For our holiday dinner, Nummis Nova invites spouses and vows to limit coin talk, instead, swapping family stories with wives who often tell us how much they dislike the time their spouses spend on this hobby. Few invited wives turned out, leaving much of the table free to talk shop. Knowing that we would possibly not talk much shop, some things shared now are "Virtual Show and Shares," that we brought in spirit on our iPhones, much like candid pictures of grandkids that proud oldsters are ready to whip out to assail anyone who mentions their grandkids first.

We met in a fine little corner of Fairfax amid criss-crossing highways at the Lazy Dog Restaurant and Bar that was rocking with happy noise and holiday cheer. Several of us handed out gelt coins and good wishes to all.

Seen at the table was the 40th largest of the one hundred largest gold nuggets recovered from the wreck of the S.S. Central America, a "Reading Nugget" at 6.23 grams of California gold about the size of a molar tooth. Yes, NGC slabs gold nuggets. Also seen was an 1865 medal for Distinguished Courage for the U. S. Colored Troops in the 1864 Campaign before Richmond for Sgt. Thomas C Burbridge, an uncirculated, rainbow-toned 1880-S Morgan Dollar, a very high grade 1914-D Cent, a (circa 1396 - 1421) Knights of St. John at Rhodes silver medal of Philibert de Naillac, a high-grade, 1866 Hong Kong Dollar with Empress Victoria, a scarce CNG book, Parthian Coins & History...Ten Dragons against Rome by Fred B. Shore from 1993, and a new manuscript Caracalla, Geta & Macrinus: Roman Emperors of Gladiator II.

In virtual attendance was this fragile, leather-bound, European merchant's boxed set of thirty-eight brass weights for gold and silver coins with pan scale, circa 1820s. The task is to find corresponding examples of the old coins of France, Italy, Venice, Savoy, Great Britain, German States, Austria, and Bavaria; these weights are made to assess. Table talk at my end of the long table wandered among Taylor Swift concerts in Zurich, classic country music, numismatic education scholarships, small towns in Maine, teaching first graders, laid-back vacation cities and how glad we will be after all the holiday hubbub, when we can relax once again and focus on our hobbies. May your stockings be filled with coins and your holiday table with tenderloin!