At the outset, let me acknowledge that I can't hold a candle to Numismatist editorBarbara Gregory, when the subject is Toilets in Numismatics.

In 1975-76 I worked at Schulman Coin & Mint, under the late Gerry Bauman, who went on tobetter things at Manfra, Tordella and Brooks -- like the first sale of a coin for $1,000,000 (aPaquet $20).

Schulman had a store with a tall window at #40 on West 57th Street, one of the world's greatshopping streets. In his wisdom, he bought a Lucite toilet seat with one or more silver dollars anda selection of fairly current coins and $1 bills. Gerry mounted this in the front window, with aprice of $300 or so. As I am known for my everpresent dignity, this was much to my chagrin. Itattracted considerable attention for perhaps a full year. I think Gerry may have eventually boughtit at cost and given it as a gift, demonstrating the downside of friendship..

The closest we came to selling it was when a couple from Chile was very interested. This wasshortly after Allende was overthrown, or, as I would have it, murdered. They were fine with thedeath of the "communist".

I learned a lot about myself that day. I found the couple politically reprehensible, but thetoilet seat was aesthetically reprehensible. They deserved to be verbally savaged asmurderous pigs, but they were also my best hope for getting rid of the damned thing in the window.I decided they were not as obscene as the crapper cover, and only then became aware of the shallowself-interest of my "situational ethics".

They had one reservation: Would it be of a size compatible with Chilean toilets? I suggested wetake it out of the window so they could sit on it and measure it with their cheeks. Even then, Idid not give up easily on a potential sale. And even cheekier, I told them Chile was a backwardscountry.

They were stunned, but then I explained that when you flush a toilet in the Southern Hemisphere,the water swirls in the opposite direction of the North American flush. I hastened to add that thisdid not affect the functionality of the unique and artistic status symbol under consideration forpurchase. Alas, despite my best (but probably not my most absurd) efforts, they did not addto the miseries of their country by importing into it this ludicrosity in Lucite.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
COIN-FILLED LUCITE TOILET SEAT(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v17n39a33.html)