"Phil Iverson beat me to the punch with his report on the California State Numismatic Association (CSNA) albums. I'm also aware of similar short-run productions for the San Jose Coin Club and the Fremont Coin Club, both also facilitated by Harvey Rose in El Cajon.

"I was actually in Harvey's shop while he was packing up the albums to ship to the Fremont club, and noticed a typo on the cover (it said "Organized 1921" instead of the correct 1971). Too late to fix, so they all went out that way. I was hoping to find examples of them to photograph, but have no idea as to where they are at present.

"I also have two examples of albums custom produced for the late L. A. dealer Charlie Rogers (C. T. Coins), titled "Casino Tokens" (or "Casino Chips"?) with Charlie's address label pasted over the DANSCO imprint on the inside back cover."

Thanks for the information! -Editor

"For the record, the Charlie Rogers chips album just has "Chips" embossed on the cover and the spine, and includes nine pages with nine unlabeled ports each. My camera is currently Missing in Action so I'll send photos after I find it.

"Another FYI is that a similar album was prepared for the Santa Cruz Coin Club ... I've been a member since the 1980's but don't remember them ordering it. I bought one on eBay last week and should have it in hand shortly."

"As Secretary of The Elongated Collectors, I want to thank you on behalf of our 780 members for giving a small shout-out for our beloved hobby. We don't get much publicity, so this was a nice surprise for me. Stuart Hockstein runs a very nice website and he facilitates a penny trade program that many children use. I'm sure he appreciates the story as well."

"I am the publisher of the book "Mega List of 3,000+ USA Pressed Penny Machines" which you featured in Volume 27, Number 05, February 4, 2024 of The E-Sylum. I just wanted to thank you for highlighting this book and for shining a light on our pressed penny collecting hobby. It is very much appreciated!

"I also wanted to let you know that the book is not out of print. You must have caught us in between pressings. We have a new batch ready and waiting still warm from the presses"

Great news - thanks. See last week's article (linked below) for ordering information. -Editor

"I particularly like the 'pressed coin machines' detailing the exact date of one's visit to an international mint, landmark or museum etc, like this Turkish Million Lira Coin....."

Thanks, everyone. -Editor

"I, too, was saddened by Gene's passing. Living in Old Town I frequented his shop. Three coins I got from him were particularly interesting to me. The first was an uncirculated 1826 half cent (PCGS 63 in a rattler holder) that started me on building my half cent collections. The other two were definitely Old Town-related coins. One was an 1812 large cent that was found in a local privy and was quite rough from the exposure to human waste products over many years. It had been cleaned before I bought it. The other was an 1811 half cent that I still have. It has a square hole through it from having been nailed to a doorpost in Old Town.

"Gene could always be counted on to have something interesting in his shop, and in Nummis Nova, he always had something interesting to say."

Indeed. He is missed. Interesting coins, to say the least. -Editor

"I was browsing through some E-Sylum newsletters from last year and remembered this piece of Rama-iana that popped up in a book a few years ago. There is a technical term for things that turn up in second-hand books - do you know it?

"I was at a coin show, perhaps the USMEX in Arizona and bought a second-hand copy of Frank Sedwick's Practical Book of Cobs. Inside was this wonderful folded up flyer/poster for the 1969 Portland Coin-A-Rama."

Matt copied Andy Newman as well; see the earlier article for background - Andy collects "all things using the suffix "rama" (a usage which began in England in 1789)." Thanks - great numismatic ephemera.

Andy responded with this article on "The Strange Things We Come Across in Second-Hand Books". -Editor

"With a great year of E-Sylum behind us, we're all looking forward to the coming year's issues.

"Wishing you and all your readers a healthy and prosperous Year of the Dragon! May we all catch the flaming numismatic pearl we are chasing."

Thanks. Speaking of dragons, the Croatian National Bank has issued bullion coins "inspired by the Trsat dragons, or basilisks." -Editor

"Thanks for sharing the article about coin gift holders. For several years I've had one of these in my collection, not knowing what it was or its purpose. The interior is red plush with an indentation for a coin about the size of a five dollar gold piece. It is very similar, if not quite the same, as one of the holders shown in the article. I wonder if any of your readers would know how old a case like this one would be. I would guess mid-to-late 19th century."

Nice. Thoughts? Any more of these out there? -Editor

"The Kirkland Museum in downtown Denver (near the Denver art museum) has six George Ohr clay coins in their display along with his pots (if I recall correctly the number). This amazing museum has many other quirky items that make it a must when I visit Denver. I can't think how his wife didn't do her job at restraining his purchases of stuff. This museum has many other just beautiful items too, including my other favorite - a room of Craftsman era furniture."

Thanks - that's good to know. I encourage readers to visit when in Denver. Here's an example of one of the Ohr pots in the Kirkland Museum collection. -Editor

George Ohr, the self-styled Mad Potter of Biloxi in Mississippi, created some of the most radical pottery of the Arts & Crafts period, throwing earthenware pots until they were as thin as eggshell porcelain, then folding and twisting them into unexpected shapes. I make disfigured pottery, he said. Couldn't and wouldn't if I could make it any other way. Ohr's multicolored and speckled glazes were another of the signatures that made his work stand out from other art pottery of the period. His credo was no two alike. From the beginning of his career to its end, Ohr varied each piece of pottery in form or glaze to produce a large repertoire of unique work.

He rejected the mass-production of large Industrial-Age art potteries, as well as their division of labor between potters (who shaped the pottery), decorators (who glazed the pottery) and the designers or pottery owners who got most of the credit. All great orators, actors and artists MUST do their OWN WORK to score recognition, he wrote. Ohr even went to the lengths of digging and processing his own clay from a pit he purchased near his studio. He made many more one-handled pots than two-handled. His handles are normally delicate tendrils that are more decorative than they are functional; this was Ohr's intention for his art pottery, which he considered more art than pottery.

"After reading through the latest edition of the E-Sylum, I was particularly struck by the words written by Frank S. Robinson concerning the sale of the BCD library. I suppose there is some small sample of us humans who are wistful and perhaps a bit classically romantic about the pastimes we hold so dear (be they numismatic, bibliophilic, or otherwise). I sympathize with those sentiments, but I am also reminded of the words written by Alfred Lord Tennyson in his Ulysses -

"One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield."

"I enjoyed the polite auction post. I collect Elder sales, but my collection starts with his next sale, his 2nd.

"I have a sale something like that. It is Bangs & Co sale of 11/06/1873. The attendees arrived to find the material offered was so mediocre that it was a joke to them, A group of them decided to give the sale a humorous name. They named it GOINTOEM STRONG.

"Collecting numismatic literature is fun, although my wife says, Please Stop. You have too much."