LOOSE CHANGE: DECEMBER 8, 2024

 

A "proper piece of Bristol history" is expected to fetch thousands of pounds when it goes under the hammer this week.

The theatre token from 1766 is one of 50 originally gifted to the first shareholders of the Bristol Old Vic theatre, who helped fund its construction between 1764 and 1766.

The "incredibly rare" item allowed the owner unlimited access to shows and is set to go under the hammer at the Bristol-based Auctioneum on Thursday.

Auctioneer Andrew Stowe said only 20 of the silver tokens are known to still exist adding: "Every now and again, another token gets discovered and this is just one such of those newly discovered tokens."

To read the complete article, see:
'Proper piece of Bristol history' up for auction (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgxzkd4443o)

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
'GOLDEN TICKET' TOKEN STILL GOOD AFTER 250 YEARS (https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v18n27a12.html)
MORE ON THE BRISTOL OLD VIC 'GOLDEN TICKET' TOKEN (https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v18n28a35.html)

 

One of the most frustrating things about dealing with pioneer gold coins is the almost complete lack of records for most private mints. Contemporary newspaper accounts provide much of what we know about these companies. In most cases, these articles were written by people more concerned about whether local merchants and bankers would accept the coins in question than they were with the stories of the people striking them.

A few weeks ago, I learned that rare-book dealer James E. Arsenault had discovered several receipt books from California coiners Dubosq & Company. To the best of my knowledge, this trio of ledgers represents the only documentation in private hands. Their miraculous survival offers a glimpse into the inner workings of one of the 13 private companies known to have struck coins during the California Gold Rush and puts to rest a mystery surrounding the firm's operations.

To read the complete article, see:
Mint Unveiled (Part 1) (https://readingroom.money.org/mint-unveiled-part-1/)

The once-lost ruby slippers Judy Garland wore in "The Wizard of Oz" have now found a new home.

Nearly 20 years after they were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, the slippers were sold at a live auction Saturday for $28 million, along with a $4.5 million buyer's premium. It was not immediately clear who the buyer was, but it was sold to a phone bidder, according to auction records.

The 2005 theft of the ruby slippers — one of only a few existing pairs that Garland wore while playing Dorothy Gale in "The Wizard of Oz" — haunted authorities, who had billed the shoes as "one of the most recognizable pieces of memorabilia in American film history." After receiving thousands of tips and chasing fruitless leads for more than a decade, the FBI recovered the slippers in a sting operation in 2018.

To read the complete articles, see:
Dorothy's once-missing ruby slippers sold at auction for $28 million (https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/12/07/judy-garland-dorothy-ruby-slippers/)
The Case of the Stolen Ruby Slippers (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/magazine/wp/2019/04/30/feature/the-case-of-dorothys-stolen-ruby-slippers/)

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web