On Tuesday night I was the host for Nummis Nova, my Northern Virginia numismatic social club. We met at Neisha Thai, a restaurant in Vienna, VA. I'd taken a leap of faith making the reservation, having never actually been there. The reviews, web site and pictures looked good, and when I called to make a reservation they sounded very busy.

I was able to avert disaster when I rechecked their web site and learned that they'd moved to a different address than I'd told everyone in the invitations. I quickly published an update. And midafternoon Tuesday I got an email from Howard Daniel, who (bless his well-prepared heart) had gone to scout the place out. It wasn't directly on Leesburg Pike as the address indicated, but on the side of a building facing the main road. To get there, you had to go onto an access road and around the side of the building.

Concerned, I sat in my car from 4pm to nearly 4:30 making phone calls to all of the attendees to make sure they got the updates. In the end, everything worked. I arrived a little early to find Aaron Packard already at our table. Other attendees were Roger Burdette, Julian Leidman, Jon Radel, Mike Packard, Chris Neuzil, Gene Brandenburg, Ron Abler, Dave Schenkman, Eric Schena, Tom Kays and Steve Bishop.

Journal of Numismatic Research
Roger Burdette handed me a new shrink-wrapped copy of the Spring 2013 Issue 2 of his Journal of Numismatic Research - look for more information in a future issue of The E-Sylum. Teaser: it's about Benjamin Franklin Peale. Thanks, Roger!

Farran Zerbe Medal
For me, the highlight of the evening was seeing David Schenkman's Zerbe medal, which was awarded to him at last month's American Numismatic Association convention. The organization's highest honor, it is well deserved. Dave is a tireless worker for the hobby and a fountain of numismatic knowledge. I had never seen the actual medal before, and it's impressive. Dave kindly provided these photos.

Dave adds:

Wayne's "Starter Coins"
For a theme this month, I'd suggested "Starter Coins" - coins that caught your eye and helped start you along the path to numismatics. I dug some old friends out of the bank for the meeting. First, I had two Whitman folders - the Lincoln Cent Number One (1909-1940) and Canadian Small Cents (1920 to Date).

I'd found my 1909 VDB while searching rolls as a teen. I went to coin shows and bought several other Lincolns I needed, but I never acquired the three keys, and those holes are still empty.

I'd always liked the Canadian cents, especially the early ones, but never finished that series, either. Maybe I'll start up again.

I also displayed some British coins from a box given to me by my step grandfather. Most were WWI-era European pocket change, but my favorites were these: an 1821 Crown with St. George slaying the dragon on the back, and a 1910 Maundy set of prooflike 1,2,3 and 4 pence coins. He never did tell me where he got these.

The last piece was also my step grandfathers, but he held on to it until he died. My grandmother gave it to me after his death. It's an 1851 One Dollar Gold piece. It had been given to him as a reward by his Sunday School teacher.

Aaron's Ford Sale Trophies
New purchases are also a common sight at our meetings, and Aaron Packard brought along several lots purchased in one of the recent Stacks Bowers Ford sales. He writes:

Some interesting tokens there! I'll look forward to Aaron's research articles.

Before dinner I made sure to show Eric Schena a scan of a First National Oyster Bank note that Ron Ward sent me via snail mail. Eric had never heard or seen one actually signed and issued.

As always, it was an enjoyable evening. We began breaking up about the time I needed to leave anyway to pick up my son from his basketball practice. 'Til next month!