"I just read the E-Sylum and, as usual, found several interesting articles. The article by George Cuhaj was quite fun. I am so happy the Girl Scouts are doing this. What a fun way to learn about money and counting change. Thanks for the great issue."

Numismatics is everywhere, even in Girl Scout cookies and the Super Bowl. -Editor

"The oldest coin I ever found was an 1879 Indian cent that I found in a roll in 1960. I traded it for a much more desirable 1955-S Lincoln cent, the last coin I needed to fill Book 2. I was 10.

"I took it to a long-gone shop that was up a flight of stairs in Butler, Pa. (The store also had plastic models that were probably more interesting to me than coins). With a Red Book in hand, I figured I could trade my Indian for several Lincolns and trade the extras with my friends. The dealer thought otherwise. One for one. Profit, he explained. Still, I was happy. I got to complete my book. I remember thumbing the uncirculated coin into the hole. Nothing else would do.

"If you were a kid in 1960, the 1955-S was the rarest coin there ever was. We were all looking for one. We all needed one to fill the last hole. And no one I knew ever found one.

"While it may not have been the smartest move I ever made financially. I was happy then and I'm happy now. Completing that set and competing with my friends was more important than money."

Great memory. -Editor

Over the years I have offered tokens similar to Ted's Token in my catalogs. My suppliers from Asia described them "wedding coins". The items I had were modern creations, supposedly based on older pieces.

In 1990 I described them as follows (unfortunately I cannot find the image)

CHINESE WEDDING COINS These cash-style (round with square hole) tokens were traditionally given to Chinese brides for their wedding. The front reads "How to please a man" (in Chinese) and the back shows how in graphic detail. These are modern versions of the traditional "wedding coin".
MED-CW? CHINESE WEDDING COIN .................................... $4.00

From 2004 to 2007 I offered the following "Chinese wedding coins" on my website:

According to tradition, Chinese brides would be given these "coins" or charms on their wedding night so they would know what to do. We offer modern versions of the Chinese Wedding Coin in two sizes, 39mm and 27mm. Both are quite crudely made and are struck in a copper alloy. They have four sets figures around the square hole on one side, and Chinese characters on the other.

Item N-CN-WEDLG LARGE CHINESE WEDDING COIN, (approx 39mm) crude $9.75
Item N-CN-WEDSM SMALL CHINESE WEDDING COIN, (approx. 27mm) crude $7.50

Joel also found a useful Wikipedia article on these. Thanks! -Editor

"This was sent to me by a German Colleague and Friend. The caption at the bottom (hard to see) says that this is: me, Richard Margolis, Tom Hamilton with his hand on his head, and two others I do not know. It was taken at the 1977 International Hotel Bar in Zurich. All of us have boxes in front of us looking at coins. They used to have a show there every fall, and much business was done prior to the show itself. In today's age, I just cannot imagine something like this happening today. It is too bad, as relationships were built on such interactions."

Great picture - thanks for sharing this. Can anyone identify others in the photo? -Editor

Here's a more contemporary numismatic gathering of colonial collectors, in New Jersey. -Editor

"Friday was the gathering of our Thursday Lunch Club. The date was changed so that one of us could make the 2 1/2 hour drive to attend. We discussed possibilities for a name change but didn't decide yet. Our first lunch group was over 20 years ago and consisted of four of us: Syd Martin, Roger Siboni, Leo Shane and myself. Roger Moore joined us a short time later.

"Eight of us were able to attend yesterday at the Town & Country Diner in Bordentown. In the picture clockwise from the left are: Matt Virga, Leo Shane, Mike Brooks, Dan Knight, Bill Liatys, Ray Williams, John Louis and Wayne Shelby. Two couldn't attend for personal reasons and we're hoping a snow bird will join us again when the weather warms and he travels north from Florida.

"The Diner has an excellent menu with many many choices. Also, it's large enough so that we can spend all the time we want at our table.

"Our show n tell adds to the excellent hobby discussions. Some of the items brought were silver shillings of the 1700s, Maris 14-J and 51-g, Vlack 5-72A and 14-84A. Continental Currency notes and also beautiful examples of notes from South Carolina & Georgia. A beautiful Pitt Token and Voci Populis (2). There were a number of Magic Lantern cards, all having themes about George Washington. There was a beautiful 1771 British 1/2d with some rim damage and a Lion Half Dollar with two dates (unique?). A Maris 77-dd double struck with the date reading 17888. And much more. The only thing better than colonial collectors getting together with some coins, is doing it over food!

"Looking forward to our next lunch."