Tuesday night I walked into the Max Fox Brewing Company in FallsChurch, VA. It was time for the monthly gathering of my northernViginia numismatic social group Nummis Nova. Gene Brandenberg, Ron Abler, Dave Schenkman, Howard Daniel and Mike Packard were already there, occupying one end of a long table. The place was already pretty full of happy hour patrons with nearly every table occupied.Howard had just that afternoon returned from his trip to Memphis for the paper money show.

Julian Liedman couldn't make it, but everyone was talking about Tuesday's article in the Washington Post about the trend in coin dealer robberies. The article prominently featured Julian with a photo of him at work in his shop (see a separate E-Sylum itemin this issue for an excerpt). We didn't have a particular themethis evening. I brought along some items I'd found in a desk drawer at home. It's amazing what can happen when you put the keyboard down and actually deal with the physical world - I came across stuff I'd forgotten I had, including a group of lottery tickets, two nice pieces of 1907 Clearing House certificates, and letter from John Kraljevich dated 1992 (wasn't he in diapers back then? I imagine the stock-trading baby from the TV commercials, making wisecracks about colonial history and contemporary coin dealers).

The lottery tickets were mostly from the 1875-1950 era, but one was an early Washington Canal ticket. A number of folks remarked on its historical significance. I has a number of early Washington D.C.lottery tickets, and joked that if one of them was a winner then I might actually own the South Portico of the Capitol. The Clearing House Certificates came to me in a letter from Tom Sheehan. I'd like to think I long ago sent him the $75 payment he requested.... He hasn't been calling me a deadbeat, so I figure we're OK.

Eric Schena brought along a copy of a book he'd written on the decorations of communist Albania.More next week, including some images of the items I brought along. I'm on the road this weekend and will have to stop here.