Thank you for the recent late issue of The E-Sylum. Having been in the hobby for so long and been a member of quite a few coin clubs and organizations over the years I have experienced a lot. More often than not there are a few members that participate actively in the hobby while the rest of the members sit back and enjoy the benefits of the labors of others. It's disappointing but true that this occurs, which is probably due to human nature that there are more followers than leaders.

The fact that an issue was late is not as important as recognizing that you work so hard for the benefit of us all. It's true that the subscribers volunteer stories and comments, but without your efforts nothing would be done. I appreciate ALL that you do and I hope that you desire to do it for a long time.

The next issue of The Asylum, vol. 27 no. 1, has gone to the printers. Here is the contents list:

• Leonard Augsburger: The One Hundred Greatest Items of United States Numismatic Literature: A Survey of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society, Part 1
• Max B. Spiegel: A Visit to the Historic Mehl Building
• John W. Adams: Observations on Two Recent Sales
• RyAnne Scott: News from the ANA Library

This book is the first in-depth view of the banknote industry and its modus operandi. The only known former attempt to reveal this story was by an American author. The edition of that book was bought up – straight from the printing presses – by two prominent representatives of the industry because the public was not supposed to get an inside view of the business.

Moneymakers has been researched over a five-year period in Europe, the USA and Latin America. The book is based exclusively on personal interviews and confidential material normally not accessible to outsiders. There were attempts to stop this research project. Many witnesses interviewed spoke under condition of strict confidentiality for fear of reprisals by their employers. As a rule therefore, the author refrained from verbatim quotes and, as far as possible, tried to confirm every piece of information by two independent sources.

He's probably referring to Murray Teigh Bloom and the Brotherhood of Money. Murray was able to get close to salesmen and others connected with bank note companies and revealed or exposed some inside information.

This publication has been a long time coming to see the light of day, but "the end of the tunnel" is now in sight. This current version has been through many reviews, the most helpful being a recent review by Ray Williams.

This unfinished manuscript was originally written for the American Numismatic Society many years ago. It was inspired by the absence of the Morristown chapter in Damon Douglas' own manuscript on New Jersey coppers. I got a grant from the state of New Jersey, and the monks of St. Mary's Abbey in Morristown kindly put me up during my research.

I spent my days in the county archive reading through bundles of court papers that hadn't been opened since the late 1780's. I wrote a short summary for The Numismatist and submitted the first couple of chapters to the ANS, which turned out not to be interested. Remember, this came at a time when the institution's focus was on the numismatics of antiquity.

I gave the manuscript to Jim Spilman years ago, and he asked if he could publish it as a technical note and I gave my OK. Although it was unfinished and unpolished, there may be something in it that might be useful to some. My goal was to place Walter Mould's coinage operation into its social setting. He had his own powerful backers, particularly among the civil administrative officers in Morris County.

The major problem has been technical. The original text was in 10 point dot matrix print, and the footnotes in much smaller type and well beyond the capability of OCR scanners of the period.

Elizabeth Hahn, Librarian of the American Numismatic Society, will be speaking about the ANS Library and highlights in the collections during the Chicago Coin Club Meeting on April 25, 2009, 1pm at the Chicago International Coin Fair (CICF), Crown Plaza Chicago O’Hare, 5440 North River Road, Rosemont, IL.

Featured Speaker: Elizabeth Hahn, Librarian of the American Numismatic Society, on Homer’s Thrinakia: The ANS Library, Sicilian History and Early Numismatic Literature

This talk will use Homer’s mention of the island “thrinakia,” identified as the island of Sicily, as a starting point to discuss the attraction of Sicily and in particular the numerous ancient sites that are preserved throughout the island.

Like the three promontories of Sicily, this talk will have three points that discuss the ANS Library collections, Sicilian history, and early numismatic literature. Examples of early Sicilian numismatic literature will be drawn from the ANS Library in an effort to emphasize the rich and varied nature of the collections.

Some months ago, it will be remembered, says the Sacramento Bee, considerable outcry was made because J.L. Polhemus, (a druggist in its city) stamped with his store-mark all pieces of foreign coin that came into his hands.

Since then the coin has greatly depreciated, and it is said that a cunning financier in Sacramento, is, and has been, engaged for some time in collecting all francs and forty-cent pieces containing the Polhemus stamp, intending to make him redeem them at the rate they were current at when he put his endorsement upon them;

I am curious about the "great depreciat(ion)" mentioned in the article. Could this be a reference to the Mint Act of 1857, which caused foreign coins to cease to be Legal Tender in the United States?

Are there any books or catalogues on non-religious relic or "made-from" medals? I have tried web searches and get a few medals, but no references.

I have used various search engines on obtaining the story behind the Omaha Bank Hoard of coins but all get is coins for sale on eBay and etc. Please provide a link or reference so I can learn more about these coins (who, what & when).

William P. Beck was born in New Rochelle, New York, on December 2, 1939. He died on November 23, 2002. For 30 years he was employed by the Department of Public Works in New Rochelle.

Considering the flood of counterfeit British round pound coins, anything that promotes "sound money" is a good thing.

In the article on detecting counterfeit coins by sound, one line ends "would allow computer analysis of each coin vended." That is the second time in a week that I have seen a coin inserted into a vending machine being referred to as a coin being vended. Not so - the product that the machine sells is vended, but the money used to buy it is not.

... and abandoning his former honest calling of selling halibut from a wheelbarrow, at fair weight and low prices; fat fin cut for two coppers a pound, the more solid parts for a copper; and when there was a more plentiful supply, even a Brumagem would buy enough to furnish a man a dinner.

"Brummagem" first appeared in the 17th century as an alteration of "Birmingham," the name of a city in England. At that time Birmingham was notorious for the counterfeit coins made there, and the word "brummagem" quickly became associated with things forged or inauthentic.

By the 19th century, Birmingham had become a chief manufacturer of cheap trinkets and gilt jewelry, and again the word "brummagem" followed suit--it came to describe that which is showy on the outside but essentially of low quality.

Perhaps the term was something of an annoyance to the people of Birmingham way back when, but nowadays "brummagem" is usually used without any conscious reference to the British city.

I don't believe there's any connection between Adams and Alaska, aside from the fact that both designs are the work of Medallic Art Company. The Adams obverse is from its popular presidential series; I have the Whitman Bookshelf album produced in the early 1960s to house those medals.

The Adams medal has a plain border, while the Alaska medal has a beaded border, and that tells me that this is most likely a mule - whether an authorized muling or a clandestine product is anyone's guess. I'll be interested to read what Dick Johnson has to say about it.

Your recent request for information linking John Adams to Alaska piqued my interest and, having the Adams Family Papers staff literally down the hall, I forwarded it to them. They are an amazing group of researchers and editors and I knew that if there were a reasonable answer, they'd find it.

So here it is: if you go online to Google Scholar and locate the Boston Alaskan, vol. 1 August 1906-June 1907, edited by L.M. Norton (Boston-Alaskan Society: Boston, 1907) on page 11 you can find a quotation by John Adams that Senator Charles Sumner used during his speech to advocate the acquisition of Alaska…

"Thirteen governments founded on the natural authority of the people alone, without a pretense of miracle or mystery, and which are destined to spread over the northern part of that whole quarter of the globe, are a great point gained in favor of the rights of mankind." John Adams, "Defense of American Constitutions," January 1, 1787. [my italics, AEB]

Sounds reasonable to me. Thanks Adams Papers staff!

Poor reporting, methinks. The actual revelation was probably the significance of 1888 as shown in the sentences below. Mind you, people - even collectors - do have an appalling inability to read what is in front of them sometimes!

But it wasn't until I showed it to a local rugby historian in Cardiff that we realised what a rare object it was and how it fitted into the history of the very beginnings of Welsh rugby.

Gwyn Prescott, who has researched the history of rugby in Cardiff in the 19th century, identified it as a medal marking the victory of Penarth in the 1888 Cardiff Football Union Cup final.

Regarding the bank tellers accepting $20 gold coins, this just shows how people who deal with money are unfamiliar with real U.S. coins. I once drafted a brochure to be given to bank employees and others who handle a great amount of change. The brochure was a general overview of U.S. coins.

I heard of someone who tried to deposit some Eisenhower dollars at his bank, and the teller called the police, thinking the coins were phony. I myself had words with a bus driver who would not accept dollar coins.

Those who handle a lot of money should have some kind of reference, so this kind of thing doesn't happen. Paper money may be included, too. People who get silver certificates or National Currency with the different colored seals think the money is phony.

A poster is an excellent idea! I have a copy of a Fractional Currency shield hanging in my home office. I wonder how this could be developed? It's more visual, and more user-friendly, than some brochure that could just be stuffed in a drawer. Customers could check out the photos on the poster too.

As counter to the story to which Gar refers, here's one that probably shows up with some frequency, but perhaps rarely turns out like this. As a result of a longer and very interesting background story, a gentleman stepped up to a teller at a Bank of America branch where I live and offered two $1000 1928 Federal Reserve Notes on behalf of his mother for deposit - at face value. The teller suggested that the customer wait a bit and she would contact someone (me) who might be willing to pay more than face for the notes, as she obviously was aware of their semi-rarity.

Well, I met with the customer at a nearby coffeehouse, did indeed pay him well over face, and he returned home to a very pleased mother. The teller refused a small thank you I offered for the reference, saying it would be inappropriate.

Now that's honesty and character that I hope is found many places besides here in the southeast. If the double eagle teller should be prosecuted, then mine ought to get positive recognition. But among people like that, doing the right thing appears to be sufficient reward.

If you are among the Coin World subscribers who have cut the umbilical cord and are now totally digital, you are among the vanguard in the numismatic realm. Unlike a daily newspaper that has stopped home delivery of its newsprint edition, Amos Hobby Publishing (Coin World's parent company) is providing a bridge to the future and is inviting subscribers to travel at their own pace.

Coin World's subscribers can remain totally in the paper-print dimension or they can tip-toe into the digital world gradually. Or, they can take the big leap and go totally digital. To each his own.

For numismatic bibliophiles, the future is likely to encompass electronic book devices, also known as e-readers.

Amazon says that already more than 250,000 books plus U.S. and international newspapers and magazines can be downloaded. We're not aware of any numismatic titles currently available on Kindle 2. However, as e-readers evolve (as color becomes available and costs decrease - Kindle 2 currently retails for $339), we predict a stampede.

Imagine having your entire numismatic library on an e-reader, being able to take it with you anywhere, and being able to key-word search any of your books within seconds. Such is not wishful thinking. The technology exists. It's only a matter of time before numismatic books and periodicals migrate to e-readers.

Coinage from six countries, more than 900 photos and updated pricing in up to five grades of preservation are featured in the easy-to-use and simple-to-search The Coins of North Africa download. Based on the Standard Catalog of World Coins, this download provides updated pricing, photos and facts for coins from Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic.

However you go about your coin collecting, you'll find key identifying details including mintage, metal composition, weight and obverse and reverse image descriptions, to accurately identify and assess your North African coinage in The Coins of North Africa. Pages are both searchable and enlargeable up to 400% for close-up inspection.

Along with the radical evolution of its political structure during the 20th century, Russia's monetary system also changed. Explore variety, expansion and historical details of 20th century Russian coinage in The Coins of Russia. Within this easy-to-use and simple-to-search download you have access to updated pricing in five grades of condition for nearly every Kopek and Rouble struck during the 20th century.

In reference to the "Digital Dilemma": Long Live Libraries!

Regarding the comment that a book "can live on a shelf for a hundred to a thousand years and be immediately retrievable and readable by a user": surely there is a caveat to that statement. Paper documents might last that long if properly preserved and cared for. I don't really believe it's possible to store and ignore paper (or film) for 100 years and expect no problems (is all that paper acid-free?). If it's not water or fire that causes damage, it's bugs and fungi. I've seen maps, historical record books, and photographic imagery compromised by mold/ mildew, even though those items were stored on open shelves similar to what most of us probably use for our numismatic references.

Mr. Waterson notes that digital archiving requires periodic data migration and software/ hardware maintenance to keep the data usable. That's certainly true though I'm not sure if he regards that as a problem or is simply providing information. But preservation of paper materials also requires constant vigilance and expenditures of effort, time, and money. Is there a substantive difference between digital and paper archiving in this regard? The benefits of digital information are obvious; after all, the E-Sylum comes to my inbox, not my mailbox.

I think the 'debate' of paper vs. digital, if one exists, is ultimately fruitless. Each has advantages and disadvantages and neither is likely to replace the other anytime soon, though I think the trend is obvious. I happen to like the new digital version of Coin World, one of the most full-featured and capable digital implementations I've seen and used. And, I can save it as a pdf file if I choose to do so (83.5 Mb for the April 13 issue, in case you wondered). My paper copy gets passed along to others, and I have a digital copy on my computer for active or archival use - seems like a win-win to me, not a dilemma.

This medal is neat, with the sun, the day/night demarcation line, the orbit of a satellite, the Van Allen Belt and the aurora.

Welcome to the Reference Site for Islamic Banknotes. The aim of this site is to promote interest, research and communication about the banknotes issued in Islamic countries. The charts linked to this page are the result of collaboration between a number of collectors. It is hoped that visitors to this site will provide information in an ongoing manner, that will expand the available knowledge on Islamic banknotes.

This site was initially developed by Armen Hovsepian and Peter Symes, but we are interested in expanding the content and detail of the pages.

As long as there is support from the collecting public, we expect that we will go a long way towards achieving this.