Tony Terranova passed along an image of a 6 1/4 by 4 1/4 inch plaque by Hermon MacNeil. Thanks. -Editor

"I noted Richard Lobel's dislike of slabbing as I and most other oldtimers in the hobby do. We enjoy the tactile feeling of holding both aesthetics and history. With many decades in the hobby, often specializing in numismatic fields, we know how to discern a forgery and we know how to grade. And frankly, we could care less if a coin is MS-65 or 66 or the top pop absurd allegation, often changing from month to month.

"More often than not, I crack out numismatic items from their slabs. Large or small, you don't have to smash the slab with a hammer, great risk to its contents. Simply have someone brace the slab upright over a rug or blanket, hold a flat head screwdriver on the upright slab seam, hit the screwdriver with a hammer twice and the slab will neatly split in 2 halves, most often leaving the contents stable in its flexible inner ring, easily manually popped out.

"At a Long Beach coin show, I personally witnessed prominent dealer Harlan White, so furious at a grade given to his $50 gold slug, he stood up, raised his arm above his head, and angrily smashed the slab down to the concrete bourse floor. The slab shattered and the $50 gold slug flew out, bouncing against the concrete! Inevitably, losing significant grade points. Temper, temper."

"Thanks for including Steve's announcement in The E-Sylum. I have received many kind responses from numismatic friends.

"I wanted to offer a minor clarification, just for the record. The ANA "World's Fair of Money" was the brainchild of Steve's co-worker Diane Betts; Steve was responsible for rebranding the ANA's Midwinter/Early Spring Convention as the "National Money Show."

Sorry - that was my poor recollection of a conversation with Steve. Thanks for setting the record straight. We're all very sorry for your loss. -Editor

"Henry Chapman used to sell different size coin boxes to clients. The large size red box was for $20 as per George H. Anders order for some in 1911."

Thanks. -Editor

"Thanks for putting in my question about how to handle the nickel Proof leather bounds.

"However, it was a little confusing, as the question is:

"How do I handle the higher numbered gold Proof leather bound books that I sold (you put 175 out of 150 and that is not exactly my problem).

"I sold 150 numbered gold books. I have a little over 50 nickel leather bounds sold, so anyone with a number under 50 (or 60 or 70 that I might eventually sell) gets the same number as their gold book. However, if you have number 88 gold, you might get number 42 nickel (or 65, or whatever is the next number that is not reserved).

"It would look strange to say you got number 88 of a limited edition of 50 (or 60 or 70).

"It is a conundrum!

"I don't even know how to correctly phrase the question!"

"If I had the space, I would love to buy this lot and spend the next year searching through it."

"Batman and coins, what could be better! Now I've got to find a copy of World's Finest Comics #30.

"The weekend edition of The Wall Street Journal had a review of the book America's First Plague by Robert P. Watson that might interest your readers. The yellow fever epidemic of 1793 had a profound impact on the fledgling U.S. Mint. I don't know if the book mentions the mint, but it apparently gives ample space to Benjamin Rush, who served as mint treasurer in the years after the plague.

"The review notes: Among the doctors who struggled to cope with a disease they couldn't cure, Mr. Watson rightly emphasizes the polymath Benjamin Rush. A signer of the Declaration of Independence, Rush incarnated both the humanistic best and medical worst of the early republic. Although his treatments were widely accepted, they were disastrous. He believed dogmatically in violent purges, forced heat to blister the limbs and above all bloodletting. He bled his patients of as much as 10 ounces a day, probably killing more of them than he saved. When he himself fell ill, he subjected himself to the same brutal regimen but survived to persist in his malpractice."

Still and mechanical coin banks are featured here on occasion. Here's a piggy bank cartoon from Bizarro that I came across this week. -Editor