California dealer Henry Garrett cornered the 1820 Northwest "Beaver" token market. For some years he bought them all, when they were auctioned. He said they didn't go so high; the competition lost interest, as they realized they were never going to win one. When he stopped buying and started selling, prices rose rapidly --tripled?-- as they were then perceived as collectible.

I am skeptical that the Rulau population estimate is even in the ballpark. I bet Alan Weinberg has more reliable info.

There are a heck of a lot more than nine specimens of the Rathbone & Fitch Castle Gardens known. A Bowers auction (American Numismatic Rarities?) fairly recently had two in one sale. I've personally owned four specimens over the years and seen perhaps seven or eight. Tru, the majority are "dug" but I have seen a nice clean Ex. Fine specimen. Steve Tanenbaum used to say he was waiting for the part red Unc that John Ford claimed to have owned.

I don't know that Meyerbeer deserves such a label just because Wagner is better. Numismatically, Meyerbeer medals can go toe-to-toe with those of Wagner. There are 250+ Wagner medals; Meyerbeer pieces are few, AND are collected as Judaica.

Mark Twain has some comments on last week's issue:
Jane Austen. A good library is begun by leaving her out.
"Wagner, whose music is much better than it sounds..."

The Castorland jeton is avidly collected as a "rare" colonial coin: Back in the 1970's dealer Lester Merkin, who often traveled to Europe, told me that the family related to the original Castorland jeton issuance had a large hoard of silver originals and was releasing onto the market a few each year. Very recently a Paris-based dealer had three silver originals - all slabbed and mint state - for sale at one time on eBay. Doubtless part of this hoard.

The finest motion picture covering Doolittle and the 1942 Tokyo air raid and its aftermath is the Spencer Tracy-Van Johnson MGM 1944 classic "30 Seconds Over Tokyo" which often appears on Turner Classic Movies TV No matter how many times you watch it, it's a thrill.

Remember what the 17th century poet Alexander Pope wrote, "Authors, like coins, grow dear, as they grow old; It is the rust we value, not the gold"