NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: MARCH 6, 2016

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The E-Sylum: Volume 19, Number 10, March 6, 2016, Article 12

NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: MARCH 6, 2016

1792 Copper Pattern Research for Upcoming Mongraph
On behalf of himself and coauthors Pete Smith and Len Augsburger, Joel Orosz writes:

We wanted to make a small addition to the PCGS press release you ran in last week's edition of The E-Sylum regarding the composition testing on the 1792 small cent patterns. The testing was done largely at the behest of Rob Rodriguez, the pattern owner the press release said desired to remain anonymous. Rob made the request in order to provide assistance to the authors who are finishing up their monograph on the coinage of 1792: Len Augsburger, Joel J. Orosz, and Pete Smith. This monograph, titled "1792: Birth of a Nation's Coinage," will be published by Heritage Auctions. The authors are grateful to Rob, to Alan Weinberg, and to PCGS, for their efforts to scientifically determine the composition of these historically important products of the first United States Mint.

Rob approved the publication of this note, so not to worry.... -Editor

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
ANALYSIS CONFIRMS TWO COPPER 1792 PATTERN CENTS (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v19n09a20.html)

King Louis and Marie Antoinette
In their review of 100 Greatest Women On Coins John and Nancy Wilson wrote:

Another interesting selection was Queen Marie Antoinette at Number 40. She reigned, along with her husband King Louis VVl, from 1774 until their executions in 1792.

Ken Spindler writes:

King Louis was Louis XVI, and each was guillotined (9 months apart) during 1793.

By coincidence, last week at the symphony they (San Diego Symphony) played Symphonie fantastique by Hector Berlioz, in which a lovesick composer, drowning his sorrows by using opium, dreams that he murdered the woman who spurned him, and he is guillotined, depicted in the music when his last remembrance of his beloved is suddenly "cut off" - with a bang. The last scene of the opera Dialogues of the Carmelites (Francis Poulenc) ends with all (but 2?) of the nuns getting guillotined one by one.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
BOOK REVIEW: 100 GREATEST WOMEN ON COINS (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v19n09a08.html)

Bookbinder Thanks
Jan Monroe writes:

I want to thank everyone who has submitted recommendations for book binders.

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: FEBRUARY 21, 2016 : Bookbinder Recommendations (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v19n08a12.html)
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: FEBRUARY 28, 2016 : Bookbinder Recommendation: Sam Ellenport (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v19n09a17.html)

Medals of the J.F. Newman Company
Regarding the First Columbian Half Dollar, Rich Hartzog writes:

Some decades ago I bought several dozen over-runs and other medals and badges from the J.F. Newman company. In that lot was an example of the New Centre Market medal. I found it and the others in my hoard just a few days ago. Does anyone collect Newman issued material?

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
THE NEW CENTRE MARKET MEDAL (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v19n09a22.html)

Julius Caesar and Leap Days

Bob Fritsch writes:

NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day for February 29th featured a coin of Julius Caesar and explained how he invented Leap Day. Pretty cool to have an ancient coin featured on a popular website, which has some spectacular shots of our cosmos.

Explanation: Today, February 29th, is a leap day - a relatively rare occurrence. In 46 BC, Julius Caesar, featured here in a self-decreed minted coin, created a calendar system that added one leap day every four years. Acting on advice by Alexandrian astronomer Sosigenes, Caesar did this to make up for the fact that the Earth's year is slightly more than 365 days. In modern terms, the time it takes for the Earth to circle the Sun is slightly more than the time it takes for the Earth to rotate 365 times (with respect to the Sun -- actually we now know this takes about 365.24219 rotations).

So, if calendar years contained 365 days they would drift from the actual year by about 1 day every 4 years. Eventually July (named posthumously for Julius Caesar himself) would occur during the northern hemisphere winter! By adopting a leap year with an extra day every four years, the calendar year would drift much less. This Julian Calendar system was used until the year 1582 when Pope Gregory XIII provided further fine-tuning when he added that leap days should not occur in years ending in "00", unless divisible by 400. This Gregorian Calendar system is the one in common use today.

John Mutch also forwarded this article. Thanks! -Editor

To read the complete article, see:
Astronomy Picture of the Day (http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160229.html)

More on the Great Tea Race Coin
Yossi Dotan writes:

Under the heading "2016 COOK ISLANDS GREAT TEA RACE OF 1866 TWO DOLLAR COIN" in The E-Sylum of Feb. 28, 2016 you show a coin with a ten-dollar face value. You took the images from the Coin Invest web page http://www.coin-invest.li/Coins.aspx#!Keyword=tea+race&ProductID=1211, which you mentioned.

At the bottom of the above web page you will see that the collection consists of two coins, both .999 silver, both with a diameter of 38.61 mm and both in proof: a 2-dollar coin that weighs 8 g with an issue of 2500 pcs. (article 27664 or, in the fact sheet, article 27675) and a 10-dollar coin that weighs 2 oz. with an issue of 999 pcs. (56.7 g, article 27676). Probably the information concerning the high relief relates to the 10-dollar coin only, which is more than seven times thicker that the 2-dollar coin.

The images given by Coin Invest for the $2 coin are the obverse of the $10 coin and the reverse for the $2 coin. The fact sheet shows the obverses of both coins.

Yossi's correct. In my rush to compile the article I paired the wrong obverse image with the Tea Race reverse. Sorry! -Editor

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
2016 COOK ISLANDS GREAT TEA RACE OF 1866 TWO DOLLAR COIN (www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v19n09a32.html)

Wayne Homren, Editor

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com

To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum

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