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LOOSE CHANGE: SEPTEMBER 29, 2024Here are some additional items in the media this week that may be of interest. -Editor I'm happy when see a popular press article that gets numismatic facts straight, I still cringe at clickbait text that surrounds them. I recently came across this article that explained "why coins have ridges – and it's blowing people's minds." Yeah, right. -Editor A coin collector has claimed to have discovered the reason why all UK coins have ridges on their sides - and it goes all the way back to the 17th century. A TikTok user has disclosed that there's a crafty rationale behind it. One user of the site known as @CoinCollectingWizard, who boasts 191,000 followers, shared the intriguing factoid in a video that racked up hundreds of likes alongside numerous comments. He asserted that historically, coins were composed of gold or silver and were devoid of ridges. He explained that the intrinsic value of each coin correlated directly to its gold or silver content. However, he highlighted that certain individuals tried their hand at an unlawful scheme with these coins. "They filed off the edges and sold them for their value in gold or silver," he added in the video. In a bid to curb this malpractice, governments initiated the practice of milling or adding grooves to the edges, ensuring any tampered coins would be immediately recognisable. That's not a mind-blowing revelation. Congratulations for discovering a fact that's been known to collectors for centuries. But for 191,000 TikTok followers? Maybe not. Those are quite impressive audience numbers, which is why I encourage legitimate coin organizations, collectors and dealers to get out there in the social media realm and promote numismatics. The real facts are plenty interesting without extraneous puffery. -Editor
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In the we-really-mean-it-this-time department, the U.S. Mint's on-again-off-again-on-again program for redeeming mutilated coins is off again. -Editor
In an explanation about the program on its website, the U.S. Mint notes there is no statutory or regulatory prohibition on melting dimes, quarters, half-dollar and dollar coins when done without fraudulent intent and done consistently with federal law. However, there is a regulatory prohibition against melting pennies and nickels, based in part on the fact that the cost of producing the coins currently exceeds their face value. Requests for licenses to melt mutilated pennies and nickels must be submitted to the U.S. Mint.
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Over at CoinWeek, Roger Burdette published an article about how the world's largest gold bars were made. Interesting - check it out. -Editor A lot of gold is needed to make a large gold bar, normally much more than a mining operation produced in a single clean-out of their sluice boxes and leaching ponds. This meant it took weeks or months to accumulate enough gold to make a sizable bar. It also required furnaces large enough to melt the gold and cast it into a single mass. Plus, once a big bar was cast, what good was it? Gold was money and time was money, so every mine owner wanted to get their precious metal to market so they would have money to pay the bills and build luxurious residences to show how "smart" they were. American gold miners appear to have made only two exceptionally large gold bars during the 19th century. First came a bar weighing 6,127.78 troy ounces produced by the North Bloomfield Hydraulic Mining Company in Nevada County, California in October 1882. The second was cast from the output of three Montana mines and weighed 6,995 troy ounces. We'll explore these bars in more detail, but first, let's look at how the gold in these bars was acquired. 
World's largest gold bar weighing 8,038 troy ounces
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In the geopolitics-and-numismatics department is this article highlighting China's influence and presence in Africa as shown on seven banknotes. Found via News & Notes from the Society of Paper Money Collectors (Volume X, Number 13, September 10, 2024). -Editor 
In 2016, Moroccan King Mohammed VI inaugurated the landmark Chinese-built Mohammed VI Bridge linking the Moroccan capital Rabat with the northwestern city of Sale. At 950m long and six lanes wide – with two 200m tall towers and 160 cables – it is Africa's largest cable-stayed bridge. It was built by the Chinese group Cover-Mbec with $72m investment, manifesting China's presence in the North African country in terms of trade and investment. Morocco's 20 dirhams banknote features Mohammed VI Bridge to celebrate the project.
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Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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