The E-Sylum:  Volume 5, Number 29, July 14, 2002, Article 10

NUMISMATIC SPELLING

  Regarding last week's items about the numismatic spelling
  bee,  Martin Purdy writes: "We need to tell your spell-checker
  that "Brachteate" is mis-spelt (no "h")!

  One thing that I'm curious about: how would the spelling bee
  deal with the sort of acceptable alternative spellings found on
  coinage, such as  "kreutzer"? "

  Well, on the first point, you're absolutely right -
  "Brachteate" was one of the four I missed in the written
  portion of the bee, and I obviously didn't learn anything
  from the exercise.   I also wrote down four different spellings
  of "Aureus" before finally deciding on one, only to discover
  at the end that none of the four were correct.  No points
  were awarded for creativity, unfortunately.

  As for the final word on spelling, our moderator, Sam Deep,
  used Richard Doty's "Macmillan Encyclopedic Dictionary
  of Numismatics" as a reference.

  Sam adds: "I also perused Breen's glossary in his Encyclopedia
  of U.S. and Colonial Coins as well as Chamberlain and
  Reinfeld's 'Coin Dictionary and Guide' and Mort Reed's
  (of numistamp fame) 'Cowles Complete Encyclopedia of
  U.S. Coins', but settled on Doty as the best reference for
  the bee.

  I suppose a more professional version of the bee would
  have to be armed with information about acceptable
  variant spellings, which I was not."

  George Kolbe adds: "Brachteates ??????
  For what it's worth, a perusal of my everyday dictionary
  defines "brach" - in polite terms - as a "female hound."
  Combined with the second half of the word??? Hmm."

  Wayne Homren, Editor

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