James Higby writes:

Dave Ginsburg writes:

We had a few people going for a while. Mark Fox of Michigan wrote an excited email to me and Pat McBride asking for more information or photos of the coins. I set him straight, and he wins the first E-Sylum Good Sport Award for 2014. Mark writes:

Paul Schultz also got caught in the trap, and he, too wins the Good Sport Award. He writes:

We even hooked John Salyer of Heritage, who wondered if we'd sent the coin find information to the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal, and wondered how to order a copy of the chocolate coin book for his wife. His "LOL!" response to my reply earns him our third Good Sport Award of the year.

I haven't checked the coin chat forums to see where else this may have spread, but most E-Sylum readers caught the joke. Here are some of the responses.

Heath MacAlpine writes:

Steve D'Ippolito writes:

Craig Eberhart writes:

Kerry Wetterstrom writes:

David Gladfelter writes:

Rich Hartzog writes:

Brad Karoleff writes:

M.N. Daycius writes:

ANOTHER M.N. Daycius writes:

(On April 1) George Huber wrote:

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT FROM WHITMAN PUBLISHING, LLC.
Atlanta, GA, April 1, 2014

Guide Book of Manhole Covers to be released. "Whitman covers the entire numismatic spectrum from the tiny half dimes and gold dollars to Swedish plate money and the stone money of Yap," stated publisher Dennis Tucker. " Now, upper-size manhole covers add to what we do. Everyone is familiar with manhole covers, but until now there has been no comprehensive guide to grading and pricing them. We expect that this book will be well received worldwide."

The book will also include a listing of known manhole cover manufacturers, mostly iron foundries. "Collecting manhole covers has many advantages," Tucker continued. "First of all, many are available in circulation. With a pickup truck, a crowbar, and a helper, a beginning collection can be formed by prospecting on city streets. To avoid the constabulary and onlookers, the hours of 2 to 4 a.m. are recommended. Another advantage is that they are reasonably secure from theft and can be easily stored in a garage."

Kenneth Bressett, editor of the new guide, commented: "That is not all. This will be the first Whitman book with pricing in all 70 grades, plus for each grade a - sign, + sign (except for MS-70 as one cannot be better than perfect), and a star."Whitman continued by saying that it will also offer kits containing small steel plates that can be engraved with the grade and welded onto the manhole cover itself, for ease in buying and selling. The book has 288 pages, is hardbound, is in a limited edition of 250,000 copies, and is available for $19.95 from your favorite bookseller or directly from Whitman. Plans are also being made for municipal sewer departments to offer them as well.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:SURPRISING FINDS FROM THE JOHN BURNS VAULT(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v17n14a01.html)