WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: AUGUST 17, 2014

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V17 2014 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 17, Number 34, August 17, 2014, Article 22

I believe it was you who once commented on a picture of me wearing a book-themed necktie that is the same or similar to one you own.

Here's the picture I took of Gene Hessler receiving the ANA's Lifetime Achievement Award during the banquet in Chicago. If it was you, we now have the makings of a club.

Yep - that was me. In fact, I had this same conversation with Gene at the banquet. I was disappointed that I hadn't worn my biblio-tie. I actually grabbed it while packing for the show and thought, "nah - I wore that one before." Unlike most women, who would incite a riot at the sight of another woman in the same outfit (and WWIII at the sight of TWO such women), guys just roll with it. It would be fun to promote the Cult of the Biblio-Tie, so I'll hang onto mine for next year. -Editor

The Past, Present and Future of Online Numismatics
I dressed less formally for my presentation at the NBS General Meeting last Friday. John Mutch writes:

Thanks for the great talk - that brought back some memories and some real hope for what is in store. I have an old Texas Instruments Silent 700 like you showed - but I'm probably going to have to scrounge around pretty hard to find a telephone handset that will fit in it. And my old list of modem numbers is probably worthless...

Here's a picture I took during your talk - and yes, I do know whose head that is the back of.

Nummis Nova Dinner
Tuesday, August 12, 2014 was the monthly meeting of Nummis Nova, my Northern Virginia numismatic social group. This month's host was Julian Leidman, who hails from Maryland and chose one of his favorite restaurants, Jerry's Seafood in Lanham, MD.

We had been there a year ago, and I was eager to return - the food was marvelous. I managed to arrive about an hour early, half hoping to see some other early birds, but for a while it was just me. I relaxed with a glass of wine and munched on some warm, fresh bread.

Jon Radel and Eric Schena were the first to arrive, and we were shortly joined by the rest of our smaller-than-usual group: Julian, Ron Abler, Gene Brandenburg, Steve Bishop, Mike Packard, Dave Schenkman and Dave's guest, retired coin dealer Michael Merrill, who had a coin shop in Towson, MD for decades. Mike introduced himself as an E-Sylum reader. It was nice to meet in person another of the great folks I ordinarily interact with only online.

I ordered the restaurant's trademark dish, the Crab Bomb. I got it "Firecracker" style, along with the Maryland Crab Tomato soup. Excellent all around. I even splurged on dessert, ordering the chocolate cake, It was both huge and chocolately rich. I would NOT be able to finish more than half of it (which says a lot from a guy who doesn't know what leftovers are).

I even had to pace myself by waiting a bit before digging my fork into it. To explain myself, I told the group that I was just waiting to the extra calories to evaporate. It's true! (That's what I prefer to believe, anyway). I laid it on thicker, explaining that the calories, having risen up toward the ceiling and passed near the light fixture over Mike Packard's seat, had warmed up enough to now be raining invisible calories down on Mike's cheesecake. Blame the wine for my overactive imagination.

For this month's Nummis Nova, I brought one of my latest acquisitions from my horsetrading at the ANA World's Fair of Money: a Naglee's Brigade Battle of Fair Oaks Medal I got courtesy of John Kraljevich. For DC-area readers, that name sounds familiar, as it's a popular mall in Fairfax County. This Fair Oaks is actually in Henrico County, a few miles east of Richmond. The Battle of Fair Oaks (or Seven Pines if you prefer the Confederate nomenclature) was part of the 1862 Peninsula Campaign in Virginia and was a mixed bag of results. The Union forces fared better at Fair Oaks and the Confederates did better at nearby Seven Pines (hence the two names). Union Brigadier General Henry Morris Naglee gave this medal to the troops under his command as a reward for their tough fight. They ultimately had to withdraw and Naglee himself was injured and had a horse shot out from under him.

TAMS Mishler Exonumia Cataloging Award
Eric Schena also came prepared with a surprise. Eric writes:

During the dinner, Dave Schenkman and I had the distinct pleasure of presenting our own Ron Abler with the Gold Mishler Exonumia Cataloging Award from the Token and Medal Society for his I-Book, A Centennial Cabinet: Exploring the Exonumia of the 1876 U. S. Centennial. This is the first time TAMS has ever bestowed this award to a "non-traditional" publication, so he is a true pioneer.

Ron was unfortunately unable to attend the TAMS banquet at the ANA, so Dave and I hijacked a few minutes of the dinner. I was particularly honored to do so since I won this award last year and am now on the TAMS Board of Directors - a wonderful thing to be able to give this award to a friend like Ron.

Congratulations to Ron! As always, it was a great evening of numismatic fellowship. Can't wait 'til next month!