Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 8, Number 53, December 18, 2005:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2005, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.


WAYNE'S WORDS

No new subscribers this week.  Our count is 826.

Seven years ago I reported in The E-Sylum issue
#12 (v1n12) that my son Christopher was born on
December 18, 1998.  So today's his birthday and he
had a great weekend of parties.  The E-Sylum is just
a bit over seven years old as well.  Happy birthday!

We have a lot of good tips on maintaining a numismatic
library this week. On the web we have a new collection
of images of numismatic postcards and StereoView cards
and a site for collectors of encased coins.  Katie Jaeger
contributed an interesting story of an art historian's
numismatic detective work to identify a number of medals
depicted in a painting of a Civil War general by John
Singer Sargent.

Two important events are approaching next month - the
NBS meeting at the Florida United Numismatists show on
January 7 and the January 12 Numismatic Book Auction to
be held at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City for the
benefit of the American Numismatic Society Library Chair
Endowment.

The 100th anniversary of the San Francisco Mint building's
ordeal in the 1906 earthquake is coming up next year.
Our quiz question for this week is: who designed the
sturdy building? Read on to find out!

Wayne Homren
Numismatic Bibliomania Society


ANS NUMISMATIC LITERATURE FUNDRAISING AUCTION

>From the press release: "On January 12th, 2006, a Rare
Numismatic Book Auction will be held in New York City at
the Waldorf-Astoria for the benefit of the American
Numismatic Society Library Chair Endowment. The Auction
will be held in the 4th floor Louis XVI Suite, with
cocktails and lot viewing beginning at 4:30, and the sale
from 5:00 to 6:00. In addition, all lots will be available
for viewing at the Triton Sale viewing.  All absentee bids
must be sent to the American Numismatic Society, care of
Librarian Francis D. Campbell.

Sixty highly desirable lots are featured in the sale,
estimated at nearly $50,000. Some sale highlights include:
a personal tour of Library treasures by A. N. S. Librarian
Frank Campbell; a complete original set of Sylloge Nummorum
Graecorum Sammlung von Aulock; a very fine example of the
Chapman brothers' landmark 1882 auction of the collection
of Charles Bushnell, handsomely, bound, with all 12 fine
phototype plates; Sylvester Sage Crosby's 1869 American
Numismatic Society membership and 1876 honorary member
medals, the latter in silver; many key works on ancient
Greek and Roman coins; a fine, plated copy of Henry Chapman's
1916 sale of Clarence Bement's colonial and United States
coins, as well as the Ars Classica catalogues of his Ancient
coins (addenda to sale); a suberb example of the deluxe
leatherbound edition, photographically-illustrated, of B.
Max Mehl's legendary 1941 W. F. Dunham sale; several works
by Julius Meili including his rare book on Brazilian paper
money; and W. Elliot Woodward's 1869 American Numismatic
Society bronze membership medal.

Perhaps the most intriguing item is lot 49: David Sear's
original, handwritten manuscript for his Greek Imperial
Coinage.  This comprises over 900 annotated pages in David's
beautiful script.  And, in the age of word processing, it
may represent a unique opportunity to obtain an original
manuscript of an important numismatic work.

A copy of the catalogue is being sent to all those on
George Kolbe's regular mailing list. In addition, the
catalogue and addenda list may be viewed at the A. N. S.
website: www.numismatics.org or at George Kolbe's website:
www.numislit.com.  Please remember that ALL BIDS MUST BE
SENT TO THE AMERICAN NUMISMATIC SOCIETY."


REMINDER: NBS MEETING AT FUN SHOW

Fred Lake writes: "Another year is drawing to a close
and it will be 2006 very soon. That means kicking off
the New Year with another great Florida United Numismatists
coin show. The show is being held in Orlando, Florida on
January 5 - 8, 2006. We will be in the newest part of
the Orange County Convention Center (Hall NB) which is
across the street from the old site.

Of note to you bibliophiles, the Numismatic Bibliomania
Society will hold a meeting on Saturday, January 7, 2006
at 11:30 AM. The featured speaker is David Crenshaw,
Director of Numismatic Research for Whitman Publishing.
The title of his Power-Point talk is, "What is black and
white and read all over?" Ken Bressett will assist in the
presentation and be available to answer questions about
the ubiquitous "Redbook" which is celebrating its 60th
year in publication."

[For a list of other educational talks and more
information on the show, see FUN Show Info
-Editor]


BURDETTE'S RENAISSANCE OF AMERICAN COINAGE, 1916-1921

Dave Lange writes: "I've seen so little mention in
print of Roger Burdette's new book that I just want
to remind subscribers to the E-Sylum that this is
one of the outstanding numismatic works of 2005. The
book's title is Renaissance of American Coinage 1916-1921.
It is the first emission of a planned three-volume series
and is actually the third volume. The other volumes will
cover the years 1905-08 and 1909-15, respectively.

Roger's book is being offered by American Numismatic
Rarities in the company's house organ, The Numismatic Sun,
but otherwise it is receiving little attention. Roger
invested enough in the first volume that he likely can't
afford large advertisements, and I want him to sell enough
copies to ensure that volumes one and two will see print.
I believe that the former is nearing completion and is
expected next year.

The current volume lists at $64.95, plus $4.50 for
shipping. It may be ordered from Seneca Mill Press,
POB 1423, Great Falls, VA 22066. In addition to ANR's
offering, the book is also being carried by Amos Advantage
and Edelman's.

I have no interest in this venture other than my selfish
desire to own volumes one and two. I know enough about
the numismatic publishing business to realize that
marketing is everything with respect to sales, and I
don't want this worthy project to fly under our radar."

[Well said - if you've been procrastinating, it's time
to stop.  Order your copy now and support Roger's great
research efforts.  For years I've always ordered copies
of new books as soon as I see the first advertisement or
book review.  Often, they seem to disappear after that,
because ongoing marketing efforts are expensive.  Many
of the books I've purchased this way later go out of
print and sometimes rise greatly in value, such as the
Haxby series on U.S. Obsolete paper money or Dave Bowers'
Silver Dollar Encyclopedia.  I don't know the print run
of Roger's books, but I'm willing to bet that the three-
volume set could someday be difficult and expensive to
obtain in the secondary market.  -Editor]


JOHN FLANAGAN PHOTO SOUGHT

Dave Bowers writes: "Perhaps a reader can help. I need
a photograph or image of John Flanagan (1865-1932),
designer of the Washington quarter.  Thanks!"


GOVERNMENT RECOVERS LOST DUTCH EAST INDIA COMPANY INGOTS

Arthur Shippee writes: "The Dutch government has recovered
a pile of Dutch East India Company bullion from a shipwreck:

"The Dutch Government has started taking possession of
tens of thousands of dollars worth of silver bullion that
it last saw 266 years ago.

The silver had been on a Dutch East India Co. ship that
vanished in a storm in the English Channel in 1739.

Although wreckage was found at the time on Britain's
south coast, nobody knew precisely where it had sunk.
The disaster meant that the Dutch East India Co. lost
around 250 crew and soldiers, and a large silver treasure,
which was on the way to the East Indies to be converted
into local coinage.

Despite the disappearance of the ship, the Rooswijk,
the lost vessel and its treasure remained the property
of the Dutch East India Co. When the company was taken
over by the Dutch government in 1798, the Netherlands
became the legal owners of the vanished bullion.

Last year a British sports diver - Cambridgeshire
carpenter Ken Welling - found the wreckage. The Dutch
Government was contacted, and the discovery was kept
secret until this week, when Holland's Finance Minister,
Joop Wijn, took possession of original wooden chests
full of bullion."

To read the full article in The Age: Full Story


BUSH GETS NEW COIN DESIGNS BILL

Dick Johnson writes: "The U.S. Senate passed and sent
to the president the bill to create four new designs
for the reverse of the cent -- and commence striking
dollar coins bearing president portraits and bullion
coins of their ladies -- all beginning in 2009. We
have written about this in E-Sylum before: v08n50a19.html

The news was carried on ABC news, channel 7 in Chicago
the following day. Illinois will be a state honored by
one of the four new Lincoln cent reverse designs.
However the news broadcast carried one sentence with
two errors:

"The redesigned pennies will feature four designs on
the coin's reverse side."

All collectors know the American coin is a cent, not
a penny. The other:  "reverse side" is redundant.
"Reverse" means "back side."   It's like saying the
"back side side."  Send that station's continuity
writer back to school.

Wanna read the broadcast story? Click on: Full Story "


[The bill also calls for versions of the coins in the
"exact metallic content" of 1909.  Dave Lange writes:
"This is for the collector editions only. It's the same
idea as the .900 fine silver proofs made since 1992. The
real question that remains is whether the circulating
cent can survive until 2009 in its present composition.
I'm certain that the Mint's creative accounting is hiding
the fact that it costs more than their face value to
manufacture and distribute these coins."  -Editor]


ERROR CORRECTION: DENLY, SHMENLEY

Regarding last week's item about Fred Reed's recent article
about the Where's George web site, where I attributed a
quote to dealer Tom Denly, Tom DeLorey writes: "Tom Denly?
That was Tom DeLorey, aka me, who was being curmudgeonly.
You would think that a person with the name of Wayne Homynym
would be familiar with the problem of similar sounding
names....... LOL"

[I really must stop editing at midnight, but the show must
go on whether I'm fully awake or not.  Sorry!  I don't have
my copy of the issue handy today, but author Fred Reed
confirms it was indeed Tom DeLorey who was quoted in the
article, but I'm glad he's laughing out loud about the mixup.
-Editor]


DEFINITIONS: PAPER MONEY AND CURRENCY

Fred Schwan writes: "Wayne, not you too! Please. In v8n52
you make the following comment: Everyone is a critic when
it comes to new coin and currency designs.  It is interesting
to read of a banker talking about "the eroticism of money" -
would they find mountains and cheese more desirable as images?

One of my pet peeves (and it really drives me crazy) is
the use of the word currency to mean paper money. Currency
is the money in circulation--both struck and printed. Yes,
I know that the word currency is frequently misused in this
way and even by people who really should know better. I
started to list some example here but decided not to
antagonize anyone.

Yes, I wish that we had a nice convenient word for paper
money comparable to coin, but we do not--at least not yet
or that I know of. My final yes, you can find a dictionary
that will support the use of the word currency to mean paper
money if you look in enough of them, but the majority of
dictionaries will support the inclusive definition.

Ah, I know, I just figured it out. You sly fox. I get it
now. You used currency inaccurately in order to generate
mail! I love it. I might have to try that myself as an
editor!"

[Yeah, that's it!  I make mistakes on purpose, just to
see if anyone's watching.  Yeah, that's the ticket!
-Editor]


U.S. PAPER MONEY SERIES YEAR EXPLAINED

Mark Tomasko writes: "I was getting new money at the
bank this morning and in answer to Joe Boling's inquiry,
the prefix on the 2004A $50 bill is G.

David Klinger writes: "The confusing relationship between
series, year, banks, and serial numbers, on Federal
Reserve Notes issued since 1996, is explained on the BEP
web site at the following link: Full Story "

"Beginning with Series 1996 Federal Reserve notes,
there are two prefix letters to the serial number.
The first prefix letter indicates the series year.
The second prefix letter indicates the issuing Reserve
Bank. Table 1 shows the relationship of the series
year to the first prefix letter serial number. Table 2
shows the relationship of the second prefix letter in
the serial number to the Reserve Bank. The last letter
of the serial number or suffix letter identifies the
number of times that the Bureau of Engraving and Printing
used the sequence of serial numbers - A is the first time,
B is the second time, C is the third time and so on."


MARKING PEN LEADS TO CONFISCATION OF GENUINE CASH

On December 11, the Cape Gazette of Delaware reported
another case of genuine bills being falsely deemed
counterfeit by a teller using a marking pen:

"Disabled veteran Rob Stevens of Millsboro cashed his
U.S. Federal Reserve monthly disability check at a
Millsboro bank shortly after 9 a.m., Dec. 1, and
closed out his account there.

As Stevens later explained to police, he immediately
took the slightly more than $2,000 - mostly in $50 bills
- to the Sussex County Federal Credit Union on Route 1
in Lewes, where he wanted to open a new account.

When Stevens handed the money to the teller, who used
a marker to check the $50 notes, Stevens' world turned
upside down. The teller told him the money was counterfeit.

His life savings were confiscated as evidence and a six-day
investigation ensued."

"Cpl. Jeff Oldham, state police spokesman, said the
marker used by the credit union teller to test the
money might have been defective. Counterfeit currency
markers have been advertised on line since 1998 as highly
effective - but not perfect - tools for detecting bad U.S.
or universal currency."

"The pens are designed to make an amber mark on good
currency and a dark brown or black mark on bills that
are probably counterfeit."

"Stevens said after receiving the call that he was
greatly relieved to learn state police had solved the
case and were returning the stack of $50 bills he had
tried to deposit at the credit union."

To read the complete story, see: Full Story


COIN WORLD ARTICLE ON TREASURY RECORD DESTRUCTION

Andrew W. Pollock III writes; "A few years back E-Sylum
had a fair amount of discussion on the retrieval of 700
volumes of Treasury records c. 1840-1910 that has been
scheduled for destruction because of a lack of "sufficient
archival value." I can't remember if E-Sylum mentioned
the date of the issue in Coin World in which the story
was originally published, but since I've found an
incomplete copy of the original article in my papers,
I thought I'd report the details for those who have
access to a microfilm edition:

Title: Dealer retrieves 700 volumes of Treasury records
Author: William T. Gibbs
Date: May 18, 1983
Volume 24, Issue 1205"

[The topic was discussed in April 2001.  Here are links
to the original E-Sylum articles: 
v04n21a10.html
v04n22a10.html
-Editor]


ON STORING FRAGILE ITEMS

George Vanca of Santa Clarita, CA writes: "In regard
to your question about additional points on care and
preservation of one's numismatic library, I have found
the following to be very helpful:

I store much of my material; i.e., thinner card covered
auctions, newsletters, brochures, etc., in Mylar sleeves.
Mylar is of Archival quality and will not turn yellow
with age.

On my most treasured items, I slide an acid free backing
board into the Mylar sleeve. The backing boards I use
have an activated charcoal layer that absorbs and
neutralizes the pollutants associated with (older) paper.

The backing board supports and protects the material,
while at the same time, acting as a buffer.  This is
extremely important, particularly with more valuable
documents.

The charcoal actually helps to retard the aging process
of paper products.  I then store the documents in archival
storage boxes.  When someone looks at my collection, they
can thumb through the boxes examining items within the
Mylar sleeves. This is a nice way to showcase one's more
fragile items, without worrying about fingerprints or
damage occurring from misuse.

This may sound like a lot of work, but when one takes
pride in their collection, they can derive a sense of
satisfaction in knowing that they are preserving these
valuables for future generations.  After all, as
bibliophiles, aren't we caretakers entrusted with a
little piece of history?"

[I have an extensive collection of numismatic ephemera,
and store most of the items in archival sleeves with
archival backing boards.  The sleeves are in three-ring
binders, organized by topic and labeled.  This makes it
very easy to locate and view items while still keeping
them protected.  Last year at the Pittsburgh Library
tour, I put all these binders in cardboard boxes and
set them out on a table for easy access.  After the event,
I ended up lining the boxes across the top of a long row
of bookshelves, with the binder edges facing out, just
like on a bookshelf.   I've toyed with the idea of ordering
custom binders in slipcases, but haven't felt like spending
the money.  My binders are a motley mix of new and used in
various sizes and colors. Not fancy, but it works pretty
well.  The material is safe and sound, and that's what
matters most. -Editor]


MORE LITERATURE CONSERVATION TIPS

Anne Bentley writes: "After 25 years as conservator
at the MHS, I've seen just about everything a human
being can do to kill a book...believe me, it's not
pretty!

Some quick pointers for your readers to give them
years of enjoyment from their libraries:

Store "heavy" books flat: upright storage, even with
good bookends, can result in the text pulling away
from the binding.

When removing books from the shelf, don't use the headband
to pull the book from the shelf. Instead, shove the adjacent
books back a bit and pull the book straight out (thumb and
fingers holding it by the boards)

Don't let rubber bands anywhere near anything you plan to
keep.  If you have rubber bands on things, use scissors to
cut them off so you don't damage anything by the friction
of pulling them off.

Don't use self adhesive tapes of any kind on your books...
even the so=called "conservation tape" is pretty irreversable
after awhile.

If you need to hold body and soul together, tie the
item with 100% unbleached cotton twill tape. If you tie
it like a present, with the bow either on the top or fore
edge, the knot and bow won't damage books alongside the
tied one.

If you stuff extra material in your books, you will
eventually break the binding.  We place additional
material in archival envelopes alongside the volume.

Don't save your place by folding down pages or using
"Post-its."  A simple flat paper marker is easier on
the book and just as handy.

For those of you who use bookplates, remember that you
only paste down the whole plate on hard covers: for
paperbacks, tip the plate into the front cover...use a
thin line of adhesive on the back, right hand edge, then
stick the plate onto the inside front cover as close to
the shoulder as possible. Do check to find archival (ie-
reversable in water and neutral pH) adhesive: lots of
craft stores carry it now under various brand names,
so it shouldn't be difficult.

For excellent information on collections preservation,
check out the Library of Congress conservation pages at
Library of Congress

To see the sort of archival storage materials available,
check out Conservators On Line' listings at
Conservators On Line

I hope this answered a few questions.
Season's Greetings to all!"


EVERYTHING A NUMISMATIC BIBLIOPHILE SHOULD KNOW

Last week Pete Smith wrote: "I recall in the past someone
wrote a book on "Building, Maintaining and Disposing of
a Numismatic Library." I am sure some information is out
of date. However, the book might be useful for some readers.
Perhaps some E-Sylum reader recalls the author and can
suggest where to obtain a copy of this book."

Joe Boling writes: "Pete Smith knows very well who wrote
that book. OK, Pete, where ARE some available for sale?"

[Humor doesn't always come across well in print, especially
for readers in no position to get the inside joke.  I
should have clarified that last week, but figured his
note would generate some responses.  The author of the
aforementioned book was Pete Smith himself.  -Editor]

Harold Eiserloh writes: "I have a copy of the book
"Building, Maintaining and Disposing of a Numismatic
Library" in like-new condition. It was written by Pete
Smith and published by the author in 1994. The book is
card cover, nominally 8 1/2" x 11" and has 62 pages with
two staples at the centerfold."

[It is a great book, a handy one-volume reference to much
of what a numismatic bibliophile needs to know.  Pete
does have some copies on hand, for sale at $12 each,
postpaid.  Send payment to Pete Smith, 2424 4th Street
N.E., Minneapolis, MN 55418.  -Editor]


HARPER-COLLINS ONLINE ARCHIVE PLANNED

>From a December 12 Reuters article: "U.S. publisher
HarperCollins said on Monday it plans to convert some
20,000 books in its catalog into digital form in a bid
to rein in potential copyright violations on the Internet.

The move comes as the U.S. publishing industry is
bringing lawsuits against Web search leader Google Inc.
over its effort to scan copyrighted books in libraries
-- a move the industry fears would set a dangerous
copyright precedent."

"She said that while there were no concrete plans in
place to make money from the project, there were various
possibilities down the line, from e-books to subscriptions
or advertising. "Those things are possible and they will
all happen most probably more quickly than not," she said.

"Right now we're not selling ... our first concern is
protecting the authors' copyright. But we're not non-profit,
obviously. We're going to look to monetize all this."

"Do I believe people will be reading novels on their cell
phones? Who knows?" she added."

Full Story

[William H. Sheldon's numismatic classic "Early American
Cents 1793-1814" was published in 1949 by HarperCollins
predecessor Harper & Brothers.  Will it become available
online someday?  -Editor]


AUCTION ACTION: 1927-D $20 SELLS FOR RECORD $1.89 MILLION

The News-Tribune of Tacoma, WA published a lengthy
story on Todd Imhof of Pinnacle Rarities and his recent
purchase of the a 1927-D double eagle.

" "I was as relaxed as I could be," Imhof said. Employees
and trusted friends sat nearby, ready to identify the
other bidders for Imhof.

Up came the 1927-Denver $20 gold piece graded as mint-state
67, a pristine example, one of the finest known.

"I was - not nervous - but a little bit confused,"
Imhof said. "It opened higher than I thought it would."

"I have an opening bid of $1.6 million," said the
auctioneer. It was an Internet bid, not from someone
in the room.

No one spoke.

A bit befuddled, Imhof indicated an advance to $1.65
million - or, with the buyer's premium fee, a total
of $1,897,500.

"It suddenly got quiet, very unusual," Imhof said.
"I anticipated a small war."

No battle arose. The gavel came down. Applause rolled
through the room.

"It was surreal. It was the most I'd ever spent on
a coin," Imhof said."

To read the complete article, see: Full Story


NUMISMATIC POSTCARDS AND STEREOCARDS ONLINE

Alan Meghrig writes: "I helped Karl Moulton add images
of his numismatic postcards and StereoView cards to
his website.  I found them fascinating.  As I scanned
and processed them I would stare at them completely
mesmerized. With them filling my 20" iMac screen...
You could almost hear the activity and smell the machinery.
I swear I thought I could hear the muffled sound of a
Tardis somewhere just out of sight.  More reasonably
sized version are posted to the web site.

They can be accessed from: coincats.com/Mou_2.html

Or you can go directly to them at: Post Cards "

[Tardis is the time machine from the BBC 'Dr. Who'
television series.  -Editor (with assistance from
Alan, who had to fill me in)]


THE FIVE MEDALS OF LUCIUS FAIRCHILD

Katie Jaeger writes: "A few weeks ago in The E-Sylum,
Dick Johnson mentioned our joint research trip to the
Tiffany & Co. archives in Parsippany, NJ.  Aside from being
a day spent in exceptional good company, for me it was a
day of piqued interest, not just in my own research and
Dick's, but in a query the archivist posed to us at the
end of the day.  Having spent all afternoon overhearing
our comments as we worked, the archivist (Louisa Bann)
began to realize how much Dick knew about American medals
and brought over some queries she had been receiving, that
had stumped her.  He answered some immediately, so she
brought more.  One was an email from a man researching a
John Singer Sargent portrait of Civil War general Lucius
Fairchild.  In the painting, Fairchild is wearing 5 medals.
Sargent was an impressionist, so there is no detail but
the shape, ribbon color, and general attributes of the
bars, eagles, etc., on the medals, but these are all
accurate.   The emailer had identified three of the medals,
and sought help with Tiffany's for the other two.  Both
were unfamiliar to Dick and me, but the emailer's quest
to establish biographical detail (on Fairchild) through
material culture (a painting AND medals), had me salivating.
I wanted the details.  So I emailed Louisa Bann and begged
her to give me the guy's address.

His name is Barry Bauman, of River Forest, IL and he is
a painting conservator.  He told me that he has done so
well in that business, that he has been able to quit
charging for his work, but he will only accept jobs from
cash-strapped museums and historical societies who need
his services to preserve really important works.  Imagine
his delight when the Wisconsin Historical Society sent
him a $4 million Sargent to conserve!  Working on the
painting prompted him to want to get to know its subject,
General Lucius Fairchild, and tell his story.  He spent
months on the quest, and the attached link, recently made
public by Bauman, spells it out. It is a magnificent story
with many levels of interest: historical, artistic, and
numismatic. And in my opinion, Sargent was one of our top
portraitists and this website is a feast for the eyes.
I'm sure E-Sylum readers will be interested to learn how
Bauman tracked down the five medals.  The link is below:
Full Story "

[From Fairchild's diary: "December 9, 1887--"The portrait
is going on--probably three more sittings will finish it
--The badges are all on the manly breast."

Here's a quick link to the medal section: Full Story

Medal #1: The Grand Army of the Republic
Medal #2: The Unknown Medal
Medal #3: The Grand Army of the Republic
         Presentation Medal
Medal #4: The Military Order of the Loyal Legion
         of the United States
Medal #5: The Society of the Army of the Potomac

"As stated earlier, the search for the medals took
numerous paths. Contacts were made with historians,
medal experts, museum curators, descendants and Internet
forums. Four of the medals are now known. Medal #2 remains
unknown but there are inherent clues, based on Fairchild's
career, as to its possible origins. Gleaned information
from Sargent's artistic reinterpretation of the previous
medals lends benefits and difficulties."
Full Story

Can any of our readers help identify Medal #2?  -Editor]


MILITARY ORDER OF THE LOYAL LEGION OF THE UNITED STATES

The previous item about the medal of General Lucius
Fairchild includes one from an organization I hadn't
heard of before: MOLLUS.   Do any of our readers have
one of these medals?  Have any been sold in numismatic
channels?

"With the death of President Lincoln on April 15, 1865,
rumors spread throughout Washington of a larger conspiracy
to assassinate other officials leading to the overthrow
of the Federal government.(29) Three officers who formed
the guard of honor when the President's body arrived at
Independence Hall in Philadelphia, on its way to Springfield,
Illinois, pledged unswerving loyalty to the Union and the
ideals the President stood for. Together they formed "The
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States",
or M.O.L.L.U.S., and set the day of Lincoln's death as
its founding day.

Its first meeting was held at Independence Hall on April
20, 1865. Membership was limited to commissioned officers
of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard."

Full Story

For information on the organization, see: walika.com/mollus.htm
suvcw.org/mollus/mollus.htm


COURTHOUSE BY SAN FRANCISCO MINT DESIGNER RENOVATED

According to a December 12 story by the Northwest
NewsChannel 8 in Portland, Oregon, on Monday a public
building in that city by the designer of the San
Francisco Mint has been reopened following an extensive
restoration: "The 130-year-old courthouse had become
deteriorated from decades of use. It's now open for
public tours."

"Pioneer Courthouse is the second oldest courthouse
west of the Mississippi River. It was listed as a
National Historic Landmark in 1977.

The courthouse was originally designed as a complete
federal building, according to the GSA. It primarily
housed the U.S. Court and a post office. Other functions
included assessor and collection offices for the Internal
Revenue Service and customs offices.

It was designed by Alfred B. Mullett, who also designed
the United States Mint in San Francisco."

To read the complete story (registration required): Full Story

The Portland Courthouse was constructed at about the
same time as the San Francisco Mint, and understanding
Mullett's thinking about both buildings goes a long way
toward explaining why the Mint survived the 1906
earthquake and fire.

From the Treasury Department's web page on the old Mint:
"Originally constructed on the edge of the city's downtown
in a predominantly residential and commercial area. The
desire for the building to be unencumbered by adjoining
structures was a central part of Supervising Architect
Alfred B. Mullett's architectural philosophy. A fire at
the Custom House in Portland, Maine, taught him the
importance of keeping public buildings free-standing,
"isolated by wide streets or open spaces."
Full Story
ncisco.shtml

"The Pioneer Courthouse is arguably the most important
building in the Pacific Northwest and is the oldest
standing Federal Building in this region. The Courthouse
and its surrounding parklike site occupies a full city
block in the center of downtown Portland."
Full Story
Document

[So there's the answer to our Quiz Question: Alfred Mullett
designed the old San Francisco Mint building.  He also
designed the Carson City, NV mint building.  Note that
Mullett is spelled with two Ts and is not to be confused
with the Mullet haircut.  From the Wikipedia entry: "The
mullet is a type of haircut, in which the hair is long at
the back of the head (usually at least to the shoulders),
but cut shorter on the top, front, and sides of the head.
The result looks like long hair from behind, but short
hair from the front.... The style has, since the early 90s,
become the subject of ridicule in some circles. A common
description of the mullet hairstyle and its "versatility"
is "Business in the front, party in the back."
Full Story
-Editor]


BIOGRAPHY: ALFRED BULT MULLETT, MINT ARCHITECT

"Alfred B. Mullett was born in England in 1834. His
family immigrated to Glendale, Ohio in 1845. A couple
of years later he began work in the Cincinnati office
of architect Isaiah Rogers. Mullett later moved to
Washington, D.C. and in 1863 began work for the
Treasury Department. He rose to the position of
Supervising Architect in 1866.

During his eight years as Supervising Architect, he
oversaw the design and construction of over forty
federal buildings across America.

Several of these buildings are still standing,
including the Mint in Carson City, NV, the Mint in
San Francisco, CA, and the State, War and Navy Building
(now the Old Executive Office Building) in Washington, D.C."

Full Story

For more on the Old Executive Office Building, a true
Washington D.C. landmark, right next door to The White
House, see: Full Story

In 1985 family members Daisy Mullett Smith and Suzanne
Mullett Smith published "A.B. Mullett Diaries & C:
Annotated Documents, Research and Reminiscence Regarding
a Federal Architect Engineer Architect" (ISBN: 0961141018).
In 1990 Daisy Mullett Smith published "A.B. Mullett: His
Relevance in American Architecture and Historic Preservation"


PANEL OF 22 TO CHOOSE ARIZONA QUARTER DESIGN

>From an Associated Press report December 12: "Coin
collectors, state officials, educators and an elementary
school student are among 22 Arizonans selected by Gov.
Janet Napolitano to serve on a new commission to help
pick Arizona's entry in the U.S. Mint's 50 State
Quarters Program.

The Arizona State Quarter Commission will hold its
first meeting Wednesday. Napolitano ordered its creation
in October and her office announced its membership
Thursday."

"This is a unique opportunity to create a piece of
Arizona history," Napolitano said in a statement.
"These coins will be in cherished collections for
years to come."

Full Story


ENCASED COLLECTORS INTERNATIONAL

Chick Ambrass alerted us to the web site for Encased
Collectors International.  The site has a number of
great articles and images on encased coins.

Encased
Collectors International


SOUTH KOREA PLANS NEW BANKNOTES FOR 2006

<From a December 14 news report: "Korea's central
bank said yesterday it would supply its new 5,000-won
($4.84) notes with stronger anti-forgery features
starting in early January.

The Bank of Korea plans to stockpile 80 million of
the notes by the end of the year and start supplying
them to local financial institutions on Jan. 2.
The central bank began printing the new notes at
state-run minting facilities in November in hopes
of thwarting an increasing number of counterfeiters.
The new banknote, featuring the portrait of Yul-gok,
a Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) scholar-bureaucrat,
includes holograms and other anti-forgery features.

The central bank is also preparing new designs for
the 10,000-won and 1,000-won notes. The prototypes
will be made public in the first half of 2006 and
the notes released later the same year.  Increasingly
sophisticated attempts to counterfeit the money have
been a major headache for Korea's central bank,
leading to the adoption of the additional anti-forgery
features."

Full Story


ON THE EXTINCTION OF COINAGE

Mark Tomasko writes: "I enjoy reading The E-Sylum.
Interesting stories on the Swiss and Nigerian paper money.
Thanks for your efforts.

I was surprised at Pat MacAuley's comments. I do not
see coinage threatened with extinction in daily commerce.
While you rarely see a half dollar today, you rarely saw
them in the past either. That coin hasn't circulated to
any great extent for the last half century. And I don't
agree that the "dollar coin is a potential winner." The
Sacajawea dollar is a coin in search of a purpose, as
I believe it was produced primarily due to the copper
producers' lobbying efforts, and those of the vending
machine industry too. I believe that public opinion polls
have shown that the American public greatly prefers the
convenience of paper dollar bills. And the purported
savings by forcing us all to have a pocket full of heavy
change (such as was foisted upon the the Canadians and
Europeans) is probably a small fraction of the cost of
one jet fighter plane. Fortunately, in the U.S. public
opinion does count.  In terms of numismatics, the state
quarter program and the changes in the nickels have been
the most interesting things to happen to coinage in my
lifetime. For the last 40 to 50 years the circulating
coinage has effectively been the penny through the quarter.
It was then and it is now. While use of the penny may
diminish (I don't see that happening at the current time),
I suspect the nickel, dime, and quarter will be around
for a very long time."


FEATURED WEB SITE: BANK OF CANADA CURRENCY MUSEUM

This week's featured web site is recommended by John
and Nancy Wilson. They write: "While looking for
information on Justice L. F. G. Baby, whose portrait
appears on the 25th Anniversary Medal of the Numismatic
and Antiquarian Society Montreal Medal in 1887, we ran
across a nice site with loads of Canadian and collecting
information.  We wish you and the readers a great Holiday
Season."

>From the web site: "The Bank of Canada's Currency Museum
was opened in 1980. It is home to the National Currency
Collection, the largest collection of Canadian bank notes,
coins, and tokens in the world. The Museum is located
within the first Bank of Canada building (built in 1934),
just minutes from Parliament Hill.




  Wayne Homren
  Numismatic Bibliomania Society