May 31, 2000 marked the 6 year anniversary of my research into Postage Currency pattern coins and the beginning of my Postage Currency research collection. The book I have just completed entitled: United States Pattern Postage Currency Coins, a survey of U S pattern Postage Currency 10 cent coins of 1863 and the related issues dated 1868 and 1869, is complete and at the book binders right now being assembled and bound. The anticipated delivery date to me is June 12th. The hard cover bound (glued and stitched) book which is 234 pages with more than 100 enlarged, mostly color photographs of Postage Currency coins, is printed in easy to read 12 point type on 8 by 11 inch bright white paper. My research has led to many discoveries that I have revealed for the first time regarding these historic coins and the method in which they were manufactured. I have disproved many Judd classifications and have added some new classifications. I have scientifically tested 56 individual coins within this series by scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive x-ray. You won't believe what I have found! One-third of the 56 slabbed coins that I tested were incorrectly attributed by the grading services. I place the criticism on the inaccuracies and vagaries of the Judd numbering system and / or the failure to adequately test, notwithstanding the high cost of testing, on the attributer. I chart all the varieties and offer a concordance to reveal where the similarities and / or the dissimilarities of cataloging occur. I microscopically sequence and picture the unique dies cracks progressions. This has led to the discovery, among many other things, that the Postage Currency related coins dated 1868 were actually struck in 1863! I have chronologically sequenced in 41 pages, 576 auction catalog entries from 1864 to 2000 and show many provenances through a numerical identification system for each of the 576 entries and each divided into its own group by type. The Glossary that I authored for USPATTERNS.COM is included and is expanded in areas that more closely align with the Postage Currency coins. Postage Currency coins are related in many ways to Postage Currency and Fractional Currency Notes. The Mint's misinterpreting that Congress had authorized Postage Currency notes, not coins, mistakenly led to the first Federal token coinage, Postage Currency coins. Douglas Winter and Coin World have given me the right to reprint in its entirety, a three part series that appeared in Coin World in 1985. If you have any interest in the history of numismatics during the Civil War years, then you will not want to miss what Doug and I have presented in 43 pages. For a review of this book, click here. The following was added on January 12, 2001. The FUN Show, 2001, was the first coin show that I actually attended after the publication of my book: “United States Pattern Postage Currency Coins.” While most of the copies available were subscribed to prepublication, a few months earlier, several more sold post publication. When I attended the FUN show, I took the six remaining unsold copies along with me in hopes of selling them out. Within the first few hours on Friday, January 5th, not a single copy remained. A new second edition is now available from the author. DavCassel@aol.com Any comments can be sent to me at: David Cassel 5995 Southwest 97th Street Miami, Florida 33156