A Scion Society of The Baker Street Irregulars
Numismatists Do Not Fear Change
“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
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
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
On February 5, 2015, the United States Mint will release the Harry S. Truman Presidential Dollar for sale in bulk (25 coin rolls, 100 coin bags and 250 coin boxes). The coin, like all Presidential dollars issued since 2012, will not be released into general circulation. These coins will be struck at the Philadelphia… Continue Reading
“Have you dragged the basin of the Trafalgar Square fountain?” – The Adventure of The Noble Bachelor (NOBL) In 2014, the British Royal Mint issued a 4 coin set called Portrait of Britain honoring four historical sites – Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square and Big Ben. These £5 coins are .925 sterling silver and measures 38.6 mm… Continue Reading
“I should like to see him clapped down in a third-class carriage on the Underground, and asked to give the trades of all his fellow-travellers.” – A Study in Scarlet (STUD) The London Underground, or “tube”, has a few mentions in the Canon. The above quote, from A Study in Scarlet” is Watson’s reaction after reading Holmes’ The Book… Continue Reading
“Here was a case of ancient coins.“ –The Adventure of The Three Garridebs (3GAR) Earlier, we had posted about Arthur Conan Doyle’s coin collection and asked for assistance in tracking down the sale catalog of the auction and learning what coins made up his collection. We’ve had a few responses and share them here. Dr.… Continue Reading
“Have you any change in your pocket?” – The Adventure of The Dying Detective (DYIN) One of our first posts was Dennis Nowicki’s excellent Coins of The Canon, which featured a review of Queen Victoria’s coinage mentioned in the original Sherlock Holmes stories. To date, there have been 9 episodes of BBC’s Sherlock. While there have been limited… Continue Reading
The south Pacific island nation of Niue has issued a pair of coins to commemorate the 75th anniversary appearance of the comic character, Batman. Over the years, Batman has had a few interactions with Sherlock Holmes. Holmes first makes an appearance in 1976 with Batman’s archenemy – the Joker, in Joker #6. Looking at the… Continue Reading