"Probably 50 years ago, I purchased from Robert W. Mangels, Sr., the founder of Golden Eagle Coins, Laurel, MD, a felt box with the numbers 2 and 5 filled in with 25 quarters from 1880 and 1905. I do not remember which had 12 and which 13, but it was very interesting. I later found out it had come from Harry Forman in Philadelphia and as the 1905's were Philadelphia coins, my guess is that it showed up in that area. I sold the coins individually and the case was almost certainly discarded."

Thanks. Interesting to see that others have had similar ideas over the years. -Editor

"I just wanted to pick a nit about something that appeared in the article about the Swedish Island silver hoard. It was a great story about a really important find, but the article included a line that is absolutely not correct.

One sentence reads "A bracteate is a piece of thin, coin-shaped metal that was used as jewelry.". This is wrong: bracteates were very important coins in the currency of the day. This sentence should have read "A bracteate is a thin coin that was occasionally used as jewelry." Describing a bracteate as a piece of jewelry is about as accurate as saying that "A U.S. gold quarter eagle is a small, coin-shaped metal [they probably meant "medal"] that was used as jewelry."

The error was not made in the E-Sylum's report, it was in the original article. But bottom line, people should know that bracteates were real coins.

Thanks for all you do in bringing together so many important stories (even when the original writers mess up)."

Thanks. I always thought bracteates were coins too, but I'm no expert in the era. For a minute I thought I learned something new. Thanks for chiming in and setting things straight - we can usually count on readers for that. The mainstream press is rarely a good source for numismatic accuracy. -Editor

"The framed George Washington engraving cited in last week's E-Sylum and its producer, James Cruchett's Mount Vernon Factory, located in Washington DC, have a very interesting history that is described in a blog available at
https://blog.historian4hire.net/2011/07/18/mount-vernon-factory/

In addition to wood-framed plaques that feature engravings, Cruchett also produced wood framed plaques using electrotype shells depicting Washington as well as views of his home and tomb at Mount Vernon. Several of these are described in the Rulau-Fuld reference work Medallic Portraits of Washington (see pp. 110-112 of 2nd Edition). The Mount Vernon factory also produced additional items such as a uniface struck medallion showing Washington's tomb as well as a framed engraving of his birthplace"

Thank you! I wasn't aware of this. The linked article is well worth reading. -Editor

"In the last issue of the E-Sylum you had a picture of a McGovern Eagleton campaign button. I was 16 years old and followed the 1972 presidential campaign. I collected items related to the election, including buttons. There was an antique shop in a shopping area I frequented and they had a McGovern Eagleton campaign for sale. I did not buy it when I saw it but after a week or so I returned to the shop and bought it. At that time I understood the significance of it and thought it might be worth something someday. I cannot recall the exact price but I believe it was around $3-5. I was working a job at that time for $1.60 an hour on weekends so the cost was not insignificant."

"What began in1938 with President Franklin D. Roosevelt's personal struggle with polio led to the creation of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis to combat polio, better known as March of Dimes. I well remember getting the vaccination in the spring of 1954 at my College Point School, P. S. 29. We weren't special; vaccination was a nation-wide event."

Thanks, everyone. Interesting items. -Editor

Is the robot book authoring era already in full swing? Here's a sampling of coin books Amazon suggested to me today. -Editor

For our bibliophiles, Ben Franklin (a.k.a. Pat McBride) passed along his book sale catalog. -Editor

"Makes perfect sense from a Deputy Royal Postmaster, printer, bibliophile! Get your order in!"