The Numismatic Scrapbook Contributor's Medal was struck for Lee Hewitt by the Osborne Register Co. of Cincinnati. They cut one reverse die for him, and paired it with stock dies for the first five presidents from one of their sets.

I found this out when I was working for Coin World and found an example of the Washington piece in a junk box at a coin show. I wrote to him asking about it, and he replied with the above information and sent me three different of the other four. He apologized for being out of the other one. This was sometime in the mid-1970's.

Regarding the design elements accompanying the Big Ben L100 coin just issued by the Royal Mint: I believe those are trees. As you noted, the coin gives a wonderful perspective of a tourist looking up at the clock The designers are Royal Mint engravers Glyn Davies and Laura Clancy. Coin World reported about this on Dec. 29.

Here is some flowery language from the Royal Mint website:

“In this magnificent portrait by Royal Mint engravers Glyn Davies and Laura Clancy you’re transported to street level, gazing upwards from the ground at this architectural marvel with the wide-eyed thrill of a tourist jostling for a view. Looking at the tower from this perspective you strip away the familiarity: there’s a freshness, a new found sense of wonder at this magnificent building and all that is represents. Surely even the most jaded Londoner couldn’t help but be impressed, and remember the very first time they saw this incredible sight.”

The coin is indeed proving popular, as the Royal Mint has begun limiting purchases to 10 per person and pushed delivery back to mid-February at the earliest.

I am looking for mintage figures for the Arizona Territorial Centennial Medal. The medal was struck in copper, bronze, gilt, silver, gold and platinum. If anyone can point me to a source for this information I would appreciate it.

For a new project, I need some help. I have photocopies of a Schulman auction with the H.D. Gibbs primitive monies, only the pages that relate to Alaska.

What I am seeking is:

1) the date of this auction

2) a good scan of Mr Gibbs holding a “Tinnah”, lot 648 from the plates. This does not appear to be lot 648, but the photo will serve my purposes. My photocopy is not good enough to scan.

Thanks very much.

My attempts to find any information on the Truman Congressional Gold Medal have produced no results. There is a UPI picture of Reagan presenting the medal to Margaret Truman, but the medal detail cannot be discerned.

Acting Press Secretary Larry Speakes banned news media from the ceremony at first, but later relented for print media and still photographers. Ideally, would love to get pictures of the medal design. Any additional information is a bonus. Many thanks!

In addition to the biographical items in last week's E-Sylum, Sally Kirka was also an officer in the Hartford Coin Club, and general manager of at least two NENA conventions in Hartford. These were all well run attesting to her management.

She was a heavy-set lady and her husband was tall and thin. The pair were the personification of Mutt and Jeff. Or on Doctor Sheldon's somotype scale the extremes of endomorph and ectomorph. I guess it's true opposites attract. We've discussed Doctor Sheldon's scale before in The E-Sylum (vol 11, no 49, article 10).

Sally would attend the national ANA conventions. But I never saw her on the bourse floor. No floor dealer had elongated cents or wooden nickels. So she sat in the hotel lobby for the three or four days of the convention then return home. I quess she could tell her club members she attended the ANA convention.