The E-Sylum v13#29, July 18, 2010

Sun Jul 18 18:33:43 PDT 2010

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    The E-Sylum

  An electronic publication of
  The Numismatic Bibliomania Society

Volume , Number 29, July 18, 2010
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WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM JULY 18, 2010
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LAKE BOOKS SALE #103 PRICES REALIZED AVAILABLE
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NUMISMATIC LITERATURE IN HERITAGE ANA AUCTION
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NEW BOOK: GUIDE BOOK OF MODERN UNITED STATES PROOF COIN SETS, 2ND EDITION
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BOOK REVIEW: ASTRONOMICAL SYMBOLS ON ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL COINS
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BOOK REVIEW: GOLD: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO BUY AND SELL TODAY
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QUERY: ALAIN DEBELDER'S BELGISCH NOODGELD SOUGHT
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QUERY: SAMUEL MOORE AND ADAM ECKFELDT INFORMATION SOUGHT
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MORE ON MEDAL ENGRAVER BLUMENFELD
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MORE ON THE NEW ENGLAND NUMISMATIC AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY PRLS
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ON RESTORING LEATHER BOOK COVERS
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QUERY: ROBERT READY AND SONS, ELECTROTYPISTS
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ARTICLE PROFILES BILL BURD AND HIS NUMISMATIC LIBRARY
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MORE ON THE LIBRARY OF COINS AND TREASURY OF COINS ALBUMS
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CHIPS, THE DOG WITH A PURPLE HEART
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OPINION: TIM SHUCK ON COIN DESIGN BY COMMITTEE
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NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: JULY 18, 2010
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ROY ROGERS' SILVER-DOLLAR STUDDED CAR
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THE HOBBIES MAGAZINE BUILDING IN CHICAGO
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ARTICLE: TRINIDAD MAN READY TO PART WITH HIS "RARE" COIN
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ARTICLE PROFILES FORMER B.E.P. ENGRAVER THOMAS HIPSCHEN
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ON GERMAN MICRO-CURRENCIES
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INDIA UNVEILS NEW RUPEE SYMBOL
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CONFUSION REIGNS AS SOUTH AFRICA OUTLAWS OLD BANKNOTES
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FEATURED WEB SITE: EUROCOLLEZIONE, A EURO COINS SITE
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Click here to read this issue on the web

WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM JULY 18, 2010

Among our new subscribers this week is
Brian Cushing.  Welcome aboard! We now have 1,362 subscribers.  

This week we open with a note from Fred Lake on his recent sale, announcements and reviews of three books. Other topics this week include Samuel Moore and Adam Eckfeldt, electrotypists Robert Ready and sons, Bill Burd's numismatic library, and BEP engraver Tom Hipschen.

To learn about Archaeoastronomy, Roy Rogers' coin-studded car, and Chips, the dog with a Purple Heart, read on.  Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
 Numismatic Bibliomania Society

LAKE BOOKS SALE #103 PRICES REALIZED AVAILABLE

Fred Lake forwarded this note about the results of his recent numismatic literature sale.
-Editor

The prices realized list for our sale #103 which closed on July 13, 2010 is now available for viewing on our web site at http://www.lakebooks.com/current.html 

The sale was very active with classic books on British medals, Redbooks, US reference material and exonumia 
bringing high prices.

Our next sale will be held in mid-September and features the very extensive library of noted columnist and numismatist Col. William Bain Murray. Many of these fine reference books have been personally inscribed to Bill by the authors. You won't want to miss this sale.

Lake Books
6822 22nd Ave. N.
St. Petersburg, FL 33710
727-343-8055  Fax 727-345-3750

NUMISMATIC LITERATURE IN HERITAGE ANA AUCTION

Mark Borckardt submitted the following information about a couple of auction lots of interest to numismatic bibliophiles and researchers.
-Editor

Two lots in the official American Numismatic Association Auction in Boston will be of special interest to numismatic literature collectors.

The first lot will be in the Platinum Night session (lot 3016). An extra-illustrated, leather-bound edition of Henry Tuckerman’s 1859 The Character and Portraits of Washington includes about 90 engravings or lithographs of or related to George Washington. The binding is a fancy custom leather binding by Sangorski and Sutcliffe of London, and the extra illustrations were assembled by Goodspeed’s of Boston. Included is an 1773 ALS in Washington’s hand, and incorporated in the front cover is an original George Washington gold funeral medal.

A further description is available at: 

coins.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=1143&LotIdNo=34001
.

Wow!  What a bundle of numismatic joy - a great book, a letter signed by Washington himself, and a gold funeral medal.  Here's an excerpt from the lot description.
-Editor

Of special interest to numismatists is Appendix III, a list of 49 items of Washingtonia, reprinted from the Boston Transcript edition of February 10, 1859. The list includes fascinating tidbits of information, such as an early account identifying Martha Washington as the model for the 1792 half disme, pedigree information attributing certain pieces to the collections of contemporary numismatists like Jeremiah Colburn and Reverend Finotti, and general observations on Washingtonia in 1859. The item is signed A.S. (possibly Augustus B. Sage).

Perhaps the most interesting feature of the present volume is the oval, gold George Washington Funeral medal, Baker-169, mounted in a recessed pocket of the front cover. This medal was originally designed for women, to be worn in lockets or other jewelry. The pieces were marketed by Eben Moulton, a Boston goldsmith and jeweler, in January 1800.

The second item (lot 5550) is a 30-year correspondence file of B. Max Mehl including testimonial and other letters that Mehl received from various consigners and other parties over a period of 30 years, dating from January 28, 1920 to March 8, 1950. 

Letters were received from a veritable who’s who of early 20th century numismatics, including James H. Manning, Charles Slack, George Blake, Alex Rosborough, George Bauer, William C. Atwater, Jr. (the son of the Atwater the coin collector), The National McKinley Birthplace Memorial Association, Fred Olsen, William Philpott, Jr., the private secretary of King Farouk, Waldo Newcomer, Charles W. Green, and many others.

A further description is available at: 

coins.ha.com/common/view_item.php?Sale_No=1143&LotIdNo=110001
.

NEW BOOK: GUIDE BOOK OF MODERN UNITED STATES PROOF COIN SETS, 2ND EDITION

Whitman Publishing is releasing an updated edition of David Lange's great book on U.S. Proof Sets.  Below is an article from the Whitman Review with a portrait of Dave and image of the new book.  Congratulations!
-Editor

Whitman Publishing has released an expanded, updated second edition of David W. Lange’s Guide Book of Modern United States Proof Coin Sets. The 256-page book, now in full color, is available online (including here, at WhitmanBooks.com) and from bookstores and hobby dealers nationwide. It retails for $19.95.

Proofs are the highest-quality specimens available of U.S. Mint coinage. Modern sets of these coins are very popular—collectors have bought more than 38 million in the past 10 years alone. Now award-winning numismatic researcher David W. Lange has updated, revised, and expanded his groundbreaking guide book. He offers a definitive history of the U.S. Mint’s Proof coin sets, from the vintage period of 1936 to 1942, through the classic years of 1950 to 1964, the Special Mint Sets of 1965 to 1967, modern sets of 1968 to 1998, the 50 State Quarters® Proof sets of 1999 to 2008, and today’s historically important sets with Presidential dollars and other current coins.

The new second edition includes:

56 more pages than the first edition 

an illustrated history of Proof U.S. coins 

date-by-date analysis of each Proof set, starting with 1936, with full-color photographs 

original issue prices, values of uncertified sets, and values in several certified levels of Proof 

advice on collecting, storing, and displaying Proof coins 

a study of U.S. Mint packaging over the years 

certified coin population data 

official mintage and sales figures 

a photo gallery of earlier (18th- and 19th-century) Proofs 

close-ups of Proof coin die varieties, identified by Fivaz/Stanton number 

In the foreword, Q. David Bowers writes, “Lange provides information not generally available even piecemeal in other texts, and nowhere available in a single place until now.”

This beautifully illustrated full-color book is bound in softcover, 256 pages, retail $19.95.

To read the complete article in the Whitman Review, see:

(www.whitmanbooks.com/Default.aspx?Page=55&HTMLName=ReviewFBook1_0710)

BOOK REVIEW: ASTRONOMICAL SYMBOLS ON ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL COINS

Kavan Ratnatunga submitted this review of Marshall Faintich's book, Astronomical Symbols on Ancient and Medieval Coins. Thanks!
-Editor

Astronomical Symbols on Ancient  and  Medieval Coins 
by Marshall Faintich

Review by Dr Kavan U. Ratnatunga (Astrophysicist and Numismatist)
http://coins.lakdiva.org
1-412-567-2917 (SkypeIn to Sri Lanka GMT+05:30)

Over a decade ago when I looked for information about Coins and Astronomy I found Marshall Faintich's website "Symbolic Messengers"
hosted on OurWorld of CompuServe. It was one of only two websites dealing with the subject and I linked from the page I created for Lankan coins with Astronomy symbols. OurWorld in no more and the website  has now moved to its own domain symbolicmessengers.com.

I am very happy to find that Marshall Faintich has expanded his website into a comprehensive book on Astronomy symbols on Coins Ancient and Medieval Europe.

To quote late Philip Grierson (1910-2006),  who was Professor of Numismatics at University of Cambridge:

 Numismatics, like some aspects of astronomy and natural history, remains a branch of learning in which the amateur can still do valuable work, and it is on the great collecting public, or rather on that part of which is interested in the subject at a scientific level, that the progress of numismatic science largely depends.  

This book covers both these fields

The rate of rotation of the Earth is slowing very slightly and it is estimated that the length of the modern day appears to have increased by a surplus of about +0.05 seconds from the length of the ancient day 2500 years ago. The resulting cumulative correction of Universal Time known as Delta-T amounts to about 4.7 hours when you compute astronomical events back in 500 BCE. Before 1600 AD this can only be estimated empirically by records of Solar Eclipses, the most ancient of which are mainly from China. The consistency of the European numismatic record of Eclipses as shown in this book is an independent confirmation of the adopted Delta-T estimates.

As the Author admits it is unlikely that all the symbols identified as astronomical on over 400 coins illustrated in this book are factual,  but it is clear that a large majority of them probably have been correctly identified.

All of the coins are illustrated with clear line drawing. It is a pity that images of few of the actual coins were not shown as images. Few of the coin images can however be seen on his symbolicm essengers website. I hope he expands that site with more images and references to the discussion in the book.

Faintich gives many examples of the Sun, Moon and 5 planets known to the ancients and their conjunctions, as well as comets and Galactic SuperNova visible in daylight that were recorded on Ancient and Medieval European coins.

Astronomical Symbols are also found on coins of south Asia including Lanka.
I found it interesting that some of the same symbols such as the "three pellets" are found on Ancient Lankan coins which were first issued in 2 century BC. Each culture seems to have their own interpretation for this symbol which probably has a common ancient origin.

The crescent Sun during a partial eclipse is represented like a crescent Moon, however the orientation of the crescent should give some indication. The cusps of the crescent which point away from the Sun can't be seen pointing down at night.

Another recommendation for anyone trying to match coins with ancient Eclipses is to use the NASA Eclipse website which has a Five Millennium Catalog of Solar Eclipses at http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEcat5/SEcatalog.html
This site is simpler to use than any program and adopts the current best algorithms and estimates for delta-T.

This book was published in 2008 should have gotten more publicity in 2009, the International Year of Astronomy when many nations issued coins to commemorate IYA2009 and there is a new set of coins with Astronomical Symbols.

Archaeoastronomy is becoming a growing field of interest. An IAU Symposium 278 (Oxford IX conference): "Archaeoastronomy and
Ethnoastronomy: Building Bridges between Cultures",  is being sponsored by IAU Division XII, on 2011 Jan 5-12 in Lima, Peru. See
http://www.archaeoastronomy.org/ .   I hope Marshall Faintich presents
his findings at this conference.

Although the emphasis of the book on Medieval European coins, the book will serve as a very useful handbook for anyone attempting a similar
study of other regions and cultures and other Eras.   I recommend it
for any Numismatic Library.

http://www.symbolicmessengers.com/primer.htm
http://www.symbolicmessengers.com/virtual.htm
http://web.archive.org/web/19981205005530/http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/symbolic_messengers/
http://coins.lakdiva.org/astronomy.html

To read the earlier E-Sylum review, see:

BOOK REVIEW: ASTRONOMICAL SYMBOLS ON ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL COINS

(www.coinbooks.org/club_nbs_esylum_v13n26.html#article6)

BOOK REVIEW: GOLD: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO BUY AND SELL TODAY

John and Nancy Wilson submitted this review of the new book on gold by Garrett and Bowers.
-Editor

“Gold:  Everything You Need to Know to Buy and Sell Today”
Authors:  Jeff Garrett and Q. David Bowers, Foreword by Kenneth Bressett
Reviewed by:  John and Nancy Wilson, NLG

Two of the country’s most famous researchers and gold coin dealers, Jeff Garrett and Q. David Bowers, have produced an amazing book showing how to buy and sell gold most effectively and profitability.

This new book helps readers understand today’s gold market.  It starts with the basics of gold from, ancient times to modern and includes beautiful full color pictures of many rare and interesting gold coins.  The book is hard cover and is in a hard pocket to protect it.  The book covers the gambit from the recent gold boom to selling your gold and buying gold.  It advises dealing with experts and discusses counterfeit and altered gold coins.  Answers to frequently asked questions helps with many important areas of concern to readers. 

The book also has ten pockets with pullout sheets which have interesting charts to use on the convention floor.  The charts show weight conversion - for gold grams to pennyweight and the value with gold shown at prices from $900 to $1550 per ounce.  Another shows bullion values of common U. S. and world gold coins at gold values from $800 to $1500 per ounce.  Still another chart shows weights and tolerances as well as diameters of US gold coins for counterfeit detection. The last chart shows the names and addresses of many of the world mints.  Because they are pullouts they can be taken wherever you are dealing without having to take the entire book.

“Gold:  Everything You Need to Know to Buy and Sell Today,” released recently, (Copyright 2010), will be a new Whitman Publishing reference that will be carried to conventions like many of its other products.  We think this new reference will be very useful not only for new comers and investors; but also for advanced numismatists.  It is reasonably priced at $12.95 from Whitman who can be contacted at:  Whitman Publishing, LLC, 3103 Clairmont Road, Suite B, Atlanta, Georgia, Call Center:  (800) 546-2995 (8:00a.m. – 5:00p.m Central Time) or visit their web page at

www.whitmanbooks.com
.

To read the earlier E-Sylum review, see:

BOOK REVIEW: GOLD: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO BUY AND SELL TODAY

(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n28a06.html)

THE BOOK BAZARRE

“If a Book on Error Coins Has a Mistake, Will Anyone Notice?”

Not to worry, when your authors are error-coin experts Nicholas Brown, David Camire, and Fred Weinberg. 100 Greatest U.S. Error Coins will debut at the ANA World’s Fair of Money in Boston, August 11, 2010. Its in-depth essays and more than 500 high-res photographs take you inside the “how’d that happen?” world of error coins. Coffee-table, full color, 144 pages. $29.95. Pre-order now
at 

www.WhitmanBooks.com
.

QUERY: ALAIN DEBELDER'S BELGISCH NOODGELD SOUGHT

Howard A. Daniel III writes:

Over a couple of years, I have heard or had people write to me requesting I assist them in acquiring a numismatic reference that was published in last two or three years.  The title is Belgisch Noodgeld (in Flemish) and Les Billets de Necessite Belges (in French) by a Belgian writer by the name of Alain Debelder.  

It was sent to and reviewed by the IBNS Book of the Year committee and one of them made an image of the cover for me.  Since then, no one I know has seen any other copies.

I have not been able to find this reference available from any of the sources known to me, including many in Europe.  I am afraid it was a VERY limited edition and is sold out but I will not give up hope until I learn more about it.  If anyone has contact information for the author or knows where the reference can be purchased, please contact me at HADaniel3 at msn.com.

I've not heard of this title on Notgeld before. Can anyone help?  
-Editor

QUERY: SAMUEL MOORE AND ADAM ECKFELDT INFORMATION SOUGHT

Mike Dlugosz writes:

I am doing some research on Samuel Moore which in turn has led me to seek out more information on Adam Eckfeldt.   Since they worked together I am doubting that they ever communicated with each other via letter, but I would be interested in finding papers/correspondence of Moore and Eckfeldt, separately.   

I have been to the National Archives in Pennsylvania but am not sure that what I am looking for is there.  I plan to look at UPENN and the Bucks County Historical society for Moore's papers but don't know where to begin with Eckfeldt. Any help you could offer would be greatly appreciated.

Well, a great starting point for Adam Eckfeldt is Pete Smith's book, American Numismatic Biographies.  A copy of an updated draft is available on the NBS web site at www.coinbooks.org/resources/.  There is an entry on Samuel Moore as well.
-Editor

MORE ON MEDAL ENGRAVER BLUMENFELD

Last week Dick Johnson posed several questions about a medal engraver named Blumenfeld: In Chicago he signed his pieces with his name and the enigmatic letters "P.O.C." In San Francisco he added the initials "S.F.C ." to his signature. Questions: What was his full name? And what do these initials stand for?.  Pete Smith offers these thoughts.
-Editor

1.  Engraver Blumenfeld is not listed in Forrer.  My conclusion: If Dick Johnson does not know the first name of engraver Blumenfeld, that information is not to be known.

2.  What do P.O.C. and S.F.C. stand for?  My first thought was "Port of Chicago" and "San Francisco, California."

3.  Others speculate that S.F.C. stands for "San Francisco Chronicle," since M. H. De Young was the owner. This speculation extends to the thought that Blumenfeld worked for the Chronicle. I will continue to describe this as speculative until someone comes up with better documentation.

4.  New puzzle question:  What do the letters P.O.C. mean when applied to a Schenkman 48? (As in Schenkman 48 P.O.C.)

5.  Answer to question above: Pile of Crap. (Sorry to drop the E-Sylum to that level, but you (or Kraljevich) started it.)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:

NUMISMATIC VOCABULARY: ITINERANT ENGRAVER

(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n28a13.html)

MORE ON THE NEW ENGLAND NUMISMATIC AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY PRLS

In an earlier E-Sylum,
David Stone of Heritage Numismatic Auctions wrote: 

Regarding Dave Hirt's query on the PRL's published by the New England Numismatic and Archaeological Society, there were at least eight numbers in the series. 

David recently moved and it took him a while to locate it, but this week he provided images of the NEN&AS prices realized list from Cogan's 5/3/1871 Caufman sale.  This PRL is #1 in the series. Thanks!  Click on the images to view larger versions on our Flickr image archive.
-Editor

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:

MORE ON THE NEW ENGLAND NUMISMATIC AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY PRLS

(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n21a16.html)

ON RESTORING LEATHER BOOK COVERS

In response to Steve Frank's query, Michael Sullivan submitted these thoughts on leather bindings.
-Editor

A bookbinder who specializes in RESTORATION  (critical point) could recolor
the leather assuming the material has not dried out.    Once the leather
dries out, rebinding is a much better long-term solution.

Regarding the risk of light exposure to one's collection, I have taken
numerous precautions to ensure the important and rare 19th century
literature in my collection is protected from any sunlight exposure
including bookcase placement and archival acid-free storage boxes.     

Most recently I went one step further and had a variety of windows in my house covered with ceramic film.    The film eliminates 99% of the UV light
(high risk), reduces heat in the house (go green), and is removable in the
future.   

Unlike older films which simultaneously made the house interior
dark, the newer high-tech films only reduce light and color contrast by
roughly 10% .....hardly noticeable after a couple of days.    A 6-foot by
4-foot window cost roughly $300 to cover, which is much less than the cost to repair a single leather binding.

So ...... a bit of prevention can be a great investment.

Kim Ghobrial adds:

I've used RenWax on my leather covered books, as it can be used for this, besides coins or other artifacts.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:

QUERY: RESTORING LEATHER BOOK COVERS

(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n28a12.html)

QUERY: VIETNAMESE BANKNOTE OVERSTAMP TRANSLATION SOUGHT

Howard A. Daniel III submitted this query about a banknote he recently came across.
-Editor

I have been working for several months trying to find and bring together all of my numismatic pieces of a pre-united Viet Nam in every crook, cranny, corner, box, drawer, shelf, envelope, etc.  During this work, I recently came across something that I know does not belong to me.  I seem to remember it coming from Europe but right now I cannot find the envelope.  With my heavy correspondence and stacks of mail always all over my office, I ask the collector or dealer to send me a color photocopy or scan instead of the actual piece, so I do not misplace it like I did with this note.  But this owner mailed the actual piece to me. 

It is a Series 1958 Democratic Republic of Viet Nam 10 Dong bank note.  It is usually cataloged under North Viet Nam and in Pick it is numbered 74a for the issued note.  For the same note with a Da Thu overstamp, it is numbered 74b.  The Da Thu overstamp was applied on May 3, 1978 when this note was exchanged for Series 1976 coins and notes.

The note I just re-found has an overstamp on it too but the word is Mupia or Nupia or something else.  The word could mean exchanged, cancelled or annulled.  The note could have been exchanged in a Vietnamese Embassy somewhere in Europe and they applied an overstamp on it in the local language.  Or someone tried to exchange it for a local currency after it became demonetized and the bank or foreign exchange in that country overstamped it.

Besides showing the actual note with the overstamp in its upper right corner, I am also showing what I believe to be what I can see of the overstamp.  My question is; can someone fluent in the language of the overstamp translate it for me?  Thank you in advance for anyone translates it.  And if the owner knows this note is his, please contact me at HADaniel3 at msn.com, so I can return it.  I am pretty sure I know who owns it but my recent letter to him came back with address unknown overstamped on it.  

QUERY: ROBERT READY AND SONS, ELECTROTYPISTS

Charley Marsteller writes:

"I am seeking bibliographical information on Robert Ready and his sons, electrotypists for the British Museum in the late 19th-early 20th Centuries, the era when the British Museum used electrotypes in their public displays, keeping the coins themselves locked in the vaults.  In 1884, a large sample of the electrotypes of Ready and sons entered the collection of the American Numismatic Society where they still reside today."  

Great question!   Can anyone tell us more about the Ready family?  
Charley can be reached at

cm_marsteller at hotmail.com
. 
-Editor

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.

ARTICLE PROFILES BILL BURD AND HIS NUMISMATIC LIBRARY

NBS Secretary-Treasurer David Sundman pointed out this nice article on Numisamster.com written by Cliff Mishler about NBS member Bill Burd and his numismatic library.  Here are some excerpts.
-Editor

You can’t tell a book by it’s cover, they say, and you can’t  know what’s behind a door until you open it.

Both axioms hold true for visitors to the Chicago Coin Company, Inc.

Located behind a nondescript storefront on on Archer Avenue on Chicago’s southwest side, just a mile or so west of Midway Airport, is an inner sanctum that is truly something to behold.

Back behind the shop area, owner William Burd’s modest office, and the work and shipping areas that support the business operation, is a spacious, well appointed, extensive and comprehensive numismatic reference library. Upon its shelves rest more than 12,000 reference books, catalogs, periodicals and pamphlets covering a diversity of interests from ancient to modern.

To say that this repository of numismatic knowledge makes the Chicago Coin Company one of the most unusual coin shops in the country would certainly be an understatement. The story behind the library, the location and the principal is an interesting one.

In 1994, prior to striking out on his own, Burd had started researching numismatic subjects for his personal curiosity. Among the early topics researched were the history of the 1894-S dime and the second San Francisco Mint and the career of Superintendent Oscar LaGrange. Those forays led him into writing a couple articles that found publication in The Numismatist and led him to start building a reference library for personal use.

When he took over the Daru Coin shop, renaming it the Chicago Coin Company a couple years later, Burd said that all of the reference books he had at hand would probably have fit into two modest-sized cartons. At that time he was finding it necessary to frequently rely upon the resources of the American Numismatic Association library to fill in the research gaps.

Through the first 10 years of operating the Chicago Coin Company, Burd gradually expanded those modest research holdings into a budding library to meet his business needs and personal desires. He realized it was probable that others might find it useful to consult the reference works he had assembled, by which time numbered somewhat more than 5,000.

The number of items in the library has more than doubled over the past five years, Burd said, with a focus on filling in gaps with missing titles, catalogs and related studies. Within the past two years he has started promoting the availability of the library for public use with advanced inquiry. The references may be consulted only on site, but photocopies in satisfaction of specific needs will be honored.

The Chicago Coin Company reference library was relocated into renovated and expanded quarters earlier this year, with an open house hosted on April 17 with about 60 interested collectors and scholars from the area in attendance. 

The library guest register they and other visitors sign into is maintained in a century old journal of Virgil Brand’s buyer, Theophile E. Leon, who conducted business in the early decades of the 20th century. As a predecessor to the Chicago Coin Company, it contains some of his important contact and transaction records in his own hand.

If you’re a serious collector or numismatic scholar who would appreciate a visit to a fine and appealing library, you owe it to yourself to make it a point to arrange to pay a visit to the Chicago Coin Company reference library.

Any inquiries concerning utilization of the library should be directed to Bill Burd at the Chicago Coin Company, 6455 West Archer Avenue, Chicago, IL 60638. The phone number is; 773-586-7666. The website is

www.chicagocoin.com
.

To read the complete article, see:

Chicago coin shop houses library

(www.numismaticnews.net//article/?p_ArticleId=11970)

MORE ON THE LIBRARY OF COINS AND TREASURY OF COINS ALBUMS

James Higby submitted these thoughts inspired by Dave Lange's item on the Library of Coins albums.
-Editor

I can't wait to acquire and read a copy of David Lange's book on the Library of Coins albums.  I remember as a teenager visiting the up-a-flight-of-22-noisy-wooden-stairs coin shop of one Mr. Rippberger in Rockford IL and seeing the entire collection of LOC albums on display on a high shelf.  Indeed, I kept my own collection of Lincoln cents in them!  Those albums are handsome, but somewhat fragile; if not handled and stored carefully, their taped bindings will quickly rack, especially now after half a century of glue deterioration.

An interesting feature of those albums was that they normally included "everything" that had a Redbook listing, or at least close to everything.  Thus did the Indian cent album call for an 1856 flyer, while the Lincoln cent albums called for both a 1922-P and a 1955 doubled die.  If one had started collecting those series in the blue Whitman folders (who didn't?) and then "graduated" to the LOC, his want list would immediately grow by three very expensive coins!

Toward the end of the LOC era (late 1960s) a new series of albums was released, apparently in very low press runs considering their scarcity today, to include albums for most all series of U.S. coins.  The pair of albums for large cents is of particular interest to me, in that it calls for most (but for some reason not all) of the Redbook varieties, 128 coins in all.  

There are some toughies in there, such as the 1793 liberty cap and the 1803 large date, small fraction, but it is still possible to finish this "complete" set even today.  The half cent album, on the other hand, supplies two  openings each for both 1796- and 1802-dated coins.  Perhaps the Coin & Currency Institute editors were dreamers, perhaps they were sadists, but it was close to impossible then, and it is close to impossible now to fill the holes for 1796 no pole and 1802, reverse of 1800.  

Users of this album series to collect and house the early silver issues will find multiple varieties required of those difficult and expensive dates in the 1790s.  I wonder how many such people there really are, or if they just collect the albums out of nostalgia.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:

THE LIBRARY OF COINS AND TREASURY OF COINS ALBUMS

(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n28a10.html)

CHIPS, THE DOG WITH A PURPLE HEART

Regarding the British Dickin Medal and PDSA Gold medal for animal bravery, last week I asked, "Is there any such medal for animals in the U.S. or elsewhere in the world?".  
-Editor

David Klinger writes:

During WWII a dog named Chips was awarded a Silver Star and a Purple Heart.

David forwarded a link to the following article from the Military.com web site.  Thanks!
-Editor

Spirited and quick to learn, Chips served bravely as a tank guard dog, traveling throughout Europe, Africa, and Italy with General Patton's Seventh Army. 

On one occasion, Chips alerted to an impending ambush. Then, with a phone cable attached to his collar, Chips ran back to base, dodging gunfire so that the endangered platoon could establish a communications line and ask for the backup they so desperately needed. 

Perhaps the event that most exemplifies his courage and devotion occurred early one morning on a beach in Sicily. As he and his handler proceeded up the beach, they came under fire from a disguised pillbox. Chips broke free from his handler and launched himself right into the pillbox. Moments later several bitten and surrendering Italian soldiers emerged, all shepherded by a very determined Chips. 

Though wounded in the melee, Chips returned to duty that night, and alerted troops to an approaching group of Italians. This allowed his handler and squad time to capture all of them. 

Chips was a true hero. He was awarded a Silver Star for valor, and a Purple Heart for his wounds. The newspapers heralded his exploits. Unfortunately, the press attracted the attention of the Commander of the Order of the Purple Heart. He complained to both President Roosevelt and the War Department, claiming that by so honoring Chips, they were demeaning all the men who have been awarded a Purple Heart. Chips' medals were taken away, and he was given an honorable discharge and returned to his family in Pleasantville. No military dog has received an official decoration since. 

To read the complete article, see:

Chips: Decorated War Hero

(www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,K9_051605,00.html)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:

THE PDSA GOLD MEDAL: "THE GEORGE CROSS FOR ANIMALS"

(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v13n28a26.html)

OPINION: TIM SHUCK ON COIN DESIGN BY COMMITTEE

Tim L. Shuck of Ames, IA writes:

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