"Just want to send out a huge thank you to the person that made the Wikipedia changes for me on Dorothy Cox. I really appreciate it as she is now getting some proper recognition as a resident of my home town, Cheshire, CT."

Whoever you are out there, thanks! And thanks to all the volunteer Wikipedia contributors and editors out there for dotting the i's and crossing those t's to keep the details accurate. -Editor

"Regarding the E-Sylum reader's request for audio numismatic books, I purchased one of Fred Schwan's recent books that was offered in hardback bound and in a PDF electronic version. I opened the PDF with MS Edge, clicked on the "Read Aloud" icon (an A with two small arcs at top right). Then an AI voice read the book to me. It was a little chopped up and not perfect but good enough for no additional cost.

"So, I tried it with this issue of E-Sylum. It worked pretty well with the article text, but it is chopped up reading around illustrations, links and when there are two columns. So chopped up that I need to follow along on the screen. The AI voice did read the text content of the ads."

Thanks - that's a great option. Your browser may be different, but look for a similar feature and check it out.

I also found the free Read-Aloud page where you can paste in text to be read to you. That would get around some of the issues John found, but takes an extra step. See: https://read-aloud.com/ . -Editor

"For over a half century, the Jewish-American Hall of Fame has been producing commemorative medals, raising over $300,000 for non-profits ranging from the Magnes Museum in Berkeley to the American Numismatic Society. In recent years, they have been producing an annual zoom webinar with the assistance of the Combat Antisemitism Movement. This year, the program will honor Haym Salomon, who according to the 1975 U.S. postage stamp was "a businessman and broker [who] was responsible for raising most of the money needed to finance the American Revolution and later to save the new nation from collapse." Speakers include Mel Wacks, Director of the Jewish-American Hall of Fame; Andrew Sperling, Historian at the American Jewish Historical Society; and Jonathan Goldstein, Archivist of Mikveh Israel Synagogue. The free webinar will take place on zoom on November 8th starting at 1 PM EST (10 AM PST). You can register at https://jahf.combatantisemitism.org.

"By the way, only ten of the 3 1/2 inch, bonded bronze Haym Salomon medals are still available for $180 out of the 76 maximum authorized. For information about the medal or the zoom program contact me at (818) 225-1348."

Nice medal for a great patriot. -Editor

"This is a fun website for ancient coin finds."

Thanks - see the link below. The articles cover a wide range of archeological finds - not just coins, but medieval boat burials, cuneiform tablets, seals, glassware and more. -Editor

"If you enlarge the image and look between the ears at the bottom, the shapes observable are like one frame of a show that never ends. Low-ball collecting, such as from truck-stop parking lots, is what got me restarted in numismatics after my post-paper-route hiatus. More and stranger things than recognized shapes in clouds, but harder to shake off look like that. Clouds - you know it has to be coincidence, no? A wine bottle shaped alien between the wheat ears of a penny? That could have been on purpose, but how or why?

"Frowning upon is not a lost art."

Here's the original image as large as I can make it. Like looking at clouds, one can see just about anything in there, whether it exists or not. Some people drive themselves batty once they convince themselves that something is there, and can't understand why no one else can see it. -Editor

"Neil Musante's comments on use of the Tagua nuts carved by JA Bolen reminded me of a series of Civil War era political and Union officer ferrotypes inserted in floral carved Tagua nuts. Apparently these nuts were soft enough to be easily hand- carved but also inclined to easily split while carving or drying up.

"Here is a particularly rare 1864 Lincoln campaign ferrotype inserted in a splitting Tagua nut. There are also necklaces to be worn by ladies of smaller Tagua nuts with Civil War Union notable officers."

Interesting! Thank you. -Editor

The Alaska Rare Coins current mail bid sale concludes with an amusing lot:

305 SURPRISE PACKAGE: The Democratic Socialist branch of the Democratic Party has notified us that we should just give the Surprise Package away. We want to honor our Socialist friends, but simply cannot figure out how to do this. If a bidder bids "nothing," how can another bidder bid "more than nothing?" And if another bidder bid "less than nothing," we would have to pay them to take it. Only a socialist would understand this. Some how this just doesn't seem fair. So... We continue our traditional capitalist practice - bid a bunch for this lot so that we can flourish.

Nothing surprises me anymore, but this one did. There are some other interesting items at the end of the sale, including 1949 and 1953 Presidential Inaugural Programs, an ICG-graded coin lot, and an impressive Walrus Ivory Cribbage Board. The sale closes Friday, October 30th, 2026. For information, contact akcoins@mosquitonet.com . -Editor