The E-Sylum v9#37, September 10, 2006

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Sun Sep 10 18:33:16 PDT 2006


Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 9, Number 37, September 10, 2006:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2006, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.


WAYNE'S WORDS

Among our recent subscribers are Mike Cali and Rick Selvin.  
Welcome aboard!  We now have 961 subscribers.

This week's issue brings news of an upcoming biography of a 
heretofore unknown American numismatic figure, and the announcement 
of what I think will be an absolutely fabulous new tool for doing 
numismatic research.  The tool may help bring to light numerous 
previously-unknown numismatic facts.  And if that's not enough news 
for one week, two of the biggest names in American numismatic 
auctions are merging!

In follow-up topics, Bob Rhue provides some musing on his great 
exhibits at the recent ANA show, and the mystery of the Wolfson 
"1913 Liberty Nickel" is solved.  New research questions involve 
counterfeit-detector publisher John S. Dye and the very rare 
Beaver Club Medal.

In international news, the banknote changeover in Zimbabwe has 
spawned a flock of profit-seeking modern-day moneychangers.  And 
what is an osphatheleni?  Read on to find out.  Have a great week, 
everyone!

Wayne Homren
Numismatic Bibliomania Society


NEW BOOK: RUSTY GOE ON JAMES CRAWFORD OF THE CARSON CITY MINT

An ad appearing in the September 12 issue of Numismatic News (p16) 
announces Rusty Goe's upcoming book, "James Crawford - Master of 
the Mint at Carson City: A Short Life."  

Marie Goe writes: "As you know, Rusty is passionate about the Carson 
City Mint and the rich history associated with it.  He felt that so 
many of the key people involved at the Mint, during the years while 
it was operating, seemed obscured in history.  During the years Rusty 
was researching "The Mint on Carson Street" he was struck by the lack 
of information available on those men (and women).  He was determined 
to learn about these historic figures and to put a human face on them.
 
Unlike the well-documented history of the Civil War, few records were 
kept concerning the Carson City Mint, and there are practically no 
journals or diaries from anyone who worked there.  Rusty has dug deep 
into old territorial newspaper archives and Carson City Mint records 
to weave the threads of history together and bring James Crawford's 
story and times back to life. 

To the citizens of Carson City in the 1870s and 1880s, James Crawford 
was a beloved hero who fought tirelessly to keep the Carson City Mint 
open against powerful political enemies who sought to close it from 
its inception. Rusty knew Crawford's story needed to be told: it was 
important to record this great history for future generations and not 
let it be lost in time.
 
Rusty has been writing furiously, already expanded well beyond his 
original goal of 300 pages (probably closer to 500 now).  We are 
shooting for the book to be ready for delivery in early 2007. 
Following are a few more facts:
 
. Biography of the fourth Superintendent of the Carson City   
  Mint (From 1874-1885).
. Traces Crawford's life from his birth in Kentucky; to his 
  formative years in Illinois; to his prospecting years in 
  California's Gold Rush Country; to his early years in 
  Nevada's Lyon County; culminating in his tenure at the 
  Carson City Mint.
. Provides a panoramic view of the sweeping history of 
  Nevada's connection to California's Gold Rush era; with an 
  in depth look into life in the Silver State's northwestern 
  region from 1863 to 1885.
. Filled with never before presented facts about James
  Crawford and the Carson City Mint, linked with stories 
  about some of Nevada's most prominent historical figures 
  and many contemporary events occurring in the United 
  States.
. Hundreds of references to coins struck at the Carson City
  Mint.
. More than 400 pages, including images throughout (some 
  published for the first time).
. If you are interested in the Carson City Mint and its many 
  fascinating coins, you will love this book.
. Also, anyone interested in the history of Nevada, or in the 
  history of the United States in general, will greatly enjoy 
  this prodigious volume.
. Due out in hardback in early 2007. 
 
[We'll hear more from Rusty and Marie as the book nears production.  
I'm already looking forward getting a copy.  The Goes can be 
reached at Southgate Coins, 5032 South Virginia Street, Reno, NV 
89502, Phone 775-322-4455, www.southgatecoins.com.

It's wonderful to be able to learn more about these key figures 
in our nation's coinage history.  Another book I would recommend 
to those interested in early mint personnel is "Sentiments and 
Aspirations of a 19th Century Tradesman" by Nancy Y. Oliver and 
Richard C. Kelly.  The book goes into great detail on the life of 
J. B. Harmstead, the "Mysterious Coiner of the San Francisco Mint."  
-Editor]


GOOGLE'S HISTORICAL NEWSPAPER SEARCH UNVEILED

Len Augsburger writes: "Google has added an historical 
newspaper search, at 
http://news.google.com/archivesearch .

Silicon Valley's Mercury News reported that "After years of 
barricading their digital doors against Google's wide-ranging Web 
crawler, some of the country's largest media companies said they 
had invited Google to include their online archives in its giant 
index for Web searches.

Starting Tuesday at 9 p.m. PDT, articles published by news 
organizations, including the New York Times, the Wall Street 
Journal, Time and the Washington Post, will be available in the 
archive of Google News.

"The goal is to help users explore history as it unfolded," said 
Anurag Acharya, an engineer at Google who worked on the archive 
project.

The archive, which can be found by typing news.google.com/archivesearch 
or through a link on news.google.com, will also include snippets of 
news articles and other documents from research companies that 
require paid subscriptions like LexisNexis, Factiva and HighBeam 
Research.

To retrieve an entire document from any paid service, a person will 
have to pay a fee."

"... Google has not yet made agreements with foreign news providers 
to include their digital archives.

Google is also not including blogs, because of the dramatic differences 
in quality that characterize work in the blogosphere. "Our goal is to 
focus on history, and history has largely been recorded by traditional 
news services," Acharya said."

To read the complete article, see:
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/15451605.htm

Ed Snible writes: "A search for 'huey long washroom' turns up 153 
hits, including a free story from the September 11, 1933 Time 
Magazine 
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,746019,00.html .

The very first hit is from The Washington Post, September 21 1933, 
covering the ANS presentation of the medal discussed so often on 
The E-Sylum.  The Post charges $3.95 to read that story.

There are 322 hits for "Brasher Doubloon", the earliest mention known 
to Google is from 1894 (!) and discusses Andrew Zabriski showing an 
example at the ANS. Seems like a useful tool for historical research."

[I poked around and came across one item from August 25, 1908 referring 
to a recent sale of a Higley copper: "From the New York Sun. If that 
Connecticut blacksmith of colonial days, John Higley, could have seen 
one of his much-berated copper three pence pieces of home manufacture 
bring $275 at a coin sale in this city the other day, he would have 
noted with great satisfaction, no doubt, that the injunction engraved 
upon one of his coins -- "Value me as you please" -- had been 
interpreted more liberally than he could have anticipated." -Editor]

Len Augsburger adds: "I typed in "Loubat", following up on Pete 
Smith's article in the recent Asylum, and got the citations below, 
among others.  Not everything is free - some of the articles are for 
sale, but at least you can get an extract and decide before paying.  

The Supreme Court article, for example, is $3.95, or there are various 
packages with lower per article rates.  Of course if you have access 
to a library with the same resources on microfilm, then you can look 
for free.  The hard part is finding the citations, which Google is 
giving away at no cost.

The Washington Post (1877-1954) - Washington, D.C.
Date: Dec 23, 1882
Start Page: 1
Document Types: front_page
Text Word Count: 240

NEW YORK, Dec. 22 -- Preliminary proceedings were had in the Supreme 
court to-day in the suit of F.L. Loubat for reinstatement in the Union 
club, whence he was expelled for conduct unbecoming a gentleman. The 
treasurer of the Union was examined as to the facts in the case. He 
was asked: "What conduct on the part of Mr. Loubat was improper or
prejudicial to the club?"

The Washington Post (1877-1954) - Washington, D.C.
Date: Apr 28, 1887
Start Page: 2
Document Types: article
Text Word Count: 293

Mr. Loubat, of the New York Union Club, is about to publish "The 
Yachtman's Scrap book," his third literary venture. 

[A very useful tool indeed.  This is a huge boon to numismatic 
researchers and writers.  The hard part is learning that the 
information exists, and the Google index helps with that chore 
immensely.  What researcher worth their salt wouldn't cough up 
the extra $3.95 to access a potentially valuable article?

On the down side, what I've found from poking around in the archive 
is that a lot of the newspapers indexed have been scanned and OCRed 
without human post-editing.  The Optical Character Recognition 
quality leaves a LOT to be desired - a LOT, with many sections 
reading as mere gibberish.  The terms you may be searching for 
could be unfindable because of the OCR mangling. 

Still, this tool is a HUGE advance for researchers.  Poke around 
with your own favorite queries - let us know what numismatic nuggets 
you find.  Who will be the first to report a startling previously-
unknown fact?   Gentlemen (and ladies!), start your search engines! 
-Editor]


STACK'S AND ANR TO MERGE

Speaking of startling news, did you hear that Stack's and American 
Numismatic Rarities are hooking up?  Here's what Numismatic News 
reports:

"Stack's of New York City and American Numismatic Rarities of 
Wolfeboro, N.H., will merge."

"Stack's headquarters will remain in New York City where it has 
been serving collectors for over 75 years and operations will 
also continue in Wolfeboro where the ANR team is located. 

Lawrence R. Stack will lead the firm as CEO, director of numismatics, 
while Christine Karstedt as president will oversee auction operations 
and customer service. 

Also included in this team will be Q. David Bowers (chairman emeritus), 
Harvey G. Stack (chairman emeritus), Susan Stack and the entire expert 
staffs from both companies." 

To read the complete article, see:
http://tinyurl.com/eaofs  

To read the merger announcement on the Stack's web site:
http://www.stacks.com/merger.php 


EXHIBIT MUSINGS FROM BOB RHUE

Bob Rhue writes: "I appreciate Alan Weinberg's kind words about 
my three exhibits at the Denver ANA show:  Hawaiian Plantation 
tokens (pg 376 of current Redbook); Horsecar tokens (1871 - approx 
1910); & Colored Seal Notes of Colonial Georgia (1776-1778) all at 
the Denver ANA show.

For me it's 'pride of ownership' & a desire to share my collections 
& information about them, that motivate me to exhibit. Leaving them 
in a bank box just isn't quite as rewarding for me.

I love to introduce/interest people in my esoteric areas of collecting.  
And like Alan says - newly interested people are likely candidates for 
buying MY collection down the road.

A perfect example of that is my own experience 20 years ago:  Rad 
Stearn's exhibited his collection of Colored Seal Georgia Colonial 
Currency at an ANA show in the early or mid '80's & I was totally 
taken in by their history & by the sheer beauty of the multicolored 
vignettes, contrasting to the normal black & white printing on 
virtually all other colonial currency.  A year or two later I happened 
onto Bob Vlack at a NY show, who was offering his collection of these; 
& I couldn't resist the opportunity to start with a bang a collection 
of the 50 different pieces comprising this 'set' as I call it.  After 
adding to & upgrading over the years I now have a collection I'm most 
proud of & which I have exhibited a number of times. Not to mention 
the 'fringe benefits' of inevitably developing a high level of 
expertise in this area over the years, as well as developing the 
comaraderie that comes with discussing & sharing with others an 
area of deep interest.

At every show we attend we now devote most or all of one of our show 
cases to fun things - just for 'show & tell'. Surprising how much 
interest that generates in people who then decide they'd like to 
collect some of those items themselves."

[On a related note, exhibitor George Fitzgerald writes: "That was my 
Lesher dollar exhibit in Denver. Nelson was from Holdredge, Nebraska, 
not Omaha." -Editor]


STACK'S WOLFSON SALE PART II QUERY ANSWERED

Ted Buttrey, Ken Bressett and Denis Loring responded to the query 
on the Stack's Wolfson II sale.  Ted Buttrey writes: "On Dave Lange's 
query, lot 719 of the Stack's sale of 3/4 May 1963 is a US dime, "1913 
A lovely iridescent Proof. Very scarce."  Sold for $77.50 (hammer)."

Dave Lange writes: "The mystery is solved. Thanks to all who responded. 
For some reason, the previous owner wrote "1913 nickel" on the lot tag, 
along with the price.
 
I doubt that the Wolfson pedigree is still attached to this coin, but 
if anyone does know that they own this coin, I would be pleased to send 
them the lot tag gratis."


JOHN S. DYE AND JOHN SMITH DYE - SAME PERSON?

Pete Smith writes: "I have a numismatic puzzle for our panel of 
experts: 

John S. Dye is known as the publisher of counterfeit detectors 
from 1847 to 1879. He died shortly before publication of Dye's 
Coin Encyclopaedia in 1883.

John Smith Dye is the author of books on the Lincoln assassination 
and on U. S. Grant published around 1866 to 1868.

Are these the same person? Speculation is fine but I am looking 
for proof."


COGAN SALE BEAVER CLUB MEDAL PROVENANCE SOUGHT

Darryl Atchison writes: "I wonder if one of our readers could tell 
me whose Beaver Club medal was sold in the Edward Cogan sale of 
June 29-30, 1876.  My email address is atchisondf at hotmail.  Thanks.

Here is a little bit of background history: The Beaver Club was a 
gentlemens' club specifically for fur traders.  It was established 
in 1785 (primarily for members of the North West Company) but other 
fur traders were allowed to join - assuming that their nomination 
was unanimously accepted by the current members.

Prior to the amalgamation of 1821, it is extremely unlikely that 
any fur trader from the Hudson's Bay Company would have been accepted 
for membership... although it is believed that Lord Selkirk had 
attended at least one meeting as a guest in 1803... and George Simpson 
was accepted for membership in 1827 after the two rival firms merged.

The Beaver Club jewels are not unlike other fraternal jewels in that 
they were primarily used as a means of identification and recognition.
Members were required to have their gold medal manufactured according 
to fairly tight but not overly-constrictive specifications.  As such, 
each medal (engraved with the name of the member) is slightly different 
and the quality of the engraving varies greatly from barely decent to 
exquisite in the case of the aforementioned George Simpson jewel.

At present less than 20 of these medals are accounted for... and 
given that there were approximately 100 members admitted during the 
Society's lifetime (1785 - 1827), many, many medals remain to be 
discovered.  The names on the membership roster include some of the 
most significant names in Canada's history from the period in question.

Much of this information comes from the publication by Larry Gingras 
entitled "The Beaver Club Jewels" which was published by the Canadian 
Numismatic Research Society in 1972.

It should be pointed out that these medals are exceedingly rare and 
less than a handful are in private collections.  Of the pieces which 
are accounted for most are in institutional collections while a few 
remain - as per Gingras' text - in the hands of relations.

According to my notes (which are not the gospel) I am aware of only 
six auction appearances in the last 135 years. In chronological 
sequence these are as follows:

1)  Edward Cogan sale of April 3 - 5, 1871 included the Archibald 
McLellan specimen

2)  Edward Cogan sale of June 29 - 30, 1876 included a specimen 
whose provinance is to be confirmed with this request for information

3)  Samuel Hudson Chapman sale of Dec. 9 - 11, 1920 included the 
William McGillivray specimen

4)  Wayte Raymond sale of Nov. 16 - 18, 1925 included the Henry 
MacKenzie specimen (anonymously purchased by Robert W. Reford Jr. 
which resurfaced in a Jacobys House of Antiques sale in 1971).  The 
big mystery remains as to why this piece was not included in the 
Sotheby and Co. (Canada) sale of Reford's collection in Oct. 1968.

5)  Spink sale of March 6 - 7, 1986 included the David David specimen

6)  Jeffery Hoare sale of June 22 - 23, 1990 included the 
David David specimen

Finally, Jeffrey Hoare sale of June 25 - 26, 1999 included several 
electrotypes of Beaver Club jewels from the Larry Gingras collection."

[I found the following web references to Beaver Club Medals 

George Simpson's Beaver Club Medal
http://tinyurl.com/ke8c5  

Peter Pond's Beaver Club Medal
http://www.peterpondsociety.com/  

The administration of the North West Company
http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/nwc/history/07.htm  

-Editor]


TAMS DIRECTORY PUBLISHED

Dick Johnson writes: "The Token and Medal Society is one of the 
oldest specialized collector organizations within the numismatic 
field. (It is preceded by the Orders, Medals Society whose members 
collect decorations and military medals.) TAMS members collect a 
wide spectrum of coin-like objects. Thus every two to six years 
the organization publishes a list of the members' collecting topics.

Their latest directory arrived this week with the latest issue of 
the organization's publication, TAMS Journal. The directory is 
always an eye-opener for the number of topics which hold members' 
interest so much that they seek to form specialized collections. 
A topical interest is a very personal thing, only you can determine 
what you want to collect.

The old adage, "I collect it because it exists!" sure holds true. 
Someone is bound to collect it. The intent of the TAMS directory 
is to reveal WHO collects what topic, to encourage communication 
between collectors, perhaps of similar interests, and often an 
outlet for dealers who have an item they wish to sell, or for 
anyone who may wish to inquire about an item of that topic.

This year's directory is somewhat disheartening. TAMS, like 
other specialized numismatic organizations, is experiencing a 
decline in membership. It has reached a point of about ten 
percent fewer members a year. Also those participating in the 
directory have fallen off (234 out of a membership of 865 listed 
in the2006 directory versus 344 out of a membership of 1035 in 
the last directory, published 2002).

Also the number of members without an address is increasing (72 
versus 65 percent last directory). The organization's policy is 
not to publish this unless the member so agrees. What is surprising, 
some TAMS officers addresses are not listed, as are those of a lot 
of dealers, yet their addresses are published in the Journal arriving 
in the same mail!

To the credit of Paul Cunningham (who edits the directory) plunged 
ahead. with its publication despite these shortcomings. The number 
of topics listed has increased (294 this time vs 257 last time) while 
the number of pages and members are less. Does that mean collectors 
who remain are increasing their topical interests? Collecting 
additional topics? Looks like it.

I support the directory by listing 10 or 12 collecting specialties 
each time. I may not be an active buyer of every one of those topical 
objects (I may already have it) but I am very much interested in 
more information on those topics. Quote me an associated item -- a 
book, an article in an obscure publication, a photograph, or perhaps 
a postcard relating to that topic, or something else of interest 
about it -- and I can't reach for the checkbook fast enough. 

Already I have had my first response to this year's directory listings. 
If you are interested in collecting tokens or medals by topic contact 
TAMS Secretary, Rachel Irish, 101 W. Prairie Center #323, Hayden, ID 
83835. Dues are $25 for the first year. Or inquire at 
mrirish5 at adelphia.net."


PERMISSION TO REPRINT - FOR HOW LONG?

Dick Hanscom writes: "I was working on a project years ago that 
required that I get permission to reprint articles.  The project 
has been on the back burner, but I am thinking of it again.
 
My question is:  When granted permission to reprint, how long is 
that permission good for?"

[Good question.  I would say that unless the author has imposed a 
time limit, there is none.   But the right would not be transferable 
- if you never get around to completing your project, whoever takes 
it on next would have to reacquire the reprint permission. -Editor]


ON IMAGE COPYRIGHTS

Ed Snible writes: "Kerry Rodgers' is correct that no publisher will 
touch a book without copyright clearance for all photographs.  Like 
Kerry I strongly advise authors to seek permission, even if the use 
doesn't technically require permission.  Permission may be needed 
from both the photographer and from the artists who created the 
original collectable or artwork.

Bob Knepper plans a first printing of only 100 copies of his book 
on "Wildman" collectables, so perhaps he is self-publishing.  Self-
publishing gives authors the freedom to risk printing photos where 
the copyright holders cannot be located.

I've learned that copyright holders usually can't be located.  For 
example, my web site reprints Admiral Dodson's article on Greek 
counterfeits from two 1967 issues of COINage.  The magazine was 
copyrighted to COINage rather than Dodson.  COINage gave me clearance 
for Dodson's words but couldn't clear the photos.  Some of the coin 
photos credited Ken Bresset (who gave me permission), others were 
anonymous.  Photos of the forgers' studio were anonymous and probably 
taken by an Athens police photographer.  If COINage ever knew the 
name of this photographer they have forgotten.  Must I learn what 
Greek law says about the intellectual property rights for crime 
scene photos?

The risk in using photos by unlocatable photographers, stein-makers, 
and notgeld engravers is low.  The creators probably wont notice a 
book whose print run is 100 copies.  The creators will probably be 
happy to have been included, especially if they or their employer is
credited.  The photographers may have sold or willed their rights to 
someone who will not notice the use.  The copyright may have expired.  
The photograph may not be copyrightable.  Even if you lose, damages 
wouldn't be more than triple the price it would have cost you to 
clear the photo -- thus probably about $0.

If the photograph was printed in the US in 1922 or earlier, the 
copyright has expired.  If the photograph was printed in the US in 
1963 or earlier and not renewed it's expired -- and no one renews 
auction catalogs.  If the photograph was printed in the US in 1976 
without notice it's public domain -- for example, Stacks didn't 
include notice in their old catalogs.

For Wildmen, I'd guess most books and catalogs were never printed in 
the US.  They may be "unpublished works" here, even if millions of 
copies were printed in Europe.  The collectables themselves were made 
in Europe.  The law is very complicated on reprinting such photos, 
but a good rule of thumb is to use the foreign law's duration as a 
guideline, and that is generally life+70 years.  This presents a 
problem for images of collectables in catalogs -- the photographer 
is uncredited.  How are you to learn when he or she has died?

The court case "Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp" appears to make
photographs of 2D objects, like coasters and maybe coins, 
uncopyrightable.  This court ruling is very controversial.  The 
basis is that no creativity is used when photographing flat objects, 
like beer coasters, notgeld -- and perhaps coins.

Copyright infringement isn't "theft" (as the Supreme Court ruled in 
Dowling v. United States).  Theft is wrong.  It's also wrong to use 
someone's work without asking -- if that person can be easily found.

I believe that people who allow their works to be published anonymously 
give up expectations of control over that work.  I believe that it is 
asking too much to expect authors to trace copyright -- of an ordinary 
coin photo -- using genealogy, wills, and through the creditors of 
bankrupt corporations.  Great efforts to find creators is justified 
when reprinting a novel or reissuing a jazz album, but not for mass-
produced collectibles and their photos."


MODERN-DAY MONEYCHANGERS IN ZIMBABWE

"The Zimbabwe-bound bus has not quite completely stopped at South 
Africa's Musina town but this is little deterrence to the young man, 
who calmly hops on board with gravity-defying agility that could only 
have been acquired through many years of experience.

On board the young man - who later only identifies himself as 
Mgomeni - wastes little time, waving a bundle of Zimbabwe's freshly 
minted new currency in one hand and an equally tempting bundle of 
South Africa's rand currency, he begins chanting.

"The rate is so good. For R100 you get Z$8 000. Change your foreign 
currency here good people, because we offer a better rate than 
osphatheleni back home," shouts Mgomeni, in a beseeching tone as 
he worms his way down the bus aisle.   

Osphatheleni are illegal foreign currency dealers operating from 
Bulawayo's World Bank, an area in the city centre so named because 
it is the hub of the illegal but thriving foreign currency parallel 
market.

"They (osphateleni) are cheats they lure you with higher returns 
for foreign currency but will pay you in fake Zimbabwe dollars," 
he says in a bid to convince passengers why it makes sense to do 
business with him.   

Soon, five more illegal foreign currency traders are on the bus, 
each after having paid 50-rand bribe to the driver to be allowed to 
"trade" on the bus. In the same energetic way as Mgomeni before 
them, the new traders are also soliciting for business from the 
travellers. 

To read the complete article, see:
http://tinyurl.com/r3f3b  


THE U.S. MINT'S TELEVISION ADVERTISING

Phil Carrigan writes: "My wife, Mary Clare, saw this first on 
the tube and had me watch it, undistracted!

The US Mint advertises on network TV!  They show persons involved 
with coins who are called numismatists.  Their subjects show many 
characteristics associated with diagnosable mental illnesses.  
I first wish to disassociate myself with the term numismatist and 
then with the US Mint.  Once I recover from these, I hope to compose 
myself sufficiently to ask my Congressman why my tax dollars are 
used for such ads."


USEFUL U.K. WEB RESOURCES

Katie Jaeger writes: "Here are some interesting web resources from 
the U.K.:  First, a website that gives geographical surname 
distribution maps.  You key a surname into the search engine, and 
choose either 1881 or 1998, and get a map of England separated into 
counties, where concentrations of that surname appear in that year: 
http://www.spatial-literacy.org/UCLnames/
 
Second is the book search on the British Google...
http://www.google.co.uk. It operates just like the U.S. Google book 
search: From the home page, click "more" then choose "book search."  
When the new search bar pops up, key in your search term - I keyed in 
"medal" - and then under the search bar, I had a choice of "all books" 
or "full view books" (meaning full text books).  I chose "full view 
books" and a wonderful array of titles popped up, all 100% searchable.  
Not only British books are included: I found the catalog of the ANS 
international medal exhibition of 1910, for example."
 

MORE THOUGHTS ON AGE AND VALUE

Bill Rosenblum writes: "A couple of thoughts about the age of a 
coin not having anything to do with the value.

1) I always have a huge supply of low grade Roman bronzes from 
the 3rd and 4th Century which can be purchased for as low as $2 if 
one buys enough of them at my bourse tables. This usually helps 
convince people that the "old coin" they have is not valuable just 
because it's old.

2) What constitutes an old coin may depend on the age of the person 
who has the coin. Back around 1980 I received a phone call from 
someone who sounded no older than 10. He told me he had "a real 
old coin" and wanted to know how much it was worth. 

I always tell people I have to see the coin first and when they 
become insistent I would tell them to "hold it closer to the phone". 
(Of course now people can do that, although I would not have any idea 
how to see it). But since this was a kid I thought I would try to 
help him. What he had, was an early 1960's Lincoln cent. But to an 
8 to 10 year old, that was "real old"."


125 YEARS AGO: 1782 SILVER COIN FOUND IN AMHERST

Speaking of "real old", here's a note about an "ancient" coin 
published August 4, 1881 in the Amherst Bee (of Massachusetts):

"As Mrs. Joseph Deazley was pulling some weeds in her garden 
Tuesday, she found an ancient silver coin dated 1782."

[The item says nothing more about the coin, unfortunately.  
-Editor]

To read the complete article, see:
http://www.amherstbee.com/news/2006/0802/Editorial/013.html 


FEATURED WEB SITE: TOKENS OF CARBON COUNTY, UTAH

This week's featured web site is on the tokens of Carbon County, 
Utah.  The lengthy page pictures a number of merchant and coal 
company tokens, including explosive control tokens, pool hall 
tokens, milk tokens and fuel tokens.

"In the early days of Carbon County many of the merchants, bar 
owners and coal camp stores used tokens for their customers to 
make their purchases."

http://lofthouse.com/USA/Utah/carbon/tokens.html


The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization 
promoting numismatic literature. For more information please 
see our web site at 
http://www.coinbooks.org/.

There is a membership application available on the web site 
at this address:
http://www.coinbooks.org/club_nbs_member_app.html

To join, print the application and return it with your check 
to the address printed on the application. Membership is only 
$15 to addresses in the U.S., $20 elsewhere.  For those without 
web access, write to:

David M. Sundman, Secretary/Treasurer
Numismatic Bibliomania Society, 
P. O. Box 82 Littleton, NH 03561

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