The E-Sylum v9#19, May 7, 2006

esylum at binhost.com esylum at binhost.com
Sun May 7 20:24:14 PDT 2006


Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 9, Number 19, May 7, 2006:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2006, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.


WAYNE'S WORDS

Among our recent subscribers are Jorg Lueke, Shirley Dyess and
Scott Travers.  Welcome aboard!  We now have 885 subscribers.

The hour is late and I'll let this issue speak for itself.
Readers will find a number of articles relating to numismatic 
literature and research, including some book reviews and a 
fantastic web resource.  In the numismatic reminiscences area, 
we have a new report from Barry Jablon, this time on the hubbub 
over the 1960 Small Date Lincoln Cent.

Just one other item to mention - the May 15 issue of Coin World 
has (yet another) great article by Nancy Oliver and Richard Kelly, 
this time revealing a newly-discovered newspaper clipping that 
identifies San Francisco mint employee Frank C. Berdan as the 
source of two specimens of the 1894-S dime.   Referring to this 
discovery in her editorial column in that same issue, editor Beth 
Deisher remarks on how "The teaming of "old" and "new" technologies 
is playing an important role in numismatic research today and is 
helping us "discover" what was once known but what subsequently 
became lost to the collecting public for many years."

Bravo!  

Wayne Homren
Numismatic Bibliomania Society


LAKE BOOKS MAIL BID SALE #84 CLOSES MAY 9TH

Fred Lake writes: "Lake Books mail-bid sale of numismatic literature 
closes on Tuesday, May 9, 2006 at 5:00 PM. Bidders may contact Fred 
Lake by telephone, email, or fax until that time with bids or requests 
for information regarding the sale.  Lake Books (727) 343-8055  
FAX:(727) 345-3750  http://www.lakebooks.com"


ANA LIBRARIAN NANCY GREEN RETIRES

Bill Rosenblum writes: "Nancy Green, the longtime librarian of the 
American Numismatic Association and one of the truly good people at 
the headquarters, retired last Friday.

Nancy was a lover of books and would go the extra mile for me (and 
I'm sure many others) in finding that elusive book or article that 
may have been titled in a different way than I had thought.

She advised me that although she was no longer with the ANA, she 
had become a coin "nerd" and would make appearances at local clubs 
and shows.

I'm not sure how many E-Sylum readers had contact with her but 
this reader will certainly miss her."

[Nancy: you will certainly be missed!  Good luck and good wishes 
on your retirement!  -Editor]


PRADIER NUMISMATIC LITERATURE WEB SITE DEBUTS

Stephen Pradier writes: "Since moving to Middle Tennessee last 
April, I have found myself with quite a bit of time on my hands. 
It recently dawned on me that in my move from my home of 33 years 
in Northern Virginia to my new home here in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, 
that I brought along with me over 200 book boxes of books, all of 
which I placed in there very own secluded room for safe keeping.

At any rate, with the time I have, I have decided to create a web 
Site and devote it to Numismatic Literature. At this point it is 
Pretty much a work in progress. I would like this site to be just 
one more in the field of Numismatic Literature and hope that it 
will attract a lot more people to the Numismatic Literature community.  
I am in the process of setting up a News & Misc page.  Cal Wilson 
gave me permission to post his Repository newsletters as he no 
longer maintains his site.  The web address is
http://www.pradiernumislit.com/ "

[A new web site on numismatic literature is always welcome.  
Stephen's only getting started, but he's already got a nice 
collection of links to literature dealers, publishers and 
associations (including, of course, the Numismatic Bibliomania 
Society. -Editor]


BOWERS, PAPER MONEY ISSUED BY BANKS IN THE UNITED STATES 1782-1866

Whitman Publishing forwarded the press release for their newest 
title.  Here are some excerpts:

"Whitman Publishing announces the forthcoming release of one of 
the most comprehensive, fact-filled, and interesting books on 
American paper money ever produced:  Paper Money Issued by Banks 
in the United States 1782-1866, with the subtitle, The Engraving, 
Printing, and Circulation of Bank Notes with Aspects of Collecting 
Obsolete Currency. The author is Q. David Bowers... The book will 
include a foreword by Eric P. Newman, patriarch of paper money 
research and collecting.

The book will be an estimated 500 to 600 pages in length, large 
8 ½ by 11 inches in format, full color throughout, printed on 
high quality paper, and hardbound with a decorative cover as well 
as a book jacket. It is anticipated that these books will be 
available for distribution by autumn. The cover price is $69.95. 
In addition, a limited number of leather bound copies will be 
produced for those who wish to have a very special volume for 
their library, these for $99.95.

The book is arranged in 20 chapters, each of which is extensively 
illustrated... The contributors to the new book constitute a 
veritable Who’s Who in American Paper Money, providing hundreds 
of images of individual notes, vignettes, full sheets, and more. 
Never before has so much information and so many illustrations 
been combined in a single volume.

Bowers, who has been studying the subject and keeping notes for 
several decades, draws primarily upon original bank documents, 
contemporary newspapers, state bank commission reports, and other 
contemporary information, bringing to light many interesting, 
indeed remarkable facts never before presented in a numismatic 
publication."

"Concluding the book is a color gallery, “Treasures of the American 
Bank Note Company Archives,” illustrating and describing many of 
the bank note plates, vignettes, and other items that were sold in 
2005 by the American Bank Note Company to John Albanese and Steve 
Blum, with many of the important items going to American Numismatic 
Rarities. The book, the work of years of research by Dave Bowers, 
would probably still be in the compilation stage were it not for 
the planned offering of American Note Bank Note Company plates and 
other items on the market, beginning later this year. This 
precipitated a drawing together of information, resulting in the 
book here announced."

[I'm looking forward to seeing Dave's latest work.  The book will 
be available through numismatic literature dealers later this year.  
For more information, see the Whitman web site: 
http://www.whitmanbooks.com/ -Editor]


ANXIOUSLY AWAITED BOOKS: SO-CALLED DOLLARS, CHERRYPICKER'S GUIDE

Steve Pellegrini writes: "Last week in Coin World there was an 
article about the currently very hot 'So-Called-Dollar' series of 
U.S. commemorative medals. In the article the writer mentions that 
a new book about the series is in the works. Has there ever been 
a numismatic book which more needed to be written? The standard 
reference by Hibler and Kappen, as great as it is, came out in 
1963 and is oh so woefully incomplete and out of date. I only hope 
this work won't be years making its debut. 

Speaking of delayed book debuts, has anybody heard any news that's 
new regarding Volume 2 of Fivaz and Stanton's 'Cherrypickers Guide 
To Rare Die Varities'? The last I heard the briars and brambles of 
tangled red tape that was holding up the book had recently been 
unwound and the book could be expected any day now. That update, 
also reported in Coin World, appeared many months ago. Still no book.

My little vested interest in this book concerns one of the longest 
held group of coins in my collection. This is a run of Washington 
Quarter die varities. Some of these varieties were unlisted in the 
old 'Cherrypickers Guide' and will hopefully have made the grade 
in the new edition. I wait anxiously."


FLORENCE SCHOOK 1917-2006

John and Nancy Wilson write: "We were informed of the passing of 
Past ANA President Florence Schook at the age of 88.  Florence 
also served as President of the Central States Numismatic Society 
and Michigan State Numismatic Society.  She served for many years 
on all three of these boards and advanced many educational programs, 
especially YN (Young Numismatists).  Florence also had a great 
impact on the numismatic direction of these important organizations.  

We will always remember Florence for her tireless work while serving 
on the boards of the above three organizations.  Nancy served with 
Florence on the ANA Board, and I served with her on the CSNS Board.   
This dynamic and hard working numismatist was the recipient of all 
the major awards of the aforementioned organizations.  Florence will 
be greatly missed by her thousands of friends from all over the U. S., 
and World.  She will be forever in our thoughts and memories.

MSNS Exhibit Chairman Frank Passic provided information that at 
www.findagrave.com you can view a photo of Florence Schook, which 
was provided by Coin World and Beth Deisher."

[Here's a shortcut to the Schook page: http://tinyurl.com/zzuy7
-Editor]

David Ganz writes: "I knew Florence for many years and served 
with her for 10 years on the ANA Board. Although I was long out of 
the YN program when she became active (in the mid-1970's), we worked 
well together for the YN cause particularly in raising funds for YN 
projects. The Young Numismatist publication that I edited from about 
1970 to 1976 pre-dates her but she was very supportive when others 
were not in moving it to the mainstream Numismatist publication. She 
influenced a number of today's hobby leaders including Scott Travers 
and Dwight Manley. She was a good friend with whom I enjoyed talking 
and exchanging holiday cards since our mutual retirement from the 
ANA Board."

Scott Travers writes: "Florence Schook was one of the earliest and 
perhaps most important influences on my development as a collector, 
dealer and author. I first met Florence at a YN meeting and competition 
when I was 13. She immediately took me under her wing. Over the next 
few years she helped me to achieve my potential, culminating in 1978 
when I was named “Outstanding Young Numismatist” by ANA. Florence 
created a platform that allowed me to develop skills as a numismatist, 
writer, speaker and exhibitor. She was an out-of-the-box thinker who
encouraged independent expression. All of this training served as the 
foundation for success in later years in all of these areas. Even 
after completing my period as a YN, I continued to depend on Florence 
for excellent advice and guidance—and regarded her as a good friend. 
Florence Schook will be sorely missed."


BOOK REVIEW: MILLION DOLLAR NICKELS

A few months ago I ordered a copy of "Million Dollar Nickels: 
Mysteries of the Illicit Liberty Head Nickels Revealed", by Paul 
Montgomery, Mark Borckardt, and Ray Knight.  I've been reading it 
off and on as time allows, and thought I'd write a short review.  
Published in 2005, the book chronicles the story of the famed 
nickels, culminating in the 2003 re-discovery of the long-lost 
fifth nickel owned by the family of George O. Walton.

The book is a wonderful one-volume compendium of information on 
the coins, but it's not a mere reference book - it reads like a 
novel.  I would recommend it to numismatists and interested 
non-collectors alike.  Not unlike the tale of the famed 1933 
Double Eagle, the story is replete with mysteries, shady 
characters, questionable stories, big money and big surprises.   

As a bibliophile I was delighted to see how well the authors 
documented their research.  The book includes a six-page index 
and eight-page bibliography. In addition, there is a list of 
references following each chapter.  Throughout the book appear 
illustrations of original source materials such as letters, 
telegrams, receipts, checks and handwritten notes by the likes 
of Eric Newman.  Portraits of Newman and Burdette Johnson (who 
once owned all five of the nickels) are included, along with 
other owners including King Farouk, George Walton, Aubrey Bebee, 
J. V. McDermott, Dr. Conway Bolt, Louis Eliasberg, Dwight Manley, 
Reed Hawn, Abe Kosoff, Edwin Hydeman, Fred Olsen, James Kelly 
and others.  The book even includes a photo of the elusive Samuel 
W. Brown, who introduced the coins to the hobby.

It's hard to pick favorite chapters since I found something of 
interest in every one, but here are a few that stand out.  Chapter 
5, "The Mysterious Mr. Brown" sheds light on the man at the center 
of the coins' origin.  Chapter Six, "The Set Period" covers the 
early days when the five known coins traded together as a set.  
The chapter includes a photo of the original black leather case 
that housed the nickels when Newman and Johnson acquired them 
from the Col. Green estate.  Chapter 9, "The Clockwork Miracle" 
is a great behind-the-scenes account of the famous million-dollar 
offer for the missing fifth nickel and the pandemonium that broke 
out once the story hit the wires and the phones began ringing.  

In short, this one's a real keeper - one of the few numismatic 
books that make easy cover-to-cover reading.  Many thanks to the 
authors for pulling together the threads of the tale into a great 
reference.  As a kid, "The Fantastic 1804 Dollar" was the book 
that really fired my imagination about numismatic history and 
research.  "Million Dollar Nickels" is a book that could do the 
same for a new generation of numismatists - every school library 
should have a copy.

Published by Zyrus Press under license from Bowers and Merena 
Galleries, Inc., the book is 6" x 9" hardbound with a pictorial 
dust jacket, 369 pages, including over 100 black & white photos 
and color plates of the five specimens.  For more information, 
see the publisher's web site:
http://www.zyruspress.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=7&HS=1 

[I should add that one thing I haven't been able to learn from 
the book is the answer to our recent question of who exhibited 
a 1913 Liberty Nickel at the 1957 American Numismatic Association 
convention.  But that's a minor point, and perhaps something which 
could be addressed in a future edition.

QUIZ QUESTION: The famous black leather case contained not just 
the five 1913 Liberty Nickels, but three other coins. What were 
they, and where are they now?  -Editor]


1794 DOLLAR PEDIGREE INFORMATION SOUGHT

W. David Perkins writes: "I would like to learn the buyer's name 
for a 1794 Silver Dollar, Lot 608 in New Netherlands Coin Company, 
Inc. Forty-Eighth Catalog of Rare Coins sale, November 21, 1956, 
page 30.  This coin is plated in the sale catalog.  

This specimen, per the sale catalog, was pedigreed to the Chapman 
Earle sale in 1912, where it is also plated both obverse and reverse.  
The cataloger also notes that it was obtained by Mr. Clarke from 
Ira Reed.

According to the unpublished Jack Collins 1794 Dollar manuscript, 
this specimen is ex. A. Bridgman (Chapman Bros., November 27-289, 
1891:689 at $110.00).  The manuscript states the coin went to 
"Kagins," thus one of the Kagin brothers (Art and / or Paul) may 
have acquired it in this sale.  

I would also like to learn if anyone has this specimen today, or 
knows where it is.  Or if anyone has seen or heard of it since it 
was sold in this sale in 1956.  

At one time it had a "planchet defect (or damage) through the R 
in LIBERTY, extending from the border almost to the hair, where 
it curves left; adjustment marks between the third and fourth stars. 
 Reverse with a serious edge dent above TE STATES; nick or scratch 
below the dentils above ME."  It is possible this planchet defect 
was repaired after the 1956 auction sale."

[Dave has offered to provide photos of this specimen to help 
identify it.  Contact me at whomren at coinlibrary.com and I'll 
forward your request. -Editor]


THE GREAT SILVER MELT – MAKE THAT THE ‘BIG’ SILVER MELT

The last two issues of E-Sylum have contained fascinating articles 
on the Silver Melt of 1980. It inspired me to reach for the book 
in my library on this Great Silver Melt. But it wasn’t there. I 
could see it in my mind. I know what it contained. It was a maroon 
paperback with silver lettering on the cover. (Must be in those 
three skids of books in the basement, as yet unpacked.)

So I went on Abebooks.com to learn about it. I didn’t remember 
the author, but the name was "The Great Silver Melt." Zero hits. 
I finally found it. The title was incorrect. It was "The BIG Silver 
Melt"! The author was Henry A. Merton. Published 1983 by Macmillan.

This book chronicled the events of the silver price run up and the 
unsuccessful attempt by the Hunt Brothers to corner silver. Of 
course there were some dramatic events after the book was published, 
like the auction sale of the Hunt’s notable ancient coin collection 
(and the ultimate sale of so much of their assets).

I hope this book is the source of the story I have repeated often. 
The Hunts took possession of tons and tons of silver and wanted to 
get it to Europe. How? They flew their ranch hands (read gun-toting 
cowboys) to New York. Picked up the silver at a refinery in New 
Jersey. Drove it to Kennedy International with the ranch hands riding
shotgun over all that silver. They oversaw it loaded onto a plane, 
climbed aboard and flew it off to Belgium, I believe. The shotgun 
delivery protected the other end, as well.

Merton’s book is excellent; recommend for E-Sylum readers. There 
are five copies available on Abebooks. I’m looking forward to when 
Hollywood makes this book into a film. Can I play the part of Bunker 
Hunt? I promise I’ll put on some weight and practice my Texas drawl!"

[I told Dick that I, too had a copy of Merton's book, but I lied.  
When I checked my library, what I thought was the Merton book was 
another small paperback titled "The Great Change Robbery: The 
Numismatic Nightmare" by Charles Diggins (1965).  It doesn't begin 
"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times" -- that's 
another Charles Diggins.  This one does include the phrase "Coin 
collectors are not stupid, greedy little people who try to bankrupt 
the economy."   Turns out my book isn't about the 1980 silver runnup, 
but the one in the early 1960s that led to the removal of silver 
from circulating U.S. coinage.  -Editor]


MORE ON THE GREAT BIG SILVER MELT OF 1980

Tom DeLorey writes: "I asked my colleague, Dennis Forgue, who 
was working at this location when it was still Rarcoa back in 1980, 
what he thinks happened to the huge amounts of silver bought in here 
back then. He says that it was almost impossible to resell "junk 
silver" at the inflated levels, as the vast majority of people were 
selling silver and buying gold. At most they resold 5% of what was 
brought in, to speculators who thought it would run up some more. 
The rest was shipped to refiners in Europe, as the refiners in 
America were way backed up melting silver coins.
 
Another consideration, raised by my colleague Bob Greenstein, is 
that dealers were throwing everything into bags to be melted back 
then, including common Proofs and Barber halves, and we never see 
bags like that being resold today, just common stuff that people 
sat on back then waiting for the top to come again. The spiked 
bags got melted."
 

CORNELL'S MAKING OF AMERICA WEB SITE

Dave Ginsburg writes: "I may be the last person on the planet 
to have discovered this, but while doing some research on the 
Internet, I stumbled across the "Making of America" collection, 
which is a joint project of Cornell University and the University 
of Michigan to host a digitized collection of 19th century books 
and journals.  You can reach it by going to http:cdl.library.cornell.edu 
for Cornell's digital collection and then scrolling down the page to 
the link.  (The homepage for the Making of America collection has a 
link to the University of Michigan's collection).  I found the 
collection when I was searching for an article in the January 1852 
issue of The Democratic Review concerning the Mint (and why foreign 
gold coins were being exported instead of being recoined into 
American coins).  From there I discovered that the collection was 
searchable.  A simple boolean search (in Advanced Search) combining 
"United", "States" and "Mint" and limiting the time frame to 1815 
to 1870 gave me over 500 hits!
 
The first two were for articles in Harper's Monthly Magazine, 
which led me to a 13-page article on the New York Assay Office 
in the November 1861 issue.  This article was the first part of 
a three-part series.  The second was a 13-page article on the 
Philadelphia Mint in the December 1861 issue, while the third was 
a 20-page article on the American Bank Note Company in the February 
1862 issue.  Each article is profusely illustrated and minutely 
examines the working methods of each subject.  I've only taken a 
brief look at the University of Michigan's collection, but I saw 
that they have DeBow's Review.
 
The articles (at least the ones I've read) are in .gif format, 
so it's easy to copy each page and paste them into a Word document, 
which allows easy printing and electronic storage.  What a great 
resource!"

[We first discussed this web site in The E-Sylum back on April 30, 
2000, but I'm sure Dave isn't the only researcher unaware of this 
resource. It's high time we revisited this site.  Here's a link to 
the original article. -Editor]

CORNELL'S MAKING OF AMERICA WEB SITE
http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v03n18a03.html 

Board member Larry Mitchell writes: "Among the best resources 
for ancillary coverage of 19th century American numismatic 
topics are the monographs and journals currently being digitized 
as part of Cornell University's MAKING OF AMERICA project. 
The almost 1,000,000 pages digitized to date are a treasure trove 
of information for numismatists.


COLLECTORS URGED TO WRITE CONGRESS ABOUT THE LINCOLN CENT

Regarding Dick Johnson's suggestions for the 2009 Lincoln cents, 
Howard Spindel writes: "I agree with Dick's comments that having 
versions of the 2009 cent in precious metals would be something 
special.

When U.S. Mint personnel were in Portland for release of the Oregon 
quarter, I asked Gloria Eskridge (Associate Director, Sales and 
Marketing) why the annual silver proof sets couldn't include silver 
versions of the nickel and the cent, as it has always seemed strange 
to me that those coins remain in base metals in a *silver* proof set.  
Her answer was that the US Mint can not decide on its own the 
metallic content of any coin - it requires Congressional legislation. 
So, if anyone wants silver or gold 2009 cents, write your Congressman!"


PERKINS BUILDING QUERY: DID IT MINT OR JUST PRINT?

Regarding the Jacob Perkins building in Newburyport, MA, Dick Hanscom 
writes: "Just a minor correction. It is not the Newburyport Historical 
Society -  it is the Historical Society of Old Newbury (in Newburyport, 
which used to be part of Newbury). Its building is the Cushing House 
Museum.
 
And here's a question someone might be able to answer.  We know the 
building was used as a workshop to print bank notes, but the local 
press refers to it as a "Mint".  Is there anything to indicate that 
this building ever served as a mint - that is, to strike coins or 
medals.  I know Perkins engraved some of the dies for the Mass. coinage, 
the Washington funeral medal and the "Born Virginia," but were they 
actually struck there?"

[I was wondering that myself, but should know better than to assume 
any local historical society can get numismatic details straight.  
Can anyone help?  -Editor] 


O. P. EKLUND, JOSEPH BARNET AND THE SECRET SERVICE GOLD FILES

Len Augsberger writes: "While looking through the Secret Service 
gold investigation files in the National Archives, I came across a 
letter from 1941 regarding the activities of O.P. Eklund and Joseph 
Barnet, both American Numismatic Association officials at the time.  
It seems that Eklund managed to purchase, through an intermediary, 
one thousand dollars in gold coins at face value from a mentally ill 
elderly woman who was afraid she might get into trouble with the 
government for having them.  The coins were then flipped to Barnet 
for a six hundred dollar profit, about the same value represented 
by the bullion in the coins.  

The U.S. attorney declined to prosecute, feeling that it was a 
legitimate numismatic transaction.  The conclusion is curious given 
the facts of the case, especially since the coins were not sold at 
a premium to melt values.  If anyone would like to pursue this further 
I would be happy to furnish a copy of the letter (written to Frank 
Wilson, chief of the Secret Service) in return for a self-addressed 
stamped envelope, just contact me at leonard_augsburger at hotmail.com."

[I think this investigation was mentioned in one of the books on 
the 1933 Double Eagle, but I'm not sure and haven't checked
the indexes.  -Editor]


NOTES ON THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD OF LIBRARY RESEARCH

Regarding the "double-edged sword of library research" one reader 
writes: " I recall a similar debacle in the field of fine arts.  
Please understand this is all from memory.  I may not have all 
the facts straight.  Here's how I remember it:
 
At some point during the 1990's, the art world became aware of a 
scam that had taken place primarily in Europe.  A forger or a 
confederate of a forger would pretend to be a researcher and 
would obtain access to archives used by art historians and 
authenticators.  These archives contain, among other things, 
detailed descriptions of very valuable paintings whose current 
location is unknown.  As you might expect, with the dislocation 
of art treasures that resulted from the looting and destruction 
that occurred during the Second World War, there are many art 
works which were formerly in European collections that are now 
considered lost.
 
The forger and his researcher accomplice would focus on a 
particular piece of art that might be forged.  All pertinent 
details for this painting would be retrieved from the archive.  
The forger would then spend many months creating a painting that 
might fool the art establishment.  The forger would attempt to 
mimic the style of the original artist, all the while being 
consistent with the information obtained from the archive. 
 
When the painting was consigned to a gallery or an auction, 
someone was hired to research it's provenance.  As you might 
expect, the same archive that was referenced by the forger and 
his partner was now accessed by the authenticator.  Since the 
forgery was tailored to match these records, the authenticator's 
report typically confirmed that the painting was genuine.
 
As I recall, by the time this scam was discovered, several very 
expensive works that were later revealed to be forgeries had been 
sold at major galleries and/or auction houses.  This was one of 
the biggest scandals in the art world during the 1990's."

Fred Holabird writes: "Comments made recently regarding library 
research, particularly those made by the Editor on Hoffman (the 
famous Utah documents forger), are extremely important. Just like 
everything else, one has to know how to use their tools, and many 
researchers don't know how to use these tools properly. Library 
research is a critically important tool in understanding and 
unraveling certain parts of history. But it isn't the answer all 
the time. Just because there is a directory listing for a specific 
business does not mean an article in question is real or fake. It 
simply means that there is evidence to support that such a thing 
could be real. Too often a direct bridge is made in the association 
of certain aspects of historical research and authenticity. 

For example, we recently examined an old (circa 1625) oil painting 
in a private collection. The "original" was reported in a European 
museum. Upon further detailed research in original archival material, 
it was found undeniably that the artist had painted this portrait at 
least 4 times for other "sponsors." Did this mean that the painting 
in question was real, but was a copy by the same artist? No. It meant 
that it could be. In this case, we let science be our guide, and dated 
the canvas using the latest C14 methodology at an outside lab, and 
found the canvas to date to the early 1800's. The original, and the 
original copies, were painted in about 1625. This example is a 
nineteenth century copy. 

In ingots, we have had the same thing happen. A clever (or humorously 
artistic) person picked a mine name and made an ingot for it. I used 
several examples in one of my articles, particularly a group from 
Colorado, such as "the so-and-so Mining Co," Typically, as pointed 
out by many, including Kleeberg and Buttrey, some of these bad mining 
company dore bars have silly things punched in them such as "999 fine". 
Few mining companies that I am aware of have refined bullion historically, 
until modern times (generally 1970's onward, with exceptions). The 
research here showed the maker had quite an imagination, using the 
wrong metal produced (silver rather than gold), placing a high fineness 
on the ingot (.999), etc. The worst of these, by far, are the silver 
Wells Fargo bars that show up on ebay regularly, and seem to sell for 
hundreds of dollars each. 

In another case (three, actually), the original ingot punch for Harris, 
now in a museum collection, was used to create at least three different 
silver ingots in modern times. The modern ingot "artist" failed to 
follow the industry protocols, and marked the ingots incorrectly. To me 
at least, they are bad fakes. But to the market, they might appear 
genuine. Others of similar "construction" certainly exist.

One very important part of our current work is developing a detailed 
database using ICP 50-60 element, with multi-metal isotopes from 
original high grade (native metal) ore specimens from specific site 
localities. In this manner, we have directly compared specific gold 
and silver specimens from specific mines to assayer bars from nearby 
districts. This important work has already produced excellent results, 
but is far from complete.  Inherent problems exist, such as the certainty 
of a specific native gold or silver specimen actually coming from the 
mine on the specimen label. To safeguard against this, specimens have 
been acquired from mine owners, working geologists who collected on 
site, and a few select museums who have older collections with verified 
material. 

The initial findings from this database are that significant differences 
exist on an atomic level between major mining districts that are separated 
on the earth's crust by significant distances. In example, most Colorado
placer gold from the 1860's districts differs significantly from most Mother

Lode California placer gold. The same holds true for Georgia. We have yet 
to test southern California gold regions, or Oregon, Washington, and Montana

regions. There is a long way to go, and the testing is relatively 
inexpensive, but we lack a funding mechanism for the thousands of 
samples that need to be run to build the quality of data base needed."


NEW ZEALAND MINT A PRIVATE COMPANY

Regarding last week's mention of the New Zealand Mint, Martin Purdy 
writes: "I occasionally get enquiries from overseas about this entity - 
it might pay to note that it is a private company that is doing well for 
itself, having scored a few overseas contracts, but is not an "official" 
NZ government entity.  The name makes me a little uneasy for that reason!"


THE 1960 SMALL DATE LINCOLN CENT INSANITY

Barry Jablon writes: "My five year career of working for the Friedbergs 
in Philly and Baltimore was not limited to sales and making purchases. 
We spent a lot of time talking to people about coins and trying to get 
them into the hobby. I loved the interaction with the customers. However, 
there was a period of time, I think it was about two or three weeks, 
which really tried all of our patience. 

After forty-eight years, I do not recall exactly what month it was. But, 
shortly after the 1960 pennies were issued by the mint, television news 
shows and newspaper articles were filled with news about "Small Date" 
cents being worth from .50 to $1.00 each. The problem was that to most 
people, all of their 1960 cents had small dates. They either didn't want 
to understand what a Small Date cent was or they already had all of the 
money spent which Gimbel's was going to pay them for their bags of 
pennies. 

>From the first thing in the morning until the store closed at night, the 
counter was lined  with people wanting to sell their pennies. When Mr. 
Kraus and I would go for dinner at the store cafeteria, they would come 
to our table with their pennies. Merchants in the neighborhood knew we 
were the coin guys and they would bring their pennies to us for our 
examination. I'm not making any of this up, I was even questioned about 
small date values while I was at the urinal in the Gimbel's Men's Room. 

Mr. Kraus, who had little patience for what he called the "hole filling 
American collectors" used to stay in the stock room when he saw people 
coming to the counter with bags of pennies. I usually got the job of 
telling people we were not interested in their pennies and watching them 
get angry and tell me off. Mr. Kraus blamed local coin dealer Harry 
Forman for the "Small Date" insanity. I don't know if this is true or 
not. I do know that this period was about the only time I ever wanted out of
the coin business."


LEGISLATION TO PUNISH FRAUDULENT MEDAL OF HONOR CLAIMS

Arthur Shippee noted the following Associated Press story from 
Monday's New York Times regarding stepped-up efforts to protect 
the integrity of the Medal of Honor and other U.S. military medals.

"A proliferation of people who falsely claim to have won military 
medals is prompting calls for tougher laws to punish the impostors. 

The Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation reports that there are 
113 living recipients of the award, the nation's highest military 
honor, but an F.B.I. agent who tracks the fakes says impostors 
outnumber the real winners."

"Anyone convicted of fraudulently wearing the Medal of Honor could 
face up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. But there is no 
similar penalty for wearing other medals.

The Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation and other veterans 
groups are looking to change that, enlisting the help of Representative 
John Salazar, Democrat of Colorado. Mr. Salazar is sponsoring legislation 
that would penalize distributors of phony medals and those who pretend 
to be decorated veterans."

"Mr. Cottone said he recovered two fake Medals of Honor at a New Jersey 
gun show. Both were made by HLI Lordship Industries, a former government 
contractor for the medal.

The company, based in Hauppauge, N.Y., was fined $80,000 in 1996 and 
placed on probation after admitting that 300 fakes were sold in the 
early 1990's for $75 each."

To read the complete story, see:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/01/us/01medal.html 


UNIQUE, SEMI-UNIQUE, QUASI-UNIQUE, WANNABE-UNIQUE AND REALLY, REALLY U-NEEK

Bob Leonard writes: "I'm sure I won't be the only one to comment 
on this item from some journalist at FOX News: "Manning put the 
rarest and most unique items in the U.N. archive up for auction 
once again..." 

Some people have criticized numismatic catalogers for using the 
term "semi-unique," for pieces of which only two are known.  But 
now it seems we have several degrees of "uniqueness," most unique, 
slightly unique, only a little bit unique, rarest, merely rare, etc.  
Where will it stop?"

[So far, Bob's comment is unique.  And this issue of The E-Sylum 
is too, being the only one issued this week.  -Editor]
 

QUIZ ANSWER: ARCHER HUNTINGTON'S WEALTH

One reader writes: "In response to the question posed in last 
week's E-Sylum, I don't actually know the source of the Huntington's 
wealth, but I would guess that Huntington may have been a descendant 
or other relation of C.P. Huntington.  As I recall, C.P. was the 
founder of the Southern Pacific Railroad, and a pillar of 19th 
century California society.  I believe there is a magnificent 
library in Pasadena which was founded and funded by this family.  
It contains numerous treasures, such as a Gutenberg Bible."

Rich Jewell writes: "Archer M. Huntington's wealth came from 
railroads, steamship lines and shipbuilding. 

David T. Alexander has an excellent article the June issue of 
Coinage magazine regarding Archer Huntington's life, his 
interest in numismatics, things Hispanic and much, much more."

[Jeff Reichenberger pointed out this article as well. Archer 
Huntington (1870-1955), was the adopted child of Collis 
Huntington, a founder of Southern Pacific.  As C.P.'s only 
heir, Archer inherited a massive fortune.  

Here's a link to Huntington's biography on the ANS website:
http://www.numismatics.org/archives/HuntingtonBio.htm 

The ANS biography refers to C.P. as Archer's stepfather - 
Archer's mother was C.P.'s second wife.  But was there a 
biological connection?  One researcher writes:  "The identity 
of Archer's father is controversial.  Based on what evidence 
I've found, so far, he appears to be the love child of Arabella 
and C.P. HUNTINGTON, a product of his 15-year affair with 
Arabella while he was still married to his first wife (and she 
to her first husband).  After the death of C.P.'s first wife, 
C.P. married Arabella and adopted her (now teenage) son.  
Before C.P. and Arabella were married, she maintained that 
Archer's father was her first husband, John WORSHAM.  But was 
Archer really John's son?"
http://dgmweb.net/genealogy/FGS/H/HuntingtonArcherMilton-HelenMGates-AnnaVHy
att.shtml 

Regardless, we numismatists can be very thankful for Archer's 
inheritance, generosity and good taste.  -Editor]


POST OFFICE MULLS "FOREVER STAMP" ISSUE

The Associated Press published an article on Wednesday about
the U.S. Postal Service's proposed "forever stamp".

"How about this for a hedge against inflation — a postage 
stamp that stays valid for mailing a letter no matter how much 
rates may go up.

The Postal Service's governing board is considering issuing 
the "forever" stamp — and seeking an increase of 3 cents in 
the first-class rate — probably to take effect in the spring 
of 2007."

"The forever stamp would help soften the blow of a rate 
increase by allowing customers to stock up. As originally 
proposed it would sell for the first class rate and, once 
purchased, the special stamp would remain valid for whatever 
the first-class rate is when it is used, regardless of future 
increases."

To read the complete article, see:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/05/03/national/w003504
D70.DTL 

[Sure, the U.S. Postal Service will never go out of business.  
It'll always be there, like Social Security.  And what happens 
when counterfeiters learn how to make cost-effective perfect 
copies of the old "forever" stamps when new technology arrives 
on the scene?  -Editor]


WASHINGTON STATE CHOOSES LEAPING SALMON DESIGN FOR QUARTER

"Gov. Chris Gregoire stuck with the people's choice for the 
flip side of Washington state's commemorative quarter on 
Thursday, but the selection left the state's famed apple 
growers feeling a bit bruised.

Gregoire unveiled an oversized version of the design - a 
lively looking salmon leaping in front of a conifer-trimmed 
Mount Rainier - to a chorus of "Ohhhhhh" and applause from 
students at Olympia's Centennial Elementary School.

The first-term Democrat said she felt the image, also the 
favorite in an online opinion poll, was the best showcase 
for two of the state's most notable symbols. It also 
incorporates "The Evergreen State" as a slogan.

"I think it's important that we have something natural. 
We are really a state that thinks much of our natural heritage," 
Gregoire said."

"Symbolic issues aside, the winning choice also avoided being 
too "busy," a fate that has befallen some other state quarters 
that tried to cram too many symbols onto a small surface, 
Gregoire said."

"The leaping salmon design won the second round of voting with 
45 percent of the tally, while about 40 percent favored the 
images of apples, Mount Rainier and a salmon within an outline 
of the state. The third choice was an Indian-style drawing of 
a killer whale."

To read the complete story, see:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_WA_Wash_Quarter.html 


VIETNAM ISSUES POLYMER NOTES

"The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) will issue VND20,000 polymer 
notes into circulation from May 17, 2006. The existing cotton 
VND20,000 notes will continue to circulate concurrently.

The polymer VND20,000 note is 136mm x 65mm, and the dominant 
colour remains dark blue. The words Cong hoa xa hoi chu nghia 
Viet nam (Socialist Republic of Vietnam) appear on one side 
of the note, alongside the national coat of arms, a portrait 
of President Ho Chi Minh, and the nominal value of the note 
(VND20,000 in both numerals and in words)."

"Nguyen Chi Thanh, Head of the Vault and Treasury Department 
under the SBV said that the central bank submitted to the 
Government the plan to issue polymer notes with the face value 
of VND10,000 and VND20,000 in April. The plan was approved by 
the Government in decision No 647 dated April 24."

"Mr Thanh revealed that the central bank will introduce the set 
of Vietnamese currencies (including polymer and coins) in the 
near future. SBV will no longer issue notes of value less than 
VND10,000, as these denominations will be replaced by coins."

To read the complete article (and view images of the notes) see:
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/biz/2006/05/566823/ 

[I checked with our Vietnam expert, Howard Daniel, and he writes: 
"You might add that the back design has the Japanese Bridge in Hoi An,
and that the 10,000 Dong polymer note was not issued because too 
many were printed for the lunar new year (Tet) and not enough were 
withdrawn from the banks as gifts to children.  So it will be issued 
later in the year.  There are also 200,000 and 1,000,000 Dong polymer 
notes to be issued in the next year or so."


VIETNAM PRESENTS COIN BOOK TO DIGNITARIES

"The Vietnamese government will present a book on the country’s 
ancient coins as a souvenir to leaders attending the APEC Summit 
in Hanoi next November.
 
Kho Bau Tien Co Dai Viet (The Ancient Coins of Great Viet) is about 
a collection of old coins dating back 1,000 years. Described as the 
most precious in Vietnam, it includes coins made during the time of 
King Dinh (968-980), later by the Tien Le, Ly, Tran, Le, Ho, Le So, 
and Mac kings, and up to the last dynasty, the Nguyen, which reigned 
from 1802 to 1945.

The collection includes priceless coins found nowhere else, like the 
Dai Tri Nguyen Bao and Dai Tri Thong Bao cast during the reign of 
King Tran Du Tong (1358-1369), and Chieu Dao Nguyen Bao and Chieu 
Bao Vuong Nha cast by Tran Ich Tac who was a puppet ruler under the 
Chinese Nguyen invaders in the 8th century.

The coin collection was catalogued by the Museum of Vietnamese 
History with assistance from experts from the Guangxi Ancient 
Coins Museum in China."

To read the complete article, see:
http://www.thanhniennews.com/entertaiments/?catid=6&newsid=15064  

Howard Daniel adds: "This must be the reference I bought during my 
last trip that was done by the National Museum in Hanoi and a Museum 
in South China.  It is oversized and would be an impressive book to 
give to a non-numismatist -- only 700 were printed."


NEWSPAPER SOLICITS HAWAII STATE QUARTER DESIGNS

A Sunday April 30 article in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin features 
winners of the paper's design competition for Hawaii's new state 
quarter.

"The public has spoken in this latest round of Star-Bulletin State 
Quarter contests, and the clear favorite was -- drumroll, or maybe 
the sound of a slot machine making ka-ching -- Kaneohe artist Wayne 
Takazono's rendition of the King Kamehameha statue, gesturing across 
a splash of islands. Simple, clean, appropriate, elegant, recognizable."

"I worked up sketches for lots of designs and actually drew up a 
dozen or so before settling on King Kamehameha," said Takazono. 
"All sorts of Hawaii icons, like Diamond Head, hula girls, nene, 
surfing. I read up and asked opinions. Iolani Palace, for example, 
sounds good, but as a design, it's boring."

In the end he went with gut instinct.

"The representation of Kamehameha in the statue is an icon of 
Hawaii. It's not only a natural, it has real power, a reference 
that people can accept on the obverse side of a coin from Washington."

To read the complete article, see:
http://starbulletin.com/2006/04/30/features/story01.html 


ANOTHER ALMOND DELIGHT FAN SURFACES

Gene Hessler writes: "I, too, have an empty Almond Delight cereal 
box. I was the coordinator of that program and selected the notes 
that were included. In addition to my fee, I was given at least 12 
sets of unfolded notes, and some sheets which I gave to friends 
and relatives."

[I didn't know Gene was involved with the program, but the company 
made a superb choice.  It was a great selection of reprinted notes. 
-Editor]


FEATURED WEB PAGE: HAWAII AND ITS COINAGE

This week's featured web page is an article by James C. Johnston Jr. 
from the October 2004 issue of the Journal of Antiques and Collectibles 
on "Hawaii and It’s Coinage"   It's not so much about the coinage 
but the author's quest to build a type collection of Hawaiian coinage 
as a youth.

"Hawaii has always been an exciting place in my imagination. When I 
was a pre-teen, I was collecting coins, stamps, and old books. In 
those days, there seemed to be rare stuff all over the place. I would 
dig through piles of old books and came up with treasure after 
treasure for 10¢.

By the time I was 12, I often could spend as much as $5 or $10 for 
a coin, stamps, or a book. For me, the trio was a natural to collect. 
I found A New Voyage, Round the World In the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 
and 1771 Undertaken by Order of His Present Majesty, Performed by 
James Cook, In the Ship Endeavour. The title goes on, but the really 
rare thing about this book is not only the subject matter, but the 
fact that it was printed in New York by James Rivington in 1774. 
Books printed in America before the Revolution are rare, and this 
subject was very popular."

http://www.journalofantiques.com/Oct04/coinsoct04.htm 


Wayne Homren
Numismatic Bibliomania Society


The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization 
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