Visit our NBS Sponsors

About Us The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit association devoted to the study and enjoyment of numismatic literature. For more information please see our web site at coinbooks.org Subscriptions Those wishing to become new E-Sylum subscribers (or wishing to Unsubscribe) can go to the following web page link Membership There is a membership application available on the web site Membership Application To join, print the application and return it with your check to the address printed on the application. Print/Digital membership is $40 to addresses in the U.S., and $60 elsewhere. A digital-only membership is available for $25. For those without web access, write to: Jeff Dickerson, Treasurer Numismatic Bibliomania Society P. O. Box 578, Weatherford, TX 76086 Asylum For Asylum mailing address changes and other membership questions, contact Jeff at this email address: treasurer@coinbooks.org Submissions To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com BUY THE BOOK BEFORE THE COIN Sale Calendar Watch here for upcoming auctions

 

Content presented in The E-Sylum is not necessarily researched or independently fact-checked, and views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.

WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM JUNE 15, 2025

New subscribers this week include: Greg Darnstaedt and Howard Curtis. Welcome aboard! We now have 7,228 subscribers.

Thank you for reading The E-Sylum. If you enjoy it, please send me the email addresses of friends you think may enjoy it as well and I'll send them a subscription. Contact me at whomren@gmail.com anytime regarding your subscription, or questions, comments or suggestions about our content.

This week we open with two new books and a periodical, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal and the ANA, notes from readers, and more.

Other topics this week include the Southern Cross of Honor, Asian numismatics, Lincoln Cent varieties, ribbon circlets, Sophia Holmes, Michael Dolley, auction previews, coin hoards and collections, coins of the San Jose shipwreck, and RARCOA.

To learn more about banknotes of Oldenburg, Germany, important rarities in the U.S. coinage series, the ANA's Medal of Merit and Adna G. Wilde Memorial Award, three-cent checks, Jerry Morgan, Ben Dreiske, the Spring Congress of the Brit­ish Asso­ci­ation of Numis­matic Soci­et­ies, gaming counters, a man dancing a jig, decisions contemplated in Cuba and Jersey, cryptocurrency ATMs, the Sher­iff of Not­ting­ham, and the Fish­pool Hoard Mys­tery, read on. Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum

 

NEW BOOK: SOUTHERN CROSS OF HONOR, 2ND EDITION

The Southern Cross of Honor: Historical Notes and Trial List of Varieties, 2nd Ed.

Little Greybook #2a begins with a history of the Southern Cross of Honor, followed by detailed illustrations of the thirteen varieties identified by the author. This is followed by an examination of several forgeries and reproductions which are unfortunately also out there. It then takes a look at the four types of applications used by eligible individuals to apply to receive a Southern Cross of Honor, followed by a gallery of a few selected Crosses. Lastly the book lists some 574 veterans who received their Southern Cross of Honor on April 26th, 1900, the first day of the bestowals - 300 in Athens, Georgia, and 274 in Atlanta.

This second edition is primarily for those who perhaps missed the first edition in 2003, or just recently became interested in the subject. Most of the new information herein is mainly clarifications of the reproductions and forgeries.

Read more here

 

BANKNOTE BOOK OLDENBURG CHAPTER PUBLISHED

Read more here

PERIODICAL: ASIAN NUMISMATICS NO. 53

EDITORIAL
Les Sixièmes Rencontres de Numismatique Asiatique en 2025
The Sixth Meetings of Numismatique Asiatique in 2025

CHINA
Research on Machine Minting of Fuzhou Shipping Bureau in
A Monetary History of China
by Jun Li

THAILAND
Reflections of Phibun Songkhram Cultural Reforms on coins of Thailand
by Valerii V. Gaganov

CAMBODGE
Deux types remarquables de monnaies cambodgiennes à l'oiseau Hamsa
par Alain Escabasse

Archives / CHINA
Coins of the Republic of China by Guiseppe Ros
by Craig Greenbaum

Read more here

U.S. RARITIES CENSES ON THE NEWMAN PORTAL

Saul Teichman Adds U.S. Rarities Censes to Newman Portal

Recently added to Newman Portal is a group of photo files compiled by Saul Teichman, which serve as condition censes for important rarities in the U.S. coinage series. This follows on to Teichman's previous work on the U.S. pattern and territorial gold series. The collected work represents several hundred short monographs in total and serves to quickly identify the best coins of a given issue, or, in many cases, all the coins of a given issue. Teichman is a relentless researcher and has mined auction catalogs, institutional collections, and his own numismatic network to develop these richly detailed guides.

Image: 1873-CC No Arrows quarter, one of five known examples, NGC XF40.

Read more here

VIDEO: LINCOLN CENT VARIETIES

Read more here

ANA ANNOUNCES 2025 SERVICE AWARDS

Every year, the American Numismatic Association (ANA) recognizes members who go above and beyond with their service and dedication to numismatics. The following awards, presented at the World's Fair of Money®, will be awarded during the Member Awards & Donor Celebration, Thursday, August 21 from 3-4:30 p.m. in Ballroom A of the Oklahoma City Convention Center.

The ANA's Medal of Merit honors individuals who have dedicated years of service to the Association and have worked to promote the hobby. This year's recipients are Wayne Homren, Patrick McBride, and Robert Mellor.

Read more here

 

THE GLORIOUS SS CENTRAL AMERICA COIN FOSSIL

Regarding the recent SS Central America exhibit at the PAN Show, Bob Evans writes:

Bob adds:

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
TREASURE TALK WITH BOB EVANS, EPISODE 5.2 (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n23a16.html)
WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: JUNE 1, 2025, PART THREE (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n23a21.html)

NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: JUNE 15, 2025

Bicentennial Stamp and Coin Drummer Design
Wayne Pearson writes:

Read more here

 

STUDENTS PRACTICE COIN STRIKING

PhD student Francesca Lam-March invited students to take part in the coin striking workshop as part of her project to emulate how coins were made during the Roman period.

Francesca describes the project aims:

Read more here

VOCABULARY TERM: RIBBON CIRCLET

Riband Circlet or Ribbon Circlet. A design element completely encircling a center device, as a narrow band or belt which usually contains a motto or other lettering. Riband circlets are popular design elements in coats of arms and on decorations where the circlet sometimes has a design like a buckle at the bottom of the ribbon as if tying the ends of the ribbon together. So important is this band of lettering that it is seldom found without some wording. Most numismatic writers prefer to retain the early spelling "riband" since it was used thusly for so many years. However, "ribbon circlet," particularly in America, is just as correct.

Read more here

JERRY L. MORGAN (1948-2024)

Sometimes the death of a numismatic author may go unnoticed in The E-Sylum. Sometimes I can correct that. I believe that The E-Sylum does more than just report news. It becomes an archive for information that may be reviewed in the future.

Jerry L. Morgan was born in Missouri on December 3, 1948, the son of David Franklin Morgan (1927-2011) and Anita Marie Root (1930-2024). His mother outlived him.

He was married to Nancy Price Rush and they had a son, Clayton. Jerry graduated with a degree in business from Southeast Missouri State University and served in the National Guard.

The life story of Jerry Morgan is a bit fuzzy during 1975 to 1996. I suspect that the subject of this story was employed in sales and marketing outside numismatics and that another Jerry Morgan was an active coin show promoter in the Denver area.

Read more here

 

SOPHIA HOLMES, FIRST BLACK FEMALE FED

In 1862, an African American woman named Sophia Brown Holmes (c. 1825–1900), who was working as a janitor in the Treasury Department, discovered a box of unguarded currency while cleaning. The large stack included bills with denominations as high as $1,000, an enormous sum of money at the time. Ms. Holmes faced a difficult choice: she feared she could be accused of theft if she tried to report the discovery and was found carrying the money. Instead, knowing that Mr. Spinner routinely made evening rounds, she waited until he arrived. When Spinner came to the Treasury building, she handed him the stack of notes and explained the situation.

Deeply impressed and touched by her honesty, Mr. Spinner took the unprecedented step of promoting Holmes to the position of messenger, making her the first African American woman formally employed by the federal government. President Abraham Lincoln even commended her act of integrity. This appointment marked a significant milestone in the history of African Americans and women in federal service.

Read more here

 

MICHAEL DOL­LEY AND IRISH NUMISMATICS

The North­ern Branch of the Numis­matic Soci­ety of Ire­land pub­lic lec­ture was held at the Ulster Museum on 5 April in part­ner­ship with the Museums and Gal­ler­ies North­ern Ire­land. This year, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Pro­fessor Michael Dol­ley was cel­eb­rated in a series of lec­tures inspired by his extraordin­ary works. Michael Dol­ley (1925–1983) was a renowned numis­mat­ist and his­tor­ian, par­tic­u­larly known for his work on Anglo-Saxon, Irish and Manx coins.

To open the event, Philip Mac­Don­ald, archae­olo­gical finds officer of the National Museums NI, hos­ted a short tour of the new ‘Treas­ures' dis­play at the museum, which includes two coin hoards.

More than 50 guests atten­ded the event in per­son, with more watch­ing online via Zoom. The event com­menced with very per­sonal recol­lec­tions kindly given by one of the daugh­ters of Michael Dol­ley, who focused on his fath­erly per­son­al­ity, fam­ily moments and his humor­ous yarn. That was fol­lowed by a short wel­come address delivered by Tríona White Hamilton, cur­ator of mod­ern his­tory at Ulster Museum.

Read more here

 

2025 BANS SPRING CONGRESS

The Brit­ish Asso­ci­ation of Numis­matic Soci­et­ies (BANS) held its spring con­gress at the Orch­ard Hotel in the grounds of Not­ting­ham Uni­versity from Fri­day, 11 April to Sunday, 13 April. The event was co-hos­ted by the Numis­matic Soci­ety of Not­ting­ham.

The event star­ted on the Fri­day even­ing at the Not­ting­ham Museum of Archae­ology with a wel­come address by Dr John Rainey MBE, BANS'S president, who intro­duced the Sher­iff of Not­ting­ham to wel­come the attendees to Not­ting­ham. This was fol­lowed by a present­a­tion on the his­tory of numis­mat­ics in Not­ting­ham­shire given by Mark T Ray.

Sat­urday com­menced with a present­a­tion by Gareth How­ell titled ‘The Fishpool Hoard Mys­tery', then Dr Stu­art Jen­nings delivered an insight­ful look at the ‘Coin­age Dis­tri­bu­tion and Siege Coins Dur­ing the Eng­lish Civil War (1642–46)'. Mathew Mor­ris delved into the events of ‘Richard III: Solv­ing a 500-year-old Mys­tery'. This was fol­lowed by Tim Mil­lett speak­ing on the sub­ject of ‘Tokens of Love, Loss and Dis­respect'.

Read more here

NOONAN'S JUNE 2025 BANKNOTE SALE SELECTIONS

A very rare and early Irish Free State £50 Banknote bearing the portrait of Lady Lavery is expected to fetch in the region of £15,000 in Noonans Mayfair's sale of British and Irish Banknotes on Wednesday, June 25, 2025 [lot 478].

Andrew Pattison, Head of Banknotes at Noonans commented: "Since the 1990s, Noonans (and DNW previously) have always offered many of the best Irish banknotes in the world and this spectacular Irish Free State £50 note is no different and considerably rarer than the £100. This is certainly one of the finest-known examples of this first date for the iconic Lady Lavery series that was to circulate for almost half a century."

He adds: "It is known as the Lady Lavery note as it depicted the American-born wife of the artist Sir John Lavery on the front with a harp. Lavery had painted the figure as a depiction of Kathleen Ni Houlihan, the mythical figure from Ireland's past."

Read more here

 

KUENKER AUCTION SALE 426

eLive Premium Auction 426: A Rich Selection of European Coins and Medals

Those who did not have a chance to acquire any items during Künker's three-day public auctions will have another chance to purchase interesting issues at favorable estimates in eLive Premium Auction 426. There are a number of lots with starting prices in the double digits, although one might expect the hammer prices of many pieces to be considerably higher.

Read more here

KUENKER: GAMING COUNTERS AND NUMISMATICS

Do you know trictrac? No? Even though the board used for trictrac resembles the backgammon board, trictrac is not a precursor to this popular game. Trictrac was played according to different, and much more complicated rules. These rules are so complex that we will not go into them here. Unlike in today's backgammon, the aim was not to move pieces from one point to another. Instead, players could score points through various combinations of the position of their pieces. The first player to score 12 points was the winner.

A Game for the Nobility

In trictrac, success depended on a combination of luck and a clever strategy. A lack of luck could be offset by great skill; however, even the luckiest dice throws were useless to the unskilled player. In this way, trictrac – unlike the purely intellectual game of chess – reflected the real life of the aristocratic upper class: after all, a good leader was someone who made the best of the cards fate dealt them.

So it is no surprise that politicians and generals prided themselves on being masters of trictrac. Our oldest evidence of this game dates from the beginning of the 16th century and describes how young Federico Gonzaga played trictrac with Pope Julius II. By the mid-16th century, trictrac had arrived in Germany, where it was enthusiastically played by the nobility. In 1634, Euverte Jollyvet wrote a treatise on the game, characterizing it as follows: "Nearly all other games are as common among pages, servants and footmen as they are among princes, lords and nobles. [...] But regarding the Great Trictrac, only people of honor play it, and only the brightest, most agile and alert minds can understand it."

Anyone who wanted to be "in" with high society learned to play trictrac, even the middle classes. Mastering the game became a status symbol. And even if you were a poor player, it was considered fashionable to have an expensive trictrac set in your home for guests to see. Just as many chessboards with elaborately designed pieces are used more for decoration than regular play today, trictrac boards adorned the sophisticated households of the early modern era.

This increased the demand for precious gaming boards and pieces as the game became more popular. And this demand was met primarily in the two southern German centers of craftsmanship: Augsburg and Nuremberg.

Read more here

CONFUSING IMPERIAL NAMES ON ROMAN COINS

In Latin, "maximus" means "the greatest," as in the name of Rome's famous chariot racing stadium, the Circus Maximus. The high priest of the Roman state religion was the Pontifex Maximus, a title later adopted by the Popes. In the film Gladiator (2000), the hero, played by Russell Crowe, is named "Maximus Decius Meridius." Maximus was mostly an honorific title, not a common Roman personal name, but several emperors had names containing the root *max. On coin inscriptions, which are often heavily abbreviated and may be partly illegible, this can be a source of endless confusion, especially for beginners. A survey of the coins of these similarly-named rulers gives us a glimpse into the often chaotic history of the Roman Empire in the third, fourth, and fifth centuries.

Maximinus Thrax

Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus was born about 173 CE to a peasant family in the Balkan region of Thrace. He is known to history as Maximinus Thrax: "the Thracian." He was tall and strong – according to one ancient source, 2.4 meters tall (7 feet 10 inches!) Emperor Septimius Severus made him an imperial bodyguard. Emperor Severus Alexander promoted him to army commander. Following the murder of Alexander in 235, Maximinus was proclaimed emperor by the army. His coinage is extensive, with one reference listing seven types in gold, 21 in silver, and 37 in bronze. A magnificent gold aureus dated to Summer 236 bears his bearded, heavy-jawed profile. The reverse bears a standing figure of Providentia, the personification of forethought, "in the sense of a prescient power capable of creating or altering future events." The denarii of Maximinus (which are only about 50% silver) are common and affordable, even in high grades. Maximinus campaigned successfully against the Germans, Sarmatians, Dacians, and North African tribes, but his high taxes alienated the Roman senatorial class, which revolted against him. His troops murdered him, a fate that would befall many of his successors during the following decades. During his reign, he had never set foot in Rome.

Read more here

ROMAN SILVER COIN HOARDS IN ROMANIA

A Romanian metal detectorist named Marius M. recently made a discovery when he unearthed a hoard of 1,469 ancient Roman silver coins while hiking near the village of Letca Veche in southern Romania. According to the New York Post, the coins, known as denarii, date back at least 2,000 years and are of incalculable value.

"I never thought this day would surprise me and confront me with antiquity," said Marius M., as reported by the New York Post. He had set out for a hike with his metal detector for exercise and relaxation, not expecting to find anything valuable. "I even thought about pinching myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming," he added.

As he walked through the field, his metal detector emitted a strong signal from a specific spot of grass. Curious, Marius began to dig and soon uncovered a quantity of coins. "At that moment, I could feel my heart beating quite hard," he recalled.

Read more here

CAROL ROSS ANCIENT COIN COLLECTION SOLD

A collection of ancient Roman coins amassed by a former Latin teacher from Connecticut was sold at auction for over $1 million this week.

Carol Ross' interest in ancient Roman currency and history led to her collection of over 130 coins. The sale of the coins was handled by New York auction house Doyle.

One of the coins is a "fascinating, rare piece," the auction house said. The gold piece shows a "detailed and lifelike" portrait of Marcus Junius Brutus, likely the most well known of Julius Caesar's assassins. The front of the coin also includes a laurel wreath and an engraving of Brutus' name.

Read more here

PAUL NARCE COIN COLLECTION SOLD

A MASSIVE coin collection has been found in the walls of a man's home, and it's worth a staggering $3.5 million.

The collection was recovered from the house of a man who had passed away, with many of the coins dating back centuries.

It turns out the collection belonged to a rather mysterious figure, who is thought to have devoted all his money to his coin collection.

The collection was owned by Paul Narce, who lived a modest life in south-west France until his death in 2024.

Read more here

UNIQUE 7TH CENTURY BRITISH COIN FOUND

A tiny gold coin that is believed to be the oldest from the Anglo-Saxons in East Anglia has been found in a field.

Coin expert Adrian Marsden described the coin as a "massively significant" find that was struck in the 7th Century.

The design depicts a man dancing a jig while holding a Christian cross above a symbol linked to the Norse god Odin.

The coin was discovered by a metal detectorist near Norwich in the autumn and Norwich Castle Museum hopes to acquire it.

"It's the first one of this type of coin that we've seen and new types of shillings just don't turn up," said Dr Marsden, from the Norfolk Historic Environment Service.

Read more here

ENGLISH CIVIL WAR SILVER HOARD FOUND

A treasure hunter who was inspired by BBC comedy Detectorists to take up the hobby found a £50,000 silver coin hoard just two months later.

On a wet day in February 2023 he got a strong signal on his device and dug down to unearth a pottery vessel filled with silver coins.

Read more here

IMAGES OF SAN JOSE GALLEON GOLD COINS

More than three centuries after a legendary Spanish galleon loaded with treasure sank off the coast of Colombia, researches have uncovered new details about gold coins found scattered around the shipwreck.

Dubbed the "holy grail" of shipwrecks, the San Jose galleon was sunk by the British navy near Cartagena in 1708, killing most of the roughly 600 crewmembers on board. The ship was believed to be holding gold, silver, gemstones and other treasure worth billions of dollars.

Now researchers have analyzed intricately designed gold coins found near the wreck, confirming they are indeed from the iconic San Jose. The coins feature depictions of castles, lions and crosses on the front and the "Crowned Pillars of Hercules" above ocean waves on the back, according to a new study published Tuesday in the journal Antiquity.

Read more here

WILL CUBA ISSUE HIGH DENOMINATION COINS?

An official press proposal suggests that the cash shortage currently suffocating many banking operations in Cuba could be resolved by introducing high-denomination coins into circulation.

A comment in the newspaper Victoria, from the Isle of Youth, even mentions the possibility of minting coins of 10,000 pesos or more, which would take up less space, last longer than bills, and be harder to counterfeit.

But this "likely solution" to "the exasperating current situation" of cash shortages in banks, as the media acknowledges, overlooks the root of the problem: a collapsed financial system, lacking trust and liquidity.

Read more here

JERSEY UNDECIDED ON KING'S IMAGE

A decision on whether to use an image of King Charles III on new Jersey banknotes has not been made due to a "significant stock" of currency featuring the late Queen Elizabeth II, the government says.

Bank of England notes featuring the King went into circulation in June 2024 and Jersey's treasury minister said the creation of new Jersey notes had been explored.

However, Deputy Elaine Millar said stock levels of current notes meant no decision had been made on the introduction of new currency or what it would look like.

Read more here

WHEN COINS ARE INHERITED

Dave Bowers, in his delightful Expert's Guide to Collecting and Investing in Rare Coins, advised, "You may plan to keep your collections for all your life. If so, it is highly important that the future of your rare coins, paper money, and other items be included in your estate planning. It has been my experience that 19 out of 20 heirs who inherit coins have little interest in continuing the parent's hobby, and as an early order of business they set about selling them—often in the wrong way."

Tom Bilotta shared similar observations in Collecting Coins in Retirement: An Action Guide and Estate Advice for Hobbyists and Their Families: "For someone without coin-collecting experience, the task of managing the disposition of an inherited collection can be daunting. Trying to obtain fair value for hard assets that you do not understand is both stressful and likely to produce poor results. Many inheritors do not know where to start and are completely overwhelmed. As a result, many sell the collection quickly for cash, but this method frequently returns only a small portion of the potential value of the collection." Tom recommends that heirs approach the task methodically, spend a few weeks in research to build their confidence, and create an accurate inventory.

Read more here

LOOSE CHANGE: JUNE 15, 2025

What the End of the Penny Means

Will pennies be more valuable if the US stops making them?

Doubtful. The U.S. Mint made about 3.2 billion pennies in 2024, according to its annual report, so there will be billions of 2025 pennies available. "There's nothing, statistically, that says they should become valuable," John Feigenbaum, publisher of rare coin price guide Greysheet and executive director of the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG), a nonprofit organization composed of many of the nation's rare coin experts, told USA TODAY.

The coin's legacy could be akin to the 1976 bicentennial quarter, Feigenbaum said. "Everybody, at the time, was hoarding them (and) you couldn't find bicentennial quarters in change. Now people have plastic bags full of them and they're still worth 25 cents," he added.

However, the 2025 pennies could have an alternative value as an entry point to collectors. "This would surely spike demand … in other Lincoln pennies, like the ones that go all the way back to 1909," Feigenbaum said, adding that the Lincoln penny, which first featured the 16th president in that year, has had "quite a run."

Parents could get a Lincoln penny coin collecting book – options include those from Whitman Publishing, which also publishes Greysheet – and talk to their children about "American history, and who this Lincoln guy is and what would the different designs be all about," Feigenbaum said.

To read the complete article, see:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/06/08/penny-going-away-2025-pennies-value/84072576007/ (https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/06/08/penny-going-away-2025-pennies-value/84072576007/)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
DOGE TAKES AIM AT THE PENNY (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n04a26.html)

Read more here

COLLECTING LICENSE PLATES

Some people dream of scaling a peak or writing a novel. Ethan Craft wants to collect at least one license plate from 500 global jurisdictions.

The quest has taken the 27-year-old across the world in search of junkyards, antique stores and other collectors willing to trade plates.

Stamp collectors are called philatelists. People who save coins are numismatists. License plate collecting is so arcane that there isn't a word for it. But there are thousands of people who so covet tags that they are willing to travel to remote corners of the globe—sometimes at great expense and personal risk—to score a rare find.

Some collectors focus on geographic regions. Others target tags based on design or color. Numbers are big draws, too, namely low ones, birth dates, the devilish 666 and the code for marijuana, 420. Some seek out diplomatic tags or presidential inaugural ones. Others pursue early porcelain plates or those from countries at war.

Read more here

FEATURED WEBSITE: RARCOA

This week's Featured Website is an old name in American numismatics - RARCOA.

https://rarcoa.com/

ABOUT THIS ISSUE: JUNE 15, 2025

Read more here