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About UsThe Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit association devoted to the study and enjoyment of numismatic literature. For more information please see our web site at coinbooks.org SubscriptionsThose wishing to become new E-Sylum subscribers (or wishing to Unsubscribe) can go to the following web page link MembershipThere is a membership application available on the web site Membership Application To join, print the application and return it with your check to the address printed on the application. Print/Digital membership is $40 to addresses in the U.S., and $60 elsewhere. A digital-only membership is available for $25. For those without web access, write to: Charles Heck, Treasurer AsylumFor Asylum mailing address changes and other membership questions, contact Chuck at this email address: treasurer@coinbooks.org SubmissionsTo submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com BUY THE BOOK BEFORE THE COINSale Calendar |
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.
New subscribers this week include: Anne Burke, courtesy of John Ferreri; Joanna Marrin, courtesy of Yossi Dotan; and Wayne Davis. Welcome aboard!
Remember, we're running a contest with a $100 first prize to see who can supply the largest number of new subscribers. See the article elsewhere in this issue for details. This is not a drawing where random winners are picked - the winners will be those who supply the largest number of email addresses not already on our list.
This week we open with six new books, a great new website, two obituaries, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, and a Duvivier puzzle.
Other topics this week include the coins of England, El Salvador paper money, dealer Dan Brown, early world paper money publications, ANA news, medal makers, Kay Lenker, Chet Krause, cash registers, and safe deposit boxes.
To learn more about Lithuanian Grand Ducal coins, Canadian Numismatic Resources, Agricultural and Mechanical Society medals, the Guttag Brothers, the Manly medal, the newest numismatic centenarian, the Chester L. Krause Legacy Park, the 1755 Safety at Sea medal, 'Three Pagoda' coins and Louis the Lazy, read on. Have a great week, everyone!
Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum
SPINK published a new edition of the classic work on the pre-decimal coins of England. -Editor
Coins of England & the United Kingdom 2023, Pre-Decimal Issues, 58th edition
Regular price £35.00
Hardback / 216 x 138mm
640 pages with colour illustrations throughout
This historic reference work for British coins is still the only catalogue to feature every major coin type from Celtic to the Decimal coinage of Queen Elizabeth II, arranged in chronological order and divided into metals under each reign, then into coinages, denominations and varieties. All decimal coinage since 1968 is listed in a separate volume, available as an independent publication.
The catalogue includes up-to-date values for every coin, a beginner's guide to coin collecting, numismatic terms explained and historical information about each British coin, from our earliest (Celtic) coins, Roman, Anglo-Saxon and Norman coins, the coins of the Plantagenet Kings, the Houses of Lancaster and York, the Tudors and Stuarts, to the more modern Milled coinage, minted for the first time in 1561 during the reign of Elizabeth I.
SPINK also published a new edition of the companion work on the decimal coins of England. -Editor
Coins of England & the United Kingdom 2023, Decimal Issues, 9th edition
Regular price £15.00
Hardback / 216 x 138mm
400 pages with colour illustrations throughout
Coins of England and the United Kingdom Pre-Decimal and Decimal volumes comprise the Standard Catalogue of British Coins, with the decimal issues under Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III listed in this separate volume.
The Decimal issue gives a comprehensive overview of all individual coins and sets issued by the Royal Mint since 1971 (and in circulation since 1968), offering an authoritative catalogue of modern British coins.
ALSO AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOADABLE PDF
Dzmitry Huletski has published a new book on the medieval hammered Lithuanian Grand Ducal coins before 1401. -Editor
The first coins of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania are generally anonymous. This fact led to the difficulty of their perception by researchers for many years. Many types received the correct attribution in the last decade only; their metrological studies were virtually not carried out yet. However, it has now become obvious that coinage in the GDL began no later than in the 1370s, possibly even earlier. Stylistically and technologically, the first coins all carry an Eastern appearance, the legends are Cyrillic.
A new chapter of The Banknote Book edited by Owen Linzmayer has been published. Here's the announcement from CDN Publishing. -Editor
Previously published as a draft, we are proud to announce the publication of this 100-page catalog covering 808 varieties of notes issued in El Salvador from 1877 to 1999. This included the early Private Bank issues, along with the early Republic notes and all notes issued by the Banco Central de Reserva. For the first time ever, all of these notes are cataloged together and illustrated in full color with accurate descriptions. Additionally, all notes are priced up to the current market using the latest sales and auction data, revealing the true scarcity of many El Salvador notes.
Comprising 316 individual country chapters (and growing!), with over 9,000 pages covering more than 80,000 types and varieties, the Banknote Book is the most comprehensive catalog of world paper money in existence.
Here's a Google-translated article by Hans Ludwig Grabowski about a new book on Germany's inflation banknotes, from Geldscheine Online. -Editor
Dießner, Hans-Jürg Alfred:
Trillion Bills
The expenditures of the German Reichsbank and the emergency expenditures of the high inflation 1923/1924
378 pages, format 14.8 cm x 21 cm,
Paperback, Goldbach 2022
ISBN: 978-3-949958-01-4
Price: 35.90 euros
An article in Bulletin Numismatique No. 225, December 2022 announces a new catalog of notes issued by the Railway Administration of the Occupied Territories (Rhineland). Found via Notes & Notes from the Society of Paper Money Collectors (Volume VIII, Number 24, November 29, 2022). -Editor
We will never repeat it enough, even if the Internet provides a mass of useful information, the book of reference is essential for a collection theme to live and evolve. It is still necessary that the work be well written, well structured, practical and brings new data. Until today, the broadcasts of the R.C.F.T.O. had not the chance to benefit from a complete analysis. It is now done.
It was Yann Noël Hénon who embarked on this study. After his two publications Un Collectionneur… Un billet (generalist) and Les Billets d'urgence of 1940 (the reference on the subject), he therefore tackled this small series of ten banknotes issued there exactly a century ago.
A new website has been launched to host digitized literature on Canadian numismatics - Canadian Numismatic Resources (cnr-rnc.ca). Funding comes from the J. Douglas Ferguson Historical Research Foundation. The site currently hosts about 200 documents. Here is a description taken from the site. Check it out - this could be a useful resource. -Editor
Welcome to the Canadian Numismatic Resources (CNR) website. Here you will find digitized articles, books, journals, reports, manuscripts, and other documents related to numismatics and monetary history. All materials are presented in the language in which they were written or published.
This site is created and funded by The J. Douglas Ferguson Historical Research Foundation. Its purpose is to be a digital repository for materials related to Canadian numismatics and Canadian monetary history. The website is in constant development and new materials are always being added. Recommendations for additions to the site or suggestions for improvements to the site are welcome.
Longtime reader and E-Sylum booster Martin Kaplan has donated $100 as a top prize for a new subscriber contest. I'll give 2nd and 3rd prizes of $50 and $25. Here's how it'll work:
Send me ONE email at whomren@gmail.com with ALL the email addresses of people you think might like to become subscribers. List each address on a separate line. DEADLINE: DECEMBER 15, 2022. Put "E-SYLUM CONTEST" in the subject line and be sure to include your full name.
Bryce Brown passed along notice that Andrew W. Harkness passed away this past summer. He was the author of Agricultural and Mechanical Society Medals of the United States. -Editor
On Sunday, July 3, 2022, Andrew W. Harkness passed away peacefully at the age of 88. He was born June 3, 1934 in Glens Falls, NY to Andrew A. and Eleanor Harkness. He was a graduate of Earlham College and a proud veteran of the U.S. Army. He moved to Rochester in 1969 where he met his beloved wife of 43 years. Andrew was a retired auditor for the state of NY.
A voracious reader, who amassed quite a library including the complete works of his favorite author, Ayn Rand. He also had a passion for reading and collecting items relating to U.S. agricultural societies. Above all, he loved traveling and spending time with his family and friends. Predeceased by his wife, Mary Ellen. He is survived by his sons, Andrew and Ted (Julie); and grandson, Evan. Services were private.
Longtime
Robert Rightmire, 80, passed away on Nov. 21, 2021.
He is survived by his loving wife and best friend, Victoria Andritz; children, Deni Kea and Ryan Rightmire; grandchildren, Alex Kea, Kristina Kea and Alison Kea, and Vickie's sons, Kevin Andritz and Garrett Andritz.
The latest addition to the Newman Numismatic Portal are videos from the November 2022 NNP Symposium. Project Coordinator Len Augsburger provided the following report. -Editor
Video from the recent Newman Portal Symposium, held November 17-19, 2022 is now available. The Newman Portal Symposium brings together speakers on a wide variety of numismatic topics, including U.S., world, and ancient numismatics. Our feature presentation examined U.S. coins in the collection of the American Numismatic Society (ANS), which included comments from the ANS Resolute Americana chair of American numismatics, Jesse Kraft. Another well-attended session featured John Albanese speaking on the new CAC Grading certification service. Our next Symposium will be held this spring, in conjunction with the Central States Numismatic Society convention.
Link to Newman Portal Symposium home page on NNP:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/multimediadetail/539070
Link to American Numismatic Society feature video:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/620264
Link to CAC Grading presentation
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/620268
The David Lisot Video Library on the Newman Numismatic Portal can be found at:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/multimediadetail/522852
We highlight one of his videos each week in The E-Sylum. Here's one from 1986 with Denver rare coin dealer and Assay Commissioner Dan Brown. -Editor
Dennis Hengeveld writes:
"I was wondering if any of your readers may be familiar with a periodical called the Foreign paper money journal
that was published by Dwight Musser in Dunbar, WV from 1957 to 1959, and then continued as World paper money journal
in 1959-60 and finally World Paper Money Club bulletin
in 1960-1961. I have found very little other information regarding this publication. The three iterations are mentioned in Clain-Stefanelli but not much information can be found in that volume, except that it was continued by Paper money
, which may be the SPMC journal.
Internet searches have not turned up much at all. I would be interested in acquiring these to gain insight into the very early studies of world paper money, or at least learn more about them."
Great question - can anyone help? I don't believe the Newman Numismatic Portal has any of these. One thing NNP does have is the July/August 1993 issue of Paper Money which has on p135 an article about the early days of the Society of Paper Money Collectors by Charter Member Peter G. Robin. Here's an excerpt. -Editor
As did so many of us in our mis-spent youth, I started to collect U.S. coins while in high school, graduating to proof sets in my junior year (1955 or thereabouts). The Pittsburgh of that era had few coin shops that I could visit, and, in any event, prices for proof coins prior to 1952 were generally beyond the means of a teenager.
One day, I saw an ad of Lauren Benson of Davenport, Iowa offering 100 pieces of German Notgeld at $1.50. 1 ordered them, and became hooked for life. I quickly bought out his limited supply of other foreign notes, and he was good enough to put me in touch with Dwight Musser in West Virginia. Dwight, whom I did not get to meet in person until seven or eight years ago, can be credited, in my humble opinion, as the founder of organized foreign paper money collecting. His price lists evolved into News Letters which provided virtually the only information available in English about foreign bank notes. I still remember with pride being listed in his "Climbers Club" as the happy possessor of notes from sixty-nine different countries.
Somewhere along the line, the News Letters became the voice of the World Paper Money Club, and I took on the delightful tasks of General Secretary. Those were glory days indeed when known collectors numbered in the dozens and rarities could be had out of dealers' junk boxes with just a little effort and luck.
The year 1959 saw the formation of the Maryland Foreign Paper Money Club under the leadership of John Sandrock. I joined a year later, if memory serves, and became editor of its journal. The Currency Collector, in the early part of 1964. I was freshly out of the Army and just as freshly married. The MFPMC survives today, in a truncated and re-named version— World Paper Currency Collectors— mostly through the one-man efforts of Paul Curtis in California.
The end of 1961 saw the first issue of PAPER MONEY, the journal of the Society of Paper Money Collectors. The president and editor was Hank Bieciuk. On the back of the contents page, listed very legitimately as well as alphabetically last, was my name as a member of the Board of Governors. This fluke of fate, which put me in the same group as Amon Carter, Jr., Julian Blanchard, William A. Philpott, Eric P. Newman and others of their stature, was due to an administrative decision on the part of SPMC to accept the World Paper Money Club as a junior partner in a merged membership; the WPMC officers were to hold (very temporarily, it turned out) seats on the new board.
As far as I am aware, there was little interest shown by either U.S. or foreign paper money enthusiasts for making PAPER MONEY a truly internationally-oriented publication. The first year and a half saw the publication of two brief articles by Dwight Musser; the next non-U. S. item was published in the Spring, 1964 issue. It is fortunate indeed, for those of us interested in foreign bank notes, that the International Bank Note Society came into being at roughly the same time. Both periodicals have grown slowly but very surely into extremely fine purveyors of information and enthusiasm, without which few of us would likely continue to collect.
Can anyone put us in touch with current or former members of the Maryland Foreign Paper Money Club or the World Paper Currency Collectors group? Does anyone have a file of Dwight Musser price lists, News Letters or other world paper money publications? -Editor
Young America Furnace Company Note Misspelling
Last week I asked, "what word on the note is misspelled? " -Editor
"I make occasional mistakes, but I spell it as young."
Correct. On some of the notes the word "Young" is spelled "Yonng". I attribute this to an error in typesetting, made more likely because the letters "u" and "n" are identical upside-down. -Editor
To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: NOVEMBER 27, 2022 : Young America Furnace Company Note Signer
(https://www.coinbooks.org/v25/esylum_v25n48a12.html)
Other topics this week include more on the Sponsian coin, the the NGCx 10 Point Grading Scale, and Samuel Brooks and the Manly Medal. -Editor
Chester Sullivan submitted this numismatic puzzle for E-Sylum readers. Thanks. -Editor
A PUZZLER IN THREE PARTS
It's that time of year - the ANA is accepting nominations of deserving individuals for their various service awards and the Numismatic Hall of Fame. Here's the announcement. Who would be deserving winners? Who would you like to nominate? It's not hard, but does require some paperwork. Start gathering information about your candidate(s). -Editor
Each year, the American Numismatic Association (ANA) presents awards to deserving individuals in recognition of outstanding dedication to numismatics. The ANA is now accepting individual nominations for 2023 awards and Numismatic Hall of Fame "Modern Era" candidates.
All nominations can be submitted in writing and online – 300 words or more for the Numismatic Hall of Fame, and 50-100 words for all other awards. Include the date of submission, the nominee's name, background information and birth date (if known). Nominations are accepted through January 15, 2023.
The ANA is also seeking a new Education Director - this could be a perfect match for an E-Sylum reader! -Editor
The American Numismatic Association (ANA) is prioritizing successful online learning experience in its search for a new education director.
The new director will be responsible for implementing a sustainable online education program while continuing and improving upon existing programs. According to ANA Executive Director Kim Kiick, the individual should possess Learning Management System (LMS) project management experience along with lesson preparation and instruction.
Here's a great entry from Dick Johnson's Encyclopedia of Coin and Medal Terminology on the history of medal manufacturing. See the complete entry online for a list of various medal types. -Editor
Medal Manufacturing. The production of medallic items, usually diestruck on presses (larger items are cast or electroformed), often smaller medals are made at mints as an ancillary activity to coin production. Medal making as an industry, with separate companies specializing only in making medals and similar products, did not exist until the early 19th century in Europe and not until 1892 in America.
100 Greatestlibrary), Dr. Harvey B. Richer reveals the rarest, the most expensive, the most famous and most historic of Canada's coins, each with a fascinating story. 160 pages, coffee-table, hardcover. Order your copy online at Whitman.com , or call 1-800-546-2995.
American Numismatic Biographies author Pete Smith submitted this article on the newest numismatic centenarian, Kay Lenker. Happy 100th birthday!! Thanks, Pete. -Editor
Each year the Numismatic Literary Guild presents awards during the American Numismatic
Association World's Fair of Money. With good food and entertainment, the NLG Bash
has
been popular with members and guests.
The highest annual award is The Clemy.
named in honor of NLG founding member Clement
Bailey. I attended the NLG Bash
on August 18, 2011, when the Clemy winner was announced.
I rose to my feet and walked to the stage as the crowd gave a round of applause.
Clifford Mishler is the Fundraising Chair for a worthy effort to honor Krause Publications founder Chet Krause with a park in downtown lola, WI. Here's a description of this great project with information on how to contribute. -Editor
The open lot in downtown lola, at the intersection Water Street and Chester L. Krause Drive, is presently undergoing development as the Chester L. Krause Legacy Park, honoring "Chet's" life and contributions. The park development is scheduled for completion in the Fall of 2023, in advance of the 100th anniversary of Chet's birth on December 16, 1923.
Chet's support of major projects and accomplishments in the lola community, and otherwise were substantial, long standing and unselfish. His personal style was to lead by example, reaching out for the betterment of his village neighbors, fellow hobby enthusiasts, family, humanitarians, or the man-on-the-street. Now, it's our turn as business associates, friends, neighbors and family to return that favor. This letter extends an invitation for you to consider making a monetary contribution in support of the Park development.
As a memorial to Chet's outstanding generosity and community leadership, our ad-hoc committee of his former business associates, neighbors and friends, whose lives were enriched by his philanthropic and selfless example, set out to pursue the park development to honor his memory in perpetuity. It will provide a reminder, to visitors and residents alike, of the role Chet played in the lola community and the hobby communities served by Krause Publications, commencing in 1952 with the publication of Numismatic News, and the 1973 establishment of the Iola Old Car Show. In 1960 he was also involved as a founding member of the Numismatists of Wisconsin.
Jeremy Bostwick at Numismagram forwarded these four standouts from his recent addition of new material to his website. For all of the new items, including an exceptional Admiral Vernon medal and a WWI-era British dog tag on a German East African rupie, please visit https://www.numismagram.com/inventory. -Editor
102217 | CUBA. Honradez Royal Tobacco Factory tin Medal. Issued circa 1859 (57mm, 88.15 g, 12h). PLAZA DE SANTA CLARA No 83 Y 85 TALLERES, CALLES DEL SOL No 17, DE SAN YGNACIO No 88 / Y CERRADA DE SANTA CLARA ENTRE SAN YGNACIO Y CUBA / DETALL, CALLE DE CUBA No 83 DE POSITO PRINCIPAL PARA MENUDEO CALLE DEL OBISPO No 15 / DEPOSITOS SECUNDARIOS, CALZADA REAL DEL MONTE No 154 / Y CALLE DE SAN RAFAEL ENTRE CONSULADO É INDUSTRIA / DIRECCION GENERAL / Y ESCRITORIO / CALLE DE SAN YGNACIO No 90 / HABANA, female personification of Justice standing facing, holding scales / REAL FABRICA LA HONRADEZ / AGRACIADA ESPECIALMENTE POR S. M. CON EL USO DE SUS REALES ARMAS / GRAN MANUFACTURA DE CIGARROS Y PICADURAS DE LUIS SUSINI É HIJO / PROVEEDORES DE LA REAL CASA &a. &a. / HABANA, complex Cuban coat-of-arms. Edge: Some scattered discoloring, otherwise plain. Gem Mint State. Wholly brilliant and lustrous, with a great cartwheel nature to the brilliance. Includes original paper casing with design of the medal on each side, though somewhat distressed. $365.
Cuban cigars have long been the standard bearer of a fine tobacco product, and Don Luis Susini's royal factory in Havana sought to keep that high standard through not just the firm's name (la honradez meaning "honesty" or "integrity"), but also through what was, at the time, revolutionary packaging. Counterfeiting was commonplace and copyright protection was virtually non-existent, so Susini turned to packaging in order to differentiate himself from fraudulent products, with the firm using color lithography to produce some of the world's first colored labels.
This press release highlights several coin in the Heritage US Coins Signature® Auction. -Editor
A year that began in January with record results in Heritage Auctions' $65 million FUN US Coins Signature® Auction will conclude with its Dec. 15-18 in its US Coins Signature® Auction.
This event features more than 2,000 lots, with must-have options collectors of all levels and tastes.
This has been an extraordinary year for the US Coins category at Heritage Auctions, and the magnificent coins in this last auction of 2022 give every reason to believe that this event will continue that success,
says Todd Imhof, Executive Vice President at Heritage Auctions. It includes exceptional rarities that will bolster collections of all levels.
Here's the press release for CNG's Triton XXVI auction coming up in January, highlighting the Diocletian denio. -Editor
The largest Roman gold coin offered at auction in more than a century, a unique 10- aureus gold medallion of the Emperor Diocletian, tops the ancient and world coin offerings in Classical Numismatic Group LLC's Triton XXVI auction slated for January 10-11 in conjunction with the New York International Numismatic Convention.
Here's a selection of interesting or unusual items I came across in the marketplace this week. Tell us what you think of some of these. -Editor
Lot 1003.Eastern Celts. Muntenia. Type 'saddle head'. Tetradrachm (silver).Ovs: Highly stylized head of Zeus with laurel wreath right.Rev: Highly stylized horseman riding left.21 mm. 6.96g OTA 303/13-14. Very beautiful.
Maybe I should start collecting Celtic coins - their simplicity of design is fascinating. Above is the Google-translated description from the Solidus Auction 109. -Editor
To read the complete lot description, see:
Los 1003. Ostkelten. Muntenien. Typ 'Sattelkopf'.
(https://www.sixbid.com/de/solidus-numismatik/10221/keltische-munzen/8833823/ostkelten-muntenien-typ-sattelkopf)
Other topics this week include a 1647 Louis XIV Medal, an 1840-O Half Dime, and the 1948 Utopia Silver Fantasy Medal. -Editor
Mike Markowitz published a nice CoinWeek article on the coins of defunct medieval dynasties. Here's an excerpt - see the complete article online. -Editor
COINS OF THE last known type issued by a ruling dynasty seem to have a particular fascination for collectors. Events surrounding the collapse of a long-standing regime are often dramatic and frequently tragic, and coins provide a tangible link to that history.
For example, the scarce but otherwise unremarkable gold coins of Romulus Augustus, the child puppet ruler deposed by a bloodless coup on September 4, 476 CE, command fabulous prices because of the special cachet attached to his status as the last Roman emperor
in the West.
So when CoinWeek asked me to write about the last coins issued by a variety of medieval ruling dynasties, I was all for it. Here we go!
Dick Hanscom passed along an article about a new massive hoard of coins found in China. Thanks. -Editor
An ancient coin hoard containing 1.5 tonnes of coins dating back to the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties has been discovered in east China's Jiangsu Province.
The underground remains were unearthed in Shuangdun Village, Jianhu County of Yancheng City. The pit mouth of the hoard was square, 1.63 meters long, 1.58 meters wide, and 0.5 meters deep. Bronze coins connected in series with straw ropes were neatly layered and paved inside. Most were from the Song Dynasty.
A group of gold coins was uncovered in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. -Editor
A broken ‘pygg jar' containing 18 gold coins, believed to be dated back to the Madras Presidency of the British era, was unearthed in an agricultural field at Eduvadalapalem village in Koyyalagudem Mandal in Eluru district.
The coins are inscribed with three figures including Lord Venkateswara in the middle. On the other side of the coin, granules of paddy are inscribed. On November 29, Manukonda Tejaswi family unearthed the pygg jar containing the 18 gold coins during the excavation activity carried out for irrigation purpose.
The Norwegian Numismatic Association Schive Medal has been awarded to author Jan Olav Aamlid. -Editor
Jan Olav Aamlid, world renowned numismatist and longtime resident of Pattaya was presented with the most distinguished Schive Medal by the Norwegian Numismatic Association in recognition of his book Siam Specimen Banknotes First Series
published in Pattaya in December 2021.
On presenting the highly revered award on Nov 18, President Kjetil Kvist of the Schive Committee said, Throughout a lifetime and counting, this year's winner has had a living commitment to coins and banknotes. He has been particularly concerned with numismatics from his adopted fatherland, and is recognized as a resource person in the field.
A CoinWeek article by Tyler Rossi delves into the history of the classic cash register, the temporary homes of most coins as they wend their way through circulation. Here's an excerpt - see the complete article online. -Editor
If the store owner wasn't careful about who they hired, they could incur dramatic financial losses due to theft. One such businessman suffering from dishonest staff members was James J. Ritty, owner of the Pony House Restaurant in Dayton, Ohio. The story goes that inspiration struck Ritty when returning to America on an Atlantic steamship in 1878. If a machine could count the revolutions of a ship's propeller, then a similar mechanism could be used to count the money coming into his business. Shortly thereafter, Ritty partnered with his brother John to design and create what they called a cash register
.
Meanwhile, the folks at The Hustle dive into the economics of the safe deposit box business, the place where so many coin collections reside. -Editor
Over the years, safe deposit boxes have become iconic — a staple not only of the banking industry but also of heist movies and spy flicks. Inside Man, The Dark Knight, Casino, and The Da Vinci Code all feature pivotal safe deposit box scenes.
In Hollywood, safe deposit boxes are so prominent, in fact, that it's easy to miss the seismic changes racking the industry: In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, big banks have quietly abandoned the safe-deposit business.
Both HSBC and Barclays have shuttered their safe-deposit services in many countries, and Capital One joined them in 2016. Most recently, this past September, JPMorgan Chase announced it was phasing out its safe deposit boxes, too. In the coming decade, other major banks seem likely to join them.
Here are some additional items in the media this week that may be of interest. -Editor
The Visual Capitalist published a graphic about the security features of U.S. paper money. -Editor
There are 6 key features that identify real bills and protect the falsification of American money.
• Serial Numbers & EURion Constellation
The most basic form of security on an $100 bill is the serial number. Every bill has a unique number to record data on its production and keep track of how many individual bills are in circulation.
The EURion constellation is star-like grouping of yellow rings near the serial number. It is only detectable by imaging software.
• Color Changing Ink
This ink changes color at different angles thanks to small metallic flakes within the ink itself. The $100 bill, like all other paper bills in the U.S., has its value denoted in color changing ink on the bottom right-hand corner; unlike other bills, it also features a liberty bell image using the ink.
To read the complete article, see:
Visualized: The Security Features of American Money
(https://www.visualcapitalist.com/security-features-american-money/)
Other topics this week include an ancient Egyptian amulet and an emerald from the Atocha. -Editor
Kavan Ratnatunga passed along this video from The Indian Express about different kind of coin collector - a hospital patient with 187 coins in his stomach. Thanks. You can't make this stuff up. -Editor