Nancy and I were the first to discover the article in the October 1895 issue of the San Francisco Bulletin which explained, directly from the weigher of the SF mint, as to the reason why the 24 pieces of said issue were struck. The weigher, Frank Berdan, said that he had also purchased 2 pieces as per family tradition. And, word also came that the ex-coiner, Charles Gorham purchased two as well. What better sources could you have to explain the coin's creation? In addition, there were 3 pieces set for assay not 5. Two for special assay at the Philadelphia mint, and one for the annual assay. This left a total of 17 sent into circulation. Since 9 are known, 8 are still missing. We hope this helps to clarify the history of this coveted coin.

Rich Kelly & Nancy Oliver
Numismatic Researchers & Authors

I came across a photo that I found interesting because I thought it looked like the First United States Mint. I altered it slightly to remove an identifying sign. Can any E-Sylum reader identify the building and its numismatic significance?

It appears to be the Amos Press building in Sidney, Ohio, home of Coin World.

Do any E-Sylum readers, or your numismatic friends or family, own a 1953 Henning nickel counterfeit? I am finalizing my upcoming book, "Bad Metal. Copper and Nickel Circulating Contemporary Counterfeit United States Coins" and the 1953 Henning nickel is the only Henning variety in my ‘Nickel' chapter which I have not yet located, studied, or photographically documented – although I know they exist.

If you own, or know someone who does own a 1953 Henning nickel, I would very much appreciate being contacted to arrange for a professional photograph of this piece to be included in my book. I will pay the full cost of getting the 1953 Henning nickel professionally photographed. You can contact me, Winston Zack, at winston.s.zack@gmail.com for more information.

The absolute deadline for this request of a 1953 Henning nickel photograph is July 31, 2019 in order to meet my tight publishing deadline. If a photo of a 1953 Henning nickel is provided to me after July 31, there is no promise that I will have time to include it in my project - this would be unfortunate, and I really do not want to have this variety missing from this project. However c'est la vie. Any photos of a 1953 Henning nickel published in my book will be fully cited and credited in the photo credits section at the end of the book.

As a preview of the contents of this book, the ‘Henning Nickel' section of the ‘Nickel' chapter promises to provide never before published information, research and analysis on Henning's nickels, die states, and emission order which collectors will find quite valuable. In addition, it expands upon the extensive research conducted by Dwight Stuckey in his 1982 book ‘The Counterfeit 1944 Jefferson Nickel.'

The debut of this book is planned at the November 2019 Whitman Winter Baltimore Coin Expo, and an official pre-order notice will be provided in the coming weeks.

I received an email from the International Bank Note Society about an ad that was missing from its journal for Dix Noonan Webb (DNW) in the United Kingdom. I looked through one of its auction catalogs; Coin, Tokens & Historical Medals on 18 & 19 September 2019, and saw a plaque for Ben Franklin which is new to me and thought it might be of interest to an Americana collector in the United States.

Sometimes I enjoy looking through auction catalogs my library. I never know what I will come across. Recently while looking through the John Allan sale, held at Bangs, Merwin in May of 1864, a lot that caught my eye was #677: "Coins, catalogue of the Numismatic Library of an Eminent Collector", London, 1846.

I was quite surprised to see a numismatic library at such an early date, and decided to see if I could find out more about it. The lot sold to William Sumner Appleton for $2. The Appleton library was sold by Tom Elder in May of 1913, so I pulled that catalog, and found the 1846 library sale as lot 263. Although called Very rare by Elder, interest was lagging, and it only realized 25 cents.

From this point I lost track of the catalog, but to try and find out more about it, I consulted Harrington Manville's book British Numismatic Auction Catalogues (1710-1984). I knew Mr .Manville from both of us attending Frank Katen's book auctions. He was a nice gentleman, and he wrote a dedication to me on the title page of his book. Finally Manville gives a clue who the Eminent collector may be - he suggests one J R Steuart.

Since this was one of the very first numismatic libraries, I wonder if any of of our readers know anything about it.

The designer of the Queen Victoria jubilee head Joseph Boehm had an alleged relationship with one of the Queen's daughters. According to a rumour he died in the daughter's arms!

Thanks for including this. I own about a half dozen of these of various types and was delighted to see further information about them. Unfortunately not as much info as I'd like -- what were the shear ingots made for? Can the serial numbers be correlated with dates of issue, who were these sold to? ---but it was more than I knew!

I was in Vancouver recently seeing my eldest daughter and went to the Museum of British Columbia. It's about $27 dollars to get in. I appreciate free museums in the UK! The museum had an Adventure and Resolution medallion presumably given by Capt Cook. It was so badly lit you could not see it. There was a picture of some tokens but that was it.