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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 can go to the following web page Subscribe You may Unsubscribe Here 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 updates!

 

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 NOVEMBER 23, 2025

New subscribers this week include: Simon Van Quigg and Thomas Krawczyk. Welcome aboard! We now have 6,756 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.

Sorry, no new books this week. We open with an obituary, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal and the American Numismatic Society, notes from readers, and more.

Other topics this week include sovereigns, satirical medals, the Old Spanish Trail, John Strahan, Jürg Richter, fixed price and auction offerings, Princeton's coin collection, the first coins recovered from the San José, the last "Omega" cents, Martha Washington pattern dies, and Ukrainian and Vietnamese currency.

To learn more about WWII concentration camp money, fake Indian Chief medals, former Assay Commissioners, the purest description of money, the Kulture in Belgium medal, the expedition of Cabeza de Vaca, SINCONA, the holey dollar, the Richard Margolis Collection, the Society of Colorado Pioneers medal, three-coin Omega privy mark sets, Althea Gibson, and the ancient Roman goddess of the hinge, read on. Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum

 

STEVE FELLER (1951-2025)

Steve Feller, 1951-2025

Steve Feller was born in Brooklyn in 1951. He was fiercely proud of New York and all things New York, including his attendance at a Brooklyn Dodgers game before the team moved to Los Angeles in 1958. Despite living most of his life in the Midwest, Steve's Brooklyn accent quickly betrayed his home-town loyalty. He was a collector from childhood. Harry Cynkus, a lifelong friend, recalled the two boys searching for cents and nickels in bank rolls to fill out their Lincoln and Jefferson sets. Feller received a Ph.D. in physics from Brown in 1979 and spent the remainder of his life as a professor at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, IA, where he was known simply as "Doc."

Steve was innately curious, a person who thought out loud and enjoyed matching wits on nearly any topic, not in the spirit of competition, unless the subject was the historical superiority of the New York Yankees, but with a humble ambition to see what new knowledge might develop from rigorous discussion.

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OCCASIONAL NUMISMATIC PAPERS DECEMBER 2025

Occasional Numismatic Papers on NNP

Published and edited by Chris Faulkner and Jacob Lipson, the Occasional Numismatic Papers series gathers well-researched works on Canadian numismatics. The recently released December 2025 issue includes articles by Jeff Ogborne, Markus Molenda, and Jacob Lipson, in addition to related notes. Lipson's piece questions the authenticity of a large-size George III Indian Chief medal. The example is underweight and failed composition testing. A piece of chipped plating betrayed brassy color underneath, obviously incorrectly for a medal ostensibly struck in silver.

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VIDEO: 2016 ERROR & VARIETY UPDATE

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ANS ANNOUNCES MOVE TO TOLEDO, OHIO

Building on its nearly 170-year history of preserving the most comprehensive collection of coins, art medals, and other numismatic and monetary objects in the U.S., the American Numismatic Society will expand its reach, deepen its commitment to research and scholarship, and continue to educate and inspire new generations through the rich stories told by coins and money.

The American Numismatic Society (ANS)—a nearly 170-year-old organization dedicated to the public appreciation and research of coins, currency, and medals and holding the most comprehensive collection of numismatic objects in the United States—today announced its strategic relocation from its current leased location at 75 Varick Street in New York City to Toledo, Ohio, where it will take up residence on the campus of the Toledo Museum of Art (TMA).

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NEW YORK TIMES COVERS ANS MOVE

On the 11th floor of a downtown Manhattan building, just around the corner from the Holland Tunnel, sits one of the world's finest collections of coins. Stored behind a series of locked doors in a massive, climate-controlled vault, the coins tell the story of civilization, from antiquity to today.

A Sumerian clay tablet from about 2000 B.C.E. Early Chinese forms of money shaped like miniature tools. A silver French penny from the age of Charlemagne. A medal given by the Lincoln administration to a Native American chief, pierced by a bullet. More than 800,000 other telltale coins, medals and objects of wonder.

But apart from scholars, members and the occasional enthusiast, almost no one sees this treasure, which is one reason its guardian, the American Numismatic Society, is leaving the city where it was founded in the mid-19th century — and moving to Toledo, Ohio.

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TOLEDO COVERAGE OF THE ANS MOVE

The American Numismatic Society - an organization dedicated to the research and preservation of coins, currency and medals, will relocate its location from the Big Apple to the Glass City.

In a piece on Numismatic News, the American Numismatic Society wrote on Thursday that it would be moving itself and its collection from New York City to Toledo in the first half of 2028. The nearly 170-year-old organization announced it would be specifically moving to a location on the Toledo Museum of Art's campus, where a dedicated museum hall and gallery spaces will allow the organization to host exhibitions, as well as showcase its archives. The society said some of its objects will be on public display for the first time ever.

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NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: NOVEMBER 23, 2025

Double Large Cent Birth Years Token?

Regarding Matt Hansen's conjoined Large Cents, Carol Bastable of the Love Token Society writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: NOVEMBER 16, 2025 : Double Large Cent Love Token? (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n46a15.html)

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SOVEREIGN STORIES

While the birth of the sovereign dates back to 1489 and NGSA presents a very nice summary of it for the piece they are offering, I thought I would provide some additional information about the sovereign in general. The sovereign's history and longevity is significant. Known as the chief coin of the world, especially during the height of the British empire, it is amazing that they are still being minted today. The modern, milled version, sovereign began in 1817 under the rule of King George III.

The sovereign was circulated throughout the world having mints in England, Australia, Canada, India and South Africa. London stopped issuing the sovereign for circulation in 1916/1917 to pay for their war debts and the sovereign became more or less bullion in England at that time. The sovereign however, continued to be minted for circulation and used in every day commerce through the early 1930s in Australia and South Africa.

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VOCABULARY TERM: SATIRICAL MEDAL

Satirical Medal. A medallic item whose theme is basically humorous, often cutting or critical much like an editorial cartoon. The undisputed master of satirical medals was German medalist Karl Goetz (pronounced gertz) who chose the cast medal as his favorite art form. Although he made patterns and dies, had medals struck, even had small items coined, he created over 700 different numismatic and medallic items by casting. It was his theme and style that was so intriguing.

Inspired by a current event Goetz would prepare a medallic design with a highly critical viewpoint. He was highly nationalistic (pro-Germany), disrespectful of authority (even critical of Hitler who he survived), offensive to alien countries and policies (anti-British and French), insulting to local authorities and national critics. In short he would have made an excellent editorial cartoonist had he not been a highly talented medalist. He handled the theme with bitting humor. It brought smiles to the viewer once his medallic concept was understood. His most famous work was the Sinking of the Lusitania Medal. Other German medalists imitated his work but never achieved quite the cutting edge of his satire.

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OLD SPANISH TRAIL (1535-1935)

My research into the story of L. W. Hoffecker got me interested in the Old Spanish Trail. I think that story is also worth telling.

The Encyclopedia of United States Silver & Gold Commemorative Coins 1892-1954 was written by Anthony Swiatek and Walter Breen and published in 1981. The book frequently mentions abuses in the commemorative coin program. In discussing the Old Spanish Trail half, the book states,

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THE JOHN M. STRAHAN, JR. COLLECTION

John M. Strahan, Jr. was born in rural Mississippi in the small town of Hazelhurst, leaving to join the military at age of 16 during the Second World War. John served several stints in the Armed Services, including in the Army, Navy, and finally Air Force. His service saw participation in World War II, the Korean War, and finally the Vietnam War, surely seeing some of the most momentous moments in modern American History. After retirement John went on to teach in the public school system in Florida.

John was a voracious reader with a keen interest in history, who needed to know as much as he could about the past and the artifacts people left behind, which drove his interest in collecting. He started small with coins, later moving on to guns, swords, and eventually antique fine silver.

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FOUNDING SINCONA: JURG RICHTER

Jürg, SINCONA held its 100th auction today. The company name is quite unusual for an auction house. Many coin enterprises are named after their owner, or the place where they operate. How did you come up with the name?

Jürg Richter: I spent days thinking about it. After all, I needed a name that hadn't been used anywhere else; and a name that was easy to pronounce in the most important languages. Whenever I had an idea, I checked it online. But no matter what I thought of, there was always a company somewhere in Brazil or northern Poland with the same name. I rejected dozens of ideas until I came up with SINCONA. SINCONA is an abbreviation of Swiss International Coin Auction AG – a name that is too long for people to remember. That's why we have become part of the numismatic world under the short form of SINCONA.

Founded on 1 May 2011, SINCONA AG reached an important milestone less than a year later when you sold the most expensive coin ever auctioned in Europe at the time for CHF 3.6 million on 9 October 2012. It is extremely unusual for an auction house to be at the top of its game right from the start.

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NUMISMAGRAM MEDAL SELECTIONS: NOVEMBER 23, 2025

103327 | FRANCE. "Le Bain" bronze Plaque. Issued 1903 by the Société des Amis de la Médaille Française (40mm x 71mm, 74.59 g, 12h). By Abel Lafleur at the Paris mint.

Nude female standing right and bent slightly at the waste, washing herself in a creek // Another female, this time seminude, seated left within a bedroom, with her back facing and combing her hair. Edge: «cornucopia» BRONZE «lizard» 194.

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HERITAGE: NOVEMBER 2025 TOKENS & MEDALS

1980 Carving by "Bo" Hughes, Signed and Dated. A famous series of eight self-portraits was done by Bo showing himself at different life stages. Here, Bo shows himself at his then-current age (about 80 years old). The coin is nearly entirely punched, including letter punches for his message, "THIS IS GH. 11/28/80". In about December, 1981, George Washington "Bo" Hughes vanished, leaving a legacy that includes thousands of carved hobo nickels and 65 years of unmatched artistry. This coin is plated on page 101 of Del Romines' first Hobo Nickels book. The Gail Kraljevich (Baker)-Steve Alpert QD #K-097 (September 1999) accompanies this coin.

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NOBLE NUMISMATICS NOVEMBER 2025 HIGHLIGHTS

Highlights include the Tony Taylor Collection of ancient Greek and Roman gold and silver coins. A premier collection that includes the Twelve Caesars in gold and silver, as well as an exceptional offering of silver tetradrachms.

Significant collections include the Jack Grace Collection of Australian Colonial Jewellery, a fascinating and important insight into early Australian Jewellery trends (see separate catalogue), Roman silver and bronze from Stephen J. Bridges, S.J. Green and other collectors.

Australian coins include Proclamation coins in gold and silver, a NSW holey dollar and three fifteen pence dumps 1813, an Adelaide gold pound 1852, Sydney mint sovereigns and half sovereigns, 1855-1870 later Imperial gold with a few very rare, and Commonwealth patterns of proofs.

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ARCHIVES INTERNATIONAL SALE 108

Malachite, Colorado, (Inc. in the Territory of Arizona; offices in St. Louis, MO), 1902, 400 Shares I/U Capital Stock. Black print without border, title at center with impressive golden-brown bull head in frame at center; copper embossed seal at bottom left; S/N 155. XF to AU condition. Printed by W.H. Kistler Stationery Co., Denver. The Copper Bull Mining Company was incorporated in the Territory of Arizona in 1901 with principal offices in St. Louis, Missouri, to work the Copper Bull property on Pass Creek near Malachite in Huerfano County, Colorado. Earlier work at the mine in 1882–83 had reportedly consumed $30,000 in development costs. By 1909, the U.S. Geological Survey noted the company carried out considerable development work, though without recorded shipments, reflecting the speculative nature of many early 20th-century mining ventures.

To read the complete lot description, see:
AZ. Copper Bull Mining Co., 1902, I/U Stock Certificate. (https://auction.archivesinternational.com/AZ-Copper-Bull-Mining-Co-1902-I-U-Stock-Certificate_i58654761)

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STACK'S BOWERS: RICHARD MARGOLIS COLLECTION

FRANCE. Kingdom. Ecu, 1792-M. Toulouse Mint. Louis XVI. PCGS AU-55. Dav-1333; Gad-564.10; Gad-356 (R5). An EXTREMELY RARE and seldom offered type, this wholesome specimen offers deep toning across both sides. Note that the Gadoury reference on the PCGS slab is in error, as it refers to the Constitutional Ecu from this year.

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STACK'S BOWERS: DECEMBER 2025 OBSOLETE CURRENCY

Marion, Alabama. Selma, Marion & Memphis Railroad Company. 1871 $2. PMG Choice Uncirculated 63. Remainder. No. 762. A rare denomination for this issuer and far nicer in technical terms than the $10 we sold in June of 2025 for $780. PMG comments "Previously Mounted."

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WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: NOVEMBER 23, 2025

Tuesday November 18, 2025 brought the latest installment of my Northern Virginia numismatic social group, Nummis Nova. I left work and drove in the rain to J. Gilbert's steakhouse in McLean, VA, where Roger Burdette was our host. I ran into Jon Radel in the parking lot. Once inside we stepped into the bar where we found Dave Schenkman, Eric Schena and Mike Packard. Dave showed me a fragile macerated currency item that he didn't want to risk passing around (see images below).

Before long we were shown to our private dining room along with Roger, and soon we were joined by Wayne Herndon, Chris Neuzil, Erik Douglas, Mike Markowitz, and Julian Leidman. I ended up sitting at the far end of the table next to Wayne and across from Erik, Chris and Mike Packard. Sorry, no photos this time. The room was so dark that I needed my phone's flashlight to read the menu and see the numismatic items being passed around. Absorbed in conversation and looking at the material, I didn't try getting any pictures.

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PRINCETON'S COIN COLLECTION IN THE CLASSROOM

Not many people today can say they have touched a Roman coin from around 100 CE.

Reza Ramji '28, a student from the Classics Department and a coin cataloguer at Princeton University's Numismatic Collection, is among the select few who have."The seal has been worn away by a few hundred years of people who have handed this one off to another, and you are one of the four people this millennium who have touched this coin," Ramji said.

The Roman coin from Emperor Hadrian's era that Ramji held was small and rusty. It belongs to a collection of 125,000 coins, tokens, and banknotes housed in Firestone Library's C Floor. A historical treasure trove, this collection ranges all the way from a late-seventh-century BCE Lydian electrum coin to a gilt"Medal for Victory" from 1998 Cuba.

"This university has lots of collections of old things, but for the most part, classes or individuals can't just come in and pick up a piece," said Alan Stahl, Curator of Numismatics."So, it's a very direct contact with the past."

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FIRST COINS RECOVERED FROM THE SAN JOSE

A cannon, three coins and a porcelain cup are among the first objects recovered by Colombian scientists from the depths of the Caribbean Sea where the legendary Spanish galleon San José sank in 1708 after being attacked by a British fleet.

The recovery is part of a scientific investigation authorised by the government last year to study the wreckage and the causes of the sinking. Colombian researchers located the galleon in 2015, leading to legal and diplomatic disputes. Its exact location is a state secret.

The San José was returning to Europe with treasures to help fund the war of the Spanish succession when it was sunk by a British squadron close to the Caribbean port city of Cartagena.

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STACK'S BOWERS: THE LAST "OMEGA" CENTS

The very last circulating pennies, or"cents," will be auctioned in a special sale this December by Stack's Bowers Galleries, the firm selected by the United States Mint for this historic offering. Each of these coins exhibits a small"O" privy mark of the final Greek letter Omega, indicating their role as the capstone to a two-centuries long legacy that first began in 1793. These Omega privy mark Lincoln pennies will be offered in three-coin sets featuring one each of the 2025 penny (struck at the Philadelphia Mint), the 2025-D penny (struck at the Denver Mint), and a historic 2025 penny struck in 24 karat gold (produced at the Philadelphia Mint). The 24 karat gold penny is a true modern rarity, representing the first cent officially struck in gold and one of the rarest non-Proof gold coins to ever emerge from the United States Mint.

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COMMON SENSE AROUND COMMON CENTS

The US government's official phaseout of the penny has prompted a surge of online sales listing rolls of one-cent coins for hundreds or even thousands of dollars — but don't be fooled, an expert says.

Inflated prices popping up on sites like eBay and Etsy are"100%" the result of opportunists exploiting public confusion about the end of the penny, John Feigenbaum, executive director of the Professional Numismatists Guild and CEO of Whitman Publishing, told The Post on Friday.

"Whenever there are stories about coins, scammers come along and take advantage of the headlines," he said.

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THE LAST CANADIAN CENT

Although the Prime Minister can designate any Minister to be responsible for the Mint, it has been the Minister of Finance that has been given the assignment for a number of years.

  My inquisitive mind wondered if one of the qualifications for the appointment to some of the top positions at the RCM is that you must be a coin collector?

  I think I have a sure fire way to prove which highly placed gurus are coin collectors and which ones are not.

  Pictures don't lie!

  For example, during the striking of the Last Cent, the then Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty, wore a full hand glove.

  And that was just to press a button on the outside of the minting press that houses the striking chamber containing the blank, as can be seen in Figure 1.

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WHAT NEXT FOR THE CENTS?

What, exactly, is the plan for all the pennies?

Many Americans—and many people who, though not American, enjoy watching from a safe distance as predictable fiascoes unfold in this theoretical superpower from week to week—find themselves now pondering one question. What is the United States going to do with all the pennies—all the pennies in take-a-penny-leave-a-penny trays, and cash registers, and couch cushions, and the coin purses of children, and Big Gulp cups full of pennies; all the pennies that are just lying around wherever—following the abrupt announcement that the country is no longer in the penny game and will stop minting them, effective immediately?

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UNCANCELLED MARTHA WASHINGTON PATTERN DIES

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ALTHEA GIBSON'S LEGACY

Trailblazing multi-sport athlete Althea Gibson (1927–2003) broke barriers as the first Black woman to compete at Wimbledon and win Grand Slam titles. She ended her career with 11 Grand Slam titles, including two U.S. National Championships (now U.S. Open). She is the twentieth and final woman honored as part of the American Women Quarters Program, our partnership with the U.S. Mint. In celebration for the quarter's release, staff writer Meredith Herndon interviewed Don Felder, Althea's second cousin, for an inside perspective on Althea's influence within her own family and the bittersweet contrast between the treatment Althea received while competing and the public recognition she is receiving after her passing.

Could you share what Althea Gibson was like as a member of your family — beyond her public achievements?

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WWII SPECIMEN UKRAINIAN NOTES

Over the past several years, Stack's Bowers Galleries has been selling the Al Kugel Collection of World Paper Money. Mr. Kugel was a well-known collector who built advanced collections of stamps and paper money, with a focus on items from Eastern Europe and World War II. His collection of paper money is among the most exciting cabinets to have come to the market in this century, and many notes set record prices. With the end of the collection in sight, it is time for one more article focused on our offering of a set of notes from Ukraine in the January 2026 NYINC World Paper Money auction. It is sure to attract much interest from specialized collectors, and it will surely be seen as one of the highlights of this now famous collection.

Offered in individual lots, will be a complete set of specimens from the Emission Bank of Ukraine, prepared by the German army and perhaps intended for use by the occupying force. Three notes are denominated in Rubles, while four are denominated in Chervontsiv (1 Chervontsiv being equal to 10 Rubles). The notes have a fairly simplistic design, but are heralded as great rarities. Very few ‘issued' notes (meaning fully printed with serial numbers, as they were never issued into circulation) have appeared in the marketplace. We did previously sell a 5 Chervontsiv (arguably the only denomination that sometimes becomes available) from the Al Kugel Collection, which brought $24,000 in our Fall 2025 Maastricht Showcase Auction.

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VIETNAMESE CURRENCY EXHIBIT

This morning, the exhibition"Vietnamese Currency – A Journey Along the Flow of National History" officially opened at the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) Branch Region 2 at 8 Vo Van Kiet Street in Ho Chi Minh City's Saigon Ward.

Attending the opening ceremony were Governor of the SBV Vietnam Nguyen Thi Hong, Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Van Thi Bach Tuyet, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Dung, along with former leaders of the SBV from various periods.

Organized by SBV Branch Region 2, the event aims to introduce to the public representative artifacts of Vietnamese currency across different historical stages, closely tied to the nation's development.

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LOOSE CHANGE: NOVEMBER 23, 2025

Lausanne, Switzerland Museum Theft

Authorities in Switzerland are searching for two robbers who overpowered a security guard at a Roman-era museum in Lausanne, smashed a display case and made off with dozens of gold coins that had been displayed inside.

City police said that the suspects had purchased tickets and waited until other visitors had left shortly before closing time, before assaulting and restraining the guard and then breaking the display case.

The monetary value of the coins stolen in the heist Tuesday was not immediately revealed, but police said they had "archaeological value."

The theft comes at a time when gold prices have soared in global markets and a high-profile robbery of jewels at the Louvre in Paris exposed vulnerabilities and security lapses at museums.

To read the complete article, see:
Robbers overpower guard and steal dozens of ancient gold coins from Swiss museum (https://www.euronews.com/2025/11/21/robbers-overpower-guard-and-steal-dozens-of-ancient-gold-coins-from-swiss-museum)

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ABOUT THIS ISSUE: NOVEMBER 23, 2025

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