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Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 7, Number 17, April 25, 2004: an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society. Copyright (c) 2004, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society. SUBSCRIBER UPDATE Among recent new subscribers is Scott Goodman, courtesy of Steve Pellegrini. Welcome aboard! We now have 656 subscribers. HANNAH AND HER BROTHERS I'd like to thank everyone for their kind wishes on the birth of our daughter, Hannah. I've heard from subscribers all over the U.S., plus Great Britain, Israel and Italy. Ferdinando Bassoli writes: "I supposed you were, as I am, an old retired gentleman, busying himself, in free time, with numismatic bibliomania. To my utmost pleasure I discover now that you are a young happy father..." Well, I feel like an old-timer sometimes. I've been involved with numismatic literature for 25 years now, but I started when I was 20. Dee and I married seven years ago and now we're raising 3 children. Free time is hard to come by, so I get on the computer when everyone else is asleep. When Hannah was born I missed my regular 2nd Wednesday meeting of the Sphinx Society, a marvelous local coin club here in Pittsburgh that I've written about before. I had spoken to fellow Sphinx member Don Carlucci earlier that day. He said if I came to the meeting he'd buy me a drink -- and promise to testify on my behalf at the divorce proceeding.... FANNING FIXED PRICE LIST #2 STILL ACTIVE Our other new father, David Fanning of Fanning Books, still has a few copies available of his second fixed price list of numismatic literature. The list features 19th-century U.S. material primarily dealing with American numismatics. For a free copy, e-mail him at fanning32 at earthlink.net. The list is also available as a PDF file. David is the Editor-in-Chief of The Asylum, our quarterly print journal. I've ordered two items myself, but those who place orders quickly still have some great items to choose from. LAKE BOOKS SALE #74 Fred Lake writes: "Our 74th mail-bid sale of numismatic literature is now available for viewing on the Lake Books web site at 74th Bid Sale The auction has a closing date of May 25, 2004 and contains 515 lots of fine reference material covering United States, Ancient, and World coinage. In addition, there are books that relate to Paper Money, Tokens, Medals, Numismatic Literature and an interesting section of Miscellaneous subjects. A highlight of the sale is a formal request from Louis Eliasberg, Jr. to Bowers & Ruddy for a proposal to auction the Eliasberg Gold Coin Collection. The submission contains detailed information on each coin and is accompanied by photographs of the coins in their original trays. The sale was eventually held by B & R on October 27, 1982. A listing of Dr. John Muscalus works on paper money is offered with designations of each shown by their "K" numbers. These numbers were devised by Frank Katen and Lake Books will send a copy of the full listing to each person who submits a SASE to them requesting this list. A hardbound copy of the 1876/77 "American Journal of Numismatics", Volume XI, is offered in Mint condition." Email, telephone, fax and regular mail bids are accepted by the firm at Lake Books, 6822 22nd Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL 33710 - (727) 343-8055 FAX: (727) 345-3750." HUNLEY CREW LAID TO REST I published last week's issue a little early, and while checking the news one last time before bed I saw a story I would have liked to have included in the issue. Last Sunday, the Chicago Tribune reported that the remains of the eight crew members of the Confederate sub Hunley were laid to rest the day before in Charleston, S.C. The E-Sylum first reported on the Hunley in the May 27, 2001 issue (v4n22): "Civil War history buffs have been following for some time the story of the Hunley, the Confederate submarine which sank in Charleston harbor on February 17, 1864 after first sinking the Union ship Housatonic. The Hunley made history by becoming the first submarine to sink a ship in battle." "There is a numismatic connection: Lt. George Dixon, the sub's commander, carried with him a special $20 gold piece. "Early in the war, in Mobile, Ala., Queenie Bennett (Dixon?s fiancée) gave him a $20 gold piece. While at Shiloh, a Union bullet penetrated his trouser pocket and struck the coin. The impact left the gold piece shaped like a bell, with the bullet embedded in it. If it wasn't for that coin, he probably would have died on the battlefield?and the Hunley might never have made history. He would carry that coin the rest of his life..." "The coin that senior archaeologist Maria Jacobsen pulled out of the muck of the Hunley ... bears the cursive engraving: "Shiloh / April 6, 1862 / My life Preserver / G.E.D." Here are some excerpts from Sunday's article in the Chicago Tribune: "The Confederacy buried the last of its Civil War dead here Saturday, laying to rest in Southern soil the long-lost crew of the legendary submarine Hunley in a glittering pageant of rebel remembrance." "After so many decades in the dark of the deep, the men were buried beneath a bright Southern sun in Charleston's Magnolia Cemetery alongside the graves of 13 earlier Hunley crewmen who drowned during trial missions and 1,700 other Confederate dead. Thousands of Civil War re-enactors in colorful Confederate uniforms accompanied the dead, who were borne to the cemetery on horse-drawn caissons, their coffins covered with Confederate battle flags. The procession included 100 or more women with Civil War-era dresses, veils, hats and parasols of mourning black." "According to estimates, nearly 50,000 visitors were in Charleston for the day's events, some from as far as away as England, France, Germany and Australia. An estimated 8,000 to 10,000 spectators lined the 4 1/2-mile funeral procession route." "The commander, Lt. George Dixon, believed to have been in his mid-20s, had been a Mississippi River steamboat engineer who was in Mobile, Ala., when the Civil War broke out and he enlisted in the Confederate army. He was identified in part by a $20 gold piece he carried--a piece that had prevented a Union bullet from doing serious damage when he was shot and wounded at the battle of Shiloh." To read the complete story (registration required), see: Complete Story GOETZ LUSITANIA MEDAL HELP SOUGHT Greg Burns writes: "Once again I'm seeking the help of your readers. I'm pulling together the final bits and pieces for my book, ?The Lusitania Medal and its Varieties? and need to fill in some gaps. I've been told that Guido Goetz, son of the famous German medalist, Karl Goetz (1875-1950), supposedly authorized a Japanese firm to fabricate reproduction medals based upon his father's models sometime in the 1970?s. I haven't found any specific details regarding this arrangement, the name of the Japanese firm, how the pieces were produced and sold, when or at what price. I thought perhaps someone in your knowledgeable reader base may be able to generously pass along some helpful information. I'd appreciate any aid that can be provided, and for significant material that I end up using will gratefully acknowledge that fact in the book." [See also More Information -Editor] CARLOS JARA ECUADOR BOOK PUBLISHED Alan Luedeking writes: "During the first ANUCA (Central American Numismatic Association) Numismatic Congress held in San José, Costa Rica in 2002, I received a request from Mr. Carlos Iza Terán, the curator of the numismatic collections of the Central Bank of Ecuador, to find proof that would discredit the Ecuadorean 50 Francos gold coin of 1862 as a modern fake. This coin was stolen from the collection of the Central Bank of Ecuador in 1994 and remains missing to this day. Mr. Iza based his suspicions about this coin on the apparent contradiction of a gold coin in the Francos denomination being struck concurrently with silver issues in the Reales denominations. I said I would be pleased to help if I could, and immediately turned to my friend Carlos Jara. At that time, all he could say about the coin was that its first auction appearance was in the Schulman/Kreisberg Golden Sale of the Century auction in 1962, and that it was either unique or extremely rare. I then searched for a more specialized expert opinion before making any final judgment on the matter. Fortunately, the two greatest authorities on the numismatics of Ecuador, Michael Anderson and Dale Seppa, enthusiastically acceded. Dale and Michael are the experts on Ecuadorean coinage, and a result of their years of research on that topic is the definitive reference work "A Numismatic History of Ecuador", authored by Anderson and published in 2001. Their curiosity was aroused by my request, since they had worked on the 1862 Ecuadorean coinage issue for a long time, without conclusively solving its mysteries themselves. During Michael and Dale's investigations, the profoundly knowledgeable numismatist Alfred Buonaguro had assisted them. As a result of all this past work, Carlos and I were instantly provided with practically all the extant numismatic knowledge concerning the coinage of 1862. Although their collective opinion was that the 50 Francos was a genuine coin, the previously cited authorities also agreed that the current knowledge of the 1862 coinage was then insufficient to fully explain the mystery of an apparently simultaneous issue of coins from two different monetary standards; many questions were still left unanswered, and some obscure points in the documents and decrees relating to the coins still remained. Through the internet, a fine numismatic team was formed and the effort to find the proof that would discredit the Ecuadorean 50 Francos gold coin of 1862 as a modern fake continued. In the process, enormous amounts of historical documentation (mostly supplied by Dale Seppa) was read and carefully analyzed by Carlos Jara. Although the conclusions reached from the research eventually ended with the refutation of our friend Iza Terán's suspicions concerning the 1862 50 Francos, all of the other mysteries surrounding the coinage of this period were also cleared up. I am now very pleased to announce the result of this collaborative effort. It is Carlos Jara's fourth great numismatic book, his first outside the realm of Chilean numismatics, entitled "The Strange Concurrence of Coinage in Francos and Reales in Ecuador from 1858 to 1862 and the Fabled Fifty Francos of 1862." In Carlos' prologue to the book he writes "this research has been one of my most gratifying numismatic ventures. I feel privileged to have provided, in a joint effort with the authorities on Ecuadorean numismatics, what they consider a worthy contribution, and, most of all, to call them my new friends. I respectfully dedicate this work to them, and again thank them for their generous and highly skilled assistance." As usual, anybody interested in obtaining a copy of this book (a limited edition, profusely illustrated hardcover) is invited to contact the author directly at clejara at yahoo.com. JEWISH PAPER MONEY IN RUSSIA Victor S. Holden writes: "The following may be of interest to some subscribers who may not be aware of its existence. Keep up the good work." Jewish Paper Money in Russia by Dmitri Kharitonov Catalogue of paper money issued by Jewish communities in Russia as a means of payment in the period 1917-1920. · Detailed description of about 300 notes · More than 200 original colour photos · Many notes are published for the first time · Indication of variety, rarity and market valuation in Euro for two grades · Bilingual English and Russian edition · The first and only reference of its kind · Promises to be the standard reference for years to come · 136 pages, 15 x 21 cm (A5) , laminated soft cover · Price: 29.00 Euro · Postage within Europe ? 6.00 Euro, outside Europe ? 9.00 Euro PARTNER PRAHA s.r.o. ISBN 80-239-0258-X Gen. Janouska 900 19800 Praha 9 E-mail: partnerpraha at volny.cz Czech Republic Tel/Fax +420-281913668 NEW BOOK ON IRISH SMALL SILVER Paul Withers writes: "I have great pleasure in announcing the publication, on the birthday of the Bard of Avon, the latest monograph in our Small Change series. Irish Small Silver - John - Edward VI. Identifying Irish Farthings and Halfpennies, 1172 - 1553. It also includes the three-farthings coin of Edward VI, which was struck with the name and portrait of Henry VIII. Details follow : 56 pages. A5 2004. Price, including postage 13 GBP or USA $27. Available from the authors Paul and Bente Withers. Galata Print Ltd., Market Street, LLANFYLLIN, Powys SY22 5BX. UK. US cheques to be made payable to 'Paul Withers'. This is an easy to use guide, with lots of enlarged photographs and line drawings, and every type is also illustrated natural size as well, so as to show what the real thing looks like in all its tiny glory. All legends, so far as they are known, are shown in full. All the known mints, Dublin, Waterford, Limerick, Cork, Killkenny, Downpatrick, and Carrickfergus, are represented, and whilst there are no major new varieties for the coins of John as Prince, most of the known specimens of which come from two already published hoards, we have managed to find several new legends and small varieties which were not known, or noted by O'Sullivan. The main importance of the book is for the coins of John as king, and Edward I, where there are some major varieties - new types, or denominations for the mint, and legend varieties listed for the first time, as well as this being the first real study of the small coins of Edward I for Ireland ! No keyhole stuff here though, as we show these tiny coins twice as large as life ! There is an historical introduction, largely on the earliest of the people involved, because unless one is irish, one tends not to know very much about what, why and when the events happened - and they are different from english history, even though some of the characters involved appear in both countries. Indeed, it does even throw some light upon the conquest of England by the normans, who show up, by and large, as a load of really nasty folk, intent upon the good life for themselves, whilst they pillaged and practised ethnic cleansing on others, but just to show that they were even-handed, they did kill each other too. The indigenous inhabitants of the Emerald Isle were not that pleasant either; but we get some of them in, including the dreadful Dermot MacMurrough who started the whole thing off by inviting the normans to his country, so that he could reclaim his kingdom. Mother Church also comes into the picture, appearing as a greedy, growing pan-european monarchy, with many of its the top posts sinecure rewards for faithful civil servants. What did the Church get from it? Honest holiness, piety, charity? Nah, in yer dreams man; this was the middle ages! They wanted to get Peter's pence! Are we biased? No, not really. What we present is a personally-selected series of chronological events, chosen to encourage the reader to read more widely for himself. If it seems to be sensationalist and limited, so what ? Pursue the truth, whatever that might be, yourself. This book is intended to encourage you not only to collect old bits of worn, clipped metal (irish coins are a bit like that), but to read. Do I need to preach the joys and virtues of reading here? Probably not, but even the most ardent of numismatic bibliophiles need prodding from time to time, to make them realise that there are other viewpoints and books about different subjects worth reading in the pursuit of information about your coins - that¹s where all the fun lies Please note our new e-mail address: Paul at galata.co.uk Visit our website: galata.co.uk" 1917 VICTORIA CROSS MEDAL SEIZED BEFORE AUCTION On April 6, The Toronto Star reported that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police seized a rare medal believed to have been stolen from a museum in 1973. The medal had been awarded to Cpl. Filip Konowal, a Ukrainian immigrant to Canada. "RCMP officers have seized a rare Canadian-won Victoria Cross from a London auction house that was preparing it for sale." "Konowal, then 30, was one of 10,000 Ukrainian-born immigrants who enlisted in the Canadian forces to fight in World War I. War records show that in August, 1917, at Hill 70 in France, he single-handedly took out three gun positions and killed 16 German soldiers. Konowal's medal was pinned on him by King George V, as he lay in an English army hospital "after half his face was shot away by a German sniper" the day after his heroic exploit, Luciuk said. Luciuk said the war hero left the medal to his widow "who fell on hard times and sold it to a collector," who in turn sold it to the war museum for $3,750." [For the full story, see: Full Story For biographical information on Konowal, see: Biographical Info The medal has been in the news before. This article from 1999 states that the medal had been lost for years and was replaced with a replica. Replica Article ] KONOWAL'S FORTY-DOLLAR FORTUNE My web search for Konowal information also uncovered this August 2000 article with a heartbreaking numismatic connection: "Three generations of Konowals had secreted a keepsake of Filip's. Out it came. Two American $20 bills, of 1913 vintage. Both had been carefully folded over and over. Konowal had mailed them to his young wife and child just before the First World War and the 1917 Bolshevik coup severed him from them, forever. Worthless today as currency, these bills represented a small fortune in the early decades of the last century. They could have more than paid for enough food to keep Anna and many of her fellow villagers alive through the 1932-1933 famine. But to possess foreign currency was a crime among the Soviets. They would have demanded that Anna explain why she had it. They would probably have accused her of being an agent of Western imperialism, a spy, an anti-Soviet Ukrainian nationalist. The entire family might have been liquidated. And, of course, the Communists weren't interested in Ukrainian lives being delivered. Stalin and his minions deliberately orchestrated a genocidal famine to crush Ukrainian resistance to Soviet rule. Millions perished, among them Anna. When Filip Konowal emigrated in 1913, he joined others who came to Canada to earn enough for a better future for their loved ones in the old country. He must have worked very hard to save $40 and get it home before war broke out in 1914. His separation from his family was meant to be temporary. Anna concealed the money that should have saved her and died slowly of hunger. Maria survived but also kept hidden her father's gift. She died in 1986." [The article states incorrectly that the bills are worthless. They have never be repudiated, and are still legal tender at face value. -Editor] BENJAMIN TRUE, CINCINNATI ENGRAVER? The following question was forwarded to us via Andy Lustig and Saul Teichman. Can any of our readers help? Rick D. Whisman, MA writes: "I'm attempting to locate biographical information on an engraver named Benjamin C. True located (living) in Cincinnati, Ohio during the 1850s. Any information you could provide about this gentleman would be greatly appreciated. I would like to thank you in advance for your time regarding this request." SPECULATION IN IRAQI DINARS A page one article in the April 23, 2004 Wall Street Journal describes a thriving secondary market for the new Iraqi currency. "Plenty of amateur investors -- policemen, construction workers, a dentist, even a college student -- are taking the dinar plunge. As tension rises in Iraq, these people are making a bet most professional currency traders wouldn't touch -- that the dinar will appreciate." "For Mr. Rodinec and hundreds of others, Mr. Burbank is the dinar man. A 48-year-old former Navy SEAL with a middle linebacker's physique, Mr. Burbank says he has sold more than $500,000 in dinar since he started his business in October. The recent violence in Iraq caused the currency's value to fall modestly but hasn't hurt sales, he adds. "I never thought of myself as a currency trader," says Mr. Burbank, who still works three days a week as a fireman in San Diego. "But I called the smartest people I know -- a corporate lawyer, a Wall Street guy -- and they said it sounds pretty viable." Today, he sells dinar on his Web site, Daystartrading.com. Prices are negotiable, depending on the size of the order and whether payment is in cash or check. But Mr. Burbank generally hands over about 500 dinar in exchange for one dollar. He gets his dinars from three Middle Eastern suppliers." "Mr. Burbank's interest began last year when he bought 1.25 million dinar for $3,000 on eBay. He struck up a relationship with the Jordanian who auctioned the new currency and began buying directly from him. Several competitors have sprung up in recent weeks, outfits with names such as dinarsforless.com and IraqDinarInvestment.com. Some post photos of the new currency. The red-tinged 25,000 dinar note features a Kurdish farmer on the front and a drawing of Hammurabi, ruler of Babylon from around 1792 to 1750 B.C., on the back. PHILIPPINE BANK REFERENCE Howard A. Daniel III writes: "I have previously written about the excellent books that show up in The Book Bin - Pacifica catalogs and have found another one. Book 410 in their catalog number 21 is "Census of the Philippine Islands: Taken Under the Direction of the Philippine Legislature in the Year 1918", Vol IV, Part 2, Bureau of the Census, Bureau of Printing, Manila, 1921, 762pp, b/w photos, Softbound, 8vo., Ex-lib., cover worn, Good+ and priced at $75.00. I believe this will be a good reference for the serious researcher of Philippine numismatics because one of the areas this volume covers is "Banks & Insurance". The email address for The Book Bin - Pacifica is seasia at bookbin.com and they are located in Oregon. They take Visa and Mastercard to pay so the buyer will not need to send a check." LIBRARIES WIRED & REBORN On April 22, 2004, The New York Times published an extensive and interesting article on the effects of the Internet on libraries, and the results may be surprising to many. The article, "Libraries Wired, and Reborn" describes how many libraries have become very active community centers as a result of the draw of Internet access, and the new funding provided by governments and private foundations to support computers and communications nationwide. "The transition has come quickly. In 1996, 28 percent of all libraries had PC's for public access to the Internet. Now, 95 percent of libraries offer Internet access. The Gates foundation accelerated the trend. There are now more than 120,000 Internet-connected PC's for public use in municipal libraries nationwide. Since 1998, the foundation has installed or paid for more than 47,000 PC's. " "And Internet-connected computers are clearly bringing more people into libraries. A year after computers are put in libraries that do not have them, visits rise 30 percent on the average and attendance typically remains higher, according to a study led by Andrew C. Gordon, a professor of public policy at the University of Washington. Over the last six years, visits to the nation's 16,400 public libraries have increased more than 17 percent, a trend that can be partly attributed to the spread of computers with Internet access." "The computers are put to all manner of uses. E-mail, Mrs. LeBoeuf said, is perhaps most common, from messages to friends elsewhere in Louisiana to those to relatives in the military stationed in Iraq. One local woman who was adopted found her biological parents by searching on the Internet, Mrs. LeBoeuf said. But most of the uses are more workaday inquiries, like looking up prices on the Web before haggling with merchants." "Mrs. LeBoeuf walked through the bustling new library as mothers with toddlers gathered for story time, the staff stocked shelves with books, and people of all ages sat at clusters of flat-panel PC's. Computers and the Internet are changing libraries irrevocably, she said. "Books are never going away, but the future of libraries is much more as community centers," Mrs. LeBoeuf observed. "I worked here for 22 years and never thought we'd have something like this." Library Article WHY IT'S CALLED AN EAGLE Max Spiegel writes: "I would like to respond to the question sent to Lou Jordan, asking "why the word 'eagle' was selected to define specific gold denominations mentioned in Section 9 of the Act of April 2, 1792." The American bald eagle had been used on colonial coinage for many before the passing of the Coinage Act of 1792. It became a sort of national symbol and was a key element of the Great Seal of the United States, which was adopted in 1782. Five years later, the bald eagle was officially made the emblem of the United States. In 1790, Congress called upon Alexander Hamilton to craft a proposal for the nation's first coinage which he submitted on June 20, 1790. In his letter to Congress, he stated that the $10 coin be called the eagle and depict one. Although it seems to be an obvious choice, being the national emblem, Hamilton stated that he only chose the eagle because "nothing else occurred" to him. When Congress drafted the Coinage Act of 1792, which was passed on April 2 of that year, they used Hamilton's proposal as a guideline and thus decided to call our largest denomination the "eagle." They subsequently named all other gold coinage (excluding the $1 and $3, which were minted later) based on the "eagle." I hope this answers your question." Chris Fuccione also had the answer, found in Don Taxay's "U.S. Mint and Coinage." He writes: "He (Alexander Hamilton) suggested that the dollar be known also as the "unit" and its tenth part as simply a "tenth." The largest gold piece might be called an "eagle." The appellation, he admitted, was not very expressive, but he could think of nothing better........." David Klinger reports a slightly different version of events, but it may well be that Hamilton was the originator here, too. He writes: "In the "Dictionary of Coin Names", by Adrian Room, and published in London (1987), the entry for Eagle reads (in part): "Eagle - The name was proposed in 1785 by President-to-be Jefferson for the 10-dollar coin introduced in the United States in 1795. At first, the representation of the eagle on the reverse was informal, but from 1797 a heraldic type appeared." NUMISMATICS AND RIOTS We've had some more responses to our quiz question about numismatics and riots. John Burns had written: "Off the top of my head I seem to recall a medal struck for the Haymarket riot in 1893. Also, I recall that it was a relic medal in having a piece of shrapnel from a bomb embedded in it." In response, Tom DeLorey writes: "These do exist. The last time we had one in stock (many years ago), I tested the embedment with a magnet. It was magnetic, for what that is worth." Larry Dziubek writes: "In connection with previous discussion: Here is a relic-medal that ties into history, economics, and numismatics. I just discovered a book titled 1877- Year of Violence by Robert V. Bruce, 1970 that may show the reasons for the riots. This was a period of serious economic depression nationwide. At a location within walking distance of the upcoming 2004 American Numismatic Association convention in August is the site of the most serious destruction. The Pennsylvania. National Guard was finally called in from Philadelphia after many trains were looted and burned at the P.R.R. yards. Many were killed under martial law, and in earlier turmoil. I purchased the relic medal on eBay a couple years ago. It is a brass planchet about the size of a half dollar. The following lettering is punched thereon: FROM BURNT BELL OF / ENG. / 415 / P. R. R. // RIOT AT PITTSBURG / 104 / ENGINES / DEST.D / 7.22.77 I don't know how many were made, and in fact this is the only reference to the event that I have seen other than in newsprint." HITLER DIARIES SOLD Not all fakes are worthless, as most numismatists are aware. The same thing holds in literature. While not numismatic, our readers may be interested to learn of the recent sale of a 20-year-old fake diary: "A volume of the forged diaries of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler which fooled the world in 1983 fetched $7,700 in a Berlin auction on Friday. Forger, painter and military antiques dealer Konrad Kujau, who died in 2000, copied Hitler's handwriting and sold 60 volumes of the diary to Stern magazine for about $5 million. The manuscript is the last in the series, with the final entry dated April 30, 1945, the day Hitler committed suicide with Eva Braun in his bunker as the Third Reich collapsed." "Included with the auctioned volume is a hand-written document -- also forged -- certifying the authenticity of the writings, "signed" by Hitler and several other top Nazis." To read the full story, see the Reuters new site: Full Article AUDUBONS DISPLAYED Another non-numismatic note of interest to general bibliophiles was submitted by the editor of our print journal, The Asylum, E. Tomlinson Fort, who writes: "I thought this might make an interesting filler for The E-Sylum. By the way, Hillman Library, at the University of Pittsburgh, also has a first edition elephant follio Audubon. They have a special display case where they show a different plat." "A LIBRARIAN turns the pages with infinite care, her gloved hands moving with the respect reserved for a treasure valued at £7 million. For a century, the book and three companion volumes that comprise Audubon?s Birds of America have been in a vault, too valuable to be exhibited in public. But soon, 102 years after they were gifted to Glasgow's Mitchell Library, they will go on display to attract Glaswegians and international visitors alike. Curators plan to make Audubon's Birds... the centrepiece of a new visitor attraction. "It's one of the world's best kept secrets, but it will at last be available to all," said Pamela Tulloch, the information services manager at the library. Glasgow's "double elephant folio" - the books measure 39in by 27in - is one of the few remaining complete sets created from paintings by the 19th century artist-adventurer John James Audubon." For the full article, see: Full Article CELTIC COIN INDEX Larry Mitchell sent the following link to the Celtic Coin Index: For the web page: "All the British Celtic Coin Index Records from 1961 to 2001 are now online! This means you now have access to over 28,000 records and images of British Celtic coins, a remarkable resource for study!" It is easy to see the enormous growth in information about Celtic coin finds in Britain when you realize that, only ten years ago, there were only 12,000 records in the Celtic Coin Index at Oxford (Derek Harrison, 1992, p. xv), which represents the records of thirty years. In the following ten years, 20,000 new records were added, so that currently there are more than 32,000 records in the Index. Celtic Coin Index CORNERSTONE COINS On the subject of the coins placed in the cornerstone of the San Francisco Mint building, Tom DeLorey writes: "Strictly as a matter of personal opinion, I think that the existence of the officially unreported 1870-S silver dollars, half dime and $3 gold piece make it almost a certainty that an 1870-S quarter was struck. Why go to the bother of creating three otherwise non-existent denominations and not create the fourth as well? These were methodical people who very carefully left a paper trail, and bureaucrats to boot. Nothing could have stopped them." MORE ON SULPHUR SPOTS R.S. Neale writes: "While very true that carbon spots aren't carbon, I think that the writer of this commentary, admittedly not a chemist, should consult one to get his terminology straightened out. For example, when copper reacts with sulfur in some form or other, it becomes copper sulfide (not copper sulfate), and the process does indeed involve oxidation (wherein an element loses electrons to become a positively charged ion)." Joe Boling writes: "I believe most coin graders and conservators agree that "carbon spots" are usually the result of droplets of saliva (and an occasional dandruff flake) that have landed on coins while they were being handled and talked over. As such, I'm not sure that sulfur has any connection with them, though I don't know what the principal culprit would be. What's in saliva?" [What's in saliva probably depends on what the person was eating... -Editor] SMITHSONIAN COLLECTION WORLD'S LARGEST? Regarding the excerpts published last week about the coming closure of the Smithsonian's Numismatics Hall at the Museum of American History in Washington, D.C, Jørgen Sømod writes: "The world's largest collection of money and medals? These gentlemen have never been in Europe, I understand." U.S. MONEY PRINTING AUTOMATION DETAILED Alan Luedeking alerted us to the following article in "Automation World" magazine about automated visual inspection systems at the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing. It was published in the March 2004 issue (p46). The article is lengthy and I recommend reading the full version, which include images of some of the equipment discussed.. Here are some excerpts. "Like all printers, the BEP must verify that its printed materials are clear and accurate. However, the BEP also needs to ensure that various security measures are in place to help deter counterfeiting and to allow the government to account for all bank notes. To help meet these demanding requirements, the BEP converted several of its inspection stations from human operators spot checking currency to automated visual inspection of each note." "In order to reduce or eliminate inconsistencies associated with physical note size and the location of engraved images on the chrome intaglio printing plates on which the currency is printed, the BEP?s Production Engineering group developed a Plate Measurement Device (PMD). The PMD uses state- of-the-art positioning technology and machine vision to automatically measure the layout pattern of the security features on these plates. The engraved artwork and registration marks are gauged before production to verify plate accuracy?which is essential for precise print registration ? and afterwards, so that any distortion caused by prolonged intaglio printing is identified." "... the Production Engineering group developed a vision-based note measurement system that automatically measures and records 27 note registration features (137 data points) on each cut bill. These include substrate size, intaglio print size and position (on both sides) and positions of the seals and serial numbers. Measuring banknotes in reflected light is quite challenging, as the intaglio printing process is somewhat variable by nature, and finding print edges consistently on the fine engraved artwork is very difficult." "The Production Engineering team is currently making improvements to the existing systems to gain even greater reductions in print variability and to inspect even more sophisticated security features. The group continually makes improvements to its processes for quality assurance and security purposes, and machine vision plays an important role in this regard. The data received from these inspection systems also will be instrumental in implementing future security or design changes." To read the full article, see: Full Article A REALLY OVERDUE LIBRARY BOOK On April 21, 2004, Reuters reported that "A former British Royal Air Force employee has returned a history book to the Malta public library 42 years after he borrowed it and was given a cup of coffee instead of a fine. Ernie Roscouet, a resident of the Channel Islands, inadvertently packed the book when he left Malta in June 1962 and returned it when his wife gave him a holiday to Malta as his 65th birthday present. "It's actually been on my conscience all this time," he told the Times of Malta newspaper." Full Article FEATURED WEB PAGE This week's featured web page is an enlarged image of Lt. George Dixon's "lucky" gold coin, recovered from the wreck of The Hunley. Incidentally, replicas of the coin are available for $10 on the Friends of the Hunley web site (Hunley.org). Coin Image Wayne Homren Numismatic Bibliomania Society Content presented in The E-Sylum is not necessarily researched or independently fact-checked, and views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the 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. Visit the Membership page. Those wishing to become new E-Sylum subscribers (or wishing to Unsubscribe) can go to the following web page link. |
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