I do not believe that it is obvious that the U.S. Mint's first commemorative coin was the 1848 quarter eagle with the CAL counterstamp. There is no comparison between a hastily produced item, a counterstamped regular issue, with coins specifically designed as the result of the programs, commissions, surcharges, etc., associated with the production of what have, at least until recently, been considered the hallmarks of commemorative coins, classic or modern. The 1848 coin would better be described as a precursor or forerunner to commemorative coins. It is a true souvenir, but not a true commemorative coin, at least as generally defined. If you haven't guessed, I vote for the Columbian Exposition half as the Mint's first commemorative coin.

Almost 40 years ago there was a collectibles show in Denver immediately preceding the ANA. A bourse dealer had an EF Goodspeeds Lesher dollar priced at $1500. I'd never seen one and bought it on spec. I showed it around to supposedly knowledgeable numismatists who universally claimed I was buried at $1500.

At the ANA a few days later I approached Lesher dollar collector Bill Henderson of Colorado and asked him if he collected Lesher dollars and what piece had eluded him. He replied "the Goodspeeds and I'd pay $5,000 for one if I found one." I pulled it out of my pocket. He was shocked, and many decades later his descendants exhibit it with the rest of his Leshers. I am shocked at the apparent current market value of $30,000 plus.

I purchased and got delivery after three weeks this A4 USB light table. Very useful for any banknote collector or dealer to look at and photograph watermarks on currency, and many other uses.

I was intrigued that the monarch on the obverse of the very rare 1703 British Vigo gold coin, which recently sold at auction for 845,000 pounds, is Queen Anne (1665-1714), portrayed in the current Oscar-nominated film "The Favorite," which I happened to see this week. Actress Olivia Colman, whom I didn't know before, gives a superb performance of the Queen as homely, neurotic, infantile, often repulsive, yet proud, in her command of the deliciously decadent English court of the time.

In your photo of the coin, I was curious to see how closely the make-up artists were able to make Ms. Colman resemble the portrait on the coin. It wouldn't surprise me if images on the country's coinage of that era were an important resource for the film-makers.

The film gets an "R" because of the gratuitous exposure of a bit more skin than is necessary, some pretty salty language, and a few sexually titillating scenes that some might find unsuitable in "family entertainment." That said, it is a very well-made and well-acted film that makes the long-dead image on the 1703 Vigo gold coin come vividly to life for history-lovers.

While reading about the Caravans of Gold exhibition, I was reminded of a book in my library, The Golden Trade of the Moors, by E W Bovill, London 1958. I believe that anyone interested in this subject would enjoy that book. It is very well researched, and has maps. I checked on Amazon, and reprints are available. Of nine people who rated it, eight gave it five stars, and one four. So that says something.

My copy came from the Joe Der library sold by John Bergman in 1993. It was an unsold lot I purchased following the sale.

The mention of The Man Who Stole Portugal in last week's newsletter reminded me a little of a tale in the latest Journal of the Numismatic Association of Australia (vol. 28, 2017), on a fraudulent attempt to commission a series of commemorative coins for Uganda in 1981.