The E-Sylum:  Volume 9, Number 18, April 30, 2006, Article 28

ELONGATED COIN SALES AS SMITHSONIAN FUNDRAISER

Pete Morelewicz of the Squished Penny Museum in Washington, DC
writes: "It was right under our noses the whole time! The Washington
Post helpfully pointed out perhaps the best solution to the
Smithsonian's funding woes: exonumia."

Pete included a link to a Washington Post editorial cartoon
lampooning the Smithsonian's funding predicament, and proposing
that sales of souvenir elongated cents could fill the funding gap
and eliminate the need for an admission fee, as proposed by a
congressman recently.

The cartoon states that "Squished penny machines are the major
source of income for many tourist destinations, like the Louvre
and West Virginia.  Thirty of forty of them in each museum ought
to do the trick."

To view the cartoon, see: Cartoon

Pete adds: "Since their site requires registration, I posted a
version here, too: Full Story "

[Given the discussions over the fate of the cent, perhaps there
should be some concern as well over the fate of elongated cents.
Could they be on the way out as well?  Nearly any coin can and
has been rolled into an elongated souvenir, but without the cent
the nickel would be the next lowest value coin.  Is there a
Squished Nickel Museum in our future?  -Editor]

  Wayne Homren, Editor

	coinbooks.org Web

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization 
promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor 
at this address: whomren@coinlibrary.com

To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum