The E-Sylum v18#43 October 25, 2015
The E-Sylum
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Sun Oct 25 18:34:55 PDT 2015
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The E-Sylum
An electronic publication of
The Numismatic Bibliomania Society
Volume 18, Number 43, October 25, 2015
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WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM OCTOBER 25, 2015
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CHAPMAN BID BOOKS DIGITIZED BY NEWMAN PORTAL
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CENTRAL STATES ANNOUNCES 2015 AUTHOR GRANTS
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LAKE BOOKS 123RD SALE CLOSES OCTOBER 27, 2015
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SIATRAS INTERNATIONAL BOOKSHOP WEEKLY SALES
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JASON PHIPPS'S MEMORANDUM BOOK FOR BANK BILLS
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EASTMAN'S TREATISE ON COUNTERFEIT BANK NOTES
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MUSEUM OF AMERICAN FINANCE EXHIBIT: WORTH ITS WEIGHT
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AN UPDATE ON MING DYNASTY NOTES
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POGUE PART III COIN IMAGES AVAILABLE
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NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: OCTOBER 25, 2015
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SECOND THIAN MASTER CONFEDERATE CURRENCY ALBUM
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GREEN & RUSSELL, COLONIAL BOSTON MEDAL DEALERS
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FINKELSTEIN ON DR. DAVID RITTENHOUSE – PART 2
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THE AMAZING COLLECTION OF DEWITT S. SMITH
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PROFESSOR ANDRE’S ALPINE CHOIR TOKEN
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MORE REBUS PUZZLES
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HUTZLER'S STAMP AND COIN DEPARTMENT
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MORE ON PRESS RUNS OF NUMISMATIC LITERATURE
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MORE ON 'JEFFERSON DAVIS - HIS MARQUE'
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AN 1861 'CONFEDERATE STATES BULL RUN QUARTER'
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LOUIS GOLD ITEM IDENTIFIED AS A TOOL CHECK
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QUERY: H.R.C. CLOCK TOKEN INFORMATION SOUGHT
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REINVENTING THE LIBRARY
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NEWMAN FOUNDATION: REIMAGINING OLIN LIBRARY
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WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: OCTOBER 25, 2015
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MONUMENTS MEN RECEIVE CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL
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ROYAL CANADIAN MINT UNVEILS TWO NEW DESIGNS
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NEW INTERNATIONAL COIN SHOW PLANNED FOR CHICAGO
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BYZANTINE COIN FOUND IN CARTAGENA COUNTRYSIDE
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THE FIDEM 2007 CONGRESS MEDAL BY SARAH PETERS
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IRELAND'S MEDAL GIVEN TO EU MINISTERS
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RUSSIAN COIN ON U.N. CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION
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DNW OFFER RARE MALAYA AND BRITISH BORNEO BANKNOTES
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SWEDEN AND DENMARK ON PATH TO ELIMINATE CASH
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'BACK TO THE FUTURE' PREDICTIONS FOR 2045
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STATE QUARTERS TRAVEL PAST PLUTO
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MEXICAN INDEPENDENCE ROLEX INCORPORATES GOLD COIN
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FEATURED WEB PAGE: THE CANADIAN ENCYCLOPEDIA
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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 OCTOBER 25, 2015
New subscribers this week include:
Gerald Tebben and
Noah Reynolds.
Welcome aboard!
We now have 1,888 subscribers.
This week we open with news from the Newman Numismatic Portal (NNP), the Central States Numismatic Society (CSNS), and book dealers Fred Lake and Demetrius Siatras.
Other topics include Eastman's Treatise on Counterfeit, Altered and Spurious Bank Notes, Ming Dynasty notes, David Rittenhouse, Dewitt Smith, and the 2007 FIDEM Congress medal.
To learn more about Chapman Bid Books, Bela Lyon Pratt, a 1762 sale of medals in Boston, the 1849 Templeton Reid $25 gold piece, Hutzler's Stamp and Coin Department, the Confederate Bull Run quarter, the Wayback Machine, robots, and Prof. Andre’s Alpine Choir, read on. Have a great week, everyone!
Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum
CHAPMAN BID BOOKS DIGITIZED BY NEWMAN PORTAL
Len Augsburger submitted this announcement from the Newman Numismatic Portal.
-Editor
Newman Numismatic Portal Scans Chapman
Bid Books From the Dan Hamelberg Library
The auction catalogs of the brothers Chapman (Samuel H. and Henry), published in Philadelphia from 1879 - 1931, are among the most pursued by collectors of American numismatic literature. The Bushnell catalog (1882), in particular, was a shot across the bow, a large format emission with photographic plates that challenged the cataloging standards of the day. The competition could not remain silent, and Edouard Frossard offered a grudging review in his Numisma of May 1882. Frossard damned with faint praise, commenting “the carelessness in composition, indifferent grammar, and tautology, found in the former combined productions of Messrs. Chapman, have to a certain extent been avoided in this.” While Frossard could not deny the quality of material in the sale, he concluded his commentary with a final jab, noting “….collectors will always prefer a good coin ungrammatically described to a poor one enshrined in the flowery language of rhetoric.”
Critics aside, the Chapman’s made numismatic history, and today their catalogs are collected in all formats, with examples containing original plates being the most coveted. The catalogs in the series, 162 sales in all, exist in sufficient quantities that complete sets can be reasonably attempted. Certain of the plated catalogs are rare, but these can be substituted with lesser, unplated copies as collectors await their “white whale” on the auction or secondary market. While this is a justifiably popular endeavor, the bid book copies of the auction catalogs are decidedly more difficult.
The Chapman bid books were used by the Chapman’s to record the winning bid and name of the winning bidder for each lot. As such, each is unique, used during the sale to capture the necessary data for preparing invoices. A complete set of the Chapman bid books necessarily comprises exactly 162 examples, the majority of which today reside in the Dan Hamelberg collection. Hamelberg has generously loaned a group of these to the Newman Numismatic Portal for scanning, and this first group, all small format catalogs, is now online at
https://archive.org/details/newmannumismatic?and[]=chapman.
A total of 84 bid books are here, representing over half of all Chapman sales. An announcement regarding the large format bid books will be made in the future.
The Chapman bid books were first featured on the secondary market in 1970, in the Harmer, Rooke February auction of that year. This sale included 51 examples. Prices were shockingly low, ranging from two to 34 dollars. These bid books largely went to either Harry Bass (reappearing in the Harry W. Bass. Jr. Numismatic Library sales, parts I and IV, 1998-2000) or Armand Champa (Parts I and III, 1994-1995). By now results easily reached into four-figure territory.
A second large group, completely complementary to the Harmer, Rooke group appeared in the John J. Ford, Jr. Reference Library Part I sale in 2004. Ford’s library contained 38 bid books. Hamelberg aggressively pursued the bid books at the Champa, Bass, Ford, and Craig Smith (who had purchased out of Bass) sales. It is thought that not all of the bid books survive, although other groups may exist outside the Hamelberg library. The American Numismatic Society retains a small number.
Not all bid books are created equal, and those for more important sales are more highly prized. The crème de la crème are those containing original plates, and these appear to have been a matter of chance – if an extra plated copy was still on hand at the time of the sale, it might have been used. Of the nine small format plated bid books in the Hamelberg collection, all passed through the John Ford library, with none represented in the Harmer, Rooke 1970 sale.
Whether picked by Ford or a predecessor, these seem to have been set apart as more “special” from an early date. George Kolbe, numismatic bookseller, is of the opinion that Ford likely had access to all of the bid books at some time prior to the 1970 Harmer, Rooke sale and simply ignored those he felt unimportant. The fact that none of the Harmer, Rooke books appear in the Ford library seems to corroborate this.
Again, thanks to the generosity of Dan Hamelberg, longtime literature collector and ANS Trustee, a substantial quantity of the bid books are now freely accessible, via the Newman Numismatic Portal, to all collectors and scholars within reach of the Internet. These contain information found nowhere else, tracing the ownership of thousands of rare coins through the late 19th and early 20th century.
Here we see, for example, John Clapp collecting high-grade branch mint coinage before anyone else was interested (Wetmore sale, 1906,
https://archive.org/details/collectionofunit1906chap, lots 437, 438). In other places the Chapman’s record their administrative costs (Shorthouse sale, 1889,
https://archive.org/details/catalogueofveryf1889chap, inside back cover), a rare insight into the financial side of the auction business in the 19th century.
There are many more stories hidden inside these special books, and their general availability, for the first time, will be welcomed by the numismatic research community.
Wow! What a dream for numismatic researchers! Have a look through the collection, and let us know what you think.
-Editor
CENTRAL STATES ANNOUNCES 2015 AUTHOR GRANTS
Gerald Tebben forwarded this press release from the Central States Numismatic Society. Thanks!
-Editor
The Central States Numismatic Society has awarded $5,000 grants to five researchers to produce books and articles about numismatic subjects ranging from the national motto on coins to the signatures appearing on large-size national bank notes.
The Central States authors grant program, now in its fifth year, has awarded grants to 26 numismatic researchers. To date, the recipients have published 15 books, with several more in the pipeline.
Education Director Ray Lockwood said, “Awarding monies to numismatic authors benefits everyone in our great hobby. There never can be enough numismatic literature.”
This year’s recipients are:
WILLIAM BIERLY for The Origin of the Motto: In God We Trust
Bierly, whose exhibits on the evolution of the national motto have placed highly at American Numismatic Association and Central States Numismatic Society conventions, is taking his research a step further with the planned publication of a book on the subject.
Bierly plans to use the grant to cover research and travel costs during the next year.
In his application, he wrote, “The purpose of the book I am proposing is to illuminate the origins of the motto ‘In God We Trust’ on U.S. coins and currency. I recall reading a quote some years ago from David Bowers to the effect that history and coin collecting often don’t intersect. He cited a conversation with a history professor, an expert of the Civil War, who had never heard of Civil War tokens, a popular collectible series among numismatists. In a way the professor was missing an element of what everyday life was like during the war as people struggled with making small change. It also reflected the larger issues of how the war was being financed and the longer term impacts on coinage and currency in the U.S. This story of the motto provides a perfect example of that intersection between history and numismatics as both the study of the coins and of the documentary history surrounding them are necessary for a fuller understanding of the story.”
The book, he said, will not end with the 1864 placement of the motto on coins. “Finally,” he wrote in his application, “ there will be a chapter dealing with how the motto has fared since the Civil War and how it continues to be the focus of controversy and strong opinions pro and con. “
KEVIN FLYNN for The Authoritative Reference on Liberty Seated Quarters and Authentication of Rare Dates and Die Varieties
Flynn, who has written 49 books on a wide variety of numismatic subjects, plans to use his grant to cover photography and printing expenses for two books covering Seated Liberty quarter dollars and rare dates and varieties of several series.
In his application, he wrote, “I have already completed authoritative type books on the Liberty Seated half-dimes, twenty cent pieces, and dollars. The Authoritative Reference on Liberty Seated Quarters is the next book in the series and will present a complete analysis of the history, individuals who were involved in the creation or changes to this series, all design changes, all die varieties including multiple micro photographs and a detailed description of the variety and all diagnostics, archive letters, and a thorough examination of all hot topics for this series.
He wrote, the objective of the rare date and variety book “is to present the top coins and die varieties, such as the 1916-D Mercury dime or 1918/7-S Standing Liberty quarter and to present close up photographs of diagnostics and design elements such as the date and mint mark, to assist in identification and verifying that it your coin is not a counterfeit.”
PETER HUNTOON for articles on Treasury signatures on large size national bank notes
Huntoon, a noted writer, researcher and speaker on national bank notes, plans to use his grant to cover travel expenses while he researches signature combinations on national bank notes.
In his application, he said, “Treasury signature combination collecting faded in popularity after John Hickman diverted collector attention to collecting by location beginning in the mid-1960s. Town, county and state collectors could have cared less about the signatures on their notes, so auction cataloguers and dealers stopped paying much attention to them. That attitude is passing. The entry price for admission to serious location collecting has shut out newbies, so some of them - and some frustrated seasoned location collectors - are giving Treasury signature collecting a rebirth.”
He wrote, “The numismatic community has determined qualitatively which Treasury signatures are scarce in the various series based on a feel for how frequently they have gone by. There is no publication that: (1) explains why given signatures are rare on the various series or (2) provides a list of the rare ones by bank, series, sheet combination and serial number range.
“The reason for this is that: (1) the job of figuring out which combinations were issued in which series is tricky and (2) screening out exactly which ones carry the rare signatures is daunting because one has to sift through 52,000 proofs in the National Numismatic Collection and perform very sophisticated analyses on the National Currency receipts ledgers in the National Archives to get the answers.
“It is my opinion that collectors should be armed with definitive information on exactly why certain signatures are rare in general and others are rare only on selected types. Every possible signature combination on every type should be determined. Then I believe collectors should have a definitive list of exactly which banks issued the rarities along with the sheet combinations and serial numbers.”
Huntoon plans to publish his findings as a series of articles in Paper Money, the publication of the Society of Paper Money Collectors.
ALLAN SCHEIN for The $2.50 and $5.00 Gold Indians of Bela Lyon Pratt.
Schein, author of the recently released Mexican Beauty - Belleza Mexicana, Un peso Caballito, said the grant will be used to help pay for printing the book about Bela Lyon Pratt’s incuse $2.50 and $5 Indian head gold coins, minted from 1908 to 1929.
He said, “This book is already a work in progress. The granddaughter of Bela Lyon Pratt has been gracious in allowing me extensive use of archived family documents, including more than 1,000 personal letters and numerous photographs heretofore unpublished in numismatic works. Sadly, Cynthia Kennedy Sam passed away June 8th, 2015, but was happy I was writing this book and the way I was doing it; with significant emphasis on her grandfather. In part, this book is a testament to her extensive work as the Pratt family historian, as without her years of dedication to preserve Bela's legacy, this book and the story of a great and prolific talent would be incomplete.”
He anticipates completing the book next spring.
GERALD TEBBEN and JOHN ROBERTS for Columbus, Ohio, Civil War Tokens.
The book by Tebben, numismatic writer and editor; and Roberts, coin author and VAM expert, builds on Tebben’s 1998 monograph on the merchants who issued tokens in Columbus during the Civil War. The book will be illustrated with photographs from Roberts’ of every known die marriage as well as off-metal tokens.
The book, which is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2016, expands beyond the city’s nine Civil War token issuers to include sections on Merchants Exchange, a post-war issuer of tokens that was mistakenly included in the first edition of George and Marvin Fuld’s U.S. Civil War Store Cards; sutler tokens issued for Camp Chase, a massive Confederate Prisoner of War camp on the city’s west side; and scrip issued in the names of the token issuers.
While Columbus is well north of the Mason-Dixon line, the city was home to many Confederate sympathizers, a circumstance that sometimes complicated the lives of some of the city’s token issuers.
Lockwood noted, “Central States prides itself on its many education programs and the collectors, clubs and dealers that benefit from our efforts.” In addition to the authors grant program, Central States provides member clubs with grants to purchase numismatic books for schools and libraries and helps fund speaker fees.
The above image is of John Roberts.
Congratulations to the authors and many thanks to CSNS for this important program in support of numismatic research and publishing.
-Editor
For more information on the Central States Numismatic Society, see:
www.centralstates.info
Archives International Auctions, Part XXIX
U.S. & Worldwide Banknotes, Scripophily, Coins,
Historic Artifacts & Ephemera, Artwork, Autographs
and Security Printing Ephemera
October 24th & 29th, 2015
Click the links!
Highlights include:
Lot 26: Thomas Spencer - Honolulu - Sandwich Islands 1858
Lot 320: Accelerating Steam Navigation Co. 1841 Ten shares
Lot 363: Confederate States Bond. $10,000. Cr.146, B-339.
Lot 413: First Liberty Loan Converted 4 _% Gold Bond of 1932-1947
Lot 607: Fijian Government Debenture, 1872 Issue
Lot 715: Bono De Caja, El Banco Comercial Refaccionario De Chihuahua
Lot 738: Banco Nacional Del Peru, 1877 Provisional Issue Specimen
Lot 809: Bank of Zambia, ND (1964) Specimen Banknote.
Lot 948: British American Bank Note Company Engravers & Printers Proof
Lot 960: Draper, Underwood, Bald & Spencer, ND, ca.1820's Sample Sheet.
Lot 1000: Colonial Pennsylvania, 15 Shillings 5.20.1758.
Lot 1056: Cherokee Insurance & Banking Co. 2 Dollars. 1862.
Lot 1139: Bank of America, 1879 Specimen $10,000 Clearing House Certificate.
Lot 1148: Manufacturers Bank, 184x Proof Banknote on a Proof Vignette Sheet
Lot 1229: Confederate States. 5 Dollars. 1861.
Lot 1280: Legal Tender Note. 1863 Series. 5 Dollars.
Lot 1298: Hackettstown National Bank of NJ., Second Charter $10.00
Live Internet Bidding
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