The E-Sylum v20n13 March 26, 2017

Sun Mar 26 19:58:47 PDT 2017

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The E-Sylum

  An electronic publication of
  The Numismatic Bibliomania Society

Volume 20, Number 13, March 26, 2017
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WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM MARCH 26, 2017
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NEW BOOK: 1792: BIRTH OF A NATION'S COINAGE
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NEW BOOK: COLLECTING FLORIDA NATIONAL BANK NOTES
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NEW BOOK: GRAND CATALOG OF AUSTRALIAN AND OCEANIAN COINS 
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NEW BOOK: WORLD PAPER MONEY, MODERN ISSUES, 23RD ED.
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EL SITIO NO. 22 PUBLISHED
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DEXTER 1804 DOLLAR POSTERS OFFERED
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BOOK EXCERPT: FINANCIAL FOUNDING FATHERS
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NEWMAN PORTAL DIGITIZES EDGAR ADAMS DOCUMENTS
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NUMISMATISTS WHO WERE ALSO PAINTERS
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HARVEY STACK RECALLS THE PHILIP SHOWERS SALE
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NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: MARCH 26, 2017
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VOCABULARY TERM: INTERRUPTED REEDING
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WAYTE RAYMOND (1886-1956)
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U.S. MINT PRINCIPAL DEPUTY DIRECTOR RHETT JEPPSON
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RESEARCHING SS CENTRAL AMERICA'S CARGO
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THE NEW ENGLAND GOLD HOAX OF 1898
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POGUE V SALE AT EVERGREEN THIS WEEK
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THE POGUE FAMILY COLLECTION AND EPIC PAST SALES
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1795 DRAPED BUST DOLLAR SELLS FOR £28,000
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SELECTIONS FROM THE SHAW & BETTENCOURT SALE
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NUMISMATIC NUGGETS: MARCH 26, 2017
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STATE DEPARTMENT MEDAL GOLD MEDAL OFFERED
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SPINK USA OFFERS PAQUET AND WRIGHT MEDALS
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ARCHIVES INTERNATIONAL SALE 40 ANNOUNCED
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SELECTIONS FROM ARCHIVES INTERNATIONAL SALE 40
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RARE COENWULF PENNY FOUND BY METAL DETECTORIST
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JERUSALEM BYZANTINE COIN FIND
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MONTGOMERY BLAIR RUSSIAN WIRE MONEY 
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MORE ON THE NETHERLANDS LION DAALDER
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STACKS BOWERS OFFERS CHOPMARKED TRADE DOLLARS
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ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE MEDAL FOUND
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MORE ON THE NEW ONE POUND COIN
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LIBERIA STRUGGLES TO REPLACE WORN BANKNOTES
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CHINA BUS COMPANY PAYS DRIVERS SMALL CHANGE
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NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY UNDERGROUND STORAGE
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BEP LAUNCHES NEW SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS
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FEATURED WEB SITE: MONEY GRAFFITI
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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 26, 2017

We now have 2,910 subscribers.
Thank you for reading The E-Sylum. If you enjoy it, please send me the email addresses of friends you think may enjoy it as well and I'll send them a subscription with your compliments. Contact me at whomren at gmail.com anytime regarding your subscription, or questions, comments or suggestions about our content.

This week we open with four new books, one new periodical issue, a reproduction of a rare numismatic print, and an excerpt from a book on America's Financial Founding Fathers.

Other topics this week include the State Department lifesaving medal, Russian wire money, the Netherlands Lion Dollar, chopmarked trade dollars, Edgar Adams, Philip Showers, Wayte Raymond, Rhett Jeppson, Tommy Thompson, Anthony Paquet Charles Cushing Wright, and money graffiti.

To learn more about the coinage of 1792, Florida National Bank Notes, the Dexter 1804 dollar,  the first Bank of the United States, numismatists who paint, dropping a dime, Bar Mitzvah medals, interrupted reeding, the Charleston Company of Volunteers medal and coin porn, read on. Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren 
Editor, The E-Sylum

NEW BOOK: 1792: BIRTH OF A NATION'S COINAGE

At long last, the new book on the coinage of 1792 has been released by Heritage.  It can be ordered for $40 plus postage from the Heritage web site.
-Editor

1792: Birth of a Nation's Coinage (softcover)
Written by Pete Smith, Joel J. Orosz, and Len Augsburger

1792: Birth of a Nation's Coinage is the long-awaited research-based study of the 1792 coins, which were produced during the first six months of the U.S. Mint's existence. These cents, half dismes, dismes, and mysterious eagle-on-globe pieces, have been little studied and long misunderstood. In the 225 years since they were struck, mysteries have accumulated around them. Legends have explained their origins, arguments have raged over their status, and wild guesses have been taken about their rarity.

1792: Birth of a Nation's Coinage begins with the "prehistory" of the Mint, covering the legislative debates leading to the passage of the Mint Act in April of 1792, and the concurrent experiments in coinage by private individuals seeking government coinage contracts. The book does not solve every mystery about the coinage of 1792, but it does debunk some myths (George and Martha Washington's silver service was not melted to strike half dismes); settle some arguments (half dismes are regular issues, not patterns); and defines the rarity of each issue of 1792 (a detailed census of every locatable specimen is provided, along with each coin's pedigree). Along the way, many new facts and insights are revealed; for instance, while Washington did not provide the silver to strike half dismes, another future President did! 

Whether you are a collector, a dealer, a cataloger, or just fascinated by the enigmatic coins that serve as a bridge between the colonial, state, and Confederation issues that went before, and the myriad federal issues that have followed, 1792: Birth of a Nation's Coinage is a must-read book.

I'm looking forward to the book, and welcome comments and reviews from readers.
-Editor

For more information, or to order, see: 

1792: Birth of a Nation's Coinage (softcover)

(https://coins.ha.com/itm/books/1792-birth-of-a-nation-s-coinage-softcover-/i/960011813.s)

NEW BOOK: COLLECTING FLORIDA NATIONAL BANK NOTES

Last week John and Nancy Wilson mentioned the new booklet by Bill Youngerman on Florida National Bank Notes.  Here's some more information about it.
-Editor

Jonathan Beach of William Youngerman Inc. writes:

The booklet includes the most accurate census for all 109 charters, color photos of notes from each town, articles, the chronology of building the largest Florida NBN collection,  What is a National Bank Note?,  The Fort Meade Story, and a check list for collectors.

Here is some text from the introductory material.
-Editor

Chronology of building the largest collection. 

Sen. Warren Henderson begins collecting Florida currency in the late 1950's. His 
collection is greatly expanded by the purchase of the Clarence Criswell collection in 1968 and 
the Harley Freeman collection of Florida Nationals in 1970. In 1971, Henderson purchased 
the George Nicholson / George Decker Florida collections. These collections brought the 
total National Bank Note collection to 227 notes (118 large and 109 small). 

By 1977 the collection would total 251 nationals. 

In December 1986 Henderson through Harold Johnson's efforts sold the collection to 
Barnett Banks of Florida. The collection had at that time 264 National Bank notes plus 
hundreds of state, territorial and obsolete notes and scrip. 

In February 1998, Barnett Banks were sold to Nations Bank (now Bank of America). In 
August, 1998 the collection was gifted to the University of Florida. In September 1998, the 
collection was sold to Barnett Bank's last president and COO Allen Lastinger, Jr. Lastinger 
continued adding to the collection from 1998 until his sale of the collection to William 
Youngerman, Inc. in 2013. 

William Youngerman started his collection of Florida currency in 1992 purchasing many 
of the known collections of Florida currency over the next 20 years with the dreams of 
merging the two great collections together one day. That dream was fulfilled in November 
2013. With the two collections finally merged together for the first time in history all 59 
towns issuing National Bank Notes are together along with all 102 known charters of the 109 
chartered banks that issued currency in Florida. 

For more information, or to order, see: 

www.williamyoungerman.com

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: 

FEATURED WEB SITE: FLORIDA CURRENCY

(www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n12a32.html)

NEW BOOK: GRAND CATALOG OF AUSTRALIAN AND OCEANIAN COINS 

A new book has been published on Australian and Oceanian Coins.
It is offered for sale at $65 by The First Coin Company, Inc. of Santa Clara, CA.
-Editor

Grand Catalog-Book of Australian and Oceanian Coins 2000 - 2017
Format-A4 
Pages
350 Coins
8500 Pictures
Author Lukasz Rosanowski

It took three years to create the catalog. The catalog was created in a response to an enormous and continuously increasing interest and demand of coins.

The catalog aims at:

 Issuing price

 Promotion of numismatics and collecting

 Promotion coins from Australia and Oceania

 Providing information and knowledge about coins

 Increase of prestige of coins from this part of the world since this is the first catalog of this kind

 Gathering all coins in one place so the current and future generations have an easy insight

The Grand Catalog was created with the newest Australian and Oceanian coins in mind. It aims at discovering and ordering coins from this part of the world. Those coins take up universal and diverse topics, providing lots of emotions which is why they are collected by collectors all over the world. They distinguish in low mintages, beautiful and meticulous accomplishment with the usage of the newest mint techniques. Without a shadow of a doubt those are the most beautiful and elite coins of the world.

Content: 
The catalog includes 8500 circulation, commemorative, bullion and collector coins from Australia, New Zealand, Niue, Cook Islands, Tuvalu, Fiji, Palau, Tokelau, Papua New Guinea, Nauru, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Kiribati, Vanuatu etc. Those coins were minted in: Perth Mint, Royal Australian Mint, New Zealand Mint, Mint of Poland, PAMP, Royal Canadian Mint, Mint of Finland, Mayer Mint, Helvetic Mint etc. They were accomplished with the most developed techniques. The catalog consists of three parts: Series, Bullion coins, Countries. It took three years to create the catalog. It is the most complete and a vast catalog concerning coins from this part of the world.

Circulation is up to 5000 copies.

Thanks to Jeff Starck of Coin World, whose March 13, 2017 alerted me to the book.
-Editor

For more information, or to order, see: 

Grand Catalog-Book of Australian and Oceanian Coins 2000 - 2017

(https://firstcoincompany.com/S/grand-catalog-book-of-australian-and-oceanian-coins-2000-2017-format-a4-pages-350-coins-8500-pictures-12000-isbn-number-author-lukasz-rosanowski)

To read the Coin World article, see: 

Book explores abundance of coins from Australia, Oceania

(www.coinworld.com/news/world-coins/2017/03/book-explores-adundance-coins-australia-oceania.html#)

NEW BOOK: WORLD PAPER MONEY, MODERN ISSUES, 23RD ED.

Krause Publications has issued a new edition of the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, Modern Issues.  It has 1,200 pages and retails for $75.
-Editor

Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, Modern Issues, 1961-Present, 23rd Edition
By Tracy Schmidt
Format: Paperback
Other available formats: Ebook

Employing a worldwide network of numismatics experts, the 23rd edition of the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, Modern Issues, provides the most comprehensive and complete reference to world bank notes issued since 1961.

This industry-leading catalog features:

Nearly 24,000 listings

Over 14,000 illustrations for easy identification of notes and signature varieties

Bank note values in two popularly available conditions

Country signature charts for specific and accurate variety identification

Hundreds of new bank note issues

Updates of Bulgaria, Denmark and Fiji varieties and pricing

With contributions from an international team of collectors, dealers, researchers and national bank officials working to ensure accuracy, the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, Modern Issues, is the most informed and global resource on the market for the proper identification, description and valuation of modern world bank notes.

For more information, or to order, see: 

Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, Modern Issues, 1961-Present, 23rd Edition

(www.shopnumismaster.com/standard-catalog-of-world-paper-money-modern-issues-1961-present-23rd-edition)

EL SITIO NO. 22 PUBLISHED

Horacio Morero is the editor of El Sitio, the club publication of the Instituto Uruguayo de Numismática. He submitted this summary of the contents of the latest issue. Thanks!
-Editor

The first 2017 electronic bulletin “El Sitio” of the Instituto Uruguayo de Numismática in
Montevideo, Uruguay, was published this month. This issue contains 26 pages with
three numismatic articles about different topics and information about new coins,
banknotes and events.

The first article, “La estancia La Concordia y sus fichas de esquila”, by Horacio Morero
Ferrero, is about shearing tokens. La Concordia was a historical ranch in the Mercedes
Department, on the banks of the Uruguay River. The company, associated with the Pranges
family, was registered in Liverpool, England.

The second one, by the Spanish numismatic Pedro Damián Borrego, speaks about the
circulating money in the Virreinato del Río de la Plata during XVIII century.

The last article, written by Sebastián Aguilera, tells us about a particular Notgeld -
emergency money- issued in the Bielefeld city, Province of Westfalia: the beautiful 1
goldmark of 31.4 mm of diameter.

Here are some images from the issue.
-Editor

To read the complete issue, see: 

http://iunuy.org/flop01/wp-content/uploads/elsitio/ElSitioN%C2%BA22.pdf

Horacio  adds:

José Luis Rubio, an old member of the IUN, who presented me to E-Sylum, passed away two or three weeks ago.

We're sorry to hear the news.  The numismatic community is small, but spread worldwide.  Thanks again to Horacio for providing these English translations.
-Editor

THE BOOK BAZARRE
AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS: Are your books carried by Wizard Coin Supply? If not, contact us via www.WizardCoinSupply.com with details.

DEXTER 1804 DOLLAR POSTERS OFFERED

Stacks Bowers is offering copies of the famous Dexter 1804 Dollar poster.
-Editor

Very few people can own an 1804 silver dollar, the rarity known as "The King of American Coins." Just 15 are known: seven are in museums, and eight are in private hands. Each is worth millions. Wouldn't you love to own one? Most likely, that's not possible. But you can own a real link to the legend of the Dexter 1804 Dollar, a link that can be traced to circa 1887.

James Vila Dexter (1836-1899) was a wealthy banker who lived in Denver, Colorado. He was a collector par excellence. He owned some of the rarest and finest early American gold coins, copper and silver coins of the highest caliber, and many important world coin rarities. Dexter also collected fine art and built a world-class collection of jewels and precious stones.

But of all his collectibles, his most prized possession was his 1804 silver dollar. Today it's simply known as the "Dexter Dollar," the legendary rarity with the mysterious "D" hidden on the reverse.

Dexter bought this coin in 1885 from an auction in Philadelphia that was cataloged by coin dealers S.H. and H. Chapman. It was the year after the Chapman brothers discovered and purchased this mysterious silver dollar in Berlin, Germany. How it got there, no one knows.

Through an agent, James V. Dexter successfully won the rarity at a new world record price - $1,000. The story of Dexter's purchase quickly circulated in newspapers throughout the country. The news started people searching for silver dollars dated 1804, but no other genuine examples are known to have been found.

J.V. Dexter was so proud of his coin that in 1887 he commissioned Denver artist and draughtsman Charles Stoll to commemorate his prized silver dollar in fine art. 

Nearly lost to history, Dexter's original artistic masterpiece was discovered a century later, still in Denver, right before this same silver dollar sold again in 1989 for another world record price – an astounding $990,000! The price attained by the Dexter Dollar was a record for ANY coin sold at public auction and set the coin collecting world abuzz.

To celebrate the 1989 sale of the Dexter Dollar, professional numismatist Mark Ferguson, the discoverer of James V. Dexter's original 1887 masterpiece, published limited-edition lithographs of this beautiful work of art. A total of 1,804 limited-edition prints of J.V. Dexter's masterpiece were published and hundreds have already been sold to collectors worldwide.

Now, to commemorate the sale of the Dexter Dollar as part of The D. Brent Pogue Collection Part V, Stack's Bowers Galleries offers you the opportunity to acquire one of the last remaining lithographs of James Vila Dexter's 1887 masterpiece, "The Dollar of 1804."

The posters are available for $45.  Call otr email to order:
800.458.4646 or Info at StacksBowers.com
-Editor

BOOK EXCERPT: FINANCIAL FOUNDING FATHERS

Pablo Hoffman forwarded this item from the Delancey Place blog, which excerpts passages from books.  He writes, "The sub-text of this excerpt: the antagonism between the entrenched and the progressive is eternal."
-Editor

Today's encore selection -- Financial Founding Fathers: The Men Who Made America Rich by Robert E. Wright and David J. Cowen. 

When America's Founding Fathers signed the Constitution in 1787, many believed that the new government was only authorized to do the functions specifically enumerated in that document. After all, those enumerated powers were already a bold leap forward from the Articles of Confederation. However, other signers felt that the government should be entitled to do things far beyond the enumerated powers, things "necessary and proper" to carry out its enumerated responsibilities. The difference between those two views formed an immediate rift between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson that echoes to this day -- and first exploded in the battle over a bill to create the first Bank of the United States, an institution nowhere mentioned in the Constitution:

"Banks were then highly controversial, but Alexander Hamilton was at the apex of his brilliance, guiding his Bank bill through Congress, ably aided by Congressman Fisher Ames of Massachusetts, a nationalist of the most fervent type. Although the Bank bill passed the Senate on January 20, 1791, congressman and Federalist Papers co-author James Madison tried to defeat it in the House. On February 8, the diminutive Madison and his allies lost a roll call that counted 39 in favor of the Bank and only 20 opposed. The political fighting had been particularly nasty, causing one senator to state in his diary that 'some gentlemen would have been ashamed to have their speeches of this day reflected in the newspapers of tomorrow.' The attack by the mostly southern opponents to the Bank was a landmark in American history, marking as it did the birth of the agrarian or Jeffersonian wing of the Republican Party. While this stand was the agrarian Republicans' first, it was certainly not th
 eir last; they would not rest in their attempt to destroy the creative work of Hamilton and his funding system.

"Washington had a decision to make. Dare he veto a bill of such importance passed by both houses of Congress and eagerly submitted by his closest economic advisor? Dare he sign the measure and face the accusation that he had passed a law that was, according to many prominent Virginians, impolitic, poor policy, and, perhaps most damning, clearly unconstitutional? Washington showed Hamilton the arguments against the Bank set forth by Randolph and Jefferson and gave him a week to respond. In essence, he placed in Hamilton's hands the power to save his creation.

To read the complete article, see: 

THE IMPLIED POWERS OF THE CONSTITUTION -- 3/23/17

(http://delanceyplace.com/view-archives.php?p=3296)

NEWMAN PORTAL DIGITIZES EDGAR ADAMS DOCUMENTS

The latest addition to the Newman Numismatic Portal is a group of documents relating to Edgar Adams and U.S. pattern coinage.   Project Coordinator Len Augsburger provided this  report.  The image is of Lot 139 from the Woodin catalog, an Amazonian $20 in copper (J-1251, realized $15.50).  Thanks.
-Editor

Newman Portal user Saul Teichman recently loaned a group of Edgar H. Adams fixed price lists, as well as his 1911 auction sale catalog presenting duplicates from the William H. Woodin collection. Woodin, later Treasury Secretary under Franklin Roosevelt,  famously traded two $50 gold patterns (J-1546, J-1548) to the Mint Cabinet in 1910 in return for “several crates.” 

The inventory of these crates is something of a holy grail among pattern collectors, and it is unknown if such an inventory ever even existed. The 1911 auction catalog offers a hint as to what Woodin got from the Mint in return for the pair of gold patterns, which today are proudly on display in the Smithsonian as part of the National Numismatic Collection. 

Edgar H. Adams Fixed Price Lists on Newman Portal:

https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/publisherdetail/517497

Edgar H. Adams Auction Catalog on Newman Portal:

https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/auctioncompanydetail/510207

Remember, there will be a User Forum at the upcoming CSNS show.
-Editor

The Newman Portal will host a user forum at the Central States show, Thursday, April 27, at the Renaissance Convention Center. This event will be held from 11AM – 1PM in the Serendipity Room. Lunch is included. We will present current status of the Newman Portal, including upcoming features and new content, and solicit user feedback on future direction. Admission is free, but please reserve a spot via email to Len Augsburger, Newman Portal Project Coordinator, at 

leonard.augsburger at wustl.edu. A similar event at Baltimore in November filled quickly, so please let us know as soon as possible if you wish to attend.

To visit the Newman Numismatic Portal, see: 

www.newmanportal.org

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: 

NEWMAN PORTAL USER FORUM AT CSNS CONVENTION

(www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n10a08.html)

NUMISMATISTS WHO WERE ALSO PAINTERS

Last week Pete Smith asked, "What numismatic author painted the attached image? Can you name any other numismatic authors who were painters?"
-Editor

And the answer is.... Frank Lapa, the coin dealer who ended up in prison for murder.   Fortunately, there are other far more upstanding numismatists who paint.
-Editor

Pete adds:

The Lapa painting is currently on eBay for a "Buy it Now" price of $1000. It is identified as a copy of "The Golden Sunset" by John Keys.

Ken Bressett writes:

There is a very famous author who  was very modest about his skill as a trained commercial artist.  His name was Richard Yeo, although he was better known to  most as R. S. Yeoman. Attached is a shot of one of his paintings that proudly hangs in my home. It was done while he was in retirement in Arizona sometime around 1986.

Thanks, everyone.  Great question!  Of course, it's
a little tongue in cheek from author/artist Pete Smith who had two of his paintings reproduced in The Secret History of the First U. S. Mint and the cover image for 1792: Birth of a Nation's Coinage with three more paintings inside.  See the lead article in this issue of The E-Sylum for more information on the new book.
-Editor

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: 

NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: MARCH 19, 2017 : Quiz: Who Is The Numismatist Who Painted This Landscape? 

(www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n12a08.html)

HARVEY STACK RECALLS THE PHILIP SHOWERS SALE

Harvey Stack provided this recollection of the Philip Showers.  Thanks!
-Editor

This week's E-Sylum by listing the publication by the Newman Portals of the Philip Showers collection was a great bid of news for you to publish, but you provided a prize for all your readers and subscribers.  A GIFT THAT WILL BE HARD
TO DUPLICATE.  

With the fact that you could publish the contents of an edition
which had but 12 copies made, and using the fine photography
we had in the book, and the super technology of the Newman
Portal when you reproduced it for YOUR READERS  you provided
a record and information, referred to through the years but rarely seen in total.

Since Stack's was the ones who produced the book, and distributed at the time to a few places, I feel I could add to your subscribers and supporters some additional information about the happening.

The following is how remember Philip Showers and his Half cents.

I first met Philip Showers in our offices in New York about the time I became a Full Time Numismatist in 1947.  Phil was a very close friend of my father's as well as an obvious good client.  "COPPER FEVER" reigned as a study area by a group of sophisticated collectors who used the shop we had as a CLUB HOUSE.

My father, was instilled with the early American Coins for their attractiveness as well as their importance to numismatics. Besides serving this elite group by locating and selling to them many of the prize copper coins that cane to 
the market in the post World War II years, he would join the group of the  "Copper Nuts" as they often called themselves and would spend hours talking about, showing examples to be discussed, and the closeness of this group made learning about early copper coins a pleasure for me. Quite often when
then met they invited me into to group and showed me what they themselves were learning and appreciating.

Among the group was Philip Showers, W.C. Blaisdel, Harold Bareford, Ray Gallo, Joseph Brobston, Joseph Spray, Dr. William Sheldon, (who liked Large cents in preference to the smaller Half Cents)  , C. Douglas Smith, to mention but a few.

Philip Showers had the desire to put together the best quality collection he could amass.  He traded as well as bought from the group who were not as advanced as he. He loved Copper, how well most were struck, how they had a lovely light toning which shown below the surface, and to him it was a miracle that they could strike coins in our early history without major machines of the 20th Century.

Phil Straus, who had appreciated the dedication that my father, Morton Stack, gave to him as he was building his collection promised him that when the day came that he wanted to pass on the collection to the next collector that Stack's
would be given the opportunity to do it for him.

Phil came to the decision in the mid 1960's  to sell he collection.  BUT INSTEAD OF SELLING IT IN AN AUCTION CATALOG, he wanted it to be sold intact. The only provision he required was to have a book published, which would  memorialize his efforts.  But he knew that this would be costly so he said that
we could produce a limited number of descriptive books as long as his collection would be recorded.

My father undertook the project.  First of all since all the varieties were already listed in several reference books, to redescribe all the varieties was not necessary. A list would appear in the early part pf the book.

But the quality of the collection, its overall beauty, if done correctly should be Photographed on plates for easy comparison with other coins of similar varieties. Where in the 1960"s could we get a skilled photographer to do this work for us.
Here again, the friendship and warm relations we had with our clients permitted us to approach someone who had the equipment and SKILL to do the job. One of our clients and warm friend was  a gentleman named Sam Andre.  He was the lead photographer at a magazine at the time called PIC.  

Sam Andre won many national rewards for his work, and was a lover of coins and admired the Philip Showers collection.  He looked at it with an eye of a  Collector, and saw the life that good images  can bring to those who appreciated Numismatics.  Sam agreed to take the job, and spent many a weekend in our
shop taking the pictures. He built a tent about the coins being photographed to diffuse the glare from photo lamps, he used minature spot lights to highlight the surfaces and design of each coin. He was like an artist creating a masterpiece with his photos.

After photographing the coins, he worked in his dark room to produce a set of photos of the entire Philip Showers  Half Cent Collection.   When he brought the photographic prints to us we had rarely seen a group of coins, no less a Collection, done in such detail.  He said that he was in a way happy to say
he would produce a dozen sets of the photographs, which he would mount on Hard Board so they could be bound in a book. That's what he did, and that's what the job we did to please Philip Showers, which was to him, and those who he wished the book given to, have a Photographic Record, expertly done
as a fitting Memorial to his collection.

When we were offering the collection to those who might be interested in buying the coins, the book acted as our primary salesman.  It was later sold intact to Willis Dupont.  The rest of the history of the collection is already known.

The collection was broken up after it left the Dupont hands  but the book still survives and records the importance of the collection, the work, effort, time and dedication of how I came to learn about the series, as I did with others
whom Stack's served through the generations, and that all who would see how a dealer, abiding by the wishes of the collector, created a book that memorializes one of the great collections of Half Cents ever assembled.

I must say after reviewing the illustrations on line, with the equipment that we have available today, one could take the illustrations you reproduced and use it as a guide.

I am indeed proud to see  this in print and thank you on behalf of the collectors who collect Half Cents, who did not know of this book, or did not have access to it, can now, either from the Newman Portal or The E-Sylum have guidance for their collection.

Thank you again for providing this information to Numismatics.

I reached out to Len Augsburger for help locating images of an individual Showers coin.  He writes:

There are images in the Goldberg / Missouri Cabinet catalog (2014, Goldberg sale #77), which contained Showers pieces that landed in the Tettenhorst collection.  I’ve attached one of these (1793 Cohen-4 half cent).

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: 

NEWMAN PORTAL SCANS SHOWERS CATALOG

(www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n12a06.html)

Newman Numismatic Portal Partner of the Week

NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: MARCH 26, 2017

 Stone Mountain Association Scrapbook Sought 

Jim Harris writes:

Can anyone direct me to a copy or information relating to: ‘Mrs. N. Burton Bass’s ‘Scrapbook of the [Stone Mountain Association] Harvest Campaign’, “from the Harry Sponseller collection”?  Unfortunate I have no other information.  I assume from the subject, it was put together C. 1927, perhaps privately printed and in limited edition.  Not even sure of the format.  Any assistance would be appreciated.

I added images of the 1925 Stone Mountain half dollar from the NGC Coin Explorer site.  Can anyone help locate the scrapbook?  Jim can be reached at

themscol at comcast.net
.  Thanks.
-Editor

 Researcher Seeks Earliest Records of Washington Tokens 
Regarding the Washington tokens mentioned in the Oxford Numismatic Society blog article last week,
Bob Leonard writes:

The author of this blog thought that the Double Head cent was struck as late as the 1840s, because "the token was still in circulation at mid century." This is an inadequate reason: 18th-century New Jersey coppers ("horseheads") were still found as late as the 1850s.

The date of striking is uncertain, however. I have been trying to locate the earliest record of each piece in this series, and the best I can come up with is a mention in the Third Bulletin of the Proceedings of the National Institute for the Promotion of Science that Item No. 319, "Copper Cent of America, Washington and Independence, 1783" was donated to this forerunner of the Smithsonian Institution Nov. 13, 1843 by Capt. J. S. Inglee (Vladimir Clain-Stefanelli, History of the National Numismatic Collections, 1968, p. 75). Capt. Inglee clearly thought it was old, so a date in the 1820s is more likely.

Does anyone know of any earlier records for any of these four pieces?

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: 

OXFORD SOCIETY DISPLAYS AMERICAN COINS

(www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n12a17.html)

 On 'Dropping a Dime' 

Last week I asked, "Would anyone care to explain for our younger readers what “dropping a dime” means?"
-Editor

Jeff Starck of Coin World writes:

It refers to that time long ago when there pay phones (What are those?!) and it cost a dime to make a phone call, generally to avoid trouble.

Pete Mosiondz, Jr. writes:

It was my understanding as a kid that it meant that one would go to the corner pay phone and call someone to let somebody know of another person’s behavior or conduct, or perhaps calling the police. Pay phones were a dime back then for the first three minutes. You would drop the dime in the appropriate slot and dial the number. Pay phones, as I recall, had slots for nickels, dimes and quarters.

Googler-in-Chief Ron Haller-Williams offers the following.
-Editor

Well, if you Google the exact phrase (i.e. with the double quotes), the first hit on offer states:

The phrase refers to making a phone call. In early detective novels, it's a fairly literal reference to someone "dropping a dime" into a payphone slot to make a call (typically, to the police to rat out or snitch on some criminal activity).

Also on offer is this:

“Dimes” in Basketball. The term “dropping dimes” means making assists in basketball, and it is believed to refer to a person that could “drop a dime” into a payphone to tell the police about a crime. That means he “assists” the police in solving a crime.

Reading the above a couple of times should make it clear - and this comment is from a "Limey"!

P.S.  I remember when (in the UK) one had to insert 3 pennies (value about 5c) into the slot, then either press Button A to get connected or Button B to get the money back. (Must have been about the mid 1950s.)

Thanks, everyone!
-Editor

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: 

VIDEO: THE 1913 LIBERTY HEAD NICKEL

(www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n12a14.html)

 Dave Hirt On Maximilian Salmon, Lyman Low and George Lovett  
Dave Hirt writes:

  The bio on Maximilian Salmon was interesting to me. I own catalogs of both his coin sales. His address
in the catalogs is 137 Pa. Ave. Baltimore, Baltimore. The same address is also listed in a copy of Mercer's  Numismatic Directory for 1884 that I have.

  Also, I was looking through the catalog of Lyman Low's sale of May 31, 1922, and noticed a lot
that I will quote his description:

 1887 Seneca Falls, NY 100th ann. Early view of the falls and log cabin. Dies by  G. H. Lovett, who paid
compliment by placing  L  H.  L.  NY  in dies, the only instance where the cataloger name appears on a medal or token.

I wonder what was the connection of Lyman Low and Seneca Falls? 

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: 

MAXIMILIAN SALMON (1857-1925)

(www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n11a12.html)

 Albert Delmonte  
Jeffrey Zarit writes:

The story of the Dutch Ducat was very interesting, however, the Delmonte book was written by ALBERT Delmonte and NOT ANDRE.
I believe there was a supplement for the gold version as there was for the silver one, with corrections and more plates

.
In the mid 1970's, I met Mr. Delmonte when he came to the New York International convention. He was very knowledgable and I wish that I had more knowledge about Dutch numismatics then. Today, I would have dozens of detailed questions to ask him.

I believe the Dutch coins from about 1500-1800 are just as interesting and just as complex as the Germanic ones, however, they do not get the notice that they deserve.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: 

PRIMARY RESEARCH AND THE NETHERLANDS DUCAT

(www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n12a26.html)

 On Bar Mitzvah Medals  
Jeff Starck  writes:

These are cataloged in Israels’ Money & Medals 1948/1973, published by Arnold Kagan.
The work is indispensable for these early Israeli medals, with design and production details to answer almost any question.

I stumbled upon a few large bronze examples of this medal in my flea market and antique shop hunting, and noted Judaica expert/auctioneer William Rosenblum has sold examples from time to time.
A total of 12 examples of various sizes and an array of metals were made, with mintages as high as 40,000 for the 19mm, 5-gram gold version.

The medal was issued to mark the Israeli states’ 13th anniversary or “birthday” but the importance of the Bar Mitvah design and the ubiquity of the more affordable bronze and silver examples makes them appropriate and popular gifts for that important ceremony in Jewish life.

I should also state that the medals are found on eBay from time to time, as this example is among my recent listings:

Jewish Bar Mitzvah bronze medal tribes of Israel, 59mm

(www.ebay.com/itm/112310351461)

Bill Rosenblum writes:

The first issue of the medals was issued in 1961 on the 13th anniversary of Israel. Various size medals in gold, bronze and silver were issued then. The 1961 gold medals had mintage's of 10,000 for 27mm, 20,000 for the 22mm and 40,000 for the 19mm. They are not scarce but are always very popular and I've sold them to people who wanted an unusual Bar Mitzvah gift. And Rita and I have probably given out more than we've sold as our Bar Mitzvah gift. Similar issues were also struck in 1971, 1978 and the early part of this century. 

The first issues were also struck in 19, 35 and 59mm in silver and 59mm in bronze. And there are number of varieties of some of those that make an interesting challenge to some. Some of the 19mm silver pieces were also issued as a key chain. Back in the 1970s there was even a dealer in Southern California who basically made a market (perhaps a small one) by buying and selling Bar Mitzvah medals.

Thanks.  I'm glad these Numismatic Nuggets articles are finding an audience.  They are a lot of work to put together, but serve as a great way to surface interesting items that might not otherwise be discussed.
-Editor

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: 

NUMISMATIC NUGGETS: MARCH 19, 2017 : Bar Mitzvah Gold Medal 

(www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n12a21.html)

 More On Death By Books 
Larry Gaye writes:

Bibliomortis is my candidate for "Death By Books" or bookshelves.  I hope I'm one of the first, not to die by books, but to contribute my thoughts and insight regarding the subject.

Morten Eske Mortensen of Copenhagen writes:

In the year 2013 I actually by a split margin of just 1 minute survived the horrific destiny of ”Death by numismatic bookshelves”.

A series of photographs of this sad event have been put on the web. 
The photos show the exact place (the working desk), where I would have been either crushed or squeezed or fixated (for starvation) to death by hundreds and hundreds of kilograms of coin books pressing down on my back fixating my chest against the working place desk.

Today the shelves have been solidly bolted to the wall !

Morten survived, but only by luck. Maybe we shouldn't laugh so much at the potential for calamity.  My shelves survived the Virginia earthquake that damaged the Washington Monument, but I do wish now that they were anchored to the wall.  My newest shelf came with a built-in strap for doing just that.  I don't know if that's a new regulation, but it's a good idea.  Toddlers have been killed climbing up to reach things on shelves.
-Editor

To view Morten's photos, see: 

http://numisbooks.dk/info/Reolvaeltning201303.htm

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: 

MORE ON THE THREAT OF COLLAPSING BOOKSHELVES

(www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n11a07.html)

VOCABULARY TERM: INTERRUPTED REEDING

Dick Johnson submitted this entry from his Encyclopedia of Coin and Medal Terminology.  Thanks.  
-Editor

The inner aperture of this coining collar shows a blank area between areas where reeding has been machined into the collar wall. This creates the edge of a struck piece using this collar in a coining press. It will have a plane edge where the blank area without reeding is located and two areas with. Note lettering on the collar indicates this is for a 50mm (2-inch ) coin, dual blank areas – called “bars” here -- and the date it was made. Any number of blank with reeded areas is called interrupted reeding. Photo Medallic Art Company.

 Interrupted Reeding. 
Struck from a collar with one or more smooth areas on the inner wall of the collar alternating with the reeding. This is in contrast to a piece which is fully reeded forming a REEDED EDGE, or completely smooth forming a PLANE EDGE. When only one smooth area is formed, this is generally at the bottom or top edge so edge marking can be placed there at some later time.  See REEDING, EDGE LETTERING AND NUMBERING.

In 1965 the Franklin Mint developed a method of interrupted reeding that provided gambling tokens of similar diameter with edge distinctions to identify different casino's tokens by the edges when stacked in columns or laid out in rows. Pairs of blank and reeded areas, plus different width of reeds give this distinction. A separate collar with unique blank and reeded areas provided this when pieces were struck in this collar. It was granted patent number 3350802 in 1967 for this type of reeding.  See REEDED EDGE.
CLASS 10.2

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Price goes up to original price of $100 on 
April 15 if any copies are still available.

Order all three of my books and a new book from Spain.

       I pay all postage costs in U.S.A.

Encyclopedia of Coin and Medal Technology
1,854 entries on every aspect of how coins and
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Sample entries in recent E-Sylum issues 
as Vocabulary Words. Do not  miss this
opportunity!  678 pages, card cover. . . . .$50

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and medals. 147 pages, card cover. . .. . . $45

Who’s Who Among American Medallists.
Biographies of 4,137 artists of American 
coins and medals, with some as long as 4
pages. With article of American Art Styles,
bibliography 386 pages, Hard cover. . … $65  

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Spanish to English. By Gary Beals. I served as technical editor for this innovative work. Useful for all Spanish numismatics.  Fully illustrated. Over 2,000 terms. 354 pages Card cover...$35

 Checks only please.

Dick Johnson      139 Thompson Drive     Torrington, CT 06790

WAYTE RAYMOND (1886-1956)

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 New York dealer and publisher Wayte Raymond.
-Editor

Wayte Raymond (1886-1956), was born at Norwalk, Fairfield County, Connecticut on November 9, 1886, son of Wayte A. Raymond (1852-1934), a brush manufacturer, traveling salesman, and a native of  Battle Creek, Michigan, and Harriet W. Raymond (1849-), a native of Connecticut. His Prescott ancestry served in the Revolutionary War.

            Wayte Raymond, the gentle giant of American Numismatics on whose broad shoulders we are borne aloft.

            Wayte Raymond was a prolific writer and publisher, one of the great innovators in American numismatic history introducing Beistle's patented new coin storage boards with their clear transparent protective viewing windows he began manufacturing them under his own brand name : National Coin Albums, and also introduced photographically illustrated standard coin catalogues, a wide variety of numismatic literature on American and foreign coins, tokens, and medals, and sixty-nine coin auction sales under the name Wayte Raymond, forty-three coin auction sales under the name United States Coin Company, and fifty-four coin auction sales under the name J. C. Morgenthau, totaling 166 known coin auction sales. Among his innovations was streamlining or so-called modernizing of American numismatics making it exclusive to coins, medals, tokens, paper money, and its storage materials and literature. In 1957, John J. Ford dubbed him "The Dean of American Numismatists". 

>From 1901 to 1912, he worked as a teller at the City National Bank, South Norwalk, Connecticut, and while handling old coins and paper money he became interested in them. In May 1902, at the age of 15 1/2 he applied to the ANA.

             On June 1, 1902, he became ANA Member No. 396.  He also became a member of the ANS.

            He began selling English silver pennies of Edward I and II, London and Canterbury Mints, at 50 Cents apiece, in The Numismatist, August 1902 issue on page 250.

            In the May 1903 issue of   The Numismatist, he solicited buying U. S. Half Cents and Hard Times Tokens. In the June issue he expanded his want list to include pre-1820 EAC, English copper from James I - William IV, and British colonials.

            In 1904, he began to publish his Fixed Price Lists and solicited customers in the May issue of The Numismatist.

            During the period from 1904 to 1908 he began amassing coins from collectors and over the counter at the bank organizing them and selling them through lists now lost.

 In 1908, he was a charter member of the New York Numismatic Club. 

            On his 22nd birthday, November 9, 1908, he held his first mail bid coin auction sale.

United States Coin Company
In September 1912, he quit working as a teller at the City National Bank, South Norwalk, Connecticut, established the United States Coin Company, becoming a full-time coin dealer at 200m Fifth Avenue, New York, with partner Elmer Sears of Swansea as the treasurer. From 1912 to 1918 they held 43 coin auction sales.

In May 1915, he sold the Granberg/Woodin Collection.

            In July 1915, Edgar Holmes Adams appears to have assisted Raymond publishing the United States Coin Company Bulletin.

            From 1916 to 1933, he published the Coin and Medal Bulletin. (Clain Stefanelli 473) From April 1916 to March 1917 Edgar Holmes Adams co-edited Coin and Medal Bulletin with Wayte Raymond. Raymond revived the publication in a new series from 1924-1933.

            When the new Mercury Head dime made its first appearance Wayte Raymond remarks were published in the December issue of The Numismatist, 

"I think very favorably of the new dimes. The head of Liberty has considerable resemblance to some coins of the Roman Republic, and is very artistic. The only criticism I have to make is the fact that the words "In God We Trust" and the date seem to be placed on the die as an afterthought, as there is really no place for them on the obverse."

            In 1917, he was made a Fellow of the American Numismatic Society.

 On April 25, 1917, he married Olga Eleanor Louise Osterholm (1887-1976), of Brooklyn, New York.

 On May 1, 1918 the United States Coin Company was liquidated.

 Anderson Studios / Scott Stamp & Coin Company  
Wayte Raymond's public announcement of the dissolution of the United States Coin Company published in the April 1918 issue of The Numismatist, page 137. He moved to the Anderson Studios, Park Avenue and 59th Street, 

In 1920, he published with Edgar Holmes Adams a book on the history of American merchant’s store cards and checks entitled : United States Store Cards: A List of Merchants’ Advertising, Checks, Restaurant Checks and Kindred Pieces Issued from 1789 up to Recent Years (New York : E. H. Adams & W. Raymond, 1920).     

            On July 15, 1922, he and his wife Olga sailed aboard the S. S. Olympic to the British Isles and to France.

 In March 1923, he handled the purchase of the Col. James W. Ellsworth 2,000 specimen collection for $100,000, the largest amount ever paid in the annals of American numismatic history at that time. He already was friends with Col. Green who became his most important client until Green's demise in 1936.

In 1931, he published Private Gold Coins Struck in the United States, 1830-1861; and United States Copper Coins. 

In 1932, he began to publish his annual series : Standard Catalogue of United States Silver and Copper Coins.

            From 1932 to 1945 he catalogued together with Philadelphia coin dealer James MacAllister and conducted auction sales for J. C. Morgenthau Galleries, known as the Raymond-MacAllister, Morgenthau Sales. 

            In 1933, he published United States Notes 1861-1923; and Silver Coins of the United States Mints; and Premium Values of Rare United States Coins ; and Standard Catalogue of Early American Coins 1652-1796. 

            From 1934 to 1946 he managed the coin department for Scott Stamp & Coin Company, ending his term he handed the baton to his former employee John J. Ford and his company, New Netherlands Coin Company.

Whew.  Raymond's story is far from over, but I'm going to stop here for now.  See the complete article online for the rest, although I may pick up where we left off next week.
Thanks again to John Lupia for sharing his prolific biographical work.
-Editor

To read the complete article, see: 

RAYMOND, WAYTE

(https://sites.google.com/a/numismaticmall.com/www/numismaticmall-com/raymond-wayte-a)

U.S. MINT PRINCIPAL DEPUTY DIRECTOR RHETT JEPPSON

An article on AllGov.com published March 23, 2017 profiles Principal Deputy Director of the United States Mint Rhett Jeppson.
-Editor

>From January 12, 2015, until the day of the inauguration of Donald Trump, Matthew Rhett Jeppson ran the U.S. Mint, despite the Senate’s failure to act on his nomination as Mint director. Located in the Treasury Department, the Mint is responsible for minting U.S. coins (but not printing currency). The Mint director’s post has been vacant since January 2011, when Edmund Moy left. Although President Barack Obama nominated auto executive Bibiana Boerio to the job in 2012, her nomination died in committee. Jeppson himself was nominated to be Mint director in July 2015 and made it as far as a hearing before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs eight months later, but he was never confirmed, despite being a lifelong Republican.

Born in Midvale, Utah, circa 1965 to E. Mark and Orma Jean Jeppson, Matthew Rhett Jeppson was the only boy out of four children. After the family moved to Florida when Rhett was 16, he earned a B.A. in History at the University of Florida in 1987.

Jeppson joined the Marine Corps in 1988, where he served as principal battalion staff officer, 81mm Mortar Platoon commander, Rifle Company executive officer, and Rifle Platoon commander in the 1st Marine Division from 1989 to 1991. During the 1990 Gulf War, he led Marines into combat in Kuwait.

Jeppson had to take a step back from the Corps from 1992 to 1994, in order to run his father’s small construction business during a serious illness.

Returning to duty, Jeppson served as operations and exercise officer at Special Operations Command Central from 1995 to 1999. 

Jeppson also worked for the State of Florida. He was director of state purchasing and special assistant to the secretary at the Department of Business and Professional Regulation of the State of Florida from 1999 to 2003.

Jeppson’s later Marine Corp service included stints as counter-terrorism planner and chief of current operations for Marine Forces Europe from 2001 to 2003; chief of joint national training capability and European engagements lead at the United States Special Operations Command from 2004 to 2008; deputy director of operations for U.S. Forces Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010; and lead crisis response planner at U.S. European Command from 2010 to 2012. In January 2016, Jeppson retired from the Marine Corps with nearly 28 years active and reserve service.

Jeppson joined the Small Business Administration (SBA) in 2012, serving as associate administrator in the Office of Veterans Business Development from 2012 to 2015, and as acting chief operating officer from 2014 to 2015.

Starting in January 2015, he served in the newly created position of principal deputy director of the Mint.

Rhett Jeppson is married to Renee Jeppson, with whom he has four children: Holly, Heidi, Hayden, and Hans. 

To read the complete article, see: 

Principal Deputy Director of the United States Mint: Who Is Rhett Jeppson?

(www.allgov.com/news/top-stories/principal-deputy-director-of-the-united-states-mint-who-is-rhett-jeppson-170323?news=860124)

RESEARCHING SS CENTRAL AMERICA'S CARGO

A Coin Talk discussion thread was started this week when member TypeCoin971793 mentioned buying a an October 17, 1857 newspaper featuring a contemporary account of the sinking of the SS Central America, the shipwreck which ultimately yielded a trove of gold-rush era ingots and coins.

Member doug444 responded with his recollection of meeting and working with Tommy Thompson, the leader of the team which recovered the treasure with underwater robot technology.
-Editor

As you may recall, Tommy Thompson worked at Battelle Labs in Columbus, Ohio. I was a Columbus Realtor, working for Donahue Realtors, now defunct. I was his Realtor at the time he was finishing up the deep-water technology. He and his wife and two darling little boys lived in a big old house on Neil Avenue just south of the OSU campus, where he had a short bike ride to work. 

They had bought a small grocery to serve residents of that area, known as Victorian Village, but the store was losing money, so I listed the property for sale, including inventory. No takers. In the meantime, Tommy found out I knew coins pretty well, and hired me to secure San Francisco mint records of the 1850s to try to make an educated guess about what he might find. 

Eventually, I predicted he would find lots of San Francisco half eagles and double eagles of the 1850s, although neither denomination was struck until two years before the wreck, thus limiting the variety of dates significantly. I also predicted there would be some private and territorial gold, mostly Moffat. This proved to be correct. 

By that time, we had become good friends, much more than Realtor and client. I asked to invest in the venture, but he refused, stating that it was too risky for someone with such a small, intermittent, unreliable income (Realtors, he meant). 

In June, 1988, I moved from Columbus to Jacksonville, Florida, and never saw him again, although an eerie thing happened; my first day in Jacksonville, the newspaper published a front page story about him, speculating that his vessel might actually be operating out of the Jacksonville area, instead of Charleston SC, as widely-believed. A large photo showed a $20 gold piece laying on clean white sand on the bottom of the ocean. 

When I first met him 30+ years ago, he was a smart, personable, likable guy with a big dream. 
His boys would be about 40 now. 

To read the complete article, see: 

A contemporary account of the SS Central America Disaster 

(www.cointalk.com/threads/a-contemporary-account-of-the-ss-central-america-disaster.293365/)

THE NEW ENGLAND GOLD HOAX OF 1898

Gosh, why does getting gold out of the ocean have to be so darned hard?   Why not just suck it up with a giant vacuum cleaner?   Well, the laws of physics are stubborn things, but the PROMISE of gold has always proved a handy means of sucking money from investors.   Here's an interesting Atlas Obscura story of a 19th century scheme to extract gold from ocean water.
-Editor

According to the National Ocean Service, our oceans hold some 20 million pounds of gold, suspended in normal seawater. But this gold is spread throughout the normal mineral content of seawater to the tune of “parts per trillion.” As the NOAA puts it, “Each liter of seawater contains, on average, about 13 billionths of a gram of gold.” There are also gold deposits within the seafloor, but profitably mining them is far beyond our current abilities.

Nonetheless, gold is gold, and it has a way of making people believe all sorts of speculative things. Ever since British chemist Edward Sonstadt discovered that there was gold in seawater in 1872, there have been those who have tried to capitalize on it, honestly or not.

The earliest, and largest, attempt to mine the oceans for gold took place in the 1890s. And it was all a hoax. The scam began when New England pastor Prescott Ford Jernegan claimed to have invented a “Gold Accumulator” that could suck gold from seawater via a process involving specially treated mercury and electricity.

Claiming that the inspiration for the contraption had come to him in a heaven-sent fever dream, Jernegan, along with childhood friend Charles Fisher, started the Electrolytic Marine Salts Company. Jernegan performed a seemingly successful demonstration of the accumulator to some potential investors, and they were off and running. An attractive prospectus was drawn up that claimed there was “enough gold in the waters of Long Island Sound to pay off the National Debt and leave a larger gold reserve in the Treasury than the Government has yet possessed.” According to the New England Historical Society, by 1898, Electrolytic Marine Salts had garnered around $1 million in investor cash.

The company opened a gold-extraction plant in remote Lubec, Maine, where their operations would be less likely to be inspected. The operation was to use 1,000 of the accumulators to drag the waters for gold. Excitement about the operation became such that work on a second, larger plant began, with the hopes that Lubec might be turned into a gold-rush boom town.

However, in July of 1898, things fell apart. As the shareholders began wanting a closer look at their investment, both Jernegan and Fisher disappeared. According to The New York Times, Jernegen had recently taken out $80,000 in government bonds. It would come out that during the initial demonstration, Fisher had swum down to the accumulator and replaced the pure mercury with his own gold-laced mixture. The accumulators turned out to be little more than trumped-up soup kettles.

When the hoax was exposed, hundreds who had come to Lubec for work were instantly unemployed, the plant was shut down, and the investors were out of their money. Jernegan fled to Europe with his family, and managed to weasel his way out of jail time, while Fisher was simply never heard from again.

To read the complete article, see: 

(www.atlasobscura.com/articles/gold-ocean-sea-hoax-science-water-boom-rush-treasure)

Here's more from the New England Historical Society.
-Editor

With offices opening quickly in New York, London and Boston, the Electrolytic Marine Salts Company announced its plans to the world. The papers were quick to spread the news that the company was accepting investors and that it would soon harvest tons of gold from the sea.

The company created elaborate prospectuses to entice investors, and Jernegan relentlessly pursued investors among his former schoolmates and acquaintances.

The money poured in, mostly from Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York. The company now had to set up shop and start operations. Looking for a place that would avoid prying eyes, they settled on Lubec, Maine. Its extremely high tides and strong currents, they explained, made it the perfect location. There, they leased a grist mill, constructed a series of underwater “accumulators” to harvest the gold, and employed more than 100 men.

In Lubec, Fisher simply repeated his act, slipping under the water and salting the accumulators with gold to be brought to the surface, analyzed and shipped to the company’s offices in Boston. As the gold continued to come in to Boston, the word spread and more investors were induced to buy shares.

New England Gold Hoax of 1898: Greed Meets Moxie
.
(www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/new-england-gold-hoax-1898/)

THE BOOK BAZARRE

 The U.S. MINT celebrates 225 years of coinage!  
In A Guide Book of the United States Mint Q. David Bowers takes you on a tour of more than three dozen American mints from pre-federal private issuers to the modern era, including a section on mints that never were. Includes an appendix on U.S. Mint–related medals, ephemera, and other collectibles. Volume 23 in the Bowers Series. 448 pages, full color, for $24.95, online at
at 
Whitman.com
, or call 1-800-546-2995.

POGUE V SALE AT EVERGREEN THIS WEEK

This March 22, 2017 blog post by Dave Bowers of Stacks Bowers invites everyone to the upcoming Pogue V sale at the historic Evergreen House in Baltimore.
-Editor

The panorama of American numismatics has many landmarks. One of the first was the establishment of the Mint Cabinet in July 1838—setting the foundation for what is the core of the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution today. Similarly, the founding of the American Numismatic Society in 1858 and of the American Numismatic Association in 1891 will be forever remembered. Some of our readers were part of the November 1962 Treasury release of the exceedingly rare (up to that point) 1903-O dollar. And then there was the discovery and marketing of the unequalled treasure of American gold ingots and coins from the treasure of the S.S. Central America.

In the field of great collections and their sale, the 19th century had its own landmark events—the Bushnell Sale in 1882, the Parmelee Sale in 1890, and others. Similarly, a number of great collections crossed the auction block in the early 20th century.

This brings us to relatively modern times when quite a few great collections have been cataloged and sold, with Stack's Bowers Galleries and its antecedents handling more than all other auction firms combined. A short list includes the Garrett Collection for the Johns Hopkins University, the Amon Carter, Jr. Family Collection, the Norweb Collection, selections from the Virgil M. Brand Collection, the unique Louis E. Eliasberg Collection, the Harry W. Bass, Jr. Collection, and the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection.

Then, starting in 2015 came our offering of the greatest collection ever formed in terms of high quality, rarity, and value. In four events we have showcased the D. Brent Pogue Collection Parts I to IV. Already, the total realization is greater than any rare coin collection sold anywhere in the world! Part V, to be held on Friday evening, March 31, in conjunction with Sotheby's, will be epochal as well.

The sale will be held at the Evergreen Museum & Library in Baltimore. Owned by and under the custodianship of the Johns Hopkins University, this is the ancestral home of the Garrett family, starting with T. Harrison Garrett, who began his interest in coins while a student at Princeton in 1864, A scion of the family that developed and controlled the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Garrett, in addition to his business activities, was a collector extraordinaire. In Evergreen House he had a complete set of autograph documents of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, a full double-elephant-folio set of John J. Audubon's Birds of America, and an incredible library. A special area connected to the library was set aside for his coin collection—which grew to become the finest in America in its time.

Our sale of the D. Brent Pogue Collection Part V will be extraordinary for the coins it contains and for the venue in which it will be held. Nothing like this has ever been done before.

You are invited to attend in person. Our staff will be at the Whitman Coin & Collectibles Expo at the Baltimore Convention Center on Thursday and Friday—a dynamic event in its own right. Our auction will include sessions of coins, tokens, medals, and paper money—including the Blue Moon Collection, a cabinet that has been off the market for more than a generation. A lively dealers' bourse will be a drawing card as well. Lot viewing for the Pogue Collection Sale V will be in a special area.

The staff of Stack's Bowers Galleries will be on hand to meet and greet you—the red carpet will be rolled out! Plan to be there!

In addition to the printed and online sale catalogs, these is the book Dave wrote about the collection - see the first E-Sylum article linked below.
-Editor

To read the complete article, see: 

Be a Part of History in the Making

(http://www.stacksbowers.com/News/Pages/Blogs.aspx?ArticleID=2479)

To read earlier E-Sylum articles, see: 

NEW BOOK: THE D. BRENT POGUE RARE COIN CABINET

(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v18n06a05.html)

KRALJEVICH ON POGUE COLLECTION, PART V

(www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n11a19.html)

SELECTIONS FROM THE POGUE COLLECTION, PART V

(www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n11a20.html)

THE POGUE FAMILY COLLECTION AND EPIC PAST SALES

On a related note, Greg Reynolds published a CoinWeek article March 16, 2017 about other great collections in the same league as Pogue.
-Editor

Before citing auctions of other great collections, it is important to emphasize the scope and importance of the Pogue Collection, which is phenomenal in some ways while being limited in others. The Pogues did not build sets of all series of classic U.S coins. More than 90% of the coins in the five sales were dated before 1840. Before 2004, the Pogues were limiting their collection to pre-1840 U.S. coins, with but a few exceptions.

The focus on the period 1793-1839 period is consistent with a tradition that dictates that design types that started before 1837 and ended before 1840 are ‘early U.S. coins’. 

The epic collections and corresponding great auctions of the past did not emphasis early U.S. series in this manner. They all included extensive runs of coins from later time periods. Even so, the amazing accomplishments of the Pogues and their advisors in the field of pre-1840 U.S. coins are worth emphasizing repeatedly. This core (1793-1839) Pogue Collection is incredibly cool and is meaningful to a wide range of coin collectors.

These great sales have been part of the culture of coin collecting in the U.S. ever since the 1850s. Rarities from the auctions of the McCoy Collection in 1864 and the Mickley Collection in 1867 are often discussed in the present.

It is relevant that books about Eliasberg, the Garrett Collection and 
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