The E-Sylum v6#17, April 27, 2003

[whomren at coinlibrary.com]

Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 6, Number 17, April 27, 2003:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2003, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.


SUBSCRIBER UPDATE

   Among recent new subscribers are Jeff Chapman, courtesy
   of Darryl Atchison, David Andre Levi and returning subscriber
   Peter Mosiondz, Jr.   Welcome aboard, and Welcome back!
   We now have 547 subscribers.  Can we reach 600 by the
   annual meeting of NBS this summer?   Subscribers are our
   best promoters.  If you know someone who might enjoy The
   E-Sylum, just send me their email address and they can review
   it at their leisure.   They can also sign themselves up using the
   instructions at the end of each issue.  This is also the preferred
   to update your subscription when changing email addresses.


BANK HISTORY MILESTONE

   Bob Cochran writes: "The constant quality of the "E-Sylum"
   is such that I take it for granted.  WELL DONE!

   I thought you might like to know that I recently added the
   800th bank/banking history to my reference library.  I include
   the histories of specific NOTE-ISSUING banks (Obsoletes,
   Nationals & or both), as well as histories of banking in a
   particular entity, such as a city, county, state or region.  I
   have them cataloged, using a rather rudimentary program
   - "Mail List Deluxe."  It's functional, but not very flexible -
   or "user-friendly."   If you or any of the E-Sylum subscribers
   have a recommendation of a better cataloging tool for me,
   I'd certainly appreciate hearing about them.  I need to print
   a listing, and the program I'm using does not produce the
   results I'd like."


BULGARIAN REFERENCE SOUGHT

   Tom Wooldridge writes: "I wonder if someone in the group
   can recommend a reference on medieval Bulgarian coins,
   and also where I might purchase it."


1864 L INDIAN CENT QUERY

   Dave Bowers at qdbarchive at metrocast.net writes:
   "Does anyone known when first there was numismatic
   recognition in print of the 1864 bronze Indian cent with L
   (for Longacre) on the ribbon? An early price list? An
   early auction appearance?

   Peripherally related to this are restrikes of the 1864 L
   Proof cent which, per Rick Snow, were made at a later
   date, say the early 1870s, and novodels of the 1863 L
   cent made in the late 1860s (determined by matching the
   reverse die characteristics with regular Indian cent Proofs).
   The question is this: Did the restrikers realize they were
   making “1863 L” and “1864 L” cents at the time, or was
   it the luck of the draw that, for the 1863 L cent, a with-L
   master die was used (such master dies having been first
   created in summer 1864)?"


U.S. COUNTERFEITING OPERATION INFO SOUGHT

   David Fanning writes:  "Richard J. Aldrich, co-editor of the
   British journal "Intelligence and National Security," wrote to
   me with an inquiry that the E-Sylum community may be able
   to help with. Aldrich wrote, "I am an academic historian and
   I am doing a little research on suggestions that the US tried
   to undermine the communist Chinese and the North Vietnamese
   economies by printing counterfeit currency in the Philippines
   at their 'seafront' facility in the 1960s (the British did some of
   this in Asia during WWII).  Do you happen to know of
   anything that has been written about this, or anyone who might
   be able to help me?"   If anyone may be able to assist in pointing
   Aldrich in the right direction, please let me know. Many thanks
   in advance."   [David's email address is fanning32 at earthlink.net
   -Editor]


FT. KNOX INFORMATION SOUGHT

   David Fanning also forwarded this query from Lisa Mao,
   a producer at Indigo Films: "I am currently doing research for
   a documentary we are producing on Fort Knox for the Travel
   Channel and am looking for an historian or expert on the Fort
   Knox gold depository facility.  I noticed that the NBS published
   a book on the US Mint in San Francisco and was hoping that
   your organization might have some suggestions on who to
   contact regarding the Fort Knox site. Are there any experts
   that you can recommend?  Thank you for your time and I look
   forward to your response."

   [Well, NBS didn't publish the San Francisco book, although
    it was mentioned in The E-Sylum.  But we do have experts
    in a lot of areas.  Anyone familiar with Fort Knox history?
    -Editor]


HITLER, SCHIMDTLER

   In response to last week's numismatic birthdays item, Len
   Augsberger writes: "Historians have asked if Hitler could
   have risen to power using the name  "Schicklgrueber".
   Would the seemingly comedic name itself have cost him
   enough credibility to hinder his ambition?

   The Three Stooges, well known Jewish entertainers who
   made several anti-Nazi film shorts, occasionally used the
   word "Schicklgrueber" in various contexts and must have
   asked themselves the same question."


DEMISE OF THE NEW YORK SUBWAY TOKEN

   As noted by Dick Johnson and others in previous
   E-Sylum issues, the classic New York City subway
   token is now a thing of the past.  Newsday had a nice
   article in the April 13th issue, the last day the tokens
   were sold. (They may still be used through May 4).

   "It's oftentimes been said that the token was the special
   coinage of New York,"  said Steve Zeitlin, director of the
   New York Center for Urban Folk Culture."

   http://www.nynewsday.com/nyc-nytoke133218800apr13,0,6408370.story


GOBRECHT JOURNAL AND KRAUSE A.P.R. AVAILABILITY

   In response to last week's query, Michael Schmidt adds:
   "Not only has the Gobrecht Journal #3 been published,
   but I am almost certain that it is still available from the
   LSCC.   The last "newsletter" I received from them was,
   if I remember correctly, still offering all four volumes."

   [The Liberty Seated Collectors Society (LSCC) address
   is:  Mark Sheldon, Secretary-Treasurer, P.O. Box 261,
   Wellington, OH 44090, USA.  -Editor]

   Nancy Green, Librarian of the American Numismatic
   Association writes:  "The ANA library has two copies of
   Krause's 1991 Auction Prices Realized for loan to ANA
   members."

   In response to the earlier queries, Brad Karoleff writes: "I
   recently obtained a copy of one of the Krause auction prices
   realized books that had been missing from my library directly
   from Krause.  Give them a call to see if they have any remaining
   in stock.  It worked for me!

   As for the Gobrecht collective volume, you  can order one
   from John McCloskey.  His address is probably in one of the
   other collective volumes."


ANS LENDING POLICY

   Regarding the book lending policies of the ANS vs ANA,
   Henry Bergos writes: "The ANS Library is staffed by three
   overworked people.  If there were more members/contributors
   to the ANS there might be the ability to circulate books.

   When there are limited requests Frank has an excellent
   reputation for helping people, member or not, with their
   research. On site he is invaluable - including to me who has
   been going there for about 40 years. My favorite institution!"


THE 960 REIS OVERSTRIKES BOOK

   In response to Ralf Boepple's query about the 2002
   book, "Os Recumbos de 960 Reis - The 960 Reis
   Overstrikes" by David Andre Levi,  Ron Haller-Williams
   writes:

   "I have seen this book, and I reckon it's very good - I
   intend to buy a copy myself.  By the way, the title is
   "Os Recunhos ..."    I would suggest Ralf get in touch
   with the author.

   "David is a regular contributor to the "moedas" e-group,
   which focuses mostly on Brazilian numismatics and is
   mostly (but not entirely!) in Portuguese.  Ralf (and others)
   could  join through its "home page" at
   http://www.egroups.com/list/moedas/

   In a message of 12 Aug 02, he says: "The book will be sold
   from 11 Sept. ... it is probable that some dealers are already
   acquiring it  and will sell it.  However, it can be ordered (in
   Brazil only) direct from me, through my personal email,
   which is amelialevy at uol.com.br

   The price will be 70 Reais {ABOUT US$20).  It will have
   a higher price for USA and Europe.  I don't yet know the
   price of Sedex {special, equiv. of FedEx}, which depends
    on the weight of the book {and on the distance, obviously}."

   His messages of 13 & 14
   Aug 02 are also of interest, possibly giving some details not
   mentioned in Westdal's review.

   14 Aug:   [It's English/Portuguese, which I think is called
   simultaneous translation, that is to say, the text in Portuguese
   is in the left-hand column and English on the right,  All the
   tables and captions of photos are in Portuguese, while
   using "numismatic" terms as much as possible. The terms in
   English (tables, captions) can be translated through a small
   glossary.

   There are 212 pages in total, the first 12 are not numbered
    (cataloguing data, acknowledgments, dedication, etc...),
    consequently the last page is {number} 200.  Approximately
   304 photos, that is to say, 304 PAIRS of coins,  between
   originals and restrikes.

   Size: It's larger than a normal book, ... 250mm high by 210mm
   wide {approx. 9.8 inches high by 8.3 inches wide}.  Could be
   a little more or less, I don't remember now.   Paper 115gsm,
   hard cover, coloured dust jacket. A luxury...]

   I don't think there's much more to say, except that in my opinion
   it seems to be more of a necessity than a luxury for those who
   are interested in this series, which includes some Bank of
   England pieces."

   It seems this book has pride of place in Spinks' "books" section
   at http://www.spinkandson.com/rel2/stock/books/home.shtml
   where it is priced at £30 (that's some $45)  plus  P&P or S&H.
   The page gives some further information, including identifying
   the cover coin and showing the print run (only 500, apparently).

   For those in the U.S. who prefer to order from a domestic
   dealer, Bill Malkmus writes: "I can supply some answers to
   Ralf Boepple's inquiry about two new books mentioned by
   Stu Westdal in the latest Ponterio catalog.   I talked to Stu
   today and he told me that the two books will be stocked by
   Ponterio, although they are not in at the moment.  The "960
   Reis Overstrikes" book will be $50; the Philippine
   counterstamp book will be $125 (both plus shipping).  If he
   has further interest, he can e-mail Stu at coins at ponterio.com.
   Keep up the great work!"


TETRADRACHMA?

   Regarding last week's mention of the discovery of a rare
   "half-ounce silver coin known as the Petra Drachma,"
   Bob Leonard writes: "I might be wrong, but I would guess
   that Hanan Eshel called this coin a "tetradrachma."


A NUMISMATIC BOOMERANG

   Ray Williams writes: "A year or so ago, I was bidding on a
   Maris book on NJ Coppers.  There was little description to it
   and I bid low (about $15 if I remember).  When I received the
   book in the mail, I found it to be the Ken Morrison half size
   reprint with the half size photographic Maris Plate!  Not only
   was this a great surprise in itself, along with the book was one
   of the full size Maris Plates that Charlie Davis sells.  But the
   icing on the cake was still to come...  Years ago, I had
   communicated with Walter Breen and with his help made a
   chart to convert Maris numbers to Breen numbers and Breen
   numbers to Maris numbers.  This chart was published in the
   Early American Coppers journal Penny Wise and the owner
   of this Maris book thought enough of what I did to include a
   copy of my charts with this book.  I know that at least one
   person used the charts!"


CARLOS JARA BOOKS

   Alan Luedeking writes: "Here's another little update on Carlos
   Jara's works, about which I've occasionally spouted off in The
   E-Sylum: The book on the Coquimbo mint, which he published
   in a limited edition of only 50 numbered examples in March
   sold out within two days of its announcement in the E-Sylum,
   with the bulk of the orders coming from within the USA and a
   few from Europe and South America.  The ANA library, ANS
   library, and Numismatics International library each have a copy,
   should anyone who missed out wish to consult it.  Now for the
   good news: his long awaited book on the obsidional and necessity
   issues of Valdivia is now ready too. Even more exciting, his
   groundbreaking work on the first issues of the Santiago mint will
   also soon be forthcoming. This work will present the detailed
   original mintage figures for all the silver pillar and early gold
   denominations (fully backed up by the original documentation
   which even the great José Toribio Medina was never able to
   discover, despite much trying) along with previously unknown
   historical information on the operation of this mint, particularly
   the exact chronological identification of the assayers as well
   as other mint employees.

   Also look for a very interesting essay on the 1751 pillar issues
   of Lima, upcoming in the N.I. Bulletin. It would seem Carlos
   has thrown off a promising career as a transportation engineer
   for the love of full-time numismatic research. Of course, youth
   and great discipline make such an undertaking possible, but it
   takes guts too, I think.  Now, a bit more on the Valdivia work:
   Obsidional and necessity issues of Chile were first documented
   by Medina in two different works, his 1902 "Las Monedas
   Chilenas" and his 1919 "Las Monedas Obsidionales Chilenas".
   However, his extensive research did not present enough
   documentation to fully understand the significance and historical
   context of some of these issues, among which two stand out for
   their importance: the obsidional 1 Peso cast coins of Chiloé
   (about which Jara published a monograph in 2000), and the
   Valdivia issues dated 1822. It is no coincidence that the latter
   have remained obscure until recently, not only as concerns their
   history but also as regards their very status as genuine or
   counterfeit. Jara's new, intensively researched book on the
   Valdivia issues explains and presents a great amount of
   heretofore  unpublished original documentation, which not
   only reveals the true nature of these emissions, but also the
   correct interpretation and meaning of the enigmatic APDEVA
   monogram counterstamp that is to be found on some of the
   coins.

   Parallel to this, an unknown emission of necessity paper money
   is documented, which eventually evolved into the well known
   issues of the 1840's (Pick # S-101 and S-102). This book,
   which is as groundbreaking as Jara's previous work on the
   Coquimbo mint, is now available in a limited edition of just 60
   numbered hardcover examples, thoroughly illustrated, but,
   and here's the rub, this time it's only in Spanish!  Anybody
   wanting one can address an order directly to the author at
   <clejara at yahoo.com>. The books are anticipated to ship
   near the end of May, 2003, from Miami."


COME WITH ME, MY NUMISMATIC FRIEND

   The April 3-9, 2003 issue of Metro, "Silicon Valley's
   Weekly Newspaper" includes a review of an interesting
   book by Paul Collins' titled "Sixpence House: Lost in a
   Town of Books." (Bloomsbury; $23.95 cloth).

   "A few years back, Collins, author of Banvard's Folly...
   and an editor for McSweeney's Books, packed up his wife,
   his young son and about 3,000 books and moved from San
   Francisco to Hay-on-Wye, a little town in Wales that boasts
   two score secondhand and antiquarian bookstores."

   "The real characters in Sixpence House are the books
   themselves. Collins wades through teetering tomes, rescuing
   such orphans as "an 1893 volume titled Current Coins, Picked
   Up at the Railway Station, in which S.Q. Lapius begins with
   the immortal invocation 'Come with me, my numismatic friend ...'"

   http://www.metroactive.com/papers/metro/04.03.03/sixpence-0314.html

   Has anyone seen or heard of the Lapius book?  Is it a novel?
   One with a numismatic theme?   I'd never heard of it before
   seeing this reference.   I assume I would have heard of it before
   if it were related to U.S. numismatics - could it be a British
   publication?


FEATURED WEB SITE

   This week's featured web site is a nice summary of the events
   leading up to the addition of the motto "In God We Trust" to
   United States paper money.  The phrase was added to the
   two-cent piece in 1864.  Numismatist Matt Rothert of
   Arkansas led the effort to extend the motto to U.S. paper
   money.  The site includes images of contemporary newspaper
   articles describing Rothert's campaign, which culminated in
   1955 when the enabling legislation was signed into law by
   President Eisenhower.

      http://asms.k12.ar.us/armem/martin/


  Wayne Homren
  Numismatic Bibliomania Society


  The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a
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