Content presented in The E-Sylum is not necessarily researched or independently fact-checked, and views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.

WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM AUGUST 2, 2020

New subscribers this week include: Bruce Benoit, Patrick Kelley, and Stephen Owen. Welcome aboard! We now have 6,500 subscribers.

Thank you for reading The E-Sylum. If you enjoy it, please send me the email addresses of friends you think may enjoy it as well and I'll send them a subscription. Contact me at whomren@gmail.com anytime regarding your subscription, or questions, comments or suggestions about our content.

This week we open with reminders of the upcoming Kolbe-Fanning and Hardin-Hudson collection sales, four new books, a periodical, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal and more.

Other topics this week include Hawaiian coinage dies, dealer Harry Forman, Antigonid coins, collectors William Poillon and Harold Bareford, the du Pont coin robbery, multiple upcoming auction sales, London's mudlarks, the 1848 CAL. quarter eagle, banknote news, and the latest coin creation from Roman Butin.

To learn more about Heath's Adjustable Compound Microscope, couterfeit assignats, U.S. commemorative coins, East Asian numismatics, numismatic visual artist Jenna Lash, Haida artist Bill Reid, upsetting and rimming, the Victoria Diamond Jubilee silver medal, the East Indian Railway Gold Pass, old-time dealer Addison Smith, the Gold Celeston, and Taiwan's stimulus coupons, read on. Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum

BUY OR BID SALE 13 CLOSES AUGUST 4, 2020

Buy or Bid #13 Closes Tuesday

Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers' thirteenth “Buy or Bid Sale,” closes Tuesday, August 4, 2020. With hundreds of new additions, the sale focuses on modestly priced books, giving collectors an opportunity to add to their libraries at minimal cost.

The sale includes over 1400 works on ancient, medieval and modern coins, as well as general works, periodicals and sale catalogues. “Buy” prices have been kept low to promote sales. To further encourage participation, the firm is offering free domestic shipping to bidders spending at least $300; there is also no packing and processing fee for this sale. Again, please read the Terms of Sale before participating.

Read more here

HARDIN-HUDSON COUNTERFEIT DETECTION COLLECTION

Lot 94: Presentation Heath Counterfeit Detector

Heath, Laban. HEATH'S GREATLY IMPROVED AND ENLARGED INFALLIBLE GOVERNMENT COUNTERFEIT DETECTOR, AT SIGHT.

Boston: Innes and Niles, Stereotypers and Printers, 1866/1867. Banking House and Counting Room Edition. Second edition. Newman 2-BH-3(c). Small 4to, original full brown morocco, both covers decoratively paneled in gilt within triple gilt fillets; HON. HUGH MCCULLOCH. impressed in gilt in center of front cover; spine with five raised bands, ruled, lettered, and decorated in gilt; all board edges and inner dentelles intricately decorated in gilt; chocolate endpapers; all page edges gilt. 39, (5) pages, including two final leaves featuring four Heath microscope illustrations printed two apiece on one side of each leaf, facing; finely engraved American Bank Note Company portrait of Secretary of the Treasury Hugh McCulloch bound in place of usual heraldic frontispiece; Treasury Department facsimile letter; unnumbered and unpunched Heath bank note facsimile plate; 12 finely engraved plates of bank notes or elements, with tissue guards, interspersed in the text, comprising impressions of genuine and counterfeit fractional currency notes (Plate 1), 10 engraved plates numbered 2-11 depicting genuine bank note design elements, and an impression of a counterfeit $100 First National Bank of Boston note (Plate 12). Plate 5 printed in green ink; Plate 12 printed in green and black ink and hole-punched as issued. Calligraphic inscription presenting the volume to McCulloch on behalf of the author on opening blank. Binding rubbed and a bit loose, but sound; Plates 4 and 9 are detached from the binding and loosely laid in; light marginal chipping to loose plates. Very good.

Newman 2-BH-3(c). A deluxe presentation copy of Heath's Counterfeit Detector, prepared for Hon. Hugh McCulloch, Secretary of the Treasury from 1865 to 1869. Eric Newman discussed the presentation copies in his article "Heath's Counterfeit Detectors: An Extraordinarily Successful Comedy of Errors." There, he wrote that "In addition to standard editions of Heath's publications, there were special editions prepared for dignitaries and for special uses. Public officials customarily were recipients of books with ornate leather bindings and having their names stamped on the covers in gold letters. Each such issue is unique and several have survived." We are aware of the following deluxe presentation bindings of Heath's Detector that have been offered in the numismatic market in the modern era: those presented to Col. Nehemiah G. Ordway (lacks Plate 1); First Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Richard McCormick; Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Charles F. Conant; numismatist Robert Coulton Davis; Superintendent J.R. Kendrick of the Concord Railroad; and one copy that was bound in the same manner but not personalized for presentation. All of these were Banking House and Counting Room editions (varying printings of the second and twelfth editions), and the bindings are all very similar.

To read the complete lot description, see:
Heath, Laban. HEATH'S GREATLY IMPROVED AND ENLARGED INFALLIBLE GOVERNMENT COUNTERFEIT DETECTOR, AT SIGHT. (https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-NLLK6/heath-laban-heaths-greatly-improved-and-enlarged-infallible-government-counterfeit-detector-at-sight)

Read more here

NEW BOOK: THE TIFLIS DIRHAMS OF MöNGKE KHaN

The Tiflis Dirhams of Möngke Khan
(Numismatic Notes and Monographs 172)

by Kirk Bennett

List price: $75 plus shipping & handling
Member price: $52.50 plus shipping & handling ISSN 0078-2718
ISBN 978-0-89722-362-5
Hardcover, 188 pages, color figures

Read more here

NEW BOOK: COMMEMORATIVE COIN TALES

COMMEMORATIVE COIN TALES
Hardback letter size landscape format, 372 pages. Foreword by Ken Bressett. Profuse color illustrations, fully indexed with glossary. © 2019

A collection of US Classic Commemorative coins. This book explores the history behind 72 US coins — the sculptors, the promotors, the politicians and the history. Each vignette is a fascinating four-page night-time read.

Read more here

NEW BOOK: NEW ZEALAND CATALOGUE 2020

The John Bertrand New Zealand Coin and Banknote Catalogue 2020
$21.95

The 2020 catalogue features important information regarding all New Zealand coins issued from 1933 and includes updated values with retail prices given in five grades for the pre-decimal issues. A full listing of decimal issues is also included.

ISBN 9780994133779

Read more here

NEW BOOK: NOTABLE NOTES

Hardback letter size book, 382 pages, profusely illustrated in color. Foreword by Wendell Wolka. © 2010, reprinted 2020.

Seventy-two short stories and their historical background told by a collection of large size US currency. The complex history of the beginnings of today's bank notes simply laid out.

Read more here

JOURNAL OF EAST ASIAN NUMISMATICS #19

In this issue, we have an extremely interesting article by our editor on the coin rubbing book of Howard Franklin Bowker during his stay in the far east from the 1920s to the 1930's. Bowker was in Shanghai, Wuhan, Ningpo, and travel also to Korea to acquire and view many interesting Chinese and Korean cash coins and charms.

For this issue, we have the forward to the 3rd book in the series of the Medallic Memories - 100 Years of Financial History by the former ICBC chairman Jiang Jianqing. This book continues the fantastic story of financial history with his collection of medals, which has been a best seller in the Chinese financial book sector.

Our friend Thomas Ullmann writes another article for us, this time on the value of Chinese cash coins based on diaries of Ferdinand von Richthofen.

Read more here

HAWAIIAN COINAGE CORRESPONDENCE ON NNP

The Hawaiian Coinage That Wasn't

While the National Archives remain closed for onsite visits, Newman Portal continues its development of this content with transcription activities. Currently, selected letters from the general correspondence series (Record Group 104, Entry 1) are being transcribed and made available via Newman Portal. An 1890 letter from Mint Director Edward O. Leech to Philadelphia Mint Superintendent Oliver C. Bosbyshell, for example, asks if the hubs for the 1883 Hawaiian coinage are on hand, and further asks for a cost estimate to strike a number of 10-cent and 5-cent pieces.

The U.S. government had struck 1883-dated Hawaiian coinage at the San Francisco Mint in 1883 and 1884. No response to Leech is recorded, but an article in the February 1960 Numismatist notes that the Hawaiian obverse dies, then in the Archives of Hawaii, were defaced in 1888. This explains why Leech asked about the hubs and not the dies – whoever initially inquired on behalf of Hawaii likely knew the dies were defaced. In any case, no response to Leech is recorded, and no additional Hawaii coinage beyond the 1883-1884 strikings is known today. Newman Portal acknowledges Roger Burdette and Nicole Fry for assistance with transcriptions of National Archives documents.

Link to National Archives Record Group 104, Entry 1 (U.S. Mint general correspondence) on Newman Portal:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/archivedetail/515202

Link to The Numismatist on Newman Portal
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/publisherdetail/510969

VIDEO: HARRY FORMAN INTERVIEW

PNG Living History: Harry Forman, 10/1/88

David Lisot interviews Philadelphia coin dealer Harry Forman in October 1988. Harry was instrumental in the coin boom of the 1960's and talks about the markets and how rolls of coins played such an important part. He shares about other dealers of those early days.

An excerpt of the video is available for viewing on the Coin Television YouTube Channel at:
https://youtu.be/3Ev5TAAxw6E

AUDIO: NUMISMATIC VISUAL ARTIST JENNA LASH

An Interview with Numismatic Visual Artist Jenna Lash

The fifth episode of The Planchet features an interview with guest Jenna Lash to discuss her numismatic paintings, how she selects her monetary subjects and themes, and what it's like to be a visual artist in the time of COVID-19.

NOTE: The quality of the audio degrades for about a minute in the middle of the podcast, and then recovers for the duration of the recording. Occasional technical difficulties are the new normal until we get back safely to a shared space for recording.

Total Time: 38 minutes

The Planchet is available wherever you get your podcasts.

For more information, or to listen, see:
Ep. 05: An Interview with Numismatic Visual Artist Jenna Lash (http://numismatics.org/planchet/01-05/)

ANTIGONID COINS ONLINE LAUNCHED

ANS launches the first phase of Antigonid Coins Online

After soft-launching last week to give our partners (in the NUMiD consortium, particularly!) a chance to begin cataloging coinage, we are formally announcing the release of Antigonid Coins Online. The first phase of this project includes 182 types of Demetrius Poliorcetes from Edward T. Newell's The Coinages of Demetrius Poliorcetes (1927). We will, in time, introduce typologies for the remaining kings of this Successor dynasty.

Read more here

NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: AUGUST 2, 2020

Update: Coin Collecting Albums Volume Three, Whitman Publishing
Author David Lange writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
NEW BOOK: COIN COLLECTING ALBUMS, VOLUME THREE (https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n25a03.html)
MORE ON COIN COLLECTING ALBUMS, VOLUME THREE (https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n26a08.html)

Other topics this week include counterfeit Indian banknotes, the Maiden Head Tavern token, William Blackwell's dog token, the Pacific Coast Numismatic Society, Bernth Ahlstroem, and the Liberty Half Walking Stick.

Read more here

VOCABULARY TERM: UPSETTING

Upsetting. The process of pre-forming the edges of round blanks prior to striking. Upsetting is a metalworking step necessary for coining pieces with dies and a collar, particularly intended for high speed coining presses. Blanking usually leaves sharp edges, shear marks and burrs on the metal disks as they come from the blanking press.

The upsetting process – called rimming in England and the machine is a rimmer – removes these burrs, marks and helps form better edges on the struck coin. (It is also called by the confusing term edge marking as well.)

By pressure and rolling, the upsetting machine accomplishes the following: (1) removes the burrs and smooths the edge, (2) rounds the edge, (3) makes the blanks perfectly round, (4) thickens the edges for the raised border – edge thickening is a typical metalworking process – (5) makes every blank a uniform diameter, usually several thousands of an inch less that the aperture in the collar to be used in the press, and (6) reduces die wear.

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WILLIAM POILLON (1844-1918)

Poillon, William (1844-1918), Office : 61 Bethune Street, New York; 1st Residence : 425 West End Avenue, New York, New York; 2nd Residence : 301 West 106th Street, New York City.

He was born the eldest of seven children of a Dutch family on August 1, 1844, in New York City, son of Cornelius Corson Poillon (1815-1881) and Julia Mariann Corbet (1821-). He married Clara Wilson (1851-1892), and they had three children : William Clark Poillon (1872-1947), Harry Cornelius Poillon (1874-1950), and Julia Aline Poillon (1877-).

His family lineage extends back to 17th century New York beginning with Jacques Poillon (1675-1733), a Huguenot, who was born in Flatbush, Long Island, New York. The family owned large real estate holding in Brooklyn and other locations in New York and they also owned one of the largest shipyards in New York and engaged in shipbuilding.

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HARVEY STACK'S NUMISMATIC FAMILY, PART 75

In December of 1978, several months after Harold S. Bareford passed away, his family asked us to offer for sale the first part of his famous collection, some 242 outstanding items. I had known Harold since he came home from the Navy during World War II. From the first time I met Harold, I learned that he was trying to get the best that was available, not necessarily trying to finish a series but rather have beautiful and rare coins he could study and admire for their quality.

Harold Bareford was a close friend of the entire Stack family. His office was close to the Stack's retail store on 46th Street, so on many weekdays he would stop over during his lunch period to visit and chat. Every time he came in he would inquire, "You guys got anything for me to see?" We would, of course, show him our newest acquisitions and give him an "early bird" view of collections we were preparing for sale. He had a wonderful eye for quality, and when he saw something that he thought qualified as "among the best," he would buy it.

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THE GREAT DU PONT COIN ROBBERY

It was the home of Mr. and Mrs. Willis H. du Pont, former head of General Motors and E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, the chemical giant. Willis was the youngest of 10 children and had left the family's homeland of Delaware for the relaxing sunshine of Florida. He had married a Spanish model, Miren de Amezola de Balboa, and they had two children, Victor, age four at the time of the robbery, and his baby brother Lammot, then just one.

Many of his neighbors had private security guards watching over them and their property. Willis du Pont felt that the technology of the day would better serve to protect his family. His home was protected by a state-of-the-art alarm system and a network of closed-circuit cameras. Never fully comfortable with being in the public eye due to his wealth and fame, du Pont at least felt protected here.

Shortly after midnight, Willis and Miren were awakened by the sound of their bedroom door exploding open. The lights came on and in came the five masked strangers with their guns drawn. One of the robbers yelled, “We want your money. Tell us where it is!” As scary as that must have been, at least they were looking only for money – not to hurt or kidnap the family; money was something Willis could easily surrender.

Read more here

ROYAL CANADIAN MINT HONORS ARTIST BILL REID

The Royal Canadian Mint has launched a new toonie to commemorate the legacy of Haida artist Bill Reid, more than 20 years after his death.

The new $2 coin, which marks 100 years since Reid's birth, enters circulation Tuesday.

"The mint is delighted to add the story of Bill Reid's pivotal role in raising awareness of Haida art, and the traditions and culture it represents to the long list of circulation coins celebrating what makes us proud to be Canadian," said Marie Lemay, president and CEO of the Royal Canadian Mint in a written statement.

Read more here

ROBINSON ANCIENT COIN SALE 113 ANNOUNCED

FRANK ROBINSON SPECIAL AUCTION: SELECTIONS FROM HIS PERSONAL COLLECTION. Dealer Frank S. Robinson will conduct his 113th mail and internet auction of Ancient and Early Coins with a closing date of September 1. The sale will include 448 lots, with low minimum bids, and bids to be reduced as competition permits. Robinson notes that reductions have averaged 15-20% in his recent sales. There is no buyer fee.

Lot 4: AKRAGAS Tetradrachm cut to Tridrachm

This is a special sale featuring, in part, selections from Robinson's personal collection of Greek and Roman coins. Calling himself a “condition snob,” he had always resolved to keep for himself “only really good stuff.” But after nearly half a century, accumulating thousands of coins, it is time to “decimate” the collection. In Roman times that meant executing every tenth man. Robinson says he similarly picked out about one coin in ten — forcing himself to make choices.

Read more here

STACK'S BOWERS GALLERIES AUGUST 2020 AUCTION

1794 Liberty Cap Cent. S-64

Stack's Bowers Galleries is thrilled to present several important collections of United States coins and Numismatic Americana in their August 2020 Las Vegas Auction. The sale will be held August 5-7 at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino alongside the PCGS Members Only Show, with additional Internet Only sessions to be hosted on the Stack's Bowers Galleries website August 10-12.

United States coins first cross the auction block in Session 2 on Thursday, August 6 at 2:00 PM PT, with Rarities Night featuring the ESM and Fairmont Collections. The ESM Collection of Large Cents is among the standout offerings of the sale, and combines high grade and extreme rarity. Virtually complete by Guide Book variety, the ESM Collection showcases the finest known 1793 Strawberry Leaf cent (lot 1006), in addition to many Condition Census examples like the CC#1 1794 S-64 cent graded MS-65 BN (PCGS) CAC (lot 1011). Collectors of U.S. gold will be drawn to Liberty and Indian half eagles from the Fairmont Collection, highlighted by MS-61 (PCGS) examples of the 1909-O (lot 1542) and the 1929 (lot 1559).

Read more here

DAVISSONS ANNOUNCES E-AUCTION 36

E-Auction 36, closing Wednesday, August 26th, is online now! Print copies were sent last week, if you are not on our mailing list and would like a copy please let us know.

In a time when coin shows have disappeared it seems just right to offer a collection that was formed from coins bought at coin shows by a very serious collector. Freeman Craig Sr. was an Army Air Force navigator who flew 50 missions from North Africa into Italy during World War II. During the Depression his parents had a grocery-gas station-repair shop business and he was able to collect “Indian Pennies.” The war interrupted his life but when he came back, he took up collecting again.

His numismatic achievements and contributions make a long list. He was active at coin clubs, helped organize the Texas Numismatic Association, invested in a major coin firm, and formed collection concentrations from all over the world. His collection of 25 hammered coins covering English kings from Cnut to Henry VIII was one of those specializations. It looks to have been formed entirely by contacts at coin shows. The names of the dealers are familiar to all of us who were active coin show participants in the 1980s and 1990s. Charlie Wolfe in particular is legendary as a source for serious hammered.

Read more here

GEOFFREY BELL AUCTIONS AUGUST 2020 SALE

Paris in August Sale 2020

This year's Geoffrey Bell Auctions Ltd. Paris in August Sale is a little different; it’s not in Paris. With the cancellation of the popular Paris Coin Show due to COVID-19, the firm will be conducting their auction from their home base of Moncton, New Brunswick. This format worked successfully with their Toronto Coin Expo Spring Sale, so the summer edition of the Paris auction has been tweaked just enough to add even better material while still offering something for every collector.

The Paris in August Sale 2020 will take place August, 8 at 5pm Eastern time with viewing available by appointment. You can bid in the comfort of your own home on the Internet, by phone, fax, email, mail, and live online.

Read more here

DIX NOONAN WEBB OCTOBER 2020 INDIAN SALE

Tanka dating from 910 from the reign of Nasir Shah

The third and final part of a Collection of Coins of the Indian Sultanates will be offered by International coins, medals, banknotes and jewellery specialists Dix Noonan Webb in a live online auction of Indian Coins and Historical Medals on Wednesday, October 14, 2020 at 10am on their website www.DNW.co.uk.

Read more here

WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: AUGUST 2, 2020

Last week I discussed a few items I've consigned to the upcoming Stacks Bowers August sales. I also had some U.S. pieces in their just-completed July 2020 Collectors Choice Online Auction.

1803 Draped Bust Cent

1803 Draped Bust Cent. Small Date, Large Fraction. VF Details--Environmental Damage (PCGS).

Read more here

STUDY DEBUNKS CULTURAL PROPERTY ALLEGATIONS

The most important story in the art world in the last decade illustrates how social influence, slick public relations, and steady repetition of false information can change the cultural policy of institutions, nations, even whole continents – even if the story is a lie. The lie is attractive, romantic, even heroic at times. There are times when the story is even partly true or just an oversimplification. There are bad apples and criminals in every occupation and the art world is certainly no exception. But the story is a lie all the same.

What is this false narrative? It is that the horrific cultural destruction in the world today and the looting of artistic heritage is driven by a handful of art dealers, collectors, and greedy museums. That respectable art dealers aren't respectable at all – they are working hand in hand with terrorists and well-organized criminal networks that loot to order for unscrupulous collectors in the United States and Europe.

This story has already severely damaged the legitimate trade in ancient art and artifacts, including coins.

Read more here

BBC ARTICLE ON LONDON'S MUDLARKS

The name “mudlarks” originated in the Georgian and Victorian periods

One of the surprise best-selling books of 2019 was Mudlarking: Lost and Found on the River Thames by Lara Maiklem, who stumbled into mudlarking almost by accident. “One day I found myself at the top of one of the river stairs looking down onto the foreshore and I decided to go down,” she wrote. “For some reason, until then, I'd thought of the foreshore as a forbidden space, sometimes revealed, other times covered over with water. I found my first object that day, a short piece of clay pipe stem, and I was hooked.”

The Thames is one of the greatest and largest archaeological sites in the world, and the entire history of Britain can be told from items found on the foreshore. Many objects in the Museum of London have labels giving their provenance as “Discovered in the Thames”. Even a cursory glance at the river will reveal broken pottery pieces, shards of glass and twisted pieces of metal, and mudlarks have discovered everything from woolly mammoth teeth to Roman lamps to Tudor rings.

Read more here

1848 CAL. QUARTER EAGLE COMMEMORATIVE

Collector-Friendly Example of America's First Commemorative Coin

When gold was first found at Sutter's Mill in California in 1848, optimistic hordes of people surged to this remote area of the West, hoping to strike it rich. When you think about how difficult transportation would have been--through little-known lands and with primitive roads with only the most basic of technology--the number of people who traveled to California to make their fortunes may be surprising. It is estimated that around 300,000 came to California between 1848 and 1855 and started digging.

Read more here

DOUBLE STRUCK IKE ON A HALF DOLLAR PLANCHET

Not Just Heads Or Tails

The phrase "heads or tails" is as old as the coin flip. However, what if the coin has two heads and two tails (of the eagle)?

This amazing error coin as part of Heritage's August Auction combines several mistakes:

Read more here

TAIWAN'S STIMULUS VOUCHERS

JP Koning writes:

Read more here

ARGENTINA IMPORTS BANKNOTES

Argentina is rushing to import banknotes as its national mint struggles to keep pace with soaring central bank issuance and inflation of more than 45%. The mint is importing printed bills for the first time in five years and is also boosting its purchases of the paper used to make banknotes, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter.

The pace of monetary issuance has accelerated in recent months as the central bank creates pesos that the government then uses to pay for its coronavirus stimulus plans. The bank has transferred 1.3 trillion pesos (US$ 19 billion) to the administration so far this year.

The nominal value of bills and coins in circulation jumped 80% this month from a year earlier. The pace at which consumer goods prices are rising increases households' need for cash.

The mint is currently operating at 100% capacity for the first time since 2015, and has stepped up purchases of the raw material for its banknotes from abroad. Sweden’s Crane Currency is providing paper to print 1,000-peso bills while Russia’s state-owned Goznak is providing the paper for 200-peso bills.

There’s also an ongoing international tender to import 250 million bills worth 500 pesos each, according to the official gazette.

A spokesperson for the mint said that if this tender is successful, there won't be any shortage of bills. A central bank spokesman said the institution isn’t seeing any problems caused by insufficient bank notes.

The mint’s ability to meet the country’s demand for cash was undermined at the start of the year, when the government scrapped a plan to begin printing 5,000 peso bills for the first time.

Read more here

BRITISH COIN AND NOTES TO FEATURE ETHNIC FIGURES

Black, Asian and minority ethnic figures (BAME) are set to feature on British notes and coins for the first time.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak is considering proposals from a campaign group for legal tender to be more inclusive, according to the Sunday Telegraph.

Mr Sunak has asked the Royal Mint to come up with new designs honouring BAME figures.

Military nurse Mary Seacole and spy Noor Inayat Khan are being considered.

Read more here

THE MOST AND LEAST COUNTERFEITED CURRENCIES

Suitcases of forged banknotes aren't just the stuff of heist movies and spy novels. Every day banks and governments are working hard to stop the fraudsters but some are more successful than others. Click or scroll through to see the countries with the least and most counterfeited currencies across the globe. First let's look at currencies that tend to avoid forgery. The Kiwi dollar (US$0.72) is one of the world's least counterfeited currencies. It only has one counterfeited note or coin per 1,000,000 in circulation. But although the Reserve Bank of New Zealand acknowledge they have low levels of forgery compared with other countries, they still keep an eye out to make their notes and coins as fake-proof as possible.

Read more here

ROMAN BUTIN'S MECHANICAL SWORD COIN

The ancient art of the hobo nickel has been around since the 18th century, but Russian artist Roman Booteen keeps the craft alive with his extraordinary coin carving designs. From a gold bug with moving wings to a mechanical beating heart, Booteen is a modern master at turning old coins into extraordinary bas relief sculptures. His latest design is no exception—he's meticulously modified a U.S. dollar coin (from 1921) to feature a 3D glove and sword with a secret mechanism.

Read more here

LOOSE CHANGE: AUGUST 2, 2020

How to cull your book collection... or not

Readers had quite a few feelings about this most recent essay, chiming in with memories about culling their own personal libraries, advice on what books should stay and go and opinions on why you should never — under any circumstances — get rid of your books. Some got philosophical, others practical. “What is more important, the physical book or the words in it?” wondered The Continental Op. Responded Fred Gee: “Being able to find the door in a fire.”

“It's a dilemma all collectors of books face at one time or another,” writes commenter RBSchultz. “When I last moved, I gave away to the local library my vast collection of World War II and Vietnam War books so that others might enjoy them. After I moved, I decided that my collection of photography books was too heavy and large in volume. These went to my local Friends of the San Francisco Library where the sale proceeds supported the library. My vast collection of polar and mountaineering books will ultimately go to auction. There are many ways to declutter your library. you just have to choose what makes you feel gratified as to their ultimate destination.”

Sidneyf “is a ruthless culler and downsizer from way back, but if there are even slight differences between your books, they are not duplicates, as they are not the same. Each evokes different memories and appreciation from you; find a way to keep them all.”

To read the complete article, see:
Readers have many opinions on how to cull your book collection — and also why you never should (https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/readers-have-many-opinions-on-how-to-cull-your-book-collection--and-also-why-you-never-should/2020/07/31/c5a6d044-d26f-11ea-8c55-61e7fa5e82ab_story.html)

Other topics this week include Micronation Stamps.

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FEATURED WEB SITE: WORLDCAT.ORG

https://www.worldcat.org/