About the Author

My interest in the Orient dates from duty in North China with the 2nd Marine Air Wing in 1946. As a retired Navy Captain I have seen the world "up close and personal". My interest in numismatics grew out of these travels. Collecting the coins and paper currencies of China is my specialty.

While on shore duty in the 1950s, I founded the World Paper Currency Club, whose quarterly, The Currency Collector, was the first such publication in the United States to bring together numismatists with an interest in foreign paper money.

In order to be a true numismatist I believe one must look beyond collecting for collections' sake alone. True knowledge comes from researching the history and stories behind the currency, as they often reveal fascinating insights into the "why, where and when" of the economic, political and social issues of their time. It is in this spirit that the articles contained in this website, written over sixty years of collecting, are offered.

In addition to oriental coins and the currencies of the world my collecting interests include old newspapers and other related historic documents. I have been a contributor to various numismatic publications and am the author of Copper Cash and Silver Taels, a book covering the monetary aspects of life in China during the Ch'ing dynasty.


Air Controller, Marine Air Group 32, Tsingtao, China 1946.


Peking, China



Three generations.