"I read the article titled "The Trade Dollar's Link to Opium Trafficking" with great interest. If anybody is interested in finding more details, an excellent book is available on this topic "Opium Inc. How A Global Drug Trade Funded The British Empire" by Thomas Manuel."

Thank you. -Editor

"I enjoyed reading "1978 Camp David Accords Peace Memorial" notes by Jim Haas in last Sunday's edition of The E-Sylum. I noticed a small error in his first paragraph. The word peace that appears on the top part of the obverse side of the medal is in Hebrew script (shalom), Arabic script, not Egyptian, and English. The Arabic script reads as salaam which means peace.

Coincidentally, I was at the military parade in Cairo when Egyptian President Anwar El-Sadat was assassinated on October 6, 1981. At that time, I was teaching at Ramses College for Girls (RCG), a private Egyptian school in Cairo. Some of our students had given us special passes to get into the parade grounds for the military festivities.

We returned to our flat and were all in shock as we listened to the BBC and Radio Cairo for updates. The streets were quiet. No one knew what would happen next.

On November 17, 1981, we had Mrs. Betty Atherton, wife of Alfred Leroy "Roy" Atherton Jr., the U.S. Ambassador to Egypt, over for tea at RCG. She wanted to meet with the Americans to give us an update on Sadat's assassination and funeral. We spoke with her for several hours. Roy, her husband, had been in the reviewing stand when Sadat was fired upon. Roy heard a bullet whiz by his head and immediately hit the deck. Terrorists, armed with AK-47 assault rifles and hand grenades, attacked Sadat and other dignitaries in the reviewing stand. Several people were killed. It was a harrowing time to be living in Egypt. A few years earlier, Ambassador Atherton had played a central role in negotiating the 1978 Camp David Accords.

Note: My memories above do not stem from me having the android-like memory of Wayne Homren! Instead, I checked the diary that I kept during my years in Cairo for the sake of accuracy."

Thank you. Harrowing times, then and now. -Editor

"Having catalogued extensive Canadian Pocket Mirror Card collections I enjoyed the article by Pete Smith on Numismatist Mirrors which was in the E-Sylum - Volume 29, Number 07, February 15, 2026. In visiting his article on the Newman Numismatic Portal he lists one Canadian mirror issued by Glenda & John Cheramy of Victoria, British Columbia. They issued these mirrors in three different colours.

"Three other modern numismatist mirrors were issued by Scott E. Douglas of Acton, Ontario in 2008, 2009 & 2010. From a numismatic perspective we have also listed an older hotel pocket mirror that is good for 25c at the bar. This one is from Royal Hotel in Cranbrook, British Columbia. Another much larger mirror / paperweight is from Winnipeg, Manitoba that has the obverse images of Canadian coins on it.

"There was also a pocket mirror issued by the Ingersoll Coin Club for their 25th Anniversary in 1986 as well as one that is the Property Of The Toronto International Coin Fair.

"These and a myriad of other Canadian pocket mirror cards can be viewed online, or downloaded from, the Geoffrey Bell Canadian Numismatic Resources website at: cnr-rnc.ca/jensen_eric/

"Many thanks for the great E-Sylum newsletters which I enjoy getting and reading through, very much appreciated."

Thank you! -Editor

"I was oblivious to the fact that Bryce Brown was selling the Dick Johnson library on eBay. On Jan 7, I found in an eBay browse a copy of the 1923 National Sculpture Society Exhibition Catalog. I have a copy of the 1929 NSS Exhibition Catalog, and always wanted to own a copy of the 1923 Catalog. I have borrowed the 1923 Catalog at least twice from the ANA for research purposes. So, bingo, I bought it. Put it on Amex and got on to the next bottle of wine. When I got the catalog in the mail on Jan 14, and open it up and with the attendant packing slip, I finally twigged. I had bought Dick Johnson's personal copy of the NSS 1923 Catalog. The one he had used in his various bibliographies of the medallists in his databank. I have seen it variously noted as AE3, AE5 and AE8. AE is Art – Exhibitions. The Catalog still has its covers but the spine is naked. Since I acquired it, I have spent hours gently paging through it. Thinking of Dick doing the same. I wonder if the technology exists that could calculate how many times Johnson cited this catalog in his databank. It is there a lot. This acquisition is a total mitzvah. A catalog I have always wanted and an aide-memoire to the life and work of its previous owner. Dick Johnson – Requiescat in Pace.

NB: I have spelled medallist with a double LL. One of Dick's hobby horses was to differentiate the sculptural bas-relief artist from the winner of a sporting event, i.e. An Olympic Medalist. You can see the work of many Olympic Medallists in the Stack's Bowers sale of The Richard Jewell Olympic Medals Collection on Friday Feb 27. 2026. May Rich Jewell Rest in Peace."

Nice acquisition! Thanks. -Editor

"An online guide to the Collector Exhibit Area at the February 26-28 National Money Show is available at: http://www.chicagocoinclub.org/events/2026/ananms/ex/all_by_cl.html

"The Collector Exhibits are no longer listed in the Show Guide. The above guide groups the exhibits by Exhibit Class.

"Visit this page before you arrive at the convention center to determine your must-see exhibits, or visit this page to help you remember that exhibit you want to see again! The online guide will be updated during the convention, to list just the exhibits which are present.

"For this National Money Show, the Collector Exhibit Area is located in a far back corner of the bourse hall -- beyond the club tables, but close to the US Mint and ANA Museum areas. After the ribbon cutting to open the bourse to the public on Thursday, the Collector Exhibit Area will be open for visitors who have entered the bourse."

Thank you. I won't be at this show, but was tickled to read this announcement: "The ANA has updated the registration system for our conventions. On-site registration for the National Money Show is cashless. Attendees can still use cash for transactions on the bourse floor." It would be a fun publicity stunt to walk in pushing a wheelbarrow full of pennies. Great for social media posts. -Editor