"When I opened my E-Sylum email last week I noted that the issue was v28n52, I was curious how you had produced 52 issues with one issue left in the year. The inside title states that it is only issue 51."

"As I entered the last issue on my calendar I noticed it was 28/52. Last week I entered 28/50. Did we skip < 51 > ?"

You caught us! That was definitely a typo, although it only appeared on our email announcement, not the web page where we published the actual issue. Sorry for the confusion. E-Sylum readers are detail-oriented, and not much gets past them. Thanks for noticing! Last week was Number 51, the penultimate issue for the year, and this week is the last, the real Number 52. Happy New Year! -Editor

"It's somewhat alarming to me that the eagle on the reverse of the 2026 Dime does not hold the traditional olive branch in either claw. The American Eagle on the 1782 Great Seal of the United States features an olive branch, signifying the desire for peace, in his right or dominant claw, while the bundle of arrows in his left avows the nation's readiness to resort to war if necessary to defend freedom.

"This image has appeared on many classic US silver and gold coins over the centuries. Instead we now have the arrows reversed, placed in the dominant claw, and nothing at all in the left, which appears extended and poised to strike its next prey. Some years ago when the new twenty dollar bill was introduced, it was noted that, again, the arrows had migrated to the right claw, signifying a shift from peace to war as the new national priority, which was in keeping with the actions of the then current administration."

Another detail-oriented numismatist. I noticed that, too. -Editor

"As to the $100 Small Sized National Bank Note from a bank in Virginia, the extra brown numbers before and after the serial numbers are simply reiterations of that bank's charter number, also seen in black ink at both ends of the face of the note. This particular charter number would of course have been unique to this bank, the notes from other states bearing their own charter numbers. These extra brown numbers are standard for all Type Two Small Size National Bank Notes.

"As to the rarity suggested for it, I am not a specialist in U.S. Currency but that might be that this is the only $100 Type Two known for that particular bank. It is also possible that it is the only $100 Type Two known for the state of Virginia. $100 was a lot of money circa 1934-35, and not every National Bank ordered that denomination for its bank. Also, $100 was a lot of money for somebody to keep for posterity rather than spend. My grandparents bought a house in Detroit around then for, if I remember correctly, $2200."

"13775 is the charter number which is printed four times on all Type 2 National Bank notes as opposed to twice on Type I notes. I am not certain of the reason the change was made to print the charter number two additional times but one has to suppose that this was simply done to facilitate note identification and redemption.

"When national bank notes were redeemed by the treasury the appropriate bank's redemption fund had to be charged - and they certainly did not have barcodes! I'm sure placement of the number was done to make this process as easy as possible - but clearly not as easy as with the 1882 "Brownbacks""

"The extra 137&5s are an additional printing of the charter number for The Citizens National Bank of Hampton, Virginia. Type 2 Series of 1929 National Bank Notes, of which this $100 note is one, carried two sets of charter numbers: the black numbers along the right and left borders, and the brown pair printed after the serial numbers.

"Type 1 Series of 1929s had only the black pair of charter numbers. Once those notes began to circulate, however, it became apparent that the black ink could fade or wear away. (The bank title was printed in the same ink and prone to the same problems). This caused problems for the Treasury's redemption agency for national bank notes, as faded redeemed notes could be tricky to identify and credit to the correct bank, especially for partial notes missing their ends. So, to remedy this problem the Treasury decided to add a second pair of charter numbers next to the portrait, creating the Type 2s as shown by the Hampton $100.

"Types 2s went into production in 1933, and in general are scarcer than Type 1s. This is especially so for $50 and $100 notes, some of which are considered rarities among Series of 1929 National Bank Notes.

"Additional charter numbers wasn't the only reason - and not even the main reason - that Type 2s came about. The central issue had to do with the sheet serials used for the Type 1 1929s, a holdover from the large-size era, but one that was causing problems for the banks and the Treasury. Anyone can read all about the Series of 1929 National Bank Notes in Section G of the Huntoon-Shiva Encyclopedia of U.S. National Bank Notes available on the Society of Paper Money Collectors' website. I refer readers to Chapter G4 for discussion of the Type 1 and Type 2 serial numbering."

"The Citizens National Bank of Hampton, Virginia was the successor bank to The First National Bank of Hampton, Virginia (charter 6842), which was placed into conservatorship in March 1933, and liquidated in November. Citizens was organized and chartered the previous September, and assumed First National's circulation. The only notes issued to Citizens were Series of 1929 Type 2 fives, tens, twenties, fifties, and hundreds: over 33,000 notes totaling $311,000. Of the hundreds, they received only 252, and single note is recorded in the National Bank Note Census (nbncensus.com): serial A000229, the note being auctioned by Stacks and profiled in the December 14th E-Sylum.

"The First National Bank of Ferrum was the only other bank in Virginia that received Type 2 hundreds. They got 72, and only one is recorded in the National Bank Note Census. So, for collectors desiring a Type 2 hundred from Virginia - whether they chase the state, focus on charters 6842 or 13775, or collect Type 2 hundreds in general - there isn't much to choose from.

Thanks, everyone! Very informative. -Editor

"One research question that has come up in my own work, and which may be of broader interest to E-Sylum readers, concerns best practice around disclosure as new tools enter numismatic research.

"As techniques such as scientific imaging, surface mapping, and (in limited ways) AI are used more frequently, how should researchers clearly distinguish between lab based evidence and more interpretive or assistive tools, so readers understand exactly what each conclusion rests upon?

"It's something I've been thinking about in moving IA STUDIO forward, particularly for work that crosses disciplines or audiences, where the method can matter as much as the result."

What do readers think? Could you point us to examples of numismatic study papers that do a good job of this? -Editor

B.J. Herbison points out an issue with the Washington Post's article on the mock funeral for the Lincoln Cent, which stated, "Two men held up their coins, both from 1904 and five years before Lincoln's face was added to the coin, making it the first to feature a real person." -Editor

"The Lincoln Cent wasn't the first coin to feature a real person. Real people were on coins at least as far back as 400 BC. (See a coin featuring Tissaphernes, but some earlier coins might have his image.)

"If you limit yourself to official US government coinage there's the 1892 Columbian Exposition 1/2 Dollar.

"To end up with Lincoln you need to limit yourself to coins not designated as commemorative coins."

Good point - thank you. The comment makes sense only in the context of regular issue circulating U.S. coins. -Editor

This note got caught in the E-Sylum content queue for a few weeks. At the end of last month Carol Bastable wrote this on the topic of those conjoined Large Cents: "The act of soldering/riveting them together also helps keep them from being spent. This way they can be carried in the pocket without fear of spending them. Centuries ago in England, "Benders" were similarly carried in a pocket. A coin of some significance to the owner was twice bent and the bends helped keep them from being spent accidentally."

Here's a question from Ted Puls. -Editor

"The interesting riveted-penny idea of keeping the two cents worth together in an unspendable manner is interesting. The "bender" idea makes less sense, to destroy the item wanting to be saved. Is there a reference for such use? The story that I learned was about the bent "covenant coin". On making an important agreement a coin was presented to be bent to demonstrate that, like the fact that a coin can't be un-bent without everybody knowing, this covenant can't be broken/bent. "Dictum meum pactum". In high school my coin dealer showed me some bent coins (from the 18th century I recall) that were commercially worthless but so interesting that it forced me to pick up a few more of the bent types."

Ted included images of some of his bent coins. Thoughts, readers? Anyone familiar with "Covenant coins"? -Editor

"The [November 30, 2025 coin Image of the Week] had the head on the right and the tale or Pegasus (with tail) on the left. The standard is for the head to be pictured on the left- for some reason unknown to me. Does the actual head make this side the proper "head" side, or does the Pegasus being the important symbol rate a head side designation. Who decided to put the head on the left?"

The coin image is from that week's article on the Sovereign Rarities Auction XX, which concluded on December 10th. I reached out to Sovereign's Steve Hill and Mike Markowitz for comments. -Editor

"I asked Graham Byfield who I work closely with to make sure as he specializes in ancient and he said the coin is illustrated correctly as is. The obverse of such ancient Greek coins is the convex side, which in this case is the Pegasus and the concave side which shows the head is the reverse. Other ancient Greek coins also have this phenomena such as the large Dekadrachms."

"Steve is correct. The obverse of a coin is the side that was struck with the anvil die. For the staters of Corinth, this can be confusing because we are so accustomed to thinking that "heads" must be the obverse."

Thanks, everyone - the concavity is apparent from the image. I wasn't aware of that convention. -Editor

"I was recently reading a "Scientific American" article about metal detecting in Denmark. This is allowed in Denmark much more than in the United States. The detectorist found items including a find of Hacksilber. With this photo I recalled items found in a box of random items from a retired coin dealer in 2023. He wanted to unload unsalable items on me and I like to work on such material. This type of coin (maybe Ethnographic money) according to Google was used in trade until about 1100 A.D. My items have a stamp of a Spanish king much later. This adds to my puzzle but begs for future fun in numismatics. I thought to share a photo of one item as I can find no good numismatic references about such items."

Thanks for the images. Can anyone point us to references specifically about hacksilber and hacksilber hoards? -Editor