The E-Sylum v16#53 December 29, 2013
The E-Sylum
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Mon Dec 30 20:39:46 PST 2013
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The E-Sylum
An electronic publication of
The Numismatic Bibliomania Society
Volume 16, Number 53, December 29, 2013
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WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM DECEMBER 29, 2013
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EARLY U.S. SILVER ARTICLES IN LATEST ISSUE OF THE ASYLUM
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NEW BOOK: HISTORY OF VIET NAM MONEY
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NEW BOOK: THE LOVETT CENT; A CONFEDERATE STORY, 2ND EDITION
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BOOK REVIEW: CIVIL WAR STAMP ENVELOPES
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THOUGHTS ON THE SAMUEL HART PLAYING CARDS TOKENS
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STILL MORE ON THE WASHINGTON'S HEADQUARTERS COIN HOARD
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QUIZ ANSWER: CITY OF NEW ORLEANS
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NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: DECEMBER 29, 2013
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ON STEAM PRESS ERA ADJUSTMENT MARKS
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MORE THOUGHTS ON FANTASY COINS
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THE 1965 CHURCHILL CROWN
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MORE ON USING THE SERIAL COMMA
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THE EARLIEST COIN DEALER PHONE NUMBER?
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CHICAGO COIN COMPANY COIN BAG AND COOKIE TIN
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OPTICAL ILLUSIONS ON COINS AND MEDALS
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NUMISMATIC VOCABULARY: ANAGLYPTOGRAPHY PART 2
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QUIZ ANSWER: RETROCESSION
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STILL MORE TURKEYS IN NUMISMATICS
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A DATABASE FOR TOPICAL COIN COLLECTORS
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QUERY: SANTA CLAUS ON A LARGE DENOMINATION U.S. BILL
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WHY YOUR DIGITAL WALLET BELONGS ON YOUR FINGER
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HOWARD DANIEL ON POLYMER BANKNOTES
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HOW TIGHT JEANS ALMOST RUINED AMERICA’S PAPER MONEY
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EDUCATIONAL TOUR PLANNED FOR HISTORIC MEDALS
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POSTCARDS AND NUMISMATICS: HAPPY NEW YEAR!
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FEATURED WEB SITE: THE E-SYLUM
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Click here to read this issue on the web
Click here to access the complete archive
To comment or submit articles, reply to
whomren at gmail.com
WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM DECEMBER 29, 2013
New subscribers this week include
Adam Stump,
Deputy Director, Office of Corporate Communications
United States Mint;
Kenneth Rowland, and Rai Arnold.
Welcome aboard!
We have 1,682 email subscribers, plus 259 followers on Facebook.
We're back! Thanks to Bruce Perdue for helping get the word out that this issue would be late. I was traveling with my family for the holiday and got held up for a good reason - the birth of a son to my wife's niece.
I had most of the issue ready to go before our trip, but the delay allowed me to add a number of new contributions, making this last issue of the year a whopper. I was unable to respond to everyone's email, but I should get caught up in the next few days.
Happy New Year, everyone!
This week we open with a note on the latest Asylum issue, three new numismatic books, and a review of Fred Reed's book on Civil War Stamp Envelopes.
Other topics include steam press era adjustment marks, the Churchill Crown, optical illusions on coins and medals, a proposed database for topical coin collectors, and did you hear I was drunk the day my ma got out of prison?
To learn more about retrocession, anaglyptography, the Samuel Hart playing cards tokens, the City of New Orleans, counterfeit numismatic books, and tight jeans, read on. Have a great week, everyone!
Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum
EARLY U.S. SILVER ARTICLES IN LATEST ISSUE OF THE ASYLUM
Thanks to Dave Perkins for promoting NBS in the December 22, 2013 issue of the JR Newsletter, a publication of the John Reich Collectors Society. Here's what he wrote.
-Editor
For those JR News readers who are not a member of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society (NBS), I’d like to point out that there are two good articles pertaining to early U.S. silver Numismatic Literature in the latest issue of The Asylum, the quarterly Journal of the NBS.
The first article is by Brad Karoleff and is titled, “Limited-Edition Silver Coin References: The Connoisseur’s Library Updated.” This article covers the deluxe editions of early silver references, half dimes to silver dollars, issued since and including the Haseltine Type Table sale catalog. Price ranges are given for deluxe editions from each series.
The second article is by Len Augsburger, and is titled, “Numismatic Literature for the Liberty Seated Half Dime Collector.” Steve Crain contributed to the section on the Valentine half dime book.
I am a former Treasurer of NBS, and am currently on the NBS Board of Governors. I recommend NBS membership to anyone with an interest in research and Numismatic Literature. Here is a link to the NBS website for those wishing to learn more or join NBS: http://www.coinbooks.com
The website has an online index of articles by subject and author. Four issues of The Asylum are published per year.
NEW BOOK: HISTORY OF VIET NAM MONEY
Howard A. Daniel III submitted this review of a new book on Vietnam's money. Thanks!
-Editor
Lich Su Tien Te Viet Nam - 2013 First Edition, self-published,
Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
By Ha Van Tho (in Vietnamese)
8.5 x 11, 399 Pages, leather-like hardbound, full color
"Ho's book started with just illustrating and describing his collection but then he decided to greatly expand it with pieces from other collections and references. There are a few previously unpublished pieces. If you collect Vietnamese; French colonial; and Japan, Chinese, South Korea, Thailand and US military pieces used in Viet Nam, this will be a useful reference to you."
There is a representative collection of Imperial Viet Nam cash-style coins
A type set of French colonial coins and bank notes
A type set of Republic of Viet Nam, Democratic Republic of Viet Nam, and Socialist Republic of Viet Nam coins and notes
Some Republic of Viet Nam pattern notes, and one unissued Socialist Republic of Viet Nam note
Some non-circulating legal tender (NCLT) coins of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.
Some "trade dollar" coins and French colonial silver rounds
Some Socialist Republic of Viet Nam foreign exchange certificates, high denomination bank checks, and bonds
Some United States military club tokens from the Vietnam War era.
United States, Japan, Chinese, South Korean, and Thailand military related currency from WWII to the Vietnam War era
There are also pictures of Tho in front of many places in Viet Nam which are on many of the pieces.
Tho is a collector of pieces with "100" on them, and he will print only 100 copies of this reference.
Howard is seeking confirmed buyers for the author. Only the number ordered will be imported to a bookseller in the USA. The cost of this reference in Viet Nam is about US $25. Counting shipping and customs charges, the cost in the USA will be US $50 plus mailing from the West Coast. Send an email to Howard at
HADaniel3 at msn.com if you have questions and/or want to order this reference. After they arrive in the USA, an invoice will be sent to each buyer. Do NOT send money to Howard.
-Editor
NEW BOOK: THE LOVETT CENT; A CONFEDERATE STORY, 2ND EDITION
Author Harold Levi forwarded this announcement of the 2nd edition of his book on the confederate cent.
-Editor
The Lovett Cent; a Confederate Story – 2nd Edition
The 2nd edition of The Lovett Cent; a Confederate Story adds a new picture of Robert Lovett, Jr.’s grave with a plaque commemorating his induction into the ANA Hall of Fame and notes about two web sites containing collections of Lovett tokens and medals. Several photographs were updated to better images.
The primary focus of the 2nd edition is Robert Bashlow and the copies (2nd restrikes) he and David Laties made. Some of the deceptive fakes that have been in the marketplace have been identified with images and discussions. Several new images have been added with updated text. This includes information about the edge lettering on the Tin and Nickel pieces.
The British Confederate cents that Bashlow and Laties had made in London, England have been identified with photographs. This set was owned by John J. Ford, Jr. and is housed in a black leather case. The current owner of the set supplied photographs of the three coins. One is in gold, another in silver and the last was over-struck on an 1858 Flying Eagle cent. Images of additional specimens are also published in the book.
The Appendix has been expanded with additional information on Bashlow, which includes the complete set of Bashlow dies and hubs ensconced in the Smithsonian Institution. These images were supplied by the late Richard Doty, Ph.D.
The black and white version is in 6x9 inch format with a soft cover and is 388 pages. The price is $27 plus shipping from Lulu.com.
The color version is in 8.5x11 inch format with a hard cover and contains 310 pages. The coin and die images have been enlarges as much as possible in the larger format with text in two-columns. The price is $125 plus shipping from Lulu.com.
A PDF version is available for the Color version. This is $25 and can be downloaded from Lulu.com
To order the books, see:
The Lovett Cent; a Confederate Story (Paperback)
(www.lulu.com/shop/harold-levi-and-george-corell/the-lovett-cent-a-confederate-story/paperback/product-21164711.html)
The Lovett Cent; a Confederate Story (Color Hardcover)
(www.lulu.com/shop/harold-levi-and-george-corell/the-lovett-cent-a-confederate-story/hardcover/product-21164672.html)
The Lovett Cent; a Confederate Story (ebook)
(www.lulu.com/shop/harold-levi-and-george-corell/the-lovett-cent-a-confederate-story/ebook/product-21117824.html)
THE BOOK BAZARRE
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
from Whitman Publishing. 2013 brought us new Whitman books on U.S. coins, tokens, paper money, bullion, grading, ancient coins, Abe Lincoln, George Morgan, military history, the Wild West, and more! 2014 promises to be just as exciting. Get the latest news from
Whitman.com.
BOOK REVIEW: CIVIL WAR STAMP ENVELOPES
John and Nancy Wilson submitted this review of Fred Reed's book on Civil War Postage Stamp Envelopes. Thanks!
-Editor
Civil War Stamp Envelopes – The Issuers & Their Times
Author Fred L. Reed lll, 2013, BNR Press, Port Clinton, Ohio, Foreword by Art Paradis, An Appreciation by Chester L. Krause, Reviewed by John and Nancy Wilson
Fred L. Reed lll covers the subject of these envelopes in such an authoritative manner that nobody will have to look no further than this reference for information. Coming in at 4 pounds, we consider it a “Heavyweight Champion” of books. It is softcover, 8.5 x 11 inches and has 672 pages with about 1,500 black and white illustrations. The “Foreword” was done by Art Paradis, who over the last 13 years collected 213 different varieties of postage currency envelopes. Our interest in these envelopes started many years ago when we received a listing of these envelopes from Milwaukee, Wisconsin dealer, Kevin Foley, in the middle 1980s. We purchased several of the envelopes from this listing and over the years have added more. We collect by denomination type and are only lacking a few. Until the Foley listing, we rarely saw these envelopes for sale anywhere.
Hoarding of small change or specie in 1861-62 brought about by the Civil War caused havoc with merchants and businesses who were trying to conduct their daily business. A Law was passed on July 17, 1862, authorizing the gummed postage stamps to be used as money. Some innovative merchant came up with the idea to place postage stamps in an envelope with the amount posted on the outside.
Few have covered the civil war monetary system like Mr. Reed has. He divides the civil war monetary system into four sections. Part l will look at the federal and private Postage Currency. Part ll was encased stamps, which he covered in a separate book. Part lll covers, “A Numismatists Perspective of the Civil War series.” Part lV, will look at Civil War era counterfeiting.
The reference is dedicated to three luminaries of the hobby who are no longer with us, Art Kagin, Matt Rothert and Milt Friedberg. Milt did his own compilation of postage currency envelopes for the Fractional Currency Collectors Board (FCCB) in June, 1986. Milt’s catalog was distributed to the membership of the FCCB and is rarely available in the market place. The “An Appreciation” by renowned numismatist Chester L. Krause explains how the six different types were produced. He describes how his interest started about three decades ago and his purchase of three envelopes for $30 each. Chet mentioned his collection contained over 150 different envelopes which were sold over several sales in recent years. The Ford collection (sold in 2007) had 141 pieces and the Western Reserve Smythe 2007 sale had 42 examples. Through Chet’s collection, Krause Publication published in its Standard Catalog of United States Paper Money a listing and pricing of the envelopes.
The “Preface” includes the authors’ thoughts on U. S. postage stamps as necessity war money. He also describes the denominations he has found along with their rarity. There are 90 separate issues of different designs. The preface also has a reprint of the Henry Russell Drowne article that was in the American Journal of Numismatics in 1918. Thomas Cunningham is quoted in this article, “that even in 1893 he had never seen one of these envelopes.” Reed shows copies of reprinted envelopes which were published in newspapers along with ads for them. He also describes U. S. postage currency that came into circulation at about the same time that the envelopes appeared. The author reprints the front page of the 1865 Charles Moreau pamphlet (only ten known) which listed the envelopes.
Fred explains that because of a few collectors back in the issuing years some of the envelopes were saved. He mentions that almost all of the envelopes known today come from ten hoards “dating back to David Proskey, Charles C. Moreau, and others who assembled their collection of these ephemeral pieces during the Civil War era.” He has identified 500 plus varieties of these envelopes. Besides listing the varieties the author gives information on the issuer, shows illustrations of their work and finally, “provides their context – by also giving their merchant-issuers’ background information.” He also gives the important information on the 128 identified issuers along with how many different varieties are known for each denomination. Reed discusses the under-appreciation of these envelopes in the collecting community and how “flat out rare” they are. Reed lists his rarity scale from R-10 Unique to R-1 100+. You will find a rarity for all the postage currency envelope
s listed in this reference.
The “Civil War Postage Stamp Envelope Timeline” starts on July 4, 1862 with the William Newton, Newport, RI stamp scrip notes which were issued in denominations from 5 to 50-cents. The Timeline ends in October, 2013. This timeline covers everything that would be related to postage stamp envelopes, along with Laws, Patents, Post Office recommendations, collectors & dealers, auction and fixed price lists, the issuers, newspaper and hobby publication articles, donations to institutions, as well as important events or dates.
The next 31 pages cover, “Prior Cataloging Efforts/Famous Collections.” This covers everybody who had anything to do with this type of substitute money. The author tells us Henry Russell Drowne was a fractional currency collector and his, “Ground-breaking article on Civil War Stamp envelopes has been an essential authority for collectors and catalogers for nearly the past century.” Another collector was Deats who was Charter Member No.15 of the American Numismatic Association and owned the “very rare 1822 half eagle (3 known).” Reed tells stories and has photos of: F. C. C. Boyd, David Proskey, Norman Stack, Herman Crofoot, Matt Rothert, Abe Kosoff, Dr. Richard Doty, Charles J. Affleck, Milt Friedberg, Kevin Foley, Ezra Cole, John J. Ford Jr, Chet Krause, David Bowers, Ray Waltz, Peter Huntoon, Art Paradis and several others.
Fred Reed lists all the known U.S. postage currency envelopes in alphabetical order by state. There are 128 issuers and 514 different varieties produced by them. Almost all varieties are illustrated and extensive census and provenance data is given, along with auction prices realized for these scarce monetary instruments over the last century of their active collecting.” In this book he uses the same catalog numbers he gave to Arthur and Ira Friedberg for their 19th and 20th Editions for Paper Money of the United States.
Illinois was the first state to issue postage currency envelopes and only one example is known. The issuer was McNall & Co. from Chicago. The author covers this merchant very thoroughly and all we have to do now is find one of the envelopes he produced. Like Illinois, Maine has only one example known and it is listed as R-10 Unique. The issuer was J. W. Cofren who was a pharmacist from Augusta, Maine. Information regarding Mr. Cofren will be found on the page along with a reprint of an 1855 ad which was in the Maine Register.
Only one R-10 Unique example is listed from Baltimore, Maryland. Ten issuers are listed from Massachusetts and most are very rare. Seven come from Boston, one from New Bedford & Boston, and one each from Salem and Springfield. For a state type set you should be able to get one from Boston merchant Snow & Hapgood. Snow & Hapgood produced a Civil War patriotic envelope. Also shown is an illustration of a fractional currency wallet that has straps holding fractional notes.
New Jersey has two issuers and both are rare. Fred Reed shows some of the advertising pieces he has found on the New Jersey’s Taylor’ Hotel showing up on Ebay, which included an 1880 four-page advertising brochure for the hotel along with other items. The author mentions that unfortunately he wasn’t successful for this lot or all would have been illustrated. Think of the thousands of numismatic items Mr. Reed writes about regarding the Civil War or Lincoln and the time it takes to find the information? It is mind-boggling the amount of time he spends on his research and books.
New York has 108 different issuers and the book is full of great information on all of them. It appears that some of the information he is writing about would only be possible if you lived during the Civil War. John Campion Force, or Johnnie Force as his friends called him, was an extraordinary restaurateur, bar keeper, hotel owner, sportsman and art love in Brooklyn, New York, who advertised his National Shades Chop House on postage stamp envelopes during the Civil war.
The author then talks about Mr. Force like he is right in the business talking to him and or his friends. Ohio (Cincinnati) only had one issuer, (Oscar H. Harpel), (R-9, 2 known) who issued 5 and 20 cent envelopes. A photo of Oscar Harpel says he “was a song writer, an innovative printer, author and illustrator/painter.” A letter head and other ephemeral items are illustrated. Four issuers will be found from Pennsylvania (Philadelphia) and all are rare. Issuer E. M. Riggin issued a 50 cent envelope which is listed as R-10 Unique.
Another issuer, S. C. Upham, issued two envelopes with no denomination on them. Mr. Upham is well known as an issuer of Confederate currency replicas. Numismaster - Krause Publications has great information on Mr. Upham. The article was done by Fred Reed for Coins Magazine in 2008, and can be found at:
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The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization
promoting numismatic literature. For more information please
see our web site at
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There is a membership application available on the web site
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To join, print the application and return it with your check
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P. O. Box 82 Littleton, NH 03561
For Asylum mailing address changes and other membership
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dsundman at LittletonCoin.com
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