Tuesday November 18, 2025 brought the latest installment of my Northern Virginia numismatic social group, Nummis Nova. I left work and drove in the rain to J. Gilbert's steakhouse in McLean, VA, whereRoger Burdette was our host. I ran into Jon Radel in the parking lot. Once inside we stepped into the bar where we found Dave Schenkman, Eric Schena and Mike Packard. Dave showed me a fragile macerated currency item that he didn't want to risk passing around (see images below).

Before long we were shown to our private dining room along with Roger, and soon we were joined by Wayne Herndon, Chris Neuzil, Erik Douglas, Mike Markowitz, and Julian Leidman. I ended up sitting at the far end of the table next to Wayne and across from Erik, Chris and Mike Packard.Sorry, no photos this time. The room was so dark that I needed my phone's flashlight to read the menu and see the numismatic items being passed around. Absorbed in conversation and looking at the material, I didn't try getting any pictures.

The first thing I pulled out of my case was something I'd brought in hopes of finding a movie memorabilia buff to gift it to - the Bugonia tote bag I'd picked up when my son and I went to the Emma Stone film on October 31st. It found a home with Eric Schena. Another member asked "Who's Emma Stone?" Well, there are those 2016 and 2023 Best Actress Oscars for La La Land and Poor Things, roles in Superbad, Birdman, Eddington and as Cruella de Vil in 2021's Cruella.

Some of the numismatic literature I brought was acquired at last week's Whitman Baltimore show. People were curious about the blank Whitman journal volume.

The one new item was a recent online purchase - the 1984 book by David Borthick and Jack Britton on Medals, Military and Civilian of the United States.

Gallery Mint Silver Dollars
One of the first items to be passed my way was this 1804 dollar. I saw the obverse first and asked, "so, is this number 17?" I was joking, but it's amazingly good workmanship.

Dave writes:

I own a couple of the Gallery Mint 1804s, but had never seen the 1996 Peace one.

1859 Society of Colorado Pioneers Medal

I'd never seen this one before, either. The main image is a bit crude but I love the tiny tools at the top - pick, shovel, gold pan, and rifle.

Dave writes:

1859 Society of Colorado Pioneers Medal. Silver and Gold. 49 x 100 mm. 47.2 grams. Extremely Fine.

Obv: Inscription THE SOCIETY OF COLORADO PIONEERS around the border with a scene of a pioneer family travelling (sic) in a wagon in the center. The date 1859 is engraved below. Rev: Blank except for the maker's name DIAMOND / PALACE DENVER / COLORADO / STERLING. The badge is suspended from a pin back hanger engraved J.W. WATSON, below which are a crossed pick, shovel and rifle with a gold miner's pan superimposed over their intersection. Overall dark pewter gray patina.

J.W. Watson was born in 1830 in Ohio, arriving in Denver in 1859 where, for a time apparently, he was the manager of the Brown Mining Company of Clear Creek County.

1899 Macerated Currency Admiral Dewey "Medal"
As noted earlier we didn't pass this one around because of its fragility. Yet another never-seen-before item from Dave Schenkman.

Dave writes:

John Smith's Fashionable Umbrellas and Parasols

Finally, Dave also brought a few interesting ad notes.This first piece from New York umbrella manufacturer John I. Smith has a reverse detailing prices for many different types and sizes.

Below are two ad notes from Baltimore.

Dave writes:

Two Baltimore Ad Notes

Both nice pieces. The second one is a receipt form and has great vignettes. Super ephemera for photography collectors.

Conversation at my end of the table was all over the map as usual. Topics included long-off-the-market coin collections, driving trucks, Buc-ees and Beaver Nuggets, the end of the cent, and recent sales of 250,000 wheat cents.

It was a great meal, but we were annoyed by the restaurant's new policy of no separate checks for our group. We all had to calculate our own tabs with tax and tip and drop cash into a bag Roger had brought for that purpose. We called him "the bag man." We came up pretty close to the actual total, but the exercise was no fun. Earlier in the evening I'd had to ask the bartender for change for a twenty to make sure I'd have my exact amount in cash.

Other than that, it was another great evening of numismatic fellowship, and we're already looking ahead to December.