LOOSE CHANGE: FEBRUARY 14, 2021

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V24 2021 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 24, Number 7, February 14, 2021, Article 31

Here are some additional items in the media this week that may be of interest. -Editor

A coin collection is involved too, but the star of this heist story from ESPN is a cache of Super Bowl rings, stolen in an elaborate burglary back in 2008. Worth a read. -Editor

Murphy finds plenty before he even gets to the 6-foot, solid steel safe: boxes filled with 5-pound bags of beaded gold and silver sitting on tables; sets of plastic trays with tiny drawers, the kind you might use to hold loose screws or bolts on your workbench, only holding gold in different karats; stacks of gold plates on the wall, "about 30 or 40 pounds," Murphy says. He swishes all of it into his barrel.

The robbers move room to room, carefully emptying E.A. Dion's stock. Antique coins. Wedding bands. Necklaces and bracelets. Estimated value for all they take is more than $2 million.

Morgan emerges from an office with bright eyes. "The Super Bowl rings are here!" he says. Murphy is stunned. "What do you mean?"

They aren't locked up, aren't even in a drawer, Morgan says. There are more than 50 of them. Morgan holds one out. "Look, it weighs about 20 pounds!"

To read the complete article, see:
THE GREAT SUPER BOWL RINGS HEIST (https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/30777694/the-true-story-patriots-fan-stole-giants-super-bowl-rings)

Speaking of heists, here's an article enumerating the 25 greatest art thefts of all time. I correctly guessed #1, but must admit I was unaware of many others on the list.

So... what would comprise the list of the greatest numismatic thefts of all time? -Editor

The following list surveys the 25 greatest art heists of all time. They have concerned artworks from throughout art history, from centuries-old archaeological objects to contemporary masterworks, and they have involved a range of shadowy figures, from amateurs to security experts to possibly even organized crime syndicates. In some cases, the works have been recovered, while other heists have ended with the works being lost permanently.

For the sake of this list, heists were defined as concerning public institutions and private collections.

To read the complete article, see:
The 25 Greatest Art Heists of All Time (https://www.artnews.com/list/art-news/artists/greatest-art-heists-of-all-time-1234583441/isabella-stewart-gardner-museum-theft/)

From 2018. Found on Quora. -Editor

What are some examples of great marketing?
It would have to be 3M's Security Glass.

In 2005, the manufacturing company set up a promotional stunt at a Vancouver bus stop.

They were so confident about the strength of its bulletproof glass that they put 3 million dollars inside it.

Passers-by were allowed to do some crazy things to the glass, such as getting a running start to kick the case and even taking a sledgehammer to it.

While being effective, it was also one of the cheapest campaigns — nobody was able to break the glass.

Congressional Gold Medal For Officer Goodman
The Senate ended Friday's impeachment trial proceedings with a unanimous vote to award the Congressional Gold Medal, one of the nation's highest civilian honors, to U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, who directed the violent mob away from the Senate chamber on Jan. 6.

Goodman received a standing ovation from the senators, whom he saved from danger on Jan. 6. Goodman joined in the applause when Schumer mentioned the heroism of other law enforcement officers that day.

During the trial, the House impeachment managers showed previously unseen security footage of Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) unknowingly heading in the direction of the mob when Goodman tells him to run the other way.

Think plated Chapman catalogs are expensive? Check out this list of the fifteen most expensive books and manuscripts ever sold. -Editor

The Northumberland Bestiary is at once one of the most celebrated and most mysterious texts on our list. Most likely made in the 13th century in an English scriptorium, this Gothic-era book is a fantastical, fairytale-like compendium of descriptions and discussions of both real and mythical beasts accompanied by more than one hundred breathtaking medieval drawings. Who made the book is unknown, as is the sales price: following its first appearance at a Sotheby's auction in 1990, the Northumberland Bestiary was later purchased by the J. Paul Getty Museum in 2007 for an undisclosed amount (although most estimates suggest it was around $20 million).

Ron Haller-Williams passed along this older story about a cat that swallowed a coin. Thanks. From the site of The People's Dispensary for Sick Animals, the organization responsible for the Dickin medals for animal bravery. -Editor

A ginger cat has been saved by our vets after swallowing a 5p coin which left the poor puss with suspected metal poisoning.

Steve and Frances Gwillm, from Ystradgynlais, near Swansea, initially put their cat Kevin's symptoms down to a bug, but after several days of being increasingly distant, weak and off his food they became concerned.

The family took the two-year-old pet to our Swansea Pet Hospital where our vets discovered the cause of his woes - a coin from their daughter's piggy bank.

To read the complete article, see:
Cash in the kitty (https://www.pdsa.org.uk/press-office/real-life-stories/cash-in-the-kitty)