Tuesday was the meeting on my Northern Virginia numismatic social group, Nummis Nova. We met at Bamian Afghan Restaurant in Falls Church, a great place picked out by Jon Radel. Already seated when I arrived were Jon, Chris Neuzil, and Dave Schenkman.

Shortly afterwards we were joined by Wayne Herndon and Traci Poole, who'd just returned from FUN show in Florida, where they'd enjoyed a dinner with Howard Daniel and Wayne's Wizard Coin Supply business sold about 4,000 pounds of numismatic books and supplies.

I told Wayne I heard that numismatic literature dealer John Burns had a good show, too. So good in fact, that John said I should write that he "had a grin so wide you could throw in a watermelon and not hit his teeth." Well, if you're a good shot, anyway.

The group's discussion veered into airline security and coin dealers carrying valuable (and heavy)! merchandise on board. Travelers can ask for a private inspection of their bags. Wayne noted that the level of examination can vary widely depending on the individual inspector. Some inspections are fairly cursory, while some inspectors "want you to take the coins out of their slabs" so they can get a closer look.

At a small airport like Long Beach, California, the inspectors get quite used to seeing a parade of coin dealers and their heavy briefcases of coins. Chris mentioned a similar phenomenon when he travelled home from the Tucson Gem & Mineral show, where inspectors practically waved through dealers bringing aboard boxes of rocks. I wondered if a "Yemeni carrying glowing rods" would be given a second look.

Other discussion topics covered a fairly wide range of numismatic and non-numismatic subjects. Dave Schenkman (former TAMS Journal editor) and I discussed Steve Bobbitt's appointment as the new editor. All of us were sad to learn this would be the last meeting for Traci Poole, who is moving back home to Idaho. She'll remain an E-Sylum subscriber at a new email address.

We had fun learning about the Idaho Potato Museum. It has a giant spud outside, and when it snows the snow looks like sour cream. Traci also informed us about the restaurant which offers "Free 'taters for out-of-staters", so when in Idaho, keep your non-Idaho drivers license handy for some free food.

At the end of the night we all gave Traci a hug and wished her well.Good luck! We'll miss you!