"I ran across a small group of 1932 and 1936 Olympic collectibles from the estate of a Nova Scotia athlete. I know that there are collectors of chocolate coins. Perhaps an E-Sylum reader can shed light on this 1932 Olympic chocolate medal so that I can inform the owner."

Interesting. I can't say I've ever seen one of these. I can make out "Rockwood & Co." on the reverse. Can anyone help? -Editor

"It's Glenda Koppenhaver, not Glenna. I knew her well over almost 50 years. Interestingly, she was in the habit of carrying a small gun in her purse over many years."

A Newman Numismatic Portal search finds many references to her as Glenda (and none as Glenna). Pete agrees: "It appears that Alan is correct." We've corrected the spelling error in our E-Sylum archive, hopefully avoiding any risk of future small-arms fire. -Editor

"I just finished reading the interview. Very interesting! I had no idea you have been publishing The E-Sylum for nearly 25 years. Wow! Amazing. You were way ahead of your time.

"And that was a great photo of your desk. At first glance it looks like it could have been taken 75 years ago. "

That's a pre-pandemic photo and the books have been rearranged to put the better ones far from the window light, but only I would notice that. But yeah, except for the computer and monitor it could well be an old-time numismatic library. It's nice to have the books close at hand for consultation.

We're in our 24th volume and will hit that quarter-century milestone September 4, 2022. -Editor

"I was also struck by how long you have been editor and also the only editor. It just makes me think of a day that will inevitably come where you will no longer be able to serve (sorry if this is grim). I think of this in my own regard as well with clubs I serve. Key roles that require much time and effort can be impossible to find replacements for. I wonder what the face of clubs will be like in twenty and fifty years from now as there is so much apathy when it comes to willingness to pitch in and serve within so many organizations. Maybe by then there will be so much on the internet that people will Google everything from already existing materials. The foresight of the Newman Numismatic Portal is a big step in that direction.

"I hope you eat a healthy diet and exercise regularly because I would wager that you are indeed irreplaceable. But really, it is amazing that you have undertaken a weekly publication deadline rather than monthly or even biweekly. This means that you have to work at times when you are sick and you have to make plans around this schedule when it comes to travel, family, or whatever. Your dedication has no equal (inaudible applause)."

As it happened, I opened Carol's email while participating in one of my better pandemic-acquired habits - taking a long walk around the perimeter of our neighborhood. Thanks for the good wishes. But that proverbial beer truck could run me over any day, and luckily we have taken some precautions. Just last month our webmaster Bruce Perdue and I walked through our weekly E-Sylum routines for NBS VP Len Augsburger, and our Zoom session was recorded. I've also provided Len with copies of various template files, instructions and account names and login credentials.

It's a part-time job for sure, taking many hours each week and consuming the bulk of my weekend. I have indeed continued working through business trips, family vacations, and bouts of the sniffles. Luckily the work remains interesting and fun, even after all these years.

Our advertisers deserve credit as well - I couldn't devote this amount of effort if it weren't also helping to pay some bills for both my family and NBS. Please patronize and thank our advertisers whenever you have the opportunity.

We recently lost one of our longtime weekly sponsors with the retirement of Fred Weinberg. Fred's irreplaceable of course, but it would be nice to sign up a new or returning advertiser to fill that regular slot. Thoughts, anyone? -Editor

"I have a theory about the foreign coins (from your Grandfather). I believe many servicemen brought home coins as souvenirs from when they served overseas during war. They could be from places they were stationed or they could have even been shared with soldiers from other countries as allied forces served together. Or maybe not all service men went home immediately after the war and they traveled a bit first. Coins were also engraved as souvenirs both during WWI and WWII.

"Even if your grandfather did not serve, he may have acquired the coins from someone else in the family that did serve. I feel that these foreign coins returning home helped to also fuel coin collecting which became so popular in the 1950's and 1960's with families. Returning servicemen married and started families and when their children were old enough, this was a hobby/collection that could be shared."

Aside from the early crown and 1910 Maundy set, the coins I inherited were very much the pocket change of Europe and could well have been brought home by a member of my grandfather's family. He was actually a step-grandfather, not a blood relative, and I haven't yet traced his history to learn about his military service. -Editor

"I appreciated the memorial to Fred Reed from his family in last week's E-Sylum. It helped me to focus more on what we have gained from his outgoing personality and dogged pursuit of numismatic stories, rather than on lamenting a fruitful career cut short by a debilitating stroke.

"Fred approached a project as would the captain of a large and diverse team. To fully appreciate his modus operandi, take a look at the lengthy acknowledgments section of his 650+ page book, Civil War Stamp Envelopes, published by BNR Press in 2013. Every person named in this section was recognized for taking part with Fred in a large scale production. I believe this was Fred's final book (eight others preceded it); he was working on a revision when he was felled by the stroke.

"Fred was meticulous in his research, thorough in his collection of material, forthright and to the point in his writing style, generous with his time, and honest in giving credit to his sources. I had the pleasure of working with him on projects of both his and of mine.

"I would say of him what he said to me on the title page of one of his books: To a great numismatist & great friend."

Agreed - that fits Fred to a "T" -Editor

"For the turn of the last millennium, I created a numismatic exhibit to teach that even though some Westerners expected our big numeric transition - "Y2K" - to be a harbinger of a major religion-related inflection point for humanity, that wouldn't be the case in the non-Western civilizations that utilize different dating systems (demonstrated by years on their currencies, of course). That interest led to a sub-specialty in the calendar and almanac medals from the French Revolution, from France and neighboring countries, during the years France utilized their revolutionary calendar dating system ("L'an..."), as an adjunct to my abundant other French Rev. numismatic stuff.

"Searching the market for qualifying medals, I've come across quite a few awfully interesting such items from other periods and locales, which have made me regret a bit that I can't afford to simply collect worldwide calendar and almanac medals as a genre unto itself. There must be collectors who do. Take a look at this compelling piece, which I just came across!

"(Interesting that it's in English. The host coin must be Mexico 8 reales 1754-1760, KM-104.)"

Thanks! Very interesting item! -Editor

"Does anybody have access to the Spring 1997 issue of The Journal of East Asian Studies, vol. 4, No.1? Supposedly, it contains an article I'm seeking, entitled "The Coins of Shanghai" by A.M.T. Woodward, a scan of which would be greatly appreciated."

The current JEAN site is https://issuu.com/jeandigitala1/, but this incarnation of the journal only goes back to 2017. -Editor

Nick Graver passed along the Pickles cartoon from September 19, 2021. Thanks. -Editor

Years ago my grandmother enjoyed passing the time helping my sister make arts and crafts items that she would sell at craft shows. What she didn't know was that sis couldn't sell them as fast as grandma could make them - at night her and my Mom would take the things apart and put the beads and other parts back into the bins. -Editor