"So often, we never get input on what we do. I absolutely love the job you do, and have since you invented it. Your coverage is wonderful, attempting to cover all aspects of numismatics.

"Interestingly, of late folks have really commented on my obits – I bring this up because of your inclusion of my note on Rex Stark last week.

"I started writing these years ago for one simple reason. I love the people I write about. They have been part of my life, and I feel it necessary to share experiences with everybody. Most folks that read them don't know the guys, but many do. They enjoy the personal experiences I try to relate. When they go, it hits you in the gut. It makes you realize that we are all on that list and it's getting closer.

"Anyway, thanks. I'm sure you don't get that enough, but you sure as hell will from me."

Thanks, Fred. We have three new obits in this issue, one for a dear local friend. It's always a kick in the gut to lose someone like that. All we can do is stop and remember, then keep on keepin' on. -Editor

"Regarding regional Dansco albums, one was made for medals for the California State Numismatic Association to house a series of medals the organization issued and was sold by a well-known dealer.

"It has C.S.N.A. on the spine and the back is blank. It has 5 pages for the medals with just holes and no marking for year/date, etc."

Thank you! It's nice that readers can help document the existence of these scarce and rare variants. -Editor

"I caught the attention of YouTube coin influencer SpegTacular and we recently sat down for a video interview where I got to share some stories about my journey in collecting 700+ Dansco albums. We dove into the origins of the brown albums, my experiences on my recent coin road trip, and lessons learned from my AI coin project Numi.

"Might be a fun watch for those who would like to learn more about Dansco albums and their history!"

Indeed! Check it out at the following link. -Editor

"Questions for E-Sylum readers:

1. Louis Eliasberg formed a complete collection of United States coins including all dates and mints from 1792 through 1976. How many coins did that require?

2. If a person aspired to form a similar collection of all United States coins issued from 1977 through 2023, how many coins would that require?"

Great questions! Any discussion of completeness requires a working definition of the term. Pete's pretty precise here - he's clearly NOT including varieties and errors, so some popular Redbook entries such as the 1922 "plain" Lincoln cent wouldn't count. He's also not including medals or bullion pieces. But he's not excluding commemorative coins, so that opens up many more pieces.

His quote marks around complete acknowledge that the definition is likely impossible to fully pin down no matter how hard one tries. Are uncirculated and proof examples different coins? What about other finishes? Privy marks? -Editor

"The Eliasberg collection included a mixture of uncirculated and proof coins. When there was a "proof only" issue. I think Eliasberg collected it.

I thought about bullion issues. If a person aspired to form the collection, they could decide if they wanted to include bullion coins. My aspirational collection would include them."

We'll be interested to hear your responses. -Editor

RENAISSANCE OF AMERICAN COINAGE: Wizard Coin Supply is the official distributor for Roger Burdette's three volume series that won NLG Book of the Year awards for 2006, 2007 and 2008. Contact us for dealer or distributor pricing at www.WizardCoinSupply.com.