This animated short called "Beautiful Coins" (2015), features the national coinage of Europe as they looked right before the euro replaced each one.

The reference to photos of medal dies recalled my photo-adventure with my article for "The American Numismatic Association Centennial Anthology" back in 1991. My story "The Circle of Friends of the Medallion, an Appreciation in American Medallic History" occupied pages 143-166. A highlight in preparing the story was my acquisition of an original obverse die for Victor D. Brenner's 1911 Motherhood Medal, a huge and heavy block of die steel that I sent in for photography.

The plan was to position the cylinder on a flat surface and shoot from an angle to show the die shank, the "shoulder" and die face. There was some confusion as the first editor, the late Carl W.A. Carlson was in failing health and was replaced well into the work by Michael J. Hodder. When the book was received, I discovered that someone at ANA headquarters had taken the black and white die photo, flipped it, cropped the die face on the theory that this was a medal illustration! Needless to say the whole effect of the die were lost and the oddly ovoid illustration looked like nothing more than a squashed medal! Magic moment.

I was a postdoc at UW-Milwaukee from 1975-1981 and well remember the transfer of the AGS library to our campus. I also spent time studying the collection. The acquisition of the map collection in its entirety by the library was considered a major coup at the time, and indeed it raised the prestige of the University. Great article.

My letter to editor John W. Adams in our MCA Advisory (Vol. 17, no. 6 Nov/Dec 2014) has brought no responses, so I’m casting a wider net. I’m looking to see if anyone has an example of a Buff & Berger medal in their collection. An enquiry to our society led me to research the firm. I won’t repeat my letter, but will say they were in business only from 1871-1898, so there can’t be too many floating around out there.