"Congratulations on The E-Sylum winning first place in the Electronic Numismatic Publication category - well deserved! The E-Sylum is my favourite numismatic publication and has been for years.

"On a similar note, you could have knocked me over with a feather when Maria Fanning contacted me about winning the Joel Orosz award for 2022 - something which I could never ever have imagined to be honest.

"The Asylum is filled with so many scholarly articles written by luminaries in the NBS and I'm just glad that I can contribute from time to time."

Congratulations, Darryl! -Editor

"Dear Maria and Wayne,

"Congratulations on your latest honors from The NBS.

"Thanks for all the work that you do toward the betterment of booking and coining."

"Great news about 1st place for The E-Sylum in "Outstanding Electronic Numismatic Publication"!!! Well-deserved!!! Kudos to you!!!"

"The link to the new 2 Euro coin book will not sell the book to a USA address. The other link they refer you to has no info on the book. BTW, I love the newsletter and look forward to it each week."

Sorry for the difficulty in obtaining the book. Do any of our readers know how to get one in the U.S.? -Editor

"I have embarked on a project to catalog numismatic murder victims and their killers. So far, my primary source of information is contemporary newspaper accounts.

"I would like to find an accurate source of information on criminal charges, convictions, sentences and prison releases. I have looked at sites that offer free background checks. I have not found one that is both free and useful.

"Can any E-Sylum reader recommend a site that works? I would be willing to pay a subscription fee if the site actually delivered and allowed me to get out of paying the fee when I was done. Any suggestions?"

A chilling project! We've discussed some of these crimes in the past. It will be interesting to see what Pete's research turns up. Can anyone help with a recommendation? -Editor

"I gave a fairly close look at the early copper sections on the SBG Coin Resource Center. The information is written in a clear, conversational style that makes for easy reading. The text appears to come from writings by Q. David Bowers, so it should be authoritative. The design and layout are very attractive.

"However, some of the information is VERY outdated. For example, Adam Eckfeldt is listed as the engraver of the 1793 half cents and Wreath cents. That notion came from Walter Breen, and it has been disproved completely. Eckfeldt was a mechanic, not an artist. Henry Voigt engraved them. Even Bowers' 2015 Deluxe Edition of the Red Book corrects this error. John Gardner is listed as the designer of the Liberty Cap cents, but even HE did not claim to have designed any coins. The Classic Heads are still attributed to John Reich, which few who have given the issue any study still believe, but that information is more recent. The Draped Bust design is attributed to Gilbert Stuart, who had nothing to do with it, though that is very recently published information, so SBG can be forgiven.

"The Breen half cent book is described as new, when it was published forty years ago! Apparently, fairly old writings have been included without any editing and updating. A lot has been learned about half cents since 1983, and reference to some of the newer information would have corrected the errors without compromising the readability of the text.

"The section on colonial coins only has information on the Higley coppers.

"Other series seem to have more up to date information. The 1792 half disme is given a current discussion.

"This is obviously a work in progress. The section on the Independence of America Recognized has images of the obverse and reverse of the Libertas Americana medal in silver, but no text and nothing else about the period. I am sure this will become a very useful resource as it develops."

Starting a comprehensive reference site is hard; keeping it up to date is probably harder. As readers can see here in The E-Sylum, new books and studies are published frequently, and even the best numismatic authors and researchers have a hard time keeping up. But it's worth a try! -Editor

Nice designs on this 10 ounce silver bullion piece by Sandra Deiana. Thanks to Wayne Pearson for passing this along. -Editor

"I have always believed that Weinman based his Walking Liberty half dollar on this St. Gaudens statue. If you turn it sideways you can see the resemblance. Look at the feet positioning, the outstretched hand. The palm branch has been changed to branches of laurel and oak, the wing removed, and she's clothed in the flag, otherwise they look the same to me."

Interesting. I do see some parallels to the Augustus Saint-Gaudens "Victory" statue. Thanks. -Editor

"Here are ideas for a new Harriet Tubman $2 bill. And perhaps a new denomination, of $200. It would be the 13th denomination since 1929, and the 13th person to be used."

Well, a hundred bucks ain't what it used to be. But $100 bills are almost as rare as $2 bills in commerce. Interesting idea, though. -Editor