Some readers have written in offering to give away old auction catalogs. I have gone through my library and made a list of auction catalogs I am missing, mostly sales in Hong Kong and Singapore. If anyone has any of these and would like to dispose of them, please let me know:

Money Company #20 June 1988;

Spink-Taisei-Baldwin-Ma

• #2 Feb. 1987;
• #5 July 1987;
• #7 July 1989;
• #9 Feb. 1991;
• #41-44,
• #46;
• #48-50

Also need all Spink Hong Kong sales after 1995 (coins and banknotes only). I will be happy to pay postage.

In the May issue of The Numismatist (page 27), Jennie K Brown and Ray O’Shinski discuss O’Shinski's Castle Shannon $20 national bank note, serial number F000014A. They say that this was the 14th note printed for the bank in that series and denomination. This is not correct.

There were two varieties of series 1929 nationals - those with the bank charter number printed twice in black (type I, O’Shinski's note), and later ones with the charter number twice in black and twice again in brown (type II).

It was only the type II notes that were numbered down the sheet in sequential order. Type I notes were numbered by the sheet, with the serial number prefix indicating the position of a note on the six-note sheet. Serial number F000014A was the bottom note of the 14th sheet - thus the 84th note of this series and denomination.

This is the cover of the Pittsburgh City Paper this week. It is somewhat unique to see a numismatic tie in for use in the non-numismatic press. Those old boys caught my eye as I passed the news box. I grabbed a few extra copies to hand out to our PAN Board Members at our meeting next week.

I know The E-Sylum has several specialists in early U.S. coppers, so I thought I would pose this question here. Last week I was called in to look through a large collection of Chinese coins --- over 5,000 pieces. In the collection we also found several dozen United States tokens (mostly Civil War) and one U.S. coin (a 1916 Buffalo nickel about 35 percent off center).

Also in the collection were three New Jersey coppers of the 1780's, one of which was counterstamped: S S (in large letters). Is this a recorded counterstamp on this coin? If so, has it been identified? The New Jersey coppers were all well worn and the counterstamp is definitely old. The collector who formed this collection died in 1970 and the collection has been in storage since then

Here's a strange one. In case any of your readers are attending the Republican National Convention in Cleveland this July, they could add in a little numismatic connection by renting the old Holden/Norweb mansion (third floor maids quarters only) for the week.

Regarding the Zero Rupee note, how ironic that it could become a collectible, generate demand, and gain “value.” Should this happen, it would have the opposite of the intended effect.

Neither have I: Palgrave's Dictionary of Political Economy is wide-ranging and often helpful, but seems not to cover taxation of beards!