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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 JUNE 28, 2026

New subscribers this week include: Ron Fry of the Missouri Numismatic Society, courtesy Jeff Starck; Kennedy collector Chris Maes, and Gage. Welcome aboard! We now have 6,447 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 three new books, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, contemporary coin counterfeiters, notes from readers, and more.

Other topics this week include Greek currency during WWII, Mega Red, events, lectures and exhibits at the 2026 Pittsburgh World's Fair of Money, Don Miller, Ken Bressett, auction previews, Viking penny silver, Esperanto, whale vignettes, and sculptor Eleanor Platt.

To learn more about Zlatko Višcevic, the coins and banknotes of Croatia, the 1792 Mint Act, XRF analyses, the Park-Bernet Galleries sale of the Treasure of the Spanish Main, Col. E.H.R. Green, Zotz!, Indian Peace Medals, a Jimmy Stewart short snorter, error coins, and the battle over bad half dollars, read on. Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum

 

NEW BOOKS BY ZLATKO VISCEVIC

Zlatko Višcevic is a Croatian numismatist, author, publisher and editor, active in numismatics for more than three decades and in phaleristics for the past ten years. He began collecting coins as a child in 1989 and has been professionally involved in numismatics since 2008.

He was born in Rijeka, Croatia, in 1982. He attended Andrija Mohorovicic High School in Rijeka and later graduated from the Faculty of Law. After completing his studies, he worked as a legal trainee and later as a legal adviser in the offshore oil industry. In 2012, he founded Monetalis LLC, a company specialized in numismatics and phaleristics, where he continues to work today. In 2017, he established Dupondius, a trade business dedicated to numismatic publishing and consulting, and in 2021 he founded Numex LLC, a company focused exclusively on the numismatic trade.

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THE WARSHAW FAMILY CONSIGNMENT

National Numismatic Heritage Items Take Center Stage in Dallas

Several items from the Warshaw Family collection, sold this week by Heritage Auctions, served to highlight the upcoming Sesquicentennial. A Continental Dollar in silver, one of four known, drew $1,312,500. The same piece was sold by Heritage in 2021 at $1,140,000. Prior to the sale, two of the other pieces are traced to the Resolute Americana Collection, while the third is in the Tyrant Collection.

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VIDEO: GREEK CURRENCY DURING WWII

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JEFF GARRETT MEGA RED INTERVIEW

GREG BENNICK
Hi everybody, it's Greg Bennick, and I am here today with Jeff Garrett. Jeff, of course, is from Mid American Rare Coin Galleries, and is the senior editor of Red Book. And if you saw the first interview I did with Jeff, you know it was filled with information and great stories, and I wanted to be back here today with Jeff to talk about the Red Book and the Mega Red. So, Jeff, thanks for thanks for being here today. I really appreciate it.

JEFF GARRETT
Well, thanks, Greg. Thanks for having me. And it's always fun to talk about the Red Book. It's a big part of my life, and I enjoy sharing it.

GREG BENNICK
I'm so glad. Well, why don't we start with, why don't you tell me how you got involved with the Red Book? How did that first come to be?

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1908 BATTLE OVER BAD HALF DOLLARS

Jim Haas writes:

After Battle at Braddock, Pa., in Which One Officer Is Stabbed, Two Men Are Locked Up — East Flooded With False Money

Pittsburg, March 15. — At the point of a gun two men were caught in the act of counterfeiting coins of the United States, and in the roundup the authorities uncovered what they say is the most perfect and largest den of counterfeiters in the history of the country. While only two of the gang of perhaps twenty coin makers were captured and only after a hard fight, fifty molds for making new counterfeit half dollars and almost 600 of the coins already boxed for shipment were captured, with several hundred dollars more ready to be boxed. Joseph A. Haas and John Fuhrman were the men caught in the act of making the coins, and they are in the jail here, having been sent up by the United States authorities after a preliminary hearing charged with counterfeiting.

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XRF ANALYSES $5 PER SCAN!

Last year's review of the third volume of the Bad Metal series has a one-line comment that the book includes XRF analyses. There's an important extra detail that I haven't seen mentioned in The E-Sylum: That book includes XRF analyses because author Winston Zack bought his own XRF machine.

XRF is a non-destructive method that can measure metallic composition without risk even for valuable objects. It's not a new technology, mentioned in E-Sylum as early as 2012. The main drawback to XRF has been the price. Commercial XRF machines have been available for more than 20 years, but the price has never fallen to the "hobbyist" level. A new machine typically costs $20,000 or more. Some people may know someone with an XRF machine who is willing to run some tests for them as a favor. I don't have that option. Commercial services may charge $150 or more per scan. As a collector of tokens and medals, I have many pieces in my collection where I wondered about their composition. I would have continued wondering, rather than pay those prices.

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NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: JUNE 28, 2026

More on Bill Gibbs
Vic Mason writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
WILLIAM TILDEN GIBBS (1954-2026) (https://www.coinbooks.org/v29/esylum_v29n24a05.html)

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SUNDMAN LECTURES AT 2026 PITTSBURGH ANA

For two and a half centuries, American coins have been far more than mere currency—they are tangible milestones tracking a nation's ongoing pursuit of freedom and identity. From the revolutionary symbols born in 1776 to the modern designs on today's pocket change, United States money has long mirrored the defining crises, values, and triumphs of the American experience. During the American Numismatic Association's (ANA) World's Fair of Money®, taking place August 25-29 in Pittsburgh, experts will explore how coins, medals, and tokens tell the story of the United States from 1776 to today.

The Maynard Sundman/Littleton Coin Company Lecture Series will be held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on Wednesday, August 26, from 10 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. This year's theme is "Striking Independence: 250 Years of American Numismatics." The speakers and their lectures include:

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EXHIBITS AT AT 2026 PITTSBURGH ANA

Discover an extraordinary array of numismatic treasures at the American Numismatic Association's (ANA) 2026 Pittsburgh World's Fair of Money, August 25-29, 2026. The bourse floor at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center will feature an exceptional lineup of exhibits, from iconic favorites—such as the ANA Money Museum's legendary 1913 Liberty Head nickel—to specially curated displays honoring 250 years of American independence.

Examine never-before-seen rarities from the world-renowned Tyrant Collection (the world's most valuable private coin collection), explore remarkable recovered sunken treasures, follow Liberty's evolving image across U.S. coinage, and experience many additional displays designed to inspire, educate, and engage collectors and researchers.

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C4: NUMISMATICS IN AMERICA EXHIBIT AT ANA

Discover the story of America's founding through the coins, medals, and paper money that financed a revolution, reflected political ideals, and helped forge a nation. The Colonial Coin Collectors Club (C4) invites you to experience one of the most transformative periods in American history through the remarkable numismatic treasures that circulated during the nation's birth.

Presented in conjunction with America's 250th Anniversary, this special exhibition will be on display August 25–29, 2026, during the American Numismatic Association World's Fair of Money® in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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PHILIPPINE FORUM AT 2026 PITTSBURGH ANA

The Philippine Collectors Forum will hold its annual gathering at the American Numismatic Association's summer convention (the World's Fair of Money) on Friday, August 28, 2026, in Pittsburgh. The PCF meeting is free and open to the public. Highlights include custom ANACS-slabbed commemorative coins for the first fifteen attendees, and Philippine money–related door prizes, including bronze and silver coins and Japanese Invasion currency from World War II. Educational features include a keynote lecture, market and auction reports, book reviews, and research updates from experts in the fields of Spanish and American Philippine coins, tokens, medals, and paper money.

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VOCABULARY TERM: SPONSOR

Sponsor, Sponsorship. A firm, organization or individual that underwrites the expense of making and issuing a medal, or medal program, for another entity. Many scienific, medical (and some sports) medallic awards are often underwritten by profit corporations for the benefit of nonprofit organizations, often trade associations. Chevrolet was the sponsor, for example, of the College Football Centennial Medal of 1969. The American Numismatic Society was the sponsor of the New York Charter Day Medal of 1898 for the New York City Chamber of Commerce. The sponsorship of a medal – or a medal award program – is an eleemosynary or philanthropic act.

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DONALD MAXWELL MILLER (1913-1995)

I have been writing a column for the TAMS Journal. When I decided that Donald Miller was not appropriate for that column, I decided to write him up for The E-Sylum instead.

Donald M. Miller was born in Indiana, Pennsylvania, on August 1, 1913. He was the son of Lewis Earle Miller (1881-1954) and Mary Elizabeth Fleming (1881-1953). His father was an attorney.

Donald graduated from Juniata College in 1934 with his degree in commerce and finance. He went on to Dickinson School of Law and graduated in 1939. He practiced law with his father briefly until 1942.

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KEN BRESSETT INTERVIEW, PART FIVE

GREG BENNICK: For sure. Okay, well switching gears a bit, can you tell me a little bit about meeting Eric Newman?

KEN BRESSETT: Because I was a Hampshire boy, I wanted to collect and to learn all about the only coin made for New Hampshire in the colonial times.

Sure enough, there was a copper coin dated 1776, with a New Hampshire origin. It is listed in the Red Book. I had to learn all I could about that. I learned every owner of those New Hampshire cents and the true history of them all. Eric Newman was one of those people. I wrote to him, and said, "I'm very much interested in the New Hampshire copper coins. I'm trying to learn all I can about them and I've discovered that you own one of them. Would you please tell me what you can about it, because I want to have photographs of all that I can find."

So, Eric wrote back to this young kid that he didn't know. And he said, "I'm sending you the coin so that you can examine it, and here's a few things that I know about it. And would you please return it to me when you're done?"

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HERITAGE: JUNE 2026 ERROR COINS SHOWCASE

1944 1C Lincoln Cent -- Struck on 2.9 Gm Steel Planchet -- VF35 PCGS.

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NUMISMATIC AUCTIONS SALE 70 SESSION 4

Lot 865 - Ancient Greek, Lucania, Heraklea, 276-250 BC Silver Stater. 6.51g, 20mm. SNG ANS 90 (same dies); Head of Athena left, wearing a crested Corinthian helmet, "|- A" behind neck, "|-HPAK?EION" above.; Rx: Herakles standing left, holding up an uncertain object with his right hand, a lion skin over his left arm while leaning on a club. "?O[P]" to right. aXF, gunmetal blue and iridescent toning, somewhat flatly struck on the reverse. ($250-350)

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VIKING PENNIES MADE FROM ISLAMIC DIRHAMS

Some of the earliest Viking "pennies" were made with silver that contained melted-down coins from the Islamic world, a new study reports. The finding confirms the relationship between early Viking and Islamic silver, which was likely the result of long-distance trade.

The silver coins make up the Damhus hoard, a trove of 226 Viking Age pennies found near the town of Ribe on Denmark's Jutland Peninsula in 2018. The trove dates to between A.D. 830 and 850, which makes the silver pieces some of the earliest Viking coins ever discovered, according to the study, which was published June 5 in the journal Archaeometry.

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COINS OF ESPERANTO INVENTOR L. L. ZAMENHOF

Laurence Edwards writes:

L.L. Zamenhof is best known as the inventor of the universal language Esperanto. He was born in Bialystok, then part of the Russian Empire in 1859, one of eleven children. (Bialystok is now the tenth largest city in Poland.) He studied medicine in Moscow, Warsaw, and Vienna. He completed his medical training in 1886 and practiced ophthalmology in Warsaw.

In an article on the website of the National Yiddish Book Center, Esther Schor traces Zamenhof's intellectual journey from an attachment to Yiddish and Zionism to the universalism that led him to invent Esperanto. Esperanto was not meant to replace one's native language, but to be a universal second language that would facilitate communication and thus world peace. The Esperanto Association has chapters around the world.

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THE 2026 PITTSBURGH ANA MEDAL

The American Numismatic Association has invited celebrated medallic artists Jamie Franki and Heidi Wastweet to collaborate on designing and sculpting the official 2026 World's Fair of Money® convention medal for the annual convention in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This marks the dynamic duo's third major design partnership for the ANA, following their highly successful collaborations for Philadelphia in 2018 and Oklahoma City in 2025.

This year's keepsake honors a monumental turning point in numismatic history while celebrating the industrial spirit of the "Steel City." Following the United States Mint's decision to stop striking the one-cent coin for circulation, the 2026 medal recognizes the legacy of the historic 1943 steel cent, originally struck to conserve copper for military equipment during World War II. The medal masterfully reimagines Victor David Brenner's classic cent composition to showcase quintessential landmarks of Pittsburgh.

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WHALING VIGNETTES

Obsolete banknotes are a growing market for Paper Money collectors for their history and interesting vignettes. Whaling scenes are among the most popular vignettes, with ten variations known to the author. Because New England, and more specifically Massachusetts, once housed a booming whaling industry from the late 17th century all the way to the 19th century, banknote engravers in America from the 1830s to the 1860s decided to feature these vignettes in their designs to build connections with the communities they served.

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NETHERLANDS INDIES CURRENCY

Netherlands Indies paper money offers more than a record of colonial finance. Across its portraits, coats of arms, multilingual inscriptions, and carefully composed figures, it traces the shifting authority, identity, and visual culture of a region shaped by commerce, empire, occupation, and revolution. From the Dutch East India Company's early foothold in Java to the final years before Indonesian independence, these notes reveal a world in transition-and the 1933-1939 De Javasche Bank series stands among its most evocative artistic expressions.

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LOOSE CHANGE: JUNE 28, 2026

ANA 2026 Pittsburgh ANA Medal

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MANHATTAN BANK CHANNELS RENAISSANCE

New York is no stranger to wild architectural transformations, but watching a landmarked 1912 bank vault morph into a glowing, floor to ceiling canvas of the Italian Renaissance is entirely next level.

Beginning June 23, the city's art scene is getting a massive upgrade when the highly anticipated Renaissance: Da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo exhibition officially opens its doors in Tribeca!

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FEATURED WEBSITE: ELEANOR PLATT

This week's Featured Website is about sculptress Eleanor Platt, recommended by Jesse Kraft, Resolute Americana Assistant Curator of American Numismatics at the American Numismatic Society. Thank you.

https://www.eleanorplatt.org/

ABOUT THIS ISSUE: JUNE 28, 2026

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