Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 8, Number 3, January 16, 2005:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2004, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.


SUBSCRIBER UPDATE

Among our recent subscribers are Luis Alberto Manzano
Eddy, president of Sociedad Numismática de Monterrey,
and Dr. Carlos Abel Amaya Guerra, vice-president of
the same society. Both are courtesy of Adrián González
Salinas. Welcome aboard! We now have 709
subscribers.


E-SYLUM SUBSCRIPTION MANAGEMENT

A reminder: with our new mail system, to update your
E-Sylum subscription, go to the following web page:
https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum . For future
reference, remember that this address appears at the
bottom of each E-Sylum issue.


INAUGURAL MEDALS FROM GEORGE TO GEORGE

From the Dallas News:
"An official coin-like medal has commemorated each
presidential inaugural since at least 1896. They've had
different shapes, sizes and metals. Some were mass-
produced, and others are rare.

All are on display at Southern Methodist University as
part of "From George to George," an exhibit that shows
memorabilia from presidential elections dating to 1789.

The gold, bronze and silver medals, once stored in boxes
by collector and Dallas native Hervey Priddy, document
a century of political change from William McKinley to
George W. Bush."

"The exhibit boasts many other rare campaign relics,
including a bronze George Washington clothing button,
celluloid campaign pins, and colorful signs and paintings.
Even 1992 candidate Ross Perot's famous economic
charts are on display.

What: From George to George
Where: SMU's Bridwell Library, 6005 Bishop Blvd.,
University Park
When: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 9 a.m. to
5 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, until Jan. 20
Cost: Free Information: George

To read the full article (registration required): Full Story


ANS EXHIBIT REOPENS IN NEW YORK

From the press release:
Monday, January 10th, The American Numismatic Society
Exhibit, Drachmas, Doubloons and Dollars re-opens to the
public at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 33 Liberty
Street, New York City. In August 2004, the exhibit was
temporarily closed after a sudden Orange Alert from the
Department of Homeland Security, which warned of "casing
and surveillance activities" against major United States
financial institutions. The ANS exhibit includes the exceedingly
rare 1933 Double Eagle, the world's most valuable coin valued
at $7.59 million and on long term loan to the exhibition along
with a Brasher doubloon, a 1804 dollar, a Confederate States
half-dollar and an ultra-high relief 20-dollar gold piece designed
by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. More than 800 examples of the
American Numismatic Society's noted collection of one million
coins, bills and other forms of currency used worldwide and
spanning 2,700 years are also on view. For further information 
ANS or The New York Times Metro Section Full Story

Arthur Shippee also pointed out the very interesting Times article,
which has pictures of the 1933 Double Eagle being placed on
display. Here are some excerpts:

"Until last week, the world's most expensive coin was hidden
in the world's most valuable gold vault.

That is to say, in the brilliantly lighted blue-and-white stronghold
of E Level, the deepest sanctuary of the Federal Reserve Bank
of New York, the city's bank of banks.

The coin was locked in a compartment at bedrock, 80 feet
below Liberty Street in Lower Manhattan, surrounded by $90
billion worth of gold bars - some 550,000 of them - from 60
foreign institutions. That is more gold than at Fort Knox, and
indeed, more than in any other repository."

"For the double eagle's return from the underworld, The New
York Times was granted rare permission to enter the vault on
a recent morning as the coin was transferred, after agreeing
not to describe the bank's security arrangements or print the
names of its subterranean guardians.

Among those present were: three federal officers with
automatic weapons. The archivist of the bank. A senior vice
president of the bank. The head of the American Numismatic
Society. The coin owner's representative. The coin's historian.
A vault keeper. An auditor. A custodian. And yes, the two
carpenters who actually did the work.

This, then, was the retinue monitoring the transport of the
double eagle, a 34-millimeter-wide, 0.96-ounce stamped
disk that is 90 percent gold and 10 percent copper. The
length of the journey was but five floors: from the vault to
the street-level exhibition space."

[I'm glad to see the exhibition has been remounted. I had
the pleasure of viewing it last year. By all means, be sure
to see it when visiting New York. -Editor]


REPORT FROM SRI LANKA

E-Sylum subscriber and contributor Kavan Ratnatunga
filed the following report from Sri Lanka:

"A report on a trip I did to South East Lanka on Dec 31st
was published in the Lankan Sunday Times 9th Jan. Since
the eEdition of the Sunday Times requires a subscription I
copied the article and added the images. Please see Full Story

I hope to also write up a trip to Unawatuna/Galle in
southern Lanka."


THE COIN OF COINS

Yossi Dotan sent to me a copy of a booklet issued by
the Israel Museum in Jerusalem in conjunction with their
exhibit, "The Coin of Coins," featuring the Aitna Tetradrachm.
It's very nicely written and illustrated (48 pp). We discussed
this coin and exhibit in The E-Sylum beginning with the
June 6, 2004 issue (v7n23). Thanks!


WISCONSIN QUARTER VARIETY STORY

The Arizona Daily Star of Tucson, AZ published a story
this week about newly discovered varieties of the
Wisconsin State quarter. It's unusual enough for the
mainstream press to write about coins at all, but to have
a story about minting varieties is downright rare. The
variety was featured in a Coin World story last week.
No doubt every person who reads the new article and
has a Wisconsin quarter in their pocket will call the
nearest coin dealer wanting to cash in their winning
lottery ticket.

"Coin collectors are starting to see green over unusual
markings that look like extra corn leaves on some of
the new Wisconsin quarters circulating around Tucson.

So far the extra "leaves" - and why they've been
reported only in Tucson - remain a mystery.

"It's hard to say what the value of these things will be,"
said Rob Weiss, who owns Old Pueblo Coin, 4420 E.
Speedway. "Just to discover two varieties like this - it
is just so exciting. It is something that really is a major
thing in the coin industry."

The Wisconsin quarter, which started circulating last
month, has the nation's first president, George Washington,
on the front and a state design on back that includes a
cow and an ear of corn.

"What we discovered was on a very small percentage
of these Wisconsin quarters there are two (varieties)
that contain extra leaves," Weiss said. "One variety has
an extra leaf that goes up," he said, and a second has
a "leaf" that curves down. "It is as clear and crisp and
sharp as can be. These are not depressions on the coin.
These are raised leaves.

"To find one of the varieties would have been incredible.
The fact that there are two completely different varieties
that we discovered is completely mind-boggling," Weiss
said.

Weiss' shop made the discovery more than a week ago,
and as of Monday it was still waiting for an explanation
from the U.S. Mint."

Full Story


THE MAN FROM LISBON

Some time ago, following an item about Operation Bernhard,
the WWII German effort to counterfeit British notes, I wrote:
"I've been a fan of Mr. Bloom's writings on counterfeiters for
many years. I've read them all cover to cover, and especially
enjoyed The Man Who Stole Portugal. It's an unbelievable
true story which I always hoped would be made into a film
someday."

Ron Haller-Williams writes: "I missed this at the time, but I
have two books of Bloom's, the one you cite and "Money
of their Own".

I also have a novel based the saga of Artur Alves Reis:
Thomas Gifford, "The Man from Lisbon", 418pp
(Hardcover, McGraw-Hill, 1977, N.Y. ISBN: 0070231877)
(Paperback, Pocket, Oct. 1978, ???? ISBN: 0671820702)
(Hardcover, Hamish Hamilton, 1978, London ISBN: 0241898528)
(Paperback, Futura Publ., 1978, London ISBN: 0708814220)

It's described as a best-seller and differs in MANY details
from Bloom's account. The fun thing is, on my paperback copy
of Gifford's version (1979 Futura reprint), it says "soon to be a
major film"!

[I do have the Gifford book in hardcover, and enjoyed reading
it several years ago. Does anyone know if the story of Reis'
counterfeiting scheme ever actually made it to the silver screen?
-Editor]


CSNS PROGRAM FOR LOCAL LIBRARIES.

Dick Johnson writes: "The Central States Numismatic Society
has launched a grant program to help pay for numismatic
books to be donated to school and public libraries in an
effort to improve its educational thrust. Under the innovative
plan the regional organization requires its member coin clubs
to select and buy the books. CSNS reimburses the local
coin club half the purchase amount up to $250.

The "Library Support Program" was inaugurated in 2004
and made public to CSNS members in the Winter issue
of The Centinel, Central States’ official publication, where
ten points of the plan are listed. The program is administered
by CSNS president, Marvin Mericle.

Consideration is given to a specific library’s need which
must be identified in letters of application for the grant.
Such letters must also list books intended to be donated.
Basic numismatic literature is given higher priority than
"narrowly focused material."

The program is well planned and officers of CSNS are
to be congratulated for launching such a beneficial activity.
The program is a winner at several levels, providing
exposure of numismatics to the public at a convenient
location, donating books to libraries which are often
starved for funds, expanding the base of people
interested in numismatics, and, obviously, adding to
the educational activity of the organization.

The details of the plan are given at www.centralstates.info
Click on Library Support Program. Other numismatic
organizations might want to emulate the plan."


U.S. MINT PLANS ATTACK ON COLORIZED COINS

Dick Johnson writes: "Mint Director Henrietta Holsman
Fore was interviewed by the Associated Press which
released the story January 11, 2005, that she wants to
crack down on entrepreneurs who alter her agency’s coins
and offer these in elaborate and boastful advertising. The
AP story is fraught with misused phrases -- "unscrupulous
coin dealers," "fake commemorative coins," "scam artists,"
"bilking the public" – are used in just the first three sentences.

The people who are doing this are generally NOT coin
dealers, they are people, however, who are familiar with
American coins. Coin dealers, generally, dislike these
objects as much as those of us in the field who have been
around awhile. (I discount them and have none in my
collections, but if someone else wants them that’s okay
with me.)

They are not fake coins, but genuine coins that have been
treated in some way, to add color, or plated to add a
different metal covering. They are not made by scam artists
(it takes some skill if these are "painted," to use the article’s
word, to add the color). Maybe the advertising is questionable,
perhaps even "deceptive." But compare this to much of
what is prepared for our field by advertising agencies
unfamiliar with numismatics. (Dare I say like some of the
agency-prepared U.S. Mint's own ad copy?) It is still
"buyer beware."

And for "bilking the public" implies the buyers were forced
to make the purchase.

The U.S. Mint faces some tough times ahead to curtail
this practice. I am not a lawyer, but aren’t the coins in your
pocket your property? Can’t you do anything you wish with
them? Paint ‘em, plate ‘em, cut ‘em up, whatever? Doesn’t
the illegality come if you try to spend the coin, to return it to
circulation, to make it legal tender again? If you sell it for
many times its face value, colorized or untreated naked metal,
I don’t believe this is against the law. Gosh, there are a million
transactions like that every week in the numismatic field.

Perhaps Mrs Fore should be less concerned with these coin
sales. She can do one of two things: beat ‘em at their own
game -- have the Mint sell colorized coins -- OR, create so
much desirable coin and numismatic products at the Mint
that we poor collectors don’t have enough money left to
buy the colorized items. To ask Congress to enact legislation
to make this practice illegal is questionable and perhaps a
waste of time.

I would welcome your opinion after you read the article: Full Story

This practice all started with a John Wayne Congressional
Medal made by the U.S. Mint in 1979. If you are interested
I’ll write about this next week. Tell me you want to know
(or if you have a John Wayne medal in your collection).
dick.johnson at snet.net"

[British enameled coins of the late 1900s are what come to
mind when thinking of these modern versions. 100 years
later these are collectible works of art. These were
probably considered the schlock of the Victorian era, and
collectors of the day probably disdained them just as we
do these. See this web page for images: Images

I would like to learn more about how these modern versions
are made. I thought I read somewhere that the colorization
is outsourced to low-paid workers overseas. Is that true?
-Editor]


MAX VON BAHRFELDT PHOTO FOUND

In response to David Gladfelter's request for information,
Jørgen Sømod forwarded a photo of Max von Barhfeldt,
which I forwarded on to David. If any one has any other
information on Bahrfeldt, please let us know.


MYSTERY QUOTE ANSWER

David Fanning writes: "Regarding the mystery quote, I'm
pretty positive this is a Breen quote, but I can't think of
what it's from and don't have time to look into it. Big help,
huh?"

Later, David added: "Actually, now that I think about it, I
think Breen was talking about only one coin--not "these
coins." I think it was a silver center cent."

Well, it's a good start. David was barking up the right tree.
Mark Borckardt sent us the following: "I guess it's time for a
hint: It is from a firm that took its name from the State Tree
of Maine." Figured it out yet? Karl Moulton did, and he
didn't even need Mark's hint:

Karl writes: "The answer to Mark Borckardt's quotation
(of sorts) can be found by looking at the cover of the
September 18, 1974 GENA sale conducted by Pine Tree.
Walter Breen wrote "I didn't think I'd ever see (let alone
catalogue) this coin!" He was referring to the 1792 silver
center cent which appeared as lot #1272a."

John Kraljevich also had the answer. He writes: "I'm
surprised no one guessed the source of the mystery quote.
It's from the Pine Tree 1974 GENA sale regarding a 1792
Silver Center cent, the one that showed an uncomfortable
close up of Walter Breen and the quote in his own
handwriting. Here's hoping no other auction firm ever
decides to put a larger than life image of their cataloguer
on the cover of a catalogue (including mine!)."

[Thanks to Mark and our contestants for a fine exchange.
Karl and John win bragging rights until the next quiz, and
as runner up David gets a coupon for half off next year's
E-Sylum subscription. -Editor]


NUMISMATIST ON MICROFICHE

Henry Bergos writes: "We have been talking about the "rarity"
of the early Numismatist issues. Has every one forgotten that
the ANA republished them in microfiche format in the 1980s?
The reader they sold with the set is LOUSY and not a good unit.
Of course I found a better reader AFTER I bought the one from
the ANA. Any one wanting further info just tell me and I will
excavate the info from my mess err den."

[Does anyone else have the microfiche version? I do recall
this being offered but decided against ordering it. I have the
full set hardbound on my shelves (first six volumes in reprint)
and just prefer to have the real books rather than images.
The electronic version would be much easier to deal with than
the microfiche, however. -Editor]


DELUXE RED BOOK

David Lange writes: "I got busy last week and forgot to
post that I also received one of the deluxe Red Books as
a contributor. Whitman did a nice job with it, and they're
looking to make further improvements to the content of
the regular edition for 2006.


HELP TURN HOLES INTO WHOLES

From the American Numismatic Society E-news
(from which I stole the great headline):
"Although most libraries strive to create collections that
are complete, it is virtually a given that there will
always be certain items, old or new, that are lacking on
their shelves. The ANS Library is no exception so,
perhaps you can assist in helping us find the following
for our shelves.

"Coinage Magazine," Vol. 23, No. 2 (Feb., 1987)
and No.6 (June, 1987).

"The Asylum," Vol.2, No. 4 (1984).

Contact: ANS Librarian Frank Campbell
Campbell at numismatics.org "

On a related matter David Lange writes: "I discovered
that I'm missing the December 1938 issue of The
Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine from my otherwise
complete set. If anyone has a copy of this issue available
for sale, I'd like to hear from them at
DLange at NGCcoin.com."

[While we don't ordinarily publish individual wanted /
for sale listings for individuals, we'll make an exception
to help Dave complete his set. Can anyone supply the
missing issue (with only a teeny weenie increase in
price)? -Editor]


ANS WEB SITE BIOGRAPHIES

From the American Numismatic Society E-news:
The ANS Archivist, Joe Ciccone has been adding
biographical material on prominent former officers
and staff to the Society's website, Individuals profiled
so far include: Edward T. Newell, Sydney Noe,
Charles Anthon, Daniel Parish, Jr., George C. Miles
and Agnes Baldwin Brett. The most recent additions
are:

Edward T. Newell - Edward T. Newell
Margaret Thompson - Margaret Thompson


GOOGLE DIGITIZING SPAWNS COPYRIGHT REFORM REQUEST.

Dick Johnson writes: "A law professor at Stanford University,
in a January 12, 2005 article, responds to the announcement
a month ago of Google partnering with five major libraries to
place 20 million books in its search base. He recognizes this
could be a dramatic change in how research is accomplished –
to the betterment and spread of culture – but identifies what he
calls "a dirty little secret," the legal right to copy these books.

Lawrence Lessig’s article "Let a Thousand Googles Bloom,"
proposes that the copyright law be changed, to make it easier
to track who owns what copyright. He illustrates this need in
the number of books which were copyright in the year 1930
and how many of these are still in print. The 99 percent which
are out-of-print are still under copyright, but locating the owner
is nearly impossible.

He proposes that copyrights should be renewed every five
years. This would create the database of owners who could
approve – or reject – placing the full contents of a book in a
search database. His title implies there should be many
Googles.

Copyright concern dramatically affects numismatic books.
Our field may be unusual in that 100-year-old books are
still in active use. Often a numbering system created within
the text of a specialized numismatic work becomes permanent.
Out-of-print numismatic books are often reprinted for their
continued utility, particularly those with universal use of their
numbering systems.

Publishers of ephemeral books may drop a title after only a
year’s exposure to the book-buying public. Numismatic
books are different, they are slow sellers -- no blockbusters
here! -- but remain in active demand for decades.

Two examples of 100-year-plus books come to mind: Baker’s
Medallic Portraits of Washington (1885) and Betts’ American
Colonial Medals (1894). Baker has been revised twice (by
indefatigable toilers Russ Rulau and George Fuld), while Betts
remains surprisingly intact after 108 years. How long should
these original authors, and their heirs, have been paid a royalty
for their copyrighted works?

If you research in the numismatic field or are a numismatic
author, read this: Full Story


ANTIQUE DIGEST ARTICLE ON STRAWBERRY LEAF CENT

The Maine Antique Digest published a very nice article on
the recently auctioned U.S. 1793 strawberry leaf large cent.
It's one of the best-written numismatic articles I've ever
seen in a non-hobby publication. Was it ghostwritten by a
numismatist? Check it out at: Full Story


COMPULSIVE COLLECTOR BOUGHT "OFFICE SUPPLIES"

Collecting is a compulsion, and numismatists can at least
understand the enthusiasm of an Ontario, Canada collector
of hockey cards who went a little too far in raising funds to
feed his habit:

"Canadian police charged a former senior federal bureaucrat
with fraud on Friday, alleging he used government credit cards
to fund his passion for collecting sports cards.

Donald Billing, a former director of Measurement Canada,
was charged with 11 counts of fraud. Police say he used
government credit cards to buy hockey cards valued at
approximately C$185,000 ($150,000), and tried to pass
off the purchases as office supplies."

"As a result of the case, Fox said: "There's now an increased
monitoring of credit card purchases and the number of credit
cards in use by Measurement Canada has been reduced by
42 nationally."

To read the full story from Reuters, see: Full Story


ISAAC NEWTON LIBRARY ON THE MOVE?

One item which didn't make last week's issue appeared in
last Sunday's Pittsburgh Post Gazette. The article was later
published by the Associated Press, and Dick Johnson
forwarded a copy. It relates to Isaac Newton.

"Pittsburgh is a leading candidate to land a library and
institute now located at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology that would bring to this city one of the nation's
pre-eminent collections on the history of science and technology.

The 50,000 rare books, 30,000 secondary titles and
assorted other materials include one of the world's three
greatest assemblages of works by and about Sir Isaac
Newton. They are contained in the Burndy Library, which
is weighing a move to another city now that an agreement
that has kept it on MIT's Cambridge, Mass., campus
since 1992 will end in August 2007."

"The Burndy Library was established in 1941 to accommodate
holdings of the late Bern Dibner, a wealthy Ukrainian-born
engineer, author and philanthropist whose fascination with
Leonardo da Vinci spurred him to become an avid collector.
The various items Dibner amassed, including manuscripts and
artifacts like early microscopes, are rivaled by only a couple
of other collections in the United States, said Ronald Brashear
head of special collections at the Smithsonian Libraries, part
of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C."

"Around 1930, Dibner purchased a book about the history
of invention and became fascinated by da Vinci, according
to the Dibner Institute's Web site. Before too long, Dibner
was acquiring rare books and other items not only on da
Vinci but also on the Renaissance and other aspects of
science and technology dating from the 15th century to
modern time."

"Instead of going out and becoming a playboy, what he
did was go out and become a historian of science,"
Cronenwett said. "He had a consuming passion, and it
was to be absolutely certain that, in the future, people
knew what the history of science and technology was
all about."

To read the full article (registration required): Full Story

[That's my story! Instead of becoming a Playboy,
I collected all this numismatic literature!

I was unaware that such a trove of Newtoniana was
in the U.S. I wonder how much of the material (if any)
is related to Newton's tenure at the Royal Mint? -Editor]


HOW MANY COINS IN A "COMPLETE" U.S. COLLECTION?

Nick Graver writes: "Recalling that Eliasberg story of:
"Every U.S. Coin (made/issued for circulation)," just how
many coins would that have been? What is the count today?
Just how many U.S. coins would comprise a 'Complete Set?'
I never heard of anyone even guessing the total. The Ground
Rules would need to be defined, regarding circulating, proof,
and commemorative coins. Same with 'struck, but not issued'
coins. The Red Book would have to be the common element,
since obscure or rare references would not be available to the
average participant."

[I don't believe we've ever had this question in The E-Sylum,
but I recall reading some articles on the topic over the years.
The topic is sure to invite debate, since there are probably as
many definitions of "complete" as there are collectors. Here is
one collector's definition of a U.S. type set; even if we were to
agree on a set of types, we could also disagree on how many
coins of eachtype are necessary. For example, the 1974 Lincoln
cent was made in two different compositions of metal - I would
argue both should be included, but others may disagree.
Full Story
-Editor]


INFLATION CURRENCY

Henry Bergos writes: "When I rented a store in Israel during
our hyperinflationary period, just over 500%/year, in 1984
I had to wrote a check for over 1 1/2 million Shkolim. I
quipped to my banker as I did it that I was getting writers
cramp from this large number. He almost fell off his chair
laughing. It took two lines to write it."


A SCHOOL FOR COIN AUCTIONEERS?

I've never heard a coin auctioneer imitate a French maid,
but as prices of high-end numismatic items rise, maybe all
of them will do a stint at auctioneer school, as Tuesday's
article in the Wall Street Journal described. Here are some
excerpts:

"You have your numbers down, but you need to play a little
more, use your body, your eyebrows, smile. You are the
host of a party," he says, suddenly taking another tack. "You
want to make everyone comfortable. Build a relationship with
me. Don't make me feel like a number." The student straightens
his spine and tries again, and this time Jamie smiles: "I really
felt it that time," he says. "You finally connected."

Welcome to Christie's auctioneering school -- an in-house
program of classes and practice sessions designed to take
ordinary Old Master and jewelry specialists and turn them
into gavel-wielding stars. It's harder than it looks, for
auctioning art is an art in itself. Auctioneers must be able
to compute a constant stream of numbers in their heads,
while never taking their focus off the room. They must be
witty and charming enough to make spending money in
six-figure increments jolly good fun, and skilled enough to
make it inevitable."

"To do it well, you must want to be at the center of the
action. Auctioneering is a performance."

"To help Christie's auctioneers cultivate their inner performer,
Mr. Krass calls in former actress Jan Nulty, who addresses
issues of breathing, alignment and vocal production, then
goes on to loosen up her striped-suited charges with
improvisational techniques right out of the Actor's Studio.
Trainees have been asked to sell a lot without saying a
word, in slow motion, as a ringmaster and in the flirtatious
accents of a French maid.

"It tricks them into playing outside of their own comfort
zone," Ms. Nulty explains. "They posture less, and
connect more spontaneously with bidders." This
connection is what separates a good auctioneer from a
great one: "It's not just about eye contact," Mr. Krass
says. "To make the bidder go one more, you have to
convey that you know his bid matters to him, and that
it matters to you too."

"The next step is much trickier: Before selling each lot,
the auctioneer must consult the sale "book" (inscribed
in Christie's secret code, a dead ringer for Enigma before
Bletchley Park), which lists the reserve for each lot (the
price below which it cannot be sold) and any "absentee
bids" (placed by those who can't make it to the sale).
Then, he must strategically open the bidding so that he
will "land" where he needs to be (selling on the reserve
if there is no further interest, or to an absentee bidder
at the lowest possible price). This is known in the trade
as "being on the right foot," and it can flummox even
seasoned veterans. If you make a mistake, you must
deftly modify the next increment, without floundering
and destroying the momentum of the sale. At a recent
practice session, a wrong-footed student recovered so
smoothly that even the picky Mr. Krass recognized a
home run. "Stud!" he grunted, all but high-five-ing him."


NFL TOSSING COIN

Chris Faulkner writes: "A slow Saturday evening up here in
the Great White North and I was watching the end of the
Steelers-Jets NFL playoff game. As E-Sylum subscribers
who watch this stuff will know, the game went into overtime.
There is a coin toss, and one team calls the toss to decide
who will have the privilege of receiving the ball on kickoff.
(It is better to receive than give because the first one to score
points wins the game). The referee flipped the coin and let it
land on the field. The camera zoomed in far enough so that
one could clearly see that the coin had landed tails up. I
admit to seeing this only out of the corner of my eye, but I
thought I saw a Morgan dollar reverse with distinct evidence
of wear (all that flipping maybe). This was a surprise. Why
weren't they using a current dollar coin? Whose dollar was
used in the toss? The referee's personal coin? One supplied
by the league? Now, there was another game going on after
this one, and there are two more tomorrow. The NFL is
certainly not flying this coin all around the country for coin
tosses, so every referee for every game has to show up with
a suitable coin in his pocket. Do they all have Morgan dollars?
Does the NFL have a policy on coins and denominations to
be used for game tosses? I may have been mistaken about
the Morgan dollar reverse, but the coin was certainly not a
current issue. Does anyone know anything about this? Does
anyone care? Help, I'm trapped up here in the Great White
North with nothing to do but amuse myself with trivia."

[I was watching the game, and also saw what looked like
the reverse of a worn Morgan dollar. Interesting question -
can any of our readers answer?

The Steelers managed to eke out a win in the game, so
those of us here in the Pittsburgh area were pleased to
see the hometown team win. Go Steelers! -Editor]


FEATURED WEB PAGE

This week's featured web page is about the Texas
commemorative half dollar designed by Texas sculptor
Pompeo Coppini, from the The Coppini Academy Of
Fine Arts web site. The text was written by Dave Bowers.
Thanks go to Pat McBride, who gave a talk on the Texas
Half Wednesday night at a meeting of The Sphinx Society
here in the Pittsburgh area. The coin would be a tough
one to use for a coin toss, since it's confusing to tell which
side is meant to be the obverse (which could be yet
another discussion topic - exactly what feature(s) define
what is considered to be the obverse or reverse of a
coin?

Featured Web Site



  Wayne Homren
  Numismatic Bibliomania Society