The E-Sylum v20n43 OCTOBER 22, 2017

[The E-Sylum]

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The E-Sylum
  
  An electronic publication of
  The Numismatic Bibliomania Society


Volume 20, Number 43, October 22, 2017
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WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM OCTOBER 22, 2017
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NEW BOOK: A GUIDE BOOK OF GOLD EAGLE COINS
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NEW BOOK: WORLD OF LEADING BULLION COINS
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1973 ALTERNATIVE CENT MATERIALS REPORT
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NEWMAN PORTAL SEARCH: GALAPAGOS ISLANDS
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ROBERT E. LEE IN NUMISMATICS
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HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2017
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ALTERNATE TERMS FOR 'CENTER DOT'
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NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: OCTOBER 22, 2017
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CHICKASAW BIG KEYS AND THE YOCUM SILVER DOLLAR
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TRANSLATION OF THE 1783 CHARLES SPENER LETTER
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ONGOING THOUGHTS ON THE CONTINENTAL DOLLAR
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VOCABULARY TERM: FABRIC
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JOHN KIMBALL WIGGIN (1825-1875)
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PAN TO AUCTION JOHN MERCANTI PLASTERS
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COLONIAL PAPER RARITIES IN NEWMAN PART VIII
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WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: OCTOBER 22, 2017
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VIDEO: ROYAL CANADIAN MINT'S GOLD PRODUCTS
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SWITZERLAND’S NEW TEN FRANC BANKNOTE 
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SWISS BANKNOTE DESIGNER MANUELA PFRUNDER
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UKRAINE BANS RUSSIAN CRIMEA BANKNOTE
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ARTIST WINS AWARD FOR LINCOLN PENNY PORTRAIT
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FEATURED WEB SITE: BRIANRXM
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Click here to read this issue on the web

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To comment or submit articles, reply to whomren at gmail.com





Content presented in The E-Sylum  is not necessarily researched or independently fact-checked, and views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.



WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM OCTOBER 22, 2017





No new subscribers this week; our count is 3,298.
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 two new books, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, notes from E-Sylum  readers, information and thoughts on the Continental dollar and the ever-elusive Yocum dollar, Boston collector John Wiggin, colonial paper rarities and world banknotes.


Other topics this week include U.S. gold coinage, world bullion coins, alternative materials for the U.S. cent, Robert E. Lee, the Irving Berlin Congressional Gold Medal, John Mercanti plasters, and the 2017 U.S. Mint Forum.


To learn more about Galapagos Island counterstamps, Proceedings of the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia, Netherlands/America Enduring Friendship medal, pewter dollars, the Yamassee War, banknote designer Manuela Pfrunder, Russia's Crimean banknote, and coins in TV episodes and movies, read on. Have a great week, everyone!


Wayne Homren 
Editor, The E-Sylum

 



NEW BOOK: A GUIDE BOOK OF GOLD EAGLE COINS


Dennis Tucker submitted this article about author Dave Bowers and his latest book.  Thanks.
-Editor




Dave Bowers, Books, and America’s $10 Gold Coins

by Dennis Tucker, Publisher, Whitman Publishing
 



A new book on U.S. gold eagles ($10 coins) will debut just before Thanksgiving 2017.
 

Its author, Q. David Bowers, nicknamed the “Dean of American Numismatics,” has been studying U.S. gold coins for more than 60 years, and writing about them almost as long. He has examined more than 5,000 numismatic catalogs, read countless periodicals, and studied all the available books on gold coins. On top of this old-fashioned “book learning,” he has personally examined hundreds of thousands of gold coins, many of them in the process of cataloging the most famous coin collections ever to cross an auction block.
 

His studying began even before he laid hands on his first gold coin. Dave has told me that when he was a young numismatist (he got started as a coin dealer in his early teens, in the 1950s), gold pieces weren’t seen very often. Even among the grownups in his hobby club such coins were rarely brought in for show-and-tell, or to trade. It wouldn’t be until the early 1970s that President Franklin Roosevelt’s Depression-era restrictions on gold ownership would be lifted. Then, Congress and the Treasury Department spent 10 years of trial and error developing a sustainable (and, as time would prove, very successful) gold-bullion program.
 


A New Modern Era for Classic Gold Coins 
Since the 1986 debut of the U.S. Mint’s American Eagle coinage, Americans find it easier than ever to buy, sell, and trade gold bullion. On the numismatic side (apart from bullion coins), today many factors make classic pre-1934 American gold coins easy to study, collect, and enjoy.
  



         The Guide Book of United States Coins (the perennial “Red Book”) gave numismatics a huge boost starting in the late 1940s. The Red Book is updated annually, with hundreds of thousands of copies distributed every year, making the coin-collecting hobby popular and accessible.

         World economic conditions brought an influx of U.S. gold coins back from Europe starting in the 1950s.

         The invention of modern professional third-party coin certification in the 1980s brought seemingly scientific stability to the subjective art of grading, and gave birth to a robust sight-unseen market.

         The communications boom provided by modern technology has made the available pool of gold coins broader and deeper for any collector with an Internet connection.
 



Books Rarer Than Coins 
Gold coins haven’t always been this popular and accessible.
 

Looking back to the 1950s, when Dave Bowers started in the hobby, books about gold coins were even rarer than the coins themselves. In 1964 researcher Walter Breen wrote a 24-page monograph on gold dollars, focusing on die varieties. In 1975 numismatist David W. Akers, after spending more than 20 years researching gold coins (dollars in particular) and keeping detailed notes on their every aspect, published United States Gold Coins: An Analysis of Auction Records, Gold Dollars. Over the next seven years Akers compiled volumes covering every U.S. gold coin series. Breen, too, had continued to write monographs on other gold coins (up to the $10 denomination, published in 1967), and included gold coins in his two encyclopedias published in 1977 and 1988.
 

In the meantime, other researchers slowly added to the hobby community’s knowledge of U.S. gold coins. Articles were published in Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine, Numismatic News, Coin World, The Numismatist, Coins Magazine, and other periodicals. Cornelius Vermeule explored the aesthetics of U.S. coinage, including gold, in Numismatic Art in America (1971). Coin World published its Almanac in several editions starting in 1975, providing much technical information and data. Kenneth Bressett and others codified the grading of U.S. coins, including gold, in the Official American Numismatic Association Grading Standards for United States Coins (first edition, 1978). Later, Richard Doty, curator of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Numismatic Collection, wrote his wonderful America’s Money, America’s Story, and Roger W. Burdette dug into the National Archives and other primary sources to build his award-winning   Renaissance of American Coinage books. The gold coins of
  individual mints were covered by Rusty Goe (Carson City), Douglas Winter (Carson City, Charlotte, Dahlonega, and New Orleans), and other specialists.
 


Bowers Makes His Entrance 
In the midst of this activity, Q. David Bowers emerged as the preeminent author on U.S. gold coinage—a position he holds to this day.
  

Bowers’s History of United States Coinage, As Illustrated by the Garrett Collection, published in 1979, included his analysis of the nation’s gold coins. In 1982 he published   United States Gold Coins: An Illustrated History. In 1989 his numismatic history of collecting U.S. gold coins was released as part of the proceedings of the Coinage of the Americas Conference. Various of his other books of the 1990s and early 2000s, plus hundreds of articles and columns before and since, have shared stories and insight on U.S. gold coins.
 

A Renaissance in Numismatic Publishing 
In 2003 Bowers joined forces with Whitman Publishing, longtime publisher of the Red Book and other hobby books, signing on as the company’s numismatic director. This collaboration has led to a modern renaissance in American book-publishing in the field of numismatics. The rising tide has lifted the ship of gold, so to speak. Since then Whitman has published an average of one new book either entirely or substantially about gold coins per year, ranging from popular softcovers to (also popular) 650-page encyclopedias. We’ve also greatly expanded our coverage of gold coins in the Red Book, “Mega Red” (the Deluxe Edition Red Book), and other publications. A few examples of recent gold-related Whitman books:
 

         2004—Bowers’s Guide Book of Double Eagle Gold Coins was the first book to cover the entire spectrum of the $20 denomination since David Akers’s 1982 volume on the subject.

         2005—Bill Fivaz armed collectors with guidance against gold-coin fakes in the United States Gold Counterfeit Detection Guide.

         2006—The first edition of the monumental Encyclopedia of U.S. Gold Coins, 1795–1933, by Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth, covered every denomination from gold dollars to double eagles, circulated strikes and Proofs, plus patterns and commemoratives.

         2006—Early U.S. Gold Coin Varieties: A Study of Die States, 1795–1834, by John Dannreuther and Harry W. Bass Jr., offered a detailed examination of every early gold die variety and die state.

         2008—The first edition of Bowers’s Guide Book of Gold Dollars provided a complete source for history, grading, certified populations, die characteristics, striking and minting quality, auction records, and retail values. It would be updated in a second edition in 2011.

         2010—GOLD: Everything You Need to Know to Buy and Sell Today (Bowers and Garrett) educated readers as gold prices soared following the 2008 financial crisis. The book would be updated in a second edition in 2017.

         2011—Precious Metal: Investing and Collecting in Today’s Silver, Gold, and Platinum Markets expanded our coverage of the noble metals.

         2013—American Gold and Platinum Eagles, by Edmund C. Moy, offered the retired Mint director’s perspective on the nation’s popular bullion programs.

         2016—American Gold and Silver: U.S. Mint Collector and Investor Coins and Medals, Bicentennial to Date, by Dennis Tucker, gave a history and catalog of American Arts gold medallions, First Spouse and American Buffalo 24-karat gold coins, and other modern gold pieces.



As Whitman’s numismatic director, Dave Bowers advised on all of these books and more, while keeping up his own voluminous research and writing.
 

Up Next: Gold Eagles 
The famous and influential Mr. Akers, who broke new ground publishing his numismatic research in the 1970s and 1980s, has said, “If one had a library consisting only of books and auction catalogs that Dave Bowers has written, the field of U.S. numismatics would be quite thoroughly and satisfactorily covered. Such a claim could not be made about any other person, past or present.”
  

The Guide Book of Gold Eagle Coins—the 24th volume in the Bowers Series, and the 18th of those volumes written by Bowers himself—adds to and solidifies that distinction.
   

The book will begin shipping on November 21, 2017, and in the meantime can be pre-ordered online (including at Whitman.com). Readers will enjoy Bowers’s signature recipe of historical narrative, market analysis, and valuable advice. The Guide Book of Gold Eagle Coins covers the United States’ golden $10 coins minted from the 1790s to 1933. These include some of the Philadelphia Mint’s earliest coinage, the famed Turban Head eagles of 1795 to 1804; the long-running series of Liberty Head eagles, minted for nearly 70 years from the 1830s to the early 1900s; and the innovative Indian Head eagles of 1907 to 1933. Bowers explores the holdings of the National Numismatic Collection, the coins owned by King Farouk of Egypt, and other fascinating side journeys, all described in his engaging and informative style.
   

The Guide Book of Gold Eagle Coins will take its place in a rich line of numismatic books about U.S. gold. I hope it finds its way into your collection and that you enjoy and profit from it.
  
 
A Guide Book of Gold Eagle Coins
By Q. David Bowers; foreword by Douglas Winter
ISBN 0794845304
Softcover, 6 x 9 inches
448 pages
Full color
Retail $29.95 U.S. 

    
https://www.whitman.com/store/Inventory/Detail/A-Guide-Book-of-Gold-Eagle-Coins+0794845304

 








NEW BOOK: WORLD OF LEADING BULLION COINS


A press release published on Coin Update announces a new book on world bullion coins.
-Editor





Metals Focus has announced the launch of it new reference book,   The World of Leading Bullion Coins, at an event at the LBMA/LPPM Conference in Barcelona. The book was produced with the support of five sponsors—the Perth Mint, the Austrian Mint, the Royal Canadian Mint, the Rand Refinery, and the Royal Mint.


  The World of Leading Bullion Coins details a historical account of each mint, including full-color photography of its complete suite of bullion coins. The mints in this book (the five sponsors, plus the United States Mint and China Gold Coin Inc.) represent the vast majority of bullion coins traded in the international market. The book also touches on why gold continues to resonate with the investor community and looks at some of the other ways in which coin investors can gain exposure to precious metals.


In addition to gold, The World of Leading Bullion Coins charts the development of silver bullion coins and the more recent additions of platinum, and, finally, palladium coins. Together, these help coin investors gain exposure across the precious-metal complex. Overall, many of these coins have had a notable bearing on consumption. Taken together, modern-day gold bullion coins have consumed some 5,000 tons (160 million ounces) of gold, while silver bullion coins have accounted for around 3,000 tons (over one billion ounces) of silver.


The modern era of the bullion coin as an investment began in 1967 with the launch of the 22-karat gold bullion Krugerrand. During the late 1970s and 1980s, the sector quickly grew to include the Canadian Maple Leaf (1979), the Chinese Panda (1982), the American Eagle (1986), the Australian Kangaroo, the U.K. Britannia (1987), and the Austrian Vienna Philharmonic (1989). In addition, the British Sovereign was re-launched in 1957, in response to the popularity of the one- and two-rand gold coins struck in South Africa (which were first issued in 1952).


For a hard copy of the book, please contact one of the sponsoring mints or email Metals Focus at info at metalsfocus.com. A flipbook and PDF will also available to view on many precious-metals websites, including that of Metals Focus.


To read the complete article, see: 


The World of Leading Bullion Coins book launch

(http://news.coinupdate.com/the-world-of-leading-bullion-coins-book-launch/)


To read the complete book online, see: 


World of Leading Bullion Coins

(http://fliphtml5.com/nkzmn/awwy/basic/)





 



1973 ALTERNATIVE CENT MATERIALS REPORT


The latest addition to the Newman Numismatic Portal is a U.S. Mint report on alternative cent materials.  Project Coordinator Len Augsburger provided the following report.  Thanks.
-Editor





While combing the stacks at Washington University in St. Louis, we recently discovered a 1973 government publication discussing alternative compositions for the Lincoln cent. The study,   Alternative Materials for One Cent Coinage, was initiated in response to rising copper prices, as the Treasury was well aware of the consequences of intrinsic value exceeding the face value of coinage. Seemingly every citizen was searching pocket change for pre-1965 silver coins that could easily be sold at a premium to the local coin dealer.  Had copper similarly risen in value, Lincoln cents would have disappeared from circulation, only exacerbating the government’s financial loss on their manufacture.
 

Such publications were not marketed within the numismatic community as were the commercial publications of Krause, Whitman, and others. Individual researchers located them by chance, or perhaps they showed up occasionally in the inventories of numismatic booksellers, although a Newman Portal search of Fred Lake’s literature sales (125 in all) fails to locate even  a single copy of this publication.
 

The work itself considers copper-zinc alloys, aluminum, steel, zinc, and even plastic, discussing the strengths and weaknesses of each. Copper prices dropped in the mid-70s, coincident with the recession, but strengthened at the end of the decade along with precious metals. This time, action was taken, and the cent composition changed during 1982 to 95% zinc, along with a weight reduction from 3.1 to 2.5 grams. Today, pre-1982 cents contain roughly 2 cents worth of copper, though it is illegal to melt them. Many speculate this restriction will be lifted if the Mint discontinues the one-cent coin.


Link to Alternative Materials for One Cent Coinage on the Newman Portal: 


https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/537183










NEWMAN PORTAL SEARCH: GALAPAGOS ISLANDS


Project Coordinator Len Augsburger offers observations related to content being searched for on the Newman Numismatic Portal. This week's search term is 'Galapagos Islands'.
-Editor
 


The Galapagos Islands, located 600 miles west of Ecuador, are today best known for their rich biodiversity, as popularized by Charles Darwin in the 19th century. A recent Newman Portal user entered “Galapagos,” in search of numismatic connections with this multifarious sanctuary. With a current population of 25,000, one would not expect to find a local coining facility, and, as a province of Ecuador, there is ample coin and currency produced on the mainland.  Nevertheless, a numismatist will find a number of associated items.
 






Five Dolares

 


The November-December 2009 issue of the NI Bulletin included an article by author Bill Mullan describing a modern series that celebrates the Galapagos wildlife. Struck in denominations from one centavo to eight dolares, these feature iguanas, turtles, finches, and other species. One would think these fall into the category of NCLT (non-circulating legal tender), which is commonly used by small countries to supply the collector and tourist trade. This series, however, was unauthorized by Ecudorian government and privately produced in the United States.  







Counterstamp on 1893 half decimo, courtesy of Heritage Auctions

 

More recently, Dale Seppa wrote on Galapagos Island counterstamps, alternately described as “AR” or “RA”, in the November-December 2015 issue of NI Bulletin. These curious counterstamps, found on Ecuadorian and Peruvian silver dated c. 1900, were unknown in the U.S. until the mid-1960s. Seppa begins with a literature search (knowledge of Spanish is helpful) and analyzes the various theories regarding the origin of the counterstamps. No definite conclusion is reached, but the investigation is well-done, and the tantalizing question remains – were these contemporary, or produced after the fact? Seppa asks if any early 20th century auction catalogers mentioned these. The Newman Portal, with 5,000 auction catalogs from the 1850s to date, identifies none.
 

Finally, the Eric Newman correspondence has something as well. His letter of May 4, 1970, to Aaron “Buy the Book Before the Coin” Feldman observes of his visit to the Galapagos, “These are wonderful islands as they don’t even use money because the few human beings there merely keep accounts on one another.” That situation is presumably changed today, but Newman liked to acquire local money wherever he traveled, and no doubt made inquiries during this 1970 trip. Numismatics is wherever you find it, even in the Galapagos.



Link to November-December 2009 NI Bulletin on Newman Portal: 


https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/520989?page=24



Link to November-December 2015 NI Bulletin:  


https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/521025?page=35



Link to Newman-Feldman correspondence 


https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/521911?page=170

 









ROBERT E. LEE IN NUMISMATICS


John Kraljevich's 2nd Newman Portal blog entry covers Robert E. Lee in Numismatics.  Here's a short excerpt - see the full article online (link below).
-Editor



Public art reflects the identity, history, and priorities of the nation that produced it, from the largest statue to the smallest coin. As a discipline, numismatics helps us understand the imagery that appears on coins, medals, and paper money: who designed it, what inspired it, where it was used, and by whom.


The current debate about the disposition of monuments erected to honor the Confederate States of America enables us to examine what coins, medals, and paper money have in common with other forms of public art, along with the evident differences. The most obvious contrasts are scale and location: there are no numismatic items that are 10 feet tall, nor any that dominate a public square. On the other hand, government issued coins dominate the theoretical public square in a way that no single statue ever could.


The lack of a standard book, monograph, or article written on the coins and medals that depict Robert E. Lee is an intriguing omission in the literature. The resources of the Newman Numismatic Portal can help fill that gap. If an author ever wished to catalogue Lee’s numismatic memorials, this would be a prime place to begin.




The first reference to a numismatic item related to Lee appears in the Proceedings of the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia for May 1865 through December 1866. 
(
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/515661?page=16). The minutes of the January 4, 1866 meeting record that among the donations made to the society were “seven white metal medals by [Philadelphia dealer and medalist] Mr. Charles K. Warner,” including one depicting General Ulysses S. Grant on the obverse with a reverse inscribed “SURRENDER OF GEN. LEE TO GEN. GRANT APRIL 9 1865.” This same reverse was later muled to obverses depicting both Washington (listed as Baker-625, 

https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/512400?page=245) and Lincoln.


The first medal depicting Robert E. Lee was issued in 1871, shortly after his 1870 death, though the exact circumstances of its issuance remain undiscovered. Like most of the 19th century medals related to Lee, this portrait piece was issued to support the fundraising for a Lee commemorative statue, a process that typically blurred the lines between public and private spheres. Sold to support the construction of a Lee memorial in New Orleans, the 1871 Lee tribute medal depicted his bust facing left on the obverse with an inscription that included “Who Will Ever Live in the Hearts of His Countrymen” and the names of four of his principal battles: Manassas, Spotsylvania, Fredericksburg, and Wilderness. The reverse showed the seal of the state of Virginia with Lee’s birth and death dates. 


The marketplace for this medal, which is known in white metal and bronze, was clearly outside of the numismatic marketplace, as reflected by the length of its absence in the NNP auction catalogue database. The first auction appearance was in Ed. Frossard’s March 23, 1881 sale, a full decade after the medal’s creation, where an example brought 95 cents, a strong price that reflects its then-perceived rarity. One wonders what Frossard, a for 
(
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/PersonDetail/776), might have thought of it.


To read the complete article, see: 


The Portal Opens #2 (John Kraljevich): Robert E. Lee in Numismatics

(https://nnp.wustl.edu/blog-post/514744)









HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2017






In the Happy-Halloween department, David Gladfelter
writes:


A trick-or-treat idea that has worked well for us for a number of years is to put fright stickers on half dollars and hand them out. Many of the kids have never seen a half dollar before, and ask what they are. The kids are always happy, and so are we. No thrown-out fruit or candy littering our lawn, no parents disapproving of what the kids bring home, and best of all, no left over bags of candy growing stale for us to use up and gag on. This will work with quarters, foreign coins, whatever you want to use, but if you want to play Johnny Appleseed and bring back the forgotten half dollar to your neighborhood, you might give this idea a try. Have fun.




Cool idea.  Thanks.  More on the Halloween topic next week.  Submissions welcome - the spookier the better!
-Editor






 



ALTERNATE TERMS FOR 'CENTER DOT'


In the let-me-count-the-ways-department, John Lupia discusses alternate terms for "those dots in legends" described by Dick Johnson in his earlier Vocabulary term article.  Thanks,
-Editor



I was impressed with Ken Spindler of San Diego with his citing the use of stop in lieu of center point. I refrained from elaborating on the alternate terms since it is quite trivial and some can be easily vexed by a presentation of a myriad of alternative terms, especially those who insist on a single term with intolerance to the use or display of others. So apologies to these sensitive readers. However, language is quite organic in nature and there are several alternatives to center point, and a stop is certainly one of them. 


Mr. Johnson did cite interpunct, which is the more academic term and a quite nice one at that. Other useful terms to describe these markings on numismatic items are plentiful and not limited to the following : punctum, break, punkt, dot, point, period, bead, rondel, interpose, drop mark, and stigma mese.


 Numismatic writers and catalogers should develop their own style and stick with whatever term they feel helps them and their audience understand what they wish to mean when describing a dot which is perfectly useful and clear a term in itself. I seriously doubt we shall ever see a numismatic writer refer to a dot in an inscription or legend as a stigma mese, which is a mid high marking used as a break. But, if one ever does I salute you. I like all of the fourteen terms and would be happy to see any of them used.


To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see: 


NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: OCTOBER 15, 2017 : On What to Call Those Dots in Legends

(http://www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n42a15.html)
 

WHAT DO WE CALL THOSE DOTS IN LEGENDS?

(http://www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n41a11.html)

VOCABULARY TERM: LEGEND

(http://www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n41a12.html)









NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: OCTOBER 22, 2017


 Mint Director Dates of Service 
Bob Julian writes:


In the October 15, 2017 edition of The E-Sylum there was some confusion over the dates for certain mint directors. The correct dates are as follows:


Robert Patterson, July 1, 1805, to July 14, 1824


Dr. Robert M. Patterson, July 1, 1835, to June 30, 1851


Dr. Henry R. Linderman (second term), April 1, 1873, to January 27, 1879




Thanks.  Internet sources, this one included, should be a starting point for research, not the end.  Great example of the discrepancies that can be found, in this case the starting or ending years of director terms of office.  
-Editor



To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: 


U.S. MINT DIRECTORS WHO SERVED TWO TERMS

(http://www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n42a13.html)

 The U.S. Mint and the Term "Mint Set" 
Clifford Mishler writes:


In scanning through the contents of last week’s E-Sylum, Dick Johnson’s “Mint Set” submission caught my eye for a full reading. While have no argument with the basic description he sets forth, I would take issue with one detail; “ . . . sold by the mint that manufactured them or their sales agency.”
 

Back in the mid-1960’s, when Eva Adams and the United States Mint were intent on killing coin collecting, from their perspective, they had undertaken, by publication in the Federal Register, as I recall, to co-opt the application of the term “Mint Set” for exclusive use by the Mint. This was at the time that they introduced the marketing of the 1965 Special Mint Set packaging. At that time I undertook some research, which I’m unable to locate in any of my files presently, confronting they with it, which established that the term “Mint Set” had been applied to privately assembled coin sets back into the 1930s, at least, on the advertising pages of the Numismatic Scrapbook, and The Numismatist as well, I believe.
  

The bottom line is that the U.S. Mint was thwarted in their co-opting effort. Thus, a “Mint Set” is any set is today, really, any set of coins assembled of any mint’s coins, regardless of the point of assembly, or condition, in my opinion. In reality it could be a year set . . . or a set representative or an era or a time-frame . . . it would simply be appropriately representative of the products of that mint.




Thank you!  I was unaware of this episode.  Interesting.
-Editor



To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: 


VOCABULARY TERM: MINT SET

(http://www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n42a18.html)


 An Update on Leopold Hamburger 
Regarding his biographical article on dealer Leopold Hamburger in last week's issue, 
John Lupia writes:


I was looking through John Spring, Ancient Coin Auction Catalogues 1880-1980 (Spink, 2009) : 100-109, on the Hamburgers. David Fanning pointed out the reference so I put him in the acknowledgements. The main correction was that Leo Hamburger separated from Joseph on January 1, 1904, not in 1910 as I originally had it. Spring's book is excellent and I added it to the bibliography. I actually forgot about Spring's book when I wrote the piece.




Tbaks for the update!
-Editor



To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: 


LEOPOLD HAMBURGER (1836-1902)

(http://www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n42a19.html)


 The Netherlands/America Enduring Friendship Medal
Jonathan Brecher writes:


Last week you asked, "I didn't know we HAD a Netherlands/America Enduring Friendship medal. Now I'd like to see one, too. Can anyone help?" 
This eBay lot image is probably not good enough quality for publication, but should be fine to show the type.











Thanks. I like the windmill!
-Editor



To read the complete lot description , see: 


NETHERLANDS - AMERICA - ENDURING FRIENDSHIP 1782-1982 ~ COPPER MEDAL ~ 1.5" dia

(https://www.ebay.com/itm/NETHERLANDS-AMERICA-ENDURING-FRIENDSHIP-1782-1982-COPPER-MEDAL-1-5-034-dia-/152126804607)


The Swedish-American Friendship Medal 
Alan Luedeking writes:


Your comment about the Netherlands/America friendship medal jogged something in my numismatic consciousness and brought to the fore a Swedish-American friendship medal issued in 1976 for the Bicentennial. No idea if it is a US Mint product or not, but it's large (50 mm) and heavy, and appears to be silvered bronze. Conspiracy theorists can have a field day with the reverse of this piece: look at what is approaching the twin towers.
















Creepy.  Thanks. 
-Editor



To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: 


QUERY: U.S. MINT MEDAL IMAGES SOUGHT

(http://www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n42a16.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.



 Standing Liberty Quarter Game Counter 
Jonathan Brecher writes:


Last week you asked, "Described by the seller only as an "UNUSUAL QUARTER MEDAL" this whatzit has a design similar to the U.S. Standing Liberty Quarter. But what exactly is it?"
It's normally described as a counter. I don't know its original purpose.









Jonathan provided a link to a 1972 TAMS Journal Supplement on American Game Counters on the
Newman Numismatic Portal, written by Russ Rulau and George Fuld.   Thanks!
-Editor



To read the full article on the Newman Portal, see:

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