Tuesday was Election day in Virginia, and political items were the theme for my monthly Northern Virginia numismatic social group, Nummis Nova. We met at J. Gilbert's steak house in McLean, VA.I had to work late and was the last to arrive. Already seated around a cozy table were Gene Brandenberg, Ron Abler, Joe Levine, David Schenkman, Julian Leidman, Eric Schena, Jon Radel, Chris Neuzil, Tom Kays, and our host, Roger Burdette.

The food and drinks were excellent, and I wouldn't be surprised if we end up going back. I think the wine was flowing well before I arrived, because this was one of the loudest and funniest dinners I can recall us having. What fun!

Tom Kays is never without a display, and among the items he brought was an example of the famous "end of pain" token. I found an example of the token (a "Conder" token attributed to Thomas Spence by Dalton & Hamer) online.

Eric Schena brought along a Virginia Readjuster Party ballot and a scrip note incorporating an identical vignette (above). He explained that the Readjuster Party campaigned on a platform of making West Virginia pay an apportioned share of Virginia's pre-Civil War debt. The issue wasn't settled until well into the 20th century.

Eric adds:

Chris Neuzil showed off this set of dimes with an interesting connection.His friends Joanne and Bruce Taylor have two Rottweilers, so they get out a lot walking the dogs. Each dime was spotted by eye on a walk near their home in Reston, VA.

Chris writes:

I brought along a book I'd recently won in a Kolbe & Fanning auction lot 1320, Sale 122). Dave said something like "Well what do you know about that? - Wayne brought a book - surprise, surprise!". It's an inscribed dedication copy of Fancies in Thoughts and Verse", a compendium of poems by an important U.S. numismatic author, Augustus Heaton.

I passed the book around and asked, "OK, let's see which one of you dolts is the first to tell us what numismatic book Heaton wrote." I think it was Joe Levine who joked, "it was those Heaton counterfeit detectors, right?"

Chris Neuzil won the dolt-of-evening award, correcting identifying Heaton's "Mint Marks", the first book devoted to coinage of the U.S. branch mints.

The book does include some numismatic verse, including "A Miss Taken Scent" and "The Numismatist and the Burglar".The book arrived the week that the American Numismatic Association's Executive Director was relieved of his duties. When I took the book out it opened naturally to "The Amorous Numismatist".

When people started retelling the same jokes I'd heard earlier in the evening I knew it was time to leave. But the food and drink were nearly as memorable as the evening. What a great night of numismatic fellowship.