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Message:: [QUOTE="Jess, post: 899, member: 77"]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][/QUOTE]

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