"I am sure you have seen these macerated currency postcards before but what I liked about this one was the handwritten message. It says, "Just because you have a card made of $200 don't think you are rich". It is a numismatic message on this numismatic item and references the printed caption noting that the postcard is estimated to contain $200.00.

"While I have never studied these macerated postcards closely, I did think that this one has some rather large and colorful pulp. If I were a currency dealer or serious collector of paper money, I think I would be trying to see if any of the pulp was recognizable enough to identify a specific note. It would be kind of like looking for a needle in a haystack to line up a few letters or design with notes they may have come from. However, it would be very rewarding to get a match.

"To my surprise I saw that it was addressed to a person at a bank. The bank's name was abbreviated but it looks like Manufacturer's National Bank in Waterbury Connecticut. It also seems to be a related collectible for national bank note collectors. I had trouble deciphering the handwriting but it seems to be addressed to "... Bill Wolf at Manufacturer's National Bank Waterbury Connecticut."

I think our first mention of macerated money postcards was back in October 2020. Carol's example has a greenish tint - the earlier ones seemed brownish. Curious items of numismatic ephemera. -Editor

"It is not quite as green as it appears in the photo. It is however more gray than the usual brown color ones."

"A video circulating on Social Media shows a huge hoard of US$100 notes in Afghanistan and was partly included in this video posted on YouTube by Hindustan Times."

"And this from the Iraq war."

Thanks. Maybe we should send macerated currency next time... -Editor

"I'm writing to ask whether you could give me some pointers on locating an item. My grandfather flew in B-17s in WWII, and we recently learned one of his last missions was the combined US/UK/CA humanitarian airdrops over Holland at the end of the war, Operation Manna/Chowhound. I understand there was a commemorative coin minted in 1984/85 for an event in Holland celebrating the missions. You can find an example here: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/operation-manna-40th-anniversary-428150305

"As a part of our family history, identifying one for purchase would be of great sentimental value for my father and me. I would appreciate any advice you have."

Danny was referred to us by Shirley Johnson, who had found her late husband Dick's address on the Medal Collectors of America site.

The item is a 1985 medal commemorating the 40th anniversary of Operation Manna. Nice medal. Can anyone help locate one? -Editor

"Reading the story about the Chase Manhattan Money Museum in the latest E-Sylum, I had to send along this reminisce:

Before my family moved out of the New York City area in 1974, my mother insisted that we take time to be tourists in our own hometown. During the winter and spring breaks, she would take us into Manhattan by train from Long Island to see the parts of the city most residents do not go.

After showing interest in coin collecting in 1970, our Spring 1971 trip was to the Chase Manhattan Money Museum. I was fascinated. My brothers did not care. Because they did not care, we could not stay all day. Unfortunately, I was never able to return before they closed.

Before leaving, my mother bought "The Story of Money" from the museum gift shop. I know I still have it packed in a box somewhere, but I remember that the cover had a "Money Tree." I believe they are Chinese coins connected to a tree structure. After years of my father telling me that money does not grow on trees, I had a picture that proved him wrong. For an 11-year-old kid, it was a brief moral victory at the beginning of a life-long hobby."

I could swear I had a copy of the publication Scott described, but I couldn't find one. But I did find the above little Chase Manhattan pamphlet with a smaller illustration of a Money Tree. Can anyone send us an image of the one with a Money Tree on the cover? Thanks. -Editor

"Regarding the new Muera Huerta book - there is no information in the mention about paper money. I sold some a while ago. "

Thanks for the images! -Editor

"I have a query your readers may be able to help with. On the NNP, Library, Archives, Eric P Newman Correspondence (Zander, Randolph), 1956-1973, on list 29 for February 1957, lot 110 (about page 88 of 175) there is listed a countermarked dollar reference Ellis 83. Does anyone know what Ellis 83 refers to please?"

I reached out to numismatic literature dealers Kolbe & Fanning. -Editor

"The only Ellis who comes to mind is H Leslie Ellis, who wrote British Copper Tokens of the Straits Settlements and Malayan Archipelago, but I don't see how that would be a fit here."

"H. Leslie Ellis? His "Valuable Collection of Coins and Tokens of the British Possessions and Colonies" was sold by Sotheby's in 1902."

I think that's a good candidate, as countermarks were used on coins in the British Possessions and Colonies. -Editor

"Lot 83 in the Ellis sale does not appear to be illuminative of the query at hand..."

"Are there any possibles listed in Manville?"

Thoughts, readers? -Editor

"I enjoyed Mr. Pearson's ideas for special coinage and currency in 2026. Although I agree it is unlikely much will be done with our currency (of course stamps are easy to use as commemorative subjects) but I would like to add to Mr. Pearson's coinage ideas with one of my own. How about a special set of America's first coins in silver and clad for collectors. It would be wonderful to own a 1794 type dollar with a 2026 date, etc. "

Interesting idea, and follows in the footsteps of the 2021-dated Morgan and Peace dollar coins. Better in line with the semiquincentennial theme might be the 1776-dated "Continental Dollar". THAT could get interesting... -Editor

"The late Robert Thompson, expert on the British 17th century token series, told me that the most bizarre and distant known find in his series was that of a farthing of Richard Langley of Ramsgate {Williamson 452}, dated 1657, found in the stomach of a five-foot shark caught off Galveston, Texas, in 1931. It was reported in the Morning Post of 9 September 1931, p.13, col.1, followed by a letter on 12 September from A. J. Wood of Canterbury, but unfortunately the online British Newspaper Archive currently only contains the Morning Post up to 1909.

"On the same subject, the Numismatic Chronicle reported this newspaper extract from the Irish Times in 1922:"

This is not our first bovine numismatist. See the earlier article from February 2004. -Editor

"Readers may also be interested in the novelist A.P.Herbert's story about the man who tried to pay his annual tax bill by writing a cheque on the side of a cow and presenting it for payment.

The Negotiable Cow, as the story is also known, is the most famous of a whole series of humorous stories, mainly written in the 1920s and 1930s, which generally mock the legal system. I saw it when it was televised in 1967 but I am not sure that it has been back on since."

This never came up in our conversations, but my old friend "Money Artist" J.S.G. Boggs would have enjoyed this. -Editor