Once again excellent job Larsdog! And actually really good at deciphering most of my, at times, obscure, hints!!
1. CJJ III - all I can figure is that CJJ is a clue that the code gets weird around the letters C and J and that the letters are intended to represent the roman numeral 3.
Actually CJJ III refers to Curtis James Jackson III. I'll let you all figure out who he is and why he is a hint. 
2. '25 quarter - there are 25 characters in the code.
Exactly! Since I had to grid the alphabet and since there are 26 letters in the alphabet and only 25 in a square grid, some letter is either left out or shared with another. 3. There are myths that have/are circulated/circulating concerning this person... - I didn't know if this referred to old Benjamin himself or the '48 to '63 half dollars!
This was mainly about his flying a kite in a storm. Kind of a throw-away hint. (i.e., not much help!!)4. the arm = the leg - simply that the length of the word is all that's important.
Exactly! Nice! It's tough for us to see letters, or worse words, as something besides letters or words. That's what helps make this a code!! 5. One arm = six abs - this one was tricky until you realize one and six are both THREE letters, so in this case one = six. Both sides equate to 3,3.
Exactly. The number of letters is the important thing.6. Some research into the Achived Contests from Moe145 may give you enormous insight into the rather limited intellectual bag of tricks that devised this code. - I must admit that I ignored this clue.
I thought this was a sure-fire way for someone to get this code solved right away!7. UFC '36 - This one really threw me off track. I was convinced that the quote was from "When Worlds Collide" and there were several quotes about "Money to Burn" and time is more valuable than money, etc. I spent a lot of time chasing this rabbit down the wrong hole. Even now that I know the answer I can't fathom what it has to do with anything!
I originally was going to have this hint read UFC, 1736. When you google this, it takes you right to the Union Fire Company (The Bucket Brigade) founded in 1736 by, you guessed it, Benjamin Franklin. So I shortened the date to '36 to make you all guess more. 
7 (there were 2 hint 7 Ooops!
Not done on purpose. I was just too lazy to keep accurate track of my hints!!). chest=%$#@! - the letters don't matter - just the number of characters.
Exactly!8. Ok, what if I tell you, 2,2 = G? This gave a BIG clue as to the code. I did row/column, steve did column/row, but obviously 2,2 is the letter G. But how to determine the numbers? I still didn't know it was the number of letters in the words. I was still looking for a "trigger" letter.
Exactly!9. Ok. Try this! - The 5 x 5 grid of
Indian cents made it clear that 2,2 (above) referred to row 2, column 2 (or the other way around) of a 5x5 table.
True. But, if you look at the C position, there's an extra coin, showing two letters (coins) in one square. That tells you which first letter is duplicated.10. 3,2 = H - that tells us the letters are in alpha order and A to H are sequential. The missing letter is to be determined.
True. 11. If 2,2 = G, and 3,2 = H, whatever could I be? And why did I replay Hint #2 in Hint #9 (i.e., what is similiar and what is different in the two hints? And since Hint #9 has more information than Hint #2, what was added, and what could it mean?) - this reinforces the notion that the table is in alpha order and we now know it's intact through letter I. Hint 2 told was there were 25 characters. Hint 9 told use they are places in a 5x5 grid.
Yes!12. This quote is 9 words long. - This one threw me for a loop since there were 11 lines in the coded message. But then I realized the first two, or more likely the last two, were the name of the person quoted.
Nice! I hoped that's what this clue would lead you towards!13. What if this 5 x 5 grid had letters in them? - This verifies that there are letters in the grid, but how to determine the grid coordinates.
Yes!14. Letters are not used as letters. Words mean nothing. Only space matters. - This solved the puzzle,almost. The number of letters in the first word was the first part of the grid coordinate and the number of letters in the second word was the second part of the grid coordinate to determine an uncoded letter. It took 2 words to make 1 letter. Easy enough, but the first line translates as GEMIUS with the Q missing and GEMITR with the Z missing. Obviously something is amiss. I tried the last two lines hoping to figure out the author. I got BENJALIM for a first name and it seemed like it HAD to be BENJAMIN. Then I saw that Steve left out the K. Why did he leave out the K? The code had to be good through J and it was broken at L, so K it was. Everything was perfect until line 5. I got "LICE" because 3,1 - C. Did the code author mean 1,3? That would be K. Then I thought 1,3 was K or L and there was an error in the coded message but decided it made just as much sense to have C and K share a spot.
Exactly! Since two letters had to share, C & K work the best (for me anyway!) It's just unfortunate that the quote I chose had to have a K in it! I really didn't want a K but I had already enciphered the code halfway when I realized that and was too lazy to find another quote. Plus I didn't want a very long quote either.And when I saw you had won, your Quality Posts showed 54 so you were legal. Now it's showing 51.
But still legal!!
Congratulations on a well-deserved win and
to the Forum!!
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Posted 05/12/2012 11:57 pm
