The E-Sylum v13#50, December 12, 2010

esylum at binhost.com esylum at binhost.com
Sun Dec 12 18:29:12 PST 2010



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    The E-Sylum
  
  An electronic publication of
  The Numismatic Bibliomania Society


Volume , Number 50, December 12, 2010
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WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM DECEMBER 12, 2010
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NEW EDITION: THE COIN COLLECTOR'S SURVIVAL MANUAL, 7TH EDITION
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CORRECTION: ANNUAL ASSAY COMMISSION – UNITED STATES MINT 1800-1943
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CONTENTS: THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE FIRST U.S. MINT
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SPECIAL OFFER ON ADAMS BOOKS ON AMERICAN MEDALS
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LAST CHANCE TO GET YOUR GETZ
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MORE ON NUMISMATIC PUBLISHER AL HOCH AND THE COLONIAL NEWSLETTER
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SCOTT’S COIN COLLECTOR’S JOURNAL – A SURVEY
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TWENTY QUESTIONS INSPIRED BY MICHAEL POWILLS CORRESPONDENCE
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THE PHILADELPHIA MINT EXHIBIT OF THE LOUIS ELIASBERG COIN COLLECTION 
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FRED LAKE ON HARRY X BOOSEL
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QUIZ ANSWER: JENNY LIND, THE SWEDISH NIGHTINGALE
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FOLLOW-UP: SABINE PASS MEDAL COPIES
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MORE ON THE TRUMAN LIBRARY COIN COLLECTION
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MORE ON COUNTERFEITED 1910 20-MARK REICHSBANKOTES
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GREEN [SPACE] DUCK WAS ORIGINALLY GREENDUCK CORPORATION
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NOTES FROM E-SYLUM SUBSCRIBERS: DECEMBER 12, 2010
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WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: DECEMBER 12, 2010
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MORE ON THE 1962 SEATTLE WORLD'S FAIR MILLION SILVER DOLLAR EXHIBIT
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CONTINUED PROBLEMS WITH THE NEW $100 BILL
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YAP: THE ISLAND OF STONE MONEY
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CANADIAN SCIENTISTS USING ANCIENT COINS TO MAP TRADING ROUTES
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ARCHEOLOGISTS PONDER REASONS FOR FROME HOARD OF ROMAN COINS
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HOW PERU BECAME THE COUNTERFEIT-CASH CAPITAL OF THE WORLD
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MORE ON THE RECOVERY OF JULIAN LEIDMAN'S STOLEN INVENTORY
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NEW COIN: AUSTRIAN PUMMERIN BELL FIVE EUROS
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MEDAL BACK IN MALTESE HANDS AFTER AUCTION
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FEATURED WEB SITE: U.S LARGE CENTS OF THE YEAR 1794
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Click here to read this issue on the web





WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM DECEMBER 12, 2010





Among our new subscribers this week are
Dean Tatulinski, courtesy of John Burns,
Leslie Citrome, and
Joe Paonessa.  Welcome aboard! 
We now have 1,387 email subscribers, plus 103 followers on Facebook, including Eko Santozo, Jeanne D. Arc and Evgeni Paunov.


This week we open with information on a new edition of Scott Travers' Coin Collector's Survival Manual, more information on the recent Assay Commission and Philadelphia Mint books, and special offers and reminders from literature dealers Kolbe & Fanning.


Other topics this week include The Colonial Newsletter, Green Duck Corporation, Yap stone money, Peruvian counterfeiters, and King Farouk's collection of erotica.


To learn more about Jenny Lind, the Eliasberg collection exhibit at the U.S. Mint, Jenny Lind, and the 1962 Seattle silver dollar exhibit, read on.  Have a great week, everyone!


Wayne Homren
 Numismatic Bibliomania Society




NEW EDITION: THE COIN COLLECTOR'S SURVIVAL MANUAL, 7TH EDITION


Donn Pearlman forwarded this press release about the latest edition of Scott Travers' book,  The Coin Collector's Survival Manual.
-Editor




Gold and grading share the spotlight in The Coin Collector's Survival Manual, Seventh Edition, the just-released latest edition of the perennial hobby bestseller by award-winning author Scott A. Travers. Published by Random House, this thoroughly updated 400-page book also contains two new and timely fact-filled chapters; one on buying and selling gold coins and other precious metal items, the other on recent innovations in coin grading.


	With gold scaling record-high price levels, Travers examines the impact the precious metals boom is having on the rare coin market.  Citing one expert’s prediction that gold might soar to $10,000 an ounce, he shows why this is not far-fetched.  A new section of the book looks at possible negative effects for collectors and dealers if burdensome IRS 1099 reporting requirements are not changed before their scheduled implementation in 2012.


	Travers also provides pointers on how to avoid being victimized when buying or selling valuables containing precious metal, and goes behind the scenes to show in detail how buyers determine the value of gold and silver in items they buy from the public. Travers reveals insider secrets for getting the most money when selling gold and silver coins, jewelry or "scrap."


	He cautions that high-profile gold buyers who advertise extensively often pay rock-bottom prices, "luring cash-starved victims with slick TV commercials or eye-catching newspaper ads promising 'top dollar' for the gold that's sitting idle in their jewelry boxes or drawers."


	A new chapter titled "A Grade Leap Forward" explores what Travers calls "the new math of coin grading" – the enhancement made possible in early 2010 when the Professional Coin Grading Service introduced its PCGS Secure Plus™ system and added intermediate "plus" (+) designations to coins at the high end of their grade level.  The Numismatic Guaranty Corporation of America (NGC) soon began offering similar grading.


	Exclusive first-time photographs show the differences between "regular" and "plus" grades.


	Travers also explains how Secure Plus™ combats coin "doctoring" and shares insiders' tips on how to get the greatest value when buying and selling PCGS and NGC plus-grade coins.


	Hundreds of never-before-published digitized coin images give readers a clear look at subtle grading nuances and ways to detect altered coins.  In a beefed-up color section, surprising photos reveal how the same coin was given different grades by leading services.  It also shows examples of difficult-to-detect doctored and altered coins, plus endangered coins rescued from harm's way through proper conservation.


	Exclusive color photographs pinpoint how to distinguish between Morgan dollars and Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles that are Mint State-65 and Mint State 65+ -- a small difference in grade that can make a significant difference in marketplace value.


	The Coin Collector's Survival Manual, Seventh Edition provides consumer-friendly advice on how to buy and sell U.S. and
world coins, plus consumer protection information about the potential hazards of Edition provides consumer-friendly advice on how to buy and sell U.S. and buying rare coins on the Internet and caveats about online auctions.


	The Coin Collector’s Survival Manual, Seventh Edition has a suggested retail price of $22.99, and is available now in bookstores everywhere and online at 

www.RandomHouse.com.




CORRECTION: ANNUAL ASSAY COMMISSION – UNITED STATES MINT 1800-1943




Author Roger Burdette pointed out a problem in my review of his new book, 
Annual Assay Commission – United States Mint 1800-1943:


One minor mistake: "...Commission from 1800 through its final year of 1980." Should read "...through 1943." I omitted the final decades as there seemed to be little of interest in them. But several people have asked about adding these, so I may work on that as time permits.





I guess it could be worse, but that's a dunderheaded blunder on my part.  Not only did I not read all 2,000+ pages of material, I apparently was too lazy to read all the way through to the last word of the title.  I did find, read, and enjoy material on the 1943 Assay Commission, but didn't look for later years (which I wouldn't have found, anyway).  Hey, the Steelers were playing Sunday night and I didn't want to miss the second half. 


But (American) football aside, Roger's work is now an essential part of my numismatic library - I expect to reference it again and again while reading up on multiple aspects of U.S. numismatic history, and I also fully expect that I'll encounter the title henceforth in the footnotes and bibliographies of most new books on U.S. numismatics.  


>From now on, all reviewers of books on U.S. numismatics should ask this question: "If the author didn't consult Burdette's Assay Commission records, why not?"  Unless the author is an R.W. Julian or Roger Burdette who's spent countless hours researching in the Archives themselves, they'll have some explaining to do.
-Editor



To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:

BOOK REVIEW: ANNUAL ASSAY COMMISSION – UNITED STATES MINT 1800-1943

(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n49a07.html)




CONTENTS: THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE FIRST U.S. MINT


Dennis Tucker of Whitman Publishing forwarded me copies of the Table of Contents and Index for The Secret History of the First U.S. Mint by Len Augsburger and Joel Orosz.
He wrote: "I thought these bits of front matter and end matter might further whet your appetite for Len and Joel’s upcoming opus. . . . "

Whet it it did.  The Index is a densely-packed two-page five-column affair indicating the breadth and depth of topics covered.  It's too much to reproduce here, but below is a copy of the Table of Contents.  I've already learned something (Frank H. Stewart's middle name), and I'm curious to see Frank H. Stewart purchases from Chapman Sales.
-Editor






About the Authors

Dedication

Foreword, by Eric P. Newman

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction: The Declaration House: Foreshadowing of the First Mint’s Fate 

Chapter 1: The Man, the Mint, and the Masterpieces

Chapter 2: Frank Huling Stewart: The Man Who Owned the First United States Mint

Chapter 3: “A Very Mean House”: The First United States Mint, 1792–1911

Chapter 4: The Frank H. Stewart Collection: Relics of the First United States Mint

Chapter 5: The Frank H. Stewart Collection: Coins Created at the First United States Mint

Chapter 6: Frank H. Stewart’s Commissioned Artworks: Edwin Lamasure’s Cradle of Liberty
and Ye Olde Mint

Chapter 7: Frank H. Stewart’s Commissioned Artworks: John Ward Dunsmore’s Inspection of the First Dies and Washington Inspecting the First Money Coined by the United States

Chapter 8: Artworks Inspired by Frank H. Stewart’s Commissions: Frank J. Reilly’s Director of the First U.S. Mint Inspecting Initial Coinage, Philadelphia, 1792 and Hy Hintermeister’s Washington Examining the First Coins

Chapter 9: The Fate of the Stewart Collection: Congress Hall, the National Park Service, and Rowan University

Chapter 10: The Last Days of Frank H. Stewart

Afterword: The Mint as It Was, the Mint as Stewart Fixed It in Memory

Appendix A: The Stewartiana Catalog

Appendix B: Frank H. Stewart Purchases From Chapman Sales

Appendix C: Early Fire Insurance Surveys of the First Mint Campus

Appendix D: Seventh Street Lot Numbering

Appendix E: The Frank H. Stewart Photographs of the First Mint Demolition

Notes

Selected Bibliography (Focusing on Significant Numismatic References)

Index





SPECIAL OFFER ON ADAMS BOOKS ON AMERICAN MEDALS




George Kolbe forwarded this brief press release.  See the Kolbe & Fanning web site or ad below for more information.
-Editor



Bah, humbug. Not! Kolbe & Fanning are determined to brighten your holiday season with a special offer on three standard works on American medals written by John W. Adams. Any single title ordered by December 31st will be sold at 10% off the published price; any two titles will be sold at a 20% discount; and those ordering all three works will receive a 30% reduction on the total price. Details are available at: www.numislit.com. Happy Holidays!

















LAST CHANCE TO GET YOUR GETZ


George Kolbe also forwarded this reminder of the impending expiration of the pre-publication price offer on George Fulds's Getz book.
-Editor




After December 31, 2010, copies of George Fuld’s The Washington Pattern Coinage of Peter Getz will no longer be available for sale at the publication price.


This new standard work comprises a meticulous census of all specimens known, accompanied by pedigrees, auction records, weights, diameters, condition, detailed descriptions, and other pertinent data. Copies were produced on a high quality laser printer and feature full-color enlargements of virtually all of the pieces described. Also included is a discussion of the real status of Baker 23, the unique Getz Large Eagle pattern. In addition, the story of the Washington ladle, which has a silver 1797 Getz Masonic medal, Baker 288, in its bowl, is documented for the first time in numismatic circles.


Until December 31, 2010, copies may be ordered from George Frederick Kolbe, P. O. Box 3100, Crestline, CA 92325-3100. Tel: (909) 338-6527; email: GFK at numislit.com.


The Spiral-Bound Edition is available until the end of the year by sending $100.00 per copy (payment by check or money order) to Kolbe.


The Cloth-Bound Edition is likewise available for $135.00 per copy.


Copies sent in the USA are postpaid; actual shipping will be charged for all other orders.


In January 2011, an up to date addenda to the book will be available online at www.numislit.com




MORE ON NUMISMATIC PUBLISHER AL HOCH AND THE COLONIAL NEWSLETTER


Last week Charlie Davis noted that the late Al Hoch of Quarterman Publications also started The Colonial Newsletter, a masterful publication documenting research on U.S. colonial coinage that continues today under the auspices of the American Numismatic Society.  David Gladfelter provides the following additional background.
-Editor



Al started The Colonial Newsletter in October, 1960, following the ANA convention in Boston. From the outset, the newsletter was printed, although the first two issues contained actual photographic plates which Al made at home. “This newsletter will not be sold,” he wrote. “It will be available to those of us who have the interest and willingness to make periodic contributions. The circulation of this newsletter will remain very small. However, with the interest of only a few more individuals this will become a useful medium of communication and an asset both to us and the science.” 


Al published seven issues on a quarterly basis through April-June, 1962, then, after a hiatus of one year, turned the newsletter over to James C. Spilman who served as its editor and publisher for the next 34 years. The Colonial Newsletter is now published by the American Numismatic Society. It has become the journal of record on colonial and early American numismatics.


Al’s original early issues of CNL are quite scarce. He told me that only 10 copies of the first and second issues were made. Under his brief editorship, contributions by Ken Bressett, A. R. “Del” Boudreau, Philip D. Greco, Walter Breen, Richard Picker, Thomas Ollive Mabbott, Edward R. Barnsley, Robert A. Vlack, George J. Fuld, T. V. Buttrey, Ted Craige and Spilman, among others, were published. Al’s success in attracting leading collectors and researchers to his publication, and providing a forum in which new writers could participate, helped this field of numismatics to grow and thrive.


As for Quarterman Publications, Al said that many of his titles fell into the “labor of love” category, but the second edition of U. S. Civil War Store Cards by George and Melvin Fuld was a financial success. With Al’s cooperation, several reprints of this edition were made for the benefit of the Civil War Token Society. The Society is now working on a third edition.


Al had a fine collection of Civil War tokens, some of which he sold directly to me and to other collectors. The balance of his collection was auctioned by the late Jack R. Detwiler in 1971.


Al was a generous person by nature. After we negotiated the contract for the Fuld catalog reprint, Al sent me gratis a copy of Quarterman’s most ambitious project, the reprint of the British Museum’s 1911 Medallic Illustrations in full size, with 183 superb annotated plates and 63 pages of indexes. Just out of the goodness of his heart.



Ray Williams, President of the Colonial Coin Collectors Club (C4) wrote about Al's reprint of the Maris book on the coinage of New Jersey in the group's Yahoo email group.  I've edited his remarks for publication here.
-Editor



Several years ago, I had arranged to have Al Hoch as our featured speaker at C4. With all his contributions to numismatics, I thought he'd have much to share and the guys would enjoy listening to him. That Friday afternoon at the convention, Al sought me out and found me. He apologized and told me he was going to have to cancel his talk because of medical issues. I was so disappointed but one's health should come first. 



Al Hoch's company, Quarterman Publications, made the best reprints in the hobby. I wish they could have done more. My original Maris is the one Quarterman used to make all the reprints, and it has documentation inside. I was fortunate to purchase it from a friend at an Early American Coppers convention. It seemed a little pricey at the time, but I'm thrilled to have it.


It has a bookplate from the John Crerer Library in Chicago, and a bookplate from Melvin & George Fuld, Baltimore MD. Pasted on top of the Fuld bookplate is a white label that states:


QUARTERMAN PUBLICATIONS, INC.
REPRO-MASTER BOOK
NO. 08 


The "08" is written in by hand. So I assume that the Quarterman reproduction of the Maris NJ book was possibly the 8th in the series? 



Ray followed up with an interesting question along the lines of our earlier "You Might be a Bibliophile" discussion.
-Editor



Ray adds:

I don't know if I'm a real bibliophile or not.  I have a working library for numismatics, but in that library I do have some rare and collectable books.  I have the Quarterman Maris reprint, which would be fine for research, but I also have the original Maris too.  Same with Crosby - I have a Quarterman for research but also have an original too.  Under these circumstances, does this make me a bibliophile?  Has NBS ever defined what a "bibliophile" actually is?  I'm definitely not a bibliomaniac, but a bibliophile... This is the stuff I ponder when tired and I should get to bed...  




To me, anyone who owns an original Maris is by default a bibliophile.  He's certainly a NUMISMATIST.  Any collector with enough knowledge of and reverence for hobby history to purchase an original work when a cheaper reprint is available has a true love and appreciation of numismatics.

Thanks also are due to Ray for providing images of various Maris editions for the NBS Bibliography.
-Editor




To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:

CHARLES DAVIS: REMEMBRANCES OF AL HOCH

(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n49a02.html)





THE BOOK BAZARRE

AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS:  Are your books carried by Wizard Coin Supply? If not, contact us via 

www.WizardCoinSupply.com 

with details.  We are interested in further expanding our already exceptional selection of 
in print titles.






SCOTT’S COIN COLLECTOR’S JOURNAL – A SURVEY


Leon Majors submitted the following summary of his survey of surviving sets of Scott's Coin Collector's Journal.  Thanks!  
Below is an image of a set provided by Charles Davis.









First I must apologize for the delay in writing this article. I thought this would be an easy article to write, with lots of interesting data, and the results may be interesting, but are not what I expected. 


Well over a year ago, I surveyed readers about ownership of volumes of the early CCJs. I heard back from about a dozen members. I expected to hear what I’ve read, that all volumes of the early CCJ’s are relatively common except for Volume 13 from 1887. I asked about what volumes were owned and how they were bound. In addition to the survey, I have fairly consistently tracked both eBay and Abebooks for the past two years, looking for additional volumes.


What did I find? The readers responding to my survey reported 5 complete bound sets, including my own, and one complete set in wraps. Yes, that’s right… 6 total sets, plus another set missing 3 monthly issues of Volume 13. In addition, respondents reported about a dozen miscellaneous other volumes. On eBay and Abe I have seen maybe another dozen total volumes, including a combined Volume 8&9 on Abe. All of this equates to not enough information to draw statistically valid conclusions from, but I’ll try anyway.


One interesting note was that there were two partial sets of loose monthly issues of Volume 13, one person had 9 monthly issues and the author has 11 loose issues.


In conclusion I spoke with George Kolbe and Charlie Davis about what they expected the numbers to be. George believed and Charlie concurred that there are likely about 25 complete sets extant. George also believes, but I’m not sure I agree, that there are sufficient copies of all volumes (including number 13) to put together another 25 sets. 


>From the sparse data gathered, and from my prior observations over the past decade or so, Volumes 1-4, are more common than other volumes but none are truly common. A further point would be that all original volumes in wraps are rarer than their bound counterparts.


Now that I’ve put this forth and created a nice target, all of you can now dig through your stacks, boxes and cases and send me info on all those miscellaneous volumes you didn’t think were important before. If someone has access and inclination to search through university reference systems and see how many are impounded in rare book rooms at schools across the country, it would be informative.


Very best regards.

Leon Majors (h.majors at comcast.net)



Below is an image of my set - the first thirteen volumes on the left are the Scott series.  I first set eyes on this set when visiting Donald Miller in Indiana, PA.  When I spotted it on the shelf I told myself, "I want to buy this library someday."  Ultimately I did.  Don and I had similar tastes in numismatic literature and there were tons of duplicates, but the effort was worth it to get this set.  I'm sure more than five or six complete sets will ultimately be documented, but it will remain a rare and important element of any library of American numismatic literature.  Many thanks to Leon for his survey efforts.  Please do contact him if you know of other sets of individual volumes.
-Editor








To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:

SURVEY: THE COIN COLLECTOR'S JOURNAL

(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v12n08a09.html)




TWENTY QUESTIONS INSPIRED BY MICHAEL POWILLS CORRESPONDENCE


George Kolbe submitted the following marvelous quiz inspired by material recently cataloged for sale in the next Kolbe & Fanning numismatic literature sale.  Thanks!  This should be fun.  
-Editor




Long a popular parlor game in the United States, "Twenty Questions" became a successful radio quiz program in the 1940s and in the early 1950s it became a popular early television game show.


The version of the quiz presented here adheres to none of the original rules and is merely a device to induce E-Sylum readers to locate the answers, all of which are included in the description of lot 482 in the January 8, 2011 Kolbe and Fanning auction sale catalogue, accessible at www.numislit.com or in the mail to those on the Kolbe and Fanning mailing list.


Your compiler, George Kolbe, freely admits to shameful self-promotion, yet a modicum of "altruism" is also involved. The auction lot by its very nature appeals to a limited number of potential buyers, but its content is of interest to most any numismatic researcher or bibliophile. I had great fun writing the four page plus description and I think that many E-Sylum readers will have fun reading about the numismatic career of Chicagoan Michael Powills and his fascinating cast of characters.


Let the game begin.


1) Who was the leading numismatic literature dealer in mid-twentieth century America?


2) In the late 1930s, who handled the sale of duplicates from the Virgil Brand library?


3) Who had a 35 minute audience with King Farouk in Koubbeh palace in 1948, during which His Majesty expressed the desire to write articles for "The Numismatist"?


4) Which numismatist offered to "check into" King Farouk's "extensive collection of erotica" on behalf of the “Curator of the Institute for Sex Research, Inc. Founded by Alfred C. Kinsey”?


5) Who complained in 1947 of Frank Katen that "his britches are a little too tight for him right now"?


6) What was the policy of Frank Stewart that curtailed distribution of his 1924 book on the Philadelphia Mint?


7) Which American coin auctioneer was the exclusive distributor of Carl Würtzbach's "Massachusetts Colonial Silver" album in the late 1930s?


8) How long ago was Dick Johnson working on a "glossary of numismatic terms"?


9) Who took over William Hesslein's business after he absconded in 1932?


10) How much did it cost Ludger Gravel to publish the partial catalogue of his collection of historical medals?


11) Which numismatic bibliography author hoped that the American Numismatic Association would publish his work?


12) In 1946, who claimed to have the largest private collection of coins and money in the world?


13) Is M.H. Bolender's given name Milferd or Milford?


14) Who complained in 1949 about perceived impropriety in awarding the ANA auction contract to Abe Kosoff?


15) What prompted Frank Lapa to declare in 1973 that "I'm ready to take the deep 6…"?


16) Why are so many copies of John Ward's classic 1902 London work "Greek Coins and Their Parent Cities" found in the United States?


17) Which American coin dealer is quoted as having opined in 1929 about Virgil Brand's coin collection that "he would not hesitate to guarantee that he could realize by auction between two and a half and three and a half million dollars, and…he would not live long enough to see the fulfillment of the assignment!”?


18) Which subsequently convicted felon proposed the founding of the Professional International Numismatic Guild at the 1966 ANA Convention?


19) How many copies of Carothers' 1930 "Fractional Currency" were printed and did the author write it from an economic perspective or with coin collectors in mind?


20) Who, in the early 1930s, had “bought over 10,000 copies of ‘Numismatist’ within the past year and sold three times as many as Duffield in that time…”?


To visit the Kolbe & Fanning web site, see:

www.numislit.com





THE PHILADELPHIA MINT EXHIBIT OF THE LOUIS ELIASBERG COIN COLLECTION 


Harvey Stack submitted this great reminiscence of Louis Eliasberg and the Eliasberg exhibit at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia.  WOW - Thanks!
-Editor



I read with great interest the various comments about Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr., whom I was quite close to, as I indicated in earlier article concerning the H.R. Lee auction sale.


I think your readers should know more about Mr. Eliasberg.  He was a prominent banker in the Baltimore area for over 50 years.  One of his specialties was lending to the various distillers in the mid-Atlantic area monies to fund their products while they kept their products in bond. (this is during the aging period).


I remember he always liked to say to me, "Harvey, my boy."  'Lou', as I was allowed to call him, was a very dedicated collector.  He knew that he had the good fortune to acquire the Clapp Collection, which set him on the way to his goal, to try to have a full collection.  


I cannot tell you how he or we missed the 1866-S No Motto Double Eagle, except I believe that Clapp did not leave an empty hole in his album page, and everyone overlooked it.  When one considers the great rarities and almost unique coins he acquired, an oversight of a "Date-Variety" can occur.


However, let's look at the man.  He was proud of what he had, and did not hesitate to show it when collectors came visiting.  He was always willing to learn, and we the Stack Family endeavored to keep him informed and up-to-date.


He, as a banker, who served on numerous boards in the Baltimore area, showed
his collection to the public often. I remember when he had a display in the vast lobby of the Baltimore National Bank in 1951.  He left it on display for a period of several months, then returned the collection to the vaults.  


Every few years, in order to expose the collection to the collectors, as well as the depositors, of various  banks, he allowed the collection to be displayed in special rooms in the displaying banks.


Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr., was an active collector and was known to belong to many coin clubs in the Baltimore Area, and he usually displayed a few rarities to excite the viewing collectors.  He often permitted the coins he showed to be passed among the viewers so they could always say that they HAD HELD this rarity or that rarity THEMSELVES!


As I related in an earlier article in The E-Sylum, he did dispose of some of his duplicates at auction through our company.  He did not wish to have the Eliasberg name attached to the sale, so the H. R. LEE COLLECTION label was used. 


But let's now get to the story of the Bicentennial Exhibit at the Philadelphia Mint during the celebration in 1976 and sometime after.


As the years had gone by since Lou acquired the Clapp collection and continued to complete it, by early 1970 he thought about what  would happen to the collection after he passed away. I remember visiting him in 1970 when he set forth a sales idea for his collection. HIS DESIRE AT THAT TIME WAS TO KEEP IT INTACT.


He formulated a plan, which to us was quite unique for the hobby. It was common in that period,(as it was done often for the previous three decades) to take great collections and show them about the country.  How did many get shown? The exhibitor would engage a group of railroad cars, set up the collection in a vibrant display, park the train in railroad stations, for weeks at a time, and invite the public to view it.


His method of showing the collection was unique in its own way. As he did in banks earlier, he had developed display frames, with glass on both sides, so collectors could view each coin for date, and mint mark where applicable.  These frames were set up in vertical steel racks of 10 to 15 frames working like a ROLODEX that could be rotated.  Full series were so displayed.  It was a remarkable way to show the coins, and those who came to see them, were excited and pleased to be able to view this collection in this manner.


Realizing after he conceived this great idea for show, he approached many houses on Wall Street as well as large corporations to show the collection with their support and that these corporations could use THEIR NAME as an advertising vehicle. THEN, after a two or three year display about the country, he would have some Wall Street House to Incorporate the collection, SELL SHARES AND TAKE THE COLLECTION PUBLIC, so it could remain INTACT for the future.   WOW, what an IDEA ! Now you know what made him so successful in business.


Unfortunately, the economic conditions in the early 1970'S were not great, and the idea did not fly.  It was taken off the market in 1973 or early 1974, so the Louis E. Eliasberg could think of how HE could keep the collection intact.


Now we have to switch locations of discussion.  In 1974 the U.S. Mint was building a new building to house a brand new facility in Philadelphia.  They wanted not only to show how coins were made, but wanted to make a exhibit of their earlier products: coins and medals.  


As the Mint, starting near the beginning of the 20th Century housed many of its coins in the Smithsonian Institution, where they were put on display for all to see.  The mint asked the then curators of the National Numismatic Collection to return the coins that were "loaned" the Smithsonian.  


The curators at the time were Vladimir and Elvira Clain-Stefanelli.
They were horrified by the request.  THEY HAD PLANNED TO EXHIBIT A GOODLY
NUMBER OF THE COINS AT THE SMITHSONIAN IN WASHINGTON during 
the bicentennial.  The work they did before the request was received included a massive display of the same coins.  After all, they had showed them and used them in displays for many years, and they expected to be able to show them together with the other coins in the Smithsonian during the Bicentennial Celebration.  Only they wanted the coins shown in the Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.


As the Stefanellis were great friends of the entire Stack Family (they worked for us in the 1950's), they came to us with the problem in hand. I remembered the idea that Louis E. Eliasberg was thinking of, to expose HIS COLLECTION nationwide.  I thought, what if we could convince Lou to show his collection at the Mint in Philadelphia?  So Norman and I went to Baltimore to propose the idea to him. At the time he was not well, and our visit was welcomed as old friends who helped each others for well over three decades. He smiled, puffed on his cigar, and turned to me and said, 'MY BOY, THAT IS A GREAT IDEA'   "Do you think it can be done.?


The Stack Family had made friends through the years at various government
agencies, and we called on the many we knew to propose the idea to the Mint.
Those we knew all thought that the idea was a great diplomatic solution to a 
very touchy problem. (A few years earlier besides helping the government show the Truman Library Collection we worked on various projects with the Mint).


There was an Assistant Director at the Mint offices in Washington, D.C. who
was recommended to us .  The members of the Stack Family put their heads
together, thought how to approach the Mint and I pleaded the case to the 
Mint Representatives.   A similar approach was done by the Smithsonian officials.  To release back to the Mint all the coins they wanted could start a great debate between the Smithsonian and the Mint. The idea went forward.


At that point, Louis E. Eliasberg, Jr., who through the years worked closely with his father when exhibits had to be made, was given the job of negotiation with  the Mint.  Louis Sr.'s health did not permit him to do the negotiations himself.


Louis Jr., was somewhat of a flamboyant person -  strong negotiator and always looking to please his father's wishes when deals had to be made.  Well, all went well, except for one item. It had been agreed that the Mint would send their armored trucks to Baltimore to pick up the collection and provide chase cars before and after the trucks to further protect the transportation of the collection.  


Louis Jr. felt he wanted to show how much he was concerned with the transportation and setting up of the collection. He wanted to be part of the ESCORT detail to follow the collection in one of the "chase cars".  Though this was not common for a non-government person to ride in a security government vehicle, the Mint officials  decided to break the procedure and agreed.  


But that didn't satisfy Louis Jr. He asked that the Mint Officials get him a federal arms permit so he could travel interstate with his own gun.  This really was breaking the Mint's protocol.  Never done before!  Well, he responded, YOU'LL NEVER DISPLAY THE ELIASBERG COLLECTION!  After a call to the Division of Federal Firearms, a concession was made, and he rode shotgun while moving his father's collection.


The collection was shipped in early 1976 and was received at the Mint the
same day.  Waiting to receive it was a group of mint officials and myself.
I was there to help the exhibit be assembled and placed on a huge balcony overlooking the gigantic lobby entrances to the Mint. 


Louis Jr. was so headstrong and wishing to boast to his father that HE was put in charge of setting up the displays, and he made a point that those who were there to help him, including myself, weren't really needed (of course he was wrong, as some of the panels were put out of order, and if I wasn't there, they would be difficult to find during the exhibit).  


Louis Jr.'s character during the assembly of the collection, that he
personally sealed the display cases, with special seals on the special racks
that would hold them!  He actually had a special seal made to insure that they weren't tampered with.  With the amount of guards the Mint provided about the display, it could never happen. But Louis Jr. was so paranoid that we all gave in to his whims.


The collection was on display for several years during the BICENTENNIAL 
CELEBRATION, was viewed by many millions of visitors, and was a major 
attraction!


Having been there myself, watching all this happen, let me say without 
contradiction, that the ELIASBERG COLLECTION was on full display at
the MINT in PHILADELPHIA during our country's great BICENTENNIAL 
CELEBRATION.  


I am extremely proud to have been a part of making it happen.
Unfortunately, Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr., the developer of the collection,
never had the pleasure to see the display at the Mint
during the Bicentennial because of ill health.  He would
have surely been a proud man!




THE BOOK BAZARRE

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FRED LAKE ON HARRY X BOOSEL



Fred Lake writes:


I first met Harry in 1988 and visited him in Chicago when I was asked to pick up his "Redbook" collection and offer it for sale. You can see what I had offered in Function Associates Premier Sale of Numismatic Literature dated May 17,1989.
 

Harry took me to his basement and we dug around in old Army foot lockers to find the books. Harry said that he did have a First Edition, but we never did get to the last trunk which was buried under a ton or two of other stuff.


He was a very witty guy in a "dry" way and I fondly remember my visit with him.




I met Harry once, too.  It was at an American numismatic Association convention (I've forgotten which one).  He and John Pittman were sitting with their wives chatting at a table in the refreshment area.  John introduced me and we chatted for a few minutes.  It was a pleasure to meet the author who undertook a pioneering study of the dizzying array of 1873 coinage types and varieties.  What a challenge!
-Editor


To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:

HARRY X BOOSEL'S 1873 COINAGE BOOK COVER PRINTING PLATE

(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n49a08.html)





QUIZ ANSWER: JENNY LIND, THE SWEDISH NIGHTINGALE








Last week I wrote:


The artist on this Swedish 50 Kronor note was a singer.  Who was she, and what was her connection to U.S. numismatics?



Pete Smith was the firstest with the bestest answer.  He replied before midnight Sunday.  But first, here's what other readers had to say.


Jim Duncan of New Zealand writes:


I think she's Jenny Lind, but as a kiwi I haven't a clue on her connection, unless she was the collector.



Mike Marotta writes:


The 50-kronor note from Sweden features Jenny Lind.  My co-author Ann M. Zakelj, gave me one of these when she returned from one of her many visits to Europe.  A couple of weeks later, at the Curious Bookshop in East Lansing, I found Jenny Lind: Songbird from Sweden by Elisabeth P. Myers (Champaign, Illinois: Garrard, 1968); and now the note (in a mylar sleeve) is with the book.  


Searching the Internet revealed a second somewhat tangential numismatic reference.  "The Songbird and the Huckster," (The Washington Post, February 4, 2002) tells of an performance by the Library of Congress, Libby Larsen's Barnum's Bird (a Choral Opera). See 
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-323047.html




In mid-19th century America, long before the Internet, television, radio or even phonographs, entertainment was a scarce commodity.  When promoter P.T. Barnum brought singer Jenny Lind to America for a multi-city concert tour, and she became a national sensation.  
-Editor



Bob Evans writes:


The subject of the 50 Kronor note is Jenny Lind, the "Swedish Nightingale." Johanna Maria Lind was a very popular operatic soprano of the mid-nineteenth century. I'm not quite sure what the connection to U.S. numismatics is, but I will give it a shot with two somewhat oblique connections. 


In 1850 she embarked on an extraordinarily popular tour of the eastern United States, a series of concerts organized by P. T. Barnum. There is a medal, made by Allen & Moore of Birmingham, England, that was probably sold in the U.S. in conjunction with the Barnum tour. 


As well, there is a Jenny Lind, California, a village on the road from Sacramento to Stockton, that saw active placer mining during the Gold Rush. I'm certain that some of that gold ended up in circulating U.S. coins.



Mack Martin was thinking along similar lines:


I think the artist on this Swedish 50 Kronor note is Johanna Maria Lind (6 October 1820 – 2 November 1887).  She toured America (1850) doing concerts.
The gold-rush town of Jenny Lind, California the named after her.



Patrick McMahon, Director of Exhibitions and Design at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston writes:


I’m sure you’ll get all sorts of answers about the numismatic link to Jenny Lind. We don’t have any examples of the tokens and game counters at the MFA, but we do have a French fan from 1850 that shows several images of her—one of which is strikingly similar to the one on the Kroner. So I thought I’d share.








To read the complete collection entry, see:



(www.mfa.org/collections/object/fan-124623)


Joe Boling writes:


A female singer on a Swedish note has to be Jenny Lind, "The Swedish Nightingale." (Yup - I just looked it up in the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money - it's number 62 in the Modern Issues volume, same portrait continued on number 64 with more security features). And of course, she's also identified at the cited website. 




Pete Smith writes:


Leonidas Westervelt compiled a list of Jenny Lind tokens and medals published by the American Numismatic Society in 1921 as No. 5 in their series Numismatic Notes and Monographs. This monograph does not mention the Swedish 50 kronor note.   At one time I thought about collecting Jenny Lind medals but the topic was too large and availability too small so I abandoned my quest.




So there you have it.  This singing sensation of the mid-19th century inspired a wealth of tokens and medals in her honor.  Perhaps it's time for an update to the 1921 catalog.
-Editor



To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:

FEATURED WEB PAGE: ARTISTS ON BANKNOTES

(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n49a20.html)




FOLLOW-UP: SABINE PASS MEDAL COPIES



Jonathan Brecher writes:


Regarding the Sabine Pass medal from a couple of weeks ago, the official answer in terms of value appears to be "Not Much". An identical replica just ended on eBay, with no bidders willing to match even the measly $9.00 opening bid:

cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170576527352. That listing was described more or less correctly, and listed in a reasonable category, so I guess that's that.






 Lloyd Wagner example




Thanks for the follow-up.  It's still an interesting item.
-Editor



To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:

MORE ON SABINE PASS MEDAL COPIES

(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n49a15.html)






THREE STANDARD WORKS ON AMERICAN MEDALS
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MORE ON THE TRUMAN LIBRARY COIN COLLECTION



Harry Waterson writes:


I found this picture on the Truman Library website. There are 9 more in their online photo collection.  See

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