A Scion Society of The Baker Street Irregulars
Numismatists Do Not Fear Change
“She stood grandly defiant, a queenly figure…” – The Adventure of the Second Stain (SECO) Earlier, we had posted that a new portrait of Queen Elizabeth II would be unveiled in 2015 and reviewed the previous four portraits of Her Majesty that has graced British coins since 1952. On March 2nd, the Royal Mint unveiled… Continue Reading
Earlier, we had reported that the 2015 March of Dimes silver dollar would feature Baker Street Irregulars honorary member Franklin D. Roosevelt. A First Strike Ceremony was held March 11 at the U.S. Mint’s West Point facility and the coins went on sale to the general public two days later. From the U.S. Mint’s press… Continue Reading
“Are you not the author of a monograph…” – The Adventure of The Resident Patient (RESI) Designs for the 2016 Mark Twain silver dollar and the gold $5 half eagle were reviewed by the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) at its March 5th meeting in Portland, Oregon during the American Numismatic Association’s National Money Show. Twain… Continue Reading
“I was an officer in Chicago…” – The Valley of Fear (VALL) In early 2015, the Detective Division of the Chicago Police Department issued a challenge coin featuring Sherlock Holmes in its design. The Chicago Police Department traces its roots to 1835 and is the second largest police department in the United States. OBVERSE: CHICAGO POLICE… Continue Reading
“No living man could tell a Prescott from a Bank of England…” – The Adventure of The Three Garridebs (3GAR) It is Christmas Eve, 1889; Sherlock Holmes becomes totally immersed in a case of the very greatest gravity when the senior partner and master engraver of London’s most eminent security printer begs his aid in… Continue Reading
In June, we look forward to the release of the movie Mr. Holmes. Based on Mitch Cullin’s A Slight Trick of The Mind, it stars Ian McKellen as a 93 year old Sherlock Holmes. McKellen first played the role of the wizard, Gandalf, in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. In 2004, the New Zealand Royal Mint struck a… Continue Reading
The Tower of London is never mentioned in the original 60 stories of Sherlock Holmes. However, the Tower would play a key role in two subsequent adaptations of the Holmes stories. Most recently, in The Reichenbach Fall episode of BBC’s Sherlock, the character of Jim Moriarty breaks into the case holding the crown jewels at the Tower… Continue Reading
After publishing our January HolmeWork assignment on the Newcastle Mint, we came across this order form for the 12 medal series in the June 1987 issue of The Baker Street Journal (Vol. 37 No. 2 Page 80). It’s interesting to note that they limited one set per subscriber, not a wise decision in hindsight. With this… Continue Reading
In the February 1986 issue of Scuttlebutt from the Spermaceti Press, the 13th Garrideb, Peter E. Blau, published this nugget: The Newcastle Mint (6512 Belgrave, Garden Grove, CA 92645) has announced “The Sherlock Holmes 100 Year Commemorative Art Medal Collection” 72 art medals, 3 cm. in diameter, minted in pure gold on fine pewter ($20.00 each) or… Continue Reading
In the John H. Watson Society’s first monograph, Coin of the Canonical Realm, Nicholas Utechin has provided us with a fascinating look at the relative values of current-day dollars and pounds compared to the pounds and shillings of Holmes’s day. Of course, any devotee of the Canon is familiar with shillings, the coins with which… Continue Reading