The adventures of Mutt and Jeff at the Swap Shop have been a bust the last two times. First, we were rained out, i.e. when we left for the half hour drive to Sunrise Boulevard, Mutt from the south and Jeff from the north, the sky was clear although still dark. We arrived at the Swap Shop and it had just started to drizzle as the sun came up. Soon the rain started coming down hard, so we headed right away for the canteen and morning coffee. Two hours later it was still coming down like cats and dogs, so we called it a day. No numismatic finds, but a lot of good talk about coins and computers.

The next Thursday was a lot better as far as the weather. Quite a number of dealers, but little in the way of numismatic treasures. Saw some of the same items previously passed up as they were still over priced, Nazi silver marks, and modern Danish crowns. Mutt made a $2. purchase and as they walked away Jeff said, "I think it is a copy". Mutt is not so sure, partially after he removed it from the bezel and noted that the medal was all gold plated. It's one of the Washington Indian Piece Medal re-strikes (the 1 ½ inch size still produced by the mint).

Now to other happenings. Mutt has been getting quite a reputation as a numismatist and being interested in unattributed medals.

At the last Ft.Lauderdale Show one of the dealers, said "I've got something for you" – as he showed a Washington Medal to Mutt. A fair exchange of a few dollars resulted in Mutt taking the medal home to start the identification process.

He knows that Mutt will spend hours on the internet seeking to identify the medal and then passing the medal on the American Numismatic Society for their museum collection. The most recent medal came from Argentina. Dated 1910 as it was issued during the countries Centenary of the Revolution of May celebration. The Republic of Argentina was founded in 1810. The inscription on the reverse reads:

The obverse has a portrait of a very attractive young woman between dates 1757-1822. The internet in Spanish provided information which was then translated using again the internet to read: Maria Josefa LaJarrota of the Quintana was born 16 April 1757 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She died 31 January 1822 in Buenos Aires. Maria married Agustín Casimirio de Aguirre Micheo 17 May 1777 in Buenos Aires. Just who her husband was is still a mystery or why she was honored with this government medal.

P.S. Mutt is receiving coins from all directions – Even his better half found a 1919S Buffalo in change from a store and knew enough to show it to him. He didn't know how to look for the mint mark until Jeff told him. It's a nice VG with full readable date and mintmark. Mutt only knows world coins, no U.S., Jeff is more knowledgeable.