WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM NOVEMBER 21, 2010

Among our new subscribers this week are Andy Ungerleider, Paul H. Wheeler, and Cary Calgary. Welcome aboard! We now have 1,392 email subscribers, plus 97 followers on Facebook, including George Fuld, Benjamin Keele, Evgeni Paunov and Eko Santozo.

This week we open with a brief update on the recently closed Kolbe & Fanning numismatic literature sale, and information on two new titles from Whitman Publishing. Other topics include institutional libraries, image copyrights, Spence's metal, and the tokens and medals produced by the Lovett family.

To learn about the making of coin images for Eckfeldt and DuBois' A Manual of Gold and Silver Coins, another coin Eliasberg was missing, Wayne's walk-by at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the Philadelphia Mint's toilet paper shortage and the diesinker who died in the outhouse, read on. Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
Numismatic Bibliomania Society

KOLBE & FANNING'S 119TH MAIL BID AUCTION SALE RESULTS

Kolbe & Fanning's latest mail-bid sale closed on Thursday, November 18. Consisting of 588 lots, the sale managed to include a bit of everything, including important works in a number of different areas of numismatics. Some highlights included:

--Special combined deluxe editions of the Garrett and Norweb sales held by Bowers and Ruddy/Merena, issued in limited editions of 40 and 20 copies respectively, sold for $1600 each.
--A copy of a 1787 issue of the New-Haven Gazette, featuring a contemporary description of Fugio coppers, sold for $900.
--A copy of John H. Hickcox's "Historical Account of American Coinage" sold for $660.
--A 1788 newspaper account of the Massachusetts state mint sold for $650.
--A lot of 19 issues of George Dillingham's rare Coin Circular sold for $625.

The firm's next sale will be their public sale at the Waldorf Astoria, held in conjunction with the New York International Numismatic Convention, on January 8, which features 500 lots of outstanding material from around the world. For more information, see the firm's website at www.numislit.com.

NUMISMATIC CONTENT IN WHITMAN'S PALIN “COLLECTOR'S VAULT” BOOK

Whitman Publishing has released a new VAULT book devoted to Sarah Palin, Tea Party favorite and former Alaska governor. Sarah Palin, An American Story: A Collector's Vault retails for $49.95. The oversized slipcase-bound book is available online, including at WhitmanBooks.com, and in bookstores nationwide.

In this richly illustrated scrapbook, author Dave Lifton tells the uniquely American story of Sarah Palin—from small-town Idaho to the governor's mansion in Alaska, to center stage on the national political scene.

The special Collector's Vault includes behind-the-scenes photos and insightful text. Tucked into pockets and envelopes are more than 40 replicas of Palin-related memorabilia: campaign bumper stickers; famous speeches; old postcards; newspaper clippings; a Boston Tea Party poster; personally autographed “thank-you” cards; official proclamations as governor; and more.

Whitman Publishing has created numismatic products since 1934, and is best known to hobbyists for its annual Guide Book of United States Coins, popularly called the “Red Book.” While the Sarah Palin Vault is not a hobby title, it does include numismatic content, including several pull-out replicas. One such facsimile is of the Treasury warrant the United States wrote to purchase Alaska from Russia in 1867, for the sum of $7.2 million—less than 2 cents per acre.

The warrant is made out to Edouard de Stoeckl, Russian minister and envoy extraordinary to the United States, who negotiated on behalf of the empire. It was signed by Francis E. Spinner in his capacity as treasurer of the United States. (Spinner is famous among currency collectors for his elaborate signature.) Accompanying the Treasury warrant is a reproduction of the Treaty of Cession signed by Czar Alexander III, formally concluding the purchase agreement.

Another numismatic pullout is a three-inch sticker of the 2008 Alaska state quarter—the 49th coin issued in the U.S. Mint's 50 State Quarters® Program—featuring a grizzly bear and a freshly caught salmon.

“The Sarah Palin Vault book is available nationwide in stores like Barnes and Noble, Borders, and Books-A-Million,” said Whitman publisher Dennis Tucker. “Tens of thousands of copies will be sold. We see it as an opportunity to boost the numismatic hobby with mainstream visibility.”

Other coins are used to illustrate Alaska's history and Sarah Palin's life story. The obverse and reverse of the 1990 Eisenhower Centennial commemorative silver dollar (designed by John Mercanti and Marcel Jovine) are shown alongside the 34th president's official White House portrait. “Ike” signed the Alaska Statehood Act in 1958, and the following year Alaska became the 49th state admitted into the Union.

A two-page sidebar called “Majestic Alaska: Mount McKinley” includes enlargements of the obverse and reverse of the 1916 McKinley Memorial gold dollar designed by Charles Barber and George T. Morgan. This section also observes that the martyred president was featured on the Series of 1934 $500 Federal Reserve Notes.

The two-page opening spread for chapter 2 shows Governor Palin talking about the process she went through to choose Alaska's state quarter design. The coin was unveiled in Anchorage on April 23, 2007, and the U.S. Mint released it into circulation in August 2008. Palin is shown standing alongside blowups of four potential Alaska quarter motifs.

Sarah Palin, An American Story is a 10 x 12–inch hardcover coffee-table book in a library-quality slipcase. It retails for $49.95 and is available online and in bookstores nationwide.

Hardcover in slipcase
144 pages, plus inserted replicas
Author: Dave Lifton (author of Barack H. Obama, President of the United States: Limited Edition Collector's Vault)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0794832768
ISBN-13: 978-0794832766
Retail: $49.95

SNEAK PEEK: THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE FIRST U.S. MINT

Len Augsburger writes:

Dennis Tucker writes:

Joel Orosz adds:

To read the complete Coin Forum post, see: forums.collectors.com/messageview.cfm?catid=26&threadid=795036

SEMINAR: COLLECTING BOOKS WITHOUT LOSING YOUR SANITY

In addition to being the Assistant Librarian at the American Numismatic Society, I am the founder of C & P Bibliography Services, a company devoted to helping collectors manage their book collections. On December 7th I will be co-hosting (with Ryan Payne, financial planner, and Burt Fendelman, attorney) a seminar on "Collecting Books Without Losing Your Sanity" in New York City.

We would like to extend an invitation to the readers of the The E-Sylum to attend the event. I think many of the E-Sylum readers might find the seminar interesting, and we would love to meet (or see again) some of the numismatic bibliophiles in New York City and surrounding areas.

The event is at 5:30 on Tuesday, December 7 in the American Numismatic Society's conference room. RSVP is required. The invitation is available online at www.cpbibliography.com/Seminar_invitation_Dec07.pdf .

EXHIBIT: MONEY & MEDALS FROM THE COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG COLLECTION

A new Colonial Williamsburg exhibition showcases the “Cornell Hoard” —more than 6,600 pieces of colonial currency squirreled away by a North Carolina loyalist prior to the American Revolution — and other fascinating examples of coins and paper money from the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's extensive numismatics collection.

“Dollars, Farthings & Fables; Money & Medals From the Colonial Williamsburg Collection” opens Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 25 at the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum and explores facts and falsehoods, realities and rumors associated with money including the Founding Fathers and the origins of the dollar.

“Many people collect coins as tangible links to distant times and places,” said Erik Goldstein, curator of mechanical arts and numismatics. “Our collection spans 1,000 years, providing period images of a wide array of people, places and things. Within it, there are datable depictions of famous people, art, architecture, nature, industry, historical events, and even patriotic and moral symbols.”

The exhibition contains examples of the extremes in money circulating in colonial and Revolutionary America: the largest coin — an 18th-century French ecu nearly two inches in diameter — to the smallest — a 17th-century English halfpenny; from the largest denomination — an 18th-century Brazilian gold coin worth 20,000 reis — to the smallest denomination — an English farthing worth one-quarter penny; from the prettiest coin — a 17th-century Dutch ducaton — to the ugliest — a 17th-century Bolivian “cob” coin worth four reales.

Several firsts in American paper money populate the exhibition. The first “greenback” is a £6 note issued in 1757 by the New Jersey colony. It was the first bill to sport a back side printed in green ink. The first one dollar bill appears as a 1767 issue in the Maryland colony, and first $100 bill was issued in 1779 by the independent state of South Carolina.

The exhibition also lays to rest several popular myths about money including the real price the Dutch paid for the island of Manhattan in 1626, the real truth about George Washington's famous coin toss and a popular myth about coins that protected the holder from witchcraft.

“Dollars, Farthings & Fables; Money & Medals From the Colonial Williamsburg Collection” is the fifth new exhibition opening during the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum's silver anniversary year and will remain on view through December 2012. Admission is by Colonial Williamsburg admission ticket, Museums ticket or Good Neighbor Card.

Erik Goldstein adds:

Kay O. Freeman adds:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: MORE ON THE NORTH CAROLINA COLONIAL CURRENCY HOARD (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n46a08.html)

INSTITUTIONAL LIBRARIES: THE SAVIORS OF RARE LITERATURE

As part of my research for an article on George Rode, a key player in the founding of the American Numismatic Association, I contacted Elizabeth Hahn, Librarian of the American Numismatic Society in New York. I was seeking color images of the 1878 Constitution and By-Laws of the Western Pennsylvania Numismatic Society (WPNS), of which Rode was a founding member.

I'd learned about Rode many years ago when I was researching the early history of WPNS. I'd written to Hahn's predecessor Frank Campbell, who furnished me with a black and white photocopy of the complete booklet, which I used to create a reprint. In all the years I've been collecting numismatic literature I've never encountered another copy of this pamphlet. To the best of my knowledge, the ANS copy is the only remaining original in the world.

Thank heaven for institutional libraries like those of the ANS and ANA. They're not perfect, but through their stewardship many ultrarare items such as this have been preserved for future generations of researchers and collectors. Thank you!

COPYRIGHT OR COPY WRONG – AN APOLOGY

I know that there have already been several discussions about copyright law in The E-Sylum, but recent events compel me to share an unpleasant personal experience with copyright that initially threw me for a loop but ultimately resulted in three positive outcomes:

1) I learned more about copyright law and its application in real life.
2) I learned a lesson the hard way.
3) I met a tactful and generous gentleman who almost made me glad that I had made the mistake in the first place. I offer this confession in sincere apology.

It all started innocently enough. In the October 17, 2010, issue of the E-Sylum, Dave Ginsburg asked readers if there were other refiners in California that might have received and then exported Nevada bullion, which therefore might have escaped the Mint records entirely.

In the following issue, I offered some information about the Nevada exhibit at the Centennial Exhibition held in Philadelphia in 1876, where ore from the Comstock Lode was crushed and smelted into bullion onsite. Our editor, Wayne, asked me if I had any images with which to illustrate the contribution. I followed up with three images and an accompanying auction citation.

Not long after the item was published, I received an email from Wayne informing me that one of his readers, Fred Holabird, had notified him that at least three of the images had been taken from his website. Wayne offered me an out by asking if I might perhaps have obtained them from another legitimate source.

No big deal, I thought. I checked my notes and discovered that I had received the images and the citation, along with permission to use them, from an eBay dealer. He had once offered similar material, and I asked him if he had anything that was related to the Nevada exhibit at the Centennial Exhibition for use in my book. He was very cooperative and emailed the subject items and told me to feel free to use them. The trap was baited with my own carelessness and lack of follow-through.

Wanting to be completely certain of my ground before I sprang to my own knee-jerk defense, I then went to Fred's website where, much to my chagrin, I found one of the photos. It was obviously his because he had been the first to research and describe that particular bullion bar. Though I didn't find the other images, it was moot to me, because, whether once or thrice, I had violated someone else's right to his intellectual property.

After a truly sleepless night, I ‘fessed up to Wayne and asked his advice as to what I should do. He was, thankfully, very understanding and recommended that I call Fred and discuss it with him.

I did so, and almost immediately my dark horizons began to clear. Not only was I forgiven my trespass, but he gave me formal permission to use the images as long as I included appropriate acknowledgement, something which I vowed to myself then and there to do religiously from now on. I had learned that the convenience and accessibility of the Internet and email easily and quickly combine to obscure actual ownership of intellectual property.

Ignorance is no excuse. I now know that it is incumbent upon me to be both vigilant and diligent in researching and respecting the copyrights of others. I also learned that it must be a proactive undertaking, because the right to intellectual property is intrinsic to the property itself, and the onus is on me both to respect it and to make whatever effort may be necessary to secure permission to use. I have made that an early New Year's resolution.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: THE NEVADA EXHIBIT AT THE 1876 PHILADELPHIA CENTENNIAL EXHIBITION (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n42a07.html)

QUERY: FRENCH-ENGLISH NUMISMATIC TERMS TRANSLATION REVIEW SOUGHT

Michel Taillard and several other French numismatists have been in the process of significantly revising some of the Gadoury French coin guides, which will be published soon. A few days ago, Monsieur Taillard asked me what are the English equivalents to several French numismatic terms.

Despite my limited knowledge of French, I offered to help him and made the remark that such a list might make a good article. He then put forward the enthusiastic suggestion of publishing the list in a couple of their books if I can finish it before the year is out. I responded a little uncertainly if I could accomplish such a task in time, with information worthy of publication.

Are there any readers of The E-Sylum that might be able to offer some guidance on this project and/or proofread my work once I reach that stage? My email address is via marktfox@gmail.com. Thanks.

QUERY: ELDER'S 87TH PUBLIC AUCTION SALE CATALOG SOUGHT

I have an inquiry for your readers: Does anyone own Thomas L. Elder's 87th Public Auction Sale catalog (943 lots) from December 10, 1913? If so, I would love to see a scan or photocopy for research purposes (targeting a feature article in Smithsonian Magazine). Thanks!

It's a sale of items on behalf of the family of New York engraver C.C. Wright. I'm always collecting Wright information when I get the chance. I had known about the family's donations to the New York Public Library, and about the library's auction of the collection in the 1980s (Dave Bowers handled the sale) but I had not been aware of a prior Wright family sale. I happened on a listing of Elder sales in Google Books.

MORE ON THE CUTOUT ISABELLA QUARTER PIN

David Cassel writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: INTERESTING CUTOUT ISABELLA QUARTER PIN (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n45a20.html)

A MEDAL MADE FROM SPENCE'S METAL

Philip Mernick writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
FEATURED WEB SITE: METALS USED IN COINS AND MEDALS (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n43a29.html)
ON MATERIALS USED IN COINS AND MEDALS (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n44a11.html)

QUERY: VIETNAMESE NGOC HA GOLD WAFERS

The roll of Vietnamese gold wafers I showed you at the November Nummis Novs dinner was likely made in 1975 before the Republic of Viet Nam (South) went down to Democratic Republic of Viet Nam (North) on April 30, 1975. They are almost double thick/weight than the "normal" gold wafers. I believe it was made not to the standard weight for people buying it to get some of their wealth out of South Viet Nam.

A. J. Jacobs, the owner of Carson Valley Currency & Coin in Gardnerville, Nevada, was contacted by the owner of the roll and asked if he wanted to buy it and several other "normal" Kim Thanh gold wafers. He contacted me because the roll had a previously unknown Ngoc Ha design on it. He wanted one of the Ngoc Ha wafers for his personal collection but not all of the gold. I needed one too, so I mailed him a check for everything and the box arrived a couple of days before I departed on my annual Southeast Asia trip so I only just recently looked at them.

A Vietnamese jeweler in Vienna, Virginia flattened the roll out for me and then cut it apart. The pieces are shown in the below image. After I sent the image to A. J., he asked me to have my jeweler cut one of the incomplete Ngoc Ha wafers to make a complete one by melting them together from the reverse without damaging the obverse so he can have it for his collection. I will see if my jeweler can do this.

If anyone knows more about the Ngoc Ha wafers, or other Vietnamese gold wafers, please contact me at HADaniel3@msn.com so I can include their images and/or information in the next edition of my Republic of Viet Nam Coins & Currency catalog.

QUERY: ANCIENT COIN REPLICA MAKER SOUGHT

Luke Griffin writes:

Good question. I don't know, but hopefully our readers can help. The defunct Gallery Mint used to demonstrate coin striking at coin shows in the U.S. Currently active, but working in the U.K. is Dave Greenhalgh a.k.a. Grunal, or Dave the Moneyer. -Editor

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
SUBSCRIBER PROFILE: LUKE GRIFFIN (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n08a16.html)
NEW BOOK: THE GALATA GUIDE TO MEDIEVAL HALF GROATS (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n17a06.html)

QUIZ ANSWER: WHAT DID PHILADELPHIA MINT USE ELECTROLYTIC TANKS FOR?

David Ganz writes:

Joe Boling writes:

Dick Johnson writes:

Ron Abler writes:

Ken Bressett writes:

Hooray! Our readers are not moribund! In reply to Ken Bressett: Always authentic information from Ken. Correct on all counts.

In reply to Dave Ganz: Chromium plating first occurred at the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa in 1930 on the collars (but not the dies) to extend their life for striking the very hard high-nickel content five-cent pieces. By this technology the same mint chromium plated dies in 1942. Some pieces were struck only on one side with chromium plated dies. This gave a glossy surface to the struck piece. Can you find any of those one-sided glossy varieties on World War II Canadian coins? By 1945 the Ottawa Mint was chromium plating all dies, and this technology spread to other world mints. That glossy surface is sometimes described by collectors as "prooflike" but this is completely different from proof polishing of dies (which collectors call "full proof").

In reply to Ron Abler: The refining of metals by electrolysis is a different technology, even though both use the same word "electrolysis" (sorry, that's the shortcoming of the English language). Refining electrolysis breaks out the desired metal. Electroforming by electrolysis adds the desired metal to the pattern (which is called by many names: metalworkers call it a "core pattern" or "mandrel," mint workers call it a "dieshell" or "hubshell" depending upon whether it is negative or positive, in England it is even called a "former").

I also received this from Paul Lajoie:

I am unaware of either of these. Does anyone have any documentation of this occurring?

Ken Bressett writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see: A PRIMER ON PLATING FOR ALL COLLECTORS (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n46a05.html)
DICK JOHNSON ON ELECTROTYPING IN AMERICA (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n31a16.html)

MORE ON THE COMPLETENESS OF LOUIS ELIASBERG'S U.S. COIN COLLECTION

David Ganz forwarded this excerpt from his new book "Rare Coin Investing" (Krause):

Dick Doty adds:

Harvey Stack writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: MORE ON THE LOUIS ELIASBERG COLLECTION (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n46a11.html)

NOTES FROM E-SYLUM SUBSCRIBERS: NOVEMBER 21, 2010

Pete Mosiondz, Jr. writes:

Relating to last week's Numismatic Diary, Bill Eckberg wrote the following in the Early American Coppers Region 8 newsletter tonight:

Philip Mernick writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: QUERY: TAYLOR & CHALLEN MEDAL INFORMATION SOUGHT (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n45a14.html)

Regarding penalties imposed by the Hobby Protection Act, last week I wrote:

David Ganz writes:

David Ganz adds:

Regarding the picture of the Reparations Commission, Tom DeLorey writes:

THE E-SYLUM'S UNSOLVED MYSTERIES

Although we often get lightning-fast responses to all sorts of obscure numismatic queries, there are always some which go unanswered. This could be a fun task for anyone poking around The E-Sylum archives. But here are a couple recent ones - let's give them a second look.

A couple weeks ago, Chick Ambrass asked if anyone had any information about these dollar bills somehow embedded in a sidewalk outside Ashbury Park. If there had been any signage nearby Chick would have noticed it. Do any of our readers live near the area, or have friends who do? I've love to have someone ask around to see what we can find out. I also wondered, "How are the dollars anchored and protected from the elements?"

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: QUERY: ASHBURY PARK SIDEWALK DOLLARS (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n45a21.html)

Here's another one. Regarding my question on how many books by U.S. Numismatic authors have been translated into German, Pete Smith writes:

Well, I do have the answer. I own a copy of the book, or at least I did at one time - I just can't put my finger on it in my library. It was a copy of High Profits from Rare Coin Investing" by Q. David Bowers translated into German. I confirmed this with Dave Bowers. The book had completely different cover art. Does anyone have an image of the book to share with us?

Dave adds:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: MORE ON MASAMICHI OKA AND JAPANESE EDITIONS OF WHITMAN COIN BOOKS (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n44a08.html)

WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: NOVEMBER 21, 2010

Not much to report numismatically this week, but opening my email has been a delight. Lots of E-Sylum issues are excellent ones, but I was especially pleased with how this one came together. The bulk of it is comprised of responses from our readers with detailed information on multiple interesting topics.

I have one numismatic side note to report. On Saturday morning I arose early and made my way down to the National Mall to participate in the annual Help the Homeless walkathon. My family was unable to join me because of a conflict with our sons' basketball schedule. In my wallet were two "Where's George" dollar bills I'd gotten in change at the 7-11 that morning. Anyone getting up at 6am on a Saturday morning deserves a donut, I figure.

I arrived early to hear the singing of the National Anthem and speeches by a local newscaster and Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, who has walked in the event for 23 years running.

Since I was on my own and had some flexibility, I decided that if I'm going to be in a parade, I might as well be in front. I'm told that's the sign of a true leader (in politics, anyway) - find a parade and get in front of it. So while the rest of the crowd was watching the Washington Redskins cheerleaders, I walked up to the starting line. When the walk began, I was right behind the marching band. Soon I was right next to the 73-year-old Norton. She smiled and shook my hand, and we talked for a few minutes.

Along the walk I took several pictures, and here's the numismatic part. At one point the route passed the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The front was festooned with a huge banner promoting the upcoming new design of the $100 bill. I made sure to get the shot. To me this is real numismatic history - this banner will exist here in this place for only a short period of time, and there may never be another chance to capture the moment.

After the walk I'd hoped to pay my respects to the original Declaration of Independence and Constitution of the United States at the National Archives. The building was just opening for the day, but there was already a long line of tourists waiting to get in. Since I'd seen them before I opted to head home, and was able to see all but the first few minutes of Christopher and Tyler's basketball scrimmage.

Via email I learned of the results of my consignment in the Kolbe & Fanning sale. The cash will come in handy. I used to joke "baby needs a new pair of shoes", but now it's no joke - Christopher's braces need to be paid for, Tyler and I are each scheduled for some minor oral surgery, and Christmas bills will find their way to my desk before long. Ouch!

I got up early Sunday to work on The E-Sylum a bit. Then my daughter Hannah got up and it was time to play instead. So like usual, I stayed up to finish Sunday evening. Luckily I was able to finish before it got too late. It was fun to work on, and I hope everyone enjoys it.

WHAT'S A QUARTER TON OF WHEATIES WORTH?

The closing price of copper as of Friday, November 24 was $3.8417 per pound. coinflation.com calculates the melt value of U.S. coins every day. We learn from this web site that U.S. cents minted before 1982 -- including the so-called pre-1959 "wheaties" -- are worth 2.53616 cents each when the 5% zinc value is added to the 95% copper value.

Billions of these cents are in the public's hands. Tons and tons of the tiny 3.11 grain discs. Mighty Bargain Hunter did a study of the cent situation this week for their blog.

They learned there are hundreds of offerings of wheaties on eBay every week. They calculated what would 500 pounds -- a quarter ton -- of wheaties would be worth. The price is going to increase as we face an inevitable inflation caused by the current economic and political atmosphere in America.

Congress, in its blatant ineptitude has ordered the U.S. Treasury to study coinage metals to substitute for the cent, and, surely, other coin denominations. There are greater problems in any choice of lower value metals. Perhaps that is why bronze, silver and gold have been used for coins for 2,400 years, and nickel since the 1860s.

The answer to the cent situation is to neither to raise the bridge nor to lower the river. The solution is to rebase the cent in value to 5 cents -- as Chicago Federal Reserve Bank economist Francois Velde has recommended. Or to rebase both cent and nickel to 10 cents as I have mentioned multiple times before here in The E-Sylum.

One U.S. Treasury dictum would immediately solve the problem of rising metal composition costs for both the cent and nickel, plus keep all the coins in circulation. No scrapping, no massive recoining required. But that is an intelligent decision. Expect the U.S Treasury and Congress to come up with a jerry-rigged solution. Cardboard cents anyone?

Read this for the answer to the worth of a quarter ton of copper cents: Pennies by the quarter-ton (www.mightybargainhunter.com/2010/11/15/
high-copper-content-cents/)

FALLEN MARINE DAVID SMITH HONORED WITH MEDAL IN HIS NAME

An E-Sylum reader writes:

Marine Sgt. David Smith's parents and stepparents planned to spend Veterans Day at Arlington National Cemetery, sitting at the grave of their son, who was killed in Afghanistan in January.

What they didn't plan on was running into Vice President Joe Biden and having an extensive, emotional conversation with the man who knows all too well about losing a child.

The four took a picture with the vice president, with David's gravestone front and center in the photo. Smith also offered Biden one of the red bracelets the family designed as a fundraiser for a memorial scholarship. In yellow writing, the bracelet says "Sgt. David James Smith" and has sergeant stripes on either side of the name.

"A lot of people may have just put it in their pocket," Smith said. "I gave it to him, and it immediately went on his wrist."

Biden, in return, left a vice presidential coin on David's grave, which McWilliams took home with her to add to a growing collection.

The honor of having the vice president pay tribute to their son came on the heels of another big honor for David Smith's family.

East Carolina University invited the family onto the football field for the coin toss in last Saturday's game against Navy. McWilliams, her two other children, Kristen Forse and Daniel Brown, and David's girlfriend, Kimberly Mott, were welcomed on with a standing ovation from the crowd, while David's picture was shown on the screen.

They also attended ECU's military appreciation banquet the night before, where David was honored. And to top off the weekend, the university is setting up a scholarship fund for the David J. Smith Leadership Award, which the university said "is going to be considered the highest honor a student can receive," McWilliams said.

A former professor of Smith's is working on raising $25,000 to fund the award for years to come. One recipient a year will receive $500 and a coin with the award name on one side and three stars on the back that stand for leadership, integrity and service. McWilliams was presented the very first coin printed.

McWilliams said the coin now sits in David's old bedroom with coins from former President George W. Bush, Biden, Living Legacy for Smith being an organ donor, various Marine officers and others.

"But the coin that meant the most to me is the David J. Smith Leadership Award from ECU because it was specific to David," McWilliams said. "It let me know how much he was loved and how much he did."

To read the complete article, see: Biden honors Frederick Marine, family at Arlington (www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=2117096)

DONALD ARIEL, OVERSEER OF ISRAEL'S NATIONAL COIN COLLECTION

When he was a senior at Brown, Donald Ariel took a graduate-level class in ancient coins in which the professor assigned cataloguing a coin collection at Wheaton College in nearby Norton, Massachusetts. The collection consisted of 250 coins, all of them minted during the time of ancient Greece or Rome.

"We were told to do the full Monty," Ariel says. "Learn how to organize the collection, how to identify the coins, how to find the relevant reference material, and how to write up a catalog describing each one and its significance." Ariel, who concentrated in ancient Mediterranean civilization, describes this as a watershed moment in his college education, his first chance at touching archaeological artifacts. Ariel now lives in Jerusalem, where he oversees Israel's national coin collection for the Antiquities Authority, a quasi-governmental agency that directs archaeological digs in the country and helps preserve the findings. The collection holds a million coins, some dating as far back as the sixth century B.C. Ariel is a U.S. citizen, but he moved to Israel in 1976 and earned a master's in archaeology from Hebrew University. (More recently, he earned a PhD in the subject from Tel Aviv University.)

Coins, Ariel says, are a rich repository of knowledge about the civilization that mints them. With an image of the current leader on their obverse side, they are easily datable and can even help date the structures where they're unearthed. Ariel says that Israel's collection of coins is remarkable not because of its size—collections in New York and Paris are larger—but because each is linked to a record of where and when it was discovered. Having such reliable records of how deep the coin lay buried or where it was in relation to other artifacts helps create a more detailed and richer understanding of the archaeological site.

In August, near the border with Lebanon, researchers found a 2,200-year-old gold coin from the Ptolemaic era, the most valuable coin ever found in Israel. It bears the image of Queen Arsinoe II Philadelphus, who ruled over Egypt in the early third century B.C. and who has the distinction of having married her brother. (Philadelphoi means brother-loving in Greek.)

Ariel himself does not keep a personal coin collection. But he does go on digs every summer and still enjoys keeping in physical touch with antiquity through the objects the Authority has in its collection. "I chose to come to Israel because I can directly connect to the objects I'm working on," he says. "I can go to the sites that I'm studying by getting in the car and visiting."

To read the complete article, see: Collecting History (www.brownalumnimagazine.com/content/view/2722/32/)

AN 1854 CRIMEAN WAR COMMEMORATIVE GOLD MEDAL

Kay O. Freeman writes:

The medal celebrates above all the new union that now existed between these once bitter enemies. Symbolising the sincere friendship that united the two sovereigns, the obverse features the right-facing effigies of Emperor Napoleon III and Queen Victoria, crowned with laurel wreaths and depicted in profile. This friendship was strengthened by Napoleon III's first state visit to Britain in 1855, a gesture that was returned by Victoria later that year on the occasion of the Universal Exhibition in Paris.

Inscribed on the medal's reverse are the names and dates of the various victories with, at its centre, a trophy constructed from flags and oriental weapons, depicted in front of a mosque. The dedication A la gloire des armées allies (In honour of the allied armies) surmounts the image.

A number of bronze and silver medals minted to commemorate the Crimean War exist,(1) but this particular example, made from gold, is exceptional. The medal comes to us via Jean Julien Sacaley (1800-1875), who was the right-hand man to Jean-François Mocquard, chief of staff to the Prince-President (and indeed emperor). Sacaley went on to become first attaché - a natural progression - after which, from 1864, he served as the emperor's deputy chief of staff. He remained a loyal and close associate to Napoleon III until the fall of the empire.

The medal was handed down through the family, and it currently sits on display at the Musée du Cabinet des Médailles et Antiques, at the Bibliothèque nationale de France. The circumstances in which it was minted are still to be fully explored, whilst the hypothesis that a second example, also in gold, was once in the possession of Queen Victoria remains to be verified.

To read the complete article, see: Crimean War commemorative medal: "In honour of the allied armies" (www.napoleon.org/en/collectors_corner/object/index.asp)

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ON THE TAJ MAHAL GOLD COIN

Even though I stifled it, I have to admit I was slightly miffed when my photographer and I arrived at the Franklin Mint's Midtown offices only to discover that the coin we'd come to see—the 2.2-pound, solid gold Taj Mahal, with 60 Cartier diamonds—was in transit from the New York Stock Exchange, where Walter Kole, the Mint's chief numismatist, was showing it off on CNBC.

Which isn't to suggest that there wasn't more than enough visual stimuli to keep us occupied until the currency arrived. To be honest, I'm not sure what the Franklin Mint is, or does. I know it markets coins—I've seen the ads all over the place—but its Holiday Collection 2010 includes a Steuben pelican, Major League Baseball team Christmas tree ornaments (also Steuben) and a Michelle Obama doll, of which there happened to be one in a case for us to admire, right beside a couple of lifelike Jackie Kennedy dolls.

I'll say this for the Franklin Mint: It's got the doll-making thing down. If I was in the market for a Michelle Obama doll in a little black dress, I wouldn't even consider looking elsewhere. It really resembles the first lady, all the way down to her pearls and gold Rolex, though when the Taj Mahal's entourage finally arrived, Gwynne Gorr, the Franklin Mint's chief marketing officer, told me it's not a Rolex. It's a Cartier.

In any case, by the time we finished admiring all the great stuff in cases and on pedestals, the Taj Mahal coin was ready to be viewed, having been installed behind velvet ropes, with stern-looking security guards on either side. Mr. Kole invited me to slip behind the ropes; he even allowed me to handle it.

Manufactured in France by the Monnaie de Paris, the coin is lovely, but at the size of a tea saucer it probably wouldn't be convenient to carry in your pocket. And while crime in New York City has plummeted over the years, it would be a sad day if you got mugged the morning you decided to take your coin for a stroll in the park.

This scenario isn't altogether fantastical. Included in the price—€100,000 (approximately $140,000), even though it's got a face value of €5,000 to qualify as legal tender—is a lovely leather carrying case designed by Goyard. The case, boasting 24-carat hardware, contains a coin loop—a magnifying glass to look at your purchase up close—and there's also a little leather travel case if you want to take it away for the weekend, or if pro-democracy demonstrators are crashing the gates of the palace and you need spare change to tide you over at the Ritz in Paris while you negotiate the terms of your extradition.

By my calculations, 2.2 pounds of gold, even at today's hysterical prices, wouldn't cost more than $50,000. But apparently what you're paying for is the workmanship and the exclusivity. "It also contains 60 handset diamonds," Mr. Kole noted, "and there are only 29 in the world."

They hadn't sold many yet, but my understanding is that few U.S. customers had been given the opportunity to ogle it in person. "I expect after today," Mr. Kole said. "It just got here."

I was the first—if you didn't count the folks at CNBC and just about everybody else at the New York Stock Exchange. "It showed up nice on the screens of the metal detectors," somebody said.

To read the complete article, see: Mysteries of the Mint (online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704393604575614642826210272.html)

SO THAT'S WHERE GEORGE IS: FORT LAUDERDALE, FL

In our September 5, 2010 issue (ten weeks ago), I wrote about a one dollar "Where's George" bill I'd gotten in change earlier in the week. I duly logged it on the Where's George web site which tracks dollar bills by serial number.

Well, on Wednesday Where's George notified me by email that the bill have been sighted again, this time in Fort Lauderdale, FL. It had traveled 902 miles in a little over 73 days (12 miles/day). I wish I'd followed along - it's warmer down there.

Below is an image of the report on the Where's George web site ( www.wheresgeorge.com ). So... who else has used Where's George lately? What's the longest journey one of your bills has taken?

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: BY GEORGE, WHERE'S GEORGE? AND THOMAS? (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n36a13.html)

GEORGE O. COLT: THE DIESINKER WHO DIED IN THE OUTHOUSE

Katie Jaeger writes:

Dick Johnson adds:

FEATURED WEB SITE: LOVETT TOKENS AND MEDALS

This week's Featured Web Site is a new work in progress by Dave Baldwin suggested by John Sallay, who writes:

lovetttokensmedals.com