WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: AUGUST 23, 2026

PREV ARTICLE NEXT ARTICLE FULL ISSUE PREV FULL ISSUE

V29 2026 INDEX E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 29, Number 34, 2026, Article 18

Since retiring I've been shooting for 10,000 steps a day, and lately I've been averaging over 11,000. Most of my walks are around our neighborhood or the shopping plazas where I stop for lunch or errands. By Monday evening I'd already made my quota for the day, but I looked out and saw a nice sunset. I told my wife, "I'm going for a walk..." I hoofed it over to a nearby lake to get an unobstructed sky view. I took several photos, and this is my favorite.

I ended up at nearly 14,000 steps. It's again true what I once wrote during the Covid lockdown - I've become an online dating profile - I like sleeping in, long walks, sunsets, red wine and chocolate. Sorry ladies - still taken.

Since retiring I've also tried to set aside one day a week for exploring - a long walk, visit to a museum or town (or all three!) Tuesday the 18th was the monthly dinner meeting of my northern Virginia numismatic social group Nummis Nova. Julian Leidman was our host. Getting to Julian's meetings in Maryland used to be straightforward for me - I worked up in Maryland and could drive to the restaurant straight after work. Driving up from Virginia, at least during rush hour, is a much more painful experience. So I made it a day of exploring in Maryland.

In the morning I proved my Stoic credentials. Stopping in at a 7-11, an employee was cleaning the soda fountain and somehow water squirted onto my arm. Many people would curse and complain, but I spontaneously laughed and said, "It's OK - I've had worse things happen to me - I can handle it." I grabbed a paper towel to dry off and went about my business.

I started off meeting Jim Haas, author of the book on Standing Liberty quarter designer Harmon MacNeil. As a fellow history buff, he was game to join me in my adventure. I picked him up at home and after a nice lunch at the Park Tavern in Severna Park, we made our way to Baltimore's "cathedral of books," the George Peabody Library. Since reading about it I'd wanted to visit - what bibliophile wouldn't want to see a beautiful building filled with great books? Here are some photos.

For perspective, Jim had brought along this 1923 photo of the area we were visiting. It's much leafier today!

Records are also online of course, but the Peabody still has a working manual card catalog. When the power goes out in the zombie apocalypse, we can barricade ourselves in here and rebuild civilization.

I hadn't done my homework before arriving, but I did ask to see one work. The librarian fetched a copy of Crosby's 1875 Early Coins of America. It was a not-terribly-desirable copy with a broken spine, but it was fun to look through. I no longer have my own copy, which was sold with my library through Kolbe & Fanning.

From there we walked around Baltimore a bit before driving over to Evergreen Museum & Library "housed in a Gilded Age mansion surrounded by 26 acres of gardens and woods. The museum is home to a renowned collection of fine and decorative arts, rare books, and manuscripts assembled by two generations of Baltimore's civic-minded Garrett family (1878-1952). Though originally constructed in 1858, Evergreen was drastically expanded and altered by the Garretts to accommodate their eclectic collections, and today is listed on the National Register of Historic Places."

I was aware of Evergreen through numismatics (of course!). The Garretts collected coins, and they'd been stored here for decades until Johns Hopkins University made the decision in the 1970s to sell the collection through Bowers & Ruddy in four sales from 1979-1981. We arrived too late for the guided tour of the mansion, but did take in the grounds and viewed the Japanese collection. Here are some photos.

It was after 4pm when we left Evergreen and headed back to Severna Park where we stopped for a drink to relax and kill a little time. Then I dropped Jim back at home before heading to my Nummis Nova meeting in Bowie. It was great to catch up with Jim and get his experienced narration of Baltimore sights and history as we drove around. I learned that he's not just a researcher and author, but a great salesman, guitarist, and television show host. And he was right there in the crowd listening to Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech in the March on Washington in 1963.

Julian chose Jerry's Seafood in Bowie, MD - "Home of the Crab Bomb". We'd been there several times. Julian, Erik Douglas, Mike Markowitz, Dave Schenkman, Jon Radel and John "JK" Kraljevich were already there and I grabbed a seat next to JK. Soon Mike Packard arrived, as did Roger Burdette (after a lengthy, frustrating commute). It was a very enjoyable evening with great food and great company. Here are my photos.

Spink America/Christie's. THE BYRON REED COLLECTION OF IMPORTANT AMERICAN COINS AND MANUSCRIPTS. New York, October 8–9, 1996. 4to, original maroon cloth, gilt; jacket. 251, (1) pages; 572 lots. Fine. An important sale, with Spink handling the coins and Christie's the manuscripts (many of which pertain to personages of American numismatic relevance).

Here are more that I'm selling. The second one includes an early sketch of the Washington Before Boston medal.

Dillistin, William H. BANK NOTE REPORTERS AND COUNTERFEIT DETECTORS 1826–1866. New York: ANS, 1949. 8vo, original printed card covers. vi, 175, (1) pages; 19 fine plates. Near fine. Numismatic Notes and Monographs No. 114. The essential work on the subject. Clain-Stefanelli 13624*.

Svinin, Pavel. TRAVELING ACROSS NORTH AMERICA, 1812–1813: WATERCOLORS BY THE RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT PAVEL SVININ. New York, Harry N. Abrams, 1992. Oblong8vo, original white cloth, embossed image on front cover, gilt. Frontispiece, 190, (1) pages; richly illustrated in color. Fine.

The last one I bought when it seemed to be offered too cheaply online. Someone will want it - it's an interesting book.

Wayne's Numismatic Ephemera
I only brought one piece of numismatic ephemera, but it's a doozy - a four-page 1862 Prices Paid For list by W. E. Woodward. It's in lousy shape, but I'd never owned or even seen one before, so I bought it. Is anyone familiar with this?

Wayne's Obsolete Paper Money
The first piece of obsolete paper money I brought is an association piece for the above. I bought it fresh just a week ago, although I sold four or five examples (some signed and issued) with the ephemera section of my numismatic library. It's a Civil War scrip note issued by Woodward at his store.

A couple weeks ago I came across a display of "Dog Money" at the Loudoun Museum - Civil War scrip of Leesburg, VA. I'd like to collect a set of my own and lucked upon this very nice note in an eBay dealer's stock.

And while I wasn't planning to collect other Virginia towns, I bought these Winchester, VA notes, too. Once a collector, always a collector.

These are in poor condition, but scarce and represent a real connection to Civil War history.

Mike Markowitz's Byzantine Coins
Mike Markowitz passed out a few draft copies of an article he's writing about The Odyssey on ancient coins, and an accompanying slide deck. He also passed around these coins and provided the images and descriptions for this article. Thanks.

Constantine IV. AD 668-885 Gold Solidus (16mm, 4.42 g). Constantinople mint, 2nd officina. Struck 681-685. Helmeted and cuirassed bust facing slightly right, holding spear over shoulder and shield / Cross potent set on three steps; B//CONOB. DOC 12b; MIB 10; SB 1157. Lustrous, area of weakness on reverse. In NGC holder 4934949-005 MS Strike 4/5 Surface 4/5

Leo III with Constantine V, Gold Tremissis. 1.27 g. 15 mm. Rome mint AD 721-741. DNO LE PA MUL Facing crowned bust with short beard wearing chlamys and holding globus cruciger. Rv: DNO CONTANTIN facing crowned beardless bust, between two stars. S.1584, DO 91. Very rare.

Dave Schenkman's Twelve and a Half Cents
Dave brought three nice colonial era notes of the twelve and a half cents denomination.

While searching for some family items one of my sisters asked me to send her, I came across one of my favorite items of exonumia. It was a wonderful item to bring to our Nummis Nova dinner as a show-and-tell piece. This die of the reverse of a 1787 Massachusetts half cent is not one of the original dies used at the Massachusetts mint, but is a die intended for use in making reproductions of that coin. The die came to me almost 40 years ago. A friend from the Cleveland area found it. Knowing of my growing interest in the copper coinage of Massachusetts, he offered it to me and I happily accepted.

I've never seen a token struck from this die. The flat sides of the die have circular marks indicating it may have been placed in a press and perhaps used to make reproduction pieces. The die was apparently dropped as there is a flat area on the edge at five o'clock.

Neat item! It's amazing what great numismatic objects come around the table at these events. I also saw a heavy counterstamped silver cob. What fun!

Additional conversation topics were inspired by the upcoming ANA convention exhibits and auctions, including the Tyrant Collection Bzyantine exhibit, the Mint's 1933 double eagle exhibit and the 1894-S dime and other great coins from the estate of Pittsburgh dealer Charles "Cheech" Litman.

As usual, it was another great night of numismatic fellowship - a long, but quite enjoyable day.

THE BOOK BAZARRE

OVER 500 NUMISMATIC TITLES: Wizard Coin Supply has over 500 numismatic titles in stock, competitively discounted, and available for immediate shipment. See our selection at www.WizardCoinSupply.com.