The E-Sylum v5#44, November 3, 2002

[whomren at coinlibrary.com]

Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 5, Number 44, November 3, 2002:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2002, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.


SUBSCRIBER UPDATE

   Recent subscribers include Joe Lasser, courtesy of John
   Adams and Frank Calandra, courtesy of Nick Graver.
   Welcome aboard!   We now have 498 subscribers.
   Perhaps we can hit 500 by year end!


ACCIDENTAL E-SYLUM SPAM

   As all of you have seen by now, on Friday a message
   from subscriber Jørgen Sømod was inadvertently sent
   to all E-Sylum subscribers.  The message was meant
   only for me as editor (and I dutifully created an
   E-Sylum entry as intended).

   The mistake was not Jørgen's - he had innocently done
   "Reply All" instead of a simple Reply, which copied the
   message to the address esylum at binhost.com.  Rest
   assured that your email addresses were not given out
   accidentally.

   The esylum address was supposed to be active only
   for those of us with the proper password and other
   secret incantations.   But somehow, it was not set up
   as intended.  They tell me the loophole has now been
   fixed - sorry for the confusion.


LAKE BOOKS SALE #66

   Fred Lake writes: "Lake Books announces its 66th mail-bid
   sale of numismatic literature. The closing date for the sale is
   December 3, 2002.  There are 672 lots in the catalog and it
   can be viewed on their web site at
   http://www.lakebooks.com/current.html

   Of interest to early copper enthusiasts are the 1952 ANA
   sale catalog featuring Homer K. Downing's Large Cents;
   the Frederick B. Taylor auction of state coinage that is
   renowned for its section on Connecticut coinage; auction
   catalogs from B. Max Mehl, McCawley & Grellman,
   Sotheby's Gene Reale sale, and a number of Stack's and
   Superior auction catalogs.

   Reference books include works by Crosby, Gilbert,
   Mossman, Newcomb, Rinaldo, Vlack, and many others.
   The Tokens and Medals section of the catalog features a
   number of Presidential Coin & Antique sales.  A long run
   of the Colonial Coin Collectors Club's "C4 Newsletter" is
   offered.

   There are also sections devoted to reference works on
   World Coinage, Paper Money, Numismatic Literature,
   Guidebooks, etc. Of particular interest in the Numismatic
   Literature section is a copy of the Money Tree's "Out on a
   Limb" in a large format, deluxe edition. This is copy number
   6 of only 15 issued in this format.

   Bidders are advised to read the "Terms of Sale" section as
   there is a change to the buyer's fee which is now set at 15%.
   There is no change to the packing charges.

   Lake Books holds six auctions each year and is soliciting
   consignments to its 2003 sales."


E-SYLUM HARDCOPY PROJECT UPDATE

   At the end of last year we announced a project
   aimed at producing a printed version of the first
   four volumes of The E-Sylum, taking it "out of
   cyberspace and onto shelf space" as a more
   permanent record.   We've been slowly but steadily
   working on it.  Our big break was David Fanning's
   offer to automate some of the required text editing,
   such as removing "line break" characters, inserting
   page breaks as needed, etc.  He also removed the
   common headers and footers to conserve space.
   Bill Malkmus has also been steadily working to
   maintain an index, which is now in the editing stage.

   The initial version (including the index) is on the
   order of 800 pages, but Tom Fort will work on
   squeezing it down to a more manageable number
   with double columns and a slightly smaller font.

   We do not have a selling price estimate yet, but it
   will be close to our cost.  Copies must be ordered and
   paid for in advance.   Several readers have indicated
   interest - please write to me if you'd like me to add you
   to the list.   Also, please let me know if you have an
   interest in a hardcover (or "Deluxe" hardcover) binding
   (or can recommend a binder to use).  Write to me at
   whomren at coinlibrary.com.


PATTERN SET COST SOUGHT

   Saul Teichman writes: "Perhaps our astute bibliomaniacs
   have come across this in one of their auction catalogs or
   other publications:   Does anyone know how much the
   U.S. Mint charged collectors for the 1858 twelve-piece
   one cent pattern sets?"


NUMISMATOGRAPHY

   In the past we've discussed a number of different words
   coined over the years to describe numismatics and
   numismatists.   One word I've seen only once is
   "numismatography".  It appears in the title of a scarce
   pamphlet by Edward V. Wallace: "A Numismatography
   of the Lincoln Head Cent".  The publication date is not
   listed, but seems likely to be after 1950 based on the text.
   The CONECA library catalog (on the ANA web site)
   puts the publication date at 1954-55, and describes it
   as a Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine offprint.

   An internet search uncovered this definition from the 1913
   Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary:
   "Numismatography  (Nu*mis`ma*tog"ra*phy) n. [L.
   numisma, -atis (Gr. ) + -graphy.] A treatise on, or description
   of, coins and medals."

   The search also uncovered this in The Catholic Encyclopedia:
   "... a distinction should be made between numismatography,
   which is chiefly descriptive, and numismatology, which views
   the coin from its artistic, economic and cultural side."
   http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11152a.htm

   Curiously, the word also appears on a web site "dedicated to
   the Proposition that Shakespeare Wrote Shakespeare", noting
   that "every occurrence of any of these words in any text should
   be considered one of Francis Bacon's signatures."  The list of
   716 words also included numismatics, numismatist,
   numismatists, numismatologist and numismatology.
   http://shakespeareauthorship.com/bacauto.html


FINDERS, CURATORS, MUSEUMS

   Continuing the dialogue on "coin shooters", archeologists,
   collectors and museum curators, Larry Lee of the
   American Numismatic Association writes:

   "I can agree with several of David Fanning's points regarding
   coin finds in archeological context, including that it “is a
   touchy subject,” and that it is “a bit off-topic for the E-Sylum.”
   But if I could just revisit the discussion, I might be able to
   clarify a few of my previous points.

   Mr. Fanning said “the vast majority of museum personnel
   across the country know little to nothing about numismatic
   objects.”  While I personally do not know the vast majority
   of museum personnel across the country, I do know Michael
   Bates, Dick Doty, Bob Evans, Gene Hessler, Bob Hoge,
   Louis Jordan, Doug Mudd, Brooks Levy, Alan Stahl, and
   Ute Wartenberg, among others, who do know something
   about coins and museums.

   I also know a good number of other curators who know
   enough about numismatics to know they don't know much
   about numismatics.  These people are more than willing to
   call in outside help if needed.  What we as numismatists must
   do is make sure the museum community knows of the
   numismatic expertise that is available to them, both locally
   and nationally.

   The ANA is trying to address that concern by offering a
   class during Summer Seminar called “Numismatics for the
   Museum Professional.”  The class is advertised in museum
   journals and several scholarships are offered virtually on a
   first-come first-served basis to museum studies students
   and curators.  Last year’s class was a very well received
   and included curators from the National Park Service,
   Cornell University and the New Orleans Museum of Art.

   Coin clubs and individual collectors can also get involved
   if they feel there is a problem by offering their help in
   identifying and attributing the numismatic objects in the
   collection at their local museums. Most museums would
   welcome qualified volunteers.

   In regard to Mr. Fanning's statement that “the odds are
   good that the coins will end up unlabeled, unattributed
   and stuck in storage somewhere,” I would opine that
   most objects in museums, including coins, are in fact very
   well organized, even if they may not be numismatically
   attributed. And rather than castigate museums for having
   objects “stuck in storage,” one must realize that sticking
   things in storage is exactly what museums do: i.e.,
   preserve objects forever, so that future generations can
   have access to them as well as this generation.  It is not
   a crime for a museum to store a coin, it is part of its basic
   job description.

   Nor is it a museum curator's job “to rush out to the scene
   if someone calls reporting a coin or two they found in the
   woods.” Curators take care of objects after they are
   given to a museum. The proper person to report any
   archeological find to is the state archeologist, whose office
   is usually located in the state capital. They will indeed “rush
   out to the scene” if a site warrants rapid excavation: it is
   called salvage archeology and they do it all the time with
   sites uncovered in road and building construction.

   Like Mr. Fanning, I too do not support the idea that "once
   it's in the ground, it should stay there.”  There are many coin
   finds (like the 1971-D cent I found this week in the parking
   lot) that add nothing to the corpus of numismatics and they
   can very well go unreported.  The trick is to know which
   coins add to our knowledge and which clutter up the field
   with useless data. Some seem to believe it is only the
   dedicated coin collector who can make such a determination.
   I think there are a great number of people who have the
   knowledge to make such a decision, and some of them are
   even curators.

   In regard to the Native American Graves Protection and
   Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), I would like to make clear
   I am not defending the law, I am just reporting what it states
   as I understand it.  The NAGPRA act itself is very
   controversial and even unpopular, not just among archeologists
   and curators, but with many legal scholars who question some
   of the basic property right assumptions of this congressional
   act.  The issue is not whether the object (peace medal,
   Northwest beaver token, etc.) was in a burial or not, it is
   whether the Native American community at large, (and not
   just the local affiliated tribe), consider the object to be of
   significant cultural patrimony to their history.  If they do, the
   object must be returned to them, regardless of whether it was
   found by a pot hunter, excavated by an archeologist, or exists
   in a museum as an ethnographic specimen."


POLISH NUMISMATIC WEB SITE

   Gosia Fort writes: "I was browsing the Internet Museum
   of the Polish People's Republic, when I found several items
   related to the field of numismatics. The site is mainly in Polish,
   but here is a brief guideline for the selected pages:

   "Polish People's Republic Money and National Bank of Poland
   bonds" has images of Polish paper money, bond and exchange
   notes issued between 1944-1990.
   http://www.polskaludowa.com/pieniadze.htm"

   "Money and postcards issued by the opposition" includes four
   specimens of paper money issued on Dec. 13th, 1981 (the first
   day of the martial law in Poland and in 1982 during the martial
   law):
   http://www.polskaludowa.com/opozycja/opozycja_okolicznosciowe.htm

    1. Banknot 1 zomol  ("zomol" is a made up word from the
        acronym ZOMO; that stands for the infamous police force
        created in the 80s to enforce the martial law in Poland)
        http://www.polskaludowa.com/opozycja/okolicznosciowe/1_zomol.htm

   2. Banknot 10 zl with Adam Michnik (it has the same design
       as the circulating 10 zl, but pictures Adam Michnik, the
       serial number on the left is the date of introducing martial
       law, the serial number on the right is a date of establishing
       KOR [Committee for Workers' Defence] and the issue
       date is the date of bloody strike in Radom, which lead to
       creating KOR

http://www.polskaludowa.com/opozycja/okolicznosciowe/banknot_Michnik.htm

   3. Banknot 30 srebrnikow (30 silvers with the image of gen.
       Jaruzelski)

http://www.polskaludowa.com/opozycja/okolicznosciowe/30_srebnikow.htm

   4. Banknot 50 groszy  (50 grosz of Solidarity issued during
       the martial law)

http://www.polskaludowa.com/opozycja/okolicznosciowe/50_groszy.htm

   "Documents marked by the opposition"  includes interesting
   examples of marks stamped by the Solidarity on circulating
   money to show that though delegalized and drawn to the
   underground, the Solidarity movement is undefeated and
   still fighting..."


MINT PROCESSES OF THE UNITED STATES

   A pamphlet I came across a few years ago has me
   perplexed, and I'm wondering if any of our E-Sylum
   readers is aware of it.  Titled "Mint Processes of the
   United States," the 39-page booklet, apparently
   produced around 1890-1900, includes 15 black
   and white photos of mint machinery from ingot molds
   to coining presses, along with a great deal of text
   describing the coining process in detail.  Some of the
   sections were authored by:

   Charles E. Barber, Engraver
   Jakob B. Eckfeldt, Assayer
   William E. Morgan, Coiner
   D. K. Tuttle, PhD, Melter and Refiner

   No editor, publisher or publication date and place are
   listed.  I assume it is a U.S. Government publication
   produced at the Philadelphia Mint.  Does this item sound
   familiar to anyone?


W. F. GREANY INFORMATION SOUGHT

   Dave Hirt writes: "At the PAN show in Pittsburgh I purchased
   a fixed price list issued by W.F. Greany in San Francisco,
   dated 1888.   Do any of our readers have more information
   about Greany?   I know that he was an advertiser in The
   Numismatist in the 1890's."

   [Remy Bourne's "Fixed Price Lists & Prices Paid For Lists
   of United States Coin Dealers 1850-1900 Volume I
   Addendum" lists three publications by Greany: a 24-page
   3rd Edition (1884?), a 4-page "Supplement to Catalogue"
   (1887?) and a 48-page 5th Edition [no date listed].  The
   3rd edition is illustrated in the book and it lists Greany's
   address as 827 Brannan Street, San Francisco.

   A web search found one coin with a provenance to Greany:
   an 1872-S half dime (lot 2104 in the Goldbergs' June 2002
   Long beach sale): "From Bowers and Merena's Louis
   Eliasberg Sale, May 1996, lot 1033; earlier from W. F.
   Greany, February 1905 to the J.M. Clapp collection until
  1942, then to the Eliasberg collection."
   http://www.goldbergcoins.net/catalogarchive/20020602/chap053.shtml
   -Editor]


KRAUSE PUBLICATIONS HISTORY

   At the P.A.N. show last weekend, Clifford Mishler spoke
   about Krause Publications history and the history of the
   coin collecting hobby in the U.S.  As a surprise bonus for
   attendees, he distributed several copies of "Pioneer Publisher:
   The Story of Krause Publications' First 50 Years".  Printed
   in 2001, the 240-page illustrated hardcover book written by
   Arlyn G. Sieber tells the history of Iola, WI, Chester Krause
   and his family, Numismatic News and Krause Publications.
   Great job!


MOTTO FIGHT MOVES TO POST OFFICES

   An October 30, 2002 article in The Houston Chronicle
   relates a story of a fight over the motto "In God We Trust"
   on display at local post offices.

   "What is good for the U.S. Mint is evidently not acceptable
   to the U.S. Postal Service.

   A post office in Montgomery north of Houston recently
   learned that it had to remove a framed poster of the national
   motto "In God We Trust" because it violates postal regulations.

   The donated 16-by-20-inch poster, which is matted and
   secured in a gold frame, displays "In God We Trust" in large
   white letters over the American flag colors.  It states at the
   bottom that the "national motto was approved by Congress
   and President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956."

   Retired chemical engineer Frank P. Williamson spent $3,000
   purchasing 300 of the posters, had them framed, and then
   donated them to city halls, schools, libraries, police stations
   and post offices across Montgomery County, where they've
   hung since this summer. "

   "Postal spokesman David Lewin, in Houston, said the
   Montgomery post office had not been authorized to hang
   the poster and was forced to remove it because it "did not
   fit within postal guidelines."

   "The motto was first used on a 2-cent coin minted in 1864,
   and now federal law dictates its inscription on all coins and
   paper money. It is also prominently engraved in the wall
   above the speaker's dais in the U.S. House of Representatives
   and appears over the entrance to the U.S. Senate chamber."

   http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/metropolitan/1641182


RANDOM QUOTES OF THE WEEK

   Bill Murray submitted a couple of unrelated quotes touching
   on numismatics and bibliomania.  The second has been seen
   before in The E-Sylum, but it's worth running again:

   "Monetism -- the worship of money, so also Monetist -- one
   who practices monetism."  English Oxford Dictionary"

   "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend.  Inside of a
   dog it's too dark to read."  Groucho Marx

   Your editor stumbled the following quote yesterday.  From
   the rear cover of the November 8, 1932 B. Max Mehl
   catalog of the R. Taylor sale (and undoubtedly published
   elsewhere as well by George Kolbe) comes this translated
   quote from the will of Edmond de Goncourt:

   "My wish is that my Drawing, my Prints, my Curiosities,
   my Books -- in a word, these things of art which have
   been the joy of my life -- shall not be consigned to the
   cold tomb of a museum, and subjected to the stupid glance
   of the passer-by; but I require that they shall all be
   dispersed under the hammer of the Auctioneer, so that
   the pleasure which the acquiring of each one of them has
   given me shall be given again, in each case, to some
   inheritor of my own tastes."

   de Goncourt's thoughts are a bit tangential to the above
   discussion of museums, but it could kick off an interesting
   new thread.  Personally, I'm on both sides of the fence on
   the issue - I feel that a few of my possessions would serve
   their highest purpose as part of a museum collection, yet
   also feel strongly that the bulk of my collections should be
   sold someday, ensuring that each, as per de Goncourt's
   wishes, will end up in the hands of the individual (or
   institution) which prizes it the most.


WORK ON UNISSUED COINS OF CHRISTIAN X PUBLISHED

   Jørgen Sømod writes: "I have just published a booklet titled
   "Christian X's Projekterede Mønter" (Never issued coins
   from Christian X (1912-47), Denmark, Danish West Indies
   and Iceland)  Many illustrations of coin projects, text in
   Danish only, 40 pages, $ 10,- postpaid all over the World."
   For further details, write to Jørgen at: numis at vip.cybercity.dk


1881 PLATINUM MEDAL SOUGHT

   J. Moens of Dilbeek, Belgium writes: "I am preparing an article
   on the use of platinum for numismatic purposes.  W. Fuchs
   mentions in his catalogue a medal, struck in 1881 on the
   occasion of the International Cotton Exhibition in Atlanta.  This
   medal is said to show a train, and is supposed to be in gold-
   plated platinum.  Would any of the readers of the E-Sylum
   have more information on this medal ?   Can it be found in a
   public collection ?  Any information would be appreciated.
   Thank you for your cooperation."


THE FIRST (REAL) COIN SLAB?

   My tongue-in-cheek headline for last week's item about
   1965 U.S. pattern coins encased in lucite prompted this
   note from Gar Travis, ANA Assistant National Club
   Coordinator:

   "The first "sonically" sealed coin slab was in the mid-
   1970s by The South African Gold Coin Exchange
   (Johannesburg) under the direction of then president /
   owner Eli Levine. Eli is a long time ANA member and
   represents the ANA's interests in South Africa as
   Country Ambassador in the ANA Club Representative
   Program. I have one of the first "slabs" locked in one
   of my safes and would take it out and photograph it
   for view...but I haven't been able to find the combination
   for that safe in two years."

   Mark Borchardt reports: "Regarding the "First Slab" ,
   your concept is only about 125 years late.  The late Russ
   Logan wrote an article that appeared in Volume 12, Number
   3 (December 1999) of the John Reich Journal. His article,
   "Slabbing Circa 1840," described a glass pitcher that he and
   his wife Brenda owned, containing an 1834 Capped Bust
   dime blown directly into the pitcher.  A fascinating, well-
   written article.  Brenda still has this glass pitcher, and it is
   really neat."

   [The headline on last week's item was mine, not Saul
   Teichman's - he wasn't attempting to define his item as the
   first slab - it was just my attempt at humor, which doesn't
   always work.  But all's well that ends well - now we have
   some interested references to other early forms of coin
   encasement.  -Editor]


MAKING NUMISMATIC WEB SITES MORE POPULAR

   On Monday October 28th, Grzegorz Kryszczuk  wrote
   the following note on the CoinWebs list (for builders of
   numismatic web sites:

   "While working on my page of numismatic links I came
   across a somewhat disturbing phenomenon:  many links
   which once led to innocuous sites now lead to sites which
   peddle so called "adult" material.

   One site which was once a numismatic bibliography project
   is now something much, much different. Similar fate has
   befallen quite a few other sites/pages.

   Apparently, the purveyors of porn are no longer content
   to distribute their wares from domains they legitimately
   own, but also buy and abuse domains which have fallen
   into disuse.

   So, the gist of the warning is:  if you have a page of links
   on your site, better check them carefully on a periodic
   basis, because they may not lead to the original content
   anymore. Your visitors might be quite shocked when they
   click on a link to a page which ONCE was about coin
   cabinets."


FEATURED WEB SITE

   This week's featured web site is on "cobs that were made
   in the Spanish territory of what is now Colombia."
   [the site is best viewed with Internet Explorer, and does
   not seem to contain any pornographic material]

      http://www.macuquina.com/


  Wayne Homren
  Numismatic Bibliomania Society


  The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a
  non-profit organization promoting numismatic
  literature.   For more information please see
  our web site at http://www.coinbooks.org/
  There is a membership application available on
  the web site.  To join, print the application and
  return it with your check to the address printed
  on the application.   For those without web access,
  write to David Sklow, NBS Secretary-Treasurer,
  P.O. Box 76192, Ocala, FL  34481.

  For Asylum mailing address changes and other
  membership questions, contact Dave at this email
  address: sdsklow at aol.com

   (To be removed from the E-Sylum mailing list
   send an email message with the word "Unsubscribe"
   in the body of the message to:
   esylum-request at binhost.com)