Bressett Milestone Coins Kenneth Bressett is a numismatic alchemist, of sorts. Like few other writers today, he can spin historical facts and figures into literary gold�"engaging, romantic, adventurous tales that spark the imagination and bring coins to life.

In chapter 9 of his award-winning book, Milestone Coins: A Pageant of the World's Most Significant and Popular Money, Ken tells the story of "The Alchemist"�"Nicaraguan revolutionary general Agusto César Sandino, who managed, after a fashion, to turn lead coins into gold, with tragic results.

"For centuries," Ken writes, "the physical goal of the alchemist was the transmutation of gold from base metals such as lead and copper. The Philosopher's Stone of the Wise was said to confer the ability to create gold, prolong life, and cure all diseases. With it, the Elixir of Immortality could be obtained. With these aspirations in mind, it is no wonder that the ancient art of alchemy has persisted even to modern times, despite continual failure. There was a single man, however, who did succeed, in a sense, by making his own version of gold coins out of lead. The ingenious alchemist was General Agusto César Sandino."

I'm pasting the text of the rest of "The Alchemist." This is one of more than 100 numismatic tapestries Ken weaves in Milestone Coins.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:MORE ON THE ALCHEMICAL MEDALLION(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n52a12.html)