• State, County, City and Organization Medals for World War I. Second Revised Edition by Richard L. Planck, 1991. Planchet Press Publication 48A. 124pp.
• Revised Comprehensive List of World War I Service Medals Issued By States, Counties, Cities & Towns by Louis W. Small, 1990, 84pp

• State, County, City and Organization Medals for World War I by Richard L. Planck, 3rd Ed. 1995
• State Medals for War Service by Douglas W. Boyce, 1988

I believe a copy is available at the ANA Library.

Several mentions have been made in the blogs recently of a new term applied to the surface of Lincoln cents: woodgrain. The term is apt. The illustrated surface of an 1981-D cent does indeed look like the graining in wood. While this may be considered an anomaly of toning, instead it is an anomaly of the metal composition. It is an error in mixing of copper and zinc.

The term 'woodgrain' is not new to numismatics, although it probably is new to Lincoln cents. I checked my files for more information. I found a comment by Alan Herbert in Numismatic News 2/16/93 that reads, "It is a peculiar effect found on many of the early Lincoln cents which after a time appear similar to the typical wood grain, with alternating light and dark streaks across the coin..." And in Numismatic News 3/26/1996, F. Michael Fazzari wrote about improper alloy mixing with resulting streaking (but without using the term 'woodgrain') and notes these are often found on, and helping to authenticate, 1908-S, 1909-S VDB and 1914-D cents. He showed a photomicrograph of the 08-S Indian cent.

"Woodgrain" is an old term, used years ago to describe Indian Head cents.

The phenomenon is quite often seen on early cents from the San Francisco Mint, from 1908 on, and I first heard of "woodgrain toning" as a means of authenticating 1908-S, 1909-S Indian cents, 1909-SVDB cents and 1909-S Lincoln cents at an ANA Summer Seminar counterfeit detection course in 1976.

Use of the term "woodgrain" in reference to striated toning on bronze and copper-nickel coins is not a recent development. I've been using this term in my writing for so long that I no longer remember whether I was the first or picked it up from someone else. As an example, I'm attaching my column from the August 2002 issue of The Numismatist.

For the period described, however, ‘S’ Mint cents are seldom seen untoned. The only issues commonly encountered in that condition are the widely hoarded 1909-S cents, both with and without the designer’s initials “V.D.B.” Subsequent dates through the mid-1920s are typically toned to various degrees, though many have survived with partial mint color.

Examples having just light toning often display a pattern of tan or light brown streaks across obverse and reverse, the so-called “woodgrain” pattern. This resulted from impurities in the alloy or concentrations of pure copper that did not properly blend with the 5% tin and zinc added to it. When these less than perfect ingots were rolled into strip, from which blanks would later be punched, the concentrations were flattened and stretched into the patterns seen on the finished coins. Invisible when first struck, these flaws appeared only after the coin was exposed to atmospheric agents that caused the copper concentrations to tone more quickly than the properly mixed portions of the planchet.

Woodgrain toning is commonly seen on ‘S’ Mint cents through 1923-24, after which time it is encountered only occasionally.

There seem to have been slight differences in the bronze alloy over the years. While these differences were probably minute and virtually undetectable when the coins were first struck, over a period of decades Indian cents from different alloy mixes have toned somewhat differently.

Thus, an uncleaned, undipped Mint State red and brown bronze Indian cent of the 1864 to early 1870s years (and also 1908-S and 1909-S, but not the Philadelphia coins of those later years) is apt to have a “wood grain” effect to the toning, with streaks or “pellets” of brown toning, elongated, over yellowish-red mint red background, these streaks being oriented in a specific direction (caused by the distending of the minute alloy differences during the planchet strip rolling process).

The same wood grain effect is seen among certain dates of Mint State red and brown two-cent pieces. To my eye, this type of red and brown wood grain toning is very beautiful. Chris Pilliod seconded this sentiment, noting: “I agree and find these pieces very attractive, but the grading services apparently do not.” [

Dick Johnson's article on woodgrain Lincoln cents was fascinating. The term "woodgrain" has been used by collectors of early American coppers for many years. In the case of early coppers the woodgrain effect is caused by "bad copper", that is, copper with significant impurities, which create the woodgrain feature when the coin is struck. About a month ago I received in the mail a 1837 N15 large cent which has significant woodgraining. The woodgrain wasn't mentioned in the dealer's list description, but I was glad to get it as I had always wanted one.

It's the discovery Sheldon-15 that I got out of the Van Cleave sale in 1986. There will be a display of the 1793 S-15 at next month's EAC convention. This is the second rarest collectable Sheldon variety with twelve known examples (two are in museums). Eight owners have agreed to bring their S-15s. The one owner that I have not been able to trace is the person who got the FR2 coin out of the Robbie Brown II sale in 1996. The buyer was Larry Briggs - a dealer from Ohio. I don't know whether he bought the coin for a customer or himself. I would like the owner to contact me at j_neiswinter@hotmail.com. to see if he would be interested in exhibiting his coin.

I've seen the "woodgrain" term used in Canadian and British circles, too.

Regarding A Journey Through the Monkalokian Rain Forest in Search of the Spiney Fubbaduck by Alan Judd, a.k.a. Cobwright, I recently came across two copies I forgot I had from the original five that I ordered from Alan Judd back in the early '90s. Your readership should perhaps know that the limited edition of 125 copies isn't and never was limited; as Alan Judd mentioned to me once, "that too is an evasion."

More recent copies of this "limited edition" can still be ordered from Bill McKivor, who has sort of become the American distributor of this tome.

I've been looking for this book on the Internet for about two years but can't seem to locate it. The only Google listings are for library catalogues and bibliographies. The listing is as follows: Humberstone, Vaughn. Merchants making money : biographies of 15 issuers and 4 makers of New Zealand tradesmen's tokens / by Vaughn Humberstone. - [Wellington, N.Z. : V. Humberstone, 2004] - 113 p. : ill., maps ; 30 cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. 105-113). ISBN Price unknown (pbk.)

I would also be interested in any book or article on the Australian token makers Taylor, Stokes, or Stokes & Martin. Thanks in advance for any help you or the club can give.

Regarding the locale of Bloomers' Hotel & Restaurant, the 1860 Census for the 9th Ward, Buffalo, Erie Cty, NY has: Tooker T. Bloomer, age 45, Hotel Keeper. He is listed with a wife, 3 children, 3 Smith's [possibly boarders or relatives], and 6 "servants" [ie, hired help]. His real estate is valued at $16,500 and his personal estate at $4000 making him very well-to-do for the period.

According to the 1860 Federal Census, Tooker T. Bloomer was a hotel keeper in Buffalo, NY. He was born in 1815 in New York. His profession in the 1850 census, which also lists him as living in Buffalo, is listed as "Sailor." He no longer appears in Census records beginning in 1870. It appears that his wife Adelia, had taken over the hotel by 1870. This suggests that T.T. Bloomer passed away sometime before the 1870 census.

Bloomer's was located on West Eagle Street, Buffalo, NY. It was run by Tooker T. Bloomer. Bloomer died March 7, 1867, in Buffalo, of paralysis - had been unwell for a year or more. Bloomer was born @ 1815 in Ulster County, NY. In the 1850 US, Erie County, Buffalo census, Bloomer's occupation is listed as "sailor." However, in 1849, he seems to have been a "steward" (implying food service) on the steam ship "St. Louis" which plied the Great Lakes to Chicago. In March 1850, there is a fire in Buffalo that somewhat affected "Bloomer Hall." By the 1860 census, Bloomer's occupation is "hotel keeper." Bloomer's widow and sons keep up the hotel after his death according to 1870 census. By 1880 census, family not in hotel business. I think this dates the bill between after 1850 to before 1867.

I am not sure if Tooker Bloomer's middle initial "T" could stand for Thorn or Tucker. Internet genealogy a little murky; but Tooker's father seems to have married twice, both times to women whose last names, given above, start with "T."

I think the artist of the hunting party picnic vignette must have worked for John Sage & Sons in Buffalo. It seems to be original work. It does not seem to be based on A.B. Durand or Currier & Ives. Possibly, Erie County Historical or other Buffalo sources would know names of artists or engravers who worked for Sage.

John Sage was born 1807 in Massachusetts. His occupation is "music store" in 1860 Buffalo census. Internet search for his firm lists examples of sheet music - which seem to have been illustrated also. In 1870 Buffalo census, Sage and his son, John B. Sage, are listed as "lithographers". Another son, William S. Sage, is "store clerk"; but living in the household of a lithographer.

It is a very nice example of obsolete money.

The mention of uniface Splashers, Galvanos and electrotypes in your last issue reminds me that I need help with this item. It was Spink's lot 2321 of an auction of Peck coins, February, 1972. It is uniface. Like a brockage, all devices are incuse and reversed.

Most of the bust is within a ring, and the metal color inside that ring is bright, almost brassy (whereas metal outside the circle appears to be copper. (The ring does not seem to have been a legend-centering aid, as it drives right through the "D.G."). The piece weighs 145.2 grains (9.41gms) and has a diameter of about 30.0 mm. (Peck lists the Victoria Young Head Bronze penny specifications at 145.83 grains and 30.81mm).

Can anyone share some thoughts?

The article about Howard Berlin’s idea of publishing a book on numismatic museums of the world reminded me of the experience I had last year when I visit Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

My wife and I were visiting Berlin and we took a bag full of clothing from the hotel to a local self-serve Laundromat. Two doors away, I noticed a coin shop with all kinds of Canadian silver dollars and U.S. material in the window. The store was not open that early. About an hour later, I walked back and the store was still closed. I asked a gentleman that was coming out of a real estate office next door when the coin store usually opens, since there were no store hours posted. He told me that the owner was quite ill and had not been around for about a month.

As I usually do when I travel, I pick up all the brochures I see in hotel lobbies and tourist information booths. I picked one up on a Sunday afternoon about a local Austrian Mint and Museum and studied it that evening. It seemed very interesting. Since it was located in the general direction we were driving anyway, I made the detour and when I arrived, the parking lot was completely empty. Walking up to the door, I saw the sign: “Tuesday to Sunday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. - Closed Mondays.” I overlooked the small print on the back of the brochure which said the same thing.

So much for my “numismatic tour” through Europe!

Although we always stress “buy the book before you buy the coin,” I have included the following phrase in my vocabulary when I go back to Europe in the Fall: “Study the brochure before you go visit the museum!” Maybe when Howard Berlin comes out with his booklet, I can relive in my mind what might have been.

Howard, I’m sure that many readers like myself who don’t see your columns were anticipating your question as they were reading your E-sylum report, probably with the thought of suggesting such a book to you. I for one could use such a book, and since it’s still in the concept stage, I would suggest:

• The pocket size guide is a good idea. Make it a vade mecum, as opposed to Grace Cohen Grossman’s thick folio Jewish Museums of the World (which serves a different purpose).
• Don’t feel compelled to set an arbitrary limit of one page per museum. Some are worth less; the British Museum would be worth considerably more.
• Include the museum’s street address and possibly a city map detail showing its location with respect to major streets or landmarks.

Some models (in the railfan field – also specialized) might be George Drury’s Guide to Tourist Railroads and Railroad Museums (Waukesha, WI, Kalmbach Books, 4th ed. 1995); Andrew D. Young’s Veteran Vintage Transit: A Guide to North America’s Mass Transit Museums, Tourist Trolley Operators and Private Mass Transit Vehicle Collections (St. Louis, Archway Publishing, 1997) and Klaus Freymann’s Das Reiselexicon Eisenbahn: Sammlungen, Museumsbahnen, Strassenbahnen (München, Georg D. W. Callwey, 1993) (European). There are probably more recent editions of all of these guides. The publishers could probably give you an idea of what a minimum press run would be.

I hope you do it!

Howard Berlin's thought is noble but I'm afraid unrealistic. I can understand why publishers - like apparently Whitman - would turn it down. It won't sell unless each museum's numismatic exhibition is photographed for the book, and unless significant items in the vaults- not just the exhibits - are photographed and published in the book.

For instance, I distinctly recall Coin World's mention some years ago of a numismatic tourist who'd seen a choice 1793 Chain Ameri Sheldon-1 cent in a major Russian museum. Now, that I'd like to see! Graphics and coins or medals the reader is unlikely to often see are key to whether a numismatic book will sell reasonably well. Whitman Publishing seems to have a grasp on this as their books have a great balance between text and beautiful color images of great coins, medals, currency, and other numismatic rarities.

In deciding whether to buy a book, a potential buyer will flip through the book and largely concentrate on the pictures. Ooh, aah! That is the key to whether most will buy the book or not. That and the cover. Then, the subject matter and the price. It is highly unlikely that a museum will allow anyone to photograph their exhibit rooms - a "security risk" (or at least they'd think so) or allow the general public to know what is confined to their vaults, let alone allow images of their hidden-from-view treasures.

I found this interesting. It is a safe bet that the New York Times citation was located via digital search.

We have the original drawings, and we used them in the display we did at the FUN show in 2007. It looks an awful lot like the Columbus half - Barber always was a hack - and the existence of the sketches is explained by the fact that in 1899, the date they bear, the status of Puerto Rico was unclear, and someone in Treasury decided it might be an idea to think about a coinage, just in case.

Note that the module of the coin would've reflected the absolute value of the silver, rather than the fiduciary value, as seen in the contemporaneous Morgan dollar.

However, the counterfeiters pierced the notes right through the Queen's face on the notes – "nothing a loyal English citizen would ever do," laughed Burger.

The queen? I always thought that that was the figure of Britannia, since Great Britain was ruled by a King at the time. Of course, a German citizen would not necessarily know that.

From the time of Puerto Rico was discovered in 1493, to 1899, when the US exchanged the Puerto Rican "peso" to the dollar, the coins of many countries circulated freely in the island. During the colonization of Puerto Rico, the money that was used in Puerto Rico, was that of Spain. Beginning in the 17th century, the provincial currency (silver) minted in the Casa de Moneda de Madrid, in the denominations of 1 peso, 40 cents, 20 cents, 10 cents and 5 cents. These five denominations had a common design, with the figure of Alfonso XIII (1886 - 1931) boy by a side and the other the shield of Spain, with the real crown between the two columns of Hercules and the Puerto Rico inscription.