The E-Sylum v7#28, July 11, 2004
whomren at coinlibrary.com
whomren at coinlibrary.com
Sun Jul 11 18:50:59 PDT 2004
Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 7, Number 28, July 11, 2004:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2004, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
SUBSCRIBER UPDATE
Among recent new subscribers is William David Coe,
courtesy of David Phillips. Welcome aboard! We now
have 668 subscribers.
ANNIVERSARY OF BRYAN MONEY SPEECH
On July 9, 1896, William Jennings Bryan's "Cross of Gold"
speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago
caused a sensation with his denunciation of supporters of
the gold standard. Bryan went on to win the party's nomination.
From the George Mason University "History Matters"
web pages:
"The most famous speech in American political history was
delivered by William Jennings Bryan on July 9, 1896, at the
Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The issue was
whether to endorse the free coinage of silver at a ratio of silver
to gold of 16 to 1. (This inflationary measure would have
increased the amount of money in circulation and aided
cash-poor and debt-burdened farmers.) After speeches on
the subject by several U.S. Senators, Bryan rose to speak.
The thirty-six-year-old former Congressman from Nebraska
aspired to be the Democratic nominee for president, and he
had been skillfully, but quietly, building support for himself
among the delegates. His dramatic speaking style and rhetoric
roused the crowd to a frenzy. The response, wrote one reporter,
"came like one great burst of artillery." Men and women
screamed and waved their hats and canes. "Some," wrote
another reporter, "like demented things, divested themselves of
their coats and flung them high in the air." The next day the
convention nominated Bryan for President on the fifth ballot."
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5354/
The political debate over Bryan's proposal led to the production
of numismatic items now called "Bryan Money" In the July
1926 issue of The Numismatist Farran Zerbe published "Bryan
Money Tokens of the Presidential Campaigns of 1896 and 1900
Comparative and Satirical," the standard reference for Bryan
Money for decades. Fred Schornstein's 2001 work updated
and replaced the Zerbe catalog.
Is anyone aware of an online exhibit of Bryan Money? I was
unable to locate any. -Editor
E-SYLUM & NUMISMATIC THEATRE
Richard Margolis writes: "I, too, will be giving a Numismatic
Theatre talk in Pittsburgh. The subject will be the famous
French Monetary Competition of 1791, based on original
research and on my many years of collecting this series, and
profusely slide illustrated. It will be concerned to a great extent
with the medallists who entered the competition, actually two
separate competitions in 1791, the ultimate winner being
named Engraver-General of France. Three of the engravers
were responsible a few years earlier for the Comitia
Americana series of medals, which will also be illustrated.
The talk is scheduled for Thursday, August 19 at 3:00p.m..
The ANA, in its infinite wisdom, has scheduled my talk
opposite the general meeting of the Medal Collectors of
America, which will insure that those most likely to be
interested in the subject matter will be elsewhere, so there
should be plenty of seats."
[E-Sylum subscribers are very well represented among
Numismatic Theatre speakers. For the full convention
schedule, go to the American Numismatic Association's
web site at: http://www.money.org/conventiondept.html
With so much going on simultaneously at the show,
scheduling is a herculean task and I don't envy those who
have to do it. I do know the ANA staff does its best to
accommodate every club and speaker's requests, but
oftentimes it's not until the full schedule is published that
conflicts can be seen. -Editor]
SUPPLEMENTAL ANA CONVENTION WEB PAGES
If you'll allow me to put on my hat as General Chairman
of the convention for a moment, I'd like to point out a
resource our local committee has put together for
conventiongoers. The show is coming up quickly, and
those of you still finalizing your plans should find some
of the information of use. To supplement the American
Numismatic Association web pages, we've developed
a set of additional pages on the web site of PAN,
the Pennsylvania Association of Numismatists, one of
the three host clubs. The web address is:
http://www.pancoins.org/ana/
The web pages have additional information about parking,
public transportation, and restaurants in the area, ordered
by proximity to the convention center. Of particular interest
should be the Tours section, which has information about
convention tours and special events, such as the two tours
we've arranged with the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks
Foundation to local sites of numismatic interest. Finally, there
are links to web sites with a wide range of information on
other things to do and see while in the city. The convention
will be held August 18-22 at the new David L. Lawrence
Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA. With just five weeks
to go, it's time to finalize your plans. I hope to see many of
you there.
One thing all of you can do to help our fellow conventioneers
is to publicize these web pages so they can benefit as many
people as possible. There is a link from the ANA convention
web page, but not everyone will find it or even know to look
for it. Please forward the link to everyone you know who is
thinking of attending the convention. Ask your local club
secretary to publish it in your next newsletter, or place the
link on your club or personal web sites. We have some readers
in the numismatic press, and a mention of the link in an upcoming
newspaper or e-newsletter issue could benefit many
readers. Thank you for your assistance. Again, the link is:
http://www.pancoins.org/ana/
BARRELS OF MONEY
Regarding last week's question about the "Barrels of Money"
painting, Harry Waterson writes: "There is a wonderful catalog
entitled: "Old Money: American Trompe L'Oeil Images of
Currency", Nov. 11 - Dec. 17, 1988. Berry-Hill Galleries,
Inc., NY, NY. It contains a very good essay by Bruce W.
Chambers who notes that Victor Dubreuil did up to seven
images of Barrels of Money. This exhibition had four of them,
two from private collections, one from Brandywine River
Museum and one from the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg,
Florida. This exhibition was a joint effort of the Berry-Hill
Gallery and the Federal Reserve System's Fine Arts Program,
Mary Anne Goley, Director.
The foreword of the catalog speaks of the Federal Reserve's
support for "...the formation and development of a distinguished
fine arts program.". Such was not always the case with our
government institutions. According to the essayist, one of the
Barrels of Money paintings was seized and destroyed by the
Secret Service in accordance with the provisions of the 1909
anti-forgery act.
Since Mary Anne Goley participated in the Berry-Hill Exhibition,
she should know if the Feds Barrels of Money is one of the four
exhibited there or is new to the room.
PS. Wouldn't it be a grand conceit if the Treasury Dept. failed to
destroy their Barrels of Money and just recycled it over to the
Federal Reserve?"
[If I took the time each week to consult my own library, I
wouldn't ask so many questions. But hearing everyone's
responses is half the fun of editing The E-Sylum, and we usually
learn something new that isn't already in print. I've got the
Berry-Hill catalog and agree that it's a wonderful resource on
this interesting genre. - I'll check out the essay. -Editor]
WAGNER MEDAL CORRESPONDENCE
Ken Schultz writes: "Below is an item I happened across that
I think our subscribers will find interesting. My correspondence
has been with Mr. Brian Parkhill at Bauman Rare Books in
Philadelphia. My hope is that our illustrious readership will
jump on board with other fascinating tidbits related to this!
Thanks."
[While we generally do not publish individual for-sale items,
when an important item worthy of discussion appears, we'll
make an exception. This is certainly an interesting item, so
here goes. We'd love to hear reader comments. The asking
price is $20,000. -Editor]
WAGNER, Richard. Autograph letter signed. Bayreuth:
September 8, 1876.
Leaf measures 8-1/2 inches by 11 inches, folded to form
two leaves.
Autograph letter signed by Wagner discussing his design for
a medal, with drawings in pencil by Wagner of the design
featuring the three central mythic objects of the Ring cycle.
The letter reads:
"Dear old friend, My wife told me that you have kindly
agreed to design for Loharpt(?) in Vienna a drawing for a
little medal which I want to distribute at my staged festivals
to participants. Would you be so kind; I suggest the
Nibelungen ring pierced by Wotan's spear and Siegfried's
sword. On the cover some words like: To his festival
companions Richard Wagner 1876 or something similar.
Be so kind as to drop me a word about this if you really
want to go to the effort. How happy I was to greet you
again before one of my works. Hope you enjoyed it.
Heartfelt greetings. Your old friend, Richard Wagner."
The drawings on the recto include three renderings of the
medal's image along with an individual image of the sword
and various decorative flourishes. In 1876, 28 years after
it was first conceived, Der Ring des Nibelungen was
first performed in its entirety at the Bayreuth opera house
built specifically to its needs. Performed in three complete
cycles in August, the Ring's last performance preceded this
letter by only one week. The three mythic objects that form
Wagner's design are the central objects of the cycle: the
quest for the ring is the motivation of the story, the God
Wotan derives all his power from the spear, and Siegfried's
sword is what finally destroys the spear and through it the
powers of the gods."
CLEARING HOUSE ASSOCIATION ARCHIVE
Another fascinating numismatic item up for sale is a
letter archive of the Los Angeles Clearing House
Association 1907-1908 containing over 100 pieces of
correspondence relating to the financial panic of that era
and the issuance of Clearing House Certificates as a
currency substitute during the panic. The archive is
lot 2576 in the upcoming Smythe auction no. 240,
July 24, 2004.
MILLION CENT FOLLOWUP
Bob Fritsch writes: "As an interesting sidelight to the Million
Pennies (OK, cents) article, there was serious discussion on
the Elongateds discussion group about buying the hoard and
distributing it among the members. The hoard was entirely
bronze cents, and those are highly desirable to the knowledgeable
elongated collector. Nobody had the $10K to buy the coins
though, so the thread died. The guy finally found a bank that
would take them at no extra charge."
The Daily News published a follow-up story on July 8:
"The frustrated collector of a million pennies found a buyer to
relieve him of his burden: Vons/Pavilions agreed to purchase
the coins and donate half to charity.
After a Daily News story last week about his quandary, the
Granada Hills resident was deluged with media interview offers
from around the world and requests for his lowly coppers."
"When the dust settled, England agreed to an offer from
Safeway Inc., owner of Vons/Pavilions supermarkets.
On July 15, Safeway will send out armored cars for England's
20,000 rolls of coins. They will then be transported to a
Pavilions in Burbank, which will convert them into cash."
"One guy wanted to buy a million pennies to pay off his
lawyer. Another wanted them to pay his federal taxes. A
woman called to say she needed them to avoid foreclosure
on her house.
TV, radio and print media called from as far away as
London and Canada to cash in on the Granada Hills collection.
England was even featured on an Iranian radio station."
http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200~20954~2261364,00.html
BANK-RELATED COLLECTIBLES
The June 2004 issue of Numismatic Views, edited by E-Sylum
subscriber Nolan Mims for the Gulf Coast Numismatic
Association, has a nice article by Nolan on associated
collectibles of interest to bank note collectors, including
postcard views, old checks, stock certificates, coin banks,
and advertising and promotional items issued by the bank.
Naturally, he also mentions bank histories, noting, "Many
banks have books written about them, particularly if they
have been in existence for a long time." He goes on to list
some of the histories written about Alabama banks.
2009 CENT IDEAS FLOW
Dick Johnson writes: "Gary Dunaier had the greatest idea for
the 2009 Lincoln Cent! Return to those days of yesteryear
with the original Wheat Reverse by VDB. Use Victor Brenner's
original galvano pattern dieshell! The one in which his full name
is signed on the lower reverse, not just the VDB initials.
This dieshell still exists in the Philadelphia Mint die vaults. I
held it in my hand in 1972 (centennial year Brenner's birth)
when a group of Brenner fans held a centennial exhibit of
Brenner's coins and medals at the Chase Bank Money Museum
then in New York City's Rockefeller Center. We asked Mint
Director Eva Adams if she could send something for this
exhibit. She did! She sent Frank Gasparro the original
Brenner cent plaster models and the original copper galvano
dieshells for both obverse and reverse made from those
plaster models!
Frank was most gracious. Before he let us put the items
behind the wall of glass in the exhibit room he allowed each
of us to have our photos taken with him, the original models
and dieshells. Then he signed autographs all day long for the
public. Certainly a highpoint of my life.
Unfortunately Frank had to return them to the Mint vaults after
this one-day Saturday showing. (The exhibit continued for
several more weeks however.) But Frank told us this was the
first time the models and dieshells had been outside of Mint
vaults since the 1910 Exhibition of the Contemporary Medal,
also in New York City, at the American Numismatic Society.
I also would like to see Brenner's reverse with his name signed
in full in script like on the original model for the 2009 Cent.
Great Idea, Gary! Can we carry your idea one step further?
Can only 484,000 be struck at San Francisco -- with "S"
mintmark obviously -- this was, of course, the original 1909
mintage. And 27,995,000 struck at Philadelphia. And
unlimited striking at the Denver Mint (since it didn't strike any
cents until 1911).
If someone at the U.S. Mint is reading this, would you kindly
reserve front-row seats at the Philadelphia Mint First-Strike
Lincoln Cent Centennial Ceremony for Gary and me?"
[This could be fun if the Mint has any imagination. -Editor]
QUIZ ANSWERS: ROYAL NUMISMATISTS
Only one response to last week's quiz question about the
famous royal numismatists of history:
Gar Travis writes: "This question really depends on what
Royal Society you are determining as producer of Royal
Numismatists. Of course there are those of England, Canada,
Australia and New Zealand, who have royal numismatic
societies of note. For England one the greatest of all Royal
Numismatists would be John Lee founding president of the
Royal Numismatic Society of London in 1838. This society
would become the Royal Numismatic Society. The British
Numismatic Society has given us many numismatists of note,
who have been acclaimed by royalty, such as Graham Dyer,
O.B.E. , curator of the Royal Mint Museum at Llantrisant,
Wales. There are so many others, that I dare not name one
lest I miss another worthy of praise."
THE PRONUNCIATION OF FECIT
Jess Gaylor writes: "I thought I would confuse the issue with
the word fecit - why don't we just call it a fatchit and not
confuse laymen as myself?"
Dick Johnson writes: " I like criticism. Thanks to Ron Ambler,
Ken Berger and Martin Purdy for your comments in regard to
my item on the correct pronunciation of “fecit,” the Latin word
found on medals in full or, more often, abbreviated in as many
ways as you can cut up the word.
I learn from your comments. (Always amazed at E-Sylum
readers’ total knowledge!) I took for my authority Webster’s
Unabridged Third Edition (the one that weighs eleven pounds
and is missing its spine from 50 year’s overuse). It revealed to
me the FEE-sit pronunciation. My Oxford Abridged and
Cassell’s Latin dictionaries were no help whatsoever. Thus I
thought this was the only English pronunciation.
FAY-chit does sound better, as all three of my critics pointed
out, than FEE-sit. I will note both in future writing. (Sorry,
Martin, I didn’t get the joke of the British comedy skit. You
got a better funny?)
[I believe the mispronounced word was "alibi" -Editor]
IKE DOLLAR HOARD ON EBAY
I guess everything *is* bigger in Texas, where a man has
upped the ante on the million cent hoard with a four and and
half ton pile of Eisenhower dollars. From the man's press
release:
"More than twenty years ago, a Texas man's casual hobby
of throwing aside Ike dollar coins as he ran across them,
eventually turned into a monstrous collection that he's selling
as one lot on eBay. The coins, legal tender though they haven't
been produced by the U.S. mint for more than a quarter
century, weigh an amazing 8,750 pounds ... almost four and a
half tons."
"Aside from the weight, he thinks the most interesting thing
about the collection is an accumulation of facts he compiled
about the 175,000 coins. For instance, he says that if they
were placed vertically in one single stack, the coins would
soar 1,458 feet high. "That's 472 feet taller than the Eiffel
Tower ... more than two and a half times the height of the
Washington Monument, and two hundred feet taller than the
Empire State Building." He also says if they were laid side by
side on the ground in a straight line, they would be longer
than 73 football fields end-to-end."
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040709/daf010_1.html
MORE DIM-WITTED BANK ROBBER STORIES
This week's "News of the Weird" column highlights two
more nominees for the "Least Competent Criminal"
awards:
"Andre Lamar Henderson, 30, was arrested after allegedly
robbing a Madison Bank branch in Norristown, Pa., in June
and coming away with $50; his holdup note had demanded
"all your hundreds and fifties," and, as the teller later said,
there was lots of money in the drawer but unfortunately for
Henderson, no hundreds and only one fifty.
[Associated Press, 6-15-04]
And Knute Falk, 54, allegedly robbed a Bank of America in
Beaverton, Ore., in June but was arrested when his getaway
was delayed; he had demanded a bank customer's car keys,
walked out, then returned after a minute or two, with his
mask off, to ask the customer which key opens the door.
[Associated Press, 6-18-04]
http://www.newsoftheweird.com/
FEATURED WEB SITE
This week's featured web site is an article by Mish Webster
which first appeared in the June 1999 issue of Coin News,
about Augustin Dupré and the Hercules 5 Francs Piece of
France.
http://frenchcoins.tripod.com/Dupre.htm
Wayne Homren
Numismatic Bibliomania Society
The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a
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our web site at http://www.coinbooks.org/
There is a membership application available on
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