"In the last E-Sylum, it was noted by Heritage that there are 9 known specimens of the 1838-O Half Dollar, but there is a 10th out there in the numismatic ether.

An example was noted as stolen in the 1967 du Pont robbery as described below in the January 1968 Numismatist."

Duly noted. Clickbait headlines will soon be imploring people to check their change for this valuable rare coin "still in circulation." Hopefully this specimen will turn up someday. -Editor

One of the problems with pedigreeing the 1838-O is that Col. Green only owned three of them.

In Newman's handwritten notes on the Newman portal, he notes the three as follows:

The link below discusses additional information regarding Col Green's half dollars.
Burdette G. Johnson Invoices: 1942 : Burdette G. Johnson : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Regrettably, we do not know where Breen came up with 6 or 7 of them."

The Rittenhouse Last Will and Testament is an important document from the early days of our country, but the lot description has misinformation:

"The first coins were made from flatware that was provided by George Washington on the morning of July 30, 1792. The coins were hand-struck by Rittenhouse, to test the new equipment, and were given to Washington as a token of appreciation for his contributions to making the United States Mint a reality."

George Washington did NOT provide flatware for the first coins (half dismes) and was not given the coins. Nor were the first coins struck on July 30.

Thomas Jefferson provided the Mint with $75 in silver on July 11 and received $75 in half dismes (1500) on July 13. This is thoroughly documented.

There is also zero evidence that "the coins were hand-struck by Rittenhouse." It defies comprehension that an aging and infirm Rittenhouse, the Director of the Mint, would have stuck his fingers in a coinage press or turned the heavy screw. That was done by workmen in the Chief Coiner's shop.

I'm sure that this is old news to many readers of E-Sylum.

Correct. I should have left that out. I work too fast for my own good sometimes, and glossed over that part. -Editor

"Thanks for noting some of my items in Fred Holabird's upcoming sale.

"Although it's been three years since I retired (and I love it!), I want you to know that I eagerly read The E-Sylum every Monday morning……..can't get entirely off my 'numismatic feeds'……"

Great to hear from you - thanks for staying in touch. Fred was an early and longtime E-Sylum supporter until the day he retired. May his numismatic ephemera find great new homes. -Editor

"I recently came across your articles mentioning the "Good at Nicholson's" store card/token from the 1850s. I wanted to reach out because I currently have two examples of this piece — one of them even coming from the Eric P. Newman Collection."

Jacob passed along these images of his pieces. Thanks. He's looking for more information on these, and to acquire other examples - can anyone help? He can be reached at jhammers49@gmail.com . -Editor