I was so pleased that Gawain O'Connor called everyone’s attention to that fantastic book, MOREAU DE ST. MÉRY’S AMERICAN JOURNEY. Although as a fellow Mainer, and a collector of the works of Kenneth Robert, this 1947 classic escaped my attention until 1997 when I was directed to it by Gary Trudgen’s reference in the July 15, 1989 issue of Penny-Wise and by Mike Hodder’s commentary, “Did New Jersey Coppers Officially Circulate in 1792,” published in The Colonial Newsletter (RF-64) [March 1990, sequential page 1152]. I agree with Wayne’s suggestion, based on Gawain’s timely review; this book is “a marvelous find for numismatists.”

This same thinking prompted me to publish my assessment in The Colonial Newsletter [April 1997, pp. 1669-77] which I entitled “More on Moreau.” In my article, I amplified the colonial exchange rates of the period as quoted by Moreau since sometimes these private, individual reports give a better picture of actual day-to-day life as noted by Gawain’s quotations about the Hackensack ferry and daily market prices of common food items. One scary item in this story is that during his escape from unfriendly revolutionary forces in Paris, Moreau cheated the guillotine by a mere eighteen hours ahead of his pursuers by clearing the port of LeHarve on the brig Sophie to Portland, ME! Thank you Gawain for this memory prompt and recommendation to colonial enthusiasts. Read it!

Regarding the article on the ”THE NATIONAL DEFENSE MEDAL” quoted in the September 27, 2015 issue of The E-Sylum, where it states:

"Marco Islander Lou Stickles is very proud man. He has just been awarded the National Defense Medal by the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC), which was established in 1894 and is the oldest patriotic lineage organization in the country.”

I should point out that The Society of the Cincinnati, founded in 1783 predates the UDC by 111 years.

I note you show the portrait of Gen. Morgan Lewis wearing George Washington’s Diamond Eagle (the eagle is the badge (actually an order) of the Society). Featured on the cover of Rulau and Fuld’s Medallic Portraits of Washington, it is arguably the most valuable piece of Washingtonia in existence.

Thanks for another great E-Sylum. I too am a Sherlock Holmes aficionado. I always had trouble pronouncing pince-nez (a pair of glasses without sidepieces, held in place by a clip that fits over the nose). I have been told that it is pronounced pons-nay. If I recall correctly, one of the Jeremy Brett episodes mentioned them likewise.

I am working on my bibliography on Chinese numismatics and have come to Alan David Craig. He was born in 1930, wrote a still important book, "The Coins of Korea" (1955), and for a few years in the late 1950's published the Far East Numismatic Digest. He lived in Berkeley, California and was in the U.S. military in Korea during the Korean War. I believe he died in 1999. Can anyone confirm this? His Coins of Korea was reprinted in 2011 by Ishi Press in New York, which has reprinted some other numismatic works in the past few years.

“The P M G Census records just 72 known . . . “ This alludes to the Panama 1941 One Balboa note, referenced in an article quoted in the September 13, 2015 issue of The E-Sylum.

The reference archives of Nuevo Mundo World Paper Money lists 229 issued examples of these notes that have been observed and recorded by serial number (including the one pictured in the cited article, #002093.) This archive list has not been kept current since almost ten years ago, and more examples have surfaced in the interim.

Collectors should be skeptical and selective about considering any “census” figures as authoritative or indicative of actual population.

I couldn’t help but notice your comments about the new circulating commemorative 2-euro coin. The example from the Netherlands was shown in the Sept. 20 E-Sylum. “I guess one could appreciate the simplicity of the design, but the human figures are too abstract for my taste - these are little beyond stick figures. -Editor “

What was not stated in your report is the fact that ALL Eurozone nations are issuing this design, and that it was selected in an EU-wide online vote. See this earlier Coin World report for the full story.

Obviously the images in the item were drawings, not photographs. I attempted to identify the coins without success.

In regards to the Daniel Coit Gilman plaque, I always referred to it as the XCI Club medal, not realizing that this was the roman numeral 91. I came across Fabian Franklin’s The Life of Daniel Coit Gilman about 15 years ago. While reading that work, it mentions how Gilman gathered a group of young men to take up management of the Mercantile Library. These men went on to form a social club, the ’91 Club that would meet irregularly 3-4 times each winter to enjoy dinner and a roundtable discussion. The biography states that the bronze portrait was presented to Mrs. Gilman at the last meeting of the ’91 Club in the winter of 1907-08 It’s a beautiful work by Schuler and a prized item in my collection.