While re-arranging part of my library and putting away some of my art and history books, I stumbled upon a copy of a magnificent art catalog published in joint cooperation between the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC and, the United Exhibits Group of Coppenhague, Denmark in 2002. The well published art catalog is titled "The Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt." Within its pages many Egyptologists and additional experts have exposed for future generations their insights and knowledge regarding the ancient Egyptians and their path thru earthly time. I chose to read again Dr. Erik Hornung's exquisite esssay titled: "Exploring the Beyond" enclosed in this great publication. Dr. Erik Hornung (1933) is a Swiss born World reknown Egyptologist. My writing is a humble way to connect a study of the belief in an afterlife with a numismatist item: the token.�One of the most intriguing and fascinating revelations might come from the ancient Egyptians and their belief in the afterlife. Many cultures after them incorporated this thought of a realm earned with a granted passage by a "token" of material value given to a deity or "overseer" who led the soul of a fervent or misfortunate being (as justified beliefs applied to individuals) into his/her new existence.

Hi Everyone,� I found these crazy miniature U.S. coins today while poking around in the ol' coin vault...� What else is there to do on a cold Sunday afternoon... Right???� Anyhow, from what I gathered is that were sold as a set and used as a novelty item to "emphasize" the inflation problem in America during the late 1970's through the early 1980's.�� So here we are again some 40 odd years later and these are right back in style!� Inflation surrounds us...Shrinking our U.S.� dollar...� My set includes an Indian Cent, Buffalo Nickel, Mercury Dime, Washington Quarter, Walking Liberty and a Eisenhower Dollar.� The Shield Cent is just for size comparison.� Aren't they tiny!� So appropriate to describe our monies value of today... � � haha � � Hope you enjoyed just reading a silly blog.� Comments are always welcomed!

Hello fellow YNs and YNH!

As we slowly recover from Covid-19,� museums in the� NYC are reopening.� Although they are requiring masking and not fully opened, many objects of numismatic interest are being dusted off and displayed.� At the Brooklyn Museum in NYC, the Oriental sections of the second floor have been under renovation for many years.� But this year, they have finally begun to reopen much of the delayed work on the second floor of this museum.� The museum had an exhibit from Chinese Born artist Ni Youyu, born in 1984, was commissioned by Brooklyn Museum to create a body of art that involves 66 coins from around the world that is pounded and reworked with micro art, and formed into a collection that makes a coherent exhibit.� Ni's work started in the wake of the 2007 fiscal crisis and reflects his own personnel relationship with coinage and money which he goes into great details in explain here:� https://www.niyouyu.com/galaxy-project� Following his installations in 2008, the museum commissioned its own unique work which Ni finished in 2014-2018.� It was to be installed in the refurbished exhibit.� Since then we had suffered under COVID-19 and citywide lock downs causing delays.� The flattened and painted coins� are painted with use of a loupe and together recall Chinese Cosmology.�� The installation is a critique of consumerism and the world trade in art (don't bite the hand that feeds you "Vincent").� True View, who made the showcase, explains their display of the coin artThe museum's new acquisition of Ni Youyu's work Brooklyn Galaxy, made specifically for the newly re-opened Brooklyn Museum Chinese Galleries, is wonderful and captivating, yet it also proved a challenge to install.� The work consists of 66 coins, hammered flat, obliterating or nearly obliterating the evidence of their monetary value, and country of origin.� The coins are ½" - 1 ¼" in diameter from various metal alloys and colors.� Each of the coins became a surface onto which he painted images with extremely detailed delicacy and adeptness.� These coins when installed on a wall become a galaxy unto themselves, revealing a whole universe of ideas, thought, emotions, and feeling.The exhibit can be seen on the Brooklyn Museums webstie:https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/216753Here is the slideshow of the images and exhibithttp://images.mrbrklyn.com/brooklyn_museum_11_2021/coins1.jpg?slideshow=3&width=1024

Hobo nickels was a topic of confusion and interest in the September 2021 YN auction. There was a hobo nickel in the auction by an unidentified carver. The hobo nickel went for such a low amount of $YN, it caused Sam Gelbard �(the current ANA YN director) to exclaim, "Do you guys even know what a hobo nickel is?" And to be absolutely honest, I had no idea! After reading multiple articles from the Numismatist, FUN, and everything in between, I finally know about these interesting, and frankly cool, numismatic collectibles.�