Last week's issue was such a whopper I ran out of time to write up my numismatic diary. So here goes, with the help of fellow Nummis Nova attendees Tom Kays and Aaron Packard. The monthly meeting of my Northern Virginia numismatic social group was held last Tuesday, July 9th at Ted's Montana Grill in Balston, VA (near Arlington). Mike Packard was our host.

At my request he'd picked al location near the Metro to accommodate an out of town guest, a mystery stranger none of us had ever met. I arrived first and took a seat in our private room in the back. Gene Brandenburg arrived next, inspected the wine list and ordered a couple bottles.

After exchanging a few texts to learn his whereabouts, my phone rang and I stepped outside to meet Matt R., an E-Sylum web site visitor who shared images of his collection of Central Intelligence Agency medals. Figuring him for a spook who worked at CIA HQ in Langley, near where many of our dinners are held, I invited him to join us sometime. He said he'd plan to, but I was wrong about his location - he'd have to travel here. And this month he did, taking a train to Union Station and then the Metro to the restaurant.

We met outside and talked for a while. He had his whole collection with him, and when we got back to the table he started laying it out - one rare medal after another. I brought a couple recently-purchased CIA medals of mine. He already had these, but agreed mine were nice.

Matt's not a numismatist like most E-Sylum readers, but he has an eye for detail. And like a top numismatist, he knows the diagnostics of real and fake CIA medals. There are a lot of fakes out there, especially on eBay. Viewing his collection and listening to his commentary was a real education.

Other attendees included Dave Schenkman, Joe Levine, Lenny Goldberg, Roger Burdette, Eric Schena, Jon Radel and Tom Kays. Eric is preparing a talk on token denominations for the kid's event at the upcoming Annandale coin show. I'll be on vacation with my family, and Jon and Tom talked with him about the logistics and will be there to help out.

Tom Kays writes:

Aaron Packard I brought several examples of tokens to the meeting. His notes and images appear below.

Our food was excellent and conversation (and drinks) flowed freely. Dave Schenkman and I told some jokes as everyone was getting ready to leave. Then I walked outside with Matt R. One of the items passed around the table had caught his eye - a hobo nickel. Perhaps he has a new collecting theme on the horizon. I thanked him for coming so far just for our dinner meeting. It was a delight to meet him and view his medal collection in person; it was a great opportunity to see these rare items all in one place. Then he slipped away into the night, returning to an undisclosed location.

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY MEDALS(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n02a16.html)
MORE ON CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY MEDALS(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n05a12.html)
SOME MORE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY MEDALS(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n06a14.html)