Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 7, Number 50, December 12, 2004: 
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society. 
Copyright (c) 2004, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.


MORE PUBLISHING TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS

  The reasons are not worth going into here, but the last 
  E-Sylum issue as initially published included many 
  "distracting garbage characters" as one reader put it.
  Several subscribers responded; a revised version was 
  published within minutes.  Thanks for your vigilance. 
  This issue was again published on Friday, but did not 
  seem to go though, so it was republished on Monday.
  That didn't work either, so here we go again.
  Sorry for the erratic schedule. -Editor

LAKE BOOKS SALE #77 CLOSING POSTPONED TO DECEMBER 14

  Fred Lake's wife, Joan, sent us an email last weekend
  that told of Fred being admitted to the hospital with
  an acute upper respiratory problem and that the Lake 
  Books sale #77 was being postponed until Tuesday, 
  December 14, 2004 at 5:00 PM (EST). Fred is now out of
  the hospital and feeling much better and the sale will
  be held on that date. He also thanks all of his many 
  friends in the numismatic community who wrote such 
  nice comments to them both."
  [We're happy to hear of Fred's speedy recovery. 
  -Editor]

NBS AT THE FUN SHOW

  Numismatic Bibliomania Society will meet at 11:30 AM
  Saturday, January 15, 2005 at the Florida United 
  Numismatists (FUN) show in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  
  The show runs from Jan. 13 through Jan. 16, 2005.
  Fred Lake writes: "Our scheduled speaker is Howard  A.
  Daniel III. His new book, "Socialist Republic of 
  Vietnam Coins & Currency", will be discussed and 
  Handouts of pages from the book will be available to
  the audience. All are welcome to attend the meeting."

ELECTRONIC NUMISMATIST PUBLISHED

  Jorg Lueke writes: "I would like to announce the 
  creation and release of the Electronic Numismatist, 
  a .pdf collection of the rare first six volumes of
  the Numismatist.  The project will hopefully be 
  continued to include all volumes prior to 1964.  
  More information can be found at 
  http://www.ancientcoinvalues.com/24.phtml and is 
  reproduced below.  The cost for this set is $29.95.
  History and Description

  Dr. George Heath started the Numismatist (initially 
  called the American Numismatist) in the fall of 1888. 
  In that year and the following the magazine's purpose
  was to market Dr. Heath's offerings as well as connect 
  with and educate fellow numismatists. I am uncertain
  of the success of the former, but the latter objective
  was achieved and the magazine quickly grew. In 1890 
  the magazine began to fill out with a series if articles 
  and the volumes from 1891 and 1892 are filled with 
  wonderful historical and still practical articles. 
  In 1891 the American Numismatic Association was founded
  and the Numismatist would soon be adopted as the official 
  publication, an honor the magazine still holds to this 
  day. The first six volumes are very difficult to find.

  The Electronic Numismatist

  The Electronic Numismatist is a project to convert the
  old issues of the magazine into electronic format. The 
  reasons and benefits for this are many. 
 
  To preserve the information contained in the magazine. 
  Contemporary accounts of numismatic events give us an 
  unfiltered view on what collectors thought of events 
  as they occurred. The first set of six volumes saw the 
  introduction of the Barber coinage as well as the 
  Columbian Exposition in Chicago. The Numismatist also 
  offers interesting biographical sketches of famous 
  numismatists like Lyman Low and Ed Frossard. The 
  articles are often times apt in the present day as 
  well. The Numismatic Foundation Stones series is 
  priceless. Where else can you learn how to build a 
  classic coin cabinet?

  To make the information more easily accessible. 
  Books are wonderful but also a little difficult to use. 
  Electronic files can be searched, linked, cut and pasted, 
  taken on laptops and CDs. Articles on similar subjects 
  can be accessed with the click of a button. They are 
  simply more practical especially when combing though 
  large amounts of data.

  To increase the exposure of modern numismatists to 
  this material.

  Numismatic material from the late 19th century can 
  be expensive and difficult to locate. By converting 
  the data to electronic formats it can be made accessible
  to anyone. There is no need to worry about staining a 
  rare text.  

  For fun! 

  How much did a 1793 cent cost in 1893 anyway? The 
  advertisements are scanned and preserved as found.
  We have converted, bookmarked, and indexed onto 
  .pdf the first six volumes of the Numismatists issued
  from 1888-1893 into the first compilation of   
  material called The Electronic Numismatist. 
  Subsequent volume sets are planned in the following 
  schedule:

  Vol 7-16 (1894-1903) Apr.2005
  Vol 17-26(1904-1913) Jul.2005
  Vol 27-36(1914-1923) Oct.2005
  Vol 37-46(1924-1933) Feb.2006
  Vol 47-56(1934-1943) May.2006
  Vol 57-66(1944-1953) Aug.2006
  Vol 67-76(1954-1963) Nov.2006

  The final set of volumes and a master index comprising
  all volumes will be free to those who have ordered the
  prior volumes.

  Changes and Cost

  We have attempted to keep the feel of the magazine as 
  close to the original flavor as possible. To be useful
  we felt strongly about adding the bookmarks and indexes.
  In some cases the layout has been altered.   We have 
  also standardized certain names to make them easier to 
  find. Finally, we have interjected updated comments, 
  especially to highlight areas of study that have seen 
  significant changes. We have also kept some of the 
  original spelling oddities and hope the magazine will 
  feel historic even as it is presented in a new medium 
  for the first time.

  Unfortunately it takes thousands of hours of labor and 
  thousands of dollars to convert, edit, check, arrange, 
  scan, type, acquire and organize this material. While
  the original text is in the public domain the new 
  structures, indexes, commentary are copyrighted with 
  all rights reserved.   We do wish to share as much of 
  the information and will be happy to release portions 
  for non-commercial use but we must also make an effort to 
  recoup the labor intensive cost of this process.

  The cost for this first set of volumes is $29.95. When 
  you order you will receive a file (include $2 to be 
  shipped a CD via mail) and a personalized password you
  will need to open the file. That's it!
  
  Samples

  You can see some sample pages including the index at: Sample
  Questions

  Email all questions to numismatist at ancientcoinvalues.com
 "
  [Digitizing The Numismatist has been a much-discussed 
  project over the years, and it's nice to see it finally
  starting to happen.  It is only likely to be completed
  if the project is commercially viable.  So if you have
  the urge to have this periodical at your disposal in
  electronic form, don't procrastinate when it comes to
  ordering your CD. The sample files look quite clear
  and readable - take a look online.  -Editor]

PUBLIC LIBRARIES STOCKING ELECTRONIC BOOKS

  From a December 9 New York Times article: "The newest books 
  in the New York Public Library don't take up any shelf space. 
  They are electronic books - 3,000 titles' worth - and the 
  library's 1.8 million cardholders can point and click 
  through the collection at www.nypl.org, choosing from among 
  best sellers, nonfiction, romance novels and self-help guides. 
  Patrons borrow them for set periods, downloading them for 
  reading on a computer, a hand-held organizer or other device 
  using free reader software. When they are due, the files are
  automatically locked out - no matter what hardware they are
  on - and returned to circulation, eliminating late fees. 
  In the first eight days of operation in early November, and 
  with little fanfare, the library's cardholders - from New York
  City and New York state and, increasingly, from elsewhere - 
  checked out more than 1,000 digital books and put another 400 
  on waiting lists (the library has a limited number of licenses
  for each book). 

  E-books are only one way that libraries are laying claim to a
  massive online public as their newest service audience. The 
  institutions are breaking free from the limitations of physical 
  location by making many kinds of materials and services 
  available at all times to patrons who are both cardholders 
  and Web surfers, whether they are homebound in the neighborhood
  or halfway around the world."

  "Library e-books are not new - netLibrary, an online-only 
  e-book collection for libraries, has operated since 1998 - 
  but the New York Public Library decided to wait for software 
  that would let users read materials on hand-held devices, 
  freeing them from computers. 

  "The key was portability," said Michael Ciccone, who heads 
  acquisitions at the library. "It needs to be a book-like 
  experience."

  E-books' short history has already begun to yield some 
  lessons. At the Cleveland Public Library, Patricia Lowrey,
  head of technical services, thought technical manuals and 
  business guides would be in greatest demand. 

  "We were dead wrong on that," Ms. Lowrey said. "There are
   a lot of closet romance readers in cyberspace."

  She saw patrons check out the same kinds of materials 
  rotating in the physical collection. The e-books librarians
  like best, according to Ms. Lowrey, are the digitized guides
  and workbooks for standardized tests, which in printed form
  are notorious for deteriorating quickly or disappearing 
  altogether." 

  To read the full article, see: Full Article

EDITOR DOES AN ANS LIBRARY FLY-BY

  On Monday, December 6 your editor was in New York City 
  on business.  My meeting a travel schedule didn't leave
  much free time, but from about 4 to 5 pm I visited the 
  library of the American Numismatic Society at the 
  society's new headquarters in lower Manhattan.  A quick 
  subway ride whisked me to the location from Times Square. 
  After signing in with the guard I took the elevator to 
  the fifth floor and was met by ANS librarian Frank 
  Campbell.   He's very busy these days while trying to 
  hire someone to fill the vacant Assistant Librarian 
  position.    While Frank finished his workday I browsed
  the U.S. section of the rare book room on the sixth
  floor.  Here are some of the volumes I saw:

  The spine on the first volume which caught my eye read: 
  "Low's Hard Times Tokens / Descriptions / Adams"  
  Inside were sheets of loose-leaf three-ring notebook 
  paper mounted at the edge for binding.  Each page had 
  two or three photos of tokens pasted in, along with
  typewritten descriptions of the tokens.  

  Nearby was a deluxe, interleaved and gilt-edged version 
  of the Adams-Woodin work, "United States Pattern, Trial 
  and Experimental Pieces" bound in red cloth.  Inside 
  was an inscription dated April 15, 1913, reading "To The
  American Numismatic Society with the compliments of 
  William H. Woodin and Edgar H. Adams."

  Baker, Fred A., "A Brief on the Power of Congress to 
  Coin Money"  This State of Michigan Supreme Court brief 
  was published in 1899.

  A very interesting item I wished I'd had more time to 
  review was a handwritten manuscript labeled "Numismatic 
  Miscelleny."  It was bought by the ANS for $2.10 from
  the July 18, 1913 Thomas Elder sale (lot  181).   The 
  sale catalog attributed the authorship to Montroeville 
  Wilson Dickeson.

  Another nearby item was a bound volume of "rubbings of 
  rarities" by J.N.T. Levick.

  Back on the fifth floor on my way out, I noticed a new
  book I had been unaware of, "My First Eighty Years by 
  Michael Grant.   A prolific numismatic author, Grant 
  passed away earlier this year and we published portions
  of his obituary here in The E-Sylum.

INTERVIEW WITH FINDER OF COENWULF GOLD PENNY

  From an article published this week in The Comet:
  "The man who discovered the most expensive British coin 
  ever sold at auction has broken his silence.

  A confidentiality contract meant Alan Jane was not allowed 
  to talk to the press but he has now spoken up to tell of
  the moment he found the coin buried on Biggleswade Common 
  that was later to be auctioned for £230,000 - at first, he
  thought it was worthless.

  Mr Jane, 62, is a keen detectorist from Kempston. It was 
  his Biggleswade-born wife and mother-in-law who first 
  suggested he try the Common."

  "Mr. Jane said: "The coin registered very loud on the 
  detector.

  "I found a bronze Roman coin nearby but it was in a 
  terrible state and I thought maybe the coins had been
   dredged up from the river at one point and left.
  "I didn't know it was a valuable coin at first - it was
  in such good condition it looked like it had fallen out 
  of a Christmas cracker, I thought it couldn't be worth 
  anything."

  In fact, Mr Jane had unearthed the first Anglo-Saxon gold
  penny to be discovered for almost a century."
  "When May Sinclair of Spink looked at it she said that 
  she thought we might have something that was quite 
  important.

  "Then it was sent to the British Museum who investigated
  and tested it and they came back and said it was the real
  McCoy.

  "Of course then I had to keep things very quiet. It took 
  us over two years to find out who owned the Common and 
  sort everything out."

  To read the full story (which includes images of the 
  coin) see:  Full Story

CANADIAN BIBLIOGRAPHY UPDATE

  Ron Greene writes: "On behalf of the Canadian Numismatic 
  Bibliography Committee I would like to provide you with 
  an update on our progress. We are most appreciative of
  the patience of our subscribers who are making the 
  publishing possible.

  Firstly, we must apologize.  When we started our 
  advertising in early 2003 we thought that after eight
  years of assembling the work we could finish it off in
  a few more months.  We have all heard of Murphy's Law.  
  One of my engineering professors from eons ago told my
  class about Gottlieb's Corollary, which in effect said
  that Murphy was an optimist.  In this case, Gottlieb 
  was right.  It was a mistake to advertise quite so early.
  Along the way, since early 2003, we have suffered 
  delays due to a number of problems:  Computer breakdowns
  delayed us to the point that our copy editor, who was 
  chairman of the 2004 C.N.A. convention, had to put the 
  Bibliography aside, in order to run the convention.  A 
  call to jury duty, illness, caused minor delays, but 
  most importantly, an underestimation on the amount of 
  work required in proof-reading.  I don't know how many
  trips to check a reference I have made, some to verify
  an entry, others to correct and yet others to complete 
  a reference.  I know the other proof-readers have 
  similar experiences.

  All that remains to be done now is the scanning of 
  photographs and the final layout of the text and 
  illustrations.  Then we can finally send the book 
  to the printer.

  Overall, I believe that the extra steps that we have 
  been taking will result in a superior reference, and 
  everybody (but one) who had enquired has responded 
  to our replies by saying that they were willing to 
  wait, knowing that we were trying to produce the best
  work possible, that we were not willing to produce a 
  slap-dash work.  This has given us some comfort.  One 
  saving grace is that you will be receiving a work at 
  more than 30% less than the remaining copies will be
  offered for.

  Should you have questions or comments, please contact 
  either Ron Greene at ragreene at telus.net or Darryl 
  Atchison at atchisondf at hotmail.com and we will do 
  our best to address all concerns."


ROMAN COIN PRICE YEARBOOKS AVAILABLE

  Regarding his "Roman Coin Price Yearbook 2004/2005" and 
  "Roman Coin Price Yearbook 2000/2001" consisting of 
  hammer results from public auctions held worldwide, 
  Morten Eske Mortensen writes:  "Following a number of 
  enquiries from professional market players the owners 
  of the publishing rights have agreed by special orders 
  to produce an utmost and extremely strictly distributed 
  minor number of 2004/2005 yearbooks (plus the never 
  published 2000/2001 edition) which alone can be bought
  by those who previously are known to the publishers on 
  a serious and professional level.

  Printing run will not be allowed to exceed 150 copies 
 (one-hundred-and-fifty). 

  The order of reservations will be according to the 
  dates of receiving of the advance orders. (aka:
  first come - first serve).

  For details, prices, order form etc. check this direct link:
  home.worldonline.dk/mem/info/roman2005US-0.htm


FORBES ARTICLE ON DEALER JIM HALPERIN

  Forbes magazine published an article about one of our
  E-Sylum readers, Jim Halperin:

  "While a Harvard freshman in 1971, Halperin formed New 
  England Rare Coin Galleries. In a decade he turned it 
  into one of the nation's biggest rare coin galleries. 
  Halperin had the gift of a photographic memory for coins, 
  which meant that at a glance he could determine the 
  quality of a coin, as well as its scarcity and value in 
  relation to other examples. His How to Grade U.S. Coins 
  (Ivy Press, 1986) is a classic. His discerning eye has 
  helped him come out on the winning side of most deals-
  and gotten him into hot water. He sold his dealership 
  in 1982 to an associate, Dana Willis, and decamped to 
  warmer and richer Dallas, where he joined forces with 
  friend and major competitor R. Steve Ivy to found Heritage 
  Rare Coins. But the New England firm went bankrupt in 
  1987 after the FTC charged Willis with fraud for 
  misrepresenting coins he had sold at outrageous prices." 
  
  "From $15 million a decade ago, Heritage is on track to
  sell $300 million worth of coins, comics, sports cards 
  and other collectibles this year, pocketing an estimated 
  $60 million in commissions and netting some $5 million"

  To read the full article, see: Full Article
  


DEALERS OPTIMISTIC AT OHIO COIN SHOW

  Dick Johnson writes: "Cleveland Plain Dealer reporter 
  Christopher Montgomery last week wrote one of the best 
  reports of a coin show this writer has seen in years. 
  It was all upbeat!

  He reported on the Ohio Coin Expo meeting in Independence 
  Ohio with 100 dealers from a dozen states. The dealers 
  and their customers, he observed, were mostly male, 
  silver-haired or balding. And almost to a man, optimistic. 
  He used one great line that summed up his article: "it 
  was an old crowd for an ancient hobby."

  Dealer Gino Sanfilippo from Brecksville Ohio and David 
  Miholer of Stowe Ohio were quoted. Both gave similar 
  optimistic outlooks for both the present and future of
  coin collecting. Gino said 2004 was his best year ever; 
  he and Dave gave credit to the U.S. state quarters that 
  has attracted people to the field.

  With a trend of increased popularity that doesn't seem
  to show signs of diminishing, there does seem to be a
  problem, however -- coin collectors' age.  ANA's top 
  honcho Chris Cipoletti was quoted as saying the average 
  age of the 32,000 ANA members is 55 years! 

 (Perhaps because of member's advanced age the national 
  organization has active programs seeking younger members
  and tries to keep their interest in the field alive.)

  Full text of the November 26, 2004 coin show story:

  Full Story
  Enter keywords "Ohio Coin Expo."


COLLECTOR DEMOGRAPHICS IN NUMISMATIC LITERATURE

  Dick Johnson writes: "Mention of coin collectors' average 
  age - 55 - in the last item reminds me of the pioneering 
  study of collector demographics published over forty years
  ago. It was prepared by Robert Bilinski, Ph.D.

  He published the results of his study in his book, "A 
  Guide To Coin Investment." I believe it was first published
  in 1957 and a third edition appeared in 1962 (the editions 
  differ in the color of their paper covers). 

  If you can disregard the back half the book, in which 
  the author prophesied what he believed would be the 
  estimated value in the future of U.S. coins, the real
  meat of the book is his statistical studies. This 
  included collector age, income, profession, amount of time
  and money spent in the hobby, geographical location, and 
  similar data.

  Once for an editorial in Coin World, I tracked down Bob 
  Bilinski for an interview. I forgot what I wrote about in
  that editorial, but I remember asking about his methodology 
  in compiling his statistics. He interviewed a large number
  of collectors. But the thrust of his factual studies was 
  to aid in projecting those future coin values. (His tables 
  were fact, based on his interviews, but the estimated 
  values were pure fiction.)

  For his tables he extrapolated the figures from his raw 
  data. (I had found an omission in one of his tables, and
  extrapolated what I believed would be the correct number; 
  sure enough, he responded with that same undisclosed 
  number!)

  Perhaps knowledge of collector demographics would be 
  important today for planning by ANA and other numismatic 
  organizations. Do any E-Sylum readers have a copy of 
  Bilinski's bible (and care to comment on his 40-year-old 
  data)?  But, more importantly, have there been any more
  recently published numismatic demographic studies used 
  by fellow readers?"


DEBIT CARDS TAKE LEAD OVER CHECKS

  The Washington Post published an article Tuesday commenting
  on a new study released by the U.S. federal Reserve Bank on
  the use of debit cards and checks:

  "Americans kept their checkbooks in their pockets and instead
  flashed debit cards in record numbers last year, making 2003
  the first time plastic and other electronic payment methods 
  beat out paper, according to a survey released yesterday by
  the Federal Reserve. 

  A total of 44.5 billion electronic payment transactions 
  crossed the wires in 2003, compared with 36.7 billion check 
  payments. Those numbers marked a turnabout from 2000, when 
  Americans wrote 41.9 billion checks, and electronic payments 
  clocked in at 30.6 billion, the Fed said. 

  The trend toward electronic payments and away from paper 
  checks has been in progress for many years. But it has been 
  accelerated by especially strong growth in the popularity of
  debit cards, which can now be used to buy just about anything
  plane tickets or McDonald's Happy Meals."

  To read the full article, see: Full Story


MOST UNUSUAL NUMISMATIC BOOK?

  David Klinger writes: "I have enjoyed the discussion in
  The E-Sylum concerning the largest/smallest coin book etc.
  I would like to start a new category: Most Unusual coin 
  book. My entry is one I recently found and bought from eBay.
  It's not rare, as I found several. But it is unusual, at
  least to me.

  This is a book inside a "coin". The coin is two shells 
  which fit together much like an old-time pill box (2" x 1/4").
  The book inside the coin is a 20 page fan-fold book with 
  disc shaped pages and a ribbon binding. The pictures
  and text of the book cover German heroes of the era 
  (1914/16), and various battles and home front themes.

  Obverse coin legend:  LUDWIG III, KING OF BAVARIA
  Reverse coin legend:  IN LOYAL CELEBRATION, BAVARIAN 
    THALER, 1914/16

  The title page of the book reads:  DEDICATED TO OUR 
  COURAGEOUS BAVARIA IN LOYALTY AND GRATITUDE

  The end page reads:  TO THE MEMORY OF THE GREAT WAR, 
  [with blank lines to enter names etc.]

  You can view this unusual Coin Book at: View Coin Book

  Ludwig III was the last King of Bavaria 1913-18. He 
  abdicated upon the formation of the Republic. I found
  only one thaler-sized coin (5 Mark, 1914) minted with 
  his likeness on the obverse, (KM #521, D # 620. This 
  coin does not resemble the Coin Book design in any way.
  So, either the Coin Book design came from a medal, or
  it is a fantasy design. The designer/engraver name 
  appears below the bust on the obverse ( Rich. Klein).
  The obverse bust is clearly that of Ludwig III. The 
  reverse coat of arms with lions and crowns is a common 
  reverse design for earlier Bavarian thalers. I would
  appreciate hearing from anyone who knows more about
  this particular design. You can post comments to my
  Blog or by email: 2klinger at cox.net  ."


BOOKS: WEIGHING HEAVY ON HOMES?

  In response to our discussion on the effect of heavy 
  Numismatic libraries on homes, Howard A. Daniel III 
  writes:  "I designed my custom Bay House and it
  includes a library and an office for my numismatic 
  activities.  It is a one-story waterfront house with 
  a breezeway because no basement can be built next to 
  the Chesapeake Bay.  Instead of 12 piers under the 
  house, I had 24 to support the heavy furniture and 
  antiques in the house, but especially for my library 
  and office.  And under my two safes, I also have a 
  cement platform with special supports directly under 
  each safe.  After looking at the special supports, 
  my county building inspector said that if the house 
  ever burned down the two safes would still be in place
  like statues on pedestals.  But what about my library?"

  Steve D'Ippolito writes: "The ultimate solution to 
  library and safe induced structural woes is to build 
  a single-story home on a concrete slab.  I am doing 
  so with my new house.  I am on enough land that I can 
  spread out and build a larger garage to store "junk" 
  in, not to mention (eventually) a barn for more "junk",
  leaving my climate-controlled abode for books and 
  coins."


IRON AGE COIN HOARD FOUND

  Arthur Shippee forwarded this item from The Explorator
  Newsletter:

  "An 'Iron Age' coin hoard has been found on the Isle 
  of Wight (designating something as 'Iron Age' confuses
  me ... this one has Celtic and Roman coins):
  Full Story


SIR ISAAC NEWTON'S SECOND CAREER

  John and Nancy Wilson write: "Dear E-sylum readers:   
  We received this from Florence Prusmack, the mother 
  of Tim, the great money artist, who passed away earlier
  this year.  Though Florence isn't a numismatist the
  below information on Sir Isaac Newton is interesting 
  reading.  We appreciate Florence sending this to us
  and have her permission to have it reprinted in The 
  E-Sylum.  

  Tim's great work is still for sale by the family at: 
  www.money-art.com   We want to wish all of the
  readers of E-sylum a Happy Holiday Season."


  Now this about Sir Isaac Newton:  The genius who 
  discovered gravity as well as the concepts of mass and
  refraction:

  I was reading a book, "Dark Matter" which is all about 
  Newton's thirty-years as first Warden and then Director
  of the Mint of England, in London.  He taught for many 
  years at Cambridge, wrote his famous "Principia
  Mathematica" and "Optics," and many consider him the 
  greatest scientist in England.   ( Will Durant does in 
  his Story of Civilization, Vol. V.)  No one expected he
  would take his work at the Royal Mint so seriously or 
  stay so long.   But he did.  And with the enthusiasm of
  a knight in battle).  

  The economy and particularly coinage was in a precarious 
  situation.  Charles I had been beheaded in 1630, and 
  there was great fear that England would become a republic.
  His son took refuge in Paris barely escaping with his life.

  It was during this period that Cromwell took over:  In 
  1658 Oliver Cromwell died and eventually Charles II was 
  invited to return.   But the state of coinage at the Royal 
  Mint was appalling.  Silver was the coin of the realm but 
  rarely did two coins contain the same weight of silver as
  the other, or the exact amount of silver as promised since 
  the  ill-defined rims were easily chipped or clipped, thus
  degrading the amount of actual silver within the coin. 


  Sir Isaac Newton pursued counterfeiters with newborn 
  energy and determination.  He asked for and received 
  another title, that of Justice of the Peace so that he was 
  able to arrest a miscreant on the spot.  He employed a 
  network of informers and spies to help him, and frequently
  the distinguished scientist was seen running after a 
  counterfeiter with his wig flying, oblivious to his 
  advancing years.  He insisted that a shilling should have 
  the promised shilling's worth of silver.  It was no secret
  that angry conspirators plotted to assassinate him but, 
  somehow, he always managed to escape their threats and 
  incarcerated them instead.   Serious offenders who murdered
  in the course of a criminal offense against the Mint, 
  lost their lives.  

  Some charlatans insisted they could turn other metals 
  into gold and plotted to deceive him but Sir Isaac, no 
  stranger to metallurgy, always exposed their chicanery 
  and threw them into the gruesome and eerie jails within 
  the Tower of London.  Never married, he lived in a 
  cottage within the housing area close to the Mint until 
  his death in 1727.  Thanks to him, he restored the 
  integrity of the Mint.  

  Now, isn't this just a great answer for Jeopardy? Sir 
  Isaac Newton's second career?   Hope you enjoyed reading
  this fascinating information on a great person.  Best
  wishes,  Florence Prusmack."


RADIOCATIVE NUMISMATICA

  Dan Freidus writes: "When I was using neutron activation 
  for elemental analysis of coins, some back-of-the-envelope
  calculations quickly made it apparent that one would 
  need a license to store radioactive material after doing
  NA using the whole coin irradiation method on silver 
  coins (for even a medium sized research project).  I 
  mainly work on copper coins so it wasn't much of an issue,
  and I used microscopic samples instead of entire coins.  
  The Federal government decided to stop funding the 
  University of Michigan's reactor so there no more 
  "M Glow Blue" and if I want to use NA in a future project,
  it will probably be *much* more expensive."


LINCOLN CENT AS TIRE TREAD GAUGE

  Responding to last week's item on the subject of using a
  Lincoln Cent as a tire tread guage, Dave Lange writes:
  "This practice has been around for many years. Unfortunately,
  the distance between the top of Lincoln's head and the 
  edge of the cent has varied considerably since 1909. That
  distance grew progressively smaller between 1909 and 1968, 
  as the obverse master hub expanded ever-so-slowly outward 
  from its center as the result of compression in the annual
  sinking of a fresh master die. A renewed master hub in 
  1969 has been followed by several others since then, this 
  operation now being performed each and every year. The 
  determination of wear in a tire's tread thus may vary 
  greatly, depending on the date of the cent used. Try 
  gauging your tire wear with a cent from the 1960s, and 
  you may find yourself receiving a panoramic view of the 
  surrounding countryside the next time you hit a wet patch."
     

NEVER LEND BOOKS

  The following quote was brought to our attention in the 
  December 9 edition of NewsScan Daily (see newsscan.com):

  "Never lend books, for no one ever returns them; the only
  books I have in my library are books that other folks have
  lent me." (Anatole France)


FEATURED WEB PAGE

  This week's featured web page is from the British Royal
  Mint's web site, outlining Issac Newton's career at the
  Mint.

     Issac Newton

	 
	 
  Wayne Homren
  Numismatic Bibliomania Society