Last week Rich Bottles, Jr. sent me an image he'd found on Facebook of an Anti-Obama slogan ("Obama Sucks") written on a dollar bill, noting "This is probably not appropriate for The E-Sylum, but it's numismatic related none-the-less."

Fred Michaelson writes:

Rick Witschonke writes:

First, I should note that Rich Bottles forwarded the item in a numismatic context, and we shouldn't shoot the messenger. He did not originate the image - it's someone else's vile message.

Taken literally, I would agree with Rick Witschonke. It's a crude message, crudely presented, and I said as much in my comments. But the E-Sylum item wasn't about the literal message - it was about the general practice of political speech in numismatics. That goes back to ancient times, and perhaps a reader more familiar with the subject will summarize it for us. I'm more familiar with the U.S. examples from satirical Hard Times Tokens and scrip through "Vote the Land Free" counterstamps and Liberty Dollars, all eminently collectible.

Rick adds:

I guess I give my readers credit for being far too smart to be swayed by such things. This ain't Facebook - we're numismatists here. And to me, the fact that this is a contemporary numismatic item is all the more reason to discuss it now. I've said again and again that the time to collect and document ephemeral numismatic items is here and now, in the present. There will never be a better time.

Fred Michaelson adds:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: MARCH 24, 2013: Anti-Obama Message on Paper Money(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v16n12a11.html)