"Our good friend, noted researcher and very accomplished author Winston Zack has just published a fabulous new book on counterfeit US coins titled, Bad Metal, Circulating Contemporary Counterfeit United States Coins. This first volume, a 265 page, full-color masterwork, covers copper and nickel coins, and in great, very-well researched detail.

"I have been an avid collector of these coins since the mid 1980's, and have wanted to read this book since then. Now, I can do just that, and so can you! We have the books in stock here at the office, and they will make their debut at our Baltimore table, #930. Winston will be there as well to sign your new book, if you wish, and he will also have a special, introductory sale price in effect. If you can't make the show, I'm sure we can still get you a signed copy at the special price, plus shipping, of course. After the show, they will be listed on our website."

"I recently purchased a set of Numismatic Scrapbook Magazines from the 1950's-1970's on eBay as the information in them is just as pertinent today as it was then. The advertisements, however, are very strange. And many of them are laughable. However, there seemed to be a great amount of material for sale; I wonder what happened to it?

"On any article I read last night about the 1913 ‘V' nickel, it said that there were 2 proofs struck and 3 business strike. I did not know that. It also said that the first time these were displayed in 1920, there was a copper Buffalo nickel included, but a couple of issues later, a numismatist who purchased the estate of that owner, said that the Buffalo nickel was a counterfeit.

"In the 1950's Indian head cents were trading at 5 cents each by the hundred or thousand. Civil War tokens at 60 Cents each in groups of hundreds or thousands. Just unusual quantities of such items. I wonder, 60 years later, what happened to them.

"My field of world coins (and gold was $20 per ounce then), Gothic crowns at $15 each. All the rare coins at pennies on the dollar compared to today. And many of the commoner silver crowns were very inexpensive compared to today. However not all was better. World proof sets and mint sets were advertised in many years, at prices generally higher than today, as they are not so popular today. Curacao 2 ½ Gulden Crowns 1944, were trading at $20 each, and today, I melt them. Still the articles by Bob Julian about early US coins were top rate."

"Some of the best material I've found for my book on Whitman folders and albums has come from the company's newsletter for its dealers, Whitman Coin Supply Merchandiser. It seems to have been in print 1960-66, but I have just a few issues from 1965-66. I'd really like to acquire or at least examine the remaining issues, and I'm hoping that a reader may be able to supply all or some of them."

"Since Yahoo Groups as a whole is deleting all the archive files/photos of any coin groups in/around mid-December leaving only real-time communications via E-Mail and no photo uploads, etc, a new group has been formed on Facebook. Group name - Canadian Blacksmith Coppers. Just Search/Join."

"I read the Paperboy Collection Lessons and it reminded me of my days as a paperboy from 1952 to 1955 when I lived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and was in the 6th grade at Southeast Elementary School at the intersection of South Andrews Ave and SE 7th St, then to Naval Air Junior High School, which is now the Fort Lauderdale International Airport (a school bus took me to and from school). I walked to and from the house my parents rented at the intersection of SE 6th St and SE 5th Ave. After school, I like to walk home up Andrews Ave to New River and then walk along the river looking at the water and the boats. There was an "antique" store on Andrews Ave that I used to stop in and look in a cigar box with Indian Head Cents and Liberty Head coins in it. The prices were 5 Cents over the face value! Not very often I would have enough to buy and Indian Head Cent.

"I noticed some kids picking up newspapers at a nearby Miami Daily News office. I walked in and asked if I could also sell their newspapers. I was a skinny runt at the time and the man wanted to get rid of me but I insisted. He asked where I lived and I told him it was only a block away from US-1. He said no one was selling his Racing Edition in that area and that I could sell 25 copies a day. It was quite a task to carry the newspapers home and then to the intersection of US-1 a couple of blocks south of New River at the intersection of SE 7th St. I carried 5 papers between the lanes of cars when the light changed to red. Many of the tourists were headed south to the race tracks and immediately cleaned me out of my Racing Editions! I needed many more than 25 copies but there was no way I could carry them!

"I walked into the nearby drug store and asked the manager if my papers could be delivered to just inside his store. He agreed! I bought a malted milk shake from him every day to thank him and myself. The next day I told the newspaper man I need many more papers to sell. He was quite happy. He delivered 50 copies to the drug store and I kept raising it until I was selling 250 an afternoon within an hour or two! I was making $12.50 a day! Within a couple of months, I had cleaned out the cigar box and the owner held all of the coins he acquired for me to buy. My customers also gave me coins I put into my collection, to include silver dollars!

"My earnings were a fortune in my family so I gave my mother half of it. I was making more than my dad but my mother and I never told him because I did not want to hurt his pride. From that day, all of my clothes, school supplies, etc., were bought with my earnings, and that continued when I had other jobs after we moved to far west side of Fort Lauderdale, until I graduated from high school in 1959 and enlisted in the Army."