The E-Sylum v7#25, June 20, 2004
whomren at coinlibrary.com
whomren at coinlibrary.com
Sun Jun 20 20:35:08 PDT 2004
Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 7, Number 25, June 20, 2004:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2004, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
EDITOR'S NOTE
Due to travel, next week's E-Sylum will be published
a day late: Monday, June 28. So remain calm - don't
panic. Your issue will be on its way.
JOIN NBS - IT'S CHEAP!
Nicholas M. Graver writes: "I read the latest E-Sylum, and
note that you hope people will join NBS. Please add
"Only $15" to your plug at the bottom of each issue. It is
my experience that many people do not go check all the web
sites mentioned in things they read. I put it off, for well over
a year, due to inertia, my concern about another unread
periodical coming here, and the (incorrectly) supposed high
cost of subscription. Once I learned that it is so cheap, I
joined at once. I'll bet you get more members if you include
this mention."
[Thanks for the suggestion - the membership section of
The E-Sylum has been duly updated. Now let's see some
more of our readers become members - we'd love to have
you on board. If you need a further incentive to join, see
the next item. -Editor]
NBS 25TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE
E. Tomlinson Fort, Editor of out print journal, The Asylum
writes: "The preliminary edit and layout of our special issue of
The Asylum for the 25th Anniversary of the founding of the
Numismatic Bibliomania Society has been completed. It is
264 pages long. This makes it the equivalent of more that two
years of The Asylum (at our usual size) combined. It is, by far,
the largest (and best) collection of essays on numismatic
literature ever published in one volume in the United States.
The works run from the popular to the scholarly, from Europe
to America, from autobiography to bibliography and from
tongue in cheek to an eye for detail. There is something for
everyone.
An NBS membership costs only $15 ($20 outside the US).
If you miss this opportunity and find yourself paying lots of
money for a copy on the secondary market, you only have
yourself to blame. New memberships and renewal payments
MUST be received by the Secretary-Treasurer by July 1,
2004. No exceptions. A membership application can be
found on the NBS web site at http://www.coinbooks.org/
It is time for the readers of this e-newsletter to put their
money where their mouths are and support the organization
which brings us this fine work."
[The table of contents follows, but see last week's issue
for more details. -Editor
“Jean Foy-Vaillant: The King’s Antiquary (1632 – 1706),” by
Christian E. Dekesel.
“William Frederick Mayers: A Flashing Star,” by Pete Smith.
“An Annotated Bibliography of the Published Numismatic
Writings of Walter H. Breen by David F. Fanning.
“Blunders, Hoaxes, and Lost Masterpieces from the
Numismatic Literature of the Renaissance,” by John Cunnally.
“Some Reminiscences,” by Q. David Bowers.
“Creating The E-Sylum, The Numismatic Bibliomania
Society's Weekly Electronic Newsletter,” by Wayne K.
Homren.
“American Numismatic Pioneers: An Index to Sources,” by
Pete Smith.
“Recollections of 34 Years at Spink, 1969–2003,” by Douglas
Saville."
NEW NBS MAILING ADDRESS
[So where do you send your dues? Our Secretary-Treasurer
W. David Perkins writes: "I am moving back to Colorado.
I now have the new P.O. Box number and address for NBS.
My e-mail address remains the same (wdperki at attglobal.net):
W. David Perkins, Sec. / Treas.
Numismatic Bibliomania Society
P.O. Box 3888
Littleton, CO 80161-3888
[David's contact information has been changed at the bottom
of The E-Sylum, and will soon be updated on the NBS web
site and Asylum masthead. He's looking forward to hearing
from many new and lapsed NBS members. -Editor]
JOHN BURNS SHOW SCHEDULE
Numismatic literature dealer John Burns writes:
"I will be doing these two shows:
Mid America
Rosemont Convention Center
(Site of the 1991&1999 ANA's)
Rosemont IL (Close to O'Hare Airport)
June 25-27, 2004
American Numismatic Association
David L. Lawrence Convention Center
Pittsburgh PA
August 18-22"
ANS LIBRARY SALE CONSIGNMENTS SOUGHT
John W. Adams writes: "The Ford Library Sale pauperized
many of us. The book auction for the benefit of the Francis
D. Campbell Chair promises to finish off the job. Among the
many salivating items are the photo archives of Presidential
Coin 1984-1995, Beistle's copy of the Haseltine Type Table,
a receipt signed by Abel Buell, a framed autograph (with
portrait) of David Rittenhouse, a letter from Elias Boudenot
discussing the removal of the U.S. Mint to Washington, D.C.,
a plated presentation Parmelee Sale (1890), 17-18th century
classics, a set of Dutch van Loon's, two sets of 8" x 11"
photographs of Washington's set of Comitia Americana
medals, Wurtzbach on Massachusetts silver, etc., etc.
Despite the quality of the material we have already, we can
use more. Send items you wish to donate to George Kolbe
TO ARRIVE BY JUNE 30TH.
[So please, drop what you're doing and rummage thru your
library for a few better items to add to the sale. If you just
can't part with anything, be sure to bid in the sale. The
dinner and auction should be both fun and memorable.
Come in person or get a catalogue from George Kolbe and
bid by mail.
Place: Tambellini's Restaurant
(easy walking distance from the ANA Convention)
cocktails: 5:15 p.m.
followed by dinner & Auction
Tickets: $50.00 each, reservations to:
John Adams
60 State Street, 12th floor
Boston, MA 02109
jadams at ahh.com
Books: Send to George Kolbe
P.O. Drawer 3100, Crestline, CA 92325."
-Editor]
KOLBE FORD SALE REPORT
John Kraljevich sends us the following report from the recent
sale of the first part of the John J. Ford Jr. numismatic library:
"George Kolbe and his staff are to be commended on what an
amazing event the Ford Library sale turned out to be. I visited
Crestline before the sale to see some lots and was thrilled to see
that his lower-floor office was filled to the gills with friendly
bibliophiles, and of course George was all to happy to play
cheerful host. The drive to Crestline from Riverside in the v
alley below is worth the trip alone (though I wished my rental
car had about 4 more cylinders on the way up).
The auction venue was also a treat -- the Mission Inn is a
pretty fascinating structure and has its share of history as well
(visits from T. Roosevelt and Taft, in addition to the honor of
hosting Nixon's wedding). I visited with Bruce Hagen and
Dan Friedus that evening, ran into a pack of Early American
Coppers members in the bar, and retired late.
The auction itself was a very exciting event, though the
familiar faces generally did little bidding on the directories that
led the sale off (with one Bay Area exception). The great
rarities seemed to see for very strong money (though I thought
the Doughty diaries were a nice buy at only $11K + juice).
There were a lot of very buyable items though too -- I
purchased a number of lots and most were barely out of the
$100 range.
Cheers again to George for making the event so memorable!"
BREEN CORRESPONDENCE PUBLICATION SOUGHT
Steve Pellegrini writes: "I hope that the successful bidder for
the Ford-Breen letters offered in the Kolbe-Ford-Stack's sale
will consider getting together with Walter Breen specialist
David F. Fanning to edit and publish the letters in full. The
excerpts from the letters featured in the Kolbe catalogue were
fascinating and beg to be printed in full."
W. L. ORMSBY SC?
Art Tobias writes: "I am working on the third in a series
of articles about engraved scenes that W.L. Ormsby made
for Colt's revolvers in the 1846 - 1850 time period. The
engraving, of Texas Rangers and Comanches in an 1844
skirmish is signed, "W.L.Ormsby Sc. N Y". Does anyone
know what the "Sc" stands for?"
"IN GOD WE TRUST" WINS A BATTLE
On June 14th (Flag Day) the U.S. Supreme Court voted to
reverse a lower court's ruling which would have removed the
phrase "one nation, under God" from the Pledge of
Allegiance. Their ruling was based on a technicality and
left open the possibility of a future case. The issue relates
to numismatics because it could ultimately affect the fate of
the motto "In God We Trust" on U.S coins and currency.
A Wall Street Journal article noted: "Congress adopted the
pledge as a national patriotic tribute in 1942, at the height of
World War II. Congress added the phrase "under God" more
than a decade later, in 1954, when the world had moved from
hot war to cold."
QUICK QUIZ: "In God We Trust" has been on coinage far
longer. Who was the person who first suggested the slogan,
and when? And here's a bonus question for hard-core
bibliophiles: in what publication was this fact first documented?
-Editor]
REAGAN BIRTHPLACE
Last week we asked about a piece of numismatically-related
Ronald Reagan trivia. The 40th President was born in 1911
in an apartment above a bank in Tampico, IL. We were
curious about the name of the bank and whether it issued
currency,
An anonymous currency collector writes: "As I recall, Ronald
Reagan was born above The First National Bank of Tampico,
Illinois. This bank did issue national bank notes. For further
information, please refer to any of the many national bank note
catalogs (Van Belkum, Ramsey & Polito, Kelly, Hickman &
Oakes, Liddel & Litt, etc.). Among national bank note
enthusiasts, Reagan's birthplace is very old news, particularly
since President Reagan was a close personal friend of Bill
Higgins. Bill was the founder of the Higgins Museum in Lake
Okoboji, Iowa, the country's only museum dedicated to
national bank notes."
Bill Burd writes: "I would imagine you received many responses
to your question regarding Reagan's birthplace. I am sending
you the little I know anyway. The Tampico Bank was
established in 1882. In August of 1908 it was chartered as a
National Bank and changed it's name to First National Bank
of Tampico. It issued large size 1902 Date Backs and also
Plain Backs. Also, it issued small size currency dated 1929.
It was liquidated in December 1931."
Jess Gaylor provided a link to an article about the bank's
history, noting that when Ronald W. Reagan's family moved
in in 1906, "a bakery or restaurant occupied the building below
the apartment. Tampico National Bank came into existence in
1919 and was privately owned."
The site notes: "... the First National Bank of Tampico ...
opened for business on October 1, 1908. Business was first
conducted in the old Burden building, on the west side of
Main Street, which has since been torn down, and later moved
to the building on the east side of Main Street which houses
the Village Administration offices at present."
http://www.tampicohistoricalsociety.citymax.com/articles/article/22587/102.htm
[Reagan was born in 1911. It's unclear from this article whether
there was a bank in the same building at the time Reagan was
born. And further documentation or discussion of this issue is
invited.
Only history will tell if any leader is worthy of honoring on our
money, and there are many examples of the folly of honoring
living or recently-deceased persons on coins and currency. I
laughed when I first heard of the movement to honor Reagan,
who was still alive at the time. He may be gone now, but it is
still much too early to consider putting his portrait on money.
-Editor]
Illustrating the divisions that surround Reagan's legacy is the
following note from Richard Doty, who writes:
"IF handing the country more completely to the rich
IF ignoring AIDS while thousands died
IF winning the Cold War by proving that we were capable
of going deeper into debt than were our adversaries
IF breaking one union and weakening the rest;
IF all of these were accomplishments
and IF you deem their author worthy of remembrance on
our money - then by all means put him on it.
But I won't use it."
LIVING PERSONS ON COINS AND PAPER MONEY
An article by Richard Giedroyc on the PCGS web site
discusses some living personalities who have appeared on
U.S. money:
"During the 1860s paper money began to be printed in
earnest by the U.S. government considering the financial
problems of the Civil War period. Emergency money has
been covered in a recent article I wrote on the subject for
this web site.
Such individuals as President Abraham Lincoln, Treasury
Secretary Salmon P. Chase and Secretary of War Edwin
M. Stanton appear on some of this paper money, all during
their own lifetimes.
Such little-known historical figures as Superintendent of the
National Currency Bureau Spencer Clark appears in a
vignette on the Third Issue fractional 5-cent note issued
between Dec.1864 and Aug. 1869. Bet your friends a
drink today to see if they have any idea who this guy was.
Some of the other lost-to-history "dignitaries" whom appeared
as big as life, and breathing well, on fractional notes of the
period include Treasury Secretary William P. Fessenden
(25-cent note) and U.S. Treasurer Frances E. Spinner
(50-cent note).
All of this nonsense finally led to an April 7, 1866 law
which states: "No portrait or likeness or any living person,
hereafter engraved, shall be placed upon any of the bonds,
securities, notes, fractional or postal currency of the United
States."
To ensure Congress got its point across, the same basic
information was regurgitated in the Revised Statues of 1874.
Too bad Congress left that great big loophole regarding
depicting living people on our coins!"
http://www.pcgs.com/articles/article_view.chtml?artid=1615&universeid=313&type=1
NEWARK MUSEUM COIN COLLECTION
In response to last week's question about the Newark
Museum in New Jersey, Harry Waterson writes: "There is a
very good paper on the Newark Museum entitled "John
Cotton Dana and the Ideal Museum Collection of Medals"
by Dorothy Budd Bartle in The Medal In America edited by
Alan M. Stahl copyright 1988 by the American Numismatic
Society. Mr. Dana set the bar as ".,.. he worked to build
his ideal museum collection of medals and use it for the
common good".
I have found this Museum to be especially helpful to me as
a medal collector. They e-mailed to me scans of 10 medals
I am interested in with speed, accuracy, a true willingness to
help and at no cost - an experience I find truly rare.
I enjoy reading The E-Sylum. Quite often at the bottom of
the stream of books and pubs, I find the occasional medallic
nugget or two. Thank you very much."
Denis Loring writes: "I can't tell you anything about the rest of
the collection, but I can say they have a decent group of large
cents. In 1985, I was engaged by the then-curator of the coin
collection, Ms. Dorothy Budd Bartle, to help them expand
their large cent holding. The goal was to assemble a "Red Book"
date and major variety set, with die variety sets of a few years
such as 1802 and 1817. Unfortunately, the project was never
completed, due (as you'd guess) by competing interests and
lack of funds."
Our anonymous currency collector writes: "I believe The
Newark Museum does not always have numismatic displays.
It does have a very large collection of numismatic items (more
than could be displayed at once). Usually, these can be seen
by appointment only. At the current time, there is no numismatic
curator, although there have been several in the past, including
William Bischoff, formerly of the ANS. The numismatic
collections currently fall under the domain of the decorative arts
curator, Mr. Ulysses S. Dietz. Mr. Dietz is a direct descendant
of U.S. Grant, and was one of the Grant descendants who
negotiated with the National Park Service to improve the
condition of Grant's Tomb on Riverside Drive in New York.
William Bischoff writes: "You ask in the 13 June E-Sylum, "Do
we have any readers from the Garden State who can tell us
about the coins and currency on display [at The Newark
Museum]?" It is ironic that the lengthy and accurate article
from the Star-Ledger you cite was written by Dan Bischoff
(no relation to me), but I can add some specific information on
the coin collection, since I was curator of numismatics at The
Newark Museum from 1991 to 1997.
No curator has been named for this collection since I left, and
there is no regular numismatic exhibit open to the public, nor
is one planned. Approximately 35,000 specimens (coins, paper
money, medals and exonumia) are housed in the vault, however,
and might be available for viewing by someone with specific a
specific research interest. The strongest fields are U.S. gold;
African paper money; perhaps the finest American collections
of obsidional coinage (especially from the Netherlands); Spanish
Colonial treasure salvage; art medals (especially by John
Flannigan); and exonumia by the former Newark firm of
Whitehead & Hoag. Because, as the Star-Ledger article makes
clear, the emphasis at the Museum has always been educational,
not research-oriented, there are few duplicates suitable for die
studies and the like. Those with a legitimate research interest
are advised to contact the Associate Registrar, Scott Hankins,
at 973-596-6676.
On a lighter note, readers may want to visit the Newark Museum
website at www.newarkmuseum.org and scroll down on the
home page to the interactive feature "Once Upon a Dime," put
on by the Children's Museum and sponsored by J.P.Morgan
Chase and others. For those with children (up to about 12 or
13 years of age) who can make it to Newark, a visit to the
physical exhibition would definitely be worthwhile. It is
scheduled to close in August 2005."
KING OF SIAM SET TO BE DISPLAYED IN PITTSBURGH
A June 18th press release by PCGS stated: "One of the world's
most valuable and historic sets of United States rare coins, the
fabled "King of Siam" proof set, presented as a diplomatic gift
on behalf of President Andrew Jackson in 1836, now is in
Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) holders. The coins
will be exhibited at the American Numismatic Association's
World's Fair of Money in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this
summer."
"The set includes the original, custom-made yellow leather
and blue velvet case that housed the coins when U.S. State
Department envoy, Edmund Roberts, presented it on behalf
of President Jackson to King Ph'ra Nang Klao (Rama III) of
Siam in April 1836. The coins range in denomination from a
copper half-cent to a gold $10 "eagle." There also is an
1833 gold medal depicting President Jackson."
"The King of Siam set will be exhibited by the Goldbergs at
their table during the American Numismatic Association
convention in Pittsburgh, August 18 - 22, 2004."
QUICK QUIZ: The King of Siam set's most famous coin
is the 1804 Dollar. Its discovery as part of this set cleared
up a longstanding mystery about the coin's origins. But what
most people aren't aware of is that two coins included with
the set today were NOT present when the set turned up in
London many years ago. Which coins were they?
http://www.pcgs.com/articles/article_view.chtml?artid=4186&universeid=313
IS THERE MONEY IN COIN CHANGING?
Dick Johnson writes: "Is there an E-Sylum reader who has
an entrepreneurial spirit burning in his numismatic breast?
Want to start a coin-related business. Be a Money Changer!
Buy a number of coin counting machines and offer to set
these up in banks and credit unions that do not have these.
Then offer the banks to “service” these machines. That
means you have to empty the coin bins and bag the coins
(or if you are a masochist, to roll them). The machines
give paper receipts, people can then deposit that amount
or ask for paper cash. You will have to reimburse the bank
for what they pay out, or supply them with any form of
coin they desire for their counter business.
Of course, this means you have tens of thousands of dollars
of coins you can sort through. Offer beginning collectors
the opportunity to pull out coins they find in these
numismatically unsorted coins for a fee. Charge the bank a
fee. Get Rich! (Albeit slowly!)
It has been 60 years since I sorted coins from circulation.
But as a high school student I had the time and a paper route.
Best of all, rolls of nickels back then were half Buffalos with
an occasional Liberty head. (This was in the middle of World
War II, five years after the introduction of the Felix Schlag
Jefferson design. The variety of coins in circulation was
interesting then.) Today, like millions of people, I don't even
bend over to pick up a coin smaller than a quarter.
Coinstar, whose coin counting machines you have undoubtedly
seen in supermarkets, have nearly 11,000 of their machines in
service. They have processed, they say, 550,000 tons of coins
since they started in 1992. They charge 8.9% vigorish. Some
banks will process loose coins without cost, others charge 5%,
and some the first $100 is free, 5% over that.
Coin counting does sound profitable. Just ask Coinstar.
P.S. Coinstar just received this week its 55th patent for its coin
counting and money payment technology. It had spent $175
million to develop this technology."
JULIAN SATIRICAL MEDALS COMPLETED
Steve Pellegrini writes: "I have finally managed after years of
effort to complete a set of the political-satirical medals created
and published by RW. Julian from 1977-1981. As the result
of a mention of the medals in E-Sylum I was offered a pristine
little group of the issues I was missing. While I was cataloguing
these new acquisitions I had the opportunity to review the entire
series. It struck me that the topical concerns expressed in these
medallic editorials of a quarter century ago are the exact same
topics still in the fore of America's national dialogue today. Mr.
Julian has written of his series, "The satirical medals were
intended as a permanent memorial to those issues that ought
not to be forgotten..." I'd say that by that and any other
measure he succeeded admirably. Not to mention his once
again having enriched the US numismatic series by his work
and unique intellectual gifts."
BOBBY ORR "COINS"
Jeff Starck forwarded a link to the following story about
a commemorative coin for hockey star Bobby Orr that
circulates in parts of Ontario, Canada.
"After the sales success of last year's Bobby Orr
commemorative coin, the Parry Sound Business Retention and
Expansion Team is issuing another coin. The coins will have a
face value of 4 dollars and can be spent at participating
merchants."
"Many local merchants participated and were rewarded with
increased traffic through their locations due to collectors and
fans seeking out the coin. The success of the program was
extraordinary. Everything sold out and there is still a waiting
list of people wanting to acquire the coins."
"With the approval of a new coin image from Bobby Orr, the
program is set to commence again this June. The coins can
be used as legal tender in Parry Sound until October 31. There
will be 6,000 silver coins in circulation, valued at $4 each ..."
http://www.parrysoundnorthstar.com/story--1086265227/
CROSBY REPRINTS
Roger Siboini writes: "I wonder if the American Journal of
Numismatics publication of Crosby's manuscript would count
as a reprint? I have never spent the time to compare what
was printed in the AJN and the final first edition of Crosby,
but I would be interested if any of our readers have looked
at this. I guess it is always interesting to consider what was
left on the cutting room floor."
MORE UNCUT SHEET TALES
Our anonymous currency collector writes: "Tales of National
Bank officers who cut or tore notes from sheets and then
signed them in full view of incredulous waiters or store clerks
in the process of paying a bill have taken on an urban legend
quality. These accounts have been repeated so often that
they have completely lost their novelty value, despite the fact
that some of them undoubtedly actually occurred."
Mark Van Winkle writes: "A couple of comments about
cutting up sheets of bills. When I interviewed John Ford he
said occasionally after a coin show Amon Carter, Jr. would
get a kick out of taking sheets of bills with him to a restaurant.
When it was time to pay the check, he would pay part of it
by pulling out a pair of scissors and cutting up the sheet of
bills he had folded up in his jacket pocket. Of course, the
waiter would always be confounded by such action. He and
Amon got a lot of laughs out of it over the years, but one time
a waiter called the cops on them thinking they were
counterfeiters.
After John told me this story, Bob Merrill ran into a deal of
32-subject sheets of $2 bills at face value. I bought one of the
sheets and carried it around in my car with a pair of scissors.
It was always great fun to cut several deuces from the sheet
and see people's reaction. I remember I bought something
once for $10 and trimmed five $2 bills from the sheet--three
up and two across. The poor guy across the counter was
absolutely baffled, but he accepted them (and didn't call the
cops). I've often wondered what he did with them, did he
cut up the five notes or does he still have the irregular-shaped
"ten dollar bill?"
Dave Bowers writes: "In the 1960s Jim Ruddy and I,
trading as Empire Coin Co., bought Creative Printing, a
printing plant, modest in size, in Binghamton, NY. However,
Creative did have some great accounts including IBM,
General Electric, and Link Aviation.
Jim and I bought a bunch of small-size uncut sheets of U.S.
currency, took them to Creative Printing, and fastened them
with little clips (like clothespins) to a metal wire strung across
one part of the shop -- where the bills sort of look as if they
had just been printed and were now drying!
For a long time people would come in, ease up to be near
the bills, study them out of the corners of their eyes, and
then go on to their business. No one ever asked about
them directly!"
AUCTION BIDDING ANTICS
Dave Bowers writes: "I was the author of that item about
Melnick and Ford bidding--it was in the Garrett sale and
is a true incident."
HERB MELNICK: LIKABLE GUY
Responding to last week's items about dealer Herb Melnick,
Dick Johnson writes: "Don't believe everything you read on the
web! I knew Herb Melnick. He WAS likable and a mentor
to me in many ways. When my partner, Chris Jensen, and I
had purchased 64,000 medals from Medallic Art Company,
we tried several methods of selling them (outright sales,
advertising, coin shows). It was Herb Melnick who suggested
we try an auction and he volunteered to call the auction.
It worked! Our first Johnson & Jensen auction had only
307 lots, but virtually everything sold. So we had Herbie call
a second, then a third, until his death in 1982. He did this at
a time when he was calling auctions for his employer, NASCA,
in addition to being a freelance auctioneer to major coin firms
at prominent coin shows (even as far afield as Hawaii!).
I first met Herb in 1972 when he joined with five other
numismatists to organize the Maccabee Mint. Herb showed up
in the offices of Medallic Art Co to plan their first medal,
“Genesis.” We were fast friends thereafter.
I was unaware of the John Ford–Herb Melnick conflict. Chris
and I were in NASCA’s offices in Rockville Center many
times. [Herb not only called our auctions he also consigned to
us.] Ford showed up often too since he lived nearby on
Long Island – it seems he always wanted to use NASCA’s
photocopy machine! (He didn't have his own?)
I would say these heated conversations were the Sparing of
Giants, not the conflict of adversaries! Both could have gruff
exteriors, but I personally knew both men deep down as pussy
cats! You had to earn their respect over time. Yes! But once
you did that, either one would do anything for you. Treat them
with respect and they treated you likewise.
I must relate one Herb Melnick anecdote. Herb had perfect
timing at the auction podium. At a major auction a very
expensive gold coin was up for sale. Bids came fast and furious.
Tension was heavy. Herb wanted some comic relief. After
another round of multi-thousand dollar raises he said: “You
know, of course, it's filled with chocolate!.”
BOOKS: A CRUTCH FOR FOOLS?
Paul Withers writes: "Readers of The E-Sylum may find the
following, which we have just added to our 'Wazzock's Corner'
on our website (www.galata.co.uk) amusing. A lot of my
wazzock stories come via my good friend Gary, who has a
retail outlet in Birmingham and sees more than we do of the
public.
A collector who sells him coins from time to time
approached him with the amazing story that someone to whom
he had recommended Gary as a buyer told him that he had
been to their office once and on no account would he go to
there again, as far from being experts, they didn't know what
they were doing.
"How do you know that they don't know what they are
doing ?" he asked.
"Stands to reason" said the bloke, "if they really knew what
they were doing, they wouldn't need all those books they've
got."
There is a certain inescapable logic about that, I suppose !"
FEATURED WEB SITE
This week's featured web site is something I've discovered
a bit late. It's about a 27 December, 2002 - October, 2003
at the Hermitage Museum titled "Jacob Reichel: Medallist,
Collector, Scholar"
"The new exhibition is dedicated to the acquisition by the
Hermitage of the numismatic collection of J.J. Reichel, a
major collector, medallist and designer of the St. Petersburg
Mint (1760-1856). When the hereditary medallist (his father
Johann Jacob Reichel was medallist at the Warsaw Mint
under King Stanislaw August Poniatowski) came to St.
Petersburg, he was in 1799 admitted to the Medal Class of
the Academy of Arts. In 1802 he became student at the St.
Petersburg Mint and in 1808 was appointed medallist of the
Mint's Medal Chamber."
"In the 1820s, Jacob Reichel started to collect Russian and
West European coins and medals which he purchased at
international auctions and from famous Russian and West
European numismatists with many of whom he corresponded.
Reichel's collection became renowned due to its catalogue in
nine volumes published by its owner."
http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/04/b2003/hm4_1_47.html
Wayne Homren
Numismatic Bibliomania Society
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