LOOSE CHANGE: JANUARY 19, 2020

Book Review: Roman Imperial Coinage Volume II, Part 3

To read the complete article, see:
The New RIC (https://coinsweekly.com/the-new-ric/)

The Book Toilet

READING MATERIAL AND TOILETS HAVE a special relationship. Stacks of magazines are as common a fixture of many washrooms as toilet paper, toothpaste, or towels. The porcelain-throne-as-reading-nook trope is so famous that Barnes and Noble once created a list of the five best “books to read in the bathroom,” ideal for tackling in “two- to 10-minute increments.”

Books had a place in some 18th-century bathrooms, too, but they weren't always for reading. Occasionally, they were just highbrow camouflage.

To read the complete article, see:
The Best 18th-Century Toilets Were Designed to Look Like Books (https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/book-toilets)

Carnegie Library Thieves Plead Guilty

The two men accused of taking more than $8 million worth of rare books and parts of books from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and then selling them to collectors pleaded guilty Monday to theft.

Greg Priore, 63, of Oakland who worked as the sole archivist and manager of the the library's rare book room, and John Schulman, 56, of Squirrel Hill, who owns Caliban Book Shop, will be sentenced by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Alexander P. Bicket on April 17.

Advisory sentencing guidelines call for nine to 16 months incarceration in the standard range for a first-degree felony, although probation is recommended in the mitigating range.

Mr. Priore, who admitted in statements to police his role in the crime, pleaded guilty to theft and receiving stolen property — both first-degree felonies.

Mr. Schulman, who investigators said would receive the stolen items from Mr. Priore and then sell them to collectors through his store and online, pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property, theft by deception and forgery.

All the other counts against both men were withdrawn by the prosecution.

Suzanne Thinnes, a spokeswoman for the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, called the thefts “devastating.”

Mr. Priore was the manager of the Oliver Room, which housed 30,000 unique and valuable items, Mr. Catanzarite said.

To read the complete articles, see:
Men plead guilty in Carnegie Library rare books theft (https://www.post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2020/01/13/carnegie-library-rare-books-theft-greg-priore-john-schulman-guilty-plea/stories/202001130088)
Archivist and bookseller plead guilty to pilfering $8M in rare texts from Carnegie Library (https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2020/01/14/carnegie-library-book-theft/)

To read earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
CARNEGIE LIBRARY OF PITTSBURGH RARE BOOK THEFTS (https://www.coinbooks.org/v21/esylum_v21n12a07.html)
CARNEGIE LIBRARY RARE BOOK THEFT DEVELOPMENTS (https://www.coinbooks.org/v21/esylum_v21n26a24.html)

There's a Lump in this Stupid Ottoman...

Howard Kirby got the surprise of his life last month when he found over $43,000 in cash inside a couch he'd purchased at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Owosso, Michigan.

Kirby purchased the couch to outfit his man cave but said the ottoman felt odd and uncomfortable. His daughter eventually unzipped the cushion to examine it further and discovered stacks of hundred-dollar bills.

A total of $43,170 was found inside the couch, but Kirby didn't feel morally right keeping it. He went back to the store to seek out the original owner and tell them about the cash.

Kim Fauth-Newberry came into possession of the couch after her grandfather, the original owner, passed away last year. She said she had no idea there was money inside when she gave it away.

To read the complete article, see:
Michigan man finds more than $43G in couch he bought from store (https://www.foxnews.com/us/michigan-man-discovers-cash-in-couch)

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web