The E-Sylum v19#11 March 13, 2016
The E-Sylum
esylum at binhost.com
Sun Mar 13 19:10:32 PDT 2016
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The E-Sylum
An electronic publication of
The Numismatic Bibliomania Society
Volume 19, Number 11, March 13, 2016
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WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM MARCH 13, 2016</A><#a01>
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CNG E-AUCTION #371 FEATURES NUMISMATIC LITERATURE<#a02>
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NEW BOOK: COIN COLLECTING ALBUMS, VOLUME TWO
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BOOK REVIEW: GOLD DUCATS OF THE NETHERLANDS, VOL. 1
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NEWMAN NUMISMATIC PORTAL DIGITIZES THE CENTINEL<#a05>
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COIN WORLD: NEWMAN PORTAL WILL BE COLLECTOR'S FAVORITE<#a06>
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WHO ISSUED THE FIRST CIVIL WAR TOKEN?
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SCRIP COLLECTORS SHOW IN BECKLEY, WV APRIL 29-30, 2016<#a08>
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NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: MARCH 6, 2016<#a09>
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BOOKS FOR COLLECTORS OF U.S. COLONIAL COINAGE<#a10>
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FRANK J. KATEN, (1903-2001)
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LETTER ORDERS 1873 SILVER COIN DIES WITH ARROWS<#a12>
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FRANKLIN'S PEALE'S EUROPEAN TRIP EXPENSES
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LOU GEHRIG BASEBALL HALL OF FAME PLAQUE<#a14>
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THE HALF-DOLLAR’S ACCIDENTAL DEMISE
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WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: MARCH 13, 2016<#a16>
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SELECTIONS FROM STACK'S BOWERS MARCH 2016 RARITIES SALE <#a17>
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FAKE PROOF 2015-W AMERICAN EAGLES SURFACE
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FINDING BAR KOKHBA COINS IN KENTUCKY (OR NOT)
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ALABAMA BRINK'S WORKER STEALS $200,000 IN QUARTERS
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THE HISTORY OF THE NLG'S CLEMMY AWARD
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YOUTH GROUP VISITS BRITISH MUSEUM NUMISMATICS SECTION
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IKEA’S UBIQUITOUS BILLY BOOKCASE DESIGNER DIES
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THE WORLD'S MOST BEAUTIFUL BANKNOTES
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FEATURED WEB SITE: RENAISSANCE OF THE CAST MEDAL
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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 MARCH 13, 2016
New subscribers this week include:
Douglas Adams.
Welcome aboard! We now have 1,956 subscribers.
I endured a hard drive crash earlier this week but managed
to get back on my feet quickly and complete this issue.
However, some emails may have been lost. If you've been in touch
with me lately and haven't gotten a reply, please resend your note.
This week we open with a numismatic literature sale from CNG, one
new book and one review, followed by the latest report on additions
to the Newman Numismatic Portal.
Other topics this week include the first Civil War token, coal
scrip, literature dealer Frank Katen, an important 1873 letter from
the Director of the Mint, the demise of the U.S. Half Dollar, fake
proof 2015 American Eagles, the NLG Clemmy award and the world's
most beautiful banknotes.
To learn more about the Library of Coins and Treasury of Coins, gold
ducats of the Netherlands, Cincinnati die sinker John Stanton,
Johann David Schöpf’s Travels, Katen's Koin Kapers, Lou
Gehrig's Baseball Hall of Fame plaque, medals by Kauko Räsänen and
Sven Havsteen-Mikkelse and Bar Kokhba coins found in Kentucky, read
on. Have a great week, everyone!
Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum
CNG E-AUCTION #371 FEATURES NUMISMATIC LITERATURE
Kerry Wettrstrom forwarded the following press
release from CNG about their online sale of numismatic literature.
Thanks!
-Editor
Classical Numismatic Group of Lancaster, Pennsylvania and
London, England is proud to present Electronic Auction 371, a
special e-sale featuring
a broad selection of 1387 book and antiquity lots, opening on 9
March 2016 and
closing on 23 March 2016. A vast array of numismatic books and
catalogs will be
presented from the libraries of Dr. Lawrence A. Adams, J. S. Wagner,
J. Eric
Engstrom, Dr. Will Gordon, as well as selections from the library of
an American
ancient coin dealer, and auction catalog and fixed price list
duplicates from the
American Numismatic Society.
CNG E-Sale 371 contains 994 lots representing approximately 2500
books and
auction catalogs, with the primary focus being on ancient, medieval,
and world
numismatic literature. Titles range from antiquarian to the latest
editions of
numismatic scholarship.
The American Numismatic Society’s Harry Bass Jr. Library holdings
include an
almost complete collection of historic auction catalogues. Over the
last few years, the
ANS has continued to catalogue all of its holdings in the John Adams
Rare Book
Room, including many duplicate copies of older pre-1945 catalogues.
Over the next
couple of years, the Society plans to sell its duplicates of
hundreds of rare auction
catalogues and other duplicate numismatic literature. Curatorial
staff used many of the
duplicate copies while they were employed at the Society. It is also
likely that the
ANS Library received gifts from prominent German dealers, as many of
the copies are
fully annotated with prices. Such auction catalogues are essential
for any serious
research library, as they allow detailed investigations into the
provenance and prices
of coins. The Society’s first offering of historic auction
catalogues will be in CNG E-
Sale 371. All proceeds from this sale will benefit the Society's
library acquisition
To view the entire offering of numismatic literature in CNG E-Sale
371, please visit
the firm’s website at:
http://cngcoins.com/Coins.aspx?CONTAINER_TYPE_ID=2&VIEW_TYPE=0
Also, a downloadable PDF for the numismatic literature listings is
available at:
http://cngcoins.com/Coins.aspx?CATEGORY_ID=5264&VIEW_TYPE=0
In addition to the comprehensive offering of numismatic literature,
CNG E-Sale 371
also features an outstanding selection of antiquities from the
collections of J. S.
Wagner, David Hendin, Joan Wilde, Dr. Steven Gerson, Frank Kovacs,
and Dr. Carl
Devries, a noted Egyptologist associated with the Oriental Institute
of the University
For further details and any additional information, please contact
CNG, Inc. at:
Classical Numismatic Group, Inc.
Lancaster, PA 17608-0479
Telephone: (717) 390-9194
Email: cng at cngcoins.com
NEW BOOK: COIN COLLECTING ALBUMS, VOLUME TWO
Author Dave Lange forwarded this press release about his newest book
on coin collecting albums. Thanks!
-Editor
Pre-Publication Offer on Library of Coins Book
Numismatic researcher and author David W. Lange has written a new
book that is being published by
his own imprint, PennyBoard Press.™ Listed at $49.95, this deluxe,
hardcover, 144-page book is being
offered at the pre-publication price of $45 until May 1, the
expected date of delivery. Shipping is $10 for
priority mail within a sturdy box.
Titled Coin Collecting Albums – A Complete History & Catalog:
Volume Two, Library of Coins and
Treasury of Coins, this book reveals the story behind perhaps
the most popular line of coin albums ever
produced. Issued from 1959 to 1971, the Library of Coins albums were
notable for their extensive list of
titles that included all United States coin series by date, mint and
varieties, with the exception of gold
coins. A complete roster of albums for Canada’s decimal coinage was
also offered. No other albums were
so thorough in their coverage, and they were the brand of choice for
all advanced coin collectors. The
brainchild of famed numismatist and dealer Robert Friedberg, these
albums were sold primarily through
his chain of coin hobby counters that were operated in dozens of
department stores around the country
from the 1940s until as recently as the 1990s.
Also detailed in this book is the lesser known line of junior coin
albums for beginners that Friedberg
marketed as the Treasury of Coins. Though never as popular as the
LOC, the TOC albums have emerged
as rarities today and are eminently collectable. Indeed, all of the
coin albums produced by Friedberg’s
publishing division, The Coin and Currency Institute, remain
desirable today. The LOC albums are still
sought by veteran collectors for the display of their coins, as no
comparable albums are currently in
production, while the TOC albums are desired as collectors’ items in
their own right by enthusiasts such
as the author of this book.
All titles, editions and varieties of each album are fully described
and numbered in this book, which
includes a 64-page color section illustrating all the products put
out by The Coin and Currency Institute. It
is a deluxe, hardcover reference similar in quality to Lange’s
acclaimed Volume One, which studied the
National Coin Album and all of its associated products.
David W. Lange’s new book features much more than simply a catalog
of coin albums. Also found
within its covers is a biography of Robert Friedberg and his family,
as well as histories of his two
businesses, Capitol Coin Company and the aforementioned Coin and
Currency Institute. The latter still
operates under the presidency of Robert’s elder son, Arthur
Friedberg, and it’s known for several
landmark books that remain in print to this day.
In celebration of his new book, Lange is offering reduced prices for
the two previous titles published
by his own PennyBoard Press.™ Coin Collecting Albums – A Complete
History & Catalog: Volume One,
The National Coin Album & Related Products of Beistle, Raymond &
Meghrig, published at $75, is now
just $49.95. Like the new volume, this nearly 300-page book is a
deluxe, hardcover publication that is
fully illustrated, including 80 pages in color. Coin Collecting
Boards of the 1930s & 1940s: A Complete
History, Catalog and Value Guide, published at $39.95, is now
being offered at just $19.95.
A collector of coin boards and albums for 35 years, David W. Lange
is best known as Research
Director for Numismatic Guaranty Corporation in Sarasota, Florida,
as well as the author of six popular
books on United States coinage and U. S. Mint history. His column,
“USA Coin Album,” appears
monthly in The Numismatist, the official magazine of the
American Numismatic Association.
All books purchased from David W. Lange will be signed, and
personalized inscriptions are available
upon request. Payment may be made by check made out to David W.
Lange or via PayPal to
langedw at msn.com.
David W. Lange may be contacted at POB 110022, Lakewood Ranch, FL
34211 or by email at
langedw at msn.com His website address is
www.coincollectingboards.
com, and from this site he also
buys and sells vintage coin boards and folders. A new website for
his publishing imprint,
www.pennyboardpress.com, is currently under preparation.
BOOK REVIEW: GOLD DUCATS OF THE NETHERLANDS, VOL. 1
Mike Marotta submitted this rev1ew of the new book by Dariusz F.
Jasek on the gold ducats of the Netherlands (Volume 1). Thanks!
-Editor
Book Review by Michael E. Marotta
Gold Ducats of the Netherlands, Vol. 1 by Dariusz F. Jasek,
Knight Press, 2015. 345 pages, A4
(11.7 x 8.3 inches) €135 from www.goldducats.com.
I saw Gold Ducats of the Netherlands by Dariusz F. Jasek
mentioned on the CoinTalk.com
discussion board. From the sample material provided in the links,
the book looked like a quality
presentation. So, I bought the book in order to review it. I do not
collect the series.
In the first place, when opened, the book lays flat. The binding is
truly perfect –bound to the
highest standards. The illustrations include high quality
photographs of every coin (where
possible), as well as specially commissioned line art to complement
the narrative.
Perhaps the most telling hallmark is the fact that this is the book
that the author wrote for
himself. Fascinated by the long series of gold ducats of the
Netherlands, Dariusz Jasek compiled
a database of known images and descriptions. He arranged for
permission for 3,000 images and
supporting text from CoinArchives.com, and he obtained license to
another 3,000 from the official
database of the recently uncovered Koice Gold Treasure housed in
Krakóv, Poland. To those he
added 17,000 from auction houses and other sources. This book rests
on a monumental
database of over 23,000 known examples. The author brings passion
and precision to this
remarkable series of coins.
This is far more than a catalog. The actual listing of coins, by
mint, denomination, and year,
takes up the last 240 pages. The first quarter of the book, 90
pages, is about the history,
purchasing power, and minting technology of the coins.
I spent a weekend reading the text, and catching typographical
errors. They are inevitable. In
software, we say that every non-trivial program has at least one
bug. So, museum’s for museums
was not the end of the world.
Like every cultural artifact, money exists in a social context. The
author places this important
series of gold coins in its historical milieu, tied closely –
intimately – with the Dutch East India
Company: Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, commonly initialized
as VOC. This was the
first joint-stock corporation, and (perhaps arguably) the first
multinational corporation. Even
after it was closed by law in 1799, the coins that were so closely
associated with it continued – as
well they should, as they began a century before the VOC was
chartered. The VOC was beset by
many problems, internal perhaps more than external. It was a wry
comment that VOC was
parodied as “perished by corruption”: Vergaan Onder Corruptie.
Whatever corruption touched the Dutch East India Company, since
1586, the ducats were kept
consistent in weight and fineness - 3.515 grams and 0.986 fine. Both
were lowered slightly in
1817 (3.454 grams and 0.983 fine), but those metrics have not
changed in 200 years.
The Netherlands gold ducat was an imitation – a sibling, not a
usurper – of the ducats of Venice
and Florence. The closest cousin was the gold ducat of Hungary. The
coin was struck for official
and commemorative agendas from the 16th through the 21st centuries.
Those and others are all
illustrated and catalogued in this book. At root, while
acknowledging the broad latitudes of
issuance, this book is about the historically relevant coins of the
16th, 17th and 18th centuries,
including piedforts and klippes. In addition to this book, the
author includes a 50-page booklet
(5-1/2 x 8-1/2), Estimated Values and Die Marriages. The values are
recent updates to the
figures published in the catalog. Those are all supported by
citations to recent auctions.
This is the first volume of a multi-volume set. The next book is in
production now.
To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NEW BOOK: GOLD DUCATS OF THE NETHERLANDS
(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v18n41a04.html)
NEWMAN NUMISMATIC PORTAL DIGITIZES THE CENTINEL
The latest addition to the Newman Numismatic Portal is The
Centinel from the
Central States Numismatic Society.
Project Coordinator Len Augsburger provided the following report.
Thanks!
-Editor
The journal of the Central States Numismatic Society (CSNS), The
Centinel has been
continually published since 1953 and is currently under the capable
editorship of
Gerald Tebben. CSNS Treasurer Jack Huggins recently delivered the
back issues of
this journal to the Newman Portal scanning center in St. Louis, and
this periodical,
through the year 2013, is now available on the Newman Portal. The
Centinel represents
an extensive archive, with over 200 individual issues and 10,000
pages in total.
Scanning began on February 17 and concluded on March 4. Regional
publications often
feature significant numismatic content but are little known outside
their geographical area.
A quick browse in The Centinel, for example, reveals an important
article in the Winter 1995
issue (vol. 43, no. 4), by Robert Vassell, discussing the formation
and disposition of the
Byron Reed collection in Omaha, NE. No doubt there are hundreds of
similar tidbits in this
longstanding publication.
The Newman Portal acknowledges Bruce Perdue (CSNS President) and
Jack Huggins
(CSNS Treasurer) for their assistance with this project.
To read the complete article, see:
http://www.newmanportal.org/library/publisherdetail/511275
To read the Robert Vassell article on the Byron Reed collection,
see:
www.archive.org/stream/centinel43n4cent#page/14/mode/2up
COIN WORLD: NEWMAN PORTAL WILL BE COLLECTOR'S FAVORITE
Coin World Managing Editor Bill Gibbs published a great
editorial
headlined, "Newman Numismatic Portal will be
a collector’s new online favorite". With permission, here it is.
-Editor
There has never been a better time to be a
numismatic researcher, thanks to the growing
presence of classic numismatic literature made
available online.
As senior editor Paul Gilkes reports on page
4 this week, the Newman Numismatic Portal is
now open to the public, with a growing number
of classic books, auction catalogs, government
reports and more now accessible online at no
cost. The concept is being “funded by the Eric
P. Newman Numismatic Education Society and
administered through Washington University
in St. Louis. The focus of the portal is to provide
the most comprehensive numismatic research
tool available online,” Paul reports.
If you didn’t know Eric Newman, father of
the project, you might think that a 104-yearold
man would be the last person who would
champion an Internet resource. We all have
older relatives (like my own mother) who have
never gone online or used a computer, so it
wouldn’t be a surprise that a man born before
the opening of World War I might not embrace
the digital age. But Eric Newman has, and we all
benefit.
The Newman Numismatic Portal is one of
the most significant contributions to the hobby
in years and has the potential to be one of the
most important tools any numismatists could
access. It will offer casual collectors, advanced
researchers, and historians from outside the
numismatic community an immense treasure
trove of research materials. Here is a list of titles
already available to read (for free): A Manual
of Gold and Silver Coins of all Nations by Jacob
Reese Eckfeldt; Illustrated History of the United
States Mint by George Greenlief Evans; Dates of
United States Coins and their Degree of Rarity by
Joseph Jacob Mickley; Guide to the numismatic
collection of the Mint of the United States at
Philadelphia, Pa. by Thomas Louis Comparette;
and Rare American coins: their description, and
past and present fictitious values by E. Locke
Mason.
I think it is safe to say that most numismatists
love books and auction catalogs and original
manuscripts, but until now, access to major
works was often limited. That’s no longer true.
The Newman Numismatic Portal is
continually adding content, including auction
catalogs, other 19th and 20th century books
and much more. Every collector should
bookmark the page in his or her online
browser (right next to your bookmark for www.
coinworld.com) and make it a regular stop
during your day’s online reading experience
To read the complete Paul Gilkes article, see:
Newman Numismatic Portal now open to public to conduct research
(www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/2016/03/newman-numismatic-portal-
for-research-goes-public.html)
To visit the Newman Numismatic Portal, see:
www.newmanportal.org
WHO ISSUED THE FIRST CIVIL WAR TOKEN?
Scott Hopkins' latest blog post makes a good point for
numismatic researchers and authors. It's a basic one - double check
your sources and don't believe everything you read.
-Editor
In the fall of 2015 I sought to write an article for The Civil War
Token Journal (which was published in our Winter 2015 edition)
dismantling the misunderstanding that H.A. Ratterman was the first
issuer of Civil War token store cards. It bothered me to no end that
the internet seemed to copy and paste exactly what Wikipedia had on
the topic. I saw on site after site, some seemingly authoritative,
others simply glorified advertising and internet marketing sites,
the Wikipedia entry verbatim.
The entry is as follows: “The first of these privately minted tokens
[referring to Civil War token store cards] appeared in the autumn of
1862, by H. A. Ratterman, in Cincinnati, Ohio.”
This lead me to two logical conclusions. The first is that I need to
be more active as an editor on Wikipedia to correct information that
is either outdated or largely misunderstood. The second is that
numismatists are still valuable resources in the wild west of
interpreting our collective history.
For some background, the statement that is copied verbatim is from a
real source. It comes from an interview in 1910 in The Numismatist
with Ratterman himself, conducted by Waldo C Moore. I ask you to
refer to my article in the Winter 2015 journal for a look at the
entrepreneurial and ambitiously self-righteous attitude of H.A.
Ratterman.
He was a numismatist and in addition to being a jack-of-all-trades
renaissance man. He clearly made the statement that he conceived the
idea for store cards in order to add to his already historic place
in German-American, Cincinnati, architectural, literary, antiquities
appreciation, and numismatic culture.
In the interview, he reasoned he came up with the idea for producing
them. At the time of the interview, no one was taking responsibility
for their issue, but clues were emerging from Cincinnati due to the
sheer quantity and variety coming out of the Queen City.
Numerous numismatists (Bowers, Jaeger, Ostendorf) firmly agree on
Cincinnati die sinkers being one of the earliest to implement the
store card trend successfully, but not the first to produce them.
The evidence they cite seems to suggest Chicago and Indiana die
sinkers for local merchants.
The greatest evidence against Ratterman comes from prominent
Cincinnati die sinker John Stanton, famous for his Wealth of the
South tokens, writing at the age of 82, that he did not conceive the
idea for store card production until he saw them in circulation in
Indiana; “very early in the War of Rebellion.” Even if we consider
the date of the above source, April 1862, we know there were issues
prior to that.
This makes for a classic example for young researchers and budding
historians: just because it is in the history from a primary source
does not mean that it should be automatically plugged into research,
and like in this case, the source actually inaccurate. The result
leads to dozens of websites and other published media inaccurately
feeding information to the public.
To read the complete article, see:
Who Issued the First Civil War token? Dismantling the Copy and Paste
Research Culture
(http://scottmhopkins.com/who-issued-the-first-civil-war-token-
dismantling-the-copy-and-paste-research-culture/)
SCRIP COLLECTORS SHOW IN BECKLEY, WV APRIL 29-30, 2016
Eric Schena passed along this information about next month's show
sponsored by the
National Scrip Collectors Association (NSCA). Thanks!
-Editor
The National Scrip Collectors Association (NSCA) will hold their
semi-annual Spring Show
in the heart of coal country in Beckley on Friday and Saturday,
April 29 & 30, 2016 in the Appalachian
Room at the Country Inn & Suites. The Spring Show draws scrip
collectors and dealers from all around
the United States to discuss and share knowledge of all aspects of
scrip collecting, from new finds, to
historical insights, and first person accounts from coal miners and
family members.
Tables will be set up
where scrip can be bought, sold and traded. Collectors can also take
the opportunity to experience some
of what life was like in the coal fields at the Beckley Exhibition
Coal Mine. The meeting room is reserved
from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM on both Friday and Saturday. A special room
rate of $89 has been graciously
offered to NSCA members by the hotel. The Country Inn & Suites by
Carlson is located at 2120 Harper
Road, Beckley WV, 25801 and may be reached by phone at 304-252-5100.
ABOUT SCRIP – Scrip, whether paper or metal, was, in
general, a form of credit extended by an
employer against the employees future earnings (not unlike a debit
card), a form of currency intended
for redemption only in the employer's company store, or commissary,
for the purchase of food, clothing,
tools and equipment, basically everything needed for daily life in
the remote coal or lumber camps of
the day. Various forms of scrip were used by virtually every
industry in the nation over a broad period of
America's industrial history, but played an especially lengthy and
important role in the coal and lumber
ABOUT THE NSCA – The National Scrip Collectors
Association was officially organized as a charitable and
educational non-profit corporation on October 21, 1972 at
Fayetteville, West Virginia. The NSCA’s
objectives are to promote the collection of coal company store scrip
(metal or paper) and related
tokens; to cultivate the good relations between collectors of scrip
tokens; and to encourage the study
and research of the history of coal mining companies and company
stores as it relates to the people of
mining communities in the Scrip era.
Through its publishing efforts, the NSCA has been on the forefront
of cataloging and recording the
history of the scrip used by the coal companies and company stores
throughout most of the late
nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Coal mining has played a
critical role in the industrial growth of the
United States and these relics used by the coal miners provide a
tangible link to their dedication as well
as mute testimony to this often still dangerous line of work. The
Edkins Catalog of United States Coal
Company Store Scrip, published by the NSCA in four editions over the
past half century has proven to be
the benchmark work on the subject and lists almost 20,000 different
pieces from all the coal-producing
states, a number that grows each year. The Edkins catalog is the
product of many years of devoted
collectors and coal mining enthusiasts dedicated to preserving this
aspect of American history.
For information on the NSCA, the history of coal scrip, and
membership, please visit us at
http://nationalscripcollectors.org
Eric also provided these examples of coal scrip tokens. Thanks!
-Editor
THE BOOK BAZARRE
Looking for a great gift for a fellow coin collector? Consider a $50
coin supplies gift card. Click here to
learn more.
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: MARCH 6, 2016
Can Banknotes Be Counterfeited With 3D Printing?
Former American Numismatic Association Executive Director and former
Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing Bob Leuver
writes:
I read the starling short disquisition on 3-D printing of coins. I
re-read it several times. Then, I thought a bit. 3-D printing of
plastic currency....
Plastic currency, I believe, is a production that uses layers and
binds these layers together. If so, am I reaching too far to assume
that plastic currency can be counterfeited by 3-D printing?
I recall a reply by an E-Sylum reader in the Far East, who
stated that the
Chinese were counterfeiting plastic currency. After that I
asserted it would be difficult to counterfeit such currency.
Now, 3-D printing!
It's hard to imagine 3-D printing scaling up to large volumes, but
it does open up a number of possibilities.
It will be interesting to see where this leads.
-Editor
To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
3D PRINTING IMPOSSIBLY HIGH RELIEF PRECIOUS METAL COINS
(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v19n10a22.html)
More on the "UFO" Jeton
Bill Hyder writes:
My UFO Jeton {Feuradent 420) was issued in 1656 to the Army
Accountants (ORDINAIRE DES GVERRES) and the shield side legend,
OPPORTVNVS ADEST (Opportune Appearance), clearly indicates the
shield protecting the French countryside in my opinion since the
accountants were responsible for raising the funds to pay for the
army. Another rare jeton (which alas I do not own) shows one of
these shileds leaning against a wall along with other weapons. Yes,
it is a shield, but it is fun to say you own proof of ancient UFOs!
Thanks! This is an interesting topic.
-Editor
To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
"UFO" JETON RESURFACES IN POPULAR MEDIA
(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v19n10a19.html)
BOOKS FOR COLLECTORS OF U.S. COLONIAL COINAGE
In his March 11, 2016 Coin World column, John Kraljevich
discusses
bibliographies as a reference guide for the collector of U.S.
colonial coinage.
-Editor
Johann David Schöpf’s Travels in the Confederation
has the first reference to John Chalmers’ Annapolis mint.
A Colonial coin collector’s library is never complete. Once standard
references are acquired
and all the auction catalogs for famous collections are safely in
hand, curious specialists
can expand their libraries in every possible direction: forward,
backward, and outward.
Forward: There is no time like the present. The last year has
seen two new works published
by the Colonial Coin Collectors Club.
Chris McDowell’s biography on Abel Buell has placed one of the
artisan geniuses of the
Confederation and early Federal period in an all-encompassing
context. Syd Martin’s new
book on French colonial copper coinage shines a spotlight on one of
the corners of Colonial
numismatics that has been dark for too long.
The Internet, including archival sites like Google Books and the
Newman Numismatic Portal,
keeps making research easier than it’s ever been, enabling
prospective authors to gather
data and refine their arguments in months.
While there is no substitute for dusty libraries, shoe leather, and
looking at thousands
of coins, look for the Information Superhighway to keep making it
easier to stock your
shelves with new print works every year.
Backward: Most collectors would agree that the modern era of
research on Colonial coins
started when Sylvester Crosby published The Early Coins of America
in 1875.
Some books are vital to understanding the coins and why they
circulated in America,
like Jonathan Swift’s Drapier’s Letters, which described the
creation and rejection
of William Wood’s halfpence. Early travelogues are important
sources, like Johann
David Schöpf’s Travels in the Confederation, which provides the
first reference
to John Chalmers’ Annapolis mint.
Magazines and newspapers in both Europe and America include
descriptions or even
illustrations of coins while they still circulated.
In the 1850s, as coin collecting was blossoming in America, Colonial
coins became
a topic of interest, and periodicals like Historical Magazine
offered space to
collectors like Jeremiah Colburn and Augustus Sage to share what
they had learned.
Outward: For as broad as the field of numismatic literature
is, it is ever expanding.
Push beyond the confines of books written about coins by coin
people, and you’ll find
archaeologists recording coins they’ve dug, economists discussing
the circulation of
foreign coins or the prominence of paper money, and famous
biographers hanging flesh
on the founders without whom these coins wouldn’t exist.
To read the complete article, see:
Seeking completion to one's numismatic library: Colonial America
(www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/2016/03/let-bibliographies-be-
your-guide-kraljevich.html)
FRANK J. KATEN, (1903-2001)
John Lupia submitted the following information from his
Encyclopedic Dictionary of Numismatic Biographies for this
week's installment of his series. Thanks! As always, this is an
excerpt with the full article and bibliography available online.
This week's subject is
well known many numismatic bibliophiles - literature dealer Frank J.
Katen. The biography was compiled with the assistance of Frank's
granddaughter Kay.
-Editor
Francis “Frank” Joseph Katen, (1903-2001), his real name is
Francesco Giuseppe Cincinnati Catanzariti. He was born on January
21, 1903, the son of Rocco Antonio Catanzariti (1870-1917) and
Ataliana Labianca (1883-1976) in Plati, Catanzaro, Calabria, Italy.
However, several birth records report him born in New York.
Sometime between 1915 and 1925, when Italians were treated very
unfair and biased especially during the case of Sacco and Vanzetti
he changed his name to Katen.
He began dealing coins five years after the death of [his first
wife] Ruby in 1938 through his novelties company.
He joined the ANA in 1942 and in February was given ANA Member No.
8920. He had married Frances M. Katen (1911-) about this time. His
mailing address at that time was 18 Pearl Hill, Milford,
Connecticut.
In January 1945 he opened a shop at 486 State Street, New Haven,
Connecticut. He ran a full page advertisement for his coin shop
selling German Notgeld in January issue of The Numismatist,
page 68.
In April 1945 he named the shop Milford Coin & Stamp Co. 487 State
Street, New Haven, Connecticut, which he ran under that name until
sometime between 1964 and 1966.
He was one of the founders of the American Coin Dealer's
Association.
In March, 1950, he was brought up on charges of reporting
irregularities in ANA elections from 1948 to 1949. He was expelled
from the ANA in August 1950, still trading as Milford Coin & Stamp
Co. From this controversy he began publishing a series of articles
in his coin auction catalogues titled: Koin Kapers. The
series was reprinted into a single pamphlet titled: Let There Be
Light.
During the summer of 1951 ... he moved to Europe with his second
wife Frances M. Katen for a little over a year returning about
October 1952. He opened a coin, numismatic literature shop, and mail
order business at 1726 Upsher Street, NW, Washington, D. C.,
running his first ad in the November 1952, Numismatic
Scrapbook.
He then married divorcee Laurese Byrd Boone Pusey (1917-2014). She
was a dog breeder raising Schnauzers.
During that period Frank and his wife Laurese worked side by side in
the coin shop. They began to focus on the use and sale of numismatic
literature.
>From 1966 to 1997 the coin auction sales no longer were part of the
Milford Coin and Stamp Company but became the new business trading
as Frank and Laurese Katen.
He died January 21, 2001. ANA Life member 132. He is buried in Gate
of Heaven Cemetery in Silver Springs, Maryland.
Laurese died on December 12, 2014 at her home 147i7
New Hampshire Avenue, Silver Spring, Maryland and is also buried in
Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Silver Springs, Maryland.
I got to know Frank and Laurese Katen in my early years as
a numismatic bibliophile, visiting their home once to see
the famous Katen Numismatic Library.
They were wonderful folks. Frank's clash with the American
Numismatic Association is the stuff of legend
and the numismatic ephemera it generated is a delight to
collect - I have some of these in my library.
Other E-Sylum readers knew the Katens as well.
Any stories to share?
-Editor
To read the complete article, see:
KATEN, FRANK JOSEPH
(https://sites.google.com/site/numismaticmallcom/encyclopedic-
dictionary-of-numismatic-biographies/katen-frank-j)
THE BOOK BAZARRE
GOLD AND SILVER COINS AND MEDALS. Learn
the history and enjoy the artistry of more than 150 collectible
works of the U.S.
Mint, in AMERICAN GOLD AND SILVER: U.S. Mint
Collector and Investor Coins and Medals, Bicentennial to Date.
Explore the First
Spouse, American Buffalo, and America the Beautiful
coins, plus dozens of beautiful modern U.S. Mint medals with hidden
potential.
Hardcover, 384 pages, 8.5 x 11 inches. By Dennis Tucker;
foreword by Q. David Bowers. Available now. Order your copy for
$29.95 at
Whitman.com , or call 1-800-546-2995.
LETTER ORDERS 1873 SILVER COIN DIES WITH ARROWS
Researcher Bob Julian passed along another interesting
document. Thanks! The letter to engraver William Barber from
Mint director Pollock orders the dies with arrows for
the silver coinage at Carson City and San Francisco
due to begin in April 1873.
-Editor
Mar. 13th [1873]
Sir
You will please prepare the following obverse dies, at your earliest
convenience; viz.
For the Carson Branch Mint
6 Half Dollar
4 Quarter Dollar
4 Dime
–––––––
Total 14
–––––––
For the San Francisco Br. Mint
10 Half Dollar
6 Quarter Dollar
6 Dime
–––––––––––
Total 22
––––––––––––
Yours respectfully
Jas. Pollock
Director
[To]
Wm. Barber E[sq]
Engraver of the Mint
FRANKLIN'S PEALE'S EUROPEAN TRIP EXPENSES
Dick Johnson writes:
I retrieved a copy this week of Pennsylvania History,
published by Pennsylvania Historical Association, July 1951. It
contained an article on Franklin Peale and his two-year trip to
Europe. His instructions were to learn the technology of European
mints with the goal of implementing this technology in the 40-year
old Philadelphia Mint.
We learn that in 1833 Mint Director Samuel Moore, with this trip in
mind, had hired Peale who had extensive mechanical knowledge. Moore
got the approval of Treasury Secretary Louis McLane later that year.
McLane authorized the payment to Peale for the trip expenses.
The amount was $7,000. That’s $196,000 in today’s money!
Interesting the Treasury will spend many times that amount now days
to consultants to learn there is no metal substitute for copper in
cents, or that that steel is not a satisfactory coinage composition
for quarters. America got better value for their money to Peale in
1833 than what they spend today.
Thanks. As E-Sylum readers know, a copy of Peale's
handwritten report in currently being transcribed by volunteers for
the Newman Numismatic Portal.
-Editor
To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
PEALE REPORT TRANSCRIPTION SOUGHT
(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v18n50a20.html)
CAN YOU READ FRANKLIN PEALE’S HANDWRITING?
(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v19n09a11.html)
WHERE ARE THE PEALE REPORT DRAWINGS?
(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v19n10a18.html)
LOU GEHRIG BASEBALL HALL OF FAME PLAQUE
If you like medallic art and baseball in a big way,
here's the auction lot for you: a casting of the
Lou Gehrig Baseball Hall of Fame plaque.
-Editor
New Jersey’s leading estate-auction specialist, Sterling
Associates, made headlines with its January 11th sale of
Alexander Hamilton’s personally engraved powder horn.
On March 23rd, the Bergen County, N.J., company will
shine a spotlight on another great American hero,
baseball legend Lou Gehrig. The star lot of their auction
is a bronze bas-relief plaque adornment in the likeness
of Gehrig that was designed and cast by artisan George
Seaman and colleagues at the Steinmeier Bronze Tablet
Co., in 1939, the year of Gehrig’s retirement.
As stated in a letter of provenance from Seaman’s son
that accompanies the lot, the sculptural work is a
contemporaneous casting of the one affixed to Gehrig’s
plaque at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and
Museum in Cooperstown, New York.
“The Steinmeier foundry in New York City produced the
Lou Gehrig bronze for the actual Hall of Fame plaque.
The example we are auctioning was made at the same time a
s a gift for Seaman’s son, who was a big Lou Gehrig fan.
To the best of our knowledge, this was the only
additional casting,” said Sterling Associates’ owner,
Stephen D’Atri.
Baseball’s legendary “Iron Horse” was the first Major
League Baseball player to have his uniform number (“4”)
retired. He played 17 seasons with the New York Yankees,
starting in 1923, and voluntarily ended his career
after being diagnosed with ALS, later known as Lou
Gehrig’s Disease. His lifetime batting average was a
remarkable .340. “Gehrig’s career achievements and
professionalism made him one of baseball’s immortals.
To this day, he is idolized by Yankee fans,” D’Atri said.
The bronze sculptural depiction of a smiling Gehrig
in a tableau adorned by two baseball bats and a
laurel branch, measures 7 inches high by 12 inches
wide. It is mounted on a wood plaque. The conservative
auction estimate is $3,000-$5,000.
To read the complete article, see:
Bronze Lou Gehrig "Baseball Hall of Fame" casting, fine jewelry
headline Sterling Associates' March 23 sale
(http://artdaily.com/news/85738/Bronze-Lou-Gehrig--Baseball-Hall-
of-Fame--casting--fine-jewelry-headline-Sterling-Associates--March-
23-sale#.VuWWnOIrLrc)
THE HALF-DOLLAR’S ACCIDENTAL DEMISE
I didn't manage to get this in an earlier issue, but here's an
interesting article about the demise of the U.S. Half Dollar from
the Wall Street Journal February 28, 2016. E-Sylum
regular Dave Bowers is quoted.
-Editor
Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers recently suggested
stopping the production of $100 bills, ostensibly to deprive
criminals of their favorite form of cash.
Mr. Summers may or may not get his way. But here’s a potential
trade-off: If the hundred-dollar bill is destined to vanish from
cash registers, how about bringing back one of the jauntiest
denominations of American spending money, one that many citizens,
through no fault of their own, have never felt in their pockets: the
50-cent piece?
This year, the U.S. Mint will manufacture for public circulation—if
recent numbers are a guide—around nine billion pennies. The mint
will produce around two-and-a-half billion quarters, almost three
billion dimes and a billion-and-a-half nickels.
The number of 50-cent pieces that the mint will manufacture and
release for general circulation in 2016 is the same it has been for
the past 13 years: zero.
No one saw the half-dollar’s demise coming. The disappearance from
everyday usage of what once was a taken-for-granted, constantly
present American coin is a tale of unintended consequences, and of
how history can blindside and do away with even the most standard
and noncontroversial aspects of the nation’s life.
The 50-cent piece was always a highly useful, immensely popular
coin. The thing had heft and a bit of swagger: It was bigger and
heavier than the smaller-denomination coins, but not so unwieldy
that it was uncomfortable to carry. There was a touch of ring-a-
ding-ding to having it in your pocket. You had to resist the impulse
to pull it out and flip it.
And—most important—you could make significant daily purchases with
it, and walk away with change. The mint had been putting half-buck
pieces into circulation for as long as the U.S. had been
manufacturing coins; by the early 1960s, a 50-cent piece would buy
you a quart of milk, or an issue each of Sports Illustrated and Life
magazines, or enough Snickers bars and packs of Beech-Nut Spearmint
gum to get you and a couple of buddies through the afternoon, or a
gallon-and-a-half of gas, or a bleacher seat at a big-league
baseball game. It was real money. Its future seemed secure.
Then, in November 1963, President John F. Kennedy made his trip to
Dallas.
As the nation grieved in the weeks after the assassination,
government leaders scrambled to come up with ways to honor Kennedy’s
memory. President Johnson and Congress thought it would be a fine
idea to speedily replace Benjamin Franklin’s face on the 50-cent
piece with Kennedy in profile. A touching gesture. What could go
wrong?
By February 1964 the Kennedy half-dollars were being pressed, with
public release scheduled for March. As soon as banks began offering
the coins, long lines formed. People wanted them, all right—not to
spend, but to keep. Banks had to ration, limiting the number that
individuals could request. A mystique instantly grew. If you had one
of those coins, you knew to hold on to it.
Coincidentally and concurrently, the price of silver was rising to
the point at which the worth of the material within the 50-cent
piece might soon surpass the face value of the coin. Precious-metal
traders were hoarding half-bucks, both the new Kennedys and the old
Franklins, in anticipation of melting them down and profiting.
The coins seemed to all but evaporate from the public scene. The
U.S. Mint, by 1971, had eliminated silver from the composition of
the half-dollars, but by then people had become accustomed to their
absence. As the years went by, stores stopped making space in cash-
register drawers for them; vending machines wouldn’t accept them;
banks had to request them from the Federal Reserve for the few
customers who desired them; and younger Americans were unaware the
coins even existed.
The mint stopped putting half-dollars into circulation in 2002. It
still manufactures commemorative and special-edition 50-cent pieces
for collectors, sold to the public at a premium, but when the mint
offers a mounted set of four Kennedy half-dollars for $99.95, you’d
feel like a fiscal idiot spending the coins at the corner 7-Eleven.
The man described by mint officials as the nation’s leading
authority on the history of coins, Q. David Bowers, said that, in
terms of daily commerce, the half-dollar isn’t coming back. “It’s a
dead issue,” he told me. Had the government never removed Ben
Franklin’s portrait, the 50-cent piece would likely still be
thriving today, as utilitarian and ubiquitous as the George
Washington quarter. But—no one planned it this way—it turns out that
a coin can be so popular that it goes out of business.
To read the complete article (subscription required), see:
The Half-Dollar’s Accidental Demise
(http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-half-dollars-accidental-demise-
1456695824?cb=logged0.6362204554050646)
WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: MARCH 13, 2016
On Tuesday the 9th the March 2016 meeting of my northern Virginia
numismatic social
club Nummis Nova was hosted by Tom Kays at an Italian
restaurant in Springfield called Osteria Marzano. It's
a sleekly designed space in an office building in an office park
not far from the Capitol Beltway.
I work nearby and arrived early. As I pulled into a space
in the parking garage another early bird in the next
vehicle waved to me - it was Howard Daniel.
We made our way inside about 6pm to the nearly deserted
restaurant where the staff was working to put our tables
together. We took our seats and began reviewing the menus,
but not before Howard had teased and charmed our waitress,
Marisol.
Howard brought with him the manuscript for his next book
on Southeast Asian coinage. It was a well-organized binder of
pages in sheet protectors, a mix of draft pages and
photocopies or scans of source material found during his
research.
Among the next to arrive were Eric Schena, Dave Schenkman
and Gene Brandenburg. All three sat at our end of the
table,
and they were soon joined by Joe Esposito and Mike Packard.
At the other end of our corner of the restaurant
were Jon Radel, Tom Kays, Joe Levine, and Steve Bishop.
Among the last to get seated in a table the staff slid into
the middle were Julian Leidman (at my left) and across from
him my guest,
Robert Hoppensteadt.
I passed out a few next business cards for NBS advertising The
Aslum and The E-Sylum. They were nicely designed by
Maria Fanning, and I've also been using them as an ad within The
E-Sylum in recent weeks.
Among the first numismatic items passed around were
some gargantuan medals from Jon Radel. These were HEAVY,
and for perspective on their size, I took this picture
next to a quarter from my pocket.
Medals by Kauko Räsänen and Sven Havsteen-Mikkelsen
Jon writes:
The impetus for bringing these medals was in part a joking response
to some medals seen at dinner a few months ago where there had been
discussion about how nice high relief is, so let's start with the
one on the right. It is a 1980 homage to the 100th anniversary of
the birth of Ejnar Mikkelsen (1880-1971), a Dane best known for his
polar explorations, in particular those of Greenland. The reverse
of the medal is a comparatively undistinguished map of Greenland,
which led to discussion about medals with wonderful obverses and
reverses where about all you can say is "Well, whatever."
The artist is Sven Havsteen-Mikkelsen (1912-1999) who took the
subject as a foster father after his parent's marriage
disintegrated, eventually adding "Mikkelsen" to his own name;
consequently a very personal medal. At the same time, it is a
relatively "commercial" medal, having been issued in an edition of
2000 by Anders Nyborg A/S, most famous (in medals, at least) for the
Nordic Art Medal Series. See the Spring 2013 issue of The
Medal for more on that enterprise. And the high relief? The
diameter is 70mm and the thickness is about 24mm at the height of
the portrait.
The medal on the left is by Kauko Räsänen (1926-2015), a Finnish
sculptor/medal artist whom I suspect has better name recognition in
the U.S. than any other other Finnish medalist, probably due to a
combination of his being the second non-American to win the Saltus
Medal Award in 1986, and his pioneering work in multi-component
medals.
The shown medal was issued in 1985 in honor of the Hanasaaren
Kulttuurikeskus ( Hanasaari Swedish-Finnish Cultural Centre)
inaugurated in 1975 on an island near Helsinki in honor of
Swedish/Finnish relations. This one was issued in an edition of 300
in bronze, including this example, and 10 in silver. Someday I hope
to get a better feel for whether the side not shown, which shows a
tiny island with trees on the horizon, and a tiny sailboat, with
many waves, is in part a joking response to early controversy about
the chosen site being too remote and hard to reach. Apparently, by
the time the center was built, everyone was happy and it has
remained a robust presence in the Finnish cultural life.
Thanks!
I brought two books with me to the meeting: the new edition of
Virginia Tokens and Mike Shutty's new Lost Cents, Dead
Owners.
Eric Schena took the seat next to me, which was convenient
because I had some questions for him about the new edition
of Virginia Tokens - I'm writing a review of it for
the TAMS Journal. Eric handled the book's editing and layout,
and contributed research and images.
The majority of the tokens illustrated in the book
are in Dave and Eric's collections, and all of the modern images
of the issuing storefronts were taken by Eric, who has made
pilgrimages around the state to visit some of the sites.
Some of these visits (many of which were very fruitful)
have been described in earlier E-Sylum
issues. There's no substitute for shoeleather in numismatic
research.
Eric brought along a neat piece of cardboard scrip with a
Half Dime denomination. It's illustrated in the
Virginia Tokens book, and I took this photo of
it laying on the page where it's illustrated.
Eric writes:
I brought two things of interest for folks to see. The first item is
a so far unique
half dime token from Christiansburg, Virginia. I have been following
the discussion
on half dime tokens in The E-Sylum and can at least offer up
this piece. Cataloged
in Dave Schenkman's revised second edition of Virginia Tokens
as C2380-M5-5, this
red cardboard token was apparently issued by either J. W. Montague
or J. K. Montague,
who operated a general store from between 1866 and sometime before
1920.
Given the
unusual denomination, I would hazard a guess it is from the 1870s or
so. Unfortunately,
the token was probably pasted in a scrapbook because it has no
reverse. It could very
well have been blank, but sadly until another one turns up, this is
all we know of the token.
Here are a couple other cellphone photos of interesting
illustrations
in the book.
Eric adds:
The second item I brought was an imitation $50 slug issued by
Thompsons Restaurants
in 1906. This is one of the earliest of the imitation slugs and
really is a neat thing.
Humbert/USAOG slugs are pretty much near the top of my all-time
"dream" coins - ever
since I was a kid growing up in California I had always wanted one
of these massive
2 1/2 ounce hunks of gold and have been captivated by
pioneer/territorial gold ever
since. Alas, considering that the real thing costs as much as a nice
car, it is
highly unlikely I will be able to add one to my collection.
Thankfully, courtesy of
my cataloging for Stack's Bowers, I have been at least able to write
about the coins.
However, a fascinating sideline are these imitation slugs,
especially the earlier ones.
I am still just beginning in my collection (the only other one
I have is a high grade 1915 Pan-Pac Brinker piece), but so far it
has been quite rewarding.
Eric and I also discussed his work as a part-time cataloguer for
Stack's Bowers, where he's enjoying the opportunity to
do the historical research for some really great coins.
The selections in the next article are all lots that he
recently worked on. Well done!
Other topics of discussion at my end of the table included
the 1980 coin boom and subsequent bust, a rare ancient coin
displayed by Robert, and counterfeit Southeast Asian pieces
that fooled even the expert dealers.
Robert Hoppensteadt provided this information on his coin
Syria, Damascus. Otacilia Severa. Augusta, AD 244-249. AE 28mm .
Diademed and draped bust right / Sacrifice to Tyche-Astarte: Tyche-
Astarte seated left, holding cornucopia and unknown object (probably
a rudder, references describe it as a wreath but on this more clear
example it clearly isn't,) river god swimming at feet; before her,
Marsyas standing right; in exergue, four figures of Cities (Tyche),
wearing turreted crowns; the outer two raising their hands toward
Tyche-Astarte; one raising a plate of fruit or other offering (again
references call this a wreath but it clearly isn't one and the other
known examples don't show it this clearly), and the last pouring a
libation on an altar. Cf. BMC 433 (Philip I); cf. AUB 266 (Philip
I); Lindgren & Kovacs 2388. Fine/ aVF, green and brown patina, some
roughness. Rare reverse type.
Toward the end of the meal the ever-mischievous
Gene Brandenburg instructed me to look at the back
of the dessert menu. "Two-thirds of the way down."
In a section of after-dinner drinks I found what he
was looking at: The Godfather, a mix of Amaretto di Saronno and
Whiskey.
He bought us each one, and it was smooooth. Thanks!
Yet another great evening of numismatic fellowship.
I'm very grateful to have such a knowledgeable and friendly group to
get together with every month. Forming the group was one of the best
numismatic ideas I've ever had
(a close second to The E-Sylum itself).
Ciao for now, everyone.
To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
SOME MORE HALF DIME TOKENS
(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v19n10a17.html)
SELECTIONS FROM STACK'S BOWERS MARCH 2016 RARITIES SALE
Here are some selected lots from the upcoming Stack's Bowers March
2016 Rarities sale.
I've excerpted some of the historical commentary text.
Read the online catalog for the full descriptions including grading
and eye appeal discussion.
-Editor
Lot 13007: Washington Funeral Urn Medal
Historic Silver "1799" Washington Funeral Urn Medal
"1799" (1800) Funeral Urn Medal. Baker-166A, Fuld Dies 1-B. Rarity-
6. Small Bust. Silver. AU-55 (PCGS).
When George Washington died at his Virginia home on December 14,
1799, the
fledgling nation was plunged into an extended period of mourning and
celebrations
of his life for months. Throughout the young United States, many
events and funeral
processions were held, and along with it a series of privately
produced souvenir
medals and badges. Among the best known are those issued by the City
of Boston
in 1800 for the two funeral processions, one on February 11 and a
second on February 22.
The medals, struck in silver, white metal, and even gold, were made
with two
distinct designs: the medals for the first procession bear a skull
and crossbones
motif, while the medals produced for the later event have a funeral
urn instead.
The medals were all intended to be worn around the neck from a black
ribbon and
were all pierced, which as a consequence, very few surviving
specimens are found
uncirculated or even undamaged. Here is an example that appears to
have been
purposefully not worn for very long and the hole plugged. Always
popular among
exonumists and collectors of Washingtoniana, the Boston funeral
medals remain a
key component of any specialist cabinet of early American medals.
So, is a piece that's supposed to be holed
considered damaged if someone has plugged it?
I'm not sure there will ever be a good answer to that.
Damage, as beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.
Great item regardless, one that I would be happy to own.
-Editor
To read the complete lot description, see:
"1799" (1800) Funeral Urn Medal. Baker-166A, Fuld Dies 1-B. Rarity-
6. Small Bust. Silver.
(https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-2LGXR)
Lot 13092: 1795 Draped Bust Silver Dollar
When Henry William DeSaussure became Mint Director in June of 1795,
he set two goals:
the first to get gold coins to actively circulate and the second to
improve the appearance
of each denomination with particular attention on the silver
coinage. DeSaussure
contracted with famed portrait artist Gilbert Stuart to prepare a
depiction of Liberty
intended to replace Robert Scot's Flowing Hair bust. Stuart's
design, believed to have
been a drawing of Ann Willing Bingham of Philadelphia, was then
transferred into
plaster models and punches by John Eckstein for Scot. Eckstein also
prepared improved
versions of the Small Eagle reverse punches which showed the eagle
in intricate detail and style. For this work Eckstein was paid $30
in September. The resulting Draped Bust Small Eagle silver dollar is
often heralded as a masterpiece from the early United States Mint,
with Eckstein "deserving of a niche in the Pantheon of numismatic
notables," as Q. David Bowers writes in The Encyclopedia of United
States Silver Dollars: 1794-1804. De Saussure's tenure at the Mint
was very short; in October of that same year he resigned his
position in October 1795 due in part to illness and general
dissatisfaction. While only there for the a few months, he made a
long-lasting impression on the nation's coinage. While the Small
Eagle reverse would only be employed until 1798, the Stuart/Eckstein
Draped Bust was used for the rest of the series until coinage of
silver dollars was suspended sometime in 1804.
Two different die combinations were used for the new design. The die
pair believed
to have been struck first is the so-called Off-Center Bust variety,
BB-51, which
features Liberty appearing too far to the left from the center, a
position used
only on this die pair. This positioning was corrected to a more
aesthetically
pleasing centered location on the second variety, the BB-52 pair.
The precise number
struck and timing of each variety is unclear. Mint records from the
time are not
as thorough as scholars would prefer and much of what can be
determined is conjecture.
The commonly cited mintage figure of 42,738 is believed to be only a
portion of
the overall total of the 1795 Draped Bust Small Eagle dollars.
Bowers posits that
somewhere in the vicinity of 100,000 coins were produced of both
BB-51 and BB-52
and that while the first deliveries likely took place in October,
the later
deliveries could have extended into 1796. In fact, the reverse die
used for BB-52
was used as late as 1798, lending credence to this being the later
of the two varieties.
To read the complete lot description, see:
1795 Draped Bust Silver Dollar. Draped Bust. BB-52, B-15. Rarity-2
(https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-2LGTH)
Lot 13198: 1799 Capped Bust Right Eagle
The Mint Act of 1792 established the eagle to be the
fundamental basis for America's gold coinage which
would be used in international commerce as an economic
ambassador for the young nation. It was not until 1795
that coinage of the denomination commenced. Designed by
Robert Scot, the obverse of the new coin bore a
representation of Liberty facing right flanked by
stars while wearing a cloth freedman's cap, with the
legend LIBERTY above and the date below. The reverse
featured an elegant yet somewhat scrawny eagle with
spread wings holding a wreath in its beak, all the
while clutching a palm frond in its talons. This
simple and attractive design was used for all of
three years until Scot completely redesigned the
reverse to put forth more powerful and dramatic imagery.
Scot's Heraldic Eagle reverse was based on the obverse
of the Great Seal of the United States: in the center
is a large eagle with outstretched wings and legs
and the national shield across its breast. In its
left talon is a clutch of arrows and in its right
talon an olive branch of peace. The placement of
the arrows in the left or sinister claw stands in
contrast to the Great Seal, where the olive branch
takes that position of honor. Scot may have not
have been aware that this placement of the arrows
conveys a more warlike posture in the language of
heraldry. In the eagle's beak is a ribbon inscribed
E PLURIBUS UNUM. Above its head is an array of 13
stars surmounted by an arch of clouds. The entire
design is surrounded by the legend UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA. The Heraldic Eagle reverse would be used
until 1804 when production of the eagle was suspended
for the next 34 years.
In this year, the production of the eagle was
stepped up to significant levels after having
been struck in modest quantities since its inception.
According to Mint records, 37,449 coins were struck
in two major obverse design varieties, Small Stars
and Large Stars. A total of six obverse and six
reverse dies were employed in a total of ten die
combinations: eight die pairings for the Small Stars
variety and only two pairings for the Large Stars.
Of the two major varieties of the 1799 eagle, the
Small Stars type is widely thought to have been the
first struck and is the slightly scarcer of the two,
albeit not by much. At some point the Small Stars
punch with long and thin points broke and a new punch
was prepared with starts that shorter but much
"fatter and puffier," as Garrett and Guth note.
The resultant obverse die, Bass-Dannreuther Die 6,
was mated to two reverse dies Bass-Dannreuther Die E
and Die F, and used for the remainder of the year,
producing an estimated 13,000 to 18,000 coins from
these two pairs.
To read the complete lot description, see:
1799 Capped Bust Right Eagle. BD-10, Taraszka-22. Rarity-3. Large
Obverse Stars.
(https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-2LFVD)
Lot 13247: 1836 Pattern Gold Dollar
1836 Pattern Gold Dollar. Judd-67, Pollock-70. Rarity-5. Gold. Plain
Edge. Proof-63 Cameo (PCGS).
Obv: A liberty cap surrounded by a glory or sunburst, which design
is similar to that used on certain coins of the Republic of Mexico.
The band of the cap is inscribed LIBERTY. Rev: A coiled palm frond
encircles the denomination 1 D. with the legend UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA around the border and the date 1836 below.
When Alt Christof Bechtler along with his sons opened his
mint in Rutherfordton, North Carolina in 1831, he
introduced a new type of coin, the gold dollar. As the
Bechtlers became progressively more successful and their
coins more widely accepted, Mint officials began taking
an interest in their coins. They found that the Bechtler's coins
were eagerly accepted in the region and were of good quality and
weight, including the gold dollar. While the success of the Bechtler
Mint eventually led to the establishment of mints in Charlotte and
Dahlonega in 1838, officials were also taking their first tentative
steps into launching a gold dollar of their own. in 1836, Treasury
Secretary Levi Woodbury tried to convince Mint Director Robert
Maskell Patterson to initiate a project to develop such a coin.
Patterson, on the other hand, had no interest in striking a gold
dollar, arguing that only "second-rate countries issued gold coins
of such small size," as Q. David Bowers writes in his guide book to
the denomination. With great reluctance, Patterson relented and
directed Christian Gobrecht to design a pattern for the
denomination. The obverse of Gobrecht's pattern gold dollar bore a
striking resemblance to the "Libertad" coinage from Mexico of the
time with the cap and rays motif. The reverse was a simple palm
frond arranged in a circle
surrounding the denomination. David Akers in his work on
gold patterns states that 10 to 15 of the pieces were
struck, however, additional research bolstered by
certification figures puts the number closer to 30 to 40.
The design was widely praised and considered a success
but ultimately the project died on the vine, no doubt as
a result of Patterson's ambivalence. It would not be
until 13 years later until an official United States
gold dollar would see general circulation. In 1844,
examples were struck from the same dies as the
originals but in a gold/silver alloy and again in 1859
a few more restrikes were made, with at least one of
them known overstruck on an 1859 gold dollar.
With its minimalist yet aesthetically pleasing design,
Gobrecht's pattern gold dollars have long generated
intense interest in the collecting community. One of
the earliest appearances at auction occurred in 1855
when Bangs, Brother & Company of New York sold an
example for $5.75.
I've long thought that the most educated collectors are
those who incorporate patterns and errors into their cabinets.
While errors illuminate the manufacturing process,
patterns tell the story of the evolution of coinage,
putting it into a broader historical and artistic framework.
It's an important observation that the gold dollar
denomination was first introduced by a private minter and
later
adopted by the U.S. Mint, a process which would play out
again in the Civil War with copper cents introduced by
private merchants and later being adopted by the Mint.
-Editor
To read the complete lot description, see:
1836 Pattern Gold Dollar. Judd-67, Pollock-70. Rarity-5. Gold. Plain
Edge.
(https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-2LGEZ)
Lot 13250: 1849 Miners' Bank $10
Undated (1849) Miners' Bank $10. K-1. Rarity-6. Copper Alloy, Plain
Border. MS-62 (NGC).
One of the early banking concerns of San Francisco,
the Miner's Bank was established by the brokerage firm
of Wright & Co., headed by partners Stephen Wright,
Samual Haight, James Wadsworth, and John Thompson.
Many details are scarce including precisely when both
the bank and the brokerage firm commenced business,
something made especially difficult considering the
various other enterprises the partners were engaged
at the same time. Intriguingly, an issue of bank notes
issued by the Miner's Bank is known dated March 1, 1849,
predating California's constitutional prohibition against
currency as ratified in November of that year.
It was not until July of 1849 that the Miner's Bank
officially announced that it had opened its doors to
business at its location on the corner of Washington
and Kearney Streets. Evidently the firm had planned
an issue of gold coins early on because the next month,
they petitioned the Collector of the Port of San
Francisco to grant permission to issue $5 and $10 coins
in payment of import duties, even though the Customs
House would not accept such pieces. Even though their
petition was denied, the Miner's Bank went forward with
the striking of coins in hopes to alleviate the specie
shortage of the region as well as make a small profit.
Because the bank did not have their own assay and
refining equipment on their premises, the coins were
struck at a different facility, most likely by the
assay firm of Broderick & Kohler based on the testimony
of James Wadsorth at a trial in which Broderick & Kohler
were defendants where Wadsworth states that they produced
the coins for the Miner's Bank. Only the $10 coins were
produced in two different alloys, one with the gold
alloyed with copper and another with silver.
The issue appears to have been fairly sizable and
initially the pieces enjoyed some success. However,
things changed when while the bank was in the midst of
a reorganization, the assayer for the New Orleans Mint
examined a Miner's Bank $10 coin and found it was
significantly underweight and worth only $9.65. The
news spread quickly, the firm dissolved in January of
1850 and by April of the same year the Daily Alta
California was reporting that, "The issue of the Miners'
Bank is a drug on the market. Brokers refuse to touch
it at less than 20 percent discount."
As with many of
the first of the privately issued territorial gold coins,
large numbers of the coins later ended up in the melting
pots of the United States Assay of Gold, and not long
after that those of the San Francisco Mint.
Such a shame that so many of these private pieces ended up
in the melting pot. All the more reason to cherish and study
the remaining survivors. Another great coin.
-Editor
To read the complete lot description, see:
Undated (1849) Miners' Bank $10. K-1. Rarity-6. Copper Alloy, Plain
Border.
(https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-2LFB7)
FAKE PROOF 2015-W AMERICAN EAGLES SURFACE
It's not just rare coins or key dates being counterfeited - this
Coin World report by Paul Gilkes published March 10. 2016
discusses fake Proof 2015-W American Eagle silver dollars. Here's
an excerpt. Be sure to read the complete version online.
-Editor
The latest counterfeit to infiltrate the collector market is a fake
Proof 2015-W American Eagle silver dollar that appeared at a Florida
coin show in February.
Reports have also surfaced of several other different Proof dates
also appearing, with 2013 and 2014 pieces among them.
Examples are also reportedly being offered through online outlets.
The counterfeits are offered housed in original U.S. Mint packaging
with genuine government-issued certificates of authenticity.
The counterfeit 2015 coin was reported March 7 to Coin World by F.
Michael “Skip” Fazzari, a numismatist with Independent Coin Graders
in Tampa, Fla.
“The coins are good enough so that a dealer opening the box to make
sure a coin was inside would see a blazing Proof,” Fazzari said.
“However, a close naked-eye inspection by a bullion dealer would
probably be enough to detect a scam,” he said.
Fazzari surmises genuine Mint packaging could have been acquired on
eBay or at a coin show where packaging is sold separated from its
contents, by dealers or collectors.
The empty boxes, still often containing the certificate of
authenticity, remain after the coins are removed, often for
submission to a third-party grading service, according to Fazzari.
Among the diagnostics, the counterfeit is out of tolerance, Fazzari
said. Fazzari said the counterfeit weighs 30.54 grams compared to
the genuine standard of 31.101 grams. The diameter of the fake coin
is 39.77 millimeters versus 40.6 millimeters for the genuine silver
Proof.
The counterfeit did not test positive for silver or copper using an
electronic metals analyzer, Fazzari said. The fake has a specific
gravity of 8.4, but currently its metallic composition is unknown.
Although crudely manufactured, Fazzari said the counterfeit is close
enough in general appearance to a genuine coin “to fool the average
collector or first-time buyer.”
Fazzari took close-up photographs detailing the differences of the
counterfeit at specific locations compared with a genuine Proof
2015-W American Eagle silver dollar.
Buyers should also examine lettering on the obverse of the coin. The
Y in LIBERTY appears with serifs on the fake, but is sans serif on
the genuine coin.
The overall surface appearance on the fake’s obverse is granular,
compared with the genuine coin’s more satiny-looking finish.
To read the complete article, see:
Counterfeit Proof 2015-W American Eagle silver dollar surfaces at
show
(www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/2016/03/counterfeit-silver-proof-
2015-american-eagle-dollar.all.html)
FINDING BAR KOKHBA COINS IN KENTUCKY (OR NOT)
David Hendin published an article in the American Numismatic Society
Pocket Change blog on march 8, 2016 about a strange story of
supposedly genuine ancient coins being found across Kentucky. be
sure to read the complete article online - this is just an excerpt.
-Editor
In the last few weeks, I have been preparing a gift of my personal
coin collection to the American Numismatic Society. Among the coins
was a fascinating piece that is an exact twin to one of the most
notorious incidences of numismatic fraud—either actual or
accidental— that has occurred in the United States. This story
continues to be circulated, and I receive questions about the Bar
Kokhba coins found in Kentucky on a regular basis.
Here is the background: In 1952, Robert Cox, a hardware store
operator from Clay City, Kentucky, found an exotic coin in a pen he
was using for pigs just outside of town along Kentucky Highway 15.
The pig pen was part of a field that he had plowed the summer
before. It was the first time older residents of the city could
remember that this land had ever been turned over. He seemed an
honorable man and had nothing to do with ancient coins, and it
appears that Mr. Cox legitimately found the coin just where he said
he found it.
Clay City is about 40 miles east of Lexington, Kentucky. Equally
fascinating is that two other Bar Kokhba coins were discovered in
different Kentucky towns.
The rest of the story involves a number of well known scholars who
refused to believe other expert numismatists, and has such a long
history that it is often repeated as a “true story” today.
Kentucky newspaper reports
Almost 15 years ago Haim Gitler, current chief curator of
archaeology and curator of numismatics at The Israel Museum, and I
both received communications from Dr. Fred Coy Jr., an economist at
Ohio State University.
Dr. Coy sent us photographs of the actual Clay City coin discovered
in 1952 by Robert Cox. He told us that a man named Ya’akov Meshorer
had said it was fake back in 1978. But he wanted to check this
information to make certain that Meshorer knew what he was talking
about.
Gitler and I both immediately agreed with Meshorer and stated that
this coin was a fake, not even a forgery, but a kind of a fantasy
copy.
These observations are second nature to anybody who has ever
seriously studied Bar Kokhba coins. But here I have discussed a
parade of esteemed University Professors who have been bickering
back and forth about this coin since it was discovered in 1952. And
we have also learned that the other two so-called Bar Kokhba coins
from Kentucky are of the exact type as this one. A photograph
accompanying this article depicts an exact duplicate of the coin
found in Louisville in 1967
My research at the British Museum has uncovered a lead cast of this
very type of Bar Kokhba fake, which was presented to The British
Museum in 1922 by Spink and Sons as a replica. Therefore, the
original must be somewhat older than that.
My best bet is that this was a souvenir given away by a Bible
marketing company in the early 1900s and hundreds or even thousands
were passed through the American South. I have personally seen more
than 50 of them.
The stories around these coins represent wishful thinking by
American Bible Belt scholars. Wouldn’t it just be so interesting if
the people in the United States were directly descended from Jews
who came to our shores not long after the time of Jesus….sigh.
But it isn’t so and I am glad to report this story over and over to
remind collectors that the authenticity of a coin that has not been
found in a licensed archaeological excavation is only as good as the
expert who is evaluating it!
To read the complete article, see:
FINDING BAR KOKHBA COINS IN KENTUCKY (OR NOT)
(www.anspocketchange.org/barkokhba/)
ALABAMA BRINK'S WORKER STEALS $200,000 IN QUARTERS
For swapping out nearly $200,000 in quarters with worthless beads, a
Brink's worker could get a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
-Editor
Federal prosecutors in Alabama say a former armored transportation
company worker has agreed to plead guilty to stealing nearly
$200,000, all in quarters.
The U.S. attorney's office in Birmingham says 49-year-old Stephen
Lancaster Dennis of Harpersville agreed to plead guilty to theft.
A statement released Monday about the case says Dennis has to repay
$196,000 to Brink's Co., the armored transportation company he
worked for at the time of the heist.
Prosecutors say Dennis was a money-processing manager at a Brink's
facility in Birmingham, where coins were stored for the Atlanta
Federal Reserve Bank. They say the man took 784,000 quarters in
early 2014 by using beads to fill bags that were supposed to contain
$50,000 each in quarters.
To read the complete article, see:
Prosecutors: Alabama man stole $200,000 in quarters
(www.kmov.com/story/31409628/prosecutors-alabama-man-stole-200000-
in-quarters)
THE BOOK BAZARRE
SELECTIONS FROM THE JOHN HUFFMAN LIBRARY: Browse
and Shop Approximately 3,000 Numismatic Books from the Respected
Library
of John Huffman—All Books Recently Discounted 40%. Click
here or go to
www.SecondStorybooks.com click on “All Subjects” and select “John
Huffman Collection”
THE HISTORY OF THE NLG'S CLEMMY AWARD
Thanks to Len Augsburger for noticing this article by Clement F.
Bailey in the recently digitized copies of the Central States
Numismatic Society's publication, The Centinel. It relates
to the Numismatic Literary Guild (NLG), an organization often
confused with our own (the Numismatic Bibliomania Society or NBS).
-Editor
The initials that appear after the
names of many of the authors of numismatic articles or columns are
those of the Numismatic Literary
Guild (N.L.G.).
My first contact with the organization
came about when a letter was
received dated March 2, 1968.
“Dear Clem:
A number of years ago I thought of
forming an organization like the Numismatic
Literary Guild. When I heard that one was in the process of
formation in California, I readily
agreed to assist in any way possible.
The enclosed information is self-explanatory
and there are no dues involved
with the organization, and only
certain categories are available for
membership.
We hope to have you with us as a
charter member in the very select
group which will comprise this organization,
and I am enclosing application
blank.
I believe that there are many directions
this group can go to help numismatics,
authors, museums, etc.
Kindest regards. Maurice (Maury)
M. Gould.”
My application was completed and
sent back within a couple of days with
the following memo:
“March 5, 1968
Dear Gang:
Notice that I did not miss the hand
rail while making the jump to the
N. L.G. band wagon. This could be a
big thing to publishers, editors, writers
and it might even help a columnist.
N.L.G. (Nobody Loves a Goof) will
have the greatest social gatherings in
the hobby. First one at the bar, without
his card, has to buy the next
round.
Numismatic writers have problems
that are best solved by their own ilk.
I hope that the membership is kept
within the circle of the clan.
Bet that I am one of the pure columnists
in the bunch. Most graduate to
write or editor, but I haven’t emptied
enough waste paper baskets to graduate
that high.”
There was one prophetic statement
in the letter — about the N.L.G. having
the greatest social gatherings in
the hobby. My original “buy law” has
only caught on with a few members
of the N.L.G.
Within a couple of months of organization,
one of the early Newsletters
mentioned something about my activities
and this letter was received from
the Guild office.
“Dere Cur — Sir: Tank U 4 writin
bout us litvaree Gild Guyz. C U at
Kunvenshun. Hope U no mind wryte
up bout U in thiz. Lee (Lee Martin,
Editor of the Newsletter).”
That fall in San Diego at the American
Numismatic Association annual
convention, the N.L.G. had their first
organizational meeting. At the end of
the meeting, a forty pound ancient
typewriter painted with gold was given
to me as the first annual award. It was promptly dubbed “The Clemmy
Award” by James Miller, the publisher
of COINage Magazine, and the
name has stuck.
The ancient typewriter was dug out
of a California junk yard after several
weeks of search by Gordon Greene,
the current treasurer of the Guild. He
also claims that it took several cans
of gold paint to make the ugly duckling
a beautiful swan (?). The long
grind of going across country from
convention to convention caused it to
be retired after Maury Gould received
it in 1973. The typewriter is now resting
at the American Numismatic Association
Museum in Colorado Springs.
A plastic award is now given to the
new “Clemmy” winners at the annual N.L.G. meeting. Since 1969 the
typewriter has been awarded to Ed
Rochette, Lee Martin, Margo Russell,
Virginia Culver, Maurice Gould, Eva
Adams and Ray Byrne in that order.
On November 29, 1975, the first
member of the award winning group
died in Los Angeles — Maurice M.
Gould. Maury was a collector, professional numismatist, author and
lecturer for 57 of his 66 years. He was starting
his second term as a member of
the Board of Directors of the American
Numismatic Association.
Maury Gould left a lot of marks in
this world, but none will be more important
than the mark of a numismatic
writer — N.L.G. — after an
authors name. Maury was a founder
of the Numismatic Literary Guild and
sponsored my charter-life membership
in the organization.
It may be important to say that I was a friend to him, but it is
probably
more important to say that he was a
friend to me.
To read the complete article, see:
https://archive.org/stream/centinel23n3cent#page/16/mode/2up
YOUTH GROUP VISITS BRITISH MUSEUM NUMISMATICS SECTION
David Pickup and
Arthur Shippee forwarded this March 11, 2016 British Museum blog
post about
a recent visit by a youth group to the numismatic section of the
museum.
Thanks!
-Editor
Money. It doesn’t grow on trees and can’t buy you love or happiness,
but apparently it makes the world go round. The subject of so many
songs and clichés, money dominates and determines our life
experience, even our identity.
This much is obvious to those who attend the New Horizon Youth
Centre, a London-based charity that supports homeless and at risk
young people, and aims to help them create a more positive future
for themselves. Part of New Horizon’s Social Enterprise Project
offers young people the chance to improve on essential life skills,
such as communication and confidence, by providing workshops in
partnership with organisations like the British Museum, and with
artists like myself.
So this was how a group of bright young people from New Horizon and
I came to be gathered around a table in the British Museum, talking
about money, with the Citi Money Gallery Education Manager, Mieka
Harris, and the Curator of the Citi Money Gallery, Ben Alsop as part
of the Citi Money Gallery Education Programme.
Our discussions were sparked off by some intriguing handling
objects, selected by the curator from the Museum’s extensive
collection of coins and currencies. As we lifted the lid on boxes of
enigmatic artifacts, money started to appear in all sorts of
unexpected guises, unusual materials, shapes and sizes. Large heavy
crosses of copper weighed alongside tiny slivers of silver, and
exotic shells rolled out next to green knives and pieces of fine
silk cloth. The diversity of the designs was remarkable, highlighted
by these examples of the different material forms that money has
adopted throughout history and across the world. In each of these
tokens, we glimpsed something of the time and culture that had
originally issued them for commercial exchange.
While no one in our group could imagine carrying shells in their
wallet or swapping copper crosses for goods and services around
London, the idea of money as a versatile designed object appealed to
everyone. We took a closer look at our own contemporary currency,
observing the intricate detail that ensures the designs are as
secure as they are symbolic, and a powerful representation of our
national identity.
I invited the group to express some of their ideas visually, by
designing their own coins. What would they choose to represent if
they were creating their own monetary tokens?
After sketching out some of their initial thoughts on paper, the
group were given the chance to scribe these designs onto wax discs
which would later be cast into bronze and displayed at the British
Museum.
>From representations of surveillance and state control to symbols of
infinity, freedom and love; from expressions of financial lack to
being financially on track, the effects of money inscribed by the
young people were insightful and revealing. Some coins humorously
commented on the cost of living with the words ‘arm’ and ‘leg’ while
other designs were abstract, like the very notion of money.
Experimenting with these newly-introduced skills of carving and
scribing into casting wax, the New Horizon participants deftly
worked the material to produce these highly creative results. You
can already see some of these personal coin tokens, now cast into
bronze, on show in the Citi Money Gallery, located in Room 68 of the
British Museum, alongside a selection of the Money No Object
wearable prototypes.
After such a fantastic day working with these brilliant young people
from the New Horizon Youth Centre and inspiring staff from the
British Museum, I am really excited to be continuing this
collaboration over the coming months, and exploring the far-reaching
significance of money.
To read the complete article, see:
Mind your money: money matters
(http://blog.britishmuseum.org/2016/03/11/mind-your-money-money-
matters/)
IKEA’S UBIQUITOUS BILLY BOOKCASE DESIGNER DIES
Bibliophiles may choose to hold a moment of silence to honor the
designer responsible for what must be the world's most ubiquitous
cheap bookcase. Here's an excerpt from the MArch 11, 2016
Washington Post.
-Editor
Gillis Lundgren, an industrial designer who helped make Ikea the
largest furniture retailer in the world with his no-frills designs,
most notably the Billy bookcase that millions of frugal book
collectors have used to build their home libraries, has died at 86.
Kajsa Johansson, an Ikea spokeswoman, confirmed his death,
describing him as “a man full of ideas that he quickly turned into
practical products,” but gave no other details.
Mr. Lundgren joined Ikea in 1953 as the company’s fourth employee
and advanced to become its first design manager. A draftsman with
training in graphics, he designed hundreds of Ikea’s simple,
portable furnishings and was credited with creating the company
logo, whose blue and yellow colors were taken from the Swedish flag.
Although few of those people are likely to know Mr. Lundgren’s name,
all of them are or will soon become acquainted with perhaps his most
significant contribution to the Ikea business model: “flat-pack”
furniture.
Ikea was not the first company to employ the now-ubiquitous system,
but Mr. Lundgren was credited with perfecting it for Ikea’s
purposes. He said the idea came to him early in his career. Ikea had
recently entered the furniture market, he recalled, and “storage
space became an issue.”
Today, shoppers peruse fully assembled Ikea wares in showrooms and
on the company’s website but take home (or order for delivery) boxes
that contain the products in pieces, neatly stacked, to be assembled
on arrival. The flat-pack system allows Ikea to save money by moving
its products more efficiently and customers to save money, although
not time, by providing the labor.
Many shoppers who enter an Ikea warehouse, no matter how few their
belongings or how small their home, have at least a few books to
place on a shelf and at least one wall against which to rest it.
Those shoppers may not, however, have a large amount of money to
part with. And so they may go home with a Billy bookcase, created by
Mr. Lundgren and introduced in 1978.
He was said to have drawn the design on a napkin.
“Ideas are perishable,” he once remarked, “and you have to capture
the moment as soon as it arrives.”
Billy’s plain shelves of varying heights and widths proved
imperishable and remain largely unchanged from Mr. Lundgren’s
original design. Because of improvements in production efficiency,
the product line costs less today than it did at its debut, with one
basic model on sale for $69.99.
“I want to create solutions for everyday based on people’s needs,”
Australian newspapers quoted him as saying. “My products are simple,
practical and useful for everyone, no matter how old you are or what
your life situation.”
To read the complete article, see:
Gillis Lundgren, designer of Ikea’s ubiquitous Billy bookcase, dies
at 86
(www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/gillis-lundgren-designer-of-
ikeas-ubiquitous-billy-bookcase-dies-at-86/2016/03/10/a1ec674a-
e60b-11e5-a6f3-21ccdbc5f74e_story.html)
THE BOOK BAZARRE
AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS: Are your books carried by
Wizard Coin Supply? If not, contact us via www.WizardCoinSupply.com with
details.
THE WORLD'S MOST BEAUTIFUL BANKNOTES
The Telegraph published a slideshow of images of "the world's
most beautiful currencies" on March 8, 2016. Here are a few. Be
sure to see the full set online.
-Editor
South African Rand banknotes
Malaysian ringgit banknotes
To read the complete article, see:
The world's most beautiful currencies, in pictures
(www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/money/the-worlds-most-beautiful-
currencies-in-pictures/south-african-banknotes/)
FEATURED WEB SITE: RENAISSANCE OF THE CAST MEDAL
This week's Featured Web page is on the renaissance of the cast
medal in nineteenth century France, from the web site of David and
Constance Yeats. Thanks to Ben Weiss for posting the link on his
own site,
www.historicalmedals.com.
The medal as we know it today had its origins in the Italian
Renaissance with the circular bronze commemorative portraits
produced by Pisanello (c. 1395-1455) during the mid-fifteenth
century. Medals are often viewed in a numismatic context because
they share certain obvious characteristics with coins. Both are
round, made of metal, and exhibit a portrait on the front (obverse)
and an allegorical or narrative scene relating to that portrait on
the back (reverse). In general, coins are produced in great numbers
by a central political authority and are meant to circulate socially
as a medium of exchange. Medals, however, have no intrinsic value.
They are produced for many purposes: to celebrate famous people, to
mark important social or political events, or to memorialize
personal milestones, such as births, marriages and deaths. Until the
seventeenth century, medals were often used as articles of personal
adornment, attached to clothing or worn around the neck. As intimate
sculpture in a double-sided relief format, medals have always been
something to hold and turn in the hand--personal objects for
aesthetic and intellectual contemplation.
A medal can either be struck or cast--techniques developed in the
classical world and perfected during the Italian Renaissance. The
process of striking consists first of the preparation of the desired
images on two dies followed by the impression by force of these dies
onto a prepared metal blank. In antiquity and throughout the Middle
Ages this force was provided by the simple act of hammering. The
invention of the screw press in early sixteenth century Italy
enabled medals to be struck with greater speed and control. The
result is an object sharply and precisely defined, but often rather
dry and lacking in sculptural elegance. Not surprisingly, striking
was, and is today, the method utilized for mass production of both
coins and medals. Casting requires the preparation of two original
uniface models--the obverse and reverse--in wax, plaster, or less
commonly, wood or stone. These models are utilized to create
negative molds in a soft material such as terracotta or gesso. Once
the molds have dried, they are fitted together leaving channels into
which the molten metal is poured. After cooling, the medal in its
raw state is removed from the mold. At this stage a careful hand
finishing is required which includes filing, chasing, and often the
application of chemically based patinations and thin coats of
lacquer. The final result is a unique work of art, with examples of
the same medal exhibiting subtle variations in color and surface
detail.
The earliest medals in sixteenth century France were produced by
goldsmiths working in a style which combined the native Gothic
heraldic tradition with an obvious awareness of Italian Renaissance
portraiture. From the outset, the production of medals in France was
highly dependent on the patronage of the crown. This may be viewed
in comparison to the early history of the medal in Italy, where
artists relied more on the commands of private patrons, resulting in
the possibility of greater artistic freedom. The invitations
extended by François I (1494-1547) to Italian artists and craftsmen,
among them Benvenuto Cellini and the aged Leonardo, to help
embellish his court at Fontainebleau demonstrate the lure that
Italian aesthetic innovation had in France.
www.dcyates.com/medals.asp
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