The E-Sylum v17#30 July 20, 2014
The E-Sylum
esylum at binhost.com
Sun Jul 20 20:40:28 PDT 2014
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The E-Sylum
An electronic publication of
The Numismatic Bibliomania Society
Volume 17, Number 30, July 20, 2014
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WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM JULY 20, 2014
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WHITMAN OBSOLETE PAPER MONEY ENCYCLOPEDIA SELLS OUT
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NEW BOOK: ONLINE COIN AUCTIONEERING
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BOOK REVIEW: AMERICAN GOLD AND PLATINUM EAGLES
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LATEST SS CENTRAL AMERICA FINDS REVEALED
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THE FUJITSU SCANSNAP SV600 CONTACTLESS SCANNER
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NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: JULY 20, 2014
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BURIAL COINS
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THE IMPORTANCE OF MEDAL PACKAGING MATERIALS
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THE NUMISMATIC MAGAZINE 1891
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FANCY FOOTWORK IN TRUMBULL'S DECLARATION PAINTING
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A CHOPMARKED 1799 DOLLAR
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QUERY: JAMES RUTLADER INFORMATION SOUGHT
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AUSTRALIA'S HOLEY DOLLAR AND DUMP
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THE JUDD-1140 PATTERN DOLLAR
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THE 1996 TREASURE ACT
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MACHINE FOR DETECTING COUNTERFEIT U.S. $100 BILLS
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DOGS FOLLOW THE SCENT OF MONEY
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FEATURED WEB PAGE: BRITISH EAST INDIA COMPANY
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Click here to read this issue on the web
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To comment or submit articles, reply to
whomren at gmail.com
WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM JULY 20, 2014
I was on the road all week with my family for a summer vacation. Here's a somewhat abbreviated issue. Thank you for your patience.
New subscribers this week include:
Tom Denly, courtesy of Dave Bowers,
Daniil Fishteyn, and
Saeed Saif Almarri.
Welcome aboard! We now have 1,743 subscribers.
This week we open with an update from Whitman Publishing, a new book and a review followed by new information on recent numismatic finds from the wreck of the SS Central America.
Other topics include new scanning technology that could ease the digitization of numismatic books, burial coins, leather medals, and a chopmarked 1799 dollar.
To learn more about Charles Ricard, James Rutlader, online coin selling, ambrotypes, the value of cases, boxes and envelopes for packaging medals, the "Dustman" Farthing, the British East India Company and the scent of meney, read on. Have a great week, everyone!
Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum
WHITMAN OBSOLETE PAPER MONEY ENCYCLOPEDIA SELLS OUT
Dennis Tucker forwarded this press release on the success of the firm's new series of books on obsolete U.S. paper money. Congratulations!
-Editor
Whitman Publishing announces that volume 2 of its Whitman Encyclopedia of Obsolete Paper Money, released at the Memphis International Paper Money Show on June 12, 2014, has sold out as of July 17. Collectors can purchase the book from hobby shops and bookstores, including online, and the publisher has ordered a second print run to meet demand.
Whitman president Mary Burleson cited the hobby community’s growing interest in paper money, the reputation of well-known author Q. David Bowers, and word-of-mouth publicity at numismatic shows and club meetings as factors contributing to the strong demand and earlier-than-expected sellout.
“A sellout means that a book is temporarily out of stock from its publishing company,” said Whitman publisher Dennis Tucker. “Until our inventory is replenished, readers can buy the book directly from their favorite retailers.”
The Whitman Encyclopedia of Obsolete Paper Money is a study of currency issued from 1782 to 1866, before the modern era of National Banks and the Federal Reserve. Because more than 3,000 state-chartered banks issued their own paper money, the encyclopedia is expected to fill at least 12 volumes. Volume 2 is the first of three volumes that cover the New England states. In 752 pages it gives the history of every town and city as well as of every bank that issued this uniquely American currency in the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, and New Hampshire.
The encyclopedia’s author, Q. David Bowers, has compiled decades of research from 18th- and 19th-century bank reports, contemporary newspapers, and other primary sources. Each note is studied, and thousands are pictured in full color, with information on grading, rarity, values, significant auction results, advice for collectors, and more. To help create the encyclopedia, dozens of active collectors, researchers, dealers, historians, and other experts have volunteered their time and knowledge.
The 288-page volume 1, an introduction to obsolete paper money and an overview of the hobby, is still available from the publisher and has not yet sold out. It can be purchased online and from hobby shops and book retailers nationwide.
Future volumes will cover the Mid-Atlantic states, the American Midwest, the South Atlantic states, the District of Columbia, and territories.
Collectors and researchers interested in volunteering can contact Whitman Publishing at
obsoletes at whitman.com. Volunteers will be credited in the books’ acknowledgments.
Collectors who want to learn more about the Whitman Encyclopedia of Obsolete Paper Money, and to meet Q. David Bowers in person, are invited to visit the American Numismatic Association World’s Fair of Money. At 2 p.m., August 7, 2014, Bowers and Tucker will present “Obsolete Paper Money: History, Rarity, and Today’s Market,” including an opportunity for questions-and-answers with the audience.
THE BOOK BAZARRE
AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS:
Are your books carried by Wizard Coin Supply?
If not, contact us via
www.WizardCoinSupply.com
with details.
NEW BOOK: ONLINE COIN AUCTIONEERING
CoinWeek published a short item this week on a new book about online coin selling.
-Editor
Numismatic writer and Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee member Michael Bugeja has assembled a new, updated work– Online Coin Auctioneering –intended for estate auctioneers considering or already selling on a portal such as AuctionZip, iCollector or Proxibid.
The advice in this new work also pertains to eBay and coin dealer auctions.
If you’re going to sell coins online, Bugeja writes, you have to understand Internet and other considerations that you must master to vend lots via a global platform. You also must become a numismatist rather than a hobbyist or estate auctioneer because you’re selling U.S. Mint and world mint products in raw condition or perhaps holdered by any number of companies. You must know how to grade, how to price, and how to describe lots. More important, you must master digital photography—the chief component of successful online sales. Finally, you have to know the business, from fake coins to dispute resolution.
This book covers it all. Written by nationally known numismatist Michael Bugeja, who writes for Coin World, reports for Coin Update News and is a member of the Citizen Coinage Advisory Committee of the US Mint, Online Coin Auctioneering is an indispensable guide.
To read the complete article, see:
Michael Bugeja’s New Book Offers Tips to Sell Coins Online
(www.coinweek.com/books-2/michael-bugejas-new-book-offers-tips-to-sell-coins-online/)
BOOK REVIEW: AMERICAN GOLD AND PLATINUM EAGLES
On July 17, 2014 CoinWeek published an essay by Louis Golino on Ed Moy's book on American Gold and Platinum Eagles. Here's an excerpt; the complete version is available online.
-Editor
American Gold and Platinum Eagles: A Guide to the U.S. Bullion Coin Programs, by Edmund Moy
Edmund C. Moy, who served as Director of the U.S. Mint from 2006 to 2011, has probably had a greater impact on modern American coinage and numismatics than any other person who has run the Mint in the past several decades. His tenure there was especially consequential for coin collectors and bullion investors for two main reasons.
First, he served during an especially tumultuous period in the U.S. and world economies and in the precious metals markets, when silver and gold saw huge run-ups in their spot prices, demand for American bullion coins rose to new record levels as investors sought protection from the economic tumult of the day, and the Mint scrambled to produce enough coins and source the planchets to meet this feverish demand.
Second, Mr. Moy is a lifelong coin collector, and during his tenure at the Mint most of the key coin series that continue to this day got started such as the Presidential dollar, First Spouse gold coin, America the Beautiful quarter and five-ounce silver coin, and American Buffalo gold coin.
In addition, his period at the Mint is when the special finish versions of the American silver, gold, and platinum eagle coins and American silver and gold eagle anniversary coin sets began to be issued, and what is probably the single most popular collector coin issued in modern times was minted, namely, the 2009 Ultra High Relief gold double eagle.
Earlier this year Whitman Publishing published his book, American Gold and Platinum Eagles: A Guide to the U.S. Bullion Coin Programs, which includes a forward by Michael Castle (who co-authored the legislation that created the state quarter and American platinum eagle coin programs). The book is in many ways a companion to the 2012 book by John Mercanti and Michael Standish, American Silver Eagles.
Prior to the publication of Mr. Moy’s major reference work that takes readers behind the scenes while he was at the Mint and is aimed at a variety of audiences from coin collectors to bullion investors there was no book-length treatment of the subject. Coin guides such as Whitman’s famous “red book” have always had brief sections on the gold and platinum bullion programs, but they did not include detailed information or histories.
The book is notable not only for being the first reference work on the topic. It is also provides a revealing insider look at what was happening at the Mint during the important period when Mr. Moy ran it. The narrative chapters combine art, history, knowledge of coins and precious metals, and other areas in a way that will appeal to a wide audience.
However, some of the mintage information is listed incorrectly. For example, in the appendix on coin mintages for the American platinum eagle bullion and burnished coins the mintage data for the bullion coins issued in 2000 to 2008 is repeated in the table listing mintages for the burnished coins. But burnished platinum eagles were only issued in 2006-2008.
In addition, sometimes the most important points about certain year’s coins may get lost amid all the detailed information in the year-by-year study. Collectors and investors of the platinum collector coins consider the burnished and proof coins issued in 2008 to be major sleepers with good long-term value potential, as emphasized in Eric Jordan’s book, Modern Commemorative Coins, and in the book he co-authored with John Maben, Top 50 Most Popular Modern Coins.
Moy does discuss the fact that the coins sold poorly that year, which led to the discontinuation of the fractional proofs and all burnished platinum coins, but the importance of the 2008 coins, as both the lowest mintage of the entire platinum series, and as among the lowest of all modern U.S. coins along with some of the gold spouse coins, could have been discussed.
To read the complete article, see:
First Read: American Gold and Platinum Eagles: A Guide to the U.S. Bullion Coin Programs
(/www.coinweek.com/featured-news/first-read-american-gold-and-platinum-eagles-a-guide-to-the-u-s-bullion-coin-programs/)
LATEST SS CENTRAL AMERICA FINDS REVEALED
An Associated Press article published July 17, 2014 described the latest inventory of coins and artifacts from the current recovery operations at the wreck of the SS Central America.
-Editor
Deep-sea explorers recovered millions of dollars in gold and silver and a slew of personal items that are a virtual time capsule of the California Gold Rush, according to newly unsealed court documents obtained by The Associated Press that provide the first detailed inventory of a treasure trove being resurrected from an 1857 shipwreck at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
The recovery effort at the SS Central America shipwreck, about 200 miles off the South Carolina coast, began in April and is expected to continue throughout the summer.
The new recovery operation was made possible after the court-appointed receiver awarded a contract to Tampa, Florida-based Odyssey Marine Exploration to conduct the recovery in hopes of bringing up more treasure and paying back investors.
The inventories, unsealed by a federal judge in Virginia late Wednesday, show that Odyssey Marine has brought up 43 solid gold bars, 1,300 $20 double eagle gold coins, and thousands more gold and silver coins.
Bob Evans, an Ohio scientist who was on both the original and current expeditions, said in a statement "the variety and quality of the coins being recovered is just astonishing."
He said the double eagles are just as "spectacular" as the ones recovered more than 25 years ago, but that the most recent recovery has resulted in a wider variety of coins.
"I have seen what I believe are several of the finest known examples," Evans said. "The coins date from 1823 to 1857 and represent a wonderful diversity of denominations and mints, a time capsule of virtually all the coins that were used in 1857."
The passenger items recovered from the Central America so far provide a window into the world of a California Gold Rush miner and other Americans who were on their way from The Golden State to New York when their ship sunk. Among them was a safe that contained two cotton pieces of clothing wrapped tightly around gold coins, nuggets, and dust, a pouch with 134 gold double eagles, a leather saddlebag with more nuggets, and a small packet filled with paper and sealed with twine.
Other items include wire-rimmed glasses, a gold puzzle ring, and the photographs of at least 60 passengers. The photos are called ambrotypes, a short-lived type of photography that used glass plates, and were left at the bottom of the ocean until Odyssey Marine can figure out how to safely recover them.
"Photographs of any mid-19th century Gold Rush miners are rare, and these ambrotypes are the only examples found on any 19th-century shipwreck worldwide," according to a court report by Odyssey Marine.
The inventories document what Odyssey Marine recovered at the shipwreck from the beginning of the operation on April 15 through June 15. An inventory of operations from the past month should be filed soon.
To read the complete article, see:
APNewsBreak: Shipwreck's gold inventory released
(www.wandtv.com/story/26045363/apnewsbreak-shipwrecks-gold-inventory-released)
Phil Iversen and Nick Graver forwarded the article as well.
Dick Hanscom forwarded a version of the story from the Daily Mail. Thanks.
-Editor
To read the complete Daily Mail article, see:
43 gold bars, 1,300 double eagle coins and thousands of pieces of silver: Inventory of treasure worth MILLIONS of dollars revealed from 1857 shipwreck off South Carolina coast
(www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2696319/Shipwrecks-gold-inventory-released.html)
On July 18, 2014 The Maritime Executive published the first photos I've seen of the new finds, which include both coins and gold bars. Included is an eerie view of one of the SS Central America's iconic paddlewheels. Here's an excerpt and small version of the photos - see the complete article for larger versions.
-Editor
The inventories detail the items recovered to date, which include gold ingots, nuggets, dust and a wide variety of gold coins from $20 double eagles down through $10, $5, $2.50 and $1 gold coins, as well as California fractional gold, territorials and a wide variety of foreign gold. Additional significant cultural heritage artifacts have been identified and will be recovered.
RLP's chief scientist Bob Evans served as chief scientist on the 1988-1991 expeditions to the SS Central America and later as curator for the treasure recovered. As one of RLP's representatives on the project, Evans has been aboard the Odyssey Explorer since operations began in April 2014, cataloging the gold as it is recovered.
"The variety and quality of the coins being recovered is just astonishing," commented Evans. "Of course there are spectacular $20 double eagles like we found back in the 80s and 90s. But the wide variety of other denominations makes this year's recoveries very different from the earlier finds. I have seen what I believe are several of the finest known examples so far. The coins date from 1823 to 1857 and represent a wonderful diversity of denominations and mints, a time capsule of virtually all the coins that were used in 1857."
Odyssey President and Chief Operating Officer Mark Gordon added: "The operational reports filed with the court provide an overview of the activities conducted during each offshore period. The first two reports detail the pre-disturbance work and the recovery of items visible on the surface in the debris field, as well as initial archaeological excavation activities in the stern area of the shipwreck itself. The next report, which will be filed before July 25, will cover work conducted from mid-June to mid-July. As planned, during this period we made significant progress removing large amounts of coal and overburden to access certain areas of the shipwreck. We're looking forward to getting back to work at the site in the coming days."
To read the complete article, see:
Odyssey Recovers SS Central America Shipwreck Treasures
(www.maritime-executive.com/article/Odyssey-Recovers-SS-Central-America-Shipwreck-Treasures-2014-07-18)
THE FUJITSU SCANSNAP SV600 CONTACTLESS SCANNER
Andrew Crellin submitted this report on a new scanner that makes digitizing books much easier. Thanks!
-Editor
Regarding Les Citrome's article, I thought I should let E-Sylum readers know about a reasonably new scanner that has been released by Fujitsu that allows for non-destructive scanning of many bound documents, the ScanSnap SV600 Contactless Scanner.
You can read more information about it here:
Fujitsu ScanSnap SV600 Contactless Scanner
(www.fujitsu.com/us/services/computing/peripherals/scanners/scansnap/scansnap-SV600.html)
There are a range of videos that demonstrate how it works:
ScanSnap SV600
(www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ4exzkxXzg)
As you can see, the scanning takes just seconds. The software that accompanies the scanner straightens the curved scanned images so they are as required for reading, and also OCR’s the scanned information, enabling text searches etc.
I’ve used it to scan sections from a number of books and journals relevant to my recent numismatic research, and can confirm that it works extremely well.
I’m presently liaising with several members of the Australian numismatic fraternity of how a number of these scanners, in the hands of volunteers around the country, might allow us to finally digitise the published numismatic literature in Australia. Ideally, that would then be added to a searchable, online database of some kind.
It remains a large project, however at least this new technology allows it at a price that is affordable to volunteer associations etc.
This sounds like the scanner I've been waiting for, combining a number of advanced features that allow the scanning of books cheaply and without potential damage to book spines. The book curve image-flattening technology does via software what can only be done physically by pressing a book flat against a scanner. Although there are library scanners which allow rare books to be laid with pages at an angle, this method doesn't require the book to be laid down at all. I'll be interested to hear other reports about this and any similar scanners that come on the market.
-Editor
To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
LES CITROME ON DIGITIZING A PROFESSIONAL LIBRARY
(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v17n29a14.html)
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: JULY 20, 2014
Paweł Niemczyk
Andy Singer writes:
A Polish colleague has died accidentally. Please see the link below. The article is in Polish, the only one I could find.
Sorry to hear these things.
Like Andy, I used Google Translate to get the gist of the article in English, but also confirmed the result with E-Sylum contributor Gosia Fort, a native of Poland. Thanks! Apparently ...
... he was participating in a fishing competition. He fainted and fell into the water and could not be revived despite the immediate effort to resuscitate him before the ambulance arrived.
To read the complete article, see:
Odszedł Paweł Niemczyk
(omonetach.pl/aktualnosci/1/9012/odszedl-pawel-niemczyk)
More on the 100 Ruble Note Picturing Apollo Statue
Regarding that Russian banknote discussed last week, Kavan Ratnatunga writes:
What is not stated is that this 100 Ruble Note was first issued in 1997 and has been in circulation for 17 years.
A newer 100 Ruble Commemorative note was issued for the 2013 Winter Olympics. Anyway, I Purchased one on eBay just in case it becomes a high value Collectible :-)
To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
RUSSIAN LAWMAKER WANTS APOLLO'S GENITALS REMOVED
(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v17n29a25.html)
Doyen of Numismatics?
Regarding the discussion about the title Dennis Tucker applied to Q. David Bowers, Jim Duncan of New Zealand writes:
How about DOYEN of numismatists?
To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
Q. DAVID BOWERS, 'DEAN OF AMERICAN NUMISMATICS'
(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v17n29a11.html)
Query: Hardcover Merkin 7th Auction Sale Sought
David Fanning would like to hear from anyone owning a hardcover edition of Lester Merkin's seventh auction sale (Mar. 6-7, 1968). He can be reached at df at numislit.com. Thanks.
BURIAL COINS
David Pickup writes:
I went to a symposium in York recently mainly about early medieval coins. One talk was on burial coins. It made we wonder what coin I would like to be buried with. Coins seem to have been buried with people to demonstrate status rather than for use in the afterlife. I think I would either go for a pound coin as i can never find one when I need one to use in the supermarket trolley or a pre decimal penny. Although low in value the Britannia figure is high in status and much missed on today's coins.
We've often discussed coins placed on the eyelids of the deceased, but rarely "burial coins" per se. I'm sure our archaeologist friends will have plenty of examples of these. I wonder what modern customs persist today in different cultures. Anyone know of a numismatist who couldn't bear to leave a favorite coin behind for other collectors? Meanwhile, below of an excerpt from an earlier E-Sylum article about a numismatic trove purportedly buried with Admiral Nelson at St. Paul's Cathedral in London.
-Editor
Regarding Paul Sherry's September 23, 2007 E-Sylum
submission, web site visitor Robert Ward writes: "I came
across your article while Googling ‘Robert Mylne’, whose
biography I recently wrote. It was published in April 2007
and might interest your readers.
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