The E-Sylum v21n02 January 14, 2018

The E-Sylum esylum at binhost.com
Sun Jan 14 20:45:21 PST 2018 

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


Volume 21, Number 02, January 14, 2018
**
WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM JANUARY 14, 2018
<#a01>
**
NEW BOOK: SEARCH & SAVE: HALF DOLLARS
<#a02>
**
ADDENDA TO AMATO'S 1802 HALF DIMES BOOK
<#a03>
**
THE NUMISMATIC BOOK CATALOGUES OF GUSTAV FOCK
<#a04>
**
THEODORE V. BUTTREY (1929-2018)
<#a05>
**
“NUMISMATICS WITH KENNY” ON NEWMAN PORTAL
<#a06>
**
NEWMAN PORTAL SEARCH: FISLER
<#a07>
**
COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG ACQUIRES DANISH ABOLITIONIST MEDAL 
<#a08>
**
WHERE THE 1833 LIBERIA TOKENS WERE MADE
<#a09>
**
ANSWER: 1893 COLUMBIAN EXHIBITION MEDAL WINNERS
<#a10>
**
ANSWER: WERE THESE COINS MADE BY ISIS?
<#a11>
**
HI-TEC BANKING AND THE PREVENTION OF FORGERY
<#a12>
**
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: JANUARY 14, 2018
<#a13>
**
ON TOM NOE'S COINGATE CULPABILITY
<#a14>
**
ANA PREPARATIONS FOR 2018 NATIONAL COIN WEEK
<#a15>
**
VOCABULARY TERMS: COINING DIES AND COLLAR DIES
<#a16>
**
MAJOR JAMES OTIS WOODWARD (1862-1928)
<#a17>
**
FRANK. C. ROSS AND THE ORPHAN ANNE DIME
<#a18>
**
HARVEY STACK'S NUMISMATIC FAMILY, PART 9
<#a19>
**
PETER CLAYTON AWARDED JEFFREY NORTH MEDAL
<#a20>
**
NUMISMATIC AMBASSADOR WINNERS
<#a21>
**
TYRANT COLLECTION AT FEBRUARY 2018 LONG BEACH 
<#a22>
**
NUMISMATIC NUGGETS: JANUARY 14, 2018
<#a23>
**
KüNKER AUCTION 303: SAXONIA IN NUMMIS
<#a24>
**
WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: JANUARY 14, 2018
<#a25>
**
ONLY KNOWN GSA HARD PACK 1893-CC MORGAN DOLLAR
<#a26>
**
THE RARE KEW GARDENS 50P COIN
<#a27>
**
THE ARAUCANIA – PATAGONIA 100 PESOS
<#a28>
**
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS ST. LOUIS ELONGATED CENTS
<#a29>
**
THE CANADA 150 MEDAL
<#a30>
**
INDIAN BEGGARS REFUSING ONE RUPPEE COINS
<#a31>
**
THE $50 GOLD SLUGS OF GRANVILLE P. SWIFT
<#a32>
**
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS THE SADDLE RIDGE HOARD
<#a33>
**
FEATURED WEB SITE: CHECK YOUR CHANGE
<#a34>





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





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 JANUARY 14, 2018





New subscribers this week include: 
Aaron Berk,
Ron Gillio, 
Rob Goland, 
Bruce Walker, and
Sunil Prabhu.
Welcome aboard! We now have 3,408 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 one new book, one addenda, a review of Gustave Fock numismatic literature catalogues, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, and word of the passing of Dr. Theodore "Ted" Buttrey Jr.


Other topics this week include where the 1833 Liberia tokens were made, ISIS coinage, National Coin Week, Numismatic Ambassadors, the Orphan Anne dime, the Fisler & Chants token, the Jeffery North medal, Saxon coins and medals, the Kew Gardens 50 pence, elongated cents, and the $50 gold slugs of Granville Swift.


To learn more about 1802 half dimes, 1846 dimes, false Western American gold bars, Baghdad Trench Art coins, collar dies, the Elizabeth I gold ship real, the antoninianus of usurper Julian of Pannonia, and  the 1872 World's Peace Jubilee medal, read on. Have a great week, everyone!


Wayne Homren 
Editor, The E-Sylum

 








NEW BOOK: SEARCH & SAVE: HALF DOLLARS


Dennis Tucker of Whitman Publishing forwarded this announcement of the publication of a new title in their Search & Save series of combination book-albums.
-Editor





The sixth volume in Whitman Publishing’s library of collector book-albums is Search & Save: Half Dollars, available now for $9.95 retail from booksellers and hobby shops nationwide, and online (including at www.Whitman.com).


The Search & Save volumes are intended as a guided, hands-on way to get beginning and intermediate collectors involved in active coin collecting by denomination and type. The first five Search & Save books covered Lincoln cents, nickels, State quarters, America the Beautiful quarters, and dimes and quarters. Half Dollars consists of a 96-page hardcover book bound with a Whitman Classic® Coin Album page for storing and displaying a customized coin collection of U.S. 50-cent pieces dating from the 1800s to today.


Search & Save: Half Dollars offers a colorful exploration of American commerce and coinage from the colonial era to the start of the Philadelphia Mint in 1792. Subsequent chapters cover Capped Bust, Liberty Seated, and Barber half dollars (spanning from 1807 to 1915), Liberty Walking half dollars, Franklin half dollars, and Kennedy half dollars. A special chapter explores the field of U.S. commemorative half dollars from 1892 to date, and a final chapter tells how to collect each coin type. The book’s album page allows the collector to display 12 coins of different types and varieties, ranging from Capped Bust half dollars of the early 1800s to today’s Kennedys, plus three of their favorite commemorative half dollars.







The rigid coin-album page has protective plastic slides that are inserted on each side of the page’s openings, holding each coin firmly in place while allowing its obverse and reverse to be displayed.


Many Search & Save coins can be collected from circulation. Others, such as half dollars, require some hunting at local banks and coin shops, online, or at a coin show. The Half Dollars album page starts with relatively common and easily collectible coins beginning with the Capped Bust type of the early 1800s.


“Readers of our Search & Save books learn about each coin in the context of American and world history, and enjoy the fun and pride of building their own valuable collections,” said Whitman publisher Dennis Tucker. “The books encourage readers to explore beyond their pocket change, to build relationships with coin dealers and go to coin shows. When they’re done they not only have a personalized coin collection, but they can tell each coin’s story and share them with their friends and family. And, we hope, they will think of themselves as active and accomplished hobbyists.”







Because Whitman Publishing is the Official Supplier of the American Numismatic Association, ANA members receive 10% off the Search & Save books when purchasing directly.


For more information, or to order, see: 


https://www.whitman.com/



To read earlier E-Sylum articles, see: 



WHITMAN RELEASES NEW SEARCH & SAVE COIN BOOKS

(http://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v19n23a04.html)



NEW BOOKS: SEARCH & SAVE DIMES, QUARTERS, HALVES

(http://www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n22a03.html)

 



ADDENDA TO AMATO'S 1802 HALF DIMES BOOK


Researcher Pete Smith has issued a valuable addenda to last year's book by the late Jon Amato on 1802 dimes, one of the rarest of U.S. coins.
-Editor





Jon P. Amato wrote Numismatic Background and Census of 1802 Half Dimes, published
by Heritage in 2017. On the final page, Amato offered an “Invitation for Reader Response.”
Unfortunately, Amato died shortly after the book was published and before he could react to any
reader response.


Pete Smith has written an Addenda to the Amato book. This includes some additional
pedigree information and certification numbers. While the original book was 64 pages, the
Addenda is 24 pages.


Amato listed 32 known surviving examples of the 1802 half dime. Smith identifies three
that he believes are duplicate listings. He also includes images of seven addition pieces that may
not be listed in the Amato book.


The Addenda may be found on the Heritage website.  Author Smith will appreciate additions and comments.


To read the complete addenda, see: 


Numismatic Background and Census of 1802 Half Dimes

(https://coins.ha.com/information/half-dimes-1802.s)


To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: 


NEW BOOK: 1802 HALF DIMES

(http://www.coinbooks.org/v20/esylum_v20n20a02.html)
 









THE NUMISMATIC BOOK CATALOGUES OF GUSTAV FOCK


Douglas Saville submitted this overview of the numismatic book catalogues of Gustav Fock of Leipzig.  Thanks!
-Editor












I recently re-discovered on my library shelves a bound volume of book catalogues issued in the
1930’s by the firm of Gustav Fock of Leipzig. All are printed on thin paper, newspaper-style stock,
and slightly age-browned.


In recent years some major numismatic libraries have been sold - at auction.


The Hess library was sold, at auction, by Peus, Frankfurt/M in 1991. It took two days to sell, and
included 2746 lots.


The (remaining part of) the Rollin & Feuardent library was sold, at auction, by Drouot, Paris in 1993
in two sessions on one day, and comprised 444 lots.


The (remaining part of) the Jacques Schulman library was sold by Frankfurter Munzhandlung,
Frankfurt/M, at auction, in 1995, containing 1726 lots.


The M and M library was sold, at auction, by Kunker, Osnabruck in 2005. It took two days and
comprised 3589 lots.


During the inter-war years in Germany, the leading academic bookseller was Gustav Fock GMBH, of
Leipzig. The business had been established in 1879, and whilst it had no doubt faced hardships
during the Second World War and into the Soviet period, it struggled on, but finally, in 1955, it
closed its doors.







Fock’s Katalog 619 was published in 1930. It included the Library of Dr. Emil Bahrfeldt of Berlin
(1850-1929). It ran to 136 pages and included some 2819 items for sale, at fixed prices. The
catalogue included, as a frontispiece, a fine photographic portrait of Bahrfeldt, and was preceded by
an 8-page list of his published works, including no less than 261 papers, books and other
publications.


The catalogue concludes with 8 pages of advertisements by coin dealers: Riechmann & Co, (Halle-
Saale), Holmbergs (Stockholm), Meuss (Hamburg), Adolph Hess (Frankfurt/M). Fock himself also
advertised for sale mahogany coin cabinets. Oxford University Press offered Barclay Head’s 2nd
edition of his Historia Numorum (1911) at 50 shillings, and Hill’s Medals of the Renaissance (1920) at
a similar price. G.E.C. Gad. of Copenhagen advertised Schou’s Beskrivelse af Danske og Norske
Monter, published 4 years earlier, in 1926, at 75 kroner, along with three of Wilcke’s handbooks,
published in 1921,1927 and 1929, all at low prices. De Gruyter of Berlin were promoting
Boehringer’s, still an essential work today, Die Munzen von Syrakus, published in 1929, at 80
reichmarks.







Amongst the gems offered for sale in the catalogue, all priced in reichsmarks, were 89 volumes of
the Numismatic Chronicle, 1838 – 1929, plus the Journal, 1836-1838, for 1250 RM; BMC Greek
“Complete in 28 volumes” for 2500 RM - the final volume, covering Cyrenaica, was published after
Bahrfeldt’s death. Spink’s ‘Circular, volumes 1-37 (1893-1929)- a complete run, could have been had
for 480 RM, the first 14 Ars Classica sales, 1920-1929, for 350 RM, a single volume of Pellerin’s
Recueil, with 64 plates, for 16 RM, and, exceptionally, a complete set of Reichel’s Munzsammlung,
St. Petersburg, 1842-1850 (“NIcht uniform gbdn”), for 900 RM. Ricauld de Tiregale’s magnificent
Medailles de Pierre le Grand, Potsdam, 1772- “avec portr. et nombre grav. Folio”, was just 90RM…..


Later in 1930, and what must have been a veritable coup for Fock, he offered the complete library of
Messrs Bruder Egger of Vienna. In Catalogue 635 (Antiquariatskatalog Nr. 635), he listed for sale,
again at fixed prices, some 2568 items in 160 pages. Towards the end of this catalogue are two
pages, promoting reprints of standard works that Fock were offering on subscription: Sabatier’s two-volume Description general des monnaies Byzantines…. To be published December 31, 1930 at (what
seems to be a very reasonable) 48 RM. The second reprint, offered here, and just published, was
Henri Cohen’s 2nd edition of his great reference work: Description Historique des monnaies frappes
sous l’Empire romain; at 400 RM. Seemingly to justify his price, Fock says in his two-page
promotional text that copies of the original would sell for 1500 RM…..


In the catalogue itself, a complete set of the Zeitschrift fur Nukismatik- 37 volumes (1874-1927 + the
register) could be had for RM 1000, in wrappers, or for an additional 125 RM, in half cloth - did they
have two sets ….?
On the final page of the Catalogue – almost as an afterthought, or simply perhaps to fill valuable
selling space, they offered the magnificent and excessively rare 12 volumes of Georg
Michailowitsch’s “Russische Munzen” 1888-1901…. For 1100 RM… and Svoronos’ Ptolemies,
complete in 4 volumes, 1904-1908… for 250 RM.


Fock’s Katalog 651, again appearing in 1930, covered the whole spectrum of the subject, ran to 144
pages, and included 3089 items; it included 4 pages of advertisements at the end of the catalogue,
by the likes of: Edmund Rappaport of Berlin; and Fock’s near neighbour, Friedrich Redder, of Leipzig;
the flourishing Jacob Hirsch, now firmly-established in Geneva was promoting his 10-year old Ars
Classica business, as well as his very recently-established dealership in fashionable New York: Dr.
Jacob Hirsch Inc. 30 West 54 th Street. Scott Stamp & Coin Company, also of New York, took a full-page, and advertised their Wayte Raymond publications, all priced at between 25c and $1.


Fock triumphed again, in 1934, with Catalogue 695, including books from the library of Prof. Dr. B.
Pick, of Gotha. It ran to 144 pages, and included no less than 3496 items. Amongst the thousands of
items listed for sale were Dessewffy’s (now) rare Barbar penzei, 1910 (“mit 54 taf”) - for 7.50 RM;
and Donop’s (now) exceptionally rare description of the Jersey Hoard: Les Medailles Gallo-Gaeliques, with 32 plates, 1838, for just 10 RM.


The final two such catalogues of numismatic libraries issued by Fock seem to have been 710 (January
1937) and 714 (October 1937). The former included the libraries of three Professors: Holzinger, of
Prague, Reisch, of Vienna, and Studniczka of Leipzig, and comprised items (4001) - 8758, on 154
pages.


The second, Catalogue 714, included the huge library of Justizrats Dr. Jur. E. J. Haeberlin of
Frankfurt/M. It ran to no less than 136 pages and listed 3495 items for sale.


By this time, Bernard Quaritch in London had already established himself as one of the leading
academic booksellers in Europe. He was the sole distributor of the Royal Numismatic Society’s
Numismatic Chronicle, and handled the publications of many Learned Societies in Europe. His
Catalogue 469 was published in 1933, ran to 44 pages, and listed for sale some 574 items. It included
many rarities: Adler’s Museum Cuficum Borgianum Veletris, 1782, in half calf, and offered at 16
shillings; two copies (yes!) of Anderson’s beautifully produced Selectus Diplomatum et Numismatum
Scotiae Thesaurus, 1739- one in red morocco, gilt edges at £4. 4. 0 , whilst the other, in “old Russia,
gilt” for a guinea less. Quaritch also had BMC Greek, complete- Quaritch says “Complete as far as
published” (it has never been completed) in 29 volumes, in cloth - it must have been “as new”,
surely…… for a relatively high £75; the complete 10 volumes of BMC Oriental (1875-1890), in cloth -
and already, in 1934, he says “Very scarce”, for £30, and Quaritch did also have a few volumes that
he offered singly….. John Evelyn’s Numismata, 1697, in “contemporary calf, joints neatly repaired”
was on offer at a seemingly low £1.1. Mionnet’s Description de Medailles, 1806-1813, plus the
Recueil de Planches, 1808, the Supplement, 9 volumes, 1818-1837, and the Tables, 1837- 17 volumes 
in all, in “half green roan, uncut” appears to be a bargain at £22.10, as does the set of Numismatic
Chronicle, including both the Journal, 1836-1838, and the Proceedings, and Institutes, from 1836 –
so, all in all, complete from 1836-1930; bound in “full and half calf, a very fine set”, for a low £52. A
collection of (most of) Sestini’s numismatic works 1789-1831, and all listed fully in the catalogue,
and bound in 9 volumes in half calf- “a little worn”…….could have been had for the low price of
£10.10.


Some eleven pages of the catalogue were given over to auction, and privately-issued catalogues – a
quite remarkable selection, including Spink’s Catalogue of Montagu’s Milled Coins, 1891- for 6
shillings….. Many, if not most, of the sales catalogues were priced with the buyers noted. The section
included 6 parts of Montagu’s sales(1895-1897), bound in half calf- for £1.2s- and they were all hand
priced, and with the buyers noted….. Murdoch’s 8 sales, bound in two volumes, also priced and with
the buyers, and again in half calf - was offered for 3 guineas… ….. Leonard Forrer’s Catalogue of Sir
Hermann Weber’s Greek Coins, certainly still in print at the time, and published by Spinks, who were
just down the road in Piccadilly –perhaps they had already just recently moved to KIng Street – in
any case, not far from Bernard Quaritch, was offered for 12 guineas.
 








THEODORE V. BUTTREY (1929-2018)


I was sorry to learn today of the passing of Ted Buttrey of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.  I had just corresponded with him a few months ago.  He was a gracious host some ten years ago when I was living in London and came out to visit him and the magnificent coin collection at the Fitzwilliam.


Buttrey of course is known in the U.S. for calling out false  Western American gold bars and battling with the legendary John J. Ford, Jr.  Thanks to David Fanning for word of Ted's death and Philip Mernick for pointing me to Buttrey's Wikipedia page, from which I've excerped the following information.  The photo is from Buttrey's page at the University of Michigan.
-Editor





Theodore Vern Buttrey Jr. (born Havre, Montana December 29, 1929, died Cambridge, UK January 9, 2018) was an American educator, classicist and numismatist. He is perhaps best known for his work discovering and exposing a scheme to distribute fake Western American gold bars.



Personal

Buttrey was born in Havre, Montana on December 29, 1929, the son of Theodore V. Buttrey Sr. and Ruth Jeanette (Scoutt) Buttrey and the grandson of Frank A. Buttrey, the founder of Buttrey Food and Drug. He was educated at Peacock Military Academy, graduated from the Phillips Exeter Academy in 1946, and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Classics from Princeton University in 1950. He was awarded his Ph.D. from Princeton in 1953, and after obtaining a Fulbright Scholarship for further study in Rome, began his academic career at Yale University in 1954. Buttrey's first marriage produced four children and ended in divorce; a second marriage produced no children and ended likewise. Buttrey was survived by his third wife, whom he married in October of 2017.



Career as Professor

In 1964, Buttrey took a position in the Classics Department at the University of Michigan. He was promoted to (full) Professor in 1967, and served as Chair of the Department for several years. From 1969 to 1971 he was also the Director of the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology at the University of Michigan. He is remembered as part of the University's Faculty History Project which includes a statement from the University's Regents.


Buttrey had been a Visiting Fellow and Resident Member of Clare Hall, Cambridge University. After retiring from Michigan he moved to Cambridge where he was an Affiliated Lecturer in the Faculty of Classics. He served as Keeper of Coins and Medals at the Fitzwilliam Museum from 1988 to 1991 and from 2008 until his death held the post of Honorary Keeper of Ancient Coins.



Numismatic Work




Coins of Ancient Greece and Rome

Buttrey spent many years active in research on coins of the ancient Mediterranean. He and his collaborators documented the coinage of Sardis, in modern-day Turkey (and formerly under the control of the Persian and Roman Empires), and, as part of a long-term Princeton University project, he also investigated the coinage at Morgantina, in modern-day Sicily. He was involved in the publication of the numismatic finds from numerous excavations in Britain, Italy (Cosa, Rome Palatine, Rome Forum), Libya (Apollonia, Cyrene, Euesperides), and Israel.



Coins of Mexico

It was as a child at the Peacock Military Academy in San Antonio, Texas that Buttrey first encountered, and became interested in, the coins of Mexico. Although as an adult his primary professional pursuits as a scholar were elsewhere, he continued his interest in Mexican coins into adulthood as well. His "Guidebook of Mexican Coins, 1822 to Date" (1969), together with subsequent editions (up to the 6th Edition in 1992, this one with first author Clyde Hubbard) is considered the seminal work on the subject.



Fake Mexican and Western American Gold Bars

Although the bulk of Buttrey's academic output concerned coins of antiquity, Buttrey was directly involved in a controversy regarding Western American gold bars that he described as counterfeit. This followed earlier, apparently uncontroversial, work in which he was able to identify certain Mexican gold bars as counterfeit, primarily by cataloguing anachronistic assayer markings. That earlier work was capped by Buttrey's 1973 talk, "False Mexican Colonial Gold Bars" at the International Numismatic Congress. In 1984, the American Numismatic Society passed a resolution supporting Buttrey's assertions.


The dispute regarding the Western American bars was quite possibly the only time a dispute among academic numismatists reached the pages of major newspapers, including the New York Times. Buttrey's claims about the authenticity of the western bars were first detailed in a 1996 talk at the ANS. They were based in part on mint and assay markings that he said were incongruous or inconsistent. He also noted that many of the bars in question had no provenance at all, never appearing in catalogues or other materials from the time that the bars were allegedly produced through the 1950s.


To read the complete Wikipedia article, see: 


Theodore V. Buttrey Jr.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_V._Buttrey_Jr.)


To read the Michigan Faculty History page, see: 


Theodore V. Buttrey

(https://www.lib.umich.edu/faculty-history/faculty/theodore-v-buttrey)
 










“NUMISMATICS WITH KENNY” ON NEWMAN PORTAL


The latest additions to the Newman Numismatic Portal are the “Numismatics With Kenny” videos. Project Coordinator Len Augsburger provided the following report.
-Editor





“Numismatics With Kenny” is a video series created by YN (young numismatist) Kenny Sammut of the Wilmington Coin Club. This series is now in its fourth year and numbers well over a hundred videos, including video from ANA Summer Seminars and Wilmington Coin Club meetings. 


Sammut’s videos capture, in a way that only video can do, the experiences of being a high-school aged collector. Videos are typically several minutes and range from unboxing the latest delivery of coins received in the mail (who cannot identify with the excitement of doing this for the first time?) to interviewing other YN attendees of the ANA Summer Seminar.  A trip to the local coin store might also be found, or an explanation of the ANA’s “Coins for A’s” program. Would that we had such a record from 50 or 100 years ago! The Newman Portal acknowledges Sammut for granting permission to cross-post these videos, which are currently published on YouTube.


Links to 2017 ANA Summer Seminar interviews (parts I and II):


https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/532700




https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/532797



Link to Numismatics With Kenny on Newman Portal: 


https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/multimediadetail/515049



Link to Numismatics With Kenny on YouTube: 


https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTqmf7rIfZpoACFI7-hY-8w





NEWMAN PORTAL SEARCH: FISLER


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




This week an NNP user searched for “Fisler.” I speculated this referred to an American token, and for once made a correct guess. The token has only a few auction appearances, the most recent being Stack’s sale of the Alan Bleviss collection of Civil War tokens (part IV) in March, 2010, where it realized $920. Another example is found in the Presidential Coin and Antique sale #84 (McSorley), July, 1998. 


These tokens were issued by Fisler & Chance, druggists in Urbana, OH.  Dave Bowers, writing in the Bleviss catalog, notes: "The location of Fisler & Chance was finally determined in April 2003 by Mark Gatcha. The firm was in Urbana, Ohio, and consisted of Dr. Israel Fisler and Dr. Samuel Chance, at 15 North Main Street. Fisler was a quartermaster in the 52nd Ohio Infantry, Companies F and S, from May 29, 1862, until he resigned on November 20, 1862…..” 


The earliest mention of Fisler & Chance found on the Newman Portal is from October 1898, in Malcolm Storer’s listing of medals, jetons, and tokens related to medical science, which appeared in the American Journal of Numismatics, vol. 33, no. 2.


Image: Fisler & Chants token from Stack’s sale of the Alan Bleviss Civil War token collection (March, 2010), lot 196.


Link to Stack’s Bleviss catalog (March 2010): 


https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/auctionlots?AucCoId=3&AuctionId=517023&page=32



Link to Presidential Coin & Antique catalog of the McSorley collection (July 1998):


https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/auctionlots?AucCoId=511514&AuctionId=511916&page=83



Link to American Journal of Numismatics, vol. 33 (October 1898):


https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/511737?page=78

 








COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG ACQUIRES DANISH ABOLITIONIST MEDAL 


A very important early Abolitionist medal has been acquired by Colonial Williamsburg.
-Editor










One of the most important medallic items related to the Atlantic slave trade and one of Denmark’s most iconic medals is now part of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s collections. Designed by the Danish artist Nicolai Abildgaard and struck in bronze in 1792 from dies by the Italian medalist Pietro Leonardo Gianelli, the extremely rare piece commemorates that year’s royal edict ending trade in enslaved persons on Danish ships. Only a small handful of these medals produced in a variety of metals are known to exist: white metal examples are in Danish museums and others, held in private collections, were struck in bronze and silver. 


“The items of Colonial Williamsburg’s collections capture tangibly our complex, shared history,” said Mitchell B. Reiss, Colonial Williamsburg president and CEO. “In this rare 1792 medal we see an Atlantic power affirming the humanity of a people exploited as property, as well as a foretelling of abolition in America. We welcome our guests 365 days a year—and especially in February during Black History Month—to experience the diverse stories of our nation’s founding.” 


In Denmark in 1792, as the move towards banning slavery was taking hold throughout Europe and two years before Congress prohibited the slave trade between the United States and foreign countries, Crown Prince Frederik VI, acting as regent for his mentally unstable father, Christian VII, issued what is considered to be the Prince’s most important proclamation: the Edict of the Abolition of the Slave Trade. This decree made Denmark the first European nation to outlaw trade in enslaved persons on ships flying its flag, though the measure did not fully take effect until 1802. This medal, made at the beginning of the abolitionist movement on the European continent, marks a dramatic shift in the way Denmark sought to treat the enslaved African population in the nation’s Caribbean colonies, the Danish West Indies. 


The male head depicted in profile on the face of the medal is likely the oldest Danish naturalistic portrait of an African. The Latin phrase “Me Miserum” (“Woe is me” or “Poor me”) is imprinted as a border around the profile. The reverse image shows the mythological winged goddess Nemesis, who was thought to be the avenging goddess of divine indignation against and retribution for evil deeds and undeserved good fortune. She is depicted seated and facing forward on a platform decorated with a shield that bears her name while holding an apple branch in one hand and touching her wing with the other. The Latin legends indicate the medal was produced under the Danish King’s law and includes the date of the edict, March 16, 1792.


“This masterfully executed work of medallic art is a benchmark piece for two reasons,” said Erik Goldstein, Colonial Williamsburg’s senior curator of mechanical arts and numismatics. “Not only does it beautifully and sensitively display the portrait of an African man, it also marks the beginnings of the abolitionist movement in Europe.” 


The medal was acquired through the Lasser Numismatics Fund and a partial gift by John Kraljevich. It is scheduled for public display in 2020 following completion of the entirely donor-funded $41.7 million expansion of the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg. Both institutions, the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum and the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, remain open throughout construction.


To read the complete article, see: 


Extremely Rare Danish Abolitionist Medal Acquired by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

(http://www.artfixdaily.com/artwire/release/993-extremely-rare-danish-abolitionist-medal-acquired-by-the-colonial-)









WHERE THE 1833 LIBERIA TOKENS WERE MADE



Last week, in a side note about the 1833 Liberia token, I wrote:


A search for information on the Liberia token itself did turn up an extensive article by Randy Snyder in the September 2006 issue of Penny-Wise, the official publication of early American Coppers, Inc., but it had nothing to say about who struck the pieces



Bob Leonard writes:


You skimmed over this article too fast.  See p. 208; Snyder mentions three possibilities, and John Gibbs and Co. is obviously the correct one.  Snyder says that they were actually made for circulation in the United States, not Liberia; the U.S. Mint would never have gone along with that, and importing them from England makes little sense since there was a suitable maker in New Jersey.




I did read the part about their circulation in the U.S., but missed the section on their manufacture.  Thanks.
-Editor





-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization
promoting numismatic literature. For more information please
see our web site at
http://www.coinbooks.org/.

There is a membership application available on the web site
at this address:
http://www.coinbooks.org/club_nbs_member_app.html

To join, print the application and return it with your check
to the address printed on the application. Membership is only
$15 to addresses in the U.S., $20 for First Class mail, and
$25 elsewhere.  For those without web access, write to:

David M. Sundman, Secretary/Treasurer
Numismatic Bibliomania Society,
P. O. Box 82 Littleton, NH 03561

For Asylum mailing address changes and other membership
questions, contact David at this email address:
dsundman at LittletonCoin.com

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, just
Reply to this message, or write to the Editor at this
address: whomren at gmail.com <!-- at coinlibrary.com-->

Those wishing to become new E-Sylum subscribers
(or wishing to Unsubscribe) can go to the following web page:
https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum

All past E-Sylum issues are archived on the NBS web site at this address:
http://www.coinbooks.org/club_nbs_esylum_archive.html

Issues from September 2002 to date are also archived at this address:
http://my.binhost.com/pipermail/esylum

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.binhost.com/pipermail/esylum/attachments/20180114/fbc318b1/attachment.html>

More information about the Esylum mailing list