One of the last items I added to last week's issue was Ed Cohen's request for a copy of Sandrock's Ancient Chinese Cash Notes. I managed to find one offered online. -Editor

"Wow! Fast reply and a successful find. I ordered the dealer's last copy from Ebay.

"I'm working with the editor and a reviewer of Historum Mathematica (an Elsevier journal on History of Mathematics).

"He was also seeking a copy. The early Chinese paper money issued by the Southern Song (12th-13th centuries CE) is a useful source showing how the Chinese of that time treated numbers.

"Much thanks. If there are other copies out there, that will be useful."

"Nearly 50 years ago, (July 7, 1975), the bicentennial coins were first released. I really dread the designs we're going to get for 2026."

The news has been quiet, and the clock is ticking. Below is a YouTube video with proposed designs for the 2026 Semiquincentennial reviewed by the Citizen's Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC). -Editor

Wayne's been thinking about paper money designs as well. Here's the back of a $250 bill idea. -Editor

"In the course of researching an article on this man's daughter, an artist, I came upon this gem. Max was no fruitcake, but sadly, this was the only mention of it. He died in 1942."

Interesting. 34 years? Must have been quite a system. Perhaps copies of his plan can be found in the National Archives. The article is from the North Shore Daily Journal January 15, 1936. -Editor

In the this-is-why-your-mom-told-you-not-to-put-coins-in-your-mouth department, I wanted to add this numismatic tidbit from Garrison Keillor's blog. I usually try to have an image with each item, but you'll have to use your imagination on this one. -Editor

Senator Simpson listened to a radio show I used to do and he wrote me a fan letter on official stationery and once, when I was in Washington, I had coffee with him and he told me a story about a contest that cowboys used to conduct when he was a boy. They'd take turns dropping their trousers and competing to see who could pick up a silver dollar using only his bare buttocks, and if necessary, have a playoff for a half-dollar or a quarter. There was a genuineness about the man that was pure gold. I knew he was a conservative and it didn't matter; what was important was the integrity.