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NUMISMATIC NUGGETS: NOVEMBER 18, 2018Here'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 1849 Mormon Valley Note
 Small printed paper slip, approximately 2 x 3 3/4 inches. Overall condition is excellent. Blindstamped with the official seal of the Twelve Apostles, and signed in manuscript by Brigham Young, Thomas Bullock, and Heber C. Kimball. N.K Whitney is named as payee in manuscript. No serial number. This small piece of paper money printed by the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City is an example of the earliest recorded printing done in Utah. Called a "Valley Note" by Alvin E. Rust, this form of paper currency was printed in several denominations using a font of script type of the style used for calling cards. McMurtrie quotes a passage from a manuscript history of Brigham Young which describes the interesting circumstances under which this paper money was printed: "They had gold dust, but many refused to take it, as there was a waste in weighing it for exchange. To meet this want, we employed brother John Kay to coin the dust, but upon trial he broke all the crucibles and could not proceed. I then offered the gold dust back to the people, but they did not want it. I then told them we would issue paper till the gold dust could be coined. The Municipal Council agreed to have such a currency, and appointed myself and President Heber C. Kimball and bishop N.K. Whitney to issue it. The first bill, for one dollar, was issued on the first of this month [January 1849]. The bills were signed by Brigham Young, Heber C. Kimball, & Thomas Bullock, clerk." Mormon history is fascinating all by itself, but when combined with numismatics it's hard to beat. This is from the stock of antiquarian bookseller William Reese Company. -Editor To read the complete lot description, see:
1881 U.S. Army Essay Prize Medal
  1881 Military Service Institution Gold Medal, Awarded to General John Gibbon -- Reverse Rim Filed -- NGC Details. Unc. 51 mm. The reverse is engraved (AWARDED TO) Gen'l John Gibbon / U.S. ARMY (FOR ESSAY ON) The Indian Question / 1881/0. The medal is lightly bent and exhibits delicate hairlines. The edge displays ornate markings, likely as presented. Gibbon's article "Our Indian Question" was published in the 1881 volume of the Journal of the Military Service Institution of the United States. The organization was founded by army officers in 1878 and was defunct by 1920. A black and white image of an obverse of a 1878-dated Military Service Institution gold medal appears in the Wikipedia article for the organization. John Gibbon (1827-1896) graduated from West Point in 1847 and served as a U.S. Army officer until 1891. During the Civil War, he was wounded at both Fredericksburg and Gettysburg. The arrival of Gibbon's troops in June 1876 likely prevented the massacre of Major Reno's men in Montana, days after Custer's Last Stand. Gibbon's grave is at Arlington National Cemetery. From the Heritage December 6, 2018 sale. -Editor To read the complete lot description, see:
Book: Communion Tokens of the Presbyterian Churches in Ireland
105pp, interleaved with blanks. Includes a loose letter from the author dated 18/4/22. VG : in very good condition without dust jacket with protective cover. Browning to eps Green/gilt hardback cloth cover. Books on Communion tokens are important and generally quite rare, usually published in small editions. But is the author of this work THE A. A. Milne of children's book fame? Well, we've discussed this before actually, way back in October 2001. Here's the complete article. -Editor A NUMISMATIC WRITER AT POOH CORNER? Asylum Editor E. Tomlinson Fort and his wife Gosia write: "Recently, Larry Dziubek brought to our attention an interesting tidbit. There is a book entitled "Communion Tokens of the Presbyterian Churches in Ireland" by A.A. Milne (published 1920). Apparently there are a number of people, of whom Larry is not one, who think that this person is the same gentleman who created Winnie-the-Pooh. After some checking it was quickly confirmed that they are two very different people. The creator of Winnie-the-Pooh was Alan Alexander Milne (1882-1956) who lived most of his life, and set his famous characters in, southern England. The author of the communion token book is Reverend Alexander Allan Milne (born 1857) who seems to have resided in Scotland. We have not been able to ascertain if the two gentlemen were related. Thus, sadly, numismatic literature does not seem to have been one of the things that Tiggers do best." To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: A NUMISMATIC WRITER AT POOH CORNER? (http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v04n41a07.html) To read the complete lot description, see:
 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 All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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