NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: DECEMBER 1, 2019

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The E-Sylum: Volume 22, Number 48, December 1, 2019, Article 10

NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: DECEMBER 1, 2019

Dickin Medals for Peacetime Bravery and Merit
Jim Duncan writes:

Congratulations to someone on creating a medal for animals similar to the Dickin Medal - which is "for gallantry - we also serve."

But they also have a pair of medals for peacetime bravery and merit - one gold (FOR ANIMAL GALLANTRY AND AND DEVOTION TO DUTY), one in silver (ORDER OF MERIT). I attach pics of all three.

A New Zealand fox terrier, George, recently earned the gold medal, and paid with his life, by protecting his young children friends from a Rottweiler which had evil intent.

Thank you! -Editor

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
ANIMALS MEDAL OF BRAVERY CREATED (https://www.coinbooks.org/v22/esylum_v22n46a25.html)

Correction Corrected

Last week I mistakenly attributed a comment. It was Pabitra Saha who pointed out an error in the Liberia Doe coin. Sorry! We'll fix our online archive. -Editor

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: NOVEMBER 24, 2019 : Correction: Liberia's Samuel Doe Served 1980-1990 (https://www.coinbooks.org/v22/esylum_v22n47a06.html)

Coin Toss Odds
Bruce H. Smith writes:

That coin toss at the Northeast Numismatics table may not have been a 50/50 proposition.

OK, math geeks - have fun with the 2009 article Bruce sent from the site of the Economics department of the University of California Santa Barbara. And remember, even a coin "fabricated perfectly, down to the last vigintillionth of a yoctometer... will land on its edge around 1 in 6000 throws, creating a flipistic singularity." -Editor

To read the complete article, see:
The Coin Flip: A Fundamentally Unfair Proposition? (https://econ.ucsb.edu/~doug/240a/Coin%20Flip.htm)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: NOVEMBER 24, 2019 : The Baltimore Coin Flip Deal (https://www.coinbooks.org/v22/esylum_v22n47a06.html)

More on Book Preservation
George Kolbe writes:

Good discussions on book preservation. Another consideration is the "wolf in sheep's clothing" factor. While the book-blocks of older publications may be relatively stable, their bindings are often teeming with chemical agents of destruction. Calf is a prime offender, often highly acidic (on the other end of the spectrum, vellum is relatively stable). Animal glue utilized to affix bindings is often harmful as well.

A note on recent books - When I published John Adams's work on American coin auction catalogues in 1982, acid-free paper was expensive and not widely used in book production. Nowadays, it is ubiquitous and the leather used, when so bound, routinely has been de-acidified.

Thanks. Glad to hear of additional recent improvements in the publishing world.

Alan Meghrig passed along this article on a machine for 'smelling' books for signs of degradation. -Editor

An "electronic nose" made up of sensors can detect the early signs of paper decomposition in books through the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) they emit.

To test the sensor-based device, researchers from the University of Aveiro, Portugal, gathered 19 different books, all published between 1567 and 2016 and classified each by era, paper composition, condition and color.

Current methods for determining decay in books tend to be destructive, the research team said. The non-destructive technique using sensors to identify VOCs emitted from books could one day be used to preserve the books by identifying those in need of preservation.

To read the complete article, see:
Sensors sniff out decay in books old and new (https://insights.globalspec.com/article/13002/sensors-sniff-out-decay-in-books-old-and-new)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
MORE ON SAFELY STORING BOOKS (https://www.coinbooks.org/v22/esylum_v22n47a07.html)

Edward Everett's Gettysburg Address
Gil Parsons writes:

Let's see: Lincoln's Gettysburg Address: Gettysburg Rail Company Station 35 Carlisle St Gettysburg PA, track 2350 feet from station. Lincoln appears to have been a transient and lingered only 24 hours at this address, but was later spotted in various locations around Washington DC (!)

With reference to the recitation of Lincoln's Gettysburg speech, it would have been far more impressive if Steve Bishop had offered Edward Everett's Gettysburg Address. Everett's speech, which delighted the crowd, was almost two hours long, and yes, Everett did recite it from memory. I tried to buy the original printing of Everett's speech, but it proved much too expensive, largely because of the inclusion of another, rather briefer, set of remarks...

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY NOVEMBER 24, 2019 : Gettysburg Address (https://www.coinbooks.org/v22/esylum_v22n47a17.html)

More Falun Gong Overstamped Chinese Banknotes

Jim Contursi passed along images of more Falun Gong overstamped notes. Thanks! -Editor

Here are a few more Falun Gong overstamped notes, which may be of interest to E-Sylum readers, even though the translations may not be spot on. My friend got them in change during an extended trip to China.

1) Try Jiang Zemin, the Falun Gong is innocent.
2) Stop persecuting the Falun Gong and bring Jiang Zemin to trial.
3) 200,000 people are bringing a law suit against Jiang Zemin.
4) Respect the "Falun Dafa," when disaster comes you will be protected.
5) Prosecute Jiang Zemin and return to the right path.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
CHINESE RUN FROM FALUN GONG OVERSTAMPED NOTE (https://www.coinbooks.org/v22/esylum_v22n47a22.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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