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 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 04/25/2026 Workman's Book Sale 8

 

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 MARCH 8, 2026

New subscribers this week include: Michael Pierce, courtesy Paul Hybert; and Jaul Pellissery of Dubai, UAE. Welcome aboard! We now have 6,654 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, a review, a periodical, a collector obituary, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, notes from readers, and more.

Other topics this week include the Fort Capron payroll hoard, ancient tokens, Adolph Hess catalogs, dealer Charles Brainard, fixed price and auction selections, my numismatic diary, a Russian gold hoard find, and the Royal Mint.

To learn more about British and Irish Tradesmen's tokens, a James II Gold Touch Piece, the 1893 Columbian Exposition, the numismatics of Agatha Christie, Shell Molds, the George Washington General Grand Master Medal, Hard Times Era Satirical Notes, Civil War sutlers, the Royal Mint's least obnoxious choice, and the accidental gift card quadrillionaire, read on. Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum

 

NEW BOOK: FINDING THE FORT

Finding the Fort is a comprehensive investigative study into one of Florida's most elusive and poorly documented frontier military installations. Drawing from historical records, oral histories, archaeological evidence, and material culture, this volume seeks to reconstruct the story, location, and significance of Fort Capron with a level of rigor not previously applied.

The objective of this report is fourfold.

First, it documents the surviving body of evidence associated with Fort Capron. Unlike nearby Fort Pierce, Fort Capron has left behind a sparse historical footprint. This section assembles and evaluates written accounts, personal recollections, interviews, and known artifact assemblages in order to preserve and contextualize the remaining traces of the fort's existence.

Second, the study evaluates potential structural remains linked to Fort Capron. Using compiled documentation and physical evidence, the book examines previously unrecognized or undocumented features that may represent fort-related structures, assessing their plausibility and historical relevance.

Read more here

NEW BOOK: TESSERAE

Announcement of a four-part study of ancient tesserae.

Besides coins and medals, numismatics includes a special group of tokens called "tesserae". A distinction was made based on their use; for example, the Romans recognized tesserae nummulariae (used to mark bags of coins), tesserae nummariae (small coins), and tesserae lusoriae (games and gambling tokens). Tesserae were usually made of lead at the request of specific individuals or merchants, for use in public buildings (theaters, arenas, brothels), or to celebrate a special event or celebration. Tesserae in copper, bronze, or silver-plated or gilded examples are rare.

With this four-part work "TESSERAE," Koen De Wolf publishes his collection of 887 pieces in the first volume. Since there was no basic work on tesserae, he studied all publications on the subject and compiled them into one single catalogue where the reader can easily check whether a particular tessera has already been published and in which study. If good photographs or engravings are available, they are depicted. Oriental tesserae are also known and included in these catalogues.

Read more here

BOOK REVIEW: BRITISH AND IRISH COPPER TOKENS OF 1787 – 1804

A cover-to-cover read of British and Irish Tradesmen and their Copper Tokens of 1787-1804 displays the herculean effort of Jon Lusk to produce this volume. Throughout his book, Lusk's goal was to sort authentic tradesmen's tokens from specialized pieces made for collectors. I was in awe of his visits to cities and towns all over England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, where these Provincial tokens were manufactured. He wrestled with the inconsistencies of local records, ancestral trees and cemetery findings to conduct his research. He also did token researchers a favor by correcting and updating inaccuracies in R.C. Bell's Commercial Coins 1787-1804, published in 1963. In addition, he is careful to point out that Conder token research is ongoing, aware that future discoveries may update or alter his own findings.

Along with more tantalizing specifics about each token covered in the book, Lusk brings to life the token issuers and their family members, who faced both hardships and successes.

Read more here

 

PERIODICAL: MCA ADVISORY WINTER 2025

Medal Collectors of America Advisory
Volume 28, Number 4 | Winter 2025

President's Message

Editor's Message

Letters to the Editor

MCA and Hobby News

From the Desk of Rob Penn, Auction Correspondent

The Winners of the Annual MCA Medallic Awards have been Chosen!

Vote for the Winner of the MEDALS250 Project!

Read more here

 

SIR DAVID KIRCH (1936-2026)

Sir David Kirch, who has died 89, was a London property speculator who assembled what was thought to be Britain's largest collection of provincial banknotes and the world's most extensive personal collection of airship memorabilia; but he sold it all in the process of becoming one of the nation's most generous philanthropists.

In 1973 he settled as a tax exile in Jersey... On reaching "three score and ten" in 2006, he decided to mark the milestone by distributing £100 Co-op vouchers at Christmas to every islander aged 70 and over – a commitment he honoured even on discovering that there would be 9,000 recipients.

He repeated the scheme in subsequent years – later upping the voucher to £110 – and established a charitable trust to provide homes for pensioners on Jersey. In 2012, on being diagnosed with cancer, he announced that he would leave £100 million, the bulk of his fortune, to the elderly of Jersey.

Read more here

NEWMAN PORTAL ADDS ADOLPH HESS CATALOGS

Newman Portal Adds Adolph Hess Catalogs

Thanks to the diligent efforts of Lara Jacobs at the American Numismatic Society, Newman Portal now includes 131 auction sales from the German firm Adolph Hess, dated 1875-1914.

Hess (1846-1912) launched his coin business in 1871 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany and handled many important sales before selling his firm in 1894 to Louis Hamburger and his son-in-law, James Belmonte. Hamburger and Belmonte continued the business under the name Adolph Hess Nachfolger. The firm, today known as HessDivo, is currently based in Zurich.

Read more here

VIDEO: 1893 COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION

Read more here

NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: MARCH 8, 2026

Tandjong Kassau Plantation Token Information Sought
Adrian J. Lansen of the Netherlands writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NEW BOOK: DUTCH EAST INDIES PLANTATION TOKENS (https://www.coinbooks.org/v27/esylum_v27n41a07.html)

Read more here

SBG 2026 PROFESSIONAL NUMISMATIST PROGRAM

Throughout their more than 90-year history in numismatics, Stack's Bowers Galleries has maintained an unparalleled team of experts at the core of its business. Today, the firm's roster of professionals is world-renowned across all areas of numismatics and widely regarded as among the very best in the field. This year's Professional Numismatist Program (PNP) offers students with an interest in numismatics the opportunity to learn directly from these distinguished professionals by participating in the 2026 session, scheduled for July 25–31, 2026. The program's mission statement: To provide practical tools and build professional connections for the next generation of young adult numismatists.

The 2026 session will be led by Jason Carter and joined by distinguished industry leaders including Greg Roberts, John Kraljevich, John Pack, Kyle Ponterio, and Peter Treglia among others.

Read more here

2026 CENTRAL STATES CONVENTION

The Central States Numismatic Society (www.CSNS.org) 87th Anniversary Convention Coin Show, April 23-25, 2026, will recognize Missouri as part of a continuing multi-year program to honor all 13 states that comprise the organization's geographical area.

The 2026 CSNS convention will be held at the same suburban Chicago site as in recent years, the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center, 1551 North Thoreau Drive, in Schaumburg, Illinois. There is free parking for visitors and guests at the hotel and convention center.

Read more here

VOCABULARY TERM: SHELL MOLD

Shell Mold. The form from which a thin casting is made. In medallic work shell molds are employed for casting plaques which have high relief. The mold for the back side forms the depressed area congruent with the high relief on the obverse. This forms a casting which can have uniform thickness irrespective of the high relief reduceing the weight and curtailing the metal cost somewhat. The cast plaque would be called cast hollow for these reverse depressions. It may remain single-sided, or have a backplate attached to the reverse. Shell molds are typically thought of as the mold for statues and statuary, they are molds which have a core built into them for making the cast piece – not solid – but a thin shell forming the design.

Read more here

CHARLES MEREDITH BRAINARD (1939-1996)

I want to share with readers a newspaper clipping from the July 15, 1963, issue of The Daily Breeze of Torrence, California. It shows Charles Brainard as the owner-manager of the Eagle Coin Gallery. I knew the guy and wondered what more I could learn using my normal biographical sources.

Charles M. Brainard was born in Detroit on May 14, 1939. His father was Albert Reginald Brainard (1899-1878) and mother was Ida Mae Ware Brainard (1902-1993). He had an older sister, Betty Jane Brainard (1923-2015) and older brother, Edward Albert Brainard (1928-2014).

Albert and Ida Mae were married in Los Angeles on May 21, 1921. At that time, Albert was working as a railroad clerk and Ida Mae was a stenographer.

At the time of the 1930 Census, the couple was living with their two children in Detroit. For the 1940 Census, the family was still living in Detroit. Albert was a freight agent for a railroad.

Listed in the 1950 Census, Charles was living with his parents and older brother at 2840 Indiana Avenue in South Gate, California. Charles would live there for the rest of his life. At that time Albert was an assistant manager at an automobile factory. Albert seldom got his name in the papers. His wife was active with the Woman's Society of Christian Service.

Read more here

NUMISMAGRAM MEDAL SELECTIONS: MARCH 8, 2026

103483 | FRANCE. Imperial Palace bronze Gaming Token or Jeton. Issued circa 1812 (28mm, 12h). By Raymond Gayrard at the Paris mint. HEUR ET MALHEUR (the good and the bad), female janiform head, with a somewhat smirking expression facing left and a somewhat annoyed expression facing right // Fortune, carrying overturned cornucopia and advancing left, leading Cupid (or Amor), who holds walking stick; both have their eyes blindfolded; in exergue, two moles advancing left.

Bramsen 1200; Julius 2578. PCGS MS-64. Pleasing brown surfaces, with great brilliance in the fields; minor planchet crack near the edge is noted for completeness. The only example of the type observed in the PCGS census.

Read more here

SBG SPRING 2026 SHOWCASE COLONIAL COINS

Undated (ca. 1652-1674) St. Patrick Farthing. Martin 1d.1-Ba.11, W-11500. Rarity-6+. Silver. Nothing Below King. AU-55 (PCGS). Martin 1d.1-Ba.11 is the most available of the 15 St. Patrick farthing die varieties known in silver, but still rare in absolute sense with just a few dozen examples extant. Martin estimates that no more than 100 silver St. Patrick farthings exist in total. The finest from these dies is probably the impressive Ted Craige example graded PCGS AU-58+ that we sold in November 2012 for $80,500. The present coin is not quite as sharp but is still a remarkably high quality piece and would almost certainly be included in a Condition Census were one to be compiled. In any event, an outstanding silver St. Patrick farthing, always a classy and desirable colonial type coin.

Read more here

SOVEREIGN RARITIES AUCTION XXI

Sovereign Rarities – Auction XXI Now Live

Sovereign Rarities are delighted to announce that Auction XXI is now live online at www.sovr.co.uk, culminating in a live sale session on Tuesday 10th March 2026 at 10:00am GMT.

Our first auction of 2026, held in conjunction with the Royal Mint, comprises 279 lots. The sale features an extensive selection of British coinage spanning from the reign of King Edward III through the hammered and milled series, concluding with the modern issues of Elizabeth II (1952–2022) and Charles III featuring coins from the Great Engravers, Queen's Beats and Queen's Effigies Series.

Read more here

SBG SPRING 2026 SHOWCASE: U.S. PAPER RARITIES

Stack's Bowers Galleries is delighted to offer a diverse selection of paper rarities in the U.S. Currency sessions of the Spring 2026 Global Showcase Auction. The three U.S. Currency sessions will be hosted on March 12 in Griffin Studios, located at the company's Costa Mesa, California Headquarters, as well as online at StacksBowers.com.

Read more here

SBG: THE HUGH SHULL COLLECTION

May 10th, 1834. Rag Bank of the United States Philadelphia, PA Five Dollars. Hard Times Era Satirical Note. Rulau HT#N12. PMG Fine 12. No. 10. Plate A. This note is also unique and the only example observed by us. It first appeared in Smythe's 1995 Memphis auction where it was acquired by Dr. York. It was not until 2016 that it was finally sold again at Roland Auctions. Hugh finally got his chance to own this prize when the Nassau Collection was sold in 2023. Its overall character and dimensions are very distinctive. The "jackass" pictogram in the center permitted the obligations to swirl around it, in all their complexities. Though at first glance it looks like currency, because the denomination in the center, the numerous plays on political slogans from the period weave a narrative of this unstable financial period. Calhoun and Biddle are both lampooned with their first names. Payable to "H. Clay" at their branch in Lexington, this is a very unusual obligation on any Hard Times Era Satirical Note. The bill also mentions "Anti-masonic," or "W-H-I-G paper rags." The end panels with their perpendicular text are somewhat perplexing and merit further research but "WIG CURRENCY" sums up the overall tenor of this exceptional museum caliber note. Fault-free making it rather exceptional for such an instrument that was meant to look worn in commerce communicating its political messages. Very strongly pursued when last auctioned. We would expect the same today with its enhanced pedigree research doubtlessly confirming its uniqueness.

Ex: R.M. Smythe & Company, 1995 Memphis Auction #139 (06/1995), Lot #1168; Roland Auctions NY, Estate of Dr. Alan York: Coins, Medals & Paper Money (03/2016) Lot #222; The Nassau Collection; Heritage 2023 FUN Auction #3591 (01/2023), Lot #20198.

Read more here

WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: MARCH 8, 2026

I've been planning it for a while, but last week I made it official - I'll be retiring from my day job at the end of June. My oldest son gave me an early retirement gift - a copy of the new Mega Red X from Whitman. The gift was timely; on Thursday I headed up to Baltimore for the Whitman Spring Expo, where I had it signed by Senior Editor Jeff Garrett and Publisher John Feigenbaum. Len Augsburger took this great photo. It was the first copy signed at the show.

Read more here

ANCIENT COIN FOUND IN BUS FAREBOX?

A coin once used to pay for a bus fare was created more than 2,000 years ago.

James Edwards worked as a cashier for the Leeds Transport Company in the 1950s, gathering fares from bus and tram drivers in the city.

He put fake and foreign coins to one side, and this collection was passed down to his grandson, Peter Edwards.

Mr Edwards later set about investigating one of the stranger items in the collection, which has now been revealed to be a coin that was minted 2,000 years ago.

Read more here

THE 1661 AKERSHUS 10 DUCAT

NORWAY. 10 Ducat (Portugaloser), ND (1661). Christiania Mint. Frederik III. NGC AU Details--Damaged.

Fr-5a; KM-64 (silver); Hede-39; Sieg-44 (silver); NMD-1; Schou-2; Aagaard-A2; Rønning-P8; Bruun-10080. Weight: 35.68 gms. Mintmaster: Frederik Grüner. Engraver: Johan Blum. Apart from being nicked in the left obverse field, this is a most remarkable AU piece with amazing details and remains of original luster.

Arguably the most famous, beautiful, and coveted of all Norwegian gold coins and presumed UNIQUE in private ownership with just two other exemplars known, namely one in the National Museum of Denmark and one in the Coin collection of the University of Oslo (Universitetets Myntkabinett).

Read more here

IMPERIAL RUSSIAN GOLD HOARD FOUND

Archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences have revealed a remarkable hoard of gold coins uncovered in 2025 in the historic town of Torzhok, in Russia's Tver Region.

The find, which includes 409 gold coins dating from 1848 to 1911, is now considered one of the largest hoards of late-Imperial Russian gold coins ever found during archaeological excavations. The treasure was recovered during rescue excavations before the construction of a new residential building on Torzhok's Left Bank.

Read more here

THE ROYAL MINT'S 60 YEARS IN WALES

It was an unpopular quandary which successive governments dodged for over a century, but on 1 March 1966, Prime Minister Harold Wilson finally grasped the nettle... Britain would be going decimal.

£1 would no longer be worth 240d, but 100 new pence.

Nowhere was the upheaval felt more strongly than in the south Wales valleys where a 38-acre site was created in Llantrisant so the Royal Mint could meet demand for the new currency.

Since then, it has continued to adapt to the times, facing the challenge of an increasingly cashless society by diversifying into jewellery, commemorative coins and medals and even reclaiming precious metals from E-waste.

Read more here

SUTLERS' SCRIP: SHOPPING WITH THE SOLDIER

Sutlers–private operators of the Army's version of a travelling general store–operated in their own realm separate from the military supply chain. Catering to the soldier, they aimed to add some comforts to camp life – at a price. The sutler offered non-regulation items the quartermaster could not, or would not, provide. These products included razors, tobacco, watches, sewing kits, stamps, ink, boot polish, brushes, newspapers, envelopes, books, canned food and more. When available, they offered fresh fish, oysters, fruit, vegetables, and dairy. Pies were very popular, even if their content was sometimes suspect. Most desirable was coffee, though if regimental leadership had a lax enough policy about it, alcohol could be had as well.

While sutlers had a reputation for price-gouging, prices reflected the risk of bringing the goods (and themselves) to the front lines in addition to scarcity. Complain as they might, a soldier knew if they refused to pay the inflated costs, someone else would.

Read more here

LOOSE CHANGE: MARCH 8, 2026

America's First Quarter Dollar

Half dimes, half dollars, and dollar denominations were struck in 1794, which now gave the fledgling U.S. Mint five different denominations to strike. The two remaining denominations, dimes and quarters, were struck beginning in 1796. The quarter dollar coin was one of the least needed coins at the time as the United States had an overabundance of Spanish two reales coins in circulation. These Spanish coins traded at roughly the same value in commerce as the new quarter. These coins were considered equal in trade because, for example, the 1796 Spanish two reales was struck at a weight of 6.77 grams of .8330 fine silver and the newly designed 1796 American quarter contained 6.74 grams of .8924 fine silver.

While most coins of this era display only 13 stars, this coin displays 15 stars representing the number of actual states admitted to the Union at that time. But the Mint soon realized that as more states joined the union, the stars would soon dominate the design. The Mint made the decision to limit the numbers of stars to 13, represented on any future coins, honoring the original Colonies and all subsequent states.

The reverse design was borrowed from the 1794 silver dollar which depicted a small-sized eagle standing upon a bank of clouds. The eagle is displayed within a large wreath of laurel and lily and tied with ribbons. Around the periphery was "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA", but it depicted no denomination. The 1796 quarter was the only American quarter struck for use in the 18th Century.

The Mint at Philadelphia struck 5,894 of these 1796-dated quarters in 1796, while 252 additional coins were not delivered until February of 1797, for a total of 6,146 pieces.

To read the complete article, see:
America's First Quarter Dollar (https://www.greysheet.com/news/story/americas-first-quarter-dollar)

Read more here

DAVID J. FARBER (1934-2026)

David J. Farber, a gregarious professor of computer networks who was sometimes called the "grandfather of the internet" because of the ultimately groundbreaking students he trained, died on Feb. 7 in Tokyo. He was 91.

When Professor Farber started his career in the mid-1950s, at Bell Laboratories, computers were practically islands unto themselves. If they communicated at all, they talked by means of a Teletype or punch card reader down the hall.

Since then, thanks in part to his work, the realms of communication and computation merged into that one powerful glue for society that is the internet; The New York Times once described him as "an early architect" of it.

Dr. Postel's 1974 dissertation, "A Graph-Model Analysis of Computer Communications Protocols," would define much of the evolution of the early internet. Another Farber student from that era, Paul Mockapetris, would help design the Domain Name System (DNS), the address directory of the internet.

Read more here

ABOUT THIS ISSUE: MARCH 8, 2026

Read more here