or move his bowels.

  His family warned doctors that he sometimes swallowed coins,
  and a few had been removed from his stomach in past hospital
  visits.

  Still, doctors were awed when they took an X-ray. They
  discovered an enormous opaque mass in his stomach that
  turned out to weigh 12 pounds -- as much as some bowling
  balls. It was so heavy it had forced his stomach down between
  his hips.

  Five days after his arrival, doctors cut him open and removed
  his badly damaged stomach with its contents. He died 12 days
  later from complications."

  "The patient's rare condition is called pica, a compulsion to eat
  things not normally consumed as food. Its name comes from
  the Latin word for magpie, a bird thought to eat just about
  anything."

  Coin Swallowing Story


FEATURED WEB SITE

  This week's featured web site has been highlighted before,
  but worth a fresh visit as a new introduction has been added.
  Dick Johnson writes: "We are expanding a section of the MCA
  (Medal Collectors of America) website to list all SERIES and
  SETS  of medals. This is published no where else. We think
  these will be useful lists for collectors.  The Introduction was
  added today, but we have been building the lists of
  American medal series and sets for a number of weeks."

  Medals by Topic

  The medal series listed on the site include:
     Circle of Friends of the Medallion
     Hall of Fame for Great Americans at New York University
     NASA Mission Medals by Balfour
     Presidential Art Medals
        Presidents of the United States
        Signers of the Declaration of Independence
        Statehood Medals
       World War II
     Society of Medalists
  Wayne Homren
  Numismatic Bibliomania Society