The E-Sylum v14#28 July 10, 2011

Sun Jul 10 20:15:13 PDT 2011

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The E-Sylum

  An electronic publication of
  The Numismatic Bibliomania Society

Volume , Number 28, July 10, 2011
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WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM JULY 10, 2011
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LAKE BOOKS SALE #108 CLOSES JULY 12, 2011
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NEW BOOK: A REGISTER OF LIBERTY SEATED HALF DOLLARS, VOLUME III, NEW ORLEANS
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KARL MOULTON TO SPEAK ON JOHN J. FORD, JR. AND THE ‘FRANKLIN HOARD'
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JAMES E. CHARLTON AT 100
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M. H. BOLENDER'S COIN CHATTER
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MORE ON THE CONSTELLATION SOUVENIR MEDAL
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A CONFUSION OF SIMILAR CONSTELLATION MEDALS
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MORE ON THE LOVETT CONFEDERATE CENT
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NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: JULY 10, 2011
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QUERY: U.S. MINT CAPT. BIDDLE MEDAL
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ARTICLES COVER 1933 DOUBLE EAGLE LEGAL BATTLE
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NUMISMATIC HEADLINE HYPE
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DICK JOHNSON: A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS
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THE PAPER DOLLAR VS COIN DEBATE
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CRANE PAPER COMPANY LOOKS BEYOND U.S. FOR PROFITS
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BEP'S PRODUCTION OF PAPER MONEY HAS SLOWED
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HOW MONEY IS MADE AT THE U.S. BUREAU OF ENGRAVING AND PRINTING
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THE EYE OF GOD IN NUMISMATICS
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MORE ON THE MULTI-$BILLION TREASURE DISCOVERED IN INDIA
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GOLD COIN HOARD FOUND IN FRENCH CELLAR
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AUSTRALIAN HOLEY DOLLAR SELLS FOR RECORD PRICE
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FEATURED WEB PAGE: BRITISH SERVICE MEDALS OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR
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Click here to read this issue on the web

WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM JULY 10, 2011

Among our new subscribers this week are
Arash Ilavia and
Chris Duffy.
Welcome aboard!
We have 1,435 email subscribers, plus 149 followers on Facebook, including
Lexi Perdue.

This week we open  with an update from Fred Lake, an announcement of a new book on Liberty Seated Half Dollars, and an item about Karl Mouton and his upcoming book on John J. Ford.  Other topics include James Charleton, M. H. Bolender, the Confederate Cent and the 1933 Double Eagle trial.

To learn more about the Crane paper company, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing's printing slowdown, the Holey Dollar, the Eye of God and how e-books can ruin your love life, read on.
Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
 Numismatic Bibliomania Society

LAKE BOOKS SALE #108 CLOSES JULY 12, 2011

Fred Lake forwarded this note about his upcoming literature sale.
-Editor

A reminder that Lake Books mail-bid sale of numismatic literature #108 closes on Tuesday, July 12, 2011 at 5:00 PM (EDT). The catalog features selections from the library of Lucien "Lou" Philippon, a long-time EAC luminary. 

The 507 lot sale may be viewed on our web site at  

www.lakebooks.com/current.html  
.
Bids may be placed via email, telephone, or fax. Good luck with your bidding !   

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

NEW BOOK: A REGISTER OF LIBERTY SEATED HALF DOLLARS, VOLUME III, NEW ORLEANS

Author Bill Bugert forwarded this information about his newest book.  Congratulations!
-Editor

A REGISTER OF LIBERTY SEATED HALF DOLLARS, VOLUME III, NEW ORLEANS BRANCH MINT, 1840-O TO 1853-O NA

Numismatic researcher and author Bill Bugert announces the third in a series of his die marriage books on Liberty Seated half dollars.  Volumes I and II released in the preceding two years detailed all the known Liberty Seated half dollar die marriages of the San Francisco and Carson City Branch Mints.  This book, Volume III, continues the series with the 217 known die marriages of the early New Orleans halves.

The goals of these books are to permanently document all the die marriages, assist the beginning and advanced collectors with expanding their knowledge of the series, aid in proper variety identification, and establish a standardized nomenclature for the die marriages.

This book, as with the others, contains detailed die diagnostic information and photographs, rarity ratings, background information, edge reeding counts, design types, and much more.

Author:  Bill Bugert, with special edits and consultations with Randy Wiley
Publisher:  Self-published
ISBN:  978-0-9824075-2-3
Size:  531 pages
Format:  8-½” by 11” on 100# anthem gloss pager, soft cover in plastic comb binding or three holed punched (ready for your notebook)
Photos:  1,994 highly quality, most over-sized
Price:  $70 postpaid via media mail to U.S. addresses (please specify format)
Availability:  After July 25th from the author:  Bill Bugert, 1230 Red Rock Road, Gettysburg, PA 17325-6927

KARL MOULTON TO SPEAK ON JOHN J. FORD, JR. AND THE ‘FRANKLIN HOARD'

There are a number of events of interest to bibliophiles and researchers at the upcoming American Numismatic Association convention.
I've adapted the following announcement from an email sent to members of the Society for Private and Pioneer Numismatists.
-Editor

The annual SPPN Meeting will take place at 11AM on Saturday, August 20, 2011, at the A.N.A. in Chicago, IL – at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Room 4.  The featured speaker will be Karl Moulton, on his upcoming book: “John J. Ford, Jr. and the ‘Franklin Hoard.’”

Karl Moulton has spent over twenty years researching John J. Ford, Jr., one of numismatics’ most brilliant and controversial personalities. Thorough reading of over 200 personal letters, among other documents, allowed Moulton to compile a record of Ford’s numismatic activities. In particular, Ford’s association with Paul Franklin, Sr. is examined, as Moulton explores the “Franklin Hoard” controversy, in which the legitimacy of an 1853 $20 U.S. Assay Office “proof” gold coin is questioned.

JAMES E. CHARLTON AT 100

Eric Newman's not the only 100-year-old numismatist.  George Cuhaj writes:

The latest issue of the Royal Canadian Numismatic Association journal (the the July/August issue) has a lead article in on James E. Charlton's 100th birthday. July 26th. Some facts:

 Coin dealer started in 1949 as Canada Coin Exchange. 

Auctions started in 1950 

In 1952 published his first Catalog of Canadian Coins, Tokens & Fractional Currency. He directly edited 30 editions. 

Numismatic Ambassador in 2001.

Happy Birthday!  The issue contains several articles devoted to Charleton, including three of special interest to numismatic bibliophiles.

The Charleton Standard Catalogue by Alan Roy

Charleton's Grading Guideby Alan Roy

J.E. Charleton: Coinman to Canadians by Bret Evans

The last is about a book by H. Don Allen, a biography of James Charleton.

THE BOOK BAZARRE
DAVID SKLOW - FINE NUMISMATIC BOOKS offers Mail Bid Sale No. 14 on 
October 15, 2011, including:

A plated Chapman of the Boerum Sale
.
www.finenumismaticbooks.com.
PH: (719) 302-5686, FAX: (719) 302-4933.  EMAIL: numismaticbooks at aol.com. USPS: Box 6321, Colorado Springs, CO. 80934. Contact me for your numismatic literature needs! 

M. H. BOLENDER'S COIN CHATTER

W. David Perkins submitted this item on M. H. Bolender's "Coin Chatter".  Thanks!
-Editor

I am in the process of looking through a large number of Milferd H. Bolender sale catalogs that I acquired from David Sklow's most recent Numismatic Literature sale.  

At the end on pages 44-5 in Bolender's 108th Auction Sale of Rare Coins, Medals and Paper Money, Wednesday, April 14, 1937 Bolender has two pages of what he termed, "Coin Chatter."  

Bolender starts with, "Twenty Years Ago.  Yes, I am the dealer, who, exactly 20 years ago this month, in a full page advertisement on the outside cover of the Philatelic West magazine, now Hobbies, offered Panama Pacific half-dollars at exactly 90 cents each!  Of the several hundred in stock at the time, I sold exactly fourteen, through the ad.  Collectors were slow in buying them in view of a price reduction.  People buy when the prices go up!  Upon my return from the army I had no difficulty in selling them at $3 each.  Those were the good old days when dealers could get all the commemorative coins they needed for their trade from the commissions, and collectors weren't held up for a big profit by the dealer either.  Usually they were issued at $1 and we sold them at $1.25.  The old established dealers did not bring about the present state of affairs relative to commemoratives.  It was unscrupulous speculators, who were not numismatists."

The third item under "Coin Chatter" was, "Cents and Sense.  Where are all the small cents going to?  In price, I mean?  There are as many of them as every, for collectors, but the demand has so increased that few collectors are content until they are the proud owner of a bushel of them.  I well remember the days when I could buy them by the hundred or oven [sic – even] thousand at 4 or 5 cents each, all uncirculated and proof condition.  Included would be the scarce early dates and 1864 "L" on ribbon, now a $5 coin.  All were Indian heads, of course, for that was the days before the Lincoln heads.  Sometimes they sold at auction at 3 cents each."
Oh for the good old days?

MORE ON THE CONSTELLATION SOUVENIR MEDAL

Pete Smith writes:

I have been in Baltimore twice for ANA conventions and several times for the Baltimore Coin and Currency Convention run by Gordon Berg and Ed Kuzmar.  On my first visit I recall reading about the USS Constellation and seeing the exhibit in the Baltimore Convention Center. I was amused because I had also seen a coin exhibit that explained that the story was false.

The original Constellation, built around 1797, was dismantled in 1853. At the same time a new ship was being constructed in the same shipyard. Apparently some pieces of the old ship were incorporated into the new ship. This may have been a form of recycling or a way to pass the heritage of the old ship on to the new. The ship now seen in Baltimore harbor first sailed in 1854.

Nails used as relics to raise funds for restoration may have been from the original ship but it was the second ship that was restored with these funds.

Some authorities in Baltimore are aware that they have an 1854 ship. Some apparently still cling to a belief, either that they have the 1797 ship, or that the 1797 ship was restored in 1854 rather than being dismantled with a new ship being built.

History sometimes takes a convoluted path to the future.  The point about the "1797" ship was mentioned in earlier E-Sylum article, including the one Dave Lange cites below.   Wikipedia has the story as well.  It's still a nice "made-from" medal and an interesting vessel to tour.  It's just not a ship built in 1797.
-Editor

Dave Lange adds:

In your listing of past articles about the USS Constellation medals, you overlooked one: 

MAST COINS OF THE U.S.S. CONSTELLATION

(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v10n12a21.html).

Sorry I missed that one - thanks.  It's Dave's March 2007 recounting of a visit he made to the Constellation.  Included in the tale are one of the medals, an extended tour of the ship, and a floating corpse, not an ordinary part of a con show side tour.
-Editor

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:

THE CONSTELLATION SOUVENIR MEDAL

(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v14n27a09.html)

A CONFUSION OF SIMILAR CONSTELLATION MEDALS

Dick Johnson submitted the following notes on a related and equally confusing topic.  Thanks!
-Editor

Dave Sundman's correspondent spelled an artist's  name incorrectly in an item in last week's E-Sylum. That brings to mind a chain of similarities between the medal he was describing and another medal -- often confused. He misspelled the artist's name of the U.S.S. Constellation Medal, Edward L. CHRISTLE,  as CHRISTIE (note the IE instead of LE).

This artist is often confused with Howard Chandler CHRISTY (note the Y instead of LE or IE).

Let's call Howard Chander artist of Medal No 1, and Edward L. Medal No. 2.

Medal No 1 is the U.S. Constitution Plaquette, struck in 1937 by Medallic Art Company. This artist CHRISTY was the painter of a painting that another artist, Rudolph Freund modeled after. The client was the Philadelphia jewelry firm Bailey, Banks and Biddle.

Medal No 2 is the U.S. Constellation Medal, struck in 1961 by Bastian Brothers. This artist CHRISTLE made a drawing that a factory artist in Bastian's plant rendered into a pair of round dies. The client was that Baltimore Restoration Committee mentioned in last week's E-Sylum.

The medals are often confused by the similarity of both artists' last name AND the name of the medal -- the name of the ship -- despite a handful of other factors: size, shape, composition, maker, artistic quality are the most notable.

For Medal No 2, mentioned in last week's E-Sylum and previously, it was covered extensively by Bill Swoger in his recent book, "National Commemorative Medals" ( page 215). Bill illustrates the full leaflet shown partially last week.  The leaflet -- and Bill Swoger -- got the spelling correct.

Bill included this medal as an "associated item" to one struck by the Philadelphia Mint, the U.S.Constellation 175th Anniversary Medal by artists Edgar Zell Steever and Sherl Joseph Winter, struck in 1972.

I guess that makes it Medal No 3.

You can understand the confusion. Or have I confused you more?

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:

THE CONSTELLATION SOUVENIR MEDAL

(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v14n27a09.html)

MORE ON THE LOVETT CONFEDERATE CENT

Two weeks ago, we published part of an article from The New York Times about a satirical depiction of Confederate coinage.
The article stated that:

In early 1861, rebel agents commissioned a Philadelphia engraver named Robert Lovett to create for a one-cent piece.

Last week Bill Eckberg wrote:

I hate to see conjecture presented as fact. To the best of my knowledge, nobody has ever found any evidence in any records of the Confederacy that Lovett was commissioned by it to strike coins for it. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, my view is that the "Confederate Cents" have to be considered fantasy pieces. Otherwise, I LOVED the piece on the Harper's "proposal."

George Corell writes:

As an accomplished researcher on Confederate coinage issues, I cannot help but to reply to Bill Eckberg in the last issue of The E-Sylum.  Conjecture presented as fact has been a big problem in the past and to this list you can add embellishment and literary license.  That having been said, the simple fact of an absence of official Confederate documents linking Lovett directly to the Confederate Treasury is nothing more than a statement of what we do not know.  Answers must be found and discovered outside of official documentation. 

In our book: The Lovett Cent, a Confederate Story by Harold Levi and myself, we detail those discoveries by others as well as by ourselves, and evidence along with the reasoned logic and numismatic judgment necessary to analyze that data and reach our conclusions.  Simple conjecture rarely carries with it anything more than a simple opinion based upon what someone does not know. 

 Labeling the Lovett Cent as a fantasy piece as all but a matter of fact based upon what is missing or unknown to him is the same kind of conjecture of which he admonishes.  Others have unwittingly fallen into that intellectual trap before.  Either Harold or I would be glad to loan him a copy of our book to read and introduce him to what is known and largely verified.  Our research, reasoning, and conclusions are available to all to enlighten numismatists, not inadvertently mislead.

Bill Eckberg replies:

I purchased a copy of their book when it came out and have read it carefully and thoroughly from cover to cover. I enjoyed the book. There is a lot of interesting information in it, and I recommend it to others. However, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. I stand behind what I wrote in last week's E-Sylum.

Harold Levi writes:

I agree with Bill Eckberg that technically the Confederate cent is a fantasy. At this time, there are no known Confederate records directly mentioning the Confederate cent made by Robert Lovett, Jr. This is not to say that none exist or never existed. A large volume of Confederate records were burned by officials when Richmond was evacuated in 1865 and Juda P. Benjamin (CSA Secretary of State) burned all of the records he had. 

However, there are many records locked-up in private collections or as family heirlooms that have not seen the light of day since 1865. A bound volume of C.G. Memminger’s (CSA Secretary of the Treasury) copy of communications was sold at auction a few years ago. The auction description indicated that it contained several letters that would be very interesting, if not enlightening, to numismatists. There are, however, many pieces of circumstantial evidence that could get you convicted in a court. 

I do wonder if Adam Goodheart actually has a copy of our book or even read it. He would have been more convincing if he had gotten the name correct in his list of sources. The name is The Lovett Cent; a Confederate Story NOT The Lovett Cent: An Untold Story.

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:

NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: JULY 3, 2011

(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v14n27a10.html)

HARPER’S WEEKLY "PROPOSAL" FOR A CONFEDERATE STATES COIN

(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v14n26a17.html)

NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: JULY 10, 2011

 British Commemorative Medals Wins IAPN Prize 
Jim Duncan of New Zealand writes:

Had you heard that Christopher Eimer's new edition of British Commemorative Medals and their Values  had won the IAPN book prize?   The first edition also won  a medal from Krause in 1987!   At least he's consistent.

I hadn't seen this. Congratulations!
-Editor

Query: Article On George VI Rupee Die Varieties Sought
Web site visitor (and new subscriber) Arash Ilavia writes:

I am looking for an article by George Falcke on the die varieties for the George VI rupee coin (India), which was published in issue no. 34 of C.O.I.N. (Compendium of International Numismatics - Published by Society for International Numismatics probably a couple of decades back).
Please let me know if you can help me with just a photo copy of the article from that magazine.

If anyone has access to this article, please send Arash a scan at arash_ilavia at yahoo.com .
-Editor

Who Owns the Redbook Plate Connecticut Cent?
Regarding our discussion of the 1787 Conneticut cents illustrated in the Red Book, Byron Weston adds:

The consignor purchased it from the '86 Bowers & Merena sale. I will ask him if there is anything more he tell me about it but I would guess that the original owner would likely only be known to the auction house who sold it in 1986. Hopefully someone else might come forward with that pedigree information. I'd be just as curious as anyone to know!

Beware The Man Who Loved Books Too Much

Recently we published a review of the book The Man Who Loved Books Too Much, about the notorious book thief John Gilkey.  
Anne Bentley writes:

 I don't know if he deals in numismatics, but since he's stolen philatelic material, thought the link below to his photo might be useful for your readers.

Anne forwarded the following note from John Waite of the Security Committee of the Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of America    (ABAA).
-Editor

Please be aware that convicted fraudster and thief John Gilkey is operating once again, likely out of northern California. A comic book dealer in New York state is his latest victim. Besides defrauding book dealers, Gilkey has also left his dubious mark in the print, stamp, and comics trades. He was arrested late last year in San Francisco following a parole violation, but was released after he (or someone) posted $75,000.00 bail. He then disappeared, but is active once again.

He is a serious criminal who continually looks for new opportunities and deceptions. An investigation by the SFPD is ongoing; there is an outstanding warrant for his arrest. Please do your friends the favor of re-posting this note to any and all lists of allied trades and organizations. Thank you very much.

John Waite
Security Committee, ABAA

Photos of Gilkey at
http://tinyurl.com/2bf5op9

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:

BOOK REVIEW: THE MAN WHO LOVED BOOKS TOO MUCH

(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v14n24a08.html)

North Dakota Submarine Battle Coin
An E-Sylum reader writes:

Here's an interesting story about a medal with a military connection.

North Dakota is celebrating a milestone in the construction of USS North Dakota, the first nuclear submarine named after the state. 

The former Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Donald Winter, asked Katie Fowler to be the sponsor of the submarine. On Thursday, a battle coin with Fowler`s face was presented to her.

Katie Fowler has been recognized for her volunteer efforts with two Navy Public Service Awards. She`s hosted visiting foreign government officials and dignitaries.

To read the complete article, see:

Battle Coin Presented to Submarine Sponsor

(www.kfyrtv.com/News_Stories.asp?news=50524)

E-Books Ruined My Love Life 
Kay O. Freeman writes:

This is amusing essay on another unexpected consequence of electronic reading devices.

It wasn’t the first time I’d flirted my way into a Saturday night date with a simple phrase: “I love that book.”

I had one good pickup line, and e-readers ruined it. I can no longer hit on a handsome man on a long commute by asking about his book — because I can’t see it. Gone are the days when, sitting on a train delayed in the station, I could imagine exactly where in the New York Public Library we would first kiss — in the stacks between Mailer and Malamud or Foer and Franzen? E-books may be saving literature, but my dating life has suffered.

To read the complete article, see:

Complaint Box | How E-Readers Destroyed My Love Life

(cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/04/complaint-box-how-e-readers-destroyed-my-love-life/)

THE BOOK BAZARRE
RENAISSANCE OF AMERICAN COINAGE:  
Wizard Coin Supply is the official distributor 
for Roger Burdette's three volume series that won 
NLG Book of the Year awards for 2006, 2007 and 2008. 
Contact us for dealer or distributor pricing at
www.WizardCoinSupply.com .

QUERY: U.S. MINT CAPT. BIDDLE MEDAL

Dick Hanscom submitted this question about the U.S. Mint's Capt. Biddle medal.  Can anyone help?  I found the below image on the web.
-Editor

I think I saw the Congressional website while I was researching the Jarvis et. al.  medal for my newsletter a month or so ago.
Back in the 70s or early 80s, I purchased from the U.S. Mint a medal for Capt. Biddle for capture of the British ship Penguin off the island of Tristan da Cunha.

My question is this:  When did the mint stop selling these medals or are they still available?

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:

FEATURED WEB PAGE: CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDALS, 1776-2010

(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v14n27a22.html)

ARTICLES COVER 1933 DOUBLE EAGLE LEGAL BATTLE

The Associated Press published a story on Wednesday about the legal fight over Izzy Switt's cache of 1933 double eagles which resumed on Thursday.
-Editor

A jeweler's heirs with a cache of rare $20 gold coins will fight for the right to keep them when they square off in court this week against the U.S. Treasury. 

Treasury officials charge that the never-circulated "double eagles" were stolen from the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia in 1933. They could be worth $80 million or more, given that one sold for nearly $7.6 million in 2002. 

The coins come from a batch that were struck but melted down after President Franklin D. Roosevelt took the country off the gold standard in 1933. 

Two were preserved for the Smithsonian Institute. But a handful more mysteriously got out. 

The daughter and grandsons of Israel Switt, a jeweler and scrap metal dealer on nearby Jeweler's Row, say they discovered 10 of them in his bank deposit box in 2003. 

Joan Langbord of Philadelphia and her sons went to the U.S. Treasury to authenticate the coins, but the government instead seized them. Authorities noted that the box was rented six years after Switt died in 1990, and that the family never paid inheritance taxes on them. 

What's more, the Secret Service has long believed Switt and a corrupt cashier at the Mint were somehow involved in the double-eagle breach. 

"A thief cannot convey good title to stolen property," Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel M. Sweet wrote.

Switt had been investigated at least twice by 1944 over his coin holdings. 

In 1937, U.S. officials seized nearly 100 pre-1933 double eagles from him as he prepared to board a train to Baltimore to meet with a coin dealer. Switt said he knew it was illegal to possess the gold coins, and said he had eventually planned to surrender them, according to a ruling issued by the trial judge this week. 

In 1944, the Secret Service traced 10 separate double eagle coins that had surfaced to Switt. He acknowledged selling nine of them, but said he did not recall how he had gotten them. The statute of limitations prevented authorities from prosecuting Switt. 

However, his license to deal scrap gold, which sometimes took him to the Mint, was revoked. 

U.S. District Judge Legrome Davis will allow that evidence in, despite the family's efforts to block it. 

"The documents appropriately go to Switt's knowledge of the repercussions from breaking the gold laws and provide evidence of a motive to conceal his possession of the ten 1933 Double Eagles presently at issue," Judge Legrome Davis wrote. 

The trial is expected to last two to three weeks. 

"What the Langbords are trying to say here is it's not clear what happened, that there's at least a possibility the coins were just exchanged for ounces of gold," said Armen R. Vartien, general counsel of the Professional Numismatists Guild. 

"The records are incomplete, inconclusive," he said. "No one can really know what happened, and none of the people involved are alive to tell (the tale)."

To read the complete article, see:

Pennsylvania Family Fights United States Treasury Over Rare 1933 Gold Coins

(www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=48882)

On Friday The New York Times had their own story. Thanks to Werner Mayer for sending this in.
-Editor

Who owns 10 exceedingly rare American gold coins from 1933?

In a case that began on Thursday, jurors are getting an unusual lesson in Depression-era history, and will ultimately decide whether Mr. Switt was merely “colorful,” as a lawyer for the family described him, or a thief.

Each side explained in opening arguments that, for all of the history and complexities of 1930s Mint procedures and records to come, the case is quite simple. They disagreed, however, about what the simple point of the case was.

Assistant United States Attorney Jacqueline Romero, presenting the government’s case, told jurors, “You are going to hear a remarkable and intriguing story about gold coins that were stolen from the U.S. Mint.”

“Israel Switt was somehow involved” in the theft, she said, probably with the help of a corrupt cashier at the Philadelphia Mint. The government had linked Mr. Switt to every double eagle that had emerged over the decades, she said, including 10 tracked down in the 1940s and one sold with the agreement of the government by a dealer, Stephen Fenton, in 2002 for $7.6 million. That sale was based on a government mistake, she said; these coins would not get the same dispensation.

The government will prove, she pledged, that the heirs knew that the goods were not legitimately theirs, and so the jury should return the coins “to their rightful owner, the people of the United States of America.”

Barry Berke, a lawyer arguing on behalf of Mr. Switt’s heirs, the Langbord family, told the jury that the case was, simply, about power and government overreach. Washington should not be able to seize property from citizens “unless it can prove it is entitled to — and not just powerful enough to take it,” he said.

He called the government’s case an attempt to “rewrite history,” and promised to present alternate explanations for treasured coins coming legitimately into the Langbords’ hands: the mint commonly exchanged coins for gold, he said, and the cashier of the mint kept an “open bag” of 1933 double eagles near his desk.

To read the complete article, see:

Family Battles U.S. Over 10 Coins Worth Millions

(www.nytimes.com/2011/07/09/us/09coin.html)

In her On The Case column for Thomson Reuters, legal writer Alison Frankel (author of  Double Eagle: The Epic Story of the World's Most Valuable Coin) writes:
-Editor

After spending three years researching the story of the 1933 Double Eagles, I’m personally of the view that the gold coins were stolen from the Mint, and that Israel Switt—the now-deceased head of the Langbord family, which claims to own the coins—either abetted the theft or agreed to fence the coins for the thieves. But I also think the U.S. government is going to have a tough time winning possession of the 1933 Double Eagles. The Langbords were smart enough to hire Barry Berke of Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, who previously fought the feds to a sweet settlement in a different piece of 1933 Double Eagle litigation. (You may recall Berke as the lawyer who pulled a risky—but ultimately effective—stunt with a red handkerchief at the criminal trial of a Deutsche Bank executive accused of participating in a tax shelter scheme.) 

Berke has already won a key ruling in the Philadelphia Double Eagle case that shifts the burden of proof to the government. Judge Legrome Davis concluded in 2009 that the Treasury Department had violated the Langbords’ constitutional rights when it refused to return the 10 1933 Double Eagles to them after the Langbords surrendered the coins for authentication testing. Judge Davis ruled that it’s now up to the feds to prove that the coins were stolen from the Mint. So as long as Berke and the Langbords can lay out a plausible scenario for how the 1933 Double Eagles could have left the Mint legally, at a time of great tumult and upheaval, they’ve got a shot at keeping the coins. 

Those jurors in Philly should count themselves lucky to hear the case play out. (As opposed to the poor Rambus antitrust jurors, who have to be prodded to stay awake, according to this great Reuters story on the $4 billion trial underway in San Francisco state court.) OTC can’t wait to see what happens next in the saga of the 1933 Double Eagles.

Neither can I!   This could be the numismatic case of the century - stay tuned!
-Editor

To read the complete article, see:

This summer's best trial? The $75 ml case of the Double Eagle

(newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com/Legal/News/ViewNews.aspx?id=21581)

NUMISMATIC HEADLINE HYPE

Regarding a Time Magazine piece commenting on the case, Tom Fort writes:

Regarding this article, the last few paragraphs of advice for those collecting US coins, truer words were never spoken.

It’s the kind of story, one of intrigue around the tremendous value in coins that had been sitting untouched for decades, that lures people into coins as an investment. Coin dealers like Goldine and Numis Network, which is actually a multilevel marketing outfit that deals in coins, tout the financial benefits of coin collecting.

And in a way it makes sense: What could be better than collecting money?

But here’s the reality: With the exception of exceptionally rare coins in excellent condition, they have generally proven to be an unremarkable investment. And, as About.com’s coin expert warns readers, the more hyped up a coin is, the worse of an investment it will tend to be. One piece of advice: Please, please, please stay away from the “modern commemorative” coins — a series of “rare” coins produced by the US Mint beginning in 1982. These are made to be collector’s items and so everyone who wants them buys them and keeps them in mint condition. It’s unlikely that a powerful secondary market for them will ever develop (see, for instance, collectible plates).

The story of this lawsuit will likely be used by more than a few coin dealers hocking the dream of a family fortune from rare coin investment. But most of the value in coins comes from dealing them to unsophisticated buyers, not from buying them.

It's a huge stretch to state that only "exceptionally rare coins in excellent condition" can be a good investment, any I think history shows that there can be some real bargains even in modern commemoratives (Jackie Robinson $5 gold, anyone)?     But Tom's focusing on the hype that gives the hobby a bad name.
-Editor

To read the complete article, see:

Man Fights U.S. Treasury over $80 Million in Rare Coins

(moneyland.time.com/2011/07/07/man-fights-treasury-over-80-million-in-rare-coins/)

DICK JOHNSON: A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS

Dick Johnson submitted these thoughts on "A Penny For Your Thoughts". Thanks!
-Editor

For over a year now Canadian newspapers have been editorializing about abolishing the cent coin. For Canada the subject is not "if" it's "when."  In the United States it's not "when" its "if." With two strikes against retaining the coin for current circulation, it's a double-barrel attack for both countries. It cost more to make than its face value and its economic value as a circulating coin is not justified in advancing economic civilization.

If you are a long-time reader of The E-Sylum you will have read many of my articles that endorse abolishing both the cent and the nickel for a more streamlined coinage system for America. Drop these two denominations and add two more in multiple dollar denominations. But we are so slow to adopt innovations that have proved so successful in other countries. Australia, for example, has dropped the two lowest valued coins and is considering axing the third.

In Canada this Sunday, one writer in the North Bay Nugget (don't ask me where that is) -- only identified by name "Eweser" -- expounded on the fact he will be sad to see a lot of phrases in the English language based on the cent coin vanish along with the coin. That might not be true, but he listed the following:

A penny saved is a penny earned… I’ll have to check the interest rates and get back to you on this one. This was a favorite saying of old-timers who could actually buy something with a penny…ahhh, the good old days.

Penny-wise and pound-foolish… Much like some of the government programs being implemented!

Not having two cents to rub together… I think many of us today can relate to this.

Cost a pretty penny… This one has me stumped! Does this mean that an ugly penny saves you money???

Penny ante… This means of little value or importance… much like this saying!

Cut someone off without a penny... Now why do I get the feeling that this one is really going to put a hole in my pocket?

Thanks for your indulgence, and a penny for your thoughts… (unquote)

Thanks, Eweser.

To read the complete article, see:

A Penny for your Thoughts

(www.nugget.ca/Community/NewsDisplay.aspx?c=167783)

THE PAPER DOLLAR VS COIN DEBATE

Peter Gaspar writes:

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