Volume 15 / Issue 1 of the John Reich Journal has been mailed to the membership. If you believe you are a current member and have not received your issue of the journal, please contact me immediately. I will rectify the mistake immediately. We are in the process of producing a new database for the membership and may have inadvertently omitted someone.

This issue of the journal is packed with interesting information submitted by the membership. In the editors notes the winner of the Jules Reiver Literary Award for Volume 14 is revealed. Edgar Souders has, again, garnered our yearly award for best article as voted by the membership for his article Caped Bust Half-Dollar Secrets: The Denomination. This years voting was the strongest yet of any that I have had the privilege to count. The level of support shown by the membership encourages me. I am looking forward to the continued participation of many of our newer members.

There was a ballot issue to consider amending the by-laws of the organization to accept sub-clubs under the banner of JRCS. This by-law change passed allowing the recognition of the Bust Quarter Collectors Society as part of JRCS. This club will study the quarters and develop articles for submission to the John Reich Journal. There will be an additional fee of $7.50 per year added to the cost of membership for those interested in participating in the quarter society. Please contact me if you have any interest in joining the quarter group headed by Dr. Glenn Peterson.

It was also reported that the supply of dime books is dwindling. There are still some available for sale by the society. We also have the half-dime books also ready for shipping. The cost is $75 per book, or the pair for $125 delivered. If interested members can order them by sending a check to the PO Box for the correct amount with their mailing address.

There will be a special presentation at our annual meeting at the ANA convention in Baltimore. Craig Sholley, noted researcher, will be speaking to our group. He has done extensive research in the archives of the Mint. His presentation will be followed by a question and answer period. Do not miss this opportunity to learn more about our favorite coins.

It is time for the bust quarter collectors to submit their census to the society for publication in the next issue of the journal. Dr. Glenn Peterson will be compiling the quarter census for us. I would like the inventories sent to me at the PO Box, or by e-mail, in date, variety, and grade format. Please remember to include duplicates and die states. If you have any questions please let me know.

The first article in this issue of the journal was a pleasant surprise for me. I was forwarded an article that Russ Logan had prepared before his death for publication. It is a wonderful look at the proof only die marriages in the bust series of coins. It is a look at the rarest of the rare. Bowers and Merena were kind enough to provide the illustrations contained in the article from their sale of Russ’ collection. I hope the membership enjoys it as much as I did.

Next, Aaron Didich provides us with a look at a very interesting late die state of the 1836 B2 quarter. It is informative tidbits of information like this that keep our society interesting. There is always something else to discover in our corner of numismatics.

The next article is my review and recollections from the Logan sale. I attended the Baltimore convention and auction of Russ’ collection and have shared my experiences with the membership. It was truly an interesting event. One that I wish everyone had the opportunity to experience, but since that was not possible, I have shared some of my personal insights.

Dr. Charles Horning follows with the dime census. The society shares our holdings with the membership through the censuses that are produced for each denomination. Russ was the census keeper for all the series until just recently. Since his passing the job has been divided between numerous members to give us the ability to present a census in each issue. The first to appear under this new format was the dime census. Dr. Horning has done a wonderful job preparing this census for this issue. I hope anyone with even a passing interest in the dimes can gleam some information from his presentation.

Craig Sholley follows with his first installment (of three) of articles about the early mint. This one, Early U. S. Minting Methods, Die Forging and Hardening is sure to educate many of our members about the operations of our early mint. I am looking forward to seeing the following articles.

That brings the current issue to an end. I hope you all enjoy the issue as much as I have in bringing it to you. If you are not a member and would like to receive a complimentary copy of our journal, please contact me at the link provided. Again, if you are a member and have not received your copy, please let me know.

Numismatically yours,

Brad Karoleff
Editor