Tag: “Coin of the Canonical Realm”

Posted on

On May 19th…

From A Day by Day Chronology of Mr. Sherlock Holmes according to Zeisler and Christ by William S Dorn:

Nissar Modi as Lord Arthur Saltire (Granada, 1986)

On May 19, 1900, Lord Saltire was rescued. [PRIO]

[Holmes said,] “I will help you, but on one condition only. It is that you ring for the footman and let me give such orders as I like.”
Without a word the Duke pressed the electric bell. A servant entered.
“You will be glad to hear,” said Holmes, “that your young master is found. It is the Duke’s desire that the carriage shall go at once to the Fighting Cock Inn to bring Lord Saltire home.”

Illustration by Sidney Paget for The Strand Magazine (1904)

Also on May 19, 1900, the Duke of Holdernesse wrote a cheque for £12,000 to Holmes. [PRIO]

The Duke took a pen in his quivering fingers and opened his cheque-book.”I shall be as good as my word, Mr. Holmes. I am about to write your cheque, however unwelcome the information which you have gained may be to me. When the offer was first made I little thought the turn which events might take. But you and your friend are men of discretion, Mr. Holmes?”

According to Nicolas Utechin’s Coin of the Canonical Realm, in 2013, that £12,000 would have been worth approximately £1,065,600 GBP ($1,715,616 USD). Small wonder Holmes said that cheque was the most interesting thing he had seen in the North!

Posted on

Coin of the Canonical Realm by Nicholas Utechin “Rex.”

Coin of the Canonical Realm by Nicholas Utechin
Published in December 2013.
58 pages, perfect bound.
Price: $9.00 USD
US Postage: $3.00 USD
International Postage: $5.00 USD

In this, the first monograph published by the John H Watson Society, Nicholas Utechin sets out to make 21st century sense of all the 19th century mentions of money in the Sherlock Holmes stories.

Have you ever stopped to wonder exactly what a ‘half-sovereign’ would buy today? Find out what Mary Morstan stood to gain if the Agra treasure had not been hurled out of the Aurora. How much in dollars – then and now – would Neville St. Clair’s daily begging takings have amounted to? Could Sir Henry Baskerville’s $6 boots be bought for an equivalent sum in 2014?

Coin of the Canonical Realm is an important work whose validity might not survive all-engulfing world inflation, but currently provides the first ever detailed snapshot of the practicalities of Holmes’s financial world.

The Society is covering its printing and postage costs with $1.50 remaining to contribute to future publishing projects. Please support the Society’s efforts to further original research in Canonical topics. Payment may be made via PayPal or credit card.

About the author: NICHOLAS UTECHIN is a Director-at-Large of the John H. Watson Society (‘Rex’), a Baker Street Irregular (‘The Ancient British Barrow’) and an Honorary Member of The Sherlock Holmes Society of London (having edited “The Sherlock Holmes Journal” from 1976-2006). He is a freelance journalist and worked for many years as a producer and presenter on BBC radio. He lives in Oxford, U.K.

Posted on

Monograph Review from Ron Lies “Chips”

This kind review of the Society’s first monograph publication was received from our appreciative member Ron Lies “Chips” in Denver. Thank you, “Chips”:

“I received my copy of Coin of the Canonical Realm written by Nicolas Utechin and edited and designed by Dr Joanne Yates. This first monograph by our society is a pleasure to read. It is full of information for each case that I now have at my fingertips. It is a great bargain for what little it costs. I feel there will come a day when you will not be able to obtain a copy and you will be sorry.”

Ron in Denver

Posted on

The Monograph Mails Today: “Coin of the Conanical Realm”

Buttons has just returned from the Wigmore Street Post Office where he posted the monograph “Coin of the Canonical Realm” to all who ordered a copy. The printer shipped to the Drs office on time, but weather and the Christmas bustle seems to have delayed delivery from New Jersey to California until 31 December. But, all is well!  You should all receive your copies in 7 to 10 days, a bit longer for our European and Far East members.

Thank you very much indeed to all who purchased a copy of this fascinating and exceedingly detailed and well-researched monograph by Nicholas Utechin “Rex.”  The design and editing by our Editor, Dr Joanne Yates, is superb. This will be a monograph of historical canonical note.

There are still a few copies remaining. Please see the Society Publications page to order a copy.