A most unusual Spanish Mill Dollar, otherwise known as 8 Reals or Pieces of Eight.

This most unusual coin from 1797 was made by the government of Spain in Mexico. Mexico was under the control of Spain and also the Spanish were using the Silver found in the areas around Mexico and other parts of Central America.

 This type of coin was made for hundreds of years and would become the world's currency. In fact, many of these coins were made in Central America and then loaded onto Spanish Galleons. These ships would bring the silver to Spain where it would be used for many things. Specially to fund many of the activities of Spain at the time.. Many of the ships did not make it and sank with their most valuable cargoes. This happened many times and ships are still being found with this most precious cargo.  For every ship that was lost, many more made it and brought over to Spain millions of these coins over the years.

 These coins became as I said the standard currency of the world. The United States used these type coins to fund the American Revolution. They would also be legal tender in the United States till 1856. The silver dollar was based on this coin. In fact many of the coins in the United States were based on the Spanish coins of the period.. The 8 Reals was the basis for the silver dollar. it is the same size. The 4 Reals was the model for the half dollar and was the same size. Lastly, the two Reals was the model for the quarter and was the same size.

What's more about these coins and specially this one. Is that these coins traveled the world. On many ships going all over. This very coin you can see was in use for a while in China. It has what are called "chop marks" on it. These marks are Chinese characters that would be stamped on the coin to show it was a true silver coin. Every merchant in China would mark them. That is why this coin is so marked. This coin was from Mexico, was brought to Spain, was put into circulation and found itself in China. Where else it has been is only a mystery. But this is the best way to demonstrate how this coin was the currency of the world. 

   

A very well traveled 8 Reals coin from the Kingdom of Spain and currency of the world till the 19th century. So often we read about such coins in history, but rarely get to see them.  This is truly history in the raw, the real thing.

November 25, 1963

The world has changed a lot in the half century since I was sitting with my mother watching the funeral of JFK. I have said pretty much everything I remember of those days. But one more thing to mention. The world changed on those cold, frightening days of November of 1963.
 I had lost my hero, everything in the world seemed a little less secure. For the boy who I was, it would never be quite the same.


 I was interested in the press conferences. My grandfather would watch them and make comments to me. I watched several of the press conferences with him. It was such a rare thing to hear people laughing at a press conference.

The death of the President was one that shook much of the world to its foundation. I cannot to this day think of another President who had such a connection to the people. It was the last time that a President would talk about the ancient Romans and Greeks. It was the last President who used history as a backdrop.

I am not sure if many of our later Presidents know much of anything about ancient Rome or Greece. JFK wanted to be a history teacher, or college professor. He loved and lived history. I am convinced to this day that he influenced me as a boy to follow history.

I was able to teach for a few years and it was a warm full circle to have one of JFK's great nephews in my class. He and I talked of his great uncle. Neither of us had ever met him, but we and mainly he was engulfed in his legacy.

 I got to meet many who were around him, Senator Edward Kennedy, Caroline, his daughter, President Gerald R. Ford and several others. Ford told me that he and Kennedy shared an office in their early days in the congress. Sometimes they would take late night walks together. Little did either know that they would both be President and that both of them would be very much involved in terrible points in the countries history.

I sat for those dark days in November at home. I watched the first all day news programs that started at the time of this all. I can still hear in my mind the sounds of the muffled drums as it radiated from the speaker of the black and white TV we watched on. I was already starting my interest in history. I even had a book on JFK made while alive. But I started to study more after that. I am glad we had a historian and not an academic as President. Academics never make for good leaders, and end up leaving disasters in their wake.


But as I write this 50 years to the day I heard those muffled drums, and came to realize that my hero was no more. I closed up my little office in my room in which I used to pretend I was President Kennedy and write bills and sign papers. Bought all the newspapers I could. Then I followed a path to studying history.


I was at Arlington Cemetery in mid 2010.  I stopped several places as I walked that rather rainy day. There were few people there and I was surrounded by those who had influenced history. I finally worked my way to JFK's and Jackie's graves. I stood before his grave and said audibly, "Thank you". Little did you know how much you influenced the mind and career of a young boy.


Fifty years ago, the world and my life changed forever.

The John F. Kennedy assassination. The body, the brain and the casket.. My own theories on much of the confusion.

Now just when we have thought we had heard it all, there are new theories on the assassination. There was even a theory out not long ago saying Jackie did it with a pistol. Well, of course I think much of this is all poppycock. To be honest 99.9% is all nonsense. But there is truth to be found here and there.

 I have a theory on the assassination and why there is a so much confusion over everything.  While I do  have some issues over the shooting, I have large number of issues with what happened after in the autopsy. While the shooting may not have been done by just one person. This was the first part of the insistent push for the removal of the body. Secondly, Kennedy's body was a political landmine.  If any of his many medical problems were let out it would have tremendous consequences on the political system and how he was elected in the first place with all of his medical issues. The autopsy for several reasons needed to be in a controlled environment.

The Autopsy ..This is where much happens.

It is now common knowledge that Kennedy had "Addison's Disease". It is common knowledge today that he was on so many medications, some good and many very bad. Lastly it is common knowledge that he had a vast array of sexually contracted diseases. Due to his incessant sexual forays with call girls, prostitutes, and anyone else who he felt was needed for his pleasure.

He also had other problems that no one in power, or his family wanted anyone else to know.. So much of the confusion and the odd occurrences at the autopsy was to allow them to remove and change much of the medical evidence, and perhaps the wounds. This is where all the issues and problems arise.

Kennedy lived in a very frail eggshell of enclosure. Had much or for that matter any of this information been made public at the time it would have destroyed not only the faith in the election process, but also the legacy of who Kennedy was. His image was one of great vigor and health. While the true story was one of a man of uncertain health, and an array of potentially deathly problems.

So while the the medical team in Dallas was finishing the work on the body there was a frantic push by the Kennedy team to get the body back to Washington DC and not have a Pathologist in Dallas do the autopsy.

 Had they done it in Dallas a number of odd facts and medical abnormalities would have been found.

 This is where all the problems begin. Because now that JFK was dead, it became the sole objective of his family and staff to hide all of the evidence of his illnesses.

I have felt that many people are concerned with the shooting and think of that as the conspiracy. But I am thinking that much of the conspiracy stands with the US Government, Kennedy team, and family and friends to get the body out of the hands of anyone who could not be controlled.

In a way this action also controlled the Warren Commission.  There were large holes of information carefully kept from them, much through a really badly run and monitored autopsy. Even the head medical pathologist at JFK's autopsy said he burned all of his notes. Lastly no information about the autopsy was given to them in the way of photos or medical information. They relied on drawings and written testimonies. Hence the drawings were flawed and this started a hornets nest of activity about it being faked. There were too many problems to hide.


The main reason that they did not see the info on the autopsy was that Robert Kennedy did not let them see it. I can once again see him protecting his brothers legacy, but this was going much too far. Also Robert was aware that the assassination was larger than stated and was far more involved than what they needed the Warren Commission to speculate on.  The Warren Commission was designed to just put a lid on this boiling cauldron.

The adrenal glands were removed from the body. Also while doing the study of the body the various and apparent signs of venereal disease were stripped from the record. No information on what was in the blood as that would list a frightening array of mind altering compounds.

This is what causes the many things that have haunted this event ever since. He was protecting the image of the President, but these actions backfired!

That is why the autopsy was done in a strange way, that is why the adrenal glands were removed, that is why the sexual infections of the President were recorded and observed and the notes destroyed. Much like the FDR's doctor did on his death. His personal physician burned all of FDR's medical notes, as it would show what was really wrong and how sick he was.

Much the same could be said of Kennedy, and you can just imagine the horror that was felt by those in control in Washington that the body may end up somewhere and for that fact, not in a controlled environment. So once the body comes to Washington the autopsy sanitizes everything.
His brain was removed as were many slides of tissue samples. They were kept in a locker at the National Archives. Two people were known to have keys for it. Evelyn Lincoln (JFK's personal secretary) and Robert Kennedy.


By 1966 the locker was emptied of all things dealing with the autopsy. Also the casket that JFK was returned to Washington in was also kept at the National Archives. It was removed by the actions of Robert Kennedy, and in a special action by the US government was holed and sunk in the North Atlantic in 1966.


What was in it, who knows?  No one ever will..


 But that would be a perfect place and action to get rid of evidence. I have heard that RFK buried the brain when his brothers casket was moved in 1967, then why not move the brain out of the locker in 1967, why 1966?

 In my mind and imagination the rest of JFK's body was buried in 10 thousand feet of water in the North Atlantic. That makes a hell of a lot of sense to me.

Everyone was looking at the shooting, not what going on in keeping the many problems the president had, a secret. So was it a conspiracy? A conspiracy to hide information, fake facts, and change the history and story around so much that no one knew what was true or not.

I would think that Robert Kennedy was much involved in protecting his brothers legacy, and destroying and hiding evidence of anything that would harm his late brothers image. That was his job when his brother was alive to hide, destroy, and clean up the picture so his brother looked good.

 So much was tampered with, much was deliberately destroyed and of course this worked hand in hand with the assassination theorists, who were more focused on the shooting than what was being destroyed and covered up at the autopsy. It was done badly, so it left a lot of questions which worked well in the hands of conspiratorial theorists. Because if there is one question that cannot be answered clearly, you have the routes of conspiracy.

I can understand to a degree what can happen if information is passed onto the public dealing with a popular President and a past that was not as what was thought. Warren G. Harding was very much like JFK in that regard.
What finished Harding off was that he had no protectors. He did not have a brother who was Attorney General. His history and his past was cast to the wolfs and his legacy was destroyed. Not that he was a bad president, but one who was not protected after death.

So now as we come closer to the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination.  I expect to hear lots about the assassination.

 But, little about what was frantically done in a Bethesda Medical Centers operating room to protect and preserve a legacy.

The Victor Talking Machine Companies 1902 Plaid label. Put out in late 1902 and never repeated as it was very hard to read.

There is very scant information on this record label. I can say it is very rare and was issued not for a long time.  It's existence is not known by many in the record collecting world. The recording was made on July 16, 1902. It was titled Scotland's Pride and was performed by the Kilties Band of Canada. The band was under the direction of William F. Robinson. This band made a series of recordings in 1902 and their labels in their first issue looked like this.

As to where the recording was made I would guess it was made in Philadelphia. But that is a guess as I cannot find anything as to where this record was made. However, I have found information that the Kilties Band of Canada was doing concerts at Willow Grove Park in Pennsylvania on July 12, 1902.  Since this recording was made on July 16, 1902. It makes sense that it was Philadelphia.  The record was first issued in 1902 with the fancy, hard to read plaid label. It was afterwards put out with a black label that was readable. This early and quite rare recording is one of the more unique labels put out by the Victor Company. I moved it around as best as I could to make a scan of it.

Here you will see an example of a Victor record and also a Berliner Gramophone record in Canada. Both wearing the same type of plaid label. In the case of the Canadian record, it is far easier to read as everything is printed in black. For the Victor company, they used the same gold lettering and picture as they did on the black and red labels. However in that case they are readable. This record for Victor is very unreadable and would soon disappear.

A whale oil lamp from the 19th century. It is an old piece but did serve well during hurricane Sandy

Here is a nice example of a 19th century whale oil lamp. It has 3 burners and shades that I guess would have glass or some kind of material on those shades. I have had it a while and of course it is very old. I had lit it when I first got it to see if it would still work and it did. But when I was forced into a near week of no electricity, lighting became an issue, it was pressed into service and was very useful in providing light, heat, and comfort during those very dark days in October.

Here is that lamp doing what is was designed to do all those years ago.

Remembering the election of 1968..One of the worst years in the history of the United States

Oh how I remember that election. It was fraught with confusion, anger, and the press not sure who was the winner. That election was confused. What had happened that year was horrific from the Democratic Convention in Chicago with the mass beatings of protesters and the break up of that party to the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. There were riots all over. The war in Viet Nam was terrible. The death toll was always on the news. I grew up with the image of Viet Nam on the news. From the early 1960's onward it was a focal point of our lives and the stories of many soldiers coming back in body bags.

I watched the news that night till I fell asleep. It was said by many on the news that night that Humphrey would win. That Nixon would be defeated again for the office. This was the first election I really was focused on.  We had a black and white TV with a 12 inch screen. Of course we used rabbit ears on the top of the TV to get the best reception. But our reception was always very snowy. People today do not understand what it was like on old TV's.. That you not only changed the channel by hand, but, after changing the channel you had to adjust the antenna to catch the signal. After that you needed to fine tune it. Often the best reception was when you were holding the rabbit ears. I saw this technology come into use during and after 9-11 when most of the stations were knocked off and Peter Jennings was transmitting on UHF.

I had figured when I went to bed that Humphrey had won. I kind of liked Humphrey and was looking forward to his presidency.  I was not too impressed with Johnson, but I found him rather boring to watch. I did watch him make the statement that he would not be a candidate for office in 1968.

I went to bed and woke up to the news that Nixon would be the next President. I felt sorry for Humphrey. He was always a little short of a win for office...A prize he truly wanted, but would never have.


It is a little hard to conceive what it was like back then..It was a very different time and a very disrupted and divided country. That was truly on the brink of exploding. Within a few years it would all change.

1968 was one of the worst years in our countries history.

I have always been a blast from the past. Just looking at my desk says it all

I have always been comfortable with an older style of desk. I am not really into plastics or Formica. I enjoy real wood and well made and designed furniture. My desk is an old secretary desk. In it I keep my papers, write papers, read books, and put various objects that are important to me. It is a clever desk and has secret compartments which are fun for small delicate items. But all in all it is an enjoyable desk for me. When I first saw it I was in love with it. So I thought I would share where I spend much time in the evenings. In this desk I keep all of my 17th, 18th, and 19th century books. Sometimes I will read a little of one of them. Just one of my more enjoyable things to do.  I know so well it is not for everyone.

But it is a well designed, sturdy, and most useful piece for me.

Victor Talking Machine's first celebrity records. The short lived 5000 Red Seal series of 1903

It is always interesting to see where a series comes from. In the field of recorded sound the first red seal records were called so. The short lived Gramophone Red Seal records recorded in Russia in the end of 1900 were the first. The term Red Seal was used just shortly. Later that term was no longer used by the Gramophone or Gramophone and Typewriter. However, the Victor Talking Machine Company newly formed and incorporated on Oct 3, 1901, was looking for something new to showcase the operatic field.

In today's world it is hard to explain the rank that operatic singers were placed at during this period. I would guess that the movie stars of today are the closest in that adoration. They were looked at as the highest form of entertainer and treated like royalty.

By 1902 the Victor company was looking to expand their base. There was basically a large proportion of popular, coon, band, and comedy recordings produced by the company at their meager recording studios in Philadelphia. Although they were very successful in this field, Eldridge Reeves Johnson wanted to make the Victor Record more than just as it was looked at, and that was merely as a toy.

The Gramophone and Typewriter company which is what the Gramophone Company was know as till 1907 was recording operatic singers from it's start. The company was recording from the late 1890's operatic pieces of various qualities. By 1902 they had recorded Caruso, Calve, Plancon,  theVatican Choir with the last Castrates along with many others.  A deal was worked out in late 1902 by Calvin Child so that Victor would press and market recordings made in Europe by G&T.

This event would change the very face of the Victor Talking Machine Company.  These European recordings would be released in March of 1903. These records would have a red label and be put into the first series of it's kind, the 5000 series.  These records would sell at $2.50 each. One has to remember how much money that was in 1903. This amount would buy you a wonderful meal at Delmonico's in New York City.

This first release would be of 25 recordings and over the year more would be added during the spring and summer. By October there were a large number of recordings to choose from.

The 5000 series would be available till October of 1903. The end result was there was not a massive amount of these records ever made or sold. The price and the early date led to very small sales. But one had to remember it was not at all about sales. It was about prestige. I am aware that a very small amount of pressings each of the listings were made. Therefore after 110 years they are remarkably rare. When they were pressed they were rare.

A 1903 pressing on 5067 of the Vatican Choir recorded in April 1902 and pressed in the United States.




In October of 1903 there was change on the labels. All of the recordings that were on the 10 inch 5000 series were split. A large amount of the imported recordings were split into two different numerical listings. Many of the Red Seal records were switched to what is called 91000 series as shown below. In fact this is the same recording shown above in this new series. There is something odd about this record. It has a "D" on the bottom of the wax under the label. The "D" stands for the Dennison Recording machines, which were used by Victor and in some cases G&T from 1903 till around 1907. But this record was made in April of 1902 and most probably not using a Dennison machine. But basically most records made by Victor in this period were stamped with the "D". This was for royalty reasons that the records were marked. However I am of the thought that many recordings were stamped not needing to.

Many of these imported recordings were put on to another numerical listing for records of this type. It was called the 61000 series. The 12 inch recordings would be given the 71000 series. In fact you will see below another recording made at the Vatican in 1902 that made it to the black labeled series. These records would be priced at $1.00.  The recording below is from late 1905 or early 1906. Most of these recordings on the black labels would be gone by 1907.

A late 1906 pressing of a 1904 G&T recording. You will see that there is no "D" on this recording.

As you can see here in a 1906 listing of Imported Red Seal Records, the list is getting shorter. This was due to the fact as soon as the artist could make a new recording for Victor, the old ones listed here would be removed. The 91000 series was not a big seller either, but, was far more successful than the 5000 series.

Here are many of the recordings made at the Vatican in 1902-04 listed under the 61000 and 71000 series. In the catalog of early 1906.

Also many of the recordings made in 1902-3 in Russia were put on to the 61000 series. There had been a few originally released as Red Seal recordings.




The 91000 series would end in within a few years as the Victor Talking Machine Company would start it's first Red Seal recording series in late 1903 as you will see below. This record is from the first Red Seal session recorded in the United States in 1903. However the first Red Seal records were listed with Black Label numbers.

The end result was a massive amount of confusion concerning Imported Red Seal, Imported Black Seal, domestic Red Seal, and domestic Black label. Lastly at this time Victor started a new matrix system. However the first domestic Red Seal Records received a domestic Black label number which shows the confusion that abounded. This Red Seal problem would exist for the first two sessions at Carnegie Hall. That famous music hall is where the recording studio was located in room 826.

One of the rare examples of the first domestic Red Seal records with a Black Label number.