Irregular Postings on Coin Collecting & Numismatics - Both Canonical & Conanical

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Category Archives: France

Faces of Moriarty: John Huston

Faces of Moriarty: John Huston

“… the actor in some strange drama …” – The Adventure of The Yellow Face (YELL) John Huston was an Oscar winning screenwriter, director and actor with a career that spanned over 50 years. Many of the films he was involved with are considered classics – The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The African… Continue Reading

Video: Sherlock Holmes & Numismatics – 1991 ANA Convention Presentation

Video: Sherlock Holmes & Numismatics – 1991 ANA Convention Presentation

“… and had delivered his usual brilliant lecture to a crowded class.” – The Adventure of The Creeping Man (CREE) During the American Numismatic Association’s (ANA) 100th Anniversary Convention (aka The World’s Fair of Money, the first ANA convention to use this marketing theme) in August, 1991, the then Vice President of the ANA, Edward C. Rochette,… Continue Reading

Monetary & Numismatic Mentions: The Golden Pince-Nez

Monetary & Numismatic Mentions: The Golden Pince-Nez

In this post, we peruse The Adventure of The Golden Pince-Nez looking for mention of monetary transactions and numismatic items. As always, the page numbers [seen here in brackets] refer to the relevant pages in The Complete Sherlock Holmes published by Doubleday / Penguin Books. The first paragraph [607] of this month’s adventure has the good doctor recounting the… Continue Reading

Medal Honoring The Death of Sadi Carnot, Assassinated President of France

Medal Honoring The Death of Sadi Carnot, Assassinated President of France

“… the tracking and arrest of Huret, the Boulevard assassin – an exploit which won for Holmes an autograph letter of thanks from the French President and the Order of the Legion of Honour.” – The Adventure of the Golden Pince-Nez (GOLD) Marie François Sadi Carnot, President of the Third Republic of France, was stabbed and… Continue Reading

The Legion of Honour Awarded To Charlie Chaplin

The Legion of Honour Awarded To Charlie Chaplin

“… an exploit which won for Holmes an autograph letter of thanks from the French President and the Order of the Legion of Honour.” – The Adventure of The Golden Pince (GOLD) As we learned in Peter Jacoby’s recent post, Charlie Chaplin role as Billy the Page in William Gillette’s Sherlock Holmes laid the foundation for his future… Continue Reading

Taking Their Dust

Taking Their Dust

“Since I ran down that coiner by the zinc and copper filings in the seam of his cuff …” – The Adventures of Shoscombe Old Place (SHOS) From the Topics Of The Times column from the December 19, 1930 issue of The New York Times. Taking Their Dust Master minds in detective fiction have long been able… Continue Reading

Another Portrait Medal Of Vernet

Another Portrait Medal Of Vernet

“… my grandmother, who was the sister of Vernet, the French artist.” – The Adventure of The Greek Interpreter (GREE) In 1968, the Monnaie de Paris struck this 68mm bronze medal to commemorate the life of Horace Vernet. The obverse features a right facing bust of Vernet. The reverse has the French imperial eagle as the central… Continue Reading

Sherlock Holmes’ Great Uncle? – The Artist Horace Vernet

Sherlock Holmes’ Great Uncle? – The Artist Horace Vernet

Readers of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes adventure “The Greek Interpreter” (1893) may remember that the story begins with Holmes and Watson “discussing hereditary aptitudes” after tea one summer’s evening. “In your case”, Watson tells Holmes, “it seems obvious that your faculty of observation in your peculiar facility for deduction are due to own… Continue Reading

The Case Of The Eiffel Tower – May 23, 1955

The Case Of The Eiffel Tower – May 23, 1955

“Seen the Paris news?” – The Adventure of The Second Stain (SECO) In 1954, Ronald Howard and H. Marion Crawford would star as Holmes and Watson in 39 episodes of a syndicated Sherlock Holmes television series. The 30 minute episodes were produced by Sheldon Reynolds, who would later do another Holmes series, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson,… Continue Reading