I first met Fred Maples, author of the recently published Maryland Paper Money, many years ago when he worked for my wife. He and I got to talking and I found he was interested in numismatics but did not know where to start. As I do with everyone in a similar situation, I asked them about where they live and used to live, and their ethnic background. Fred mentioned Bowling Green, Kentucky and I immediately jumped on that city because I saw many exhibits of notes from there at the International Paper Money Show in Memphis.

Fred jumped into Bowling Green notes and ended up writing some very excellent articles about them for the Bank Note Reporter. I think he sold those notes to get started into Maryland notes, and I knew he was about to do another excellent piece of writing about his new collection. I ordered his latest book and he has not disappointed me. It is an excellent book and I am betting it will be the "bible" for background information about Maryland national notes for a long time! I believe other collectors should buy this book and do the same thing for their states and territories before the information is lost.

There are many people mentioned in the book who I have met locally in the Northern Virginia, Washington, DC and Baltimore metropolitan area shows and conventions. His research and interviews were very extensive. I am very proud of Fred's accomplishments in numismatics, and he has definitely made his mark in our field!

I got a chuckle out of Brad Karoleff’s “Bears Beware” commentary, about the Guide Book of United States Coins, Deluxe Edition.

Steve Roach and I were chatting recently and I passed along these unconfirmed tales:

There are rumors that a cowboy in Texas lost his horse, panicked, and then finally found the animal asleep behind a copy of MEGA RED. Meanwhile in faraway Bangladesh, a rice farmer protected his homestead from a marauding Bengal tiger by lodging a copy of MEGA RED in the beast’s jaws. We’ve been unable to confirm reports that a pallet of MEGA REDs was responsible for overloading and sinking the Central America in 1857. And of course, famously, there are only three manmade constructions visible from outer space: the Great Wall of China, William Howard Taft’s trousers, and MEGA RED.

We were at the sale of the Newman collection when the $2 from Oregon sold to Dave. We were at the Schingoethe sale in NY and purchased the attached $3 from Oregon. It is in our $3 State set of obsolete notes. As already stated it is probably unique.

A new set of medals will be of interest to those from Parsons, Kan., and those who love railroad history. The MK&T (Missouri, Kansas & Texas) runs through town, and is the subject of three medals issued for the 2015 KATY days.