WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM SEPTEMBER 9, 2012

New subscribers this week include Donald Haynes, Ludwig Redling and William Watson, Welcome aboard! We have 1,593 email subscribers, plus 190 followers on Facebook.

This week we open with a note from Fred Lake, and an announcement of just one new numismatic book. But still, tonight's issue is a whopper. Other topics include photo plates in numismatic literature, the Albany Church Penny, coins of Pope John Paul II and SpongeBob SquarePants,

To learn more about goat tags, the Martha Washington Nonsense patterns, Peter the U.S. Mint eagle, wild parties with Swedish models and how curved "scyphate" coins were made, read on. Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum

LAKE BOOKS 112TH MAIL-BID SALE CLOSES SEPTEMBER 11, 2012

A reminder that Lake Books' 112th mail-bid sale of numismatic literature closes on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2012 at 5:00 PM (EDT). The 470-lot catalog features selections from the libraries of David E. Litrenta and George J. Fuld and may be viewed at www.lakebooks.com/current.html Bids may be placed via email, telephone or fax (note our new fax number) until the closing time.

Lake Books
6822 22nd Ave. N.
St. Petersburg, FL 33710
727-343-8055 Fax 727-381-6822

NEW BOOK: STANDARD CATALOG OF U.S. PAPER MONEY, 31ST EDITION

The Standard Catalog of United States Paper Money is the only annual guide that provides complete coverage of U.S. Currency with today's market prices and presented in full color.

Users will find complete and accurate listings for: Large and Small size currency; Fractional Currency; National Bank Notes; a unique selection of intriguing Error Notes presented by Dr. Frederick J. Bart; Rare Postage Stamp Envelopes featuring selections from the Chester Krause collection; Military Payment Certificates and much more.

Anyone who is a collector, investor or estate planner will find exactly what they need to evaluate material in a market that continues to show strength despite the economic downturn. This is the essential guide for U.S. paper money collectors, researchers, estate planners, investors and historians.

Features:

- The only price guide that includes all of this data and the only one in color

- Accurate and up-to-date prices for a rapidly growing market

- Pricing analyst Bill Brandimore is a passionate collector and well connected with the U.S. paper money market

Editor George Cuhaj is an experienced and accomplished numismatist and researcher. George is an avid collector with a passion for this hobby. George is closely aligned with leaders in the field. George is also chief pricing analyst and editor for The Standard Catalog of World Paper Money series.

Market analyst William Brandimore has been collecting coins and paper money since childhood. A penchant for coins turned to an interest in paper money in 1984 when he fell in love with large-size type and fractionals. He is a paper money pricing analyst for Krause Publications, drawing from his own activity in the market combined with the input of leading dealers and collectors nationwide.

Author: George S. Cuhaj, William Brandimore
SRN: V6711
Price: $31.99 (CAN $33.50)
ISBN: 9781440230875

For more information visit www.sellcoinbooks.com/us-paper-money/standard-catalog-of-united-states-paper-money-31st-edition .

QUERY: MEDIEVAL EUROPEAN COINAGE PROJECT STATUS

Wayne Schroll writes:

From the web site:

Alan M. Stahl writes:

To visit the Medieval European Coinage web page, see: www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/dept/coins/projects/mec/

ADAMS CATALOGUE WITH PHOTOGRAPHIC PLATES DISCOVERED

Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers have announced the discovery of a rumored, but never reported, Geoffrey Charlton Adams auction catalogue from 1906 with two photographic plates. The sale, of “The Dixie Land Collection of Coins and Medals,” was Adams’s thirtieth and final sale, held on Nov. 13–14, 1906. While a printed announcement of the sale mentioning a plated version of the catalogue has been known for many years, an actual example of the plated catalogue has never been offered publicly or reported to the numismatic community.

The plates are high-quality photographic plates, and are well-executed. The first depicts a variety of U.S. and colonial coins, including 1796 and 1797 half dollars, an 1879 Flowing Hair Stella, a Pine Tree shilling, a Rosa Americana twopence, a Chalmers shilling, rare Seated Liberty dollars and a Confederate cent. The second plate mostly depicts US. half cents and large cents, including key dates (1796 half cent with pole, two 1793 chain cents) and well-preserved early dates; a few early U.S. silver coins (1804 dime, etc.) are also included.

The catalogue itself resembles an ordinary G.C. Adams sale, with the usual pink paper covers stapled at the spine.

The catalogue will be offered at Kolbe & Fanning’s January 12, 2013 public auction sale at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, in conjunction with the New York International Numismatic Convention.

To visit the Kolbe-Fanning web site, see: www.numislit.com

READER THOUGHTS ON PLATES IN NUMISMATIC LITERATURE

Granvyl Hulse writes:

Bob Leonard writes:

David Lange writes:

Ray Williams of Trenton, NJ writes:

Dennis Tucker of Whitman Publishing writes:

Bob Van Arsdell writes:

JUDGE DECLARES SWITT FAMILY 1933 DOUBLE EAGLES GOVERNMENT PROPERTY

A judge ruled that 10 rare gold coins worth $80 million belonged to the U.S. government, not a family that had sued the U.S. Treasury, saying it had illegally seized them.

After President Theodore Roosevelt had the U.S. abandon the gold standard, most of the 445,500 double eagles that the Philadelphia Mint had struck were melted into gold bars. However, a Philadelphia Mint cashier had managed to give or sell some of them to a local coin dealer, Israel Switt.

In 2003, Switt's family, Joan Langbord, and her two grandsons, drilled opened a safety deposit box that had belonged to him and found the 10 coins.

When the Langbords gave the coins to the Philadelphia Mint for authentification, the government seized them without compensating the family. The Langbords sued, saying the coins belonged to them.

In 2011, a jury decided that the coins belonged to the government, but the family appealed.

Last week, Judge Legrome Davis of the Eastern District Court of Pennsylvania, affirmed that decision, saying "the coins in question were not lawfully removed from the United States Mint."

Barry Berke, an attorney for the Langbords, told ABCNews.com, "This is a case that raises many novel legal questions, including the limits on the government's power to confiscate property. The Langbord family will be filing an appeal and looks forward to addressing these important issues before the 3rd Circuit."

The family said in its suit that in another seizure of the 1933 double eagle, the government split the proceeds with the owner after the coin sold for $7.59 million in 2002, according to Coinbooks.org.

To read the complete article, see: Judge Says 10 Rare Gold Coins Worth $80 Million Belong to Uncle Sam (news.yahoo.com/judge-says-10-rare-gold-coins-worth-80-
152750965--abc-news-topstories.html)

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Legrome Davis Jr. held that, since no records showed coins being lawfully taken from the mint, they were almost certainly stolen.

"The Mint meticulously tracked the '33 Double Eagles, and the records show that no such transaction occurred," U.S. District Judge Legrome Davis Jr. wrote in his decision. "What's more, this absence of a paper trail speaks to criminal intent. If whoever took or exchanged the coins thought he was doing no wrong, we would expect to see some sort of documentation reflecting the transaction, especially considering how carefully and methodically the Mint accounted for the '33 Double Eagles."

Lawyers for the Langbords had argued that the coins could have left the Mint legitimately between March 15 and April 5, 1933, before Roosevelt's recall. The government's star expert, David Tripp, acknowledged gold coins could have left the Mint during that window, but he added that there were no records that 1933 Double Eagles did. "Nobody witnessed the disappearance of the 10 coins, but the jury "could - and did - properly infer criminal intent," Davis wrote.

To read the complete article, see: Judge upholds government's claim to $80M in rare gold coins found in safe deposit box (www.foxnews.com/us/2012/09/07/rare-double-eagle-coins-should
-be-forfeited-to-us-judge/)

To read the complete article, see: Langbord Family Loses Lawsuit Over $80 Million Gold Coins; Currency Belongs To Uncle Sam, Judge Says (www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/06/family-loses-lawsuit-gold-coins-belongs
-to-uncle-sam_n_1862151.html)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: JUDGE ISSUES RULING ON CONFISCATED 1933 DOUBLE EAGLES (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v12n31a12.html)

MORE ON GOAT TAGS AND CHARLES GRISHKAT

Eric von Klinger writes:

Tom Casper writes:

Kay Olson Freeman dug up some info on Charles J. Grishkat. She sends these notes:

Gene Brandenburg writes:

Mike Packard found an obituary of Charles Grishkat's wife Anna, who remarried after his death. One of her granddaughters lived in Alexandria, VA: Anna Balascak (www.legacy.com/obituaries/hartfordcourant/obituary.aspx?
n=anna-balascak&pid=14261079#fbLoggedOut)

Tom Kays writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: QUERY: WHO'S EVER SEEN A GOAT TAG? (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n37a14.html)

EPHEMERA: INVITATION TO STACK'S 1942 SHOP OPENING

Recently I published the story of the re-opening of the Stack's Coin Shop on West 57th Street in New York City, which had just completed a full refurbishing. Shortly afterward I received the invitation pictured here. It was sent to me from the son-in-law of a dear friend, colleague and super numismatist, who found it among the family's heirlooms.

It invited the recipient -- collector, dealer, numismatist -- to visit the opening of our new home at 12 West 46th Street, about 60 feet west of 5th Avenue. Joseph and Morton Stack bought the building so they could re-locate their shop from 32 West 46th Street to a somewhat larger facility that was also very close to Fifth Avenue. This invitation was dated December 1942.

To read the complete article, see: Remember When: An Invitation From 70 Years Ago! (stacksbowers.com/Blogs/remember-when-invitation-from-70-years.html)

MECHANICAL DOLLAR, 1900

MECHANICAL DOLLAR, 1900. Schornstein 909; Zerbe 135. 37mm. Brass. Bright AU. This piece is composed of a sheet metal shell with openings, and encloses a movable disc which is operated by a ring at the top. Part of the inscription is on the case and part on the movable disc. When the ring is moved, the inscription changes.

When the ring is at the 12:00 position, the obverse inscription reads I’M ALL RIGHT above a displayed eagle, and at bottom, PAT. JULY. 27-1897. When the ring is moved, the eagle’s head and right wing droops to the right and the inscription changes to, WHERE AM I AT?

When the ring is at the 12:00 position, the reverse inscription reads: GOLD STANDARD/ MEANS/ A DOLLAR WORTH/ 100 CENTS/ MACK, TEDDY/ AND PROSPERITY. When the ring is moved to the left, the inscription reads: FREE SILVER/ MEANS/ A DOLLAR/ WORTH/ 50 CENTS/ BRYANARCHY/ AND STEVENSON. In working order. $125.00

NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: SEPTEMBER 9, 2012

The Endangered Specie List
In last week's issue we excepted an article on the Death of Cash which included this statement:

Bill Eckberg writes:

How Curved "Scyphate" Coins Were Made
Bob Leonard writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: MORE ON CURVED COINS (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n37a11.html)

Neil Utberg Obituary
COIN World news Editor Bill Gibbs writes;

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: QUERY: INFORMATION ON AUTHOR NEIL S. UTBERG SOUGHT (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n37a21.html)

Unknown Bearded Numismatist Mystery Continues

Alan Stahl writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: SEPTEMBER 2, 2012: The Un-Named Bearded Wonder (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n37a13.html)

QUERY: ALBANY CHURCH PENNY INFORMATION SOUGHT

First Presbyterian Church, Albany, NY has for many years had one "Church Penny" (1790) stored in the safe. We have recently given it to the Albany Institute of History and Art in anticipation of the celebration of the 250th Anniversary of our founding (1763). We know precious little about the coin but have seen a great deal of speculation on its use and noticed that the last one to be sold at auction was in Jan. 2012 for $115,000 -- a pretty penny!

We have seen discussion of the coin sometimes describing it as a "communion token," a common practice in the Scots-Presbyterian tradition, but we feel confident that this coin is not for that purpose. Although communion tokens were used in the early history of our Albany church, there is also this reference, quoted from even earlier records of the church as follows: "It was resolved that one thousand coppers be stamped church penny, and placed in the hands of the treasurer, for the purpose of exchanging with the congregation at the rate of twelve for one shilling, in order to add respect to the weekly collections." (J. McClusky Blayney, History of the First Presbyterian Church of Albany, NY.; Lists of its Officers, and a Complete Catalogue of its Members From its Organization, Albany: Jenkins and Johnston, 1877). You mention this in one of your comments on the coin but from a source that is apparently quoting the Blayney source.

We are assuming that members of the congregation bought these pennies to put in the collection plate weekly, and that the purpose was to get money from congregants up-front whether or not they came to church and put them in the plate, and to recycle and resell the coins that were returned and put in the collection plate.

I have several questions about the coin:

1. Is the above assumption correct?
2. Are there other examples of church coins minted for a similar purpose either in the US or England/Scotland or anywhere?
3. Can you lead us to a full and definitive discussion of the Albany Church Penny?

An early attendee of our church was Alexander Hamilton, and it was our pastor, Eliphalet Nott, who delivered the funeral oration after his duel with Aaron Burr, who also attended the church, as did John Jay. That speech, many feel, was a deciding factor in the outlawing of dueling in the US. At the time of the issuing of this coin (1790) Alexander Hamilton was deeply involved, as you know, in getting the US Mint going. We feel that the value of this coin is in its continuing historical connection; it shows the wear of time, as it should.

Eric Newman writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: ALBANY CHURCH PENNY RESEARCH FOLLOWUP (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v10n02a18.html)

QUERY: HOW WERE THE 1817 JOLAS MADE?

Richard Doty writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: RARE 1817 JOLAS SOLD BY SAN ANTONIO FINDER (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n37a16.html)

QUERY: CHARLES WILLIAM FREMANTLE PORTRAIT SOUGHT

Here at Whitman we’re working on an exciting new book with Karen Lee (curator of the National Numismatic Collection), about George T. Morgan. It’s a combination biography, art-history analysis, and page-by-page recreation of Morgan’s personal sketchbook, which naturally includes many coinage and medal designs. Previously unpublished designs, I might add (to titillate your readers)!

I want to include in the narrative a portrait of Charles William Fremantle, who was deputy master of the British Royal Mint when Henry Linderman was arranging to bring Morgan over to the States to work in Philadelphia. Fremantle was very important in nurturing the connection between Morgan and Linderman. (Of course, that’s just one part of the deputy master’s very important numismatic legacy.)

I’m wondering if any E-Sylum readers have a portrait of Fremantle, preferably from the 1870s, that they might share for inclusion in the book. Any help would be gratefully credited in the acknowledgments.

The National Portrait Gallery in London has a dry-plate glass negative by Alexander Bassano in its collection; unfortunately, Fremantle sat for the portrait in 1898, which is about 20 years past the timeframe I’m looking for (not to mention their imaging and licensing fees are prohibitively expensive). I have a call in to the historians at the British Royal Mint. But I know that American E-Sylum subscribers are a font of homegrown resources, and might have something in their voluminous personal archives.

MEDIALIA GALLERY SEPTEMBER 2012 EXHIBITS

First, something about the gallery:

To visit the Medialia Gallery web site, see: www.medialiagallery.com

THE MARTHA WASHINGTON NONSENSE PATTERNS

Pete Smith writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: ARTICLE DISCUSSES U.S. MINT'S TEST DIES (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n37a18.html)

PHILADELPHIA MINT TOUR PHOTOS: TIFFANY, PETER AND JANVIER

The lobby of the Fourth Philadelphia Mint has mounted on its walls seven glass mosaic panels — two oblong and five round — executed under the direction of Louis B. Tiffany for display at the Third Philadelphia Mint on Spring Garden Street upon its opening in 1901.

The Favrile glass panels, made by designs from William B. Van Ingen, illustrate the ancient Roman methods and processes of coinage and were originally commissioned by the U.S. Mint at a cost of $40,000.

Mezzanine displays include the stuffed American bald eagle, Peter, who lived at the Philadelphia Mint circa 1830 to 1836 and was let out each night to fly around the city of Philadelphia. Peter died when one of his wings was irreparably damaged after being caught in the flywheel of a coinage press on which he had perched.

Peter is said to have been Engraver Christian Gobrecht’s model for the silver dollars from 1836 through 1839.

This is the original Janvier reducing lathe introduced at the Philadelphia Mint in 1907 to cut the master dies from galvano models for the Saint-Gaudens gold coinage.

To read the complete article, see: Philadelphia Mint tours get new appearance (www.coinworld.com/articles/philadelphia-mint-tours-get-new-appearance/)

THE NUMISMATOURIST VISITS LONDON AND MUNICH

With the Summer season over, the Numismatourist is back on the road again. First stop (as is almost always the case) was London, at least when flying British Airways. But I had another reason – to finally see the new Citi Money Gallery at the British Museum. I’ve been in Londinium in the early Spring and even in late May trying to get Dr. Catherine Eagleton to let me sneak a quick peak at Room 68 during the renovation but to no avail.

The “Hands On” table manned by a museum docent at the Citi Money Gallery.

There have been several reports about the new gallery in Coin World, MünzenWoche, even in The E-Sylum, so I won’t repeat most of the details. In addition to the six display cases against both side walls, six floor mounted display cases, plus there was also a “Hands On” table manned by a museum docent. I was there on a Sunday and this table attracted a good amount of attention, especially by the young visitors curious about the various types of money they were able to actually handle instead of just seeing them behind the glass.

This vase and the 66 coins were part of an offering to Buddha

While Room 68 gets all the headlines, past and present, what does not seem to get a proper airing is that there are other rooms in the museum that have coins on display if you know where to look as they are integrated among the artifacts of the various sections as follows (with the exception of Room 69a):

Level -1: Room 34, The Islamic World
Level 1: Room 33, China, India, Asia and Southeast Asia
Level 2: Room 67, Korea
Level 3: Room 69, Greek and Roman Life
Level 3: Room 69a, Exhibitions and Changing Displays
Level 3: Room 70, Roman Empire
Level 3: Room 71, Etruscan World
Level 3: Room 73, Greeks in Italy

After leaving London, it was on to Munich, where I’ve been to several times before. I stopped by to see an acquaintance, Dr. Hubert Lanz. He heads the auction house, Numismatik Lanz which holds two public auctions a year. We first met at the American Numismatic Association convention in Chicago and again at this year’s ANA show in Philadelphia. After renewing acquaintances, I walked a few blocks to what is the “Residenz.” This complex served as the seat of government and residence of the Bavarian dukes, electors and kings from 1508 to 1918. The complex has been transformed by the rulers from what had begun as a castle in 1385 in what was the northeastern corner of the city walls, the Neuveste or new citadel, into a magnificent palatial complex.

Today, the palace complex is a collection of museums, one of which is the State Coin Collection Munich, Germany’s second largest. At most of the entrances from the street are a pair of lions. There is a quirky superstitious custom or ritual that many people do as they pass by these lions. They rub one spot, which is a small lion’s head, for good luck. This is the only spot on all of the statues that is shiny - the rest is blackened.

Gallery room for the coins of the middle ages and the
modern era of the State Coin Collection Munich

The numismatic museum is on the first floor (2nd level for us Americans). Its director, Dr. Friedrich Klose, was on vacation and one of his assistants, Dr. Martin Hirsch, helped me in his place. The collection’s exhibition occupies four rooms – one room for a temporary exhibition, from which lead to the entrances to the other three rooms for the permanent exhibits: Room II - medals, plaques, and cut stones; Room III – ancient coins and cut stones; Room IV - coins of the middle ages and the modern era.

From Munich I traveled to Nürnberg (Nuremberg, in English). There I visited Germany’s largest museum, the Germanisches Nationalmuseum. The director in charge of the numismatic collection, Dr. Matthias Nuding was away but arranged for me to be guided by one of his assistants. Although many museums have large numismatic collections, some choose not to exhibit their collection to any great extent if at all. Fortunately some of the National Museum’s collection is on display in three areas: Pre- and ancient history: mainly Roman coins; Art and culture form late antiquity to the 15th century: medieval coins (which was being renovated currently); and Art and culture form late antiquity to the 15th century, consisting of medals.

I decided ahead of the time while in Nürnberg to take a day trip to Dresden to visit Germany’s third largest coin cabinet at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen (State Art Collections) Dresden, or SKD. It’s a 4-hour, 15-minute train ride each way. I met with Dr. Wilhem Hollstein, an assistant to Dr. Rainer Grund, the Münzkabinett director, who was away on a jury in medal art in Halle that day. The SKD has about 300,000 items in its collection and the 30,000 library is open to the public on Wednesday – advance appointments are recommended. I needed details about SKD’s Münzkabinett for my book which I couldn’t wait until November when the trip from Berlin would have been much shorter.

NATIONAL BANK OF DENMARK OPENS NEW COIN GALLERY

As the Royal Danish Mint settles into their new home – occupying a section of the production floor previously and exclusively used for the printing of Danish banknotes – the National Bank of Denmark has launched a new gallery of Danish coins featuring all of the coinage produced under the auspices of the National Bank since 1818. Invited guests, including the interior designer of the National Bank’s lobby and the newly appointed Director of the Royal Mint were in attendance to a special reception for the launch event on the 21st August. The gallery, which is a permanent inclusion in the main lobby is a specially built, pressurized, and atmosphere-controlled cabinet which spans the length of the wall it is affixed to and includes all coins minted since the National Bank was made overseer of the Mint, taking over from the Treasury - also the year of the official establishment of the Danish National Bank.

To read the complete article, see: National Bank of Denmark Inaugurates New Permanent Coin Gallery (news.coinupdate.com/national-bank-of-denmark-inaugurates-new
-permanent-coin-gallery-1563/)

QUERY: POPE JOHN PAUL II MEDAL INFORMATION SOUGHT

Web site visitor Ronald Dicicco writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles on Lorioli, see: ITALIAN MAKER OF PAPAL AND RELIGIOUS MEDALS: LORIOLI FRATELLI (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v12n46a12.html)
MORE ON MEDAL MAKER LORIOLI FRATELLI (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n05a17.html)

KIRCH COLLECTION OF BRITISH BANK NOTES TO BE SOLD

The biggest collection of provincial British bank notes ever assembled is to be sold and could net its owner a whopping £1.5 million.

David Kirch, a multi-millionaire whose charitable giving is legendary, has decided to cash in his immense collection of 4,000 notes and give the proceeds to the elderly.

Between the late 18th century and 1921 provincial banks across the country produced their own notes.

All corners of Britain are represented in the collection that is so big it is having to be sold in a series of auctions.

The collection has taken about 30 years to assemble and is being sold along with Mr Kirch’s collection of 350 Bank of England notes, which is worth about £2million.

Many people are unaware that almost every town had its own bank that issued notes to be used in the locality.

'I used to get so excited when a note came up that I didn’t have that I had to go and get it. Some were bargains and others I paid too much for, but they evened out. I enjoy the fun of collecting and got carried away and when I wanted a note I just couldn’t let it go.

Barnaby Faull, from London auctioneers Spinks, said that the notes date approximately from the 1790s to the 1920s but most are from the 1820s and 1830s when many banks went bust.

The provincial notes will be sold in four sales starting with the south and south west region, with the first sale on October 10. All proceeds will be going to the David Kirch Charitable Trust.

To read the complete article, see: The Glastonbury and Shepton Mallet fiver: How provincial banks used to print their own notes and now they're worth millions (www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2198035/Largest-collection
-provincial-banknotes-assembled-banks-Glastonbury-Chatham-goes-sale.html)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS BANKNOTE EXPERT BARNABY FAULL OF SPINK (/www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n35a18.html)

MORE ON TIME BANKS AND TIME-BASED CURRENCIES

Loren Gatch writes:

To visit the ComplimentaryCurrency.org image gallery, see: www.complementarycurrency.org/gallery.php

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: EURO CRISIS REVIVES TIME BANKS AND LABOR EXCHANGE NOTES (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n37a24.html)

SWEDISH ARTIST MADE OWN COINS INSULTING THE KING

An artist has come clean and admitted to being behind the fake one krona coins which defame Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf, claiming that it was all part of an art project.

"Yes, it is me behind the coins. I have done it myself and have sought expert help when I have needed it," the artist told the Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) daily.

The mystery of the unorthodox coins began to gather pace after they began to surface in the money system during the summer.

Instead of the usual “Carl XVI Gustaf Sveriges Konung” ('Carl XVI Gustaf Sweden’s King'), the text written around the image of the King's head on each coin read “Vår horkarl till Kung”, which translates roughly into English as “Our whorer of a King”.

The artist told the newspaper that it had always been the intention to come forward but was awaiting the correct preparation.

The reactions to the coins were the crucial part of the art work, the artist explained. Interest and debate has been substantial, both in Sweden and abroad.

The flip side of the coins is indistinguishable from the real coins and experts recently concluded that the forgery seemed professionally done.

Specialist equipment has been used to hollow out one whole side of the coin all the way out to the edges, removing the image of the king’s face, SvD reported.

In the hollowed out space remaining, the forgers have inserted their own pre-cut image of the king together with the new defamatory text, soldered into place, and sharpened the grooves.

The coin's royal insult is an apparent reference to the King's rumoured infidelities detailed in a tell-all biography of the king published in late 2010.

The book, entitled “Carl XVI Gustaf - Den motvillige monarken” (‘Carl XVI Gustaf - The reluctant monarch’), included a rare and detailed look into the King’s private life, including details of love affairs, wild parties with Swedish models, and connections to the underworld.

A couple of samples of the coins are currently on display at the National Museum of Economy in Stockholm.

To read the complete article, see: Artist owns up to 'whorer' king coin mystery (www.thelocal.se/42948/20120901/)

To read the earlier article, see: Fake krona coin mocks 'whorer' Swedish king (www.thelocal.se/41438/20120614/)

BRITISH ARMY DOG AWARDED DICKIN MEDAL POSTHUMOUSLY

An Army sniffer dog has been posthumously awarded the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross.

Theo, a 22-month-old springer spaniel cross, will receive the PDSA Dickin Medal for life-saving bravery in conflict.

He suffered a fatal seizure just hours after his handler, Lance Corporal Liam Tasker, 26, was shot dead by the Taliban in March 2011.

The pair uncovered 14 bombs and hoards of weapons in five months on the front line - more than any other dog and handler in the conflict.

Military chiefs hailed them for saving the lives of countless British soldiers in Afghanistan. L/Cpl Tasker’s family were last night ‘delighted’ to hear that Theo has received the posthumous gallantry award, which are handed out sparingly by the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals

His mother Jane Duffy, 53, said her family were ‘ecstatic.’

‘We are so, so happy and really, really excited,’ she said. ‘Absolutely delighted.’ ‘It means so much because Liam put Theo forward for the medal when he was in Afghanistan, before he was killed, because he was so good.

She hopes to travel to London to receive the Dickin Medal with husband Jimmy, 48, son Ian, 30, and daughters Laura, 21, and Nicola, 15.

Here's an image of a Dicken Medal from an earlier E-Sylum article. -Editor

To read the complete article, see: A medal of courage for bomb dog Theo: Posthumous award for heroic animal who died hours after his master (www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2199544/A-medal-courage-bomb
-dog-Theo-Posthumous-award-heroic-animal-died-hours-master.html)

FLEA MARKET RENOIR FIND FOR SALE

An auction house can never anticipate what might come through the door. Elizabeth Haynie Wainstein, owner of The Potomack Company, announces that a Virginia woman's flea market find - a lost Renoir painting the auction house recently revealed - will be for sale at the gallery's September 29th catalogue auction. The Potomack Company's fine arts specialist, Anne Norton Craner, determined that the painting which had been purchased along with a box of random items in the Shenandoah Valley was actually a work by Pierre-Auguste Renoir worth many times more than its purchase price.

"When I removed the painting from the plastic bag it was stored in, I saw that its radiant plein air quality – the rapid brush strokes, the vibrant purple and pink colors, the Seine as subject matter and the luminous light reminded me immediately of Renoir's 1879 Landscape of Wargemont," said Craner. Her further investigation confirmed the painting as Paysage Bords de Seine, one of Renoir's many river scenes painted along the Seine River near the towns of Bougival and Chatou.

"A Shenandoah Valley woman was out enjoying a weekend day at a flea market and purchased a box of miscellaneous items," said Wainstein. "What had actually caught her eye in the box wasn't the valuable Renoir but a plastic cow and a Paul Bunyan doll. She stored the rest of the box's contents first in a white plastic bag in a shed, later in her car's trunk and eventually in her kitchen."

The painting's owner, who wishes to remain anonymous, told The Potomack Company, "I was more interested in the frame than the landscape and started taking it apart. I tore the brown paper off the back and threw it in the trash. When I asked my mom for help, she told me to get it looked at first before I threw it away. Low and behold, she was right! It does pay to listen to your mother."

To read the complete article, see: Possible Renoir found: Virginia woman's flea market find for sale at Potomack Company (artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=57604#.UEysEo1lTIg)

THE CASE OF THE MISSING SPONGEBOB COINS

When Peregrine Financial Group collapsed in July after revelations its chief executive allegedly stole client money for years, it was not just customer assets of the futures brokerage that went missing.

Some 76 sets of silver coins sporting the image of cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants were also unaccounted for, according to a note buried deep in a filing by Peregrine Financial's bankruptcy trustee late Thursday. Thirty-nine ounces of gold were also missing.

At Friday's prices, the gold would fetch about $66,000; the missing commemorative SpongeBob coin sets, minted in New Zealand, have a total retail value of about $20,000. Compared with the $215 million in customer money that regulators allege were wrongly siphoned from the firm by its CEO, Russell Wasendorf Sr., the value of the missing metals is marginal.

To read the complete article, see: Silver SpongeBob coins missing from defunct firm's assets (bottomline.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/07/13728529-silver
-spongebob-coins-missing-from-defunct-firms-assets)

FEATURED WEB PAGE: MEDALLIC ART IN THE GREAT WAR

I asked Scott Miller about a catalog of the exhibit. He writes:

www.medialiagallery.com/artists/
World%20War%20I/WWI.html