SAN FRANCISCO MINT LETTERWRITERS NEEDED An editorial by Beth Deisher in the October 28, 2002 issue of Coin World is a plea for collectors to write letters in support of efforts to save "The Granite Lady," the old San Francisco Mint building. Built in 1874, the mint was a center of the Gold Rush economy and was one of the few major buildings to survive the disastrous 1906 earthquake. "If coin collectors are serious about the Granite Lady rising from its current state of emptiness to a full-fledged Gold Rush/numismatic museum, we have to stand up and be counted now." "Letters supporting a Gold Rush/numismatic focus for the Old San Francisco Mint will literally be worth their weight in gold. Address them to Old Mint Task Force, c/o Ms. Hala Hijazi, Project Manager of the Mayor's Office of Economic Development, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 448, San Francisco, CA 94102, or e-mail hala.hijazi@sfgov.org." Do it now! For more information, see the full text of the editorial on the Coin World web site: http://www.coinworld.com/News/102802/Editorial.asp NUMISMATIST FORMAT CHANGE Barbara Gregory, Editor of the ANA's official publication, which began in 1888, writes: "Lots of surprises are in store for readers of The Numismatist. Below is an item from the October issue, with one of the little surprises divulged at the end. Last week we reviewed the initial layout, and everyone was just blown away." "The American Numismatic Association is revamping its official publication, THE NUMISMATIST, now in its 115th year. The new format will debut with the January 2003 issue, complete with color illustrations and a larger profile. We think we have a great journal, but we want to better serve our members' needs and expectations, says ANA Executive Director Edward C. Rochette, who proposed the magazine redesign. Editor/Publisher Barbara J. Gregory says, "In this fast-paced, extra-sensory society, THE NUMISMATIST must compete not only with other numismatic publications, but with every medium that vies for our readers' attention. The present design of THE NUMISMATIST has served us well for 14 years; however, it is time for a new, contemporary look. The ANA and its members deserve a magazine that is distinctive and appealing." Over the course of the year, editorial content will be reviewed and revised as well, with greater focus on United States coinage and articles for emerging collectors. However, readers still will find many of their favorite columnists and the reliable, informative stories they have come to expect from America's leading hobby publication. Says Gregory, "Readers will be very surprised and pleased when they see the first issue of NUMISMATIST (without the familiar "The" in the title). The magazine is sure to set new standards in the field of hobby publishing." [Besides the "The", one more thing is being dropped from the magazine - Q. David Bowers' longtime "Coins and Collectors" column. I'm sorry to see it go, but I'll await the new format's debut. -Editor] BOGGS/HIPSCHEN ART EVENT On Saturday, October 19, 2002, Szilage Gallery of St. Petersburg, Florida will hold an outdoor exhibition of the work of several artists, including money artist jsg boggs and TR Hipschen, portrait engraver at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. The gallery address is 601 9 St S (at 6 Av S). Admission is free and the hours are 5 pm - Midnight. The gallery may be contacted at SZILAGEgallery@aol.com. OF HEXAGRAMS AND PENTAGRAMS Bill Rosenblum writes: "About the stars on Moroccan coins. Actually the six pointed star is the Seal of Solomon, not the five pointed one. And on Moroccan coins it represents the Seal of the House of Sulayman (spelling?) the royal family of Morocco since the late 18th century. As a specialist in Jewish related coins I receive queries once a week (or so it seems) from someone who has a strange looking medieval coin with a Jewish star on one side and a date of 1250 or so on the other. These have nothing to do with Jews or Jewish mintmasters and the date is the Arabic one (add 622, subtract 3% to get the approximate western date). I believe the five pointed star was added under Yusef beginning in approximately 1912, but I do not know the history of that. Hope that helps a bit." Alan Luedeking writes: "The plea for assistance from Granvyl Hulse concerning the Moroccan coin with the five-pointed star within the six-pointed star came as a surprise to me, since this very same topic was explored in great depth over no less than four separate issues of, you guessed it, the N.I. Bulletin! I would suggest that Mr. Hulse ask his most prolific contributor, Mr. Bob Forrest, for help, since he was the author of this interesting series titled "Of Hexagrams and Pentagrams", in the April, May, August and October 2001 issues of the N.I. Bulletin." I forwarded this to Granvyl Hulse for comment and he writes: "Robert Forrest on page 102 (April 2001) of his article admitted that he did not know of any reason other than decorative for the five pointed star within a six pointed star. I checked with him again when I received the query and he still doesn't know, but like his earlier comment - is still curious. My problem at this end is that I do not have access to Moroccan mint records. There must have been some justification to the design, but what it was I do not know." [Those who recall the Woody Allen movie "Annie Hall" may remember the scene where, while waiting to enter a theatre, Allen's character is annoyed by a nearby know-it-all spouting off about the theories of Marshall McLuhan. He confronts the man, telling him he's all wrong. "And I have Marshall McLuhan here to prove it," at which point McLuhan himself steps out of the line and tells the amazed crowd that the gentleman indeed knows nothing of his theories and has everything wrong. Well, in cyberspace it is possible to have McLuhan moments for real, although the analogy only goes so far in this case, since E-Sylum readers are all so darned polite. Anyway, here goes. We just so happen to have the aforementioned author on line. -Editor] Bob Forrest writes: "It is certainly true that "the pentagram" appears on the Moroccan flag, and that it is sometimes interpreted as a Seal of Solomon, but it hardly makes sense to interpret the coin with the pentagram inside the hexagram as a Seal of Solomon inside a Seal of Solomon. An idea that occurs to me - assuming that this geometrical device is not just decorative - would be that the coin represents Morocco (the pentagram) under the protection of (within) the Seal of Solomon (the hexagram). One final note as regards my interpretation of the pentagram within the hexagram on the Moroccan coin - I would regard this as no more than a suggestion. Plausible as the interpretation sounds, that is no guarantee of its truth, and I would keep one eye firmly on another coin of Morocco - the 10 dirhems piece of AH 1313 (Y#13 in Krause-Mishler)- which bears on its obverse a hexagram within a hexagram within an octogram. Such a device is surely a visually impressive display of geometrical design rather than a piece of elaborate symbolism, and if that is the case in this instance, it may also be the case in the simpler instance of the pentagram within the hexagram. The problem is, of course, that it is often all too easy to see symbolism where none was ever intended." [Now my head's so full of pentagrams, hexagrams and octograms I'm going to go eat some of my kids' Teddy Grahams. -Editor]
I love The Numismatist. I hope I will also love Numismatist. I HATE to see Bowers' articles go but the magazine is probably overdo for an update. I would love to see the SF Mint resotred to something coin related. However, from what I have read, it is a massive undertaking to bring it up to standards. Someone is going to have to lay out a lot of serious cash even if they get the building for free.
the ESUYLM is a free weekly newletter sent out by email by The Numismatic Bibliomania Society. I have been a subcriber for the last few months and I can't wait for the new issues on Sunday night. Also at thier website there is all the back issuse on file and you will find a wealth of infomation there!!!! Here is the web site to sign up for it. CHRIS http://www.coinbooks.org/
Bibliomania Originally posted in whole to Rec.Collecting.Coins Date: 2000-12-16 10:33:26 PST this is an excerpt from LITERATURE: THE KEY TO COLLECTING by Michael E. Marotta If you are a serious collector, you need the literature that supports your efforts. There are only a few sellers and it is easy to get to know them all personally. You can find them all in the classified ads of the numismatic magazines and newspapers. You can meet them at regional and national coin shows. They have websites. They want to send you their catalogs. And posted to RCC Date: 2001-04-07 14:16:07 PST, this is a excerpt: Remy Bourne (509 40th Avenue N.E., Minneapolis, Minnesota 55421- 3834) may be one heck of a nice guy and a true numismatic scholar, as well as a deserving candidate for the ANA Board. He is nonethless only one of several dealers in literature, among them George Frederick Kolbe (perhaps the dean of numismatic literature), Fred Lake, Karl Moulton, and Charles Davis. If you do not now shop this market, you owe it to yourself to discover its wonders and pleasures. Probably the best way is to join the NUMISMATIC BIBLIOMANIA SOCIETY and its email list, the Esylum.
