When I got some cash at the ATM this week, I asked for a $100 bill. I checked it - no Trump signature. But I did find and set aside a 1940 Jefferson Nickel.

This week I planned my trip to the Whitman Baltimore Expo this month - I'll be there Thursday afternoon to speak with some of our advertisers and meet with Len Augsburger about NBS and Newman Portal topics. I look forward to seeing a number of readers at the show as well - stop me and say hello!

I also planned a trip downtown next week to visit the National Gallery of Art, attend a book lecture, and have dinner with Garrett Ziss. It should be a fun couple of weeks.

I got a somewhat early start on the issue this week to leave time on Saturday to attend a celebration for a neighbor's birthday. I got some walking in to resume my usual pace after being away last week (see last week's Diary article). Wednesday night I took this photo of the full moon over our neighborhood.

And here's a Halloween scene I encountered Thursday night.

That evening as we handed out candy to neighborhood trick-or-treaters, we sat around a firepit with neighbors. As the traffic dwindled we watched the silly Adam Sandler "Hubie Halloween" movie. It was a fun evening. And it being a neighbor's 50th birthday, the next day the same crew spent an afternoon at Bear Chase Brewery in the Blue Ridge Mountain foothills. These skinny gentlemen were there to greet us.

I didn't see anyone chasing bears, but I did see this cute fella.

It was a great afternoon to enjoy the view.

Seen in an email signature this week: "Misspelled with Autocorrect"

Seen online:

• "I was messaging a prospective landlady asking if I could view the room on a certain day ‘if you'd like.' After two days and no reply, I checked my message, which auto-correct had written as ‘if you'd love me.'"
• I have never seen a moose, neither in the wild nor at a zoo. I think it's a big practical joke Canada is playing on the world.

Finally, here are some interesting non-numismatic articles I came across this week. The first one has some Halloween history and the second connects current events with history and the 1860s version of watching a drone feed.

Jack-o'-lanterns come from an Irish legend. (https://historyfacts.com/world-history/fact/jack-o-lantern-irish-legend/)

Abraham Lincoln Had a Starlink Problem Too (https://www.wesodonnell.com/p/abraham-lincoln-had-a-starlink-problem)

There were three U.S. presidents in one year — twice. (https://historyfacts.com/us-history/fact/three-presidents-in-one-year-twice/)

Rare letter reveals Washington family's struggle with a daughter's epilepsy (https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2026/10/28/rare-letter-reveals-washington-familys-struggle-with-daughters-epilepsy/)

Women's Work: The Women Who Painted America's Fruit (https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2026/09/womens-work-the-women-who-painted-americas-fruit/)

A few of my favorite things: words . . . that delight you (https://benjamindreyer.substack.com/p/a-few-of-my-favorite-things)

Two places in the world use exclamation marks in their names. (https://interestingfacts.com/fact/two-places-in-the-world-use-exclamation-marks-in-their-names/)

Feed Me: An Oral History of Little Shop of Horrors (https://www.vanityfair.com/story/little-shop-of-horrors-movie-oral-history)

Why Were People Tied to Train Tracks in Old Movies? (https://historyfacts.com/arts-culture/article/old-movies-people-tied-to-train-tracks/)

Paul Simon's seven favourite Paul Simon songs, ranked by Far Out (https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/paul-simons-seven-favourite-paul-simon-songs-ranked/)

Patrick Stewart, Master of Shakespeare, ‘Star Trek' and More, Has Died (https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/29/arts/television/patrick-stewart-dead.html)

The physics of getting fired (https://aeon.co/essays/how-to-use-physics-to-make-sense-of-the-messiness-of-life)

Airplane! inspiration missing from the manifest (https://alistweekly.substack.com/p/airplane-inspiration-missing-from)

The $300-Million Con Man (https://macleans.ca/longforms/the-300-million-con-man/)

Evolution's Tomfoolery (https://www.delanceyplace.com/view-archives.php?p=5415)

In 1934, a doctor brought a dog back to life. He tried to do the same with humans. (https://www.popsci.com/science/reviving-dead-dog-experiment-robert-cornish/)

Google's first data center satellite is online and writing poetry (https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/30/googles-first-data-center-satellite-is-online-and-writing-poetry/)

The black box virus detector America needs (https://rationaloptimistsociety.substack.com/p/introducing-the-first-biology-prime)

-Editor