"I enjoyed reading about Sam Alfano. Here's a picture of a nickel in my collection (for obvious reasons) that he carved."

"That is me!"

"Jerry Schimmel, Bill Hyder and I have been researching the Acme Beer token and find it to be something of an enigma. The signature, "MOISE. S.F." is thought be a pre-Earthquake signature mainly in use from 1895 until the 1906 earthquake. It is possible that it was also used in 1906 and 1907 after the earthquake as well. San Francisco's Acme beer was established in 1907 by the Olympia Beer Company of Washington State, as most of the city's breweries had been destroyed in the earthquake and fire.

"John Rapp and Son appear in the San Francisco city directories as both an independent beer bottler and as a distributor of Rainier beer, a competitor of Olympia. They could be the Rapp on the token. However, no record of a Morton in the beer business nor a partnership between Morton and Rapp can be found in San Francisco newspapers or directories. Furthermore, the logotype on the token is quite unlike any found on bottle labels or advertising.

"Moise used a lot of different dies over the years for their many issues with the California State Seal, beginning with their so-called dollar for the 1894 California Midwinter Exposition (HK-245a). Bill's research finds that the 1910 Moise medal celebrating the 1910 California admission day celebration shows a die crack beginning on the seal between 9 and 10 o'clock. The Holabird specimen of the Acme token does not exhibit this crack, but others do, further confusing the timing of issue.

"Nonetheless, the particulars of Morton remain unknown as does the existence of a partnership with John Rapp and/or his son. Any assistance in identifying "Morton and Rapp" would be appreciated."

"Tony Terranova submitted the photo of the sale room at the Earle sale, a classic image. The copy of the Earle catalog at the Newman portal includes that same photograph immediately following the plates in the back of the catalog, with an inked number on each individual in the photo. Nearly everyone in the photo is identified in the key on the adjacent page. In addition to the names mentioned, others include Hesslein, Clapp, Valentine, Boyd, Ryder, and Newcomb. Many additional collectors are identified as well. The key includes 55 entries, with 42 of those identified, including a reporter and a couple employees."

"I have came across a Japanese 100 Yen that does not have a year marker. I first thought it was the new 2019-2020 coins. However then figured out that the markings on the coin do not match those on the newer coins. "

"The 43 refers to 43rd year of reign of Emperor Showa (or Hirohito). This pertains to 1968 AD. Japanese Emperors adopt a new name and the era pertains to that name. The current Emperor, Reiwa, started in 2019. The first year is counted as Inaugural year hence named differently."

"The day after my "Artifactual" piece, I posted another piece — titled "Are You a Knight Companion of the Grand Order of the West?" — that adds some new "dots" to this mysterious constellation.

"In 2014, John Kraljevich sent in the images of his 1953 Emperor Norton medallion, featuring the phrase "Grand Order of the West," as a response to Neil Shafer's item about a souvenir "One Gold Crown" note, also produced in 1953 and also — like the medallion — carrying the name of the San Francisco Chronicle.

"The notes were given out by the thousands, primarily to children, at San Francisco's Thanksgiving Day parade that year, where the Grand Marshal was "Emperor Norton" — as played by an impersonator. Children could redeem the notes for single rides at Playland-on-the-Beach, a popular San Francisco amusement park of the day.

"Continuing to look for more info about the "Grand Order of the West," I found a December 2019 eBay listing with photographs of a wearable "chest medal" with the phrase "Grand Order of the West." The medal didn't carry the name of the San Francisco Chronicle — but, it did feature an image of Emperor Norton, and the Norton artwork was the same as on the Chronicle's "One Gold Crown" notes of 1953.

"More details, including photographs, are in the post and thread."

"I saw the bit about Weronika's coin postcards and remembered lots 4418-4428 in our April auction are all lots of these. Thanks for your great weekly publication."

"The articles on money sanitation reminded me of a story of a San Francisco hotel."

"In the March 22, 2020 issue of JR News I shared a menu from the "Half Dime Lunch Room" at 22 Railroad Avenue in Meriden, Connecticut. D. M. Lawlor was the Proprietor. This same menu was also used in two other locations, 22 Exchange Place in Providence, RI and 375 Asylum Street in Hartford, Ct. Every item on the menu was 5C, or one Half Dime. This menu was from the Stephen "Mr. Half Dime" Crain collection.

My primary intent was to share the fun menu where every item was 5C, likely in the late 1800s. I received nice feedback from a fair number of JRCS members and others. I also had one question from a reader on what year I thought this restaurant was in business. As no date was on the menu I replied, "I'm not sure."

I also requested that anyone with information on this restaurant please contact me. Not surprising to me, David Finkelstein, JRCS member and a longtime researcher, replied with four pages of information and ads for other Half Dime Lunch Rooms. And also "Dime" and "10 Cent" lunches / lunchrooms!

What David shared with me shows that Half Dime and Dime (10 Cents) restaurants went back to at least to the 1860's. It appears that Half Dime restaurants could be found over a dozen states in the 1870s. We can only imagine seeing all the Early, Capped Bust and Liberty Seated coins used to pay the tab or in change. Maybe even a Flowing Hair or Draped Bust coin occasionally were passed back and forth!"