Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 7, Number 30, July 25, 2004:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2004, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.


SUBSCRIBER UPDATE

  Among recent new subscribers is are Anne E. Bentley, Curator
  of Art of the Massachusetts Historical Society, courtesy of John
  W. Adams, and Edward Perkin of Allentown, PA, courtesy of
  Wayne Homren.   Welcome aboard!  We now have 675
  subscribers.


CLEVELAND COIN-WISE COLUMNIST DIES

  Dick Johnson writes: "Numismatic author and coin columnist
  Leon T. Lindheim died July 17, 2004 in Warrensville Heights,
  Ohio. He was 92.

  He undertook  writing a weekly coin column "Coin-Wise" for
  the Cleveland Plain Dealer in the 1960s and continued this
  for nearly 30 years. The column was syndicated from 1966 to
  1978 to other American newspapers. He was also author of
  "Facts and Fictions About Coins," a book published in 1967.

  Infrequently he wrote an article in The Numismatist "Fifty
  Years Ago In The Numismatist," 1970-1984.  He was active
  in the numismatic community, served on the 1970 U.S. Assay
  Commission and was treasurer of the Numismatic Literary
  Guild in the 1970s and early 1980s.

  A banker for his entire business career, he joined the
  Continental Bank after graduating from Dartmouth College in
  1934. He rose to vice chairman of Continental before it merged
  into another Cleveland area bank, after which he retired in
  1976. He was a trustee of the Cleveland Better Business
  Bureau, treasurer of a religious organization and officer in
  several community groups.

  He was an early supporter of the Kovels, also of Cleveland.
  The husband-and wife team - Ralph M. and Terry H. Kovel
  -- are experts on collectibles, authors of a dozen books, and
  seen by many on their weekly cable TV collectibles show.

  On a personal note, I attribute my collecting of Tiffany medals
  to Leon, spurred by an item in his 1967 book. This occurred
  at a time when I was employed by Medallic Art Company,
  and looked for another high-quality medal producer's works
  to collect. I knew Leon for thirty years and had visited him in
  his home on occasion. He consigned to my medal auctions
  and was an insightful numismatic writer.

  His obituary in the Cleveland Plain Dealer is at: Obituary



FAST RESULTS FROM ENGLISH TRADE DIRECTORIES

  Bob Merchant writes: "I want to thank Larry Mitchell for his
  submission about the English trade directories that have been
  digitized and placed online by the University of Leicester.  I
  have already been able to attribute several British
  countermarked coins in my collection using this web site!  If
  something like this could be done for the U.S.A. it would be
  of tremendous value for countermarked coin (and trade token)
  research.  Here is the link again for those who haven't yet
  visited (and bookmarked) this important web site: historicaldirectories.org"

  [Bob's response arrived about 24 hours after the publication
  of last week's E-Sylum.  Fantastic!  -Editor]


UNSOUGHT FAME FOR OLYMPIC MEDAL COLLECTOR

  Bill Malkmus writes: "Your story (via the AP) about the San
  Diego coin collector's Olympic medal collection did not come
  as a complete "scoop" to me.   I had been to a meeting of the
  San Diego Ancient Numismatic Society three days earlier at
  the home of an unnamed (at least, by me) collector.  He told
  us that he had loaned his Olympic medal collection to a local
  museum for display, under condition of absolute anonymity.
  He was startled to awake and find his name on the front page
  of the local paper, and soon began receiving phone calls from
  various parts of the world.  He did, by the time of the meeting,
  seem to have grown accepting (if not appreciative) of his fifteen
  minutes plus of unsought fame.  (I hope I'm not making it worse
  for him.)  The moral of the story is DON'T accept casual
  assurances of anonymity under such circumstances!  (And he
  does keep his collection in a safe deposit box when he is not
  working on it or displaying it.)"


THE ENIGMATIC "E" AND "L" COUNTERSTAMPED QUARTERS

  The July 2004 issue of the John Reich Journal, official
  publication of the John Reich Collectors Society, features
  an extensive two-part article by Ted McAuley detailing his
  theories on the unusual "E" and "L" counterstamps found on
  the obverse of many 1815 and 1825 U.S. quarters.  He
  makes a very interesting case for the coins' origins with the
  Harmony Society of Economy, Pennsylvania, source of the
  famous Economite Hoard of early 19th-century coinage
  dispersed beginning in 1881.  He writes:

  "I believe that the "E" and "L" countermarked quarters of
  1815 and 1825 originated at the Harmonist Community of
  Economy, Pennsylvania.  The dates of 1815 and 1825 were
  highly symbolic for a community whose daily religious
  underpinnings relied heavily on symbolism, and represented
  the founding dates of their last two settlements (Harmony-
  on-the-Wabash and Economy).  Dates would symbolically
  distinguish between "veteran" (1815) and "novice" (1825)
  membership in the Society during the Great Schism of 1832."

  "I believe the "E" represented either "Economite" or "Economy",
  while "L" represented either "Leonite" or "Leon".

  "The coins probably served as voting tokens during the
  pivotal "showdown" recalled by Jacob Henrici - a vote that
  determined whether the loyalists (Economites) or the
  seceders (Leonites) commanded the allegiance of the majority
  of Harmonist members."

  [The journal has published several articles on these interesting
  coins over the years, at a level of detail only a specialty
  publication can provide.  If you collect early U.S. coins, a
  subscription is a must.  See jrcs.org for more
  information. -Editor]


NEWSDAY ARTICLE ON MONEY CHANGES

  A lengthy article on the changes U.S. coins and currency are
  undergoing appeared in the July 25, 2004 issue of Newsday.
  Here are a few excerpts:

  "Crooks and collectors, not sentiment, are remaking the face
  of America's money."

  "... the $716 billion in bills and coins circulating globally today
  have been dramatically overhauled to thwart counterfeiters
  and to attract a whole new generation of coin collectors. For
  the past five years, the U.S. Mint has introduced a new quarter
  every 10 weeks.

  At the same time, the $5, $10, and $20 bills have been
  revamped. The design of the nickel was changed this year for
  the first time in 66 years, with more changes due next month,
  and in September, new $50 bills will be introduced. The
  money looks different, feels different, and more changes are
  planned.

  But it has not been easy."

  "It is politically charged and fraught with history," said Philip N.
  Diehl, former director of the U.S. Mint. "Inside the Washington
  beltway, a coin is a round piece of utilitarian metal. But outside
  the beltway, it's a tremendous symbol of power. They each
  have a political constituency behind them."

  "Henrietta Holsman Fore, director of the U.S. Mint, which
  produces 12 billion coins each year at facilities in Denver and
  Philadelphia, calls the makeover "the Renaissance in coin and
  medal design."

  "The decision in 1996 to honor states by redesigning the quarter
  unleashed a pent-up demand for more variety in coins. "The
  changes are long overdue," said Eileen Ribar of Merrick and
  editor of two coin collecting newsletters.

  "Coin enthusiasts saw this year's 200th anniversary of the
  expedition by Merriweather Lewis and William Clark as
  another opportunity and are introducing a new "Westward
  Journey" nickel each six months this year and next. They
  commemorate some aspect of the historic voyage -- the
  1803 Louisiana Purchase and treaty with Indians, and the
  Missouri River keelboat Clark designed, for example.

  But Virginians were miffed that one of their landmarks,
  Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello, was being displaced.
  Local congressmen and then Gov. George Allen mounted a
  spirited campaign that included schoolchildren's traipsing
  through Capitol offices brandishing copies of the Bill of
  Rights to make their case. Congress and the Treasury
  Department relented and agreed that in 2006, at the end
 of the two-year Lewis-and-Clark cycle, Monticello would
  return to the back of the coin.

  Changes in coin design generate interest from localities and
  lobbyists for specialty metals, King said, especially since the
  cost of zinc, nickel and copper have risen 32 percent, 48
  percent and 74 percent, respectively, in the last year alone."

  "Ever persistent, Castle has introduced another dollar coin
  proposal that would feature the head of the presidents, starting
  with Washington and following the sequence of presidents
  each year. The bill has been passed by King's committee and
  awaits action by the full House. The Senate has yet to consider
  the idea. "These are no-win situations," said Diehl, "high risk
  with no upside, so leaders tend to avoid them like the plague."

  "The other proposal for a new coin design has been raised in
  the aftermath of Reagan's death by Grover Norquist, who has
  coordinated a decade-long effort to commemorate Reagan
  and is advocating the Reagan dime or replacing Hamilton with
  Reagan on the $10 bill. "We want something that could be
  accomplished in less than a year," he said recently. By his
  reckoning, the Treasury secretary could direct either change
  with an executive order. "A monument on the Mall would take
  25 years, and another face on Mount Rushmore. Well ... ."

  To read the full story, see: Full Story


CHASE MONEY MUSEUM FATE

  Chris Faulkner writes: "In Dick Johnson's piece on resurrecting
  Victor D. Brenner's wheat cent mention is made of the Chase
  Money Museum (in 1972). Can someone tell me what happened
  to that museum and its collection?  Is it still intact?  Mothballed?
  Sold or dispersed? "

  [Alas, the Chase Manhattan Money Museum was dissolved.
  One of its high-profile specimens went to the American
  Numismatic Society - Eric P. Newman persuaded the bank to
  donate its 1804 dollar to the society.   A group of checks with
  presidential signatures went to the National Numismatic
  Collection at the Smithsonian.   Can our readers fill us in on
  more background about the collection and its dispersal?
  -Editor]


A PIG IN A POKE

  W. David Perkins writes: "Among other items, I recently
  acquired the bid sheet of a prominent early silver dollar
  collector (active in the 1950s and 1960s) for M. H.
  Bolender?s 196th Auction Sale,  November 12, 1959.
  Lot 1000 in this sale was titled ?PIG IN A POKE.?  I had
  not seen a reference to ?A Pig in a Poke? (lot) prior to this.
  The description for Lot 1000 reads:

   ?The Pig in a Poke?.  This means something big in a bag or
  sack, and you do not know what is in it.  When I was a young
  dealer half a century ago, a New York dealer who conducted
  coin auctions, would occasionally disrupt the regular sale
  proceedings and sell a ?pig in a poke? on the floor to room
  bidders.  Here is one for my mail bidders.  Only this brief
  description do I give.   There are more than 100 U.S. coins
  from half-cents to silver dollars, from good to uncirculated, no
  bids entered below $50.  the catalogue value is over $200.
  This lot is unconditionally guaranteed to be satisfactory to the
  buyer, just the same as every lot sold in all Bolender sales.
  Any lot in my sales may be returned within 30 days, for a full
  refund of the purchase price, plus shipping costs.  Now I?m
  hoping somebody can get a bargain.  Of course, nobody may
  inspect this lot.  That would spoil the fun.

  I don?t have the prices realized for this lot.  If any of our readers

  have this prices realized list, I would appreciate learning what
  it sold for."

  Bolender references copying this concept from a ?New York
  dealer? about 50 years earlier, thus the year was approximately
  1909.  Can anyone provide the name of this NY dealer?  Has
  anyone come across references to any auction lots referred to
  as ?The Pig in the Poke??

  Bonus Question:  There were four pages of bids for this sale.
  The bidder appears to have been the successful bidder for Lot
  1327, a 1795 ?draped bust centered? U.S. Silver Dollar with
  Brasher Counterstamp.  The bid was $216.26 [if someone
  has prices realized for this sale I?d also appreciate learning
  the winning bid amount for lot 1327.]   What was the name of
  the ?prominent collector??  Hint, this collector was the subject
  of a talk I gave at the NBS Annual Meeting a few years ago
  at the Philadelphia ANA Convention."


ANA CONVENTION INFO UPDATED

  As the American Numismatic Association convention
  approaches and attendees make their final plans, the
  web pages the local  committee put together may be
  useful.  We've updated the restaurant section, and just
  for Myron Xenos we made sure to include a nearby
  Greek restaurant.  The pages also describe the tours in
  detail, and I want to personally invite E-Sylum subscribers
  to sign up for the walking tour of numismatic and historical
  sights in downtown Pittsburgh.  I'm still working on my
  own convention schedule, but expect to be able to join
  the group.  The web address for the supplemental
  convention web pages is: pancoins.org/ana


RARE SERIAL NUMBER 1 NOTE FOUND

  A newspaper in New York's Hudson Valley reported
  some interesting numismatic finds during some recent
  promotional appraisal events.

  "According to Pandaleon, a man brought in a collection
  of about 80 U.S. banknotes and German inflation currency
  from the Weimar Republic in the 1920s. He had bought the
  collection for $500 but when he went to sell it the dealer
  said he'd overpaid and offered him only $200.

  "He actually had two Federal Reserve test notes from 1957
  that were worth $1,000 apiece." Pandaleon said. "On the
  same day a husband and wife from Union Vale came in with
  a collection of old coins and paper money. It turned out there
  was a 50 cent piece from the 1820's that was in mint condition
  and worth $7,000. Those were two exciting events."

  "The next appraisal on July 4 was the big one. Pandaleon said
  a lady brought in two Morgan silver dollars to be appraised.
  There are lots of them around so it was nothing momentous,
  until he noticed she had a five-dollar bill in an envelope she
  figured was worthless.

  "Lo and behold it was a 1929 Type 1 National Bank note
  with the serial number 000001," he said. "It was from the first
  sheet that went through the press. The note is incredibly valuable
  with a minimum value of $10,000. At auction it could bring as
  much as $50,000."

  "The nice part about the note is the story behind it," Pandaleon
  said. "The woman who brought in the note is 83 years old and
  her husband is in a nursing home. It is found money and could
  be very helpful to them."

  To read the full story, see: Full Story


AUTHOR PAYS RECORD PRICE FOR U.S. DIME

  E-Sylum subscriber Rusty Goe, author of "The Mint on
  Carson Street" recently paid a record-breaking price for
  the unique  1873-CC No Arrows dime.  A story about
  his purchase appeared in the July 16 issue of the Reno
  (Nevada) Gazette-Journal:

  "There?s not a dime?s worth of difference between some
  10-cent pieces.

  But the one-of-a-kind, 1873 dime acquired last week by
  Reno coin shop owner and coin collector Rusty Goe isn?t
  one of them.

  Goe paid $891,250 for the coin, made 131 years ago at
  the historic Carson City Mint. He said he got a good deal.

  ?I?m ecstatic, elated. It?s the ultimate experience,?? Goe said.

  After paying a record price for any dime made in the United
  States, he said his South Virginia Street shop became a
  celebration site for customers and friends.

  ?The atmosphere in our store was festive. It was like having
  the winning team in the World Series or the winning horse in
  the Kentucky Derby,?? Goe said.

  Goe, who recently completed a book on the history of the
  Carson City Mint, said the acquisition is particularly satisfying
  because it was made in the capital city."

  "No other coins without arrows from 1873 in Carson City
  have surfaced over the years, Goe said.

  Goe said two Philadelphia coin dealers were the first owners
  of record of the piece he acquired. He said they made their
  ownership known about 1910. In 1915, Goe said, the coin
  was sold at auction for $170."

  "Bidding at last Friday?s auction opened at $550,000, and
  Goe said he went to $775,000 before he was able to secure
  the coin. The sales price includes a 15 percent auction
  company fee ? bringing the total to $891,250."

  "Up to now, the most a U.S.-made dime has fetched is
  $825,000 for an 1894 coin minted in San Francisco."

  To read the full story, see: Full Story


PAQUET PHOTO SOUGHT

  Pete Smith writes: "I received a request for a photo of
  Anthony Paquet. Can any E-Sylum reader provide a
  photo or provide the source for a photo?"


COLONIAL NEWSLETTER PUBLISHED

  Editor Gary Trudgen forwarded a release about the latest
  issue of  The Colonial Newsletter.  Here are some excerpts:

  The August/December 2004 issue of The Colonial Newsletter
  (CNL) has been published.  This issue is 128 pages in length
  and consists of a feature paper, a technical note and a letter
  to the editor.  The length of the feature paper made it necessary
  to publish a combined or double issue.  The next CNL issue will
  appear in April 2005.

  The feature paper, authored by Dr. Louis Jordan, studies the
  Lord Baltimore coinage and money in early Maryland.  His
  paper is meticulously researched and well written.  Lou explained
  his thinking and what he tried to accomplish when he undertook
  this research project. In part, Lou says:

  "To answer the question as to why the coinage was produced I
  needed to investigate three general topics, namely: how daily
  exchanges were conducted in the period before the coinage was
  proposed, the circumstances surrounding the production, issuing
  and usage of the coinage and finally, how daily exchanges were
  conducted in the decades after minting ceased, when Baltimore
  silver disappeared from circulation."

  "The Technical Note by Byron Weston and Clem Shettino
  presents another new discovery in the 1785-dated series of
  counterfeit halfpence.  A new die variety has been found which
  combines two previously known dies in the series and is labeled
  Newman 51-85A.  Currently three obverse and four reverse
  dies are known.  A chart is presented illustrating the known die
  pairings and highlighting the new discoveries since Eric Newman
  cataloged the series in 1988.  Also, based on die break evidence,
  striking sequence is discussed and the potential for new
  discoveries within the series is considered.

  Finally, a Letter to the Editor from Dr. Roger Moore is published
  concerning the pre-Federal errors paper authored by Dr. Philip
  Mossman which appeared in our last issue.  Dr. Moore praises
  the paper for its complete analysis of the entire minting process.
  He continues by observing that New Jersey coppers seem to be
  found with fewer minting errors than the other coinages of the
  era.   He also provides photos of two examples of New Jersey
  error coins that he has found, one being a triple error specimen.

  CNL is published three times a year by The American
  Numismatic Society, 96 Fulton Street, New York, NY 10038.
  For inquires concerning CNL, please contact Juliette Pelletier
  at the preceding postal address or e-mail pelletier at amnumsoc.org
  or telephone (212) 571-4470 ext. 1311."


CREDIT CARDS OVERTAKE CASH & CHECKS COMBINED

  On July 23, The Wall Street Journal published an article about
  the rise of credit cards and the slow demise of cash.  Here
  are some excerpts:

  "Whenever state trooper Michael Poupart pulls over a speeding
  motorist on I-94 in Wisconsin's Kenosha County, he offers to
  take Visa or MasterCard debit and credit cards right there on
  the side of the road.

  Drivers initially look puzzled, until the trooper explains he has a
  card swiper onboard. "Then they say 'OK,' and hand over the
  card," he says. "They'd rather deal with it right there."

  Trooper Poupart is one reason the nation passed a watershed
  last year. For the first time, Americans used cards -- credit,
  debit and others -- to buy retail goods and services more often
  than they used cash or check in 2003."

  "The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman went completely
  cashless earlier this year. The Navy issued MasterCards to all
  5,000 sailors aboard. On payday, seamen insert cards into a
  machine that electronically loads money stored onto each card.
  They then use the cards for all onboard purchases.

  The Navy estimates sailors on the Truman buy 250,000 soft
  drinks monthly. When it was a cash ship, somebody had to
  collect half a ton of quarters each month from all the Truman's
  vending machines. Those coins then had to be redistributed.
  Now it's all settled electronically.

  An added benefit: Shipmates can use the same cards while
  visiting nightclubs or movie theaters on shore, as well as to
  send money home. The Navy has even put a swiper by the
  door of the chapel as a substitute for the Sunday church-
  service collection plate, says Cmdr. Boyle McDunn, a
  chaplain aboard the Truman."

  "Some Christians see the pervasive use of plastic as part of a
  dark biblical prophecy. Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian
  Broadcasting Network, has said that plastic may signal the
  cashless society of the end times foreshadowed in the Bible.
  Mr. Robertson's network accepts contributions from
  supporters on both Visa and MasterCard."


A DICTATOR-NUMISMATIST: DUVALIER OF HAITI

  Alan Luedeking writes: "While this may not strictly qualify as
  "royal", it's near enough I guess:  Haiti's one-time absolute
  dictator and President for Life Baby Doc Duvalier was an
  avid numismatist; it is said that scheduling an interview with
  him could take months; but if a coin dealer or someone
  called regarding a coin, they would be patched right through
  or granted an immediate interview.  The same applies with
  me!"


OTHER NUMISMATIC ROYALS

  Michael Knight writes: "Other Royal Numismatists to add
  to the list published 18 July are:

  George III of England (born 1738; King 1760-1820).
  George's collection included the cabinets of earlier antiquaries
  such as Rev Andrew Gifford (see Sylloge Coins of British
  Isles No 34 page xxxii).

  Queen Christina of Sweden (ruled 1632-54, when she
  abdicated; died 1689).  According to Gregory Brunk's
 'Merchant Countermarks on World Coins'(1989) page 12
  she was a keen collector of coins and medals.  She may
  have been responsible for marking coins with a small
  crowned C, or this may have been the mark of another
  Royal collector King Charles I of England (ruled 1625-49).
  His collection was sold by the Commonwealth after his
  execution, and Queen Christina bought pieces from this
  collection.

  Brunk also notes another countermark used by a titled
  collector.  Polish Count Emeric Hutten-Czapski used a
  microscopic C, circling his count of arms circa 1870s."


$1,000 BILL MAGICALLY REAPPEARS

  An article on the July 17 North County Times of  San
  Diego,  CA reports that "A local magician witnessed
  some magic after misplacing his treasured $1,000 bill
  when it was returned days later by an honest spectator."

  "The $1,000 bank note went out of print in1934 ----
  the same year Johnson's bill was printed. Today, the
  obsolete bill is valued at $1,500 by collectors, Johnson
  said.

  In the magic act, Johnson hands the bill to audience
  members while he explains the bill's history and estimated
  value while stressing that wealth and happiness are life's
  true treasures.

  Johnson then makes other currency "magically" appear
  from the bill including silver dollars. But while the money
  increases, the $1,000 bill remains visible.

  According to Johnson's recollection, in the frenzy of
  switching props, the bill got misplaced ..."

  But the prized possession turned up at the feet of Tracy
  Williams, Paulson Court Reporting employee, and her
  father Ed Irvin, both of Mira Mesa. The two, enjoying the
  afternoon picnic, found the bill on the ground.
Full Story



PAINTINGS OF MONEY

  Hadrien Rambach of Spink writes: "Regarding paintings of
  money, some of the readers may find it funny to look at the
  following web-site, where a painter (Charles Ellis) chooses
  coins as subjects of some of his paintings?

  cellis.net

  [The paintings is question are not trompe l'oeil, but large
  stylized portraits of a single U.S. coin, such as a Morgan
  silver dollar, 1793 cent, or 1838 D gold piece. -Editor]

SPOTTING DOCTORED PHOTOS

  Electronic images are wonderful for publishing information
  about numismatic items.  But have those photos of auction
  lots been doctored?  The New York Times this week
  published an article about how digital photo forgeries can
  be unmasked.

  "It used to be that you had a photograph, and that was the
  end of it - that was truth," said Hany Farid, an associate
  professor of computer science at Dartmouth College who
  is a leader in the field. "We're trying to bring some of that
  back. To put some measure of guarantee back in
  photography."

  Over the last three years, Professor Farid and his students
  have become experts at forgery, making hundreds of images
  that look authentic but have in fact been digitally tweaked.
  License plate numbers are changed. A single stool standing
  on a checkerboard floor is suddenly a pair of stools. Dents
  on a car are wiped away with a few mouse clicks.

  The skillful tampering disturbed the images in ways that the
  human eye could not detect. But Professor Farid says his
  algorithms can spot them and sound the alarm.

  For example, when two images are spliced together - like
  the picture of a shark attacking a helicopter that has
  circulated around the Internet in the past few years - one
  or both of the original pictures usually has to be shrunk,
  enlarged or rotated to make the pieces fit together. And
  those changes, no matter how artful, leave clues behind."

  "In the long run, however, any method for preventing fraud
  may eventually come up short, most researchers in the field
  acknowledge.

  "At the end of the day, the person doing the tampering has
  the easier job. And they'll win," Professor Farid said. "We
  can't stop tampering. We can simply make it harder."

  To read the full article, see: Full Story


SAN FRANCISCO ASSAY OFFICE EXPLOSION

  Found while searching for other things was a contemporary
  account of an explosion in G.W. Bell's assay office building.
  Bell's business is described in Dan Owens' book,
  "California Coiners and Assayers."  Bell operated in San
  Francisco from 1854-1866.  Bell was killed in the explosion
  at the age of 49 on April 16, 1866.    Owens' book reprints
  several newspaper accounts of the "terrible calamity."

  The next time you're shipping books and the clerk asks you
  if the package contains any banned materials, remember this
  incident, which illustrates why it's not a good idea to ship
  nitroglycerine by mail...

  "On Monday, 16th inst., in San Francisco, at fifteen minutes
  past one o'clock, P.M., an explosion took place in the
  storeroom back of Wells, Fargo & Co.'s building, in G.W.
  Bell's assay office, adjoining California Street, which
  demolished everything with a circuit of 40 or 50 feet, including
  the whole interior of Bell's assay building, the storeroom and
  west portion of Wells, Fargo & Co.'s building, the back
  portion of the Union Club Rooms, and other apartments in the
  vicinity.

  The explosion was powerful as to shake the earth like an
  earthquake for a circuit of a quarter of a mile.  Every window
  in California Street, between Montgomery and Kearney, was
  demolished, and panes of glass were shattered ever as far as
  Third Street, a distance of half a mile.  For some time after the
  explosion it was impossible to tell the cause of the calamity.
  Some asserting that it was a barrel of acid in the Assay Office;
  others said it was a steam boiler in the rear of the office; and
  others, that it was some kind of explosive material stored in
  the yard of Wells, Fargo & Co.  It has since been ascertained
  to have been caused by Nobel's blasting oil, or nitro glycerine,
  a  new explosive five times more powerful in its effects than
  powder.  A box containing this liquid had arrived by steamer
  from the East, and when landed upon the wharf was found to
  be in a leaking condition.  It had been shipped as general
  merchandise, and none were aware of the dangerous contents
  of the box.  It was sent to the office of Wells, Fargo & Co.
  and placed in the rear of the building, among the unclaimed
  freight, where Mr. Webster, the freight clerk in the New York
  department of the Express office, and Mr. Havens, freight
  clerk of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, went to
  examine that in connection with another package claimed to
  be in a damaged condition.  The last seen  of these gentlemen
  alive, they were standing near the box, with several other
  employees, having tools as if about to open the box.  It is
  supposed they made the attempt, when the explosion took
  place by concussion, which resulted in a terrible loss of life
  and destruction of property.

  [The remainder of the article includes some graphic
  descriptions of the carnage, which I won't reprint here.
  To read the full article, see: Full Article ]


HOW TO WIN A BRONZE MODEL

  Dick Johnson writes: "I missed a gem for my collection
  of numismatic typos in print. This appeared in the June 2004
  'Reader's Digest': in an article on How to Get Lucky:  "But
  research suggests athletes who win bronze models are
  actually happier."  Happier than what?  Winning a bronze
  medal?

  It was only on reading the Letters to the Editor in the July
  issue did I discover this. It was submitted by Kathleen
  Wilson from California, who is still giggling."


WHERE MEDAL COLLECTORS WORSHIP

  Not a typo, but also in the category of "found while
  looking for other things"  is Our Lady of the Miraculous
  Medal Church, on 75 Parkside Drive in Point Lookout,
  NY:Church Site



WHAT WOULD WILLIE SUTTON THINK?

  The Rocky Mountain News of Denver, CO reported a
  unique bank robbery attempt:

  "Police caught a man suspected of robbing a bank Friday
  morning, six minutes after he did a brief striptease and ran
  from the area only to circle back by the scene of the crime.

  Merle Hatch, 42, was arrested shortly after 10 a.m. in front
  of the Compass Bank, 655 Broadway, police spokesman
  Sonny Jackson said.

  Hatch is accused of walking into the bank about 10 a.m.
  and demanding money from a teller, police said.

  After walking from the bank, police said, Hatch stripped off
  all his clothes except for a pair of jogging shorts and tennis
  shoes and ran from the area with cash in hand.

  The bank employees who saw the quick change called police
  and gave them a fresh description of the bandit, Jackson said."

  "Jackson said the man was good-natured about the arrest."

  "He said, 'Awwww, you got me,' " Jackson said.

  "He thought he had a good disguise."
Full Story


FEATURED WEB SITE

  This week's featured web site is the Royal Coin Cabinet of
  Sweden.  "The Royal Coin Cabinet is a specialized museum
  with a national responsibility in areas such as the history of
  money and finance as well as medals."

    Featured Web Site
	
	
	
  Wayne Homren
  Numismatic Bibliomania Society