The E-Sylum v7#32, August 15, 2004
whomren at coinlibrary.com
whomren at coinlibrary.com
Sun Aug 15 21:30:24 PDT 2004
Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 7, Number 32, August 15, 2004:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2004, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
SUBSCRIBER UPDATE
Among recent new subscribers is John McCullagh.
Welcome aboard! We now have 680 subscribers.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY "MR. F.U.N."
It seems like only yesterday that I attended the 100th birthday
party for collector Bob Hendershott of Florida. Bob turned
106 on August 7. Happy Birthday, Bob!
LAKE BOOKS SPARED CHARLEY'S PUNCH
Numismatic literature dealer Fred Lake, writing just before
Friday's hurricane hit ground near his home in St.
Petersburg, FL, noted: "I am writing this at 11:00 AM and
we are awaiting the storm. It is eerily quiet as is usually the
case before a hurricane. As far as our home is concerned,
we are situated high enough to be out of the danger zone for
floodwaters or tidal surge. Our biggest concern would be
wind damage, but we just had a new roof put on and it is
designed to withstand some pretty high winds."
On Saturday evening, Fred wrote: "We are relieved and
thankful! After spending two days preparing for the arrival
of a powerful storm, the Tampa Bay area was spared from
the direct onslaught of Hurricane Charley. The path of the
storm took it into an area of Florida that is some 100 miles
south of our home. It was a strange coincidence that the
name of our previous auction, The Sanibel Island Sale,
was the location of the storm's entry into Florida. We felt
none of Charley's punch.
Joan and I want to thank all of you who telephoned and
emailed us expressing your concern and good wishes as
the storm approached St. Petersburg. It is a good feeling
to know that we have such support from our friends in the
numismatic community Calls and emails came from all
parts of the world.....Puerto Rico, Europe, the Far East,
South America and from all areas of the United States.
Again, we are very grateful for your support."
JACOB PERKINS MINT BUILDING THREATENED
Dick Hanscom of Alaska Rare Coins writes: "I am from
Newburyport, MA, so I read the Daily News every day.
Below are two links to articles about Jacob Perkins that
might be of interest.
http://www.ecnnews.com/cgi-bin/n/nstory.pl?slug-nhist814
http://www.ecnnews.com/cgi-bin/n/nstory.pl?slug-nmint "
[The first article is a good overview of Perkins'
career, and notes: "Newburyport was host to the first state
mint. The brick building in which the commonwealth's
currency was printed still exists today at the rear of 14 Fruit
Street, directly on the property line of The Historical
Society of Old Newbury.
The second article opens: "A local lawyer wants to make an
apartment out of a historic building that housed the state's
earliest mint, and if the city says he can't, he intends to
tear it down."
-Editor]
JOHN BURNS AT THE ANA CONVENTION
Numismatic literature dealer John Burns is setting up at the
American Numismatic Association convention this week.
He writes: "It's that time of year again. I'll have booths
434-436 at the A.N.A. in Pittsburgh Aug. 18-22 with
approximately 5,000 pounds of books, catalogs, pamphlets
and more from the 17th century to brand new reference
books (including the hot off the press 2nd edition Peterson
Ultimate Guide to Attributing Bust Half Dollars) covering
ancients, medieval, foreign and the good old U.S.A.
See you there!"
NBS ACTIVITY AT THE ANA CONVENTION
NBS President Pete Smith writes: "I hope to see many
Numismatic Bibliomania Society members at the ANA
convention in Pittsburgh this week. There are a couple of
corrections to the published schedule that affect our members.
We have combined the NBS symposium with Scott Rubin's
Numismatic Theater presentation. Both events will be at the
same time in room 330 on Thursday at 1 p.m.
Our general meeting is scheduled for Friday at 11:30 a.m.
in room 327. We originally planned a luncheon between our
meeting and "The Great Numismatic Libraries of Pittsburgh"
tour. We were unable to get a lunch at a reasonable price at
the convention center. Instead, we will have a lunch on the
bus for those taking the tour.
It is my understanding that all spaces on the bus are filled
with advance reservations. At previous ANA conventions,
this type of event has been a highlight for bibliophiles.
We will continue to accept donations for the fund-raising
auction during the general meeting. The sale is important this
year because of the high cost of the special 25th Anniversary
issue of The Asylum. If possible, plan to attend and bid
generously.
Several NBS officers and members are giving presentations at
the Numismatic Theater. I will mention Tom Fort speaking
Wednesday at 1:00, Scott Rubin speaking Thursday at 1:00,
and Joel Orosz speaking Saturday at 5:00. The E-Sylum has
previously mentioned other talks by NBS members. Check the
convention program."
THE GREAT NBS AUCTION
Asylum Editor Tom Fort writes: "Most people think that the
auction to benefit the library chair for the ANS on Thursday
Night is the only numismatic literature sale of the ANA. Such
people are wrong. Another place to get truly unique
numismatic literary material will be the auction to benefit the
NBS at our Annual meeting on Friday, 20 August. Among
the items to be sold are:
1. Christian Dekesel, "Jean Fois-Vaillant Antiquary of the King"
Original manuscript of lengthy essay sent to The Asylum for
25th anniversary issue. Includes a card signed by the author and
the original zip disks with essay in MS Word format.
2. Pete Smith, Signed original manuscript of his article on
American Numismatic Pioneers that will appear in 25th
anniversary issue of The Asylum. Also includes a signed early
draft of this work.
3. John Cunnally, Signed original manuscript, with illustrations,
of his essay on Renaissance numismatic works. Also included
are floppy disk and zip disk with same material that
accompanied the manuscript.
4. Douglas Saville, Signed original manuscript of his memoirs
of 34 years at Spink and Son's Numismatic Book
department.
5. Pete Smith, Signed original manuscript of his essay
6. Wayne K. Homren, Signed original manuscript of his
essay on the beginnings of The E-Sylum.
7. David Fanning, Signed original manuscript of his bibliography
of the works of Walter Breen.
8. Ink jet proof copy of The Asylum (meaning it is printed on
8.5x11 paper, on one side only), Summer 2004, signed by
E. Tomlinson Fort and Malgorzata Fort. Contains lots of
comments on Dekesel's article by Dr. Fort who holds a
PhD in Library Science and is the Head of Bibliographical
Services at Falk Library, University of Pittsburgh. Comments
and corrections by myself are more limited since I work
more from a screen text. This lot also includes all back up
CDs created as back-ups as work on the issue was in progress.
9. Ink jet proof copy of The Asylum, Summer 2004, signed
and with extensive comments by editor in chief David
Fanning.
10. Ink jet proof copy of The Asylum, Summer 2004, signed
and with comments by NBS president Pete Smith
11. Printed and bound proof copy of The Asylum, Summer
2004. First version.
12. Printed and bound proof copy of The Asylum, Summer
2004. Second version.
13. E. Tomlinson Fort, "Barbarians within the gates: The mints
of Norman England under David I of Scotland." Signed
manuscript of presentation I shall be making at the ANA
on Wednesday.
14. "A Million Bucks." Courtesy of Wayne Homren. An
original pack of Whitman Publishing play money from the
1960s still in its original packing.
15. Ink jet proof copy of The Asylum, Winter 2003. Also
courtesy of Wayne Homren.
16. "The E-Sylum." Printed proof pages of Wayne's
forthcoming book that will publish the first four years of
The E-Sylum. This consists of pages 8-27 and covers from
January 4, 1999 through June 13 1999.
17. An error copy of the third printing of Hal Dunn's Tokens
and Medals Depicting the Carson City Mint. Donated by the
author. Rather than double sided pages, the printer's assistant
ran them as single sided. Also, one of the postcards depicting
the mint became detached and was remounted at a slight angle.
The author will supply a corrected copy when it becomes
available.
18. Another of the same.
19. A rather large piece of numismatic ephemera donated by
Wayne Homren. Measuring 52 inches long by 14 1/2 inches
tall, it is a visual aid employed by Eric Newman at a talk he
gave April 5, 1992 at the St. Louis, MO convention of the
Early American Coppers club. It is a sketch of a feeding arm
used to move planchets into place for striking. Dusty from
storage but interesting. Signed and dated in ink by Eric.
In view of the high prices people have been paying for numismatic
literary manuscripts at auction in recent years this may be your
chance to bid on historic material at reasonable prices. Don't
miss out. Remember that all funds do to the NBS. Also, those
who cannot make the ANA, George Kolbe has agreed to act
as the agent for any absentee bidders. George can be contacted
at GFK at numislit.com."
1794 DOLLAR BOOK PUBLISHED
Martin Logies writes: "I just thought the readers of the E-Sylum
might be interested to learn of the publication of my new book
exclusively on the topic of the 1794 Silver Dollar.
The topic of the 1794 Dollar has been of great interest to me
for more than the past decade, and something that has absorbed
an enormous amount of my research efforts. Being rather a
numismatic bibliophile, I sought out to assemble a library that
would include every auction sale in which a 1794 dollar
appeared. Thanks to Karl Moulton, the John Ford Library sale
and others, I accumulated enough research to put together a
picture of the surviving population of 1794 dollars. That
research has now been compiled into a new book -- The
Flowing Hair Silver Dollars of 1794: An Historical and
Population Census Study."
The book consists of 212 pages (8-1/2" x 11" format), with
nearly 200 separate images (many more if you count obverses
and reverses separately), and information on every individual
specimen of 1794 dollar that I was able to positively identify.
The first printing (soft-cover) of the first edition will be released
at the ANA show in Pittsburgh next week. Hardcover editions
are expected to be available sometime in September. Here are
links to a few preview pages of the book, posted on the PCGS
U.S. Coin Forum:
http://forums.collectors.com/include/uploadbox/viewfile.cfm?files=1794%20Dollar%20Book%20cover%20image.jpg
http://forums.collectors.com/include/uploadbox/viewfile.cfm?files=1794%20Book%20table%20of%20contents.jpg
http://forums.collectors.com/include/uploadbox/viewfile.cfm?files=1794%20Book%20sample%201.jpg
http://forums.collectors.com/include/uploadbox/viewfile.cfm?files=1794%20Book%20sample%202.jpg"
ANS OLYMPIC CON AND MEDAL EXHIBIT CATALOG
From the press release: "A Simple Souvenir: Coins and Medals
of the Olympic Games, by Peter van Alfen, the Margaret
Thompson Assistant Curator of Greek Coins at the American
Numismatic Society (ANS), is now available from David
Brown Books. This richly illustrated catalogue of the current
ANS Olympics exhibit at the Federal Reserve Bank, New
York (temporarily closed as of August 2, 2004 due to
heightened security in lower Manhattan), explores the social
and political function of Olympic numismatics. Dr. van Alfen
traces the history of the Olympics from its ancient Greek
origins to the modern Olympic revival movements,
encompassing not only the well-known IOC Olympics, but
also the lesser-known Olympics held in Athens before 1896
and in Much Wenlock, England, as well as the Socialist
Olympics movements of the 1920s and 1930s. Illustrating
over 120 objects, including ancient vases and sports
equipment, early 20th century posters and other ephemera,
in addition to the coins and medals, the book offers a unique
perspective on the Olympics and its numismatic heritage.
160p, illus., ISBN 0897222938. Hardback. Price US $50.00
American Numismatic Society members receive a 30%
discount
The David Brown Book Co
PO Box 511, Oakville CT 06779
Toll-free: 800-791-9354 Tel: 860-945-9329
email: david.brown.bk.co at snet.net
Web site: <http://www.oxbowbooks.com/> enter the site,
then click "distributed titles", and choose - The American
Numismatic Society and miscellaneous publications.
For more information contact Juliette Pelletier, Membership
and Development Manager at: 212-571-4470 ext. 1311
or email Pelletier at numismatics.org"
COIN COLLECTOR'S ADVOCACY GROUP FORMED
Arthur Shippee forwarded this note from the Explorator
mailing list:
Collectors of ancient coins, noting the recent proliferation of
cultural property legislation whose hastily drafted and poorly
thought out provisions could (probably unintentionally) cause
very serious problems for coin collectors, have founded the
Ancient Coin Collectors Guild. The goal of this guild is to
foster an environment in which the general public can continue
to confidently and legally acquire and hold, for personal or
professional use, any numismatic item of historical interest
regardless of date or place of origin.
Some objectives of the ACCG are:
* To lobby effectively against the imposition of import
restrictions on coins of any age or place.
* To seek, in the event of adverse legislative action, a
federal court ruling affirming the right of individuals to
collect objects from the past.
* To fight for the continued existence in the U.S. of a
free market for all collector coins.
* To bolster legitimacy of the ancient coin market through
establishment of a national dealer code of ethics.
The ACCG website address is http://accg.us/.
There has been a huge response to the announcement of
this new advocacy group's formation, and membership of
the ACCG is rapidly growing as coin collectors, alarmed
about efforts to portray collecting of antiquities as immoral
and unethical, flock to join.
COLLECTOR QUIZ ANSWER CONFIRMED
Regarding my answer to his earlier quiz question,
W. David Perkins writes: "Alfred J. Ostheimer is
correct."
GAME SHOW BIBLIOPHILE QUESTION
Mike Greenspan writes: "Some of the more erudite E-Sylum
subscribers might already know this:
On the "Do You Want To Be A Millionaire," quiz show which
aired about a week ago here in Houston, one of the questions
was, "What do you call a person who studies literature printed
before 1500?"
The answer: An incunabulist. Who knew??? Certainly not I."
SCRIP FOUND AMONG OLD MUNICIPAL RECORDS
Allegheny City, annexed to the City of Pittsburgh in 1907,
was once a separate thriving city across the Allegheny River
from Pittsburgh. The area is now known simply as "The
North Side" and is the home of PNC Park and Heinz Field,
where the Pittsburgh Pirates and Steelers play. A recent
newspaper article discusses "Allegheny city's records [which]
were transferred to Carnegie Library on the North Side for
storage and largely forgotten. In 1969, the records were
moved to the University of Pittsburgh, where they sat
untouched for decades, most recently on 43 pallets on a
loading dock at Hillman Library.
"It had a roof over it, but it wasn't environmentally controlled.
The records were filthy. It looked as if some attempts were
made over the years to restore them, but I guess it was
overwhelming for the resources they had at the time," said
Jerry Ellis, one of two state archivists who have been working
for months to restore the collection so it can be viewed by
historians, social scientists and doctoral students. "Here's a
19th-century collection. A complete package."
"Under current record management laws, municipalities are
required to keep records such as fiscal receipts for three to
seven years. But 150 years ago, especially in Allegheny city,
the process seemed to be to keep everything. For historians,
it's a boon. "They had no records management," said archivist
David W. Shoff, who is working on the project with Ellis.
"This stuff was just kept."
"Using a special vacuum cleaner, dry paper towels and a
dust-gathering sponges, they've spent any free minute they've
had cleaning the documents and indexing what is there.
Everything is now stored on one floor in the state's archives,
a 21-story records tower that is light-, temperature- and
humidity-controlled. The documents are in acid-free folders
and containers to slow deterioration. Some of the most
critical documents, such as books of minutes, have been
or will be microfilmed, ensuring that they'll be around for
400 years.
"The paper is probably good for another couple of hundred
years," Ellis said. "Now that it's not being attacked any more,
it'll last. You can't stop the deterioration, but you can slow it
down."
"Ellis said the most difficult part of processing the records
was trying to work without getting sidetracked and fascinated
by what they contained."
"The centerpiece of the collection is contained in more than
300 volumes of financial records, including two volumes of
bond books for city streets such as California Avenue; 11
cartons of contracts; two folders of circulation reports from
newspapers including the Pittsburgh Gazette, a predecessor
of the Post-Gazette; all manner of tax records, housing
surveys, sewer assessments and auditors' records. There are
receipts for fees paid by butchers, push cart peddlers and
wagon vendors, and correspondence from various city
departments including the controller. Ellis has even found scrip
issued by banks in the 1840s."
"For more information about the Allegheny city records, call
the Pennsylvania State Archives at 1-717-783-3281 or go to
www.phmc.state.pa.us."
To read the full article, see:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04224/359531.stm
[I've contacted the archivists about the scrip that was found
in the collection. Perhaps someday research in the archives
will reveal more information about the issuance and use of
municipal scrip in the early 19th century. Thank heaven for
pack rats. -Editor]
NEW WEB FOR TRANSFERRING MONEY
Dick Johnson writes: "The Federal Reserve has developed a
new internet-based system to move money around. But this
money is debits and credits – not coins and currency of
interest to numismatists.
On an average day the Fed transfers $1.8 trillion this way.
This is more than twice the $675 billion of total U.S. coins
and currency in circulation (as of last count, December
2002).
An article in the August 15, 2004 New York Post, writer
Hilary Kramer tells about the Fed’s new web plan. It’s
called FedLine Advantage. Previously it did all this on a
closed, stand-alone, Microsoft DOS operation system
computer network, which is said to be outdated. The
article discusses the obvious security concerns.
Of concern to numismatists is the growing tendency of
money transactions away from traditional forms we collect.
Are we destined for a coinless, currencyless money system?
The article can be found at:
http://www.nypost.com/business/18671.htm "
CARSON CITY QUARTER SPENT IN COIN SHOW STUNT
An August 11 article in the Reno Gazette-Journal recounts
how E-Sylum subscriber Rusty Goe spent a valuable Carson
City mint coin to promote a local coin show.
"The search is on for an 1877-CC Liberty Seated quarter
minted in Carson City that is worth $300 to the person who
redeems the valuable coin at the Nevada State Museum.
Reno coin dealer and collector Rusty Goe purposely spent
the quarter in Carson City last weekend to raise awareness
for the Carson City Mint Coin Show on Aug. 28-29 at the
state museum."
"Goe said he made a $2.37 purchase at [a] store and paid
with a stack of quarters with the rare coin tucked among the
modern quarters.
"I tried to divert the clerk's attention in the hope that he
wouldn't just look at each quarter and he didn't," he said.
Goe said he has the receipt that shows the date, time and
location of his purchase. He said the transaction was
photographed from a distance.
"I winked into the camera then I walked out of the store,
and we took pictures outside to use as a reference. The
cashier had no idea what was going on," he said."
http://www.rgj.com/news/stories/html/2004/08/11/77719.php
DR. THOMAS ADDIS EMMET CONFEDERATE CURRENCY
Fred Reed writes: "I am researching Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet
and his Confederate Currency collection for a future article and
understand that Mark Rabinowitz authored an article several
years ago about Emmet's Colonial Currency collection.
I'd like to trade ideas with Mark, but only have an outdated
e-mail address for him. Mark does great research and doubtless
somebody on the E-Sylum list knows his whereabouts. If a reader
could put me in touch with Mark, I'd be obliged. My email
address is freed3 at airmail.net. Thanks"
S.O.B. NEWSLETTERS SOUGHT
Alan Roy writes: "I have a question for the readers. Recently,
I received a couple of issues of the "Society of Bearded
Numismatists Newsletter." One is Vol. 1 # 1 (cover titled
"Learned S.O.B.Servations"), dated April 1977. Does anybody
know when the last editions was issued? I was hoping to
expand my collection. If there are any former S.O.B.s with
newsletters, or other Society material, they are willing to part
with, I would be very interested. They can contact me at
aroy at theoffice.net."
ANS BUILDING QUIZ
Pete Smith writes: "In response to Dick Johnson's question,
I know that Sylvester S. Crosby is the only American author
with his name in stone at the ANS. (And so the only name
within my area of expertise). I am not aware of a source
with a complete listing of names."
[Surely there is someone else out there who can give us
more of the names. Don't New Yorkers ever look up?
-Editor]
U.S. MUSEUM NUMISMATIC COLLECTIONS
Pete Smith writes; "In response to Chris Faukner's question,
I recall an article in Coin World or Numismatic News that
listed numismatic museums in the U.S. I don't know if I
pulled it for my clipping file. Unfortunately my clipping file
is a disorganized black hole where information frequently
falls in but is infrequently retrieved."
Fred Reed writes: "Regarding the request for a listing of
numismatic museums, this is just the kind of listing that we
used to compile when I worked for Coin World 25 years
and more ago.
The chapter on museums in the 1978 edition of the Coin
World Almanac spans 17 pages and lists (by a quick
count) 126 or so numismatic displays at U.S. institutions
and another 86 or so numismatic displays at international
institutions.
I don't know if the current staff keeps the list up-to-date,
but if somebody wants to take on the chore, the Coin
World Almanac would be a good jumping off place."
HOMREN PAMPHLET AND EPHEMERA FILES
Until recently, my pamphlet and ephemera files were
another black hole. In my copious "free time" over the
last couple weeks I've organized everything into a set
of binders to ease viewing during the August 20th tour.
I'm glad I did - it's a breeze to find things now. Each
binder has a cover sheet with a title describing what's
inside, and has a number to help keep things in order.
Here's the list:
1 Colonial Coinage
2 Vlack Photos #1
3 Vlack Photos #2
4 U.S. Coinage Laws
5 U.S. Mints
6 U.S. Large Cents
7 U.S. Coinage
8 U.S. Commemoratives
9 U.S. Patterns
10 Canadian Numismatics
11 Civil War Numismatics
12 Hard Times Tokens
13 Hard Times Token Photos (ex-Champa)
14 Hard Times Token Photos (ex-Miller)
15 Other Tokens
16 Private & Pioneer Gold
17 Political Tokens & Medals
18 Other Medals
19 Proposed Coinage
20 Colonial Currency
21 Lotteries
22 U.S. Obsolete Currency
23 Counterfeit Detectors
24 U.S. Currency
25 American Numismatic Society
26 American Numismatic Association
27 ANA Conventions
28 ANA Convention 1994
29 ANA Convention 1998
30 Western Pennsylvania Numismatic Society
31 Other Numismatic Organizations
32 American Journal of Numismatics
33 The Numismatist
34 Other Numismatic Periodicals
35 Numismatic Collections & Exhibits
36 Numismatic Americana
37 Q. David Bowers #1
38 Q. David Bowers #2
39 B. Max Mehl
40 Prospectuses
41 Numismatic Correspondence
42 Numismatic Literature
43 Low's General Morelos Coinage
44 M. N. Daycious Hoax
45 Numismatic Supplies
46 Coin Buying Guides
47 Fixed Price Lists
48 Auction Catalogs #1
49 Auction Catalogs #2
50 Auction Catalogs #3
51 Auction Catalogs #4
52 Auction Catalogs #5
53 Auction Catalogs #6
54 Auction Catalogs #7
55 Audio Home Study Guide
I can't speak for Tom, but at my house feel free to
take photos of the library and our group. Please save
copies of your photos for our NBS archives and for
a possible post-event commemorative booklet.
MORE ON THE "E" AND "L" COUNTERSTAMPS
Responding to Mark Borckardt's comments regarding the
E and L counterstamps, Tom DeLorey writes:
"Although a few old Mint dies were floating around in
numismatic circles back in the 19th Century, the hand
punching of the lettering in slightly variable positions would
have made it necessary to find the precise die that struck
this small hoard of high grade coins, and not just any reverse
die of this type.
Also, a private counterstamper would have had no need to
find and use a reverse die. Judging from Brunk
counterstamping was rather common in the 19th Century,
and nobody seemed to mind if the coin so marked came
out slightly bent or cup-shaped.
As to the suggestion that a soft (as in softer than the coin)
base could have been used, I have done a number of
counterstamps over the years, using either an anvil or a
block of wood as my base, and the only thing that did
not warp was a gold Krugerrand."
COUNTERSTAMPING TRADE SECRET (NOT REVEALED)
Dick Johnson writes: "Medal makers have been using
punches to place dates, names, other lettering, on existing
medals for hundreds of years. They all face the problem
of mashing the detail on the opposite side of the item being
punched, as will occur when the piece is laid on some hard
surface. (Something in physics about “an equal and opposite
reaction” I suppose.) The suggestion in last week’s E-Sylum,
of using hard woods, oak, iron wood, ebony, are just not
realistic.
Every medal manufacture has a thick piece of ..............
in which he places the item to be punched to add custom
lettering if this has to be done by punches (instead of, say,
inscribing with a motorized engraver or engraved with a
burin). ............. is sturdy enough to hold the piece
intact while the blow is imparted to the punch to sink into
the surface of the piece, yet this material is resilient enough
to “give” and not damage the piece on the opposite side
(at the contraposition location).
This is one trade secret I refuse to reveal. I’m just not
going to tell you what ........... is. I personally dislike
unauthorized counterstamping on coins, medals, tokens,
whatever. Yes, I know this was done in areas of the
world where coins were scarce and counterstamping
was done to identify pieces for use in local areas. That
was in the far past. Today we have enough mints
around the world to strike coins for circulation without need
for usurping another country’s coins by counterstamping.
Or irrationally punching your own country’s coins.
I will reveal this, however. For creating repousé a thin
copper sheet is laid on a tub of tar and pitchblend. It is
tapped with a punch to form a design. This is the nearest
thing to ........... being used in modern times.
Since The E-Sylum goes on the world wide web, I don’t
want this secret to get in the hands of hundreds of
schoolboys who get their mitts on a punch or two and add
their own brand of graffiti on any coins or medals. (Okay,
you juvenile delinquents, go get a tub of tar and pitchblend
and punch away. You didn’t learn about it from me.)"
COPPER CENTS USED IN WINE TESTING
Dick Johnson writes: "In sixty years I have been reading about
Lincoln Cents I thought I had heard it all. Not so. I thought I
had heard of every conceivable use of a Lincoln cent for
nonmonetary purposes. Like substituting a cent for a burnt-out
fuse in a fuse box, as a temporary screwdriver, a paint can
opener, or even left over from the days of the large cent –
placing a coin on the eyelid of a recently deceased person to
assure the lid is shut before rigor mortis sets in.
Well, in a story in the Indianapolis Star this week, food writer
Patti Denton tells of a wine testing competition at the Indiana
State Fairgrounds for the Governor’s Cup which ended August
4th. Thirteen judges had to test 3,644 wine entries. Judge
Linda Jones McKee, who is president of a Pennsylvania
winery group and has been testing wines for 12 years,
disclosed this trick. In Patti Denton’s own words:
‘One of her judging tricks caught the eye of a fellow first-time
judge. They had a wine that was producing a strong sulfur
smell. McKee dropped a penny in the glass, which dissipates
some of the aroma. For that reason, McKee tries to keep
a penny minted before 1995, when the copper content was
higher. Unfortunately the coin revealed some other faults the
wine had as well, she said.’
The next time a sommelier serves me a glass of wine that
smells like vinegar would it help if I dumped all my pocket
change in the glass?"
http://www.indystar.com/articles/8/169207-4538-067.html
FEATURED WEB PAGE
This week's featured web page is the June 10, 1999 online
journal of Ira Glass, host of Public Radio International's "This
American Life", where he describes an evening with money
artist J.S.G. Boggs:
"At the beginning of our presentation at the Art Institute,
Boggs produced a copy of the Chicago yellow pages. He
asked the audience for the name of a local pizza place. On
his cell phone he called and ordered some pizzas. When
they arrived at the theater, he asked the delivery guy up
onstage, and tried to pay for the food with a drawing of a
$50 bill. It was, frankly, a little uncomfortable. The guy
delivering the pizzas suddenly found himself standing on a
stage, lots of people watching, being asked to make a
decision: Did he want Boggs to give him $50 in real cash
-- or did he want the drawing instead? He broke out in a
sweat. All the poor guy knew is that if he didn't show up
back at work with real American currency to cover those
pizzas he took out, he'd be in trouble. He turned down
the deal. It was hard not to jump in and just tell him: "You
can make a thousand dollars here! Take the drawing!"
http://slate.msn.com/default.aspx?id=29923
Wayne Homren
Numismatic Bibliomania Society
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