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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;lordmarcovan, post: 26606588, member: 10461&quot;]Merry Christmas, everyone!</p><p><br /></p><p>The suspense is over and I have opened my gift from my not-so Secret Santa, [USER=86472]@Mark Metzger[/USER] (who put his name on the return address label). <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie2" alt=";)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>It was the sort of eclectic assortment I&#039;d expect from him- we share an interest in exotic World coinage.&nbsp; There were a couple of items I had not seen before.</p><p><br /></p><ul> <li><b>A piece of ancient Sumerian Shell Ring Money circa 3,000-2,000 BC</b> (hadn&#039;t heard of these)</li> <li><b>A tiny chukram (ND) from the Indian state of Travancore</b></li> <li><b><a href="https://en.numista.com/22375" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.numista.com/22375" rel="nofollow">A 1920 notgeld token from Bonn in Germany</a></b>, featuring Beethoven (I&#039;ve seen plenty of notgeld, but not this type)</li> <li><b><a href="https://en.numista.com/6830" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.numista.com/6830" rel="nofollow">A 1921 2-centavos token from leper colonies (Lazareto) in Colombia</a></b> (I had a nearly identical example when I was a young collector)</li> <li><b><a href="https://en.numista.com/6960" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.numista.com/6960" rel="nofollow">A 1926 Greenland 25-øre piece</a></b> with a polar bear (I have a <a href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/greenland-1926-h-hcn-gj-copper-nickel-25-%C3%B8re-copenhagen-mint.420465/" class="internalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.cointalk.com/threads/greenland-1926-h-hcn-gj-copper-nickel-25-%C3%B8re-copenhagen-mint.420465/">PCGS MS65</a> in my collection- this one looks just about as nice)</li> <li><b><a href="https://en.numista.com/82488" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.numista.com/82488" rel="nofollow">A 1976 San Blas Islands &quot;5 coconuts&quot; token from Panama</a></b> (now <i>this</i> one is intriguing!&nbsp; I found it listed on Numista, where it is explained a bit- interesting backstory!)</li> <li><b>A pentagonal (5-sided) coin from Yemen</b>, which I&#039;ll have to scratch my head to attribute (seen pictures of these, but never actually had one)</li> </ul><p>It’s a tossup as to which piece is my favorite.&nbsp; Love the polar bear (that’s why I already had one), but I find myself charmed by the “coconuts” token, and wondering if NGC would slab it!&nbsp; Maybe not, unless it’s listed in the Krause Unusual World Coins catalog (Numista doesn’t mention a KM-X number.)</p><p><br /></p><p>But the best part was the letter, which I will transcribe here:</p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p><i>&quot;Lord Marcovan (aka Rob),</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>It seems like a lifetime ago when you first offered your kindness and numismatic knowledge to Henry and me.&nbsp; So, I was overjoyed when I &quot;drew&quot; you in the Secret Santa sweepstakes.&nbsp; Then came the problem of &quot;what to get the guy who loves the most ECLECTIC stuff around.&nbsp; So I dug through the coffers looking for weird, bizarre, and off-beat stuff.&nbsp; I think I did well... after all, there&#039;s a polar bear, Beethoven, a super tiny coin, a 5-sided coin, a coin from a leper colony, a fantasy COCONUT coin, and, of course, a holed coin that is only about 4000 years old.&nbsp; Not too bad!&nbsp; I hope you will enjoy these and I know that some or all will end up as part of your give-aways.&nbsp; Your kindness truly knows no bounds.</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p><p><i>In a greater sense, I am in debt to you in such a large way.&nbsp; Your initial kindness and introduction to Michael Swoveland kickstarted a side business buying and selling estate coin collections that has funded trips with my children to Central America, the Caribbean and Europe.&nbsp; It never would have happened without your spark.</i></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><blockquote><p><i>With an abundance of love and gratitude,</i></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><blockquote><p><i>Mark Metzger</i></p><p><i>Henry Metzger&quot;</i></p><p><i><br /></i></p></blockquote><p>(Henry is Mark&#039;s son.)</p><p><br /></p><p>Thanks so much, Mark (and Henry!)&nbsp; <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" /></p><p><br /></p><p>What a delightful package.</p><p><br /></p><p>[ATTACH=full]1695979[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1695980[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1695981[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=full]1695982[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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