At one time an upper hallway at the Philadelphia Mint contained a fair number of paintings of mint directors and superintendents. In 1970 I had several of these photographed, the negatives of which I still have. I have since heard that some of the paintings were removed for display in Washington, perhaps at Mint headquarters. I applied in 2011 to have photographs taken of artifacts still at the Philadelphia Mint, including some of the paintings that had been missed in 1970, but the request was ignored and I have no clear idea of the present situation.

I agree with you about the “Ugh” coin. Actually, very few modern coins have much artistry at all—but who am I to say? I like ornateness and classicism. Euainetos and Kimon must be proud that their ancient designs trump most of what is now produced.

I can’t help but read your comments following the piece about Brazil's Olympic coins (E-Sylum, Nov. 23) and think this dovetails with a topic I just explored in the Monday Morning Brief this week. The subject is: are modern world coins like sports cards?

With 66 coins released in 24 hours by two mints alone, the market is clearly huge. Keeping track of them is a tough task, much less following them and deciding about their future potential as investments.

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For many decades, a private collector quietly assembled one of the finest collections of American colonial coins ever formed. Capably facilitated by legendary dealer Lester Merkin and assisted by the Stack family, the collection grew to include over 120 pieces of Massachusetts silver, outpacing the Boyd-Ford Collection to become the most complete grouping ever offered. The collection is now to be sold on behalf of and under the name the Henry P. Kendall Foundation, an American philanthropic enterprise that has been focused on environmental issues for more than 50 years.