Use the silver round for bail?

I had an amusing note that arrived in the mail yesterday.

The collector was perusing offerings from his favorite dealer in Numismatic News.

He read the special deals as all collectors would: 10 percent off proof and uncirculated rolls particularly grabbed his attention.

Then tongue-in-cheek he writes: “Maybe you can advise me. Would this be a good time to order a BU roll of the new $1 trillion coins, or would you suggest a proof? Or maybe I should buy just one and start a date set?”

I expect my reaction to this short note was just what he expected when he wrote it.

I laughed out loud.

I do that sometimes and my colleagues at nearby desks want to know what is so funny. Fortunately for me, they don’t think I am somehow wrapped up in a secret world. They know there was some sort of external prompt for my laughter.

Humor is a good thing in numismatics.

Perhaps an enterprising maker of silver rounds will make their version of the $1 trillion coin. Collectors would probably snap them up.

But that would be a problem. If they become popular the government would probably accuse the maker of the silver round that says $1 trillion on it of counterfeiting.

Nobody wants to go to prison – even for a good joke.

Buzz blogger Dave Harper is editor of the weekly newspaper "Numismatic News."