"The cut half dime is a 1795 LM-3. Mystery solved!"

Thanks. We love solving numismatic mysteries - the Scooby-Doo gang of coin people. Here are images of a higher-grade intact specimen from the PCGS CoinFacts. site. -Editor

A "treasure trove" is typically defined as gold, silver, or cash that's discovered and has no discernible owner. The Numismatic Bibliomania Society (NBS) breaks down how things are viewed regarding found items, which are labeled as "mislaid, lost, abandoned, or 'treasure trove.'"

"The word trove means treasure so using the two words is redundant, like saying dog puppy. A common goof. Here in San Diego a decades old coin shop goes by Treasure Trove."

I hadn't thought of it that way, and others agree. Here are some references I found. The New York Times piece dives into the phrase's Latin and French origins. -Editor

"I plan to display my set of Canadian Numismatic Association convention programs from 1954-2025 at the upcoming convention in Calgary since this is the Association's 75th anniversary. There were no conventions between 1950-1953 and the conventions in 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to Covid.

"It has taken me more than 30 years to assemble my set but, unfortunately, I am missing one final program from the 1958 convention in Ottawa and I would love to correspond with anyone who may have a copy for sale."

Can anyone help Darryl complete his set? -Editor

"According to the Dalai Lama there are two days when nothing can be done - yesterday and tomorrow. He obviously never lived on the international date line. Every time I've ever flown between Samoa and American Samoa, it was either yesterday or tomorrow when I landed.

"Coins of the various countries of the world are either stuck in the past or evolving toward the future. The most recent date on Samoan coins is 2011 and the coins say 10 Sene, 20 Sene, and 50 Sene, but the people on Samoa call them 1 cent, 2 cent, and 5 cent coins. In American Samoa they have the dirtiest, most crumpled dollars I have found anywhere on the planet. As a distant American territory, it is kind of a forgotten place. The USA as a whole is stuck in the past with their coinage as opposed to Canada and Australia and Europe with more evolving coinage. I think the 2020 50 cent piece of Fiji with the colorized flag is one of the most attractive recent circulating coins.

"The tentative designs for the semiquincentennial coins are okay, if a little busy, but would be better if colorized for the special occasion. We really need to get rid of pennies. They are worthless and a money losing venture except for a few special interest groups. Collectors don't need them. They could be substituted with a higher denomination coin with a greater apparent worth. In Australia, they have coins like their old pre 1966 pennies that they call birthday coins of all dates that they sell at the mint in Canberra for $7 each. We should also get rid of dimes and nickels. All these denominations are too petty. Looking back to 1792 the smallest denomination coins would buy a loaf of bread.

"This is more of what should be a model for a more efficient economy. It would be better if sales tax was not tacked on as a percentage to purchases and the listed prices in stores were all inclusive as were all other bills. Car rental prices have 36% added on, airfare over 50%. It would be easier for everyone if prices were all inclusive prices such as at the gas pump. I am not saying to eliminate the taxes, tips, etc., but let the consumer see an all inclusive price as in Australia and on ebay. If the dime is kept and the nickel is eliminated, the quarter would need to become a 20 cent piece. It could be the same size and shape as the current quarter and the old quarters would then work in vending machines as a 20 cent piece without change. These coins could then be all copper instead of clad.

"Higher denomination coins should be produced, but following the lead of Canada the $1 and $2 bill would be eliminated at the same time. Eliminating the $5 bill would be optional with a $5 coin. The higher denomination coins would be colorized and/or bimetallic to deter counterfeiting. US coins are so stuck in the past."

"I was walking on the beach and I came across this strange formation in the sand. I'm not sure if it's political or not."

"I enjoyed the Amsterdam piece, in particular the Rijksmuseum Cuypers Library, the largest and oldest historical art library in the Netherlands. Your readers might like to see an image (one side) of the numismatics display case to get an idea of the size (and that reflective glass). It is not very large but is quite diverse, showing world coins and medals from all over. Also attached is an exhibit card.

"I enjoyed Amsterdam's VOC museum too but sadly it was devoid (in 2018 at least) of any display of the fascinating world of VOC coinage."

Very nice. Thank you! -Editor

The Higgins Museum of National Bank Notes is now open for the 2025 season. Tuesday thru Sunday, 11 AM to 5:30 PM. June 3rd thru Labor Day.

Located at 1507 Sanborn Avenue in Okoboji, Iowa, the collection has 2300 National Bank Notes on display, with a special emphasis on notes from Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota.

There is a special display of 3,000 mostly real photo postcards of Iowa.

Admission is free, contributions are appreciated.

Questions can be directed to curator@thehigginsmuseum.org.

Make it a stop on your summer vacation itinerary, folks! -Editor

"Legacy (Jason Bradford) messed this note up by using Boggs instead of Prusmack. Most of our Boggs / Prusmack material is gone now and only have a few left. You probably know that all of Tim's work was done using notes from our collection. Like the NBN #22 he used our LaCrosse NBN Serial # 22 for that design which was used on several different cities. We visited the Prusmack family a few times and we were close with them. We were friends with both Boggs and Prusmack and their work is still very popular."

Thank you - I'd forgotten about Tim using notes from the Wilson collection. I used an old email address to reach out to John and Nancy Wilson about this misidentified note by money artist Tim Prusmack. The delay is all my fault. -Editor