"I saw the "Novel" Deeds medal with the reversed illustration in the Express a day or two ago and contacted the journalist to point out that "Edel" on the medal would be better translated as "Noble" rather than "Novel" but got no response. I assume it was a mis-hearing of what the speaker said on the TV show in that particular report. In any case, "novel" is certainly a novel expression in context!"

That makes more sense! Thanks. -Editor

"Regarding the Teddy Roosevelt plaque displayed at the Nummis Nova dinner, the artist should be listed as Jeno Juszko. While primarily known as a medalist, Juszko also created some statues and busts, including three at Grant's Tomb - Generals Thomas, McPherson and Ord."

Thanks! Scott passed along a photo of Juszko at work. -Editor

"I'm not certain what the "Victor Buono Method" is, but I imagine it pertains to the 1973 episode of Hawaii Five-0 in which Buono appeared as a criminal seeking to swap a fake 1913 Liberty Head Nickel for the real one. I remember watching that entry when it first aired, but I haven't seen it since. I imagine the show is being re-run on some network, but I haven't searched for it."

"I think I've got the answer to Pete Smith's question on the Victor Buono method. It is to examine a coin (preferably a 1913 Liberty Nickel) by holding the magnifying glass behind the coin rather than in front of the coin. This scene was used to promote the Hawaii Five-O episode featuring the famous nickel."

"Good answer. Bill is one of my oldest friends in numismatics, going back to about 1985."

Pete's question was inspired by the above newspaper photo of Mint Director Mary Brooks examining a coin. Victor Buono is the prolific character actor who guest starred in the said Hawaii Five-O episode. Here's the photo in question. -Editor

In both photos the magnifying glass is not between the coin and the person looking at the coin - it's on the outside toward the photographer so people viewing the photo see the coin thru the magnifying glass. As Dave Lange noted, "It's definitely a posed production still." -Editor

"I don't have anything major to share -- but just this morning it came to me that there is a real possibility this all started with Cecil/Charles Ryan.

"I started looking for records from the Brooklyn Coin Club (where he seems to be most active) and I ran into Paul Franklin being active there as well at this time. I also think these two men lived near each other.

"The Josh Tatum story certainly took hold in American legend. Could it have been concocted by Franklin and Ryan - with that helpful spin of MacDougall (who got a nice column out of it). It probably helped sell a lot of racketeer nickels and there is the possibility that some of them could have been more modernly made for collectors.

"Apparently the concept of not asking for change for the gilded nickels was known as a potential loop-hole. Attached here is an article that makes mention of it from the San Francisco Examiner, 2/28/1890."

Thanks - another piece of the puzzle. -Editor

"A year went by, and the US$ 12 Tax refund cheque was uncashed safe in my collection. To my total surprise, I got another US$12 check in the mail which I never requested when I submitted my taxes this year. Dated June 17 2022 it had been posted by the US Embassy on July 27 and reached me on 29th. I checked and found my full 2021 refund had been deposited. I can only guess that this is a replacement for the uncashed cheque which was valid for only one Year.

"Uncle Sam's automated computer system has clearly not been programmed to handle uncashed cheques kept by collectors. Wondering if I should just add it to my collection and see what happens next year. :-)"

Wow - guess I never expected that to happen. Interesting development. -Editor

"I was looking through some items and came across an auction of the Columbus Stamp and Coin Shop, titled Famous Old Collection. It closed March, 26, 1963. The sale was printed in the March issue of The Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine. I have a copy of this version. I have read that some original copies of the catalog were printed. Do any of our readers own these?"

Great question - readers? -Editor

"The Chien Lung reign cash shown with the counterstamp appears to be a coin of the Board of Works-New Mint made in 1752 according to "Ching Cash" book by Warren Burger- prior to the start of adding privy marks to indicate clearly the branch of the B.O.W. mint branches. The coin has a diameter of about 25 mm and wide rim width of 4 mm. A bit of useless trivia but allowed me to use my new book."

Thanks! -Editor