The E-Sylum v11#36, September 7, 2008

Sun Sep 7 21:20:30 PDT 2008

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    The E-Sylum

  An electronic publication of
  The Numismatic Bibliomania Society

Volume , Number 36, September 8, 2008
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WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM SEPTEMBER 7, 2008
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NEW BOOK: A GUIDE BOOK OF GOLD DOLLARS BY Q. DAVID BOWERS
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NEW BOOK: COINS: QUESTIONS & ANSWERS (5TH EDITION) BY CLIFF MISHLER
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BOOK REVEW: BOIS DURCI, A NATURAL PLASTIC 1855-1927, BY GASTON VERMOSEN
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BOOK REVIEW: GOOD MONEY
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BOOK UPDATE: EARLY UNITED STATES QUARTERS 1796 - 1838 BY STEVE TOMPKINS
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HAL BIRT, JR., AUTHOR OF ARIZONA TOKENS AND SCRIP
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DR. CHARLES RADFORD STEARNS 1940 - 2008
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TODAY'S QUIZ: TWO AMERICAN NUMISMATISTS AND A CANDIDATE'S LUCKY COINS
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STAR STAMPS ON PAPER MONEY: MODERN CHOP MARKS
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ON PHARMACIST-NUMISMATISTS
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NEW TWIST ON COIN REEDING TECHNOLOGY: DIAGONAL REEDS
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MORE ON COIN EDGE PHOTOGRAPHY
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TRANSLATION FOR 2004 ATHENS OLYMPICS GOLD MEDAL
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MORE ON THE CHARLOTTE MEDAL PEDIGREE
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TOM KAYS ON COLONIAL POCKET CHANGE
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DICK JOHNSON ON ELECTROTYPES
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AN EARLY U.S COIN WITH THE POLHEMUS COUNTERSTAMP
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ON PAYMENTS IN GOLD
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ON PAYMENTS IN PENNIES
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ARTICLE EXPLORES HISPANIC SOCIETY PLANS TO SELL HISTORIC COIN COLLECTION
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QUERY: PERSONALIZED "DOG TAGS" ENGRAVED ON COINS
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QUERY: BYRON REED
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QUERY: WHAT IS A NUMISMATIC BIBLIOPHILE?
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ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS JOSEPH N. T. LEVICK'S MILITARY SERVICE
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ECONOMIC WOES HIT THE E-SYLUM: WELCOME TO THE E-SLUM
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1873-CC SILVER DOLLAR STAVES OFF HOME'S FORECLOSURE
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A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE'S LUCKY COINS
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FEATURED WEB PAGE: 1842 BOOK ON CHINESE CASH COINS
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WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM SEPTEMBER 7, 2008

We currently have 1,182 subscribers. Have YOU recruited a new subscriber lately?  Please recommend us to fellow collectors you think would enjoy The E-Sylum. 

This week we open with word on a couple of new books from Whitman Publications.  Next, Richard Jewell reviews a new book on an old and interesting numismatic topic.  Other books discussed include George Selgin's Good Money and Steve Tompkins' book on Early U.S. Quarters.

In topics from previous issues we have further information on star stamps on U.S. paper money, lists of pharmacist-numismatists, information on a new edge reeding technique, pedigree information on the Charlotte medal, and the Hispanic Society of America's plans for the coin collection formerly on "permanent" loan to the ANS.

Queries this week include engraved "dog tag" Love Tokens, collectors Bryon Reed and Byron Johnson, and more.
To learn what the "N. T." in "Joseph N. T. Levick" stands for, read on.
Have a great week, everyone! 

Wayne Homren
 Numismatic Bibliomania Society

NEW BOOK: A GUIDE BOOK OF GOLD DOLLARS BY Q. DAVID BOWERS

Dennis Tucker of Whitman Publishing forwarded this release about one of their newest books.  -Editor

A Guide Book of Gold Dollars is the latest entry in Whitman Publishing’s Bowers Series of numismatic references. It debuted at the Whitman Coin and Collectibles Atlanta Expo in August.

United States gold dollars are a fascinating and highly collectible series. In A Guide Book of Gold Dollars, Q. David Bowers—the “Dean of American Numismatics” and the most prolific numismatic author of all time—tells how to be a smart collector: how to evaluate quality, determine value, understand the market, and make good buys.

Along the way, he explains why, “in all of American numismatics, the gold dollar possesses a special charm.” You’ll learn how the history of the nation shaped the coin’s design and production—how the first gold dollars were made by a private coiner from gold mined in Georgia; why some felt only second-rate countries issued such small gold coins; what the public thought of the tiny, delicate, yet highly practical coins; and the effects of the Gold Rush, the Civil War, political controversy, monetary crises, and more on the coinage.

Bowers provides a wealth of information on each issue, including mintages, existing populations, grading information, values, auction records, and keys to collecting.

A historical backdrop of what was going on in America during each year, along with hundreds of full-color photographs, make this book a treat for anyone interested in our nation’s history.

By Q. David Bowers
Foreword by David W. Akers.
Full color; 6 x 9; softcover; 288 pages.

NEW BOOK: COINS: QUESTIONS & ANSWERS (5TH EDITION) BY CLIFF MISHLER

Dennis Tucker also forwarded this release about another new book, this one by Cliff Mishler.  -Editor

The fifth edition of Coins: Questions & Answers, by Clifford Mishler, debuted at the Whitman Coin and Collectibles Atlanta Expo in August.

A popular seller since it was first published nearly 45 years ago, the book provides detailed answers to hundreds of the most commonly asked questions about the world of money. It covers challenging, interesting subjects that have puzzled collectors for decades. The fifth edition includes more than 400 photographs (40% more than the fourth edition).

The 352-page softcover book retails for $9.95. -Editor

BOOK REVEW: BOIS DURCI, A NATURAL PLASTIC 1855-1927, BY GASTON VERMOSEN

Richard Jewell submitted the following review of a new book published earlier this year which should interest those collecting or researching 
numismatic items made of hardened wood.  -Editor

I recently acquired a new book on an old subject. The name of the book is Bois Durci Un Plastique Naturel, A Natural Plastic 1855-1927, by Gaston Vermosen. As you might surmise by the title the book is bilingual, written in French and English. I do not know of too many books written in this format, certainly not any numismatic ones ("I could be mistaken, but never wrong" - who said that?)

For those of your readers who may not know what bois durci is, it literally means "hardened wood", a process of taking sawdust, albumen or animal blood and hardening in a mould to form the desired object.

What numismatic connection is there? Various medals and medallions were made this way after being introduced at the 1862 London Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations.

The book is seventy-two pages in length, highlighted by fourteen pages dedicated to photos of the various manufactured objects de bois durci. It traces the historical beginnings, the many companies that evolved over time, their factories locations, production methods and their individual trade marks (mint marks?)

I found the book to be enlightening and one that should be in every numismatic library. It comes with its own CD and the author's promise to forward any additional updates. At the present time the only way to purchase the book is to e-mail the author at the following address 

gaston.vermosen at pandora.be

The price is $45 USD.

Many thanks to Rich for making this book known to the larger numismatic community.  I'd heard of bois durci, but wasn't aware of a book on the subject.   For less than the cost of just one of the medals one can buy the book and become an expert on the topic - sounds like a bargain to me, especially with the accompanying CD.  

The first edition is limited to 150 copies, and according to the Belgian author's web site, only 29 copies remain.   The wide-format (21 x 21 cm) book has 72 pages of text and 14 color plates.  The accompanying CD has a catalog with over 300 items illustrated, including over fifty plaques and medallions.
The price is € 22.50 EUR plus shipping.
-Editor

To view the book's web site, see:

http://users.telenet.be/plastics_collection/BOIS%20DURCI/index..htm

BOOK REVIEW: GOOD MONEY

The following review of George Selgin's Good Money comes from the
Marginal Revolution blog.
-Editor

At the dawn of the industrial revolution as workers left the fields and moved to industrial employment the demand for a means of payment increased dramatically.  Workers, once paid in kind, needed to be paid in a medium they could use to buy the necessities of life.  Small-tender bank notes, however, were illegal and in Great Britain the production of coin was monopolized by the Royal Mint which failed to provide enough high quality coin to meet the demands of workers and business.  Silver coin, despite the efforts of Sir Isaac Newton, was overvalued and fled the country.  Gold was too expensive to make coins suitable for workingmen and the Mint could not or would not produce high-quality copper coins.

Good Money is George Selgin's explanation of how enterprising button makers solved what Sargent and Velde called The Big Problem of Small Change thereby making the industrial revolution possible.  Selgin is a monetary theorist so you might expect a dry account of monetary history but the mint-battle between Matthew Boulton, whom Wired once named the ultimate CEO, and copper-king Thomas Williams propels the story forward. If you can imagine, Good Money is something of a cross between Friedman and Schwartz's A Monetary History of the United States (although not as broad in scope) and a business epic like Barbarians at the Gate.   I also liked how Selgin draws on newspapers, novels, limericks and tavern songs to illustrate the problems and events of the time.  This bard was both a good economist (he has Gresham's Law!) and public choice scholar.

'Tis Gold buys Votes, or they'd have swarmed ere now,
Copper serves only for the meaner Sort of People
Copper never goes at Court
And since on Shilling can full Twelve Pence weight,
Silver is better in Germany
'Tis true the Vulgar seek it, What of that?
They are not Statesmen,-let the Vulgar wait.

The money problem influenced and was influenced by all of the major events of the day so Good Money is also an economic and political history of the industrial revolution.  Here's an interesting tidbit. Company stores were not so much a way for firms to rip off employees (why not just pay them less?) but were rather a means of economizing on coin.  Selgin shows how the shortage of coin sheds light on a number of other otherwise peculiar business practices.  

What lessons can be drawn from the history of private coinage?  Private money circulated only if it was voluntarily accepted as a means payment.  Thus the primary problem faced by private firms was how to create trust and credibility.  To encourage circulation, for example, issuers promised to redeem their tokens in gold (which the Royal Mint did not).  In turn, the promise to redeem gave producers an incentive to make their coins difficult to counterfeit, which they did by making the coins beautiful - numismatists will appreciate the full-color illustrations of the private coinage produced by Boulton and his rivals - as well as technologically advanced.  

Today, the big problem of small change is no longer such a big problem, although shortages of wanted coin continue to occur sporadically around the world (e.g. here and here) as well as surpluses of unwanted coin.  Nevertheless, the basic problems of private coinage were trust and credibility.  Modern issuers of digital cash face the same problems and thus Selgin's history is a valuable reminder about the scope and potential of alternative monetary institutions.

Full Disclosure: I was enthusiastic about Good Money when I read it in manuscript which is why it is published by the University of Michigan Press and co-published by the Independent Institute where I am director of research. 

To read the complete article, see:

Good Money

(http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2008/09/good-money.html)

BOOK UPDATE: EARLY UNITED STATES QUARTERS 1796 - 1838 BY STEVE TOMPKINS

Author Steve M. Tompkins forwarded the following update on his new book on Early U.S. quarters. -Editor.

I just wanted to again thank everyone who pre-purchased my new book EARLY UNITED STATES QUARTERS 1796 - 1838, and say thanks for your patience in waiting to receive it! 

All of the pre-orders have now been shipped and if you still have not received it yet, it should be showing up any day.  Please feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions once you have had a chance to look through it.  My address is

SMT115 at aol.com

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