The E-Sylum v9#24, June 11, 2006

[esylum at binhost.com]

Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 9, Number 24, June 11, 2006:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2006, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.


WAYNE'S WORDS

Among our recent subscribers are Dr. Richard MacMaster, courtesy 
of Dave Bowers,  Bill Bugert, courtesy of Dick Johnson, Bill Yarger, 
Remy Bourne, Peter Mosiondz, Jr., David M. Walsworth and Canan Ozbil.
Welcome aboard!  We now have 925 subscribers.  Who will be number 1,000?

Due to technical difficulties, this week's issue did not go out until
Monday morning.  Sorry!  And speaking of difficulties, regarding the 
mangled date on last week's issue, Harold Levi writes: "I know, this 
was a test to see how many readers would notice the wrong date on the 
last issue - - April 4, 2006?

A year or two ago, Karl Moulton, in one of his fixed price catalogues, 
commented in the description of one of the 1880s auction catalogues 
that there were no airmail stamps in the nice run of stamps listed 
in the catalogue.  I asked Karl the same question, was this a test?"

Well, Harold was the first reader to report noticing the E-Sylum date
problem and Karl was second; David Gladfelter was the third.  Thanks 
for keeping me honest!  At least we nipped the problem in the bud.  
As noted in an earlier E-Sylum, "The New York Times used the new 
millennium to fess up to a mistake that had appeared on its front 
page every day for more than a century."
http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v03n01a03.html 

And how many noticed the YEAR in that issue's header? 8-)
http://www.coinbooks.org/club_nbs_esylum_v03n01.html 

On another topic, I don’t know how to configure our email system 
not to tell people to send submissions to esylum at binhost.com, but 
please don’t.   Always email them to me at whomren at coinlibrary.com.  
This is more of a problem for people who use the Digest option.  
Since we only have one issue a week digests are unnecessary, so if 
you subscribed to the digest option, consider changing your 
subscription.  When you hit Reply to a regular (non-digest) version 
of an E-Sylum issue, your reply will go to the correct address.

This week's lead item will be a shocker for those who haven’t heard 
the sad news.  Next is a report on results from George Kolbe's 100th 
numismatic literature sale, followed by reports on new books on 
coins and medals ranging from Elizabeth I to outer space.

Also in the shocker category is a report from Forbes magazine that 
investors in the Central America gold treasure apparently have yet 
to be paid, and the proceeds have gone missing.

Two articles discuss the disposition of bank corporate archives, 
one dispersed long ago but another, dating to 1803 which may someday
be made available to researchers.

Inquiries this week range from a verification of John J. Ford's 
signature to an 1871 Strobridge sale lot of Magdalen Island coinage.  
Query answer topics include the Feversham Hoard, the Devonshire sale 
catalog, the two versions of the Delieb-Roberts book on Matthew 
Boulton, Civil War identification discs, and an outpouring of 
information on The Numismatic Pilot. 

Ever wonder where the phrase "a Penny for your thoughts" came from? 
Read on to find out. Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
Numismatic Bibliomania Society


JOEL MALTER 1931-2006

As we noted last week, Joel Malter was recently interviewed by 
Coin World about the sale of his numismatic library.  "The end 
of my life is close and I thought, 'I don't want to be six feet 
under when my library is disposed of," Malter said."

Joel Malter passed away in the early hours of Monday June 5. 

George Kolbe writes: "I attended Joel Malter's library sale 
Sunday; it was a phenomenal success. On Monday I received a 
call from a friend attending the remainder of the auction 
to inform me that Joel died in the middle of the night. Before 
I left the auction I had congratulated Joel on its remarkable 
success and shook his hand; he was in good spirits. As I am sure 
Joel would have liked, the sale continued. When our time comes, 
as it must, I cannot imagine leaving on a higher note."

Chris Hoelzle of Laguna Niguel, CA writes: "Joel Malter, who 
was VERY pleased with the results of the first day of the auction 
of his 45 year collection of Numismatic Literature on Sunday June 
4, went to bed a happy man. He awoke at 4 am, collapsed and died. 
Efforts to revive him failed.

I attended lot viewing at the Malter library in his home Saturday 
evening and Joel was well and in good spirits but seemed tired 
from all the work involved in setting up the auction. 

During the Sunday auction, he seemed very alert and was involved 
in calling out late phone and mail bids in to Michael Malter 
(his son) the auctioneer. The day was horribly hot - more than 
100 degrees in the library that served as the auction room. Joel 
took a break during the afternoon when the lack of breeze and 
the high temperatures were getting to us all. 

After the bidding was closed for the day, Joel came back and 
seemed to be in good form - congratulating bidders, helping them 
pick their lots from his beautiful library shelving and helping 
reconcile the invoices. Everyone left the auction at about 7 pm 
in an upbeat mood. Wonderful books, and a great feeling of friendship 
and enjoying a once in a lifetime chance to purchase items from 
such a tremendous library.

At 7 am Monday morning, I received a phone call from Michael Malter 
telling me what had happened to his father. I was in shock. It was 
one of those events where once I had hung up the phone, I just shook 
my head trying to decide whether it was real or just a bad dream.

The family decided that the auction would go on. Everything was in 
place - bidders in attendance from as far away as the UK, the internet 
live auction connection, the mail bids, phone bids - everything was in
place. The family uniformly stated that they "knew" that Joel would 
want the auction to continue.

The family was very shaken by the events of just a few hours prior. 
Michael had a family friend, who is also an auctioneer, call the lots. 
After just a few bumps during the first few lots, all went smoothly. 

As a real family-run operation, the various family members would 
tell us privately about his love of the books, his wonderful home 
and the pride he had in his library.

I remember talking with Joel a few years ago about his fabulous 
book collection and he told me that he wanted to make sure the books 
would go into the hands of other collectors of numismatic literature 
when he no longer needed them.

A gentleman to the end - he made sure that we got the benefit of 
his life's work." 

On Thursday, Mike Malter posted a very nice farewell letter to his 
father on the Malter company email list.  Describing his father's 
entry into the coin business in 1961, he wrote: "A large family 
required a change in occupations. He now took a huge chance ... 
and ventured away from teaching and to start his own company that 
dealt with his love of history and coins. Joel L. Malter and Company 
was born with its world headquarters in the garage of his Venice 
home. They say that timing is everything and my dad had just that 
touch. When he got into the coin business in the early 1960's there 
was a plethora of coins and collectors and little competition. He 
soon learned the tricks of the trade and turned what started out 
as a one man coin business into one of the largest and most 
successful firms of its type in the world by the 1980s." 
[Thanks to Larry Mitchell for forwarding a copy. -Editor]

Kerry Wetterstrom, Editor/Publisher of The Celator writes: 
"I was just told this morning about Joel's passing and I did know 
him and his son Mike, who has been managing the family coin and 
antiquity business for some time now. Quite tragic and sad, 
especially considering the timing -- the day after the sale of 
his beloved library.   Or perhaps it was a blessing as at least 
he was able to enjoy the fact that his books fetched record prices.

I printed a two-part article by Joel about his library and how 
he acquired various rare titles over the years in the March and 
April 2006 issues of The Celator. Joel was a pillar in the ancient 
coin hobby in the U.S., and many collectors (and dealers) think 
of him as their mentor.

He was the founder of the (new) Numismatic Fine Arts, a name acquired 
from Edward Gans, and subsequently he hired Bruce McNall to work for 
NFA. When Bruce and Joel decided to part ways, Bruce purchased the 
rights to the NFA name from Joel. Interestingly enough, today the 
rights to the NFA name are co-owned by Classical Numismatics Group 
(Victor England and Eric McFadden) and Freeman & Sear (Rob and Tory 
Freeman and David R. Sear). Eric, Rob, Tory and David all are former 
employees of NFA, and I believe that the hope is to revive the 
firm's name someday, and restore it to its former glory, so-to-speak.

Of course, Joel continued on with his eponymous coin firm after 
selling NFA to Bruce McNall, and he built a business dedicated to 
collectors by a collector. Joel's deep knowledge and love of 
numismatics was reflected in the just concluded sale of his library.

Joel and I shared an interest in the coinage of ancient Egypt. 
While I was still in high school, I was given a copy of his Auction 
No. II (Joel L. Malter & Co., Inc., held on Feb. 23-24, 1978), which 
contained many Egyptian rarities. This catalogue was my primary 
reference for many years, and when I finally met Joel in person at 
a Los Angeles coin show in 1983 (C.O.I.N. or the Convention of 
International Numismatists, held just prior to the San Diego ANA, 
as I then drove from L.A. To San Diego with Frank L. Kovacs, 
another California dealer whose library rivals Joel's for ancient 
numismatics), I told Joel this and he seemed quite pleased by 
this little fact." 

[Many thanks to everyone who forwarded information to me for 
this issue.  I contacted Malter's office for confirmation and 
was asked not to publish anything until Mike had a chance to 
respond.  Since I was unable to get out a timely special issue, 
I waited until our usual publication date.  Our thoughts go out 
to the Malter family. -Editor]


KOLBE 100TH SALE RESULTS

The results of George Kolbe's 100th sale are in: "On Saturday, 
June 3, 2006, George Frederick Kolbe/Fine Numismatic Books 
conducted their 100th auction sale, issued in four catalogues, 
at the Long Beach, California Coin and Collectibles Expo. It was 
a remarkable success. The pre-sale estimates came to $317,000 and 
90% of the lots sold for a total of $496,000 (including the 15% 
buyer premium, as do prices noted hereafter)

Highlights include: a remarkably fine copy of Ricaud de Tiregale’s 
superbly produced 1772 work on Russian medals @ $5,865; Pope Innocent 
XI’s superb large paper copy of Claud du Molinet’s classic 1679 work 
on Papal medals @ $6,325; an exceptionally fine 1875 “Nova Constellatio” 
edition of Crosby’s classic work on American colonial coins @ $11,212; 
one of only five large paper copies of Hickcox’s 1858 work on American 
coinage @ $40,250; a complete set of the American Journal of Numismatics 
@ $14,950; Copy No. 1, signed, of Newcomb’s work on 1801, 1802, and 1803 
cents @ $1,725; a fine copy of the rare 1870 edition of the Maris work 
on 1794 cents @ $5,175; an original 1876 edition of Attinelli’s 
Numisgraphics @ $2,760; a superbly bound set of the first four large 
format Chapman Brother Auction Sales issues with plates, ex Harry W. 
Bass, Jr. Library @ $43,700; B. Max Mehl’s own Deluxe Leatherbound 
Edition of the famous 1941 William F. Dunham Auction Sale Catalogue 
@ $4,370; an unusually nice 1870s United States Treasury Department 
“Vignette Book,” containing over 140 superb bank note engravings 
executed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing @ $9,200; and other 
lots too numerous to mention.

A small number of copies of all four catalogues, including a prices 
realized list, are still available and may be obtained by sending 
$25.00 to the firm."


NEW BOOK ON TOWER MINT HAMMERED SILVER COINS OF ELIZABETH I

Paul Withers writes: "This morning we got the proofs of our book 
'The Galata Guide to the Pennies of Edward I and II back from the 
printers.  We are working on a book 'Anglo-Gallic Coins' which is 
going to have all of the very latest material and research.  As 
well as which Galata Print Ltd is pleased to be publishing a new 
volume entitled "The Hammered Silver Coins Produced at the Tower 
Mint During the Reign of Elizabeth I"

Size A4. Card covers. 84 pages, 18 of which are plates of 
illustrations of the coins, either photographs, or superb line 
drawings of punches. Price £24 plus £2 postage.

Elizabeth inherited a currency that consisted largely of her 
father's debased coin, though by the opening of her reign the 
mint was once again striking in sterling silver and was producing 
the same denominations that had been struck by her grandfather 
and his predecessors. The coins however contained only two thirds 
as much silver as those of Henry VII and there is ample evidence 
that Elizabeth's hope was to restore not only the denominations 
but also the weights to what they had been in earlier times.

But turning the clock back was not an option. Spain was transporting 
the treasure of the New World to Europe and the increased use of 
money in England required a new approach. Setting her dream aside, 
Elizabeth experimented with different combinations of denominations, 
and by the end of the reign had chosen a set that then remained 
unchanged until the introduction of decimal coins three and half 
centuries later.

This excellent new work is written by I D Brown, C H Comber, and 
W Wilkinson, who may be known to some of you as David, Chris and 
Wilkie respectively. Even more of you may know the writer of this 
note, who stood on one leg and squinted through a camera viewfinder 
to take the photographs for the illustrations.

Such books as this are not written without a great deal of painstaking 
effort and this one has been under construction for many years, each 
of its authors bringing his own special talents to the project. Chris 
Comber has an eye for the unusual, Walter 'Wilkie' Wilkinson an eye 
for detail, while David Brown, the one with the computer, was left to 
write the text and put it all together. 

The authors resisted the temptation to produce a catalogue with rarity 
ratings and check boxes as such an approach to the hammered coinage 
is not appropriate, but their hope is that they have produced a book 
that students of the Tudor series will find helpful and informative 
whether they are collectors or students of history.

A photograph of each coin type is shown as is a line drawing of the 
finer points of the illustration so that identifying features may be 
spotted on worn, damaged or clipped coins."

For ordering information, see the Galata web site (www.galata.co.uk) 
or email Paul at Paul at galata.co.uk.


2006 SCANDANAVIAN COIN AUCTION PRICE YEARBOOKS AVAILABLE

Morten Eske Mortensen writes: "I am certainly happy to be able to 
inform, that the printed 2006 editions of the Scandinavian Yearbooks 
covering the full calendar years 2004 + 2005 now are in the hands of 
the editor and at this time have been mailed to all those who have 
ordered it and thus made the project be realized. Many thanks for 
your support!

Danish vol. includes 6.000 entries. Swedish vol. includes  4.000 
entries. Norwegian vol. includes  4.000 entries."  

For more information, see:
http://home.worldonline.dk/mem/info/demodatabankSCANDcatlist.htm


NEW BOOK ON ASTRONAUT MEDALS

Howard Weinberger writes: "Katie Jaeger recommended that I contact 
you regarding the new release of my second book on the Robbins 
Medals struck for the U.S. astronauts that were flown aboard the
manned space missions.  The title is "The Robbins Medallions - 
Flown Treasure from the Manned Space Program".

The Robbins Medal tradition began with the first manned Apollo 
mission, Apollo 7, in 1968.  Every manned mission since has had 
a Robbins Medal struck to honor and commemorate for the astronauts.  
One of the astronauts decided on a memento to take with him aboard 
the mission.  He hired the Robbins Company in Massachusetts to 
strike a small silver medal that depicted the mission emblem on 
the obverse.  The reverse would have the mission dates engraved.  
Each medal is serial numbered.  

These flown treasures numbered anywhere from a 100 to 450 on a 
mission and were the private property of the astronauts.  They 
were given to family, close friends, and important workers who 
helped the program.  They are now among the most coveted of all 
flown space artifacts.  NGC has now begun grading and encapsulating 
the medals.  The second book covers all medals, populations, which 
were flown, mission crews and dates for all medals after Apollo, 
including Skylab, ASTP, Shuttles and ISS.

Here is the review site of the first book.  
http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/202/300/charlotte/2000/07-31/pages/reviews/nonf
iction/robbinsmed.htm 
 
Here is a link to Collectspace.com where the buzz the biggest.
http://collectspace.com/ubb/Forum12/HTML/000152.html "
 
[The new book is priced at $39.95 plus $5 shipping. I knew that 
astronauts often took coins and medals aboard missions, but wasn't 
aware there was such an organized series of medals.  For ordering 
details and more information about the books, email Howard directly 
at: assetalt at aol.com. -Editor]


SPMC AUTHOR'S FORUM AT MEMPHIS PAPER MONEY SHOW

Dennis Tucker, Publisher of Whitman Publishing writes: "At the 
Memphis Paper Money Show on June 16, Whitman Publishing author Q. 
David Bowers and president Mary Counts will share the dais for a 
talk on books about paper money. This is part of the Society of 
Paper Money Collectors' annual Authors Forum. Dave will offer 
insight on how The 100 Greatest American Currency Notes (coauthored 
with David Sundman) went from first-draft manuscript to beautiful 
coffee-table book. Mary will talk about the role the publishing 
firm plays in bringing numismatic books to the hobby. Audience 
members will receive complimentary copies of the 100 Greatest book 
and the Guide Book of United States Paper Money.

Dave will also have a scanner set up at the Whitman booth, to capture 
images of scarce and rare notes. E-Sylum readers are invited to stop 
by and say hello, or have some of their "pet" notes scanned for 
possible use in upcoming books."


FAUVER BOOKS ON EXONUMIA REVIEWED

In the introduction to his upcoming auction #75, Joe Levine of 
Presidential Coin & Antique Company writes about consignor Benj. 
Fauver and the books he published on exonumia:

"Fauver was a collector of tokens; mostly those which appealed to 
his fascination with American and European history. One of his 
first interests was Civil War tokens. He was an early member of 
the Civil War Token Society and served as its Treasurer for thirty 
years. He was the voice behind “Horatio Speaks” a regular and 
sometimes controversial column which appeared in the Journal 
of the CWTS. 

In 1982, he authored 'Exonumia Symbolism & Classification, A 
Catalogue of Kettle Pieces and an Examination of the Symbolism 
and Classification of Kettle Pieces and of American Exonumia of 
the Hard Times, Compromise, and Civil War Periods'. 

This was followed by his six part definitive study of American 
Counters. Both of these efforts, especially the first, are much 
more than mere listings of types and varieties. An attempt is 
made to place the tokens in historical context and to explain 
the symbolism of the devices used to ornament them. The result 
is that the reader is intellectually challenged – no small feat 
for a numismatic work in this field!" 

To read the complete catalog, see:
http://www.maineantiquedigest.com/adimg/prescoin.htm 


FORBES CENTRAL AMERICA ARTICLE FOLLOWS THE MONEY: SHIP OF FOOLS? 

Nick Graver writes: "The June 19 issue of Forbes Magazine has a 
several page story on the Central America gold treasure that has 
never been shared by the investors who financed the recovery!"

"Where is Tommy G. Thompson? Not so long ago the marine engineer 
from Columbus, Ohio was everywhere, raising $55 million in equity 
and debt financing and promoting the latest underwater technology 
to salvage gold from the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. He once gave 
frequent press interviews and authorized books and TV documentaries 
to commemorate his recovery of a vast sunken treasure from the 
shipwrecked S.S. Central America--hundreds of gold Double Eagle 
coins, bars and ingots valued at $100 million to $400 million. 
Some of that loot went on national tour; an estimated $100 million 
was sold in heavily publicized sales and auctions.

Today Thompson, 54, is hard to find. His last residential address 
in public records: a trailer park in Fort Pierce, Fla. No one 
answers the phone there or at his former Columbus address. Investors 
who financed Thompson's Recovery Limited Partnership haven't seen a 
penny of returns, 19 years after the recovery of the treasure, and 
fear that Thompson left town with many millions."

To read the complete article, see:
http://www.forbes.com/magazines/forbes/2006/0619/158.html 

Fred Holabird writes: "I was interviewed for about 3 hours by 
Gottfried. I expected a long, in-depth article full of the kind 
of details that everyone has long wanted to see in print. What 
they published is nothing like what was discussed, unfortunately. 
It is very unfortunate that one of the great treasures of America 
is smeared by bad business. I hope the web can get untangled, and 
the public can one day find out what happened. Meanwhile, the SSCA 
gold is very real, but the new gold, the cash, seems to have 
vanished."


THE HOMREN COLLECTION SALES

Many thanks to all of you who wrote about the items I consigned 
to the June American Numismatic Rarities sale.  Here are a few 
samples:

George Fuld writes: "Your ANR consignment is awesome!!"

Joel Orosz writes: "I've always admired your ability to convert 
your knowledge into cool collectibles.  It definitely shows in your 
library, and also now in your exonumia collection.  
 
Could be a downside though--in the future, when you introduce 
yourself as Wayne Homren, some folks will say, "Oh yeah, you sold 
all that--that--STUFF in the ANR sale!"

Nick Graver writes: "What a beautiful catalog!   You and your 
family should be so proud of the way things are presented.   
Congratulations on the whole idea of collecting those interesting 
pieces, then giving them new homes, and helping your college fund."

John Kraljevich, Dave Bowers, John Pack and the whole team at ANR 
did a great job, and I'm still getting used to the idea of being 
a consignor.  It was an unusual feeling to see an ad for the 
upcoming sale with a number of my pieces pictured.

But as the TV hucksters say, 'but wait ... there's more!'

My collection of Pittsburgh Obsolete Currency is consigned to 
the July R.M. Smythe sale.  The notes will be available for viewing 
at the Memphis paper money show next week.  I've seen a draft of 
the catalog text and they've done a nice job as well (thanks, Bruce!).  

This is another collection I've assembled over a 25-year period.  
A conversation I had with paper money dealer Tom Denley at the 
Pittsburgh ANA convention confirmed what I'd learned over the years: 
Pittsburgh notes are RARE!  In an article he wrote for the Civil 
War Token Journal about some Pittsburgh cardboard scrip, Larry 
Dziubek pointed to what may be the reason - flooding.  The Pittsburgh 
area has been hit with a number of devastating floods over the years, 
and this could account for why so few examples of early paper money 
of any kind have survived.

Some of the Bank of Pittsburgh notes (including the uncut sheet of 
1815 scrip) came from Emerson Smith.  Emerson was a banker, and one 
of his first assignments was to liquidate the assets of the Bank of 
Pittsburgh when it went out of business in the Great Depression.  
After supervising the sale of the bank's real estate, furniture, 
safes & etc., there were several boxes of records left unsold.  He 
asked his boss if it would be OK to buy them himself.  He got the 
OK and hauled them home.  Inside were piles of correspondence dating 
back decades.  He sold these to stamp and autograph dealers.  He also 
found a few uncut sheets, some cancelled notes and a few other pieces 
of obsolete currency, which he kept after selling duplicates to 
friends and dealers.

My favorite note is probably the 25 cent scrip by the Butchers of 
Allegheny. This is the plate note in the Hoober book on Pennsylvania 
Obsolete currency.  I may be proven wrong, but to the best of my 
knowledge it's unique.  I did some digging in the microfilms of local 
Civil-War era newspapers and found a wealth of articles about the 
scrip, which was recalled after a lawsuit was filed.  I wrote the 
story up for The Clarion, the journal of the Pennsylvania Association 
of Numismatists and The Historical Magazine published by the Historical
Society of Western Pennsylvania. There was no room for any of this in 
the auction catalog, but I'll make the information available for anyone 
who wants to further research the note.  -Editor]


PNC BANK INVENTORIES RIGGS BANK ARCHIVES

At least one bank's archives have been kept intact for posterity. 
As part of its purchase of Riggs Bank of Washington, D.C., PNC 
Financial Services gained control of the bank's archives, a 
treasure-filled store of materials from Riggs Bank and its 
predecessors, dating back to 1803.  Archivist Mary Beth Corrigan 
is reviewing the materials in a basement one block from The White 
House.

"A few months after buying Riggs, PNC hired Ms. Corrigan part 
time to cull through 1,200 ledger books, some weighing as much 
as 40 pounds and dating back to 1803 -- covering the history of 
Riggs, which was founded in 1836 by William Corcoran, and several 
predecessors. Many books had been neglected, relegated to a damp 
basement. 

She also has tried to get a handle on more than 100 letters from 
U.S. presidents -- many of them former Riggs clients -- countless 
signature cards, stock certificates and currency that predates the 
establishment of the Federal Reserve."

"The records show how Riggs collected $7.2 billion in gold for the 
federal government's purchase of Alaska, that it financed the 1909 
North Pole expedition led by Robert Peary, that it handled arrangements 
for Elizabeth II's first trip to the United States as queen of England 
and that it funded the renovation of the Capitol dome during the Civil 
War -- work that Mr. Lincoln insisted be done as a way of restoring 
national confidence."

"PNC wants a full accounting of what it has by the end of the year 
so it can make a decision about what to do with the collection -- 
which also includes checks signed by non-Riggs clients George Washington,
Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. Those documents were acquired 
by Riggs in the 20th century. All options are being considered -- from 
donating the artifacts to a museum to preserving the collection in a 
PNC building. But the bank promises something will be done."

To read the complete article, see:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06160/696839-28.stm 


$100 BILL ERRORS FOUND IN DELAWARE - AUTHENTICITY DISPUTED

According to an article in the Delaware State News, "At least 64 
misprinted $100 bills that are missing their seals and serial 
numbers were delivered last week to banks between Harrington and 
Maryland's Eastern Shore, a Dover coin shop owner said."

"Steve Bryan, owner of Midatlantic Coins in Dover, hopes to collect 
all the bills...  He's seen six so far, although some customers 
opted not to sell.

Ten notes, he said, have surfaced at Midway Slots in Harrington. 
He became aware of the bills last week when a casino employee 
brought one to him."

"The mistake, the shop owner said, happened in the third part 
of the printing process, when the treasury seal and serial 
numbers are stamped."

"Raymond Gesualdo, owner and manager of First State Coin Co. 
in Dover, doesn't want anything to do with the bills.

"What they are is stolen," said Mr. Gesualdo, who has been 
in the coin and currency business since 1972.

He said someone brought a couple of the $100 notes to his 
shop Saturday and were refused sale."

"When we saw the notes and saw the cutting was irregular, 
knowing how the production process runs, there's no way they 
could have come through the bureau," Mr. Gesualdo said.

He also reported the bills to the Secret Service and said an 
officer agreed that the money must have entered the marketplace 
illegally."

"Mr. Bryan said he could tell a counterfeit from the real deal 
- and these $100 bills are genuine."

To read the complete article, see:
http://www.newszap.com/articles/2006/06/07/dm/sussex_county/dsn05.txt 


MARGOLIS ON THE FORD FRANKLIN MEDALS BY LAGEMAN

Dick Margolis writes: "A couple of belated comments on Alan Weinberg's 
extremely interesting report on Ford XIV, which I was very happy to 
attend. The pair of Franklin medals by Lageman (I don't know whether 
they are by the father or the son, both of whom were engravers) were 
struck in Holland, not Germany. JJF told me years ago that he owned 
this pair, so I've been quietly waiting in the wings ever since for 
the opportunity to acquire them. The Fernand David sale (J. Schulman, 
March 11, 1930) is the last prior public offering I am familiar with, 
and David only had a silver specimen. Comparison of its illustration 
in the David sale catalogue indicates that it is a different example 
from Ford's."
                  

PRIOR SALES OF JOHN FORD COLLECTION MATERIAL

In response to last week's question, George Fuld writes: "As I believe 
I related earlier, Ford sold many coins through Bowers and Ruddy.  Ford 
sold all his U. S. coins (including a mint red roll of half cents) 
starting in 1979 to raise money for his projected expenses at the 
Garrett sales.  His main interest was the Nova Constellatio patterns 
which he eventually bought (these have not yet been auctioned by 
Stack's).
 
While I was Americana maven at B&R, Ford consigned a number of 
collections to be sold, at least one under his name about 1982-3.  
The major group was his collection of Hitler medals with his name 
attached..  Also were his souvenir silver spoons, a collection of 
belt buckles, some Civil War tokens and several others that I do 
not recall.  A perusal of the B&R catalogs from 1980 will reveal 
others.  I did sell copies of many of his consignments through Lake 
Books a year or so ago.
 
Thus, I think the 1989 Ford sale was only one of a series of 
consignments over the years."
                                      

JOHN FORD SIGNATURE COMPARISON SOUGHT

Leon Worden writes: "Through eBay, I recently purchased a 1959 
copy of the Adams-Woodin pattern book. Inside the front cover is 
penciled a name that appears to read, "John Ford." I'm wondering 
if anyone knows what John J. Ford's signature looks like? Does 
anyone have a picture of it on a web site somewhere? Also inside 
the cover is the name, "J.L. Massetti, L.M. 343," which I'd think 
refers to an ANA life member..."


1871 STROBRIDGE SALE MAGDALEN ISLAND LOT INFORMATION SOUGHT

Darryl Atchison writes: "I was hoping that one of the E-Sylum 
readers would be able to provide me with the lot description, 
price realized and buyer of lot no. 44 in the William Harvey 
Strobridge auction sale conducted on Dec. 5 - 7, 1871.

This lot was comprised of two 'mysterious' halfpence tokens from 
Magdalen Island.  Most of our readers will be familiar with the 
large, attractive copper penny token issued c1815 which depicts 
a seal on one side and some dried cod on the other.

However, the present whereabouts of any halfpence tokens is unknown 
despite the fact that Sir Edward Thomason records their manufacture 
in his autobiography entitled, Memoirs During Half A Century, which 
was published in 1845.

I would also be extremely interested in hearing from anyone who may 
have heard any 'rumours' concerning the whereabouts of the two 
pieces sold in the Strobridge sale or otherwise.  I can be contacted 
at atchisondf at hotmail.com.  Thank you."


THE FEVERSHAM HOARD

In response to Philip Mernick's earlier query on the Feversham 
Hoard, Bob Leonard writes: "The Feversham "Hoard" isn't a hoard 
in the usual sense, but the coins recovered from the wreck of the 
British frigate Feversham.  Besides Joseph R. Lasser's article in 
The Numismatist, February 1989, the best description and listing 
is to be found in the auction catalogs: Christie's, New York, 
February 7, 1989, "Coins from the Wreck of H.M.S. Feversham" (lots 
852-1080), and Stack's Public Auction Sale, Americana, Colonial and 
Federal Coins, Medals and Currency featuring Coins from the H.B.M.S.
 FEVERSHAM and LE CHAMEAU Shipwrecks, January 12, 13, 1999."  Stack's 
divided the "American" coins from the "foreign" coins in their catalog, 
so the Feversham items are cataloged as lots 1-48 and 1146-1190.  

(Incidentally, Michael Hodder alerted me that lot 47 is NOT a 
Massachusetts silver coin, though listed in that section.  Neither 
is lot 48, apparently.)  The coins sold in 1999 may have been unknown 
to Lasser at the time of his 1989 article.
 
Also, the catalog of the Jeffrey Hoare Auctions, London, Ontario, 
sale of February 26-27, 1993, contains some Feversham coins in addition 
to other shipwreck coins and other material (I lack this catalog).  
Other coins were sold in two Coin Galleries auctions, July 13, 1994 
and April 15, 1998 (don't seem to have these either).  The latter 
citations are possible through searching the ANS Library Catalog for
"Feversham," which brings up a total of 11 records including a few 
more articles.  Unfortunately, this is probably not a complete listing, 
and Mr. Mernick is encouraged to develop one if he can."
 
[In addition, Darryl Atchison forwarded to Philip Mernick all 
Feversham references in the yet-to-be-published Canadian Numismatic 
Bibliography.  Many thanks for everyone's help.  -Editor]


MORE ON THE DEVONSHIRE SALE CATALOG

In October Jerry Platt inquired about the date of "The Duke
of Devonshire's sale" referred to in Medallic Illustrations.
http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v08n43a10.html 

Ted Buttrey of the Fitzwilliam Museum adds: "The Duke of 
Devonshire's collection was sold by Christies (London) in two 
sales, 18 March and 26 March, 1844.  The first sale included only 
ancients (wonderful stuff); the second had British of all periods 
and a bit of foreign -- largely coins but a good number of British 
medals.

Lot 551: "Oliver Cromwell: a small oval, obv. his head, rev. the 
olive tree, and 1, larger, struck on the battle of Dunbar, rev. the 
House of Commons, both by Simon.. the latter very fine; and a cast. 3"

Bought by Warrington for 1/6/0.

The second piece is Hawkins 13.  Platt is asking after Hawkins 15 
which is described by H. as unique, "a mere dab in lead".  There is 
nothing else in the auction catalogue (I've been through it twice) 
that refers to anything that would fit Hawkins 15 or the Battle of 
Dunbar.  Hawkins 15 seems to have been a pretty nondescript item 
anyhow, so I suspect that it was the third piece in Lot 551, described 
by Christies only as "a cast". "


TWO VERSIONS OF THE DELIEB-ROBERTS WORK ON MATTHEW BOULTON

Darryl Atchison writes: "Further to my earlier query concerning 
the two texts authored by Eric Delieb and Michael Roberts on Matthew 
Boulton ... it turns out that the two publications are identical 
in every respect except for the title including the illustrations 
and plates."

Here's Darryl's original submission:
http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v09n16a13.html


COLLECTORS OF CITY DIRECTORIES SOUGHT

George Fuld writes: "Does anyone collect city directories of 
the Nineteenth century?  I started to collect directories about 
1955, obtaining many 19th century ones from Baltimore and New York.  
When studying token history, directories are invaluable for dating 
issues since addresses change so often.  Most of the directories 
in the Ford Kolbe sale were originally from me.  I am curious how 
many people collect them. I'd be happy to talk to anyone about this. 
Contact me at fuld1 at comcast.net"


SUBSCRIBER PROFILE: RICHARD MACMASTER

Dave Bowers writes: "I am forwarding your latest (and, as always, 
excellent) E-Sylum to my sister and brother in law (Dr. Richard 
and Eve MacMaster) The MacMaster duo is currently working on a 
Whitman project about Civil War money, and Robin is a "pet" 
proofreader for Whitman Publishing."


SUBSCRIBER PROFILE: GEORGE KIMMICH

George Kimmich writes: "I ran into a good friend of mine, Nick Graver, 
when I was shopping last week.  He and I share a long-standing mutual 
interest in numismatics, including exonumia.  Nick was waxing eloquent 
about the value of the wide ranging numismatic topics covered in your 
weekly newsletter and said that "the best thing he could ever do for 
me was to 'introduce me' to your newsletter".  He shared a recent 
example, and I went directly to your website and enrolled as a 
'subscriber' myself.  Thank you!  

I retired recently after 34 years as a faculty member in Biochemistry 
at the University of Rochester.  I have multiple numismatic interests, 
but Civil War Tokens are of particular interest and have held my 
attention the longest."

[Welcome to Richard, George, and all of our recent subscribers.  
Word of mouth is our best advertisement.  I really appreciate 
it when subscribers recruit others into our ranks.  Our little 
"online clubhouse" is getting bigger all the time, but the more 
the merrier.  -Editor]
 

THE NUMISMATIC PILOT

Regarding Edith Willey's query about The Numismatic Pilot, Bill 
Malkmus writes:  “In the Winter 2004 issue of The Asylum (Vol. XXII, 
No. 1, pp. 2-35), Ken Lowe, in "American Numismatic Periodicals from 
1860 to 1960," devotes a paragraph to The Numismatic Pilot:

"Another periodical of note was The Numismatic Pilot, subtitled 
To Ancient Coins and Their Uses, produced by Robert Morris, in 
LaGrange, Kentucky, in November 1876. This newspaper-like periodical 
apparently was the first in the United States to be devoted exclusively 
to the study of ancient coinage. However, it seems to have only run for 
four issues ending in June 1877. Additionally, in the first issue, Morris 
noted that The Numismatic Pilot was to be published monthly as the organ 
of The American Association of Numismatists, in what must have been 
another early attempt, in name if not in fact, at creating a national 
numismatic organization." 

Joel Orosz writes: "Robert Morris, born August 31, 1818, lived in 
LaGrange, Kentucky, and was a noted collector of Greek and Roman coins 
in his day.  He was very active in the masonic order, and composed the 
poem "The Level and the Square" that is still memorized by Masons today.  
 
A biography and portrait of Morris are found in Mason's Coin Collector's
Magazine, Vol 1, No. 4, August, 1884.  
 
I have in my library two periodicals published by the American Association 
of Numismatists, of which Morris was Secretary.  One is undated, while the 
other is dated January 1875.  The latter says that the AAN was founded in 
1871 as a branch of the American Holy Land Exploration, and the purpose of
the AAN was to introduce the science of numismatics into the curriculum of
schools and colleges.
 
I don't know when Mr. Morris--and the AAN--died, but neither is still of 
this world."

Remy Bourne writes: "It was offered free and scheduled on a frequency 
of 6 times. Printed on newsprint in a 12"x18" format.
Publisher: The American Association of Numismatists.
Probably owned by Morris.
 
Vol. 1. No. 1. October, 1876. 4 pages. Free. Printed on newsprint.
Vol. 1. No. 2. December, 1876. 4 pages. Free. Printed on newsprint.
Vol. 1. No. 3. February, 1877. 4 pages. Free. Printed on newsprint. 
"The" was added to the title for this issue only.
Vol. 1. No. 4. June, 1877. 4 pages. Free. Printed on newsprint.

Also, Earl of Crawford showed no ending date of this publication. 
I will check current owner of this publication to see if any of 
the other three issues are in the collection.
 
You can find this information and a photo of the periodical in 
my book: American Numismatic Periodicals. 1860-1960. an illustrated 
collectors guide. Book 1."

Karl Moulton writes: "Morris was a dedicated and well versed 
American numismatist who happened to be primarily interested in 
Ancient coinage.  He had made a trip to the Holy Land in the late 
1860's, where he bought numerous coins from the locals.
 
He became an ardent supporter of historical research through his 
association with the American Association of Numismatists, of which 
he was the club Secretary.  This American branch was begun in 
conjuction with the American Holy Land Exploration - which had 
been established in 1869.  The President was Rolla Floyd of Joppa, 
Palestine, while the Vice President was E.T. Rogers in Cairo.  
Thomas Ward of Philadelphia was the honorary American director.  
According to promotional announcements, there were 7,000 members 
worldwide.
 
Morris actively recruited for members in this country.  He sent out 
many flyers and started various publications, beginning in 1870, 
regarding the study of Ancient coinage.  One of the later ones was 
the Numismatic Pilot in 1876.  If memory serves, there were 4 to 6 
issues with that title.  Among his writings were articles in the 
American Journal of Numismatics, various newspapers and church 
pamphlets, and several Masonic publications, of which he was also 
a member.  
 
A biography and sketch of Morris is included in Mason's Coin 
Collectors' Magazine, August 1884.  In there, he states he was 
friends with William E DuBois, who was among other things, the 
assistant assayer at the Philadelphia Mint and the curator of the 
Mint Collection of "Specimens of Ores and Coinage".
 
This writer has Morris' personal scrapbook from the 19th century 
in his library.  Among the various flyers and newspaper articles 
is perhaps the only extant copy of a membership certificate from 
the American Association of Numismatists.  Membership to the AAN 
was without fee. 
 
Their charter reads in part "Our association is a union of 
Coin-Students desirous of increasing our own stores of ancient 
numismata from the fountain-head of supply (the East); of combining 
our personal influence to introduce the science of numismatics into 
schools and colleges as a handmaid to history."  There had been 15,000 
coins (mostly bronze) distributed, and many more were offered for 
sale, beginning at $1.00. 
 
While it can't be proven specifically, this worldwide association 
of Ancient coinage scholars (including several in the U.S.) could 
well have been the seed for Dr. George Heath's idea to form the 
American Numismatic Association a few years later."

David Gladfelter writes: "Morris also put out a 56 page folio on 
the coins of Suetonius's "Twelve Caesars," both hard and soft covered. 
The style is a bit pedantic but the plates are well done. On the back 
cover is a plug for "The American Association of Numismatists" of 
which he was secretary. The president was Rolla Floyd of Joppa, Syria, 
the VP the Hon. E. T. Rogers, formerly a diplomat in Cairo, later in 
London, and the treasurer H. J. Goodrich  of Chicago. The notice 
states: "This society was originally a branch organization of the 
American Holy Land Exploration, established in 1869, and had the 
same regulations, officers, etc., as the parent stem. In 1877 the 
Society was placed upon an independent footing, and a formal 
application is now (May 1877) ready to be made to the Legislature 
of Kentucky for an act of incorporation under the name in the caption. 
In the meantime, all persons interested in numismatic pursuits are 
welcome, without fee, to membership with the society and to the 
issues, gratuitously, of our organ, the NUMISMATIC PILOT, published 
semi-monthly. The specific aims of the American Association of 
Numismatists are:

    "1. To collect in foreign countries, import, describe and 
    distribute ancient coins, illustrating the history, religions  
    and manners of ancient people.

    "2. To publish numismatic works, and to aid in a larger 
    dissemination of such literature among our private and public 
    libraries.

    "3. To supply colleges, public institutions and individuals 
    with full collections of historical coins, arranged and 
    described under the full light of the science.

    "4. To reproduce rare coins and medals of historic interest, 
    of which the originals are unique and cannot be obtained in 
    this country."

This organization and its periodical may have folded for lack of 
dues, or its intent to copy rare coins may have offended collectors 
and museums. You know what I know about it. Could this be a topic 
for our master sleuth, Joel Orosz, to develop into a Printers Devil 
column?"


PRIVATE COPIES OF THE E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

Stephen Searle writes: "I am wondering if you might have a 
compressed file of the entire E-Sylum archive, either by year, or 
just the whole thing. With hard drives being so inexpensive now, 
I wanted to suck down the whole archive to my computer for easy 
searching and having to do it file-by-file would be very time 
consuming."

[Now that we have the master table of contents it might be worthwhile 
considering publishing a CD of the first nine volumes after the end 
of the year.  NBS President Pete Smith would like to gauge demand - 
how many copies might sell?  Any thoughts on the topic would be 
appreciated.  -Editor]


THE FATE OF THE GREAT LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA

Regarding the recent New York Times Magazine article about 
book-scanning and the future of books, Ken Berger writes: 
"The article stated: "The dream is an old one: to have in one 
place all knowledge, past and present. All books, all documents, 
all conceptual works, in all languages. It is a familiar hope, 
in part because long ago we briefly built such a library. The 
great library at Alexandria, constructed around 300 B.C., was 
designed to hold all the scrolls circulating in the known 
world... ".

But, don't forget, it & its books were destroyed by fire. So, 
one place is not necessarily a good idea."

[The article discusses the fate of the library of Alexandria.  
But the Internet archives are only aggregating digital COPIES of 
the original works, which are returned to the contributing 
libraries. The originals continue to be dispersed around the world.  

One danger though is that once scanned, some libraries may attempt 
to deaccession some of their books.  While good for book collectors, 
this is not such a good idea for the preservation of knowledge.  
When microfilm came along and many libraries filmed their newspaper 
holdings, many decided to sell the originals.  Some went to paper 
mills and other sets were broken up and sold individually to collectors 
by middlemen.  But the long runs of original newspapers were either 
lost or scattered to the winds, and the libraries were left with 
only poor microfilm copies.  Now that better electronic imaging 
technology is here the originals are unavailable. -Editor]


FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THE INTERNET AND THE FUTURE OF BOOKS

Arthur Shippee forwarded another article from the New York Times 
on the Internet and the future of books.  Here are a few excerpts:

"Hovering above the discussion of all these technologies is the 
fear that the publishing industry could be subject to the same 
upheaval that has plagued the music industry, where digitalization 
has started to displace the traditional artistic and economic model 
of the record album with 99-cent song downloads and personalized 
playlists. Total album sales are down 19 percent since 2001, while 
CD sales have dropped 16 percent during the same period, according 
to Nielsen BookScan. Sales of single digital music tracks have 
jumped more than 1,700 percent in just two years."

"Liberating books from their physical contexts could make it easier 
for them to blend into one another, a concept heralded by Kevin Kelly 
in an article in The New York Times Magazine last month.

"Once text is digital, books seep out of their bindings and weave 
themselves together," wrote Mr. Kelly in an article that was derided 
by Mr. Updike in his BookExpo polemic. "The collective intelligence 
of a library allows us to see things we can't see in a single, 
isolated book."

"Does that mean 'Anna Karenina' goes hand in hand with my niece's 
blog of her trip to Las Vegas?" asked Jane Hamilton, author of "The 
Book of Ruth" and a forthcoming novel, "When Madeline Was Young." 
"It sounds absolutely deadly." Reading books as isolated works is 
precisely what she wants to do, she said. "When I read someone like 
Willa Cather, I feel like I'm in the presence of the divine," Ms. 
Hamilton said. "I don't want her mixed up with anybody else. And 
I certainly don't want to go to her Web site."

To read the complete article, see:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/05/books/05digi.htm


WORLD COIN WEB SITE FOLLOW-UP

Dennis M. Gregg writes: "Thank you for your tireless work and 
dedication to our hobby - I truly look forward to each issue.  
I had missed reading one issue in which you discussed coinarchives.com. 
Shortly after asking you about a world coin database, I realized you 
had already  discussed this site - which IMO, is the best on the net 
to date.   Thank you.  Please also thank Larry Gaye for his oriental 
coins database - I've bookmarked it for future reference."


HISTORY OF "PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS"

A subscriber writes: "When did the saying "a penny for your 
thoughts" start, and how much would that penny be worth today?  
This was Yahoo!'s 'Question of the Day' for June 9, 2006. 
Sometimes it's interesting to know how the general public 
perceives numismatics."

The Yahoo article notes: "The phrase was mentioned in 1522 by Sir 
Thomas More in his work "Four Last Things." Playwright John 
Heywood included "a penny for your thoughts" in his catalog of 
proverbs published in 1546 or 1562. These are the earliest recorded 
uses, but the saying probably dates further back, as the penny 
itself has a long history." 

To read the complete article, see:
http://ask.yahoo.com/20060609.html 


CIVIL WAR ID DISC INFORMATION

In response to last week's question from Larry B. Maier, Esq., 
Dick Johnson writes: "I have no record of these Civil War discs 
in my Scovill papers but it is possible they were produced by 
Scovill. Unfortunately Scovill did not sign these but my question 
is:  What is the best "diagnostic" for Scovill-struck items? 
 
The closest I could think of would be the quality of the edges 
of their struck pieces. Scovill early on used collars and thus 
their pieces have nice flat edges with a sharp rim/edge juncture 
that forms a perfect 90 degree angle."

Joe Levine, who has handled hundreds of Scovill tokens and medals 
in his Presidential Art auctions, adds this:  "In the higher 
conditions, the surface of Scovill items appear almost proof-like.  
Of course, as these wear this surface diagnostic is worn away. But 
I concur that the overall indication is the higher quality of 
Scovill items."


QUERY: BEST WOOD FOR LIBRARY SHELVING?

Last week Ed Perkin asked about the best wood for library shelving.  
David Ganz writes: "My experience is that Home Depot wood (typical 
pine) that is either stained or polyurethaned works well. The key 
is to brace every 18 inches to preclude bowing. I have done this 
many times in my law office and for home numismatic library and the 
distance between posts is more important than the wood or the 
protective covering."


E-SYLUM SUBSCRIBERS ON THE CITIZENS COINAGE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Last week we noted that E-Sylum subscriber Dr. Ute Wartenberg 
Kagan is a member of the U.S. Mint's Citizens Coinage Advisory 
Committee.

Donald Scarinci writes: "Actually, we have two subscribers on the 
Citizen Coinage Advisory Committee.  I serve with Ute."
 

1913 LIBERTY NICKEL CASE UPDATE

George Fuld writes: "Maybe there were TWO "original" cases for 
the 1913 nickels.  In the new book, it refers to a six coin case 
(page 54) with five slots for the 1913's and a copper buffalo.  I 
am still sure I saw a six coin case when visiting Eric Newman - it 
had five empty slots and the copper buffalo nickel still in place."

[I don’t have my copy of the book handy, but I did recently come 
across an old Coin World article by Paul Whitnah about the nickels, 
and it also describes TWO cases – one after Col Green and one before. 
The article didn’t list his sources of information, though. -Editor]


PELLEGRINI ON THE GOETZ MEDAL SALE IN KASSEL, GERMANY

Steve Pellegrini writes: "A few weeks ago the enormous Bottcher 
collection of Karl Goetz medals was auctioned at the Ramada-Plaza 
in Kassel, Germany. I think it is safe to say that this was the 
largest auction ever devoted to one medallist. Harald Moller a 
well-known dealer in German coins and medals prepared the auction 
and its catalogues as well as acted as auctioneer for the 3-day 
event.

Moller issued 3 catalogues for the separate auctions. The opening 
auction was devoted to a large varied selection of general interest 
German medals.

The last day was devoted to Herr Bottcher's extensive collection 
of Kaiser Reich gold, modern talers and crowns and German colonial 
coins. But it was the Goetz collection scheduled between these two 
sales which drew the crowd - and rightly so. 

Bottcher's collection of Goetz medals was almost complete. It may 
well have been complete, the few medals missing may have been 
pulled or cherrypicked in advance. One surprising absentee was 
the iconic '5 Mai' Lusitania Sinking medal of 1915. But there 
were no complaints. There was more than enough on offer for even 
the most enthusiastic buyer.

For a collection this impressive the catalogue which accompanied 
its sale was most unimpressive. The photos were not of the greatest 
quality, although as I understand it they were not cheap. There 
were no descriptions of the lots aside from Keinast number and 
grade. It seemed obvious from the first that this catalogue would 
serve Goetz collectors and dealers as checklist and pricelist for 
some time to come. 

A little more effort in producing a first rate catalogue would 
not been out of place. Even a brief biographical intro of Goetz 
or at least of the collector Bottcher who built the collection 
would have been interesting. A numismatic essay placing Goetz the 
medallist in context with his contemporaries would have even been 
better. 

I have to admit to being spoiled rotten by the boffo catalogues 
that have accompanied Stack's serial auction of the J.J. Ford 
collection. But although this catalogue is very mundane, as most 
German auction catalogues are, I have no doubt that it is destined 
to become an instant classic - at least with Goetz collectors like 
myself. In fairness though, it only purports to be an auction 
catalogue and so it is."

The prices of Goetz medals have risen dramatically over the past 
4-5 years.  There are many more collectors interested in these medals 
than ever before.

I believe some of the influx of new Goetz collectors has to do with 
the advent of eBay. Its vast numismatic listings afford enormous 
exposure of previously unfamiliar material to modern collectors. 

Surely this is where many US collectors got their first exposure 
to Goetz medals. I don't know one collector who wasn't stopped in 
his tracks by his first glimpse of Goetz ' infamous 1920 'Black 
Shame' medal. I know the first time I saw it my reaction was 'What 
the Hell is that?' And what that is, is usually the beginning of 
a new Goetz collector. 

"It seems all things Goetz have become expensive. A signed and 
annotated first edition of Gunther Keinast's 1968 book 'Medals 
of Karl Goetz' brought $1,000+ in a recent George Kolbe auction."

"I have often heard that Karl Goetz was the most popular medallist 
in Germany during his lifetime. And in the 56 years since his death 
he has become the most collected medallist in the world. Both these 
statements are probably true. Only if the second part of that 
statement is true would a one-man auction of nearly 7,000 items 
have been attempted, or been successful and profitable."


WHERE (AND HOW) THE PUBLIC KEEPS RARE INHERITED MEDALS

Dick Johnson writes: "I wasn’t surprised at the item in last week’s 
E-Sylum of the New Zealand woman who placed a rare gold medal in her 
button jar. Inherited from her brother, he won the medal for football, 
but she was obviously unaware of its value. 

I had the chore once, of informing a gentleman of the value of a 
valuable Panama Canal Worker’s Medal with one bar (bestowed for six 
year’s work constructing the canal early in the 20th century). 
Inherited from his uncle, he placed the medal in his fishing tackle 
box, along with fish hooks and lures! Needless to say it became 
pretty well nicked and scarred after twenty years or so in that 
tackle box tray.

As diplomatically as I could I had to tell him: "You put a $500 
medal in your tackle box and took a $50 medal out to show me."

Almost every "Antiques Roadshow" program some owner seems to brag 
about how he mistreated some inherited item. Kinda makes you want 
to dispose of everything before you die, doesn’t it? Let your 
stupid relatives blow the money instead of ruining your prized 
collectibles."


LATEST MEDIA REPORT ON ESCALA FALLOUT

Stephen Pradier forwarded a link to a new and very lengthy Fox 
News story about the fall of Greg Manning's House of Escala:

"Manning, 59, is one of the best-known figures in the stamp 
collecting business. Indeed, he rose from trading stamps as a 
Boy Scout into the most powerful industry player in North America. 
In 1993, he took his auction firm public as Greg Manning Auctions
International, with the goal of becoming a one-stop powerhouse 
for all collectibles, from coins and baseball cards to stamps, 
art and comics.

Manning was among the first to offer loans to mom-and-pop stamp 
dealers –- giving them huge cash advances and up to 90 days 
repayment time to divide up and sell collection lots that they 
otherwise couldn’t afford to touch. The sales took place through 
his auctions, and Manning made money on all sides of the 
transactions.

“This can work quite nicely if you keep churning it,” explains 
Keith Harmer, who sold his family’s prestigious century-old stamps 
business, H.R. Harmer, to Escala in 2004. “I never issued credit 
like that, but Greg did it with fervor. He had a touch of the 
gambler. And when he went public, he had the biggest pockets of 

anyone in the game to write the biggest checks.”

To read the complete story, see:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,198526,00.html 


BEST WISHES TO NANCY GREEN

John and Nancy Wilson of Ocala, FL write: "We want to congratulate 
and wish recently retired ANA Librarian Nancy Green a healthy and 
happy retirement.  Nancy served ANA for many years in an efficient 
and outstanding manner.  She will be greatly missed and difficult 
to replace.  We hope she stays involved in the numismatic hobby."


COLORADO SPRINGS COIN SHOW DURING ANA SUMMER SEMINAR 

Ken Hallenbeck writes: "In reading Volume 9 Number 22 of E-Sylum 
and mention of some of the classes offered by the ANA Summer Seminar 
I'm offering a plug for our Colorado Springs Coin Show which is always 
the weekend (Fri-Sat-Sun) between the two weeks of the seminar, this 
year on July 7, 8, and 9.  The popularity of this show continues to 
grow and we've recently increased the floor space from 15,000 to 
20,000 square feet.  As of a few days ago we have 80 dealers and 165 
tables!  Bus transportation will be provided free to and from ANA 
headquarters to the show.  Nearby motels and restaurants offer 
quality and inexpensive services.  ANA participants will be cruising 
the bourse floor, including many of the instructors."
   

ON HOBGOBLINS

A subscriber writes: "I found the quote about 'hobgoblins' in last 
week's E-sylum intriguing.  I asked my brother about it.  He thought 
it was one of H.L. Mencken's famous lines.  Then I consulted Bartlett's 
and found out it was from Ralph Waldo Emerson's 1841 essay, Self 
Reliance:

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by 
little statesmen and philosophers and divines.  With consistency a 
great soul has simply nothing to do . . . .  Speak what you think 
today in hard words and tomorrow speak what tomorrow thinks in hard 
words again, though it contradict everything you said today."


QUIZ QUESTION: FICTIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR WINNERS

What fictional characters were winners of the Medal of Honor?  
I'm thinking of one in particular from a 1960s television show, 
but I'm sure there were others.  Any guesses?


FEATURED WEB SITE: NINETEENTH CENTURY ART WORLDWIDE

This week's featured web site is suggested by Katie Jaeger.  
She writes: "It's a magnificent e-journal called Nineteenth 
Century Art Worldwide. The Joy Sperling article on Art Unions 
in the link is comprehensive and fascinating, and I submit it 
because the American Art Union generated a three-medal series 
by C.C. Wright that is familiar to many of us.  What I hadn't 
known about was the 17-medal Art Union of London series, which 
includes an awesome medal of William Wyon.  I'm sure our British 
members know all about this, but the rest might find it pretty 
interesting."

http://www.19thc-artworldwide.org/spring_02/articles/sper.html 


Wayne Homren
Numismatic Bibliomania Society



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