"I sent the article about the insert die to a friend who has an interest in the Columbian Exposition Medals, specifically one awarded to the Minneapolis Threshing Machine Co. He sent back a company item about the delay in getting the medal. Thought the readers might find this interesting. And as a side note he would love to find that medal if it still exists, so if anyone has knowledge about this they can contact me."

Thanks. The materials also included an image of the certificate accompanying the medal (not reproduced here). -Editor

"If I'm not mistaken, these were also known as "slug dies".

"No doubt the referenced Columbian Expo award medals constituted the most extensive use of insert dies in this country. I bought one years ago with the insert named to "MR. STARK".

"By far the largest number of medals made in this fashion were the British WWI memorial plaques. More than 1.3 million were struck."

Thank you. Linked are an earlier E-Sylum article and Wikipedia entry on the WWI Memorial Plaques or Medallions - also known as the "Dead Man's Penny". -Editor

"I happen to be writing an article on this very topic. In 1929-1931 Belden was compiling a catalog of U.S. lifesaving medals. He died in August 1931 before it could be published. He was probably working on that."

"Thanks to David for the info!

"Many lifesaving medals are mentioned in RG104 E-1 and E-235 from Philadelphia and College Park NARA respectively. They are also described in the various medal lists in E-105, 107 and 111 at Philadelphia NARA."

Thanks, everyone. -Editor

"I very much enjoyed the articles on Emperor Norton. I have "followed" issues from fantasy and micro nations. I find them amusing and entertaining, and have issued a few of my own.

"While reading an article (on MSN) about the Republic of Minerva, they mentioned the Republic of New Atlantis. This struck a chord with me as I purchased a die for the RNA, denominated One Scruple and dated July 4, 1964. It is 22mm in diameter.

"The mention of the RNA stated, "The name was ubiquitous. The "Republic of New Atlantis" arose, albeit briefly, in 1964 when Ernest Hemingway's younger brother Leicester parked an 8-by-30-foot bamboo raft, anchored to an old Ford engine buried in the sand, 8 miles off the coast of Bluefields, Jamaica." The younger brother of Ernest Hemingway? Just too much fun.

"Of course I then had to Google the Republic of New Atlantis. There are several sites that describe the establishment and demise of the RNA. The story gets even better!

"Scan of the face of the die is attached. An image search does not find a product from this die."

Thanks. Searches of the Newman Portal and the E-Sylum archive do not turn up a reference to New Atlantis. -Editor

Jeff Shevlin posted on his website a copy of the article he and Bill Hyder published in the October, 2021 issue of The Numismatist about the Bashlow/Dickeson dies. -Editor

"I enjoyed Dave Bowers' recollections about the Rise and Fall of the U.S. Classic Commemorative Market. Fortunately, I had "stepped away" from collecting back in 1990 (due to parenthood, or diaper $$$) and missed out on some real roller coaster prices. Too many "new faces" always seem to upset markets, which I believe was caused from the interest of the newly-revived modern commemorative coinages of the 1980's. Classic commemoratives have always been a lively field but the buyer gets a lot out of them, such as low mintages, beautiful medallic art, and a good number of issues thrown into mass circulation which gives plenty of room for grading.

"A favorite book of mine remains Anthony Swiatek and Walter Breen's Silver & Gold Commemorative Coins. Although published in 1981, the highly controversial "Investment Section" at the back of the book brazenly forecasted 1990 prices. As an example, it listed the 1935 Connecticut at $2300 while the Red Book showed $2000. Not bad, but many other issues weren't even in the ballpark. The series will always have its spikes and dips, but a dedicated collector base makes up a strong foundation. About two years ago I achieved my goal of forming a complete silver type set in mint state, and enjoyed every dollar of it.

"The good news here is that commemoratives are relatively stable compared to Bitcoin, not to mention the current housing market."

"The auction of gold and silver Jewish presentation medals that earlier appeared in the May 8 edition of E-Sylum has been rescheduled. The gold 1926 Boston Fire Chief's badge engraved to Louis B. Mayer will be in the Ira and Larry Goldberg Collectibles Auction June 1-2, lot 150. Medals given to Jack Benny, Leonard Bernstein, George Meany, Barbara Jordan and others will be in Goldberg's Pre-Long Beach Auction #128 on June 26 (Lots 317-323). "

"Well, I do really like the design for the Miss Liberty coin here. She does look a lot like the nice French immigrant lady who graces New York Harbor. No problem with that! France was America's first ally and the design is classic. Think of the millions of tired, hungry, poor, and oppressed persons who have come here and knew when they saw her that they had reached the promised land. I think that rather than politicians we should see more of Miss Liberty on our coinage. This design needs to be passed along to the Treasury Secretary. Ideas like this tend to roll downhill. Otherwise the mint would probably ignore it."

Of course. The Mint takes its direction from Congress. It's fun to speculate, but making things happen requires getting attention and action from Congress, and that's never easy. -Editor