Jovita Idar, Methodist Social Reformer

The U.S. Mint has released a quarter celebrating the life and accomplishments of Jovita Idar, a Mexican-American journalist and Methodist social reformer.

The Mint held two ceremonies earlier this month to celebrate the release of the Idar quarter, one on Sept. 14 with the National Women's History Museum and another on Sept. 16 with the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum and the Mexican American Civil Rights Institute.

The Sept. 14 event occurred at the University of Texas at San Antonio. It featured a roundtable discussion that included members of Idar's family and retired United Methodist Church Bishop Joel Martinez.

The Rev. Elizabeth A. Lopez, a UMC pastor who is one of Idar's grandnieces, told those gathered about the influence of her honored family member on her life.

"Her commitment to The United Methodist Church's values of personal and social holiness prepared a way for me to confront the patriarchal constraints and racism that exists within the UMC," said Lopez in a statement shared by the UMC Rio Texas Conference.

To read the complete article, see:
US Mint puts Methodist social reformer on new special quarter(https://www.christianpost.com/news/us-mint-puts-methodist-social-reformer-on-new-special-quarter.html)

Charlie Watts Library Auction

Before his death in 2021, Charlie Watts laid down the groove for one of the most iconic rock bands of all time. The late Rolling Stones drummer is still making waves from beyond the grave. Recently, a portion of his vast collection of novels went to auction at Christie's. His books set auction records and brought in hundreds of thousands of pounds at the famous British auction house.

Watts owned a copy of The Hound of the Baskervilles, featuring an inscription by author Arthur Conan Doyle. The inscription reads, The tome sold for £214,200. This surpassed the price of the previous highest bid on one of Doyle's books by nearly £100,000. Additionally, the late drummer's first-edition copy of The Great Gatsby sold for £226,800.

Those classics sold for massive sums. However, they may not be the most impressive auction items from Watts' collection. His copy of Agatha Christie's The Thirteen Problems set a new record after selling for £60,480. Before that, the highest bid on one of Christie's books was £47,880 for a copy of The ABC Murders.

To read the complete article, see:
Late Rolling Stones Drummer Charlie Watts' Book Collection Fetches High Prices at Auction(https://americansongwriter.com/late-rolling-stones-drummer-charlie-watts-book-collection-brings-high-prices-at-auction/)

FBI Safe Deposit Snafu?

The Institute for Justice filed two lawsuits Friday on behalf of clients who had property seized from their safety deposit boxes in a March 2021 FBI raid on U.S. Private Vaults, a Beverly Hills-based company.

After prevailing in court, and the FBI agreeing to return their property, both Don Mellein and Jeni Pearsons discovered some of their property was missing and suspect the FBI's haphazard raid or sticky fingers are to blame.

Pearsons said.

Mellein, a 79-year-old retired civil servant, kept cash and 110 gold coins worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in his box to safeguard his financial security.

To read the complete article, see:
FBI sued after allegedly losing hundreds of thousands in rare coins during raid(https://nypost.com/2023/09/25/don-mellein-jeni-pearsons-suing-fbi-after-allegedly-losing-hundreds-of-thousands-in-rare-coins-during-raid/)