Somewhere I have an Ingle register—in oak with metal trim—filled with tokens. I will order a copy of the book and will dig out my register! I bought it years ago.

Please give us a rough date range when these Ingle tokens were used. They're interesting to read about, but a key thing for casual readers like myself is WHEN they were in use.

The precise date the Ingle Brothers started making tokens is not known, though it is generally believed they started in 1908 with the "Copyright" series. They produced tokens under the "Ingle System" name from June 1909 through to June of 1919, when they changed their name to "Insurance Credit System". The Insurance Credit System tokens use a different design, but if you've seen enough of them, you can tell their Ingle origin (the die work and dimensions are very similar, certainly in the earliest ICS pieces).

Recently I bought a perfect-bound book published in 1978. When I opened it, the contents fell out with a loud crack. If I don’t find a binder who can glue the innards back, I will soon have a pile of loose pages. (I tried to return the book, but the seller didn’t want it back, he credited the purchase price.) Perfect bindings are OK for only a few years. They don’t age well.

The publishing is somewhat out of my hands, but since the original run was so limited, if there's another print run, I will certainly suggest that.

I see that this week's Coin World (emailed Monday) has an article on counterfeit silver bullion.

Joe Boling is correct. Specific Gravity testing is a good way to test for silver content. This is good for one or two pieces, but when you deal in tens or hundreds at a time, one cannot test each piece.

I saw some counterfeit Pandas last summer. Fortunately, if the weight was correct, they were too thick. If they were the correct thickness, they were too light. I am hoping that the same will be true of the counterfeit Sunshine bars and others.

Apropos the fake (i.e., silver-plated base metal) silver bars, eBay is not the only place they are being sold. A member of the dealer-to-dealer network "Coinnet" reported the other day that a man walked into his Illinois coin shop with a boy who looked to be about 10. The man said "My son is looking to sell some of his silver," and on cue the boy handed the dealer ten one ounce National brand silver bars tightly taped together as they were once commonly sold, and as they are still sometimes encountered today.

Years ago I used to buy such bundles without question, back when silver was $3 an ounce, but some suspicion, or perhaps just good business sense because silver is now $30 an ounce, prompted the dealer to cut the tape and examine the bars. Sure enough, the end two bars were genuine, and the middle eight were plated fakes.

He handed them back to the man and told him that the ones in the middle were fake, and that he would not be buying anything from them. The adult, with chutzpah aplenty, then demanded that the dealer retape the bundle, perhaps, though it was not expressed, so that he could try it again someplace else. The dealer refused.

And on this day in 1885, Twain published that manuscript, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Almost a decade earlier, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) had been a huge success, and the public was enthusiastically awaiting Twain's newest installment, a sequel to the escapades of Tom and his friend Huck.

It was set to be published in time for Christmas in 1884. But in late November, someone in the publishing house of Charles L. Webster and Company realized something that had escaped the notice of Webster, the writer William Dean Howells, and Twain himself when they looked over the proofs: Somewhere along the way, someone had tinkered with the illustration of Uncle Silas on page 283, making it look like he was indecently exposing himself. Two hundred and fifty copies of the book had already been sent out, as advance reader's copies; but 30,000 more were printed and ready for people who had ordered the book on subscription. The publishing house had to make a new plate, then go through every printed copy, cutting out the offending picture and replacing it with a cleaned-up illustration.

If Laura Sperber's "shock and awe" coin was "among" the first struck, and on a polished planchet, how is it that the mint techs didn't manage to smooth out the adjustment marks? And on a plugged planchet? The comparison to the copper strike is very interesting, but this coin does not LOOK like a presentation piece. How many does it take to make a noticeable change in the die state? This seems to me more like the 20th or 30th piece into the bag.

I read the item by Gar Davis in the last edition. I am somewhat shocked that the current administration would create a medal; Distinguished Warfare Medal, for those personnel working from a secure facility far away from combat that is placed above a medal like the Bronze Star with V (Valor) Device! It would be more appropriate to be placed above and next to the Joint Service Commendation Medal.

Valor is a subject that is not discussed much in the military. We highly respect those men and women who put their lives on the line to save others and/or complete a dangerous mission. To create a medal for a rear echelon person that outranks valor medals is a slap in the face to those brave men and women. The creation of the medal for particular personnel is also something that does not feel right to me. I will email my Congressman about this medal and its ranking.

I found this one just floating on the Internet; it was posted on my facebook.... "Unmanned drone pilots now have the potential of being awarded a medal that ranks higher than the Bronze Star. Here is one proposed version of the medal."

Does the Central States pattern offering in April 2013 include Eric's 1792 patterns which would be among Eric's most anticipated coins? Or is the pattern offering "limited"?

The 1792 coins are not included in the Pattern collection. They are an integral part of the Early American Coin Collection. However, I certainly wouldn't characterize the Pattern offering as limited. I'm sure that the Numismatic community will find it fascinating.

In response to your future sales queries, there are currently no definitive plans to sell the Large Cents, any part of the numismatic library, or any additional collections. Other than the general goal announced by the EPNNES foundation on January 9th, no decisions as to extent or timing of sales have been made. The numismatic community will be kept abreast of any future sales in an exceedingly timely manner.

I would also like to share with you the EPNNES Foundation Statement: "Items being sold are from the extensive collection of Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society (a Missouri not-for-profit corporation) and have been assembled over a period of 90 years. The proceeds of the sale of all items will be used exclusively for the benefit of other not-for-profit institutions selected by Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society for public purposes and also for supplementing the Society's own museum operations and scholarly research efforts."

What does the Pope become when he ceases to be the Pope? - ex Benedict. (Not original I'm afraid).

The coin on the treadmill was a nickel. If you fast forwarded the clip, at the end the host was handling it - not quite focused enough to read the date.

If you go towards the end of the video (starting at around 58:37 & a bit later), you can clearly see that it is a Jefferson nickel.

It is a Jefferson Nickel (58 :42)