The E-Sylum v14#43 October 16, 2011

Sun Oct 16 19:07:07 PDT 2011

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The E-Sylum

  An electronic publication of
  The Numismatic Bibliomania Society

Volume , Number 43, October 16, 2011
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WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM OCTOBER 16, 2011
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SKLOW BID SALE NO. 14 PRICES REALIZED ARE AVAILABLE
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NEW BOOK: STANDARD GUIDE TO SMALL-SIZE U.S. PAPER MONEY, 10TH ED.
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DR. JOHN E. WILKISON OF SPRINGFIELD, TENNESSEE
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DR. JOHN WILKINSON OF CANADA
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SKEWING - A TECHNIQUE FOR SIGNATURE IDENTIFICATION
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MEASURING IRREGULARLY SHAPED NUMISMATIC  ITEMS
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ASSISTANCE WITH PERIODICALS SOUGHT FOR THE NBS ONLINE BIBLIOGRAPHY
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MORE ON THE SHIP OF THE LINE VIRGINIA
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WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: OCTOBER 16, 2011
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QUERY: WHAT IS A SAMMY MARKS PENNY?
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THE CELTIC COIN INDEX
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THE JOURNAL OF ANCIENT NUMISMATICS, VOLUME 4
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MORE ON ENGRAVER PHILIP RANDALL
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STAMPS ON PAPER MONEY 
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NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: OCTOBER 16, 2011
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ROYAL MINT ISSUES DIAMOND JUBILEE FIVE POUND COMMEMORATIVE
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DAILY MAIL ARTICLE ON ELIMINATING THE U.S. DOLLAR BILL
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HOW NOT TO STORE A COIN COLLECTION
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FEATURED WEB PAGE: ATTINELLI’S NUMISGRAPHICS
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Click here to read this issue on the web

WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM OCTOBER 16, 2011

Among our new subscribers this week are
Travis Hearn, courtesy of Dave Bowers, 
Serge Melkizian and
Mark Williams.
Welcome aboard!
We have 1,462 email subscribers, plus 166 followers on Facebook, including
Eric Schena.

This week we open with a report from David Sklow on his recent numismatic literature sale.   Other topics this week include the Celtic Coin Index, the Journal of Ancient Numismatics, and measuring irregularly shaped coins.

To learn more about Dr. John and Dr. John, skewing, Sammy Marks tickeys, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and how not to store a coin collection, read on.
Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
 Numismatic Bibliomania Society

SKLOW BID SALE NO. 14 PRICES REALIZED ARE AVAILABLE

David Sklow forwarded this release with some information on his just-concluded numismatic literature sale.
-Editor

Mail bid sale no. 14 featuring the paper money works and scarce items from the library of Myron Xenos is now closed – some results from the sale are listed below.
The Prices Realized are viewable on our website NOW!

Lot 13 The Hyperinflation Collection brought $195 on spirited bidding!

Lot 348 Senate Letters attracted several interested bidders driving it to $825!

Lot 416 Stack’s June 28, 1940 had multiple bidders resulting in $145 finish!

Lot 683 American Bond Detector with a great pedigree realized only $1700.

Lot 689 Deluxe Bowers &Merena Norweb Sales Copy # 4 brought $1681 on a heavily reduced bid!

Lot 702 Cooper’s Art & Craft of Coin Making attracted more bids than any other lot in the sale and hammered down at $533 on a reduced bid!

Lot 894 The Very Scarce Deluxe Leather Mehl Catalogue of the Mores, Faelten and Todd Collections obtained a final price of $2007 after a war of bidding!

Mail Bid Sale # 15 will be February 11, 2012

DAVID SKLOW – FINE NUMISMATIC BOOKS
P.O. BOX 6321
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80934
TEL: (719) 302-5686
FAX: (719) 302-4933
finenumismaticbooks at aol.com
www.finenumismaticbooks.com

NEW BOOK: STANDARD GUIDE TO SMALL-SIZE U.S. PAPER MONEY, 10TH ED.

Kruase Publications announced a new edition of their  Standard Guide to Small-Size U.S. Paper Money this week.
-Editor

Krause Publications has released the 10th edition of the Standard Guide to Small-Size U.S. Paper Money.

Authored by leading paper money experts John Schwartz and Scott Lindquist, the Standard Guide is the ultimate price guide for dealers and collectors of small-size U.S. paper money. Features include: 

300+ color photographs

Complete serial number data

Current market values in up to four grades of condition

Precise quantities of notes printed observed

Design and production details

For more information visit 

www.sellcoinbooks.com/us-paper-money/standard-guide-to-small-size-u-s-paper-money-10th-edition

HOW MANY OF THE 100 GREATEST MODERN COINS 
DO YOU OWN?

Scott Schechter and Jeff Garrett present the rarest, the most beautiful, the most popular, and the most valuable, in Whitman’s 100 Greatest U.S. Modern Coins. Color photographs, behind-the-scenes collector stories, technical specs, and in-depth market analysis make this book a delight for enthusiasts. Hardcover, coffee-table, full color, $29.95. eBook, $16.47.
Order yours at

www.Whitman.com 

or call 1-800-546-2995. 

DR. JOHN E. WILKISON OF SPRINGFIELD, TENNESSEE

Last week Jeffrey P. LaPlante submitted this question about Dr. John E. Wilkison.  
-Editor

Jeff wrote:

I am doing some research on a Dr. John E. Wilkison and recently purchased at auction his copy of the 1953 Palace Collections Catalog inscribed to him by R. Green of Sotheby's. It has what I assume are his personal marks and notations probably written during the auction. I happened to notice David Akers either auctioned off his holdings or purchased them outright. I was wondering if anyone knows anything about the Doctor.

As usual, E-Sylum readers came forth with some great information.  But there was also some confusion.  Many thanks to all who responded, and particularly to David Stone, who helped me clarify the situation.  This article will summarize the responses relating to Dr. John E. Wilkison, the original subject of Jeff's query.  The next following article covers a similarly-named numismatist.
-Editor

David Stone writes:

Regarding Jeffrey LaPlante’s question about Dr. John E. Wilkison, he was a collector from Springfield, Tennessee who amassed a fabulous gold pattern collection over a period of three decades, which was purchased by Paramount in September 1973. 

David Akers, who worked at Paramount at that time, based his excellent reference United States Gold Patterns on Dr. Wilkison’s collection. The collection was the most complete set of gold patterns ever acquired at that time, and it is doubtful that it will ever be equaled. I believe most of the coins were later purchased by A-Mark. It was probably Farouk’s wonderful pattern collection that Wilkison was interested in.

Others are referring to the prominent Canadian collector Dr. John Wilkinson, with an “n” in his name.   LaPlante was inquiring about Dr. John E. Wilkison, with no “n”.

     Some other items that may help:

1.	R. Green was the business style of Chicago coin dealer Charles E. Green, after his wife Ruth. He started out as a dealer about 1935 and continued until his death in 1955, only a year or so after the Farouk sale. He published the booklet Mint Records of U.S. Coins 1793-1931 , Inclusive, which Louis Eliasberg used as a checklist to keep track of his collection. He never worked for Sotheby’s as far as I know, so he must have sent Wilkison a copy of the sale that he obtained from somebody else, possibly just ordered the copy from Sotheby’s.

2.	Neither Wilkison nor Green actually attended the Farouk sale in Cairo. I believe the only Americans at the sale were John Jay Pittman, the Norwebs, Abe Kosoff and family, James Randal, Robert Schermerhorn, Gaston DiBello, Sol Kaplan and his wife, and Paul Wittlin. 

Hans Schulman, who was born in Amsterdam but emigrated to America in 1939, was also there, and David Spink was on hand representing several clients, including the Norwebs. 

The notes in the catalog must be observations Wilkison made at home, or perhaps he acquired a sales-room copy from someone who was actually there. MANY of the coins in his collection were pedigreed to Farouk, so he undoubtedly participated in the sale in a big way. Probably one of the American coin dealers acted as his agent.

David Akers book on gold patterns is a must for anyone interested in Wilkison or gold patterns in general. It was published in 1975 I think, and has been out of print for some time, but it is not very expensive and can often be found through the offerings of numismatic literature dealers or on eBay. I highly recommend it

Howard Cohen writes:

The following website will 
provide the history and the complete listing of Dr. Wilkison's unique collection of United States Gold Patterns: 

www.pcgs.com/setregistry/alltimeset.aspx?s=22286

Several of his patterns were obtained from
the famous Palace (Farouk) Collection held in Cario in1954. The book by David Akers "United States Gold Patterns" published in 1975 is a complete listing, but more important is the photography showing the beauty
in color of these gold coins.

Mike Paradis also provided references to several Kolbe numismatic literature sale auction lots related to Wilkison and his collection.  I forwarded these to Jeff.  These included lots containing photographs, newspaper clippings and correspondence.

Kolbe sale 31 lot 514

Kolbe sale 41 lot 800

Kolbe sale 77 lot 611

Kolbe sale 80 lots 11 and  586

Kolbe sale 83 lot 184

Kolbe sale 92 lot 106

Kolbe sale 96 lot 1108

Thanks!  There is a ton of information out there.  The problem is often just knowing where to find it.
-Editor

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:

QUERY: INFORMATION ON DR. JOHN E. WILKISON SOUGHT

(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v14n42a15.html)

DR. JOHN WILKINSON OF CANADA

A number of readers responded to Jeffrey LaPlante’s question about Dr. John E. Wilkison with information on the similarly-named Canadian numismatist Dr. John Wilkinson.
-Editor

Joe Foster writes:

There was a Dr. John S. Wilkinson of Ontario, president of the CNA 1961 to 1963; published article in CNA journal vol. 14, #6 June 1969 "Athenian Silver Coin Fractions"...  I believe he sold his collection in 1973, in conjunction with ANA convention.....he was a rather well-known Canadian numismatist.

Pete Smith writes:

I am attaching a scan of his obituary from Coin World of 11/22/1999.  I believe there are probably other biographies of Wilkinson in Canadian sources.

Here's are a couple paragraphs from the lengthy obituary.  Coin World back issues are a treasure trove of great numismatic information, yet only a handful of collectors have the discipline (and space) to store or index them.  The best most of us manage to do is tear out certain articles of interest for filing.  Thanks to Pete for filing this away for use a dozen years later.
-Editor

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:

QUERY: INFORMATION ON DR. JOHN E. WILKISON SOUGHT

(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v14n42a15.html)

SKEWING - A TECHNIQUE FOR SIGNATURE IDENTIFICATION

Recently Paul Horner submitted a question about a hard-to-read signature.  

John MacVean identified it as "Eugene Newman M.D."
I couldn't have guessed that one in a million years, but Paul agreed, and he'd already been puzzling over the signature for some time.

This week Bill Eckberg writes:

The signature certainly looks like "Eugene Newman, MD" to me.
For readers who may still be skeptical, I just copied the signature in Photoshop and used the "Skew" command to straighten the writing enough so it was legible. Et voila!

Wow!  Neat idea.  This does help make the signature more legible. Thanks!  This technique could prove very useful for deciphering banknote, check and stock certificate signatures.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:

NORTH CAROLINA STATE TREASURY NOTE SIGNATURE IDENTIFIED

(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v14n42a07.html)

MEASURING IRREGULARLY SHAPED NUMISMATIC  ITEMS

Last week Leon Saryan wrote:

Here's a question for the experts:  Is there an accepted way to measure and report the diameter of an irregular (i.e. not exactly circular ancient or medieval era) coin?  

Here's an answer from Dick Johnson.  Thanks!
-Editor

If you have a problem measuring odd shaped coins, imagine the problem measuring medals and medallic items. Medals can appear in far more odd shapes and often have several parts attached to each other, as badges, decorations and such.. Thus, medal catalogers have come up with some rules to make the task easier.  If you wish to adapt these for coins, be my guest.

1. Stretch out the item if it has chains or a ribbon to its greatest length.

2)  Measure this length in metric -- millimeters or centimeters.

3)  Measure the width at its widest point wherever that may be.

In other words, imagine the item in the tightest box in which it would fit -- measure the inside of that box -- height by width.

For a freeform medal determine its precise horizontal and vertical orientation. Again, measure the inside of a box in which it would fit, still maintaining that horizontal-vertical orientation.

If the item has a loop, disregard this in any measurement.

For medals list height first using metric then its width using "mm" or "cm," separated by a lower case "x" -- then translate Metric into Aliquot and add a single "-inch."  In America we think in inches, but prefer Metric for its scientific accuracy. You can list inches first if you wish, I do (and add Metric in parenthesis).

Height is always listed first in numismatic cataloging. This is opposite to philately which always gives width first.

Circular coins and medals obviously need only one measurement -- its diameter anywhere.

Use a caliper to measure any numismatic item, never a ruler (for greater accuracy -- even to one-tenth of a millimeter). But metal calipers are not recommended -- they can scratch a surface. Instead use a plastic caliper. They are cheaper and just as satisfactory as metal calipers.

There is another term of measurement -- longest dimension -- but you don't have to worry about that since it is only used in diemaking. A blank diestock must be chosen for a rectangular medallic item to accommodate it longest dimension, diagonally from one corner across to its farthest corner.

All this talk about measurements reminded me of the old Stephen Wright joke:  "Some people are afraid of heights.  I'm afraid of widths."
-Editor

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:

QUERY: HOW TO MEASURE AN IRREGULARLY SHAPED COIN

(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v14n42a09.html)

ASSISTANCE WITH PERIODICALS SOUGHT FOR THE NBS ONLINE BIBLIOGRAPHY

Tom Wetter has been continuing his great work populating pages on the American numismatic bibliography section of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society web site.   He's organized hundreds of photos of books, beginning with many of the titles in the 100 Greatest survey.   One of the next big challenges will be making sense of the periodicals, which often go through great changes over the years as editors, technology, styles, taste and the fortunes of the issuing organizations change.   Who can help with some of these?  We're building a great resource, but assistance is needed.
-Editor

Tom Wetter writes:

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