From esylum at binhost.com Sun Dec 3 19:24:29 2023 From: esylum at binhost.com (The E-Sylum) Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2023 20:24:29 -0700 (MST) Subject: The E-Sylum v26n49 December 3, 2023 (short) Message-ID: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The E-Sylum An electronic publication of The Numismatic Bibliomania Society Volume 26, Number 49, December 3, 2023 ** WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM DECEMBER 3, 2023 <#a01> ?? Click here to read this issue on the web Click here to read the thin version on the web Click here for the NBS Facebook group Click here to subscribe Click here to unsubscribe 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 DECEMBER 3, 2023 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. Contact me at whomren at gmail.com anytime regarding your subscription, or questions, comments or suggestions about our content. This week we open with a rare publication of the contents of an early coin collection in the U.S., three new books, a periodical, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, and more. Other topics this week include notes from readers, Love Token jewelry, overdates, money museums in the U.S., fixed price and auction sales, the classic Lincoln Cent, the Dickin Medal, silver ingots, web notes, and coin magic. To learn more about John C. Kunze???s coin collection, the early New Orleans Mint, Una and the Lion, the CCAC, the Inverted Jenny Locket, the Fogg Museum coin robbery, the Van Wart Fidelity Medal exhibit, Whitman Publishing, the Tammany Society Museum, Communion tokens, Emperor Elagabalus, analine dollars, and the coins of future economic powerhouses, read on. Have a great week, everyone! Wayne Homren Editor, The E-Sylum ?? Click here to read this issue on the web ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? Image of the week ?? ?? ?? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 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: From esylum at binhost.com Sun Dec 3 19:25:15 2023 From: esylum at binhost.com (The E-Sylum) Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2023 20:25:15 -0700 (MST) Subject: The E-Sylum v26n49 December 3, 2023 Message-ID: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The E-Sylum An electronic publication of The Numismatic Bibliomania Society Volume 26, Number 49, December 3, 2023 ** WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM DECEMBER 3, 2023 <#a01> ** KUNZE???S 1800 COIN COLLECTION DESCRIPTION <#a02> ** NEW BOOK: EARLY ERA OF THE NEW ORLEANS MINT <#a03> ** NEW BOOK: SESTERCES DES ANTONINS - IV (96-192) <#a04> ** NEW BOOK: COINAGE IN IMPERIAL SPACE <#a05> ** PERIODICAL: NUMISMATIQUE ASIATIQUE NO. 47 <#a06> ** NNP ADDS NOVEMBER 2023 SYMPOSIUM VIDEOS <#a07> ** VIDEO: 2016 PCDA CURRENCY CONVENTION <#a08> ** CCAC SEEKS MEDALLIC ARTS APPLICANTS <#a09> ** THE INVERTED JENNY LOCKET <#a10> ** NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: DECEMBER 3, 2023 <#a11> ** FIDELITY MEDAL AT THE NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM <#a12> ** SILVER AND GOLD COIN LOVE TOKEN JEWELRY <#a13> ** VOCABULARY TERMS: OVERDATE, OVERDATING <#a14> ** WHITMAN PUBLISHING, PAST AND FUTURE <#a15> ** MONEY MUSEUMS IN THE U.S., PART ONE <#a16> ** MONEY MUSEUMS IN THE U.S., PART TWO <#a17> ** DAVID SCHENKMAN INTERVIEW, PART FIVE <#a18> ** NUMISMAGRAM MEDAL SELECTIONS: DECEMBER 3, 2023 <#a19> ** ANS CANADIAN TOKEN SALE <#a20> ** NUMISMATIC NUGGETS: DECEMBER 3, 2023 <#a21> ** MORE ON ROMAN EMPEROR ELAGABALUS <#a22> ** THE CLASSIC LINCOLN CENT <#a23> ** DICKIN MEDAL 80TH ANNIVERSARY <#a24> ** DENVER MINT SILVER INGOT OFFERED <#a25> ** THE ANILINE DOLLAR <#a26> ** WHAT IS A WEB NOTE? <#a27> ** A RECORD NUMBER OF $50 BILLS <#a28> ** LOOSE CHANGE: DECEMBER 3, 2023 <#a29> ** COIN MAGICIAN NICOLE CARDOZA <#a30> ?? Click here to read this issue on the web Click here to read the thin version on the web Click here for the NBS Facebook group Click here to subscribe Click here to unsubscribe 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 DECEMBER 3, 2023 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. Contact me at whomren at gmail.com anytime regarding your subscription, or questions, comments or suggestions about our content. This week we open with a rare publication of the contents of an early coin collection in the U.S., three new books, a periodical, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, and more. Other topics this week include notes from readers, Love Token jewelry, overdates, money museums in the U.S., fixed price and auction sales, the classic Lincoln Cent, the Dickin Medal, silver ingots, web notes, and coin magic. To learn more about John C. Kunze???s coin collection, the early New Orleans Mint, Una and the Lion, the CCAC, the Inverted Jenny Locket, the Fogg Museum coin robbery, the Van Wart Fidelity Medal exhibit, Whitman Publishing, the Tammany Society Museum, Communion tokens, Emperor Elagabalus, analine dollars, and the coins of future economic powerhouses, read on. Have a great week, everyone! Wayne Homren Editor, The E-Sylum ?? ?? ?? ?? Image of the week ?? ?? ?? KUNZE???S 1800 COIN COLLECTION DESCRIPTION In an online bookstore listing, Kolbe & Fanning Booksellers offer a copy of the only published 18th-century account of a coin collection formed by an American. -Editor DESCRIPTION OF A CABINET OF COINS AND MEDALS ANCIENT AND MODERN. Kunze, John C. The Medical Repository. Volume III (New York: Printed by T. & J. Swords, 1800). Conducted by Samuel L. Mitchill and Edward Miller. 8vo, modern full brown speckled calf; spine with five raised bands, ruled in gilt; red morocco spine label, gilt. 7, (1), 428 pages [Kunze???s article is on pages 351???359]. Some spotting. Near fine in a fine binding. Item #7218 John C. Kunze???s 1800 description of his coin collection, possibly the only 18th-century account of a coin cabinet formed by an American collector. Kunze???s little-known article, written in the form of a letter to Dr. Samuel Mitchill though intended for publication, is one of the very few detailed portrayals of coin collecting in the early days of the Republic. Kunze (1744???1807) was a Lutheran minister and professor. Having studied at the University of Leipzig, he moved to Philadelphia in 1770, married, and established the Lutheran Theological Seminary. The pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, he served as a member of the Board of trustees of the University of the State of Pennsylvania, where he also served as a professor of languages and philology. He later moved to New York, where he served the Trinity and Christ Church and taught Oriental languages at Columbia. In addition to his religious and scholarly activities, Kunze studied medicine and astronomy, and was the official translator for Congress in 1785. He begins his letter to Mitchill: ???With pleasure I comply with your request, to give you a short description of the little cabinet of coins in my possession. It would be the extravagance of curiosity, bordering on the lust of the eyes, had I made this collection only for my own two eyes. I can therefore have nothing against its publication, provided it is well remembered, that I do not attach any idea of greatness to it.??? He does admit that for New York it is a large collection and ???at any rate, the foundation for a good one is laid.??? ?? Kunze???s collection was heavily comprised of modern (i.e., post-Renaissance) European coins and medals, though some ancient coins and American pieces were included. Given the collection???s contents, it seems reasonable to surmise that he collected in both Europe and America during the late colonial period through his death in 1807. Among the American items in his cabinet were a 1757 Quaker Treaty of Easton Indian Peace Medal (Betts 401), four 1652-dated Massachusetts silver pieces ???all of different sizes,??? a St. Patrick farthing, Boscawen, Pitt and Vernon medals, a Rosa Americana piece, and a Voce Populi. ???My duplicates I have in a particular chest, from which every spectator is permitted to take what he pleases, by replacing each with a coin, of any value, which is not yet in the collection.??? On Kunze???s death, the New-York Historical Society contacted his widow and heirs to inquire about the disposal of the collection. At its meeting of July 14, 1818, the Society???s Vice President, Dr. Kosack, read a letter from Mrs. Kunze dated June 30, 1818, in which she donated the collection to the Society. The collection was well-regarded at the time; the 1821 volume of the Collections of the New-York Historical Society contains David Hosack???s inaugural address as president of the Society (pages 269 to 280), in which he comments on the Society???s coin collection, much of it received from Rev. Dr. Kunze. The circumstances of the donation were retold in the Proceedings of the New-York Historical Society for the Year 1843. While virtually unknown today, Kunze???s epistolary article has not always been forgotten, with Daniel Parish publishing ???A New York Collection of Ancient and Modern Coins as Described in the Year 1800, by the Owner, the Rev. Dr. John C. Kunze??? in the 1907 volume of the Proceedings of the American Numismatic and Archæological Society. More recently, John N. Lupia III has made note of the 1805 printing of the article on his website. Joel J. Orosz, in his monograph on Pierre Eugène du Simitière, cites Robert Hendre Kelby???s 1905 history of the New-York Historical Society, which states that the Kunze collection was eventually stolen from that institution, ???nothing remaining but the cabinet which held the coins and medals.??? The Medical Repository was more specialized in title than in actual scope of coverage, reviewing ???publications on physic, surgery, chemistry, natural history, civil history, politics, topography, voyages & travels, more particularly those that relate to America.??? Frank Luther Mott???s A History of American Magazines (1930) considered it to be the first scientific journal published in the United States. Our 2014 fixed price catalogue included the first offering of this title in a numismatic context; the recent acquisition of another copy is exciting. Not in Attinelli. Evans 37947. Ex Library of the New York State Medical Association, with their ink stamp on opening pages. Price: $3,500.00 To read the complete item description, see: DESCRIPTION OF A CABINET OF COINS AND MEDALS ANCIENT AND MODERN. (https://www.numislit.com/pages/books/7218/john-c-kunze/description-of-a-cabinet-of-coins-and-medals-ancient-and-modern) NEW BOOK: EARLY ERA OF THE NEW ORLEANS MINT Numismatic Researchers Richard Kelly & Nancy Oliver have made a compilation of research material on the early New Orleans Mint available on NNP. Here's their announcement. Thank you! -Editor ?? Treatise of the Early Era of the New Orleans Mint 1837-1861 by Richard G. Kelly, Nancy Y. Oliver This is our contribution to Newman???s Numismatic Portal online. It is a treatise of the history of the early years of the New Orleans Mint from 1837 until the takeover by the Confederacy in 1861. The work is taken from the many thousands of copies made of Mint Record Group 104 by two noted numismatic researchers, Robert Julian and Roger Burdette, and archivists at the National Archives in Philadelphia and College Park, Maryland. It is 75 pages long and contains information about the building, employees and coinage. Put together chronologically, and noted from hand written letters (many hard to decipher) from mint officials and others, it took two years to complete. Some years??? info has been gleaned from other Portal sources and contemporary newspapers from the period when copies from the archives were not accomplished. However, a recent surge of copies from these sparse years noted is now coming available, and this will require a future update and revision of this said work. This will take some time. Anyway, because of our appreciation for these folks' untiring efforts to make this information available to researchers, we have decided to donate this work to the Portal with free access to all. Enjoy. To read the complete work, see: Treatise of the early era of the New Orleans Mint 1837-1861 (https://archive.org/details/TreatiseNewOrleansMint) NEW BOOK: SESTERCES DES ANTONINS - IV (96-192) Laurent Schmitt passed along notice of a new volume in a series on the sestertius of the Antonines. Thank you. It can be ordered directly from the author or online at CGB Numismatics, where I found this English description. -Editor Sesterces des Antonins - IV (96-192) Marc Aurèle César (139-161) - Marc Aurèle Auguste (161-180) - Lucius Vérus (161-169) by Jean Lacourt The present work, the fourth of a series of 5 volumes devoted to the sestertius of the Antonines, covers the reigns of Marcus Aurelius Caesar (139-161), Marcus Aurelianus Augustus (161-180) and Lucius Verus (161-169). Intended for both amateurs and professionals, it is designed as a practical tool to facilitate the recognition of these coins. Indeed, it is not a classical catalog or a historical and chronological study, but a key allowing the very fast and sure identification of these sestertius. Contrary to the method usually used in numismatics, this key, of new conception, starts with the precise study of the obverse, and ends with its coding. To this obverse code will then be grafted and merged one or more reverse codes. For each type of sestertius, the reference works are cited, followed by an inventory of their presence in most of the world sales of the last 12 years, allowing the reader to better appreciate their degree of rarity. This key is illustrated by more than 800 photographs of obverse and reverse. Author : Jean LACOURT Publisher : Jean LACOURT Language : French Description : 2023, paperback, (21 x 29.7 cm) 428 pages including 40 color plates Weight : 1880 g. For more information, or to order, see: ls117 - Sesterces des Antonins - IV (96-192) Marc Aurèle César (139-161) - Marc Aurèle Auguste (161-180) - Lucius Vérus (161-169) LACOURT Jean (https://www.cgbfr.com/sesterces-des-antonins-iv-96-192-marc-aurele-cesar-139-161-marc-aurele-auguste-161-180-lucius-verus-161-169-lacourt-jean,ls117,a.html) Or contact the author at Sesterces61 at orange.fr NEW BOOK: COINAGE IN IMPERIAL SPACE The December 2023 ANS eNews from the American Numismatic Society announced a new volume of conference papers. -Editor Coinage in Imperial Space: Coins in the Economy of the Achaemenid and Early Hellenistic World: Conference Papers in Phoenix Papers from the 2017 conference in Krakow, Poland will be published in volume 76 of Phoenix, a journal of the Classical Association of Canada. The conference was organized by the Institute of Archaeology of the Jagiellonian University, the Faculty of Classics at the University of Oxford, and the National Museum in Krakow. Authors in the conference report include Peter van Alfen (ANS Chief Curator), Jonathan Kagan (ANS Trustee), and Andrew Meadows (former ANS Deputy Director). To purchase, contact phoenix at utoronto.ca. Here's a list of the papers. -Editor 1. Andrew Meadows, "Coinage in Imperial Space: The Problems Raised by the Ps. Aristotelian Oikonoinika" 2. Peter van Alfen, "Payment, Profit, or Prestige? The Political Economy of Achaemenid Coin Production" 3. Francois de Callataji, "Pseudo-civic not Civic: The Abundant Double Sigloi Struck by Pamphylian and Cilician Cities (ca 460-333 BCE)" 4. Jaroslaw Bodzek, "Kings, Satraps, Local Dynasts and Cities in Achaemenid Imperial Space: Ps. Aristotle's Oikonontika and the Numismatic Reality" 5. Christopher Tuplin, "Of Darics, Staters and Disks: Some Issues in Achaemenid Imperial Space" 6. Selene Psosna, "The KIN (Symmachikon) Coinage of the Classical Period: Agesilaus Versus Lysander" 7. Aneurin Ellis-Evans & Jonathan Kagan, "Bimetallism, Coinage, and Empire in Persian Anatolia" 8. Frederique Duyrat, "Money in Southern Transeuphratene during the 4th century BCE" 9. Haim Gitler & Oren Tal, "Indigenous Coinages in Palestine: Towards an Understanding of the Persian ??? Hellenistic Transitional Phase of Money Use" 10. Evangelism Markou, "The Coinage of the Kings of Cyprus from the Achaemenid to Hellenistic Rule: An Autonomous Royal Coinage?" 11. Marek Jan Olbrycht, "The India-related Tetradrachms of Alexander the Great" 12. Karsten Dahmen, "Money and Legitimacy after Alexander" Cost: $95 USD ($148 for institutions) To purchase, contact phoenix at utoronto.ca www.phoenix.utoronto.ca ?? PERIODICAL: NUMISMATIQUE ASIATIQUE NO. 47 Here are the contents of the latest issue of Numismatique Asiatique. -Editor EDITORIAL About the forgeries offered on the numismatic market ANNAM The Bài Plaques Used in Vietnam during the Nguyễn Dynasty by Craig Greenbaum CENTRAL ASIA Apropos of coins with the legend zhou-yuan tong-bao from finds in Kyrgyzstan by V. A. Belyaev, S. V. Sidorovich LAOS La fabrication et l'usage des lats dans le Bas-Laos à la fin du XIXe siècle selon les témoignages français by Alain Escabasse HISTOIRE Il y a 125 ans : la ru??e vers l'or du Yukon For more information, or to order, see: https://sites.google.com/site/societedenumismatiqueasiatique/revue THE BOOK BAZARRE KENNETH W. RENDELL has traveled the world tracking down, buying, and selling the most significant, iconic historical letters and documents from the ancient world through the Renaissance to today. Read about his early start as a rare-coin dealer in the 1950s???and much more???in his thrilling new memoir, Safeguarding History. Order your copy online (including at Whitman.com ), or call 1-800-546-2995. NNP ADDS NOVEMBER 2023 SYMPOSIUM VIDEOS The latest additions to the Newman Numismatic Portal are videos of the latest NNP Symposium. Project Coordinator Len Augsburger provided the following report. -Editor NNP Symposium Video Posted Video from the NNP Symposium, held November 2-4, 2023, is now posted. Our feature presentation, Treasures of the ANA Museum, began with the debut of an NNP-produced video on the subject, followed by American Numismatic Association Museum Curator Doug Mudd answering viewer questions on various aspects of the collection. In other presentations, Bill Eckberg presented new photographs of the enigmatic 1792 Judd-6 Birch cent, a coin last seen at the 1981 Garrett sale. Patrick McMahon spoke on Anna Powell Jones and Rebecca Salisbury, two early U.S. numismatists, while Bob Bair provided an overview of the famed ???Una and the Lion??? coinage. Other sessions focused on various aspects of U.S. and world coins and paper money. The NNP Symposium, sponsored by the Newman Numismatic Portal, was launched in the fall of 2020 in response to the pandemic. This free event is Zoom-based and draws presenters from all areas of numismatics. The recent event represented the seventh Symposium. As always, many thanks to our speakers, and for those who are interested in presenting at a future event, please contact NNPCurator at wustl.edu. Here's a list of presentation titles. What a great selection of topics! -Editor ?? Changing Coin Markets: What, Me Worry? Easy Money: American Puritans and the Invention of Modern Currency Collecting Byzantine Coins American Slavery and the Liberty Cap The Evolution of Postage and Fractional Currency Anna Powell Jones and Rebecca Salisbury: Founders of the Numismatic Collection at the MFA The Rabbit Hole of the 1909 Lincoln Wheat Cent Treasures of the ANA Museum Facts and Misconceptions Concerning the Medallic Issues During Lafayette's 1824/5 Visit Running a Successful Coin Club A Historical Sketch of Reformation Numismatics (1983-2023) Little Louis: How a Piece of Small Change Sparked a Fashion Craze and Untangling Keicho Ichibu King Edward VII 1 Rupee Coins The First Coin Made Under the U.S. Constitution The Coin Show Podcast Japanese-American Relocation Center Monies of World War II Large Cent History Big, Bold, and Beautiful: England's 1839 'Una and the Lion' Coins ?? Link to NNP Symposium video: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/multimediadetail/539070 To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: NOVEMBER 2023 NNP SYMPOSIUM ANNOUNCED (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n41a08.html) VIDEO: 2016 PCDA CURRENCY CONVENTION The David Lisot Video Library on the Newman Numismatic Portal can be found at: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/multimediadetail/522852 We highlight one of his videos each week in The E-Sylum. Here's one about the 2016 PCDA Currency Convention -Editor ?? COOL CURRENCY! PCDA Currency Convention Nov 2016 See paper money valued at millions of dollars from some of America's top experts. Interviewer: David Lisot with Sammy Berk, 1886 Silver Certificate $1 "Martha Washington" Fine Condition, 1896 Educational $1 VF+, Sergio Sanchez, $5 Silver Certificate 1886 "Silver Dollar Back," PMG 6, Andrew Shiva, $20 Reno, NV First Charter PCGS PPQ VF35, $10 Winnemucca, NV Brownback, PCGS VF30, $5 Carson City PCGS VF25, 3 and Peter Treglia, 1993 FRN $10 "Four Eyes" PMG AU55 ?? To watch the complete video, see: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/548603 ?? CCAC SEEKS MEDALLIC ARTS APPLICANTS The U.S. Mint is seeking applicants for an open seat on the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC). Here's the press release. -Editor ?? ?? Opportunity to Apply for Appointment to the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee as the Member Specially Qualified in Medallic Arts or Sculpture The United States Mint is seeking applicants for an appointment to the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (CCAC) as the member specially qualified to serve on the advisory body by virtue of their education, training, or experience in the medallic arts or sculpture. The deadline to email submissions is no later than 5 p.m. (ET) on Wednesday, January 3, 2024. The United States Mint will review all applications and forward recommendations to the Secretary of the Treasury for consideration. The CCAC is composed of 11 members ??? one specially qualified in numismatic collection curation; one specially qualified in the medallic arts or sculpture; one specially qualified in American history; one specially qualified in numismatics; three individuals appointed to represent the interests of the general public; and four individuals recommended by leadership of both the United States House of Representatives and United States Senate. Members are appointed for a term of four years. No individual may be appointed to the CCAC while serving as an officer or employee of the Federal Government, and all applicants must be United States citizens. CCAC members are Special Government Employees and are therefore subject to various applicable conflict of interest laws and ethics regulations. Individuals wishing to be considered for appointment to the CCAC should submit a resume or curriculum vitae along with a cover letter describing their reasons for seeking appointment, and detailing their specific education, training, or experience by email to info at ccac.gov, Attn: Jennifer Warren. The deadline to email submissions is no later than 5 p.m. (ET) on Wednesday, January 3, 2024. About the CCAC The CCAC was established by an Act of Congress in 2003. It advises the Secretary of the Treasury on theme or design proposals relating to circulating coinage, bullion coinage, Congressional Gold Medals, and other medals produced by the United States Mint. The CCAC also makes commemorative coin recommendations to the Secretary and advises on the events, persons, or places to be commemorated, as well as on the mintage levels and proposed designs. The CCAC is subject to the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury. The United States Mint is responsible for providing necessary and appropriate administrative support, technical services, and advice. The CCAC submits an annual report to Congress and the Secretary of the Treasury, describing its activities and providing recommendations. For more information, or to apply, see: https://www.ccac.gov/ Request for Candidates Interested in Appointment to the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/11/21/2023-25719/request-for-candidates-interested-in-appointment-to-the-citizens-coinage-advisory-committee) THE INVERTED JENNY LOCKET ?? Last week I asked about the whereabouts of the locket containing an "Inverted Jenny" stamp given by Col. E.H.R. Green to his wife Mabel. -Editor Julia Casey writes: "The Inverted Jenny Locket was sold by Stack's in 2015 - to an anonymous coin collector! " Wow, nice find! Interesting story that has a connection to a famous Jenny theft. Here's an excerpt from the lot description. -Editor Mabel Green???s ???Jenny??? Locket Gift from Colonel Edward H. R. Green to his wife United States Air Post 1918 24c Carmine Red and Blue, Center Inverted (C3a), position 9, never hinged, straight edge at top, short corner perforation at upper left, trivial corner creases at bottom left and right, encased back-to-back with never hinged example of the normal stamp (C3) in gold-rimmed glass sided locket with clasp, one side with small chip at bottom. When Mabel Green died in Miami at age 79 in April 1950 she bequeathed the locket to her longtime companion Dorothy Nicholson. Dorothy moved to Long Island, later marrying a New York lawyer named Lester Stickles, the locket remained in a safety deposit box in New York. As the years passed collectors began recording all the known positions from the sheet from the numbers Eugene Klein had penciled on the backs of the stamps in 1918. Only one stamp from the top row eluded the researchers; position 9. In an interesting twist position 18 from the Miller collection housed at the New Public Library was stolen in 1977 along with 53 other rare stamps. Recovered in the early 1980???s its perforations had been removed at top and its number on the reverse had been altered from 18 to the missing number 9. Finally on December 26th 1984, George Amick, author of The Inverted Jenny, Money, Mystery, Mania (1986) was permitted to photograph the locket for the first time. By comparison to the adjoining stamps it was confirmed as the missing position. To read the complete lot description, see: United States Air Post 1918 24c Carmine Red and Blue, Center Inverted (C3a), position 9, never hinged, straight edge at top, short corne... (https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/1-1DLCA/united-states-air-post-1918-24c-carmine-red-and-blue-center-inverted-c3a-position-9-never-hinged-straight-edge-at-top-short-corne) Julia adds: "During my search for information, I came across a 2015 post on a stamp forum. This is about another of Green's Inverted Jenny stamps that Mabel played a part in its history. I haven't found any more details about this other one!" This is the one she used for postage, and is cancelled. -Editor Two of the most fabled inverted Jenny stamps (my opinion) but not known by many collectors are the inverted Jenny locket and the used inverted Jenny. Both are associated with Colonel Green's wife, Mabel. The later stamp, she took from his desk to mail a letter to him, not realizing its value. Colonel Green went into shock when he received the letter and noticed the stamp, but took it in stride. That is NOT the one being sold. To read the complete article, see: US inverted Jenny locket up for auction again (https://stampbears.net/thread/3339/inverted-jenny-locket-auction-again) To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: COL. GREEN AND THE INVERTED JENNYS (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n48a22.html) ?? ?? NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: DECEMBER 3, 2023 George Kolbe on Coin-A-Rama City George Kolbe writes: "From 1962 to 1968 I lived in Redondo Beach, not that far away from Coin-A-Rama City. I was a regular visitor. I sold coins on the bid board and occasionally rented a bourse table on Wednesdays. What an amazing hub of numismatic wheeling and dealing it was. "My wife Linda and I were good friends with Eileen Lawson. Eileen was a major force in Southern California coin clubs and numismatic organizations and conventions. She was smart as a whip and selfless in devotion to promoting her chosen hobby. She died fairly young and deserves far more credit than generally accorded her. "In later years I visited Coin-A-Rama City a time or two. The magic was gone." Thanks - it's great to get these first-person accounts from people who were there. -Editor To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: COIN-A-RAMA CITY (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n47a18.html) Study Head of Hettie Anderson Sells Robert Luton writes: "I learned of the recent auction of the Saint Gaudens Hettie Anderson sculpture sale from your newsletter. It had a $40k-$60k estimate which I told my wife I thought was very conservative. Indeed, it did in fact sell for $200k (including premium) on Nov 17th. Indeed, it belongs in a museum." Thank you. Congratulations to the new owner. -Editor To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: OCTOBER 29, 2023 : Saint-Gaudens' Study Head of Hettie Anderson (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n44a09.html) More on Harvey Richer Chris Sutter writes: "I was extremely surprised to read about Harvey Richer???s passing. "I met Harvey at the ANA in Chicago when he taught a class in Newfoundland gold coins. While I had no prior knowledge in the coins of Newfoundland I was fascinated by his talk and decided to collect the set of Two Dollar Gold coins. I purchased his book and even contacted the ANA to get his email address and send him a short note telling him how much I enjoyed his class and that he had inspired me to start my new collection. He responded with a nice reply. "At this time I did not know who Harvey was. To me he was just a nice man who gave back to the hobby by writing a book and teaching a class. To find out that he was an eminent Astronomer was a complete shock to me. "At the 2022 ANA I saw Harvey when he was selling his ???100 Greatest Canadian Coins and Tokens??? book at Whitman???s booth. While I had no intention of buying the book, I just wanted to say ???Hi???, I left not only with a book, I left with a signed inscribed copy! "An additional surprise in the article was the 1944 birthdate. I never would have guessed that he was 78 when I last saw him. "I try to stay informed regarding the people in the hobby by reading hobby publications, Coin World and the Numismatist especially, and attending the ANA Summer Seminar and Fall Show when it is in Chicago. Your weekly newsletter is also a great source for this information. However, it really hits home when the news is about someone I knew and had actually met. "Thank-you for your effort on the newsletter. I hope you never wonder if you actually have an impact in someone???s life, but if you do wonder, this email should reinforce the fact that you do." Thank you. It's always fun to put together, and nice to know it's read and appreciated. -Editor To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: HARVEY B. RICHER (1944-2023) (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n48a08.html) ANACS Authenticator Tom DeLorey Tom DeLorey writes: "The last issue of the E-Sylum illustrated a 1981 ANACS certificate for an 1892 Proof Nickel with a repunched 1 & 2. As the Senior Authenticator and variety specialist at the time I would have handled the piece, though I cannot claim to remember it." ?? To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: CIRCA 1981 ANACS GRADING CERTIFICATES (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n48a24.html) More on the Money Museum of the National Bank of Detroit Tom DeLorey adds: "The same issue has a nice writeup of the Money Museum at the National Bank of Detroit. As a student at Wayne State University beginning in the Fall of 1968, I would occasionally after classes walk down Woodward Ave. to downtown Detroit to visit coin shops and old book stores along the way, and at least twice to visit the Money Museum. Sometime during my years at Wayne State I asked Charles Hoskins if there might be a possibility of a part-time job at the Money Museum, but he explained that the exhibits were basically static, and his was a one-man operation. "(I do remember that one of the exhibits was a complete original set of the Thomason Medallic Bible displayed as though fruit on a tree-like structure inside a tubular glass case, the medals attached to the ends of the branches by means of metal loops pinched down under the high rims on either side! I strongly suspect that the soft White Metal medals were permanently damaged by these rings, but I do not know that for a fact.) "By the time I graduated in 1972 Hoskins had gone on to found ANACS in Washington, D.C., and when I heard that he was looking to hire an Assistant Authenticator I once again asked him for a job. However, he hired fellow Detroiter John Hunter instead, which left me at liberty to go to work for Coin World when an opening came up in 1973. ANACS moved to Colorado Springs in 1976, without Hoskins, and I was offered a job there in 1978." Thanks for your notes - the best part of The E-Sylum is hearing directly from the people who were there as hobby history was being made! -Editor To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: SHAPERO, DODSON AND THEIR MONEY MUSEUM (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n48a20.html) Big Framed Stamps ?? Wayne Pearson writes: "I liked the big framed stamps. I had an idea to enlarge stamps to fill an 8.5 X 11 and the postal service could sell them for $5 to collectors and raise money at the same time. I made some up and mailed them to my then congressman Greg Pence. That was in 2020. NEVER heard back. My new congressman Banks, is no better. I've pitched him the idea to modify our existing coin designs with different versions of the same people, now for the last eleven months. I believe the enlarged stamps would generate a lot of money for the postal system. I even hung some of the enlarged stamps up and they look great. But alas, I'm not a lobbyist so there was nothing in it for them. Anyway, those enlarged stamps look cool!" I like them, too. Great artwork, so often overlooked. -Editor To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: NOVEMBER 26, 2023 (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n48a26.html) Dumb Bell In the you-get-what-you-pay-for-department, Rob Luton writes: "Do you recall your skepticism regarding Morgan Dollars at less than melt values? Well, unless the U.S. changed their coin design (and the spelling of UNUM) then I believe your instincts were correct. Had to see one to confirm (and yes I???m pursuing the seller to correct their false advertising). My guess is at best they use melted Morgans in the silver used to plate the non-silver cast bell." Ugh. No angel's getting their wings when that one rings... Thanks for the follow-up! -Editor To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: NUMISMATIC NUGGETS: NOVEMBER 12, 2023 (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n46a22.html) This Week in Numismatic History Pete Smith writes: "Fifty years ago, on December 2, 1973, a man used a ruse to get into Harvard???s Fogg Museum. Once inside, he pulled a gun, tied up a guard and opened the door for three more robbers. They went to the third floor and used the guard???s keys to open the coin room. "The robbers removed a safe with 2650 coins on loan from the Dewing Greek Numismatic Foundation and additional coins from the Harvard collection adding up to more than 6000 ancient Greek and Roman coins and 105 medals. "Value of the loss was estimated at $5 million dollars. It was the largest art theft in the United States up to that time." Thanks - what a sad event. -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 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: From esylum at binhost.com Sun Dec 10 19:25:58 2023 From: esylum at binhost.com (The E-Sylum) Date: Sun, 10 Dec 2023 20:25:58 -0700 (MST) Subject: The E-Sylum v26n50 December 10, 2023 Message-ID: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The E-Sylum An electronic publication of The Numismatic Bibliomania Society Volume 26, Number 50, December 10, 2023 ** WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM DECEMBER 10, 2023 <#a01> ** NBS BIBLIOTALK PODCAST WITH JOHN HOSKINS <#a02> ** NEW BOOKS: COINS OF ENGLAND 2024 <#a03> ** NEW BOOK: MONNAIES EURO FRANCAISES 2023 <#a04> ** NEW BOOK: 100 GREATEST ANCIENT COINS, 3RD ED. <#a05> ** BOOK REVIEW: THE 1909 LINCOLN WHEAT CENT <#a06> ** SANTA CLAUS ON THE NEWMAN NUMISMATIC PORTAL <#a07> ** VIDEO: NATIONAL CURRENCY FOUNDATION <#a08> ** MORE ON MONEY MUSEUMS IN THE U.S. <#a09> ** NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: DECEMBER 10, 2023 <#a10> ** 1894 LETTER ON MINT DOCUMENT DESTRUCTION <#a11> ** SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL COIN DESIGN IDEAS <#a12> ** SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL LOGO REVEALED <#a13> ** U.S. MINT SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL COIN SURVEYS <#a14> ** VOCABULARY TERM: OVERLAP <#a15> ** PHILATELIC MUSEUMS IN THE UNITED STATES <#a16> ** DAVID SCHENKMAN INTERVIEW, PART SIX <#a17> ** ANACS FIRST-GENERATION SLABS <#a18> ** VILA RICA MOEDAS AUCTION 19 <#a19> ** THE LUGDUNUM AUCTION 23 <#a20> ** NUMISMATIC NUGGETS: DECEMBER 10, 2023 <#a21> ** JUNO ON ANCIENT COINS <#a22> ** AUSSIES QUEUE FOR TWOS <#a23> ** SINGAPORE LINES UP FOR $10 COINS <#a24> ** MIKE TYSON'S ???BADDEST COIN ON THE PLANET??? <#a25> ** STACK'S BOWERS COSTA RICA BANKNOTES <#a26> ** GAZA CASH CONVOY MOVES BANKNOTES <#a27> ** APPLE COMPUTER CHECK BRINGS BIG BUCKS <#a28> ** NOTEWORTHY ISSUES 0.005 BITCOIN NOTE <#a29> ** LOOSE CHANGE: DECEMBER 10, 2023 <#a30> ?? Click here to read this issue on the web Click here to read the thin version on the web Click here for the NBS Facebook group Click here to subscribe Click here to unsubscribe 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 DECEMBER 10, 2023 New subscribers this week include: Stuart Weinerman. Welcome aboard! 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. Contact me at whomren at gmail.com anytime regarding your subscription, or questions, comments or suggestions about our content. This week we open with a new NBS podcast, four new books, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, money museums, and more. Other topics this week include Santa Claus notes, the National Currency Foundation, semiquincentennial coin designs, ANACS slabs, auction previews, Juno on ancient coins, worldwide coin mania, Gaza's cash convoy and new physical bitcoin notes. To learn more about 1794 large cent pedigrees, coins of England and France, the 100 Greatest Ancient Coins, Dahlonega gold, U.S. Mint document destruction, overlap designs, Polhemus counterstamps, Brazil's titanium coin, the baddest coin on the planet, Juno Moneta, and the Sringfield Stamp Museum, read on. Have a great week, everyone! Wayne Homren Editor, The E-Sylum ?? Image of the week ?? ?? ?? ?? NBS BIBLIOTALK PODCAST WITH JOHN HOSKINS The latest episode of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society podcast is now available for listening. It's on the NBS web site but also available elsewhere. President Len Augsburger provided this report. -Editor NBS Podcast Features Literature Collector John Hoskins The latest episode of the NBS Bibliotalk podcast, ???A Research Library, with John Hoskins??? is now available on the NBS website and other popular podcasting platforms such as Buzzsprout. Hoskins started as a young collector in the 1970s, picking out interesting pieces in pocket change. As often happens, John???s interest in the hobby waned during his teenage years. John came back to the hobby in his early 30s, collecting early U.S. copper and consulting the related works on varieties by Bill Noyes and John Wright. In the 2010s, John became more interested in collecting the earliest literature related to U.S. copper and colonial coins. His first significant acquisition was a plated Chapman catalog (Beckwith, 1923), and most of his purchases are guided by the research value of a given volume. Pedigrees of 1794 large cents are a particular interest, and Hoskins has made a number of discoveries in the ownership chains of various examples. John???s interests are not exclusively focused on U.S. numismatics, and he also pursues literature in the fields of ancient numismatics, European medals, and Conder tokens. John is especially drawn to literature in its original state, volumes which have not been rebound or excessively repaired. Join us for this podcast, Including John???s story of how he saved $10,000 by not buying a particular item at the Syd Martin library sale. The NBS podcast is hosted and produced by Lianna Spurrier of Numismatic Marketing. Link to ???A Research Library, with John Hoskins??? on the NBS website: https://www.coinbooks.org/resources/podcast.html NEW BOOKS: COINS OF ENGLAND 2024 The 2024 editions of Coins of England have been published by Spink. -Editor ?? Coins of England and the United Kingdom Pre-Decimal and Decimal volumes comprise the Standard Catalogue of British Coins, and is still the only catalogue to feature every major coin type from Celtic to the Decimal coinage of Queen Elizabeth II. The 10th edition of the Decimal volume contains all coins minted during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, also introducing the new coinage of King Charles III. Coins of England & the United Kingdom 2024, Pre-Decimal Issues, 59th edition ??35.00 Hardback / 216 x 138mm / 640 pages with colour illustrations throughout ALSO AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOADABLE PDF This historic reference work for British coins is still the only catalogue to feature every major coin type from Celtic to the Decimal coinage of Queen Elizabeth II, arranged in chronological order and divided into metals under each reign, then into coinages, denominations and varieties. All decimal coinage since 1968 is listed in a separate volume, available as an independent publication. The catalogue includes up-to-date values for every coin, a beginner???s guide to coin collecting, numismatic terms explained and historical information about each British coin, from our earliest (Celtic) coins, Roman, Anglo-Saxon and Norman coins, the coins of the Plantagenet Kings, the Houses of Lancaster and York, the Tudors and Stuarts, to the more modern Milled coinage, minted for the first time in 1561 during the reign of Elizabeth I. >From the earliest of times, coins have been used by states or monarchs to communicate with people; Coins of England is therefore not only a reference book for collectors, but a fascinating snapshot of British history, illuminating its economics, technology, art, politics and religion. Over 3,000 price changes have been made in this edition to reflect market activity during the past year. Coins of England & the United Kingdom 2024, Decimal Issues, 10th edition ??20.00 Hardback / 216 x 138mm / 440 pages with colour illustrations throughout ALSO AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOADABLE PDF Coins of England and the United Kingdom Pre-Decimal and Decimal volumes comprise the Standard Catalogue of British Coins. This 10th edition of the Decimal volume contains all coins minted during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, also introducing the new coinage of King Charles III. The Decimal issue gives a comprehensive overview of all individual coins and sets issued by the Royal Mint since 1971 (and in circulation since 1968), offering an authoritative catalogue of modern British coins. For more information, or to order, see: Coins of England & the United Kingdom 2024, Pre-Decimal Issues, 59th edition (https://spinkbooks.com/products/coins-of-england-the-united-kingdom-2024-pre-decimal-issues-59th-edition) Coins of England & the United Kingdom 2024, Decimal Issues, 10th edition (https://spinkbooks.com/products/coins-of-england-the-united-kingdom-decimal-issues-10th-edition) NEW BOOK: MONNAIES EURO FRANCAISES 2023 The new 2023 edition of the book on French Euro coins has been published by Gadoury. -Editor Monnaies Euro Francaises 2023 Author: LAURENT BONNEAU Publisher: Gadoury Year: 2023 Language: French Available ??? 59.00 This unique work is an opportunity to retrace European construction since 1992 through monetary history. City ECUs and euros, circulation and collector's coins, including tests, blanks, varieties and faults. ?? ?? ?? ?? For more information, or to order, see: https://www.gadoury.com/fr/livres/monnaies-euro-francaises-2023 NEW BOOK: 100 GREATEST ANCIENT COINS, 3RD ED. Whitman has announced the new edition of Harlan Berk???s 100 Greatest Ancient Coins. -Editor ?? Harlan J. Berk and the Gift of Ancient Coins The third edition of Harlan J. Berk???s 100 Greatest Ancient Coins will debut in December 2023, available from bookstores and hobby shops nationwide, and online (including at Whitman.com). Here, David Hendin, vice president and adjunct curator of the American Numismatic Society, shares his thoughts on the book and its author. The greatest thing about Harlan Berk???s 100 Greatest Ancient Coins???aside from the coins!???is that even family and friends of collectors will appreciate the fabulous photos of these treasures and Harlan???s concise historic explanations. Collectors fear not, however, since Harlan has also provided current scholarly information to satisfy them as well. He also gives us a book that covers Greek, Roman, and so-called Byzantine coins in a single, impressively entertaining and informative volume. I can???t think of another person more qualified to have written this popular book than Harlan J. Berk. He is a serious collector and connoisseur of art and paintings. (He has amassed the best- known collection of Chicago Modernists.) Anyone who has even chatted casually with Harlan knows his excitement for the subjects, as well as his expertise. He has also been a leading coin dealer, based in Chicago, for more than fifty years. He maintains an extensive numismatic library at his office and welcomes collectors and scholars. I???m proud to say that we have been friends for fifty years or so. Harlan is obsessed with beauty and workmanship of coins, which, he notes, ???have been collected almost since they were issued. There is evidence that the leaders of some great cities issued wonderful artistic coins made by recognized artists so that future generations would know what heights they reached. . . . Renaissance kings and princes collected coins. . . . Today ancient coins are collected around the globe.??? ?? If you are one of those readers who tend to skip the text and admire the beautiful photos and look up values???don???t even think about it. Harlan???s notable introduction explains a great deal about ancient art and how it evolved; in the third edition of 100 Greatest Ancient Coins he adds a new section on cave paintings. We also get Harlan???s quick guided tour of coinage from the beginning up to the Eastern Roman Empire (the topic of one of his other important books), as well as an overview of collecting, grading, and authentication. Especially illuminating is Harlan???s snapshot of how the values of these coins have evolved from the mid-twentieth century forward. I???ve been reading about ancient coins for more than fifty-five years, and I learned something! In this third edition, Harlan has paid special attention to updating his text on Tyre shekels, coins with portraits of Cleopatra VII, Athenian owl tetradrachms (a significant summary that updates dating theories and suggests that some later Athens types, once believed to be Athenian in origin, were actually struck in the ancient East), the Horseman staters of Tarentum, Brutus???s Eid Mar coins, Nero???s Port of Ostia sestertius, Titus???s Colosseum sestertius, Constantine IV folles, and the Judaea Capta sestertius. Photos of these coins and others have been upgraded to even more fabulous than in previous editions. If you are a collector on a budget, you don???t need to worry. If you cannot afford to purchase all 100 of these significant coin types, there are many first-cousins of the ???100 Greatest??? that can still be purchased for less than $100. ?? It???s not easy to write about the ???best 100??? of anything. Harlan presents his numismatic hit parade in the order they were issued, hence #87, the Ionia electrum stater, is listed first. There is also an appendix that lists the coins in their order of ???greatness,??? as well as an appendix that shows the coins in actual size alongside each other together with dimensions, weight, and page number where the coin is featured. Even some collectors often pass over words they do not fully understand. Harlan provides a brief but excellent illustrated glossary of terms, locations, and mythological and actual names that enhance the book???s value. It???s no wonder that the first two editions of this classic book are ???out of print.??? It is the perfect gift for your cousin, aunt, uncle, mom, dad, sibling, grandpa, or friend who collects ancient coins. In fact, it???s a fun book to read for anyone interested in ancient history. Coin collectors have a well-known saying: ???Buy the book before the coin.??? In this case you must have the book, so in this case it is okay to buy it before or after you buy the coin. You will be paging through it for many years to come. ?? 100 Greatest Ancient Coins, third edition By Harlan J. Berk; foreword by David Hendin. ISBN 0794850692 Hardcover, coffee-table size. 152 pages. Full color. Retail $34.95 U.S. URL: https://whitman.com/100-greatest-ancient-coins-3rd-edition BOOK REVIEW: THE 1909 LINCOLN WHEAT CENT The December 2023 issue of ErrorScope from the Combined Organizations of Numismatic Error Collectors of America (CONECA) included a review by Greg Bennick of Shawn Tew???s new book The Rabbit Hole of the 1909 Lincoln Wheat Cent. With permission, we're republishing it here. Thanks to Greg and ErrorScope editor Allan Anderson. -Editor Congratulations to Shawn Tew on the publication of not just an insightful book on a classic American coin, but an important exploration into variety collecting overall. The 1909 cent is and has been an American classic for generations, but few know the aspects of the coin???s history from the perspectives this book offers. Tew starts by giving us insight into the transition between the Indian cent and Lincoln cent designs from within the mint, and the inner dynamics between engravers at the time ??? inner workings which were not always smoothly collaborative. Shawn's book is extensively researched, exploring the now-known varieties of reverses for the 1909 cent. Thanks to recent discoveries, and the author and collaborators exploring the ???rabbit hole??? of this area of study, substantial detail is documented in the pages of this book which has not appeared elsewhere. The research is new, and the publication of this book will certainly draw attention to the 1909 cent, even more so than it has had for the last 100+ years. The book is easy to read, and the research has been quite thorough exploring letters and history between engraver Charles Barber who was in his late 60???s around the time this Lincoln cent transition happened, and the talented young Victor David Brenner, just 38 at the time of the letters. The book describes the seeming distaste that Barber had for Brenner. We get to read those letters and can see that Barber offers a tone to Brenner which is patriarchal at best and condescending at worst. Barber describes details about the minting process that Brenner already would likely have known and was clearly pulling rank. The book is an excellent study on varieties overall in that it gives the backstory for how this particular series of varieties came about. And there are more coins to explore than just the two reverses (this is the ???rabbit hole???). The book shifts the study of varieties from being one of classification of types, to being an exploration of how those types came to be. We read how the master hubs during the transitional year in 1909 for the Lincoln wheat cent created two different reverses but what is truly fascinating is that the majority of work on the reverses of the 1909 cent was not done until just recently. A grand hoard of uncirculated cents was put away in August of 1909, which allowed research on finely detailed parts of the reverses of these coins to take place only recently. This book explains that process and offers historical analysis and does so in great detail during its 114 pages. To the reader, it becomes apparent throughout that there are always discoveries to be made, regardless of how old the coin is or how much research has been done. Certainly the 1909 VDB and 1909 S-VDB cents have already had their share of attention over the last century. This book sheds new light on new research and is an important part of the story of American coinage and of variety collecting - and also of errors ??? overall. The book even explores the intersection of technology and numismatic research in describing advanced microscopy exploration of the Type One and Type Two reverses known for the 1909 cent. Overall, this book is recommended for anyone interested in numismatic research, analysis of varieties, or history. Tew offers new insights into the reverses of these seemingly old cents and provides new historical and numismatic context on a level that has not been done with this particular issue before. The book is available in hardcover on Amazon. Interested in error and variety coins? Join CONECA! https://conecaonline.org/ For more information, or to order, see: The Rabbit Hole of the 1909 Lincoln Wheat Cent [Print Replica] (https://www.amazon.com/Rabbit-Hole-1909-Lincoln-Wheat-ebook/dp/B0CDHKT891) To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: THE RABBIT HOLE OF THE 1909 WHEAT CENT (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n30a10.html) NEW BOOK: THE 1909 LINCOLN WHEAT CENT (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n33a04.html) THE BOOK BAZARRE KENNETH W. RENDELL has traveled the world tracking down, buying, and selling the most significant, iconic historical letters and documents from the ancient world through the Renaissance to today. Read about his early start as a rare-coin dealer in the 1950s???and much more???in his thrilling new memoir, Safeguarding History. Order your copy online (including at Whitman.com ), or call 1-800-546-2995. SANTA CLAUS ON THE NEWMAN NUMISMATIC PORTAL Newman Numismatic Portal Project Coordinator Len Augsburger provided the following seasonal report. -Editor ?? There is No Santa Claus in Numismatics An old saw holds that ???there is no Santa Claus in numismatics.??? A quick check of the Newman Portal reveals the saw to not be so old; indeed, most of the early uses appear in the Bowers house publications beginning in 1970. Bowers in turn credits Lee Hewitt, but even there the Numismatic Scrapbook uses the phrase only beginning in 1969. Regardless of when it first appeared, today we can say that Santa Claus appears frequently in numismatics, with 3,486 records identified across the Newman Portal. Santa Claus notes are especially popular among paper money collectors, with this New Ulm, MN proof note attracting a winning bid of $35,250 in the Newman VI sale (Heritage Auctions, April 23, 2015), lot 19159. The Heritage catalog notes that this is the only known Santa Claus vignette among Minnesota notes. The rendering of Santa Claus by Baldwin, Adams & Co. would not be terribly recognizable to modern viewers, but the sleigh and reindeer clearly invoke the mythology of St. Nick. Link to ???Santa Claus??? items on Newman Portal: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/searchwithterms?searchterm=santa%20claus VIDEO: NATIONAL CURRENCY FOUNDATION The David Lisot Video Library on the Newman Numismatic Portal can be found at: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/multimediadetail/522852 We highlight one of his videos each week in The E-Sylum. Here's one from 2017 with Andrew Shiva speaking about the National Currency Foundation. -Editor ?? Andrew Shiva, Founder, National Currency Foundation, interviewer: David Lisot, CoinTelevision.com. VIDEO: 2:41. A person committed to the pursuit of knowledge about United States paper money and especially national bank notes is Andrew Shiva. Hear from this extraordinary individual who has done so much work for the field of collecting. ?? To watch the complete video, see: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/548606 MORE ON MONEY MUSEUMS IN THE U.S. Last week Pete Smith enumerated Money Museums in the United States, past and present. Here are some reader notes on the topic. -Editor John Phipps adds: Dahlonega Gold Museum in Dahlonega, Georgia https://www.stateparks.com/dahlonega_gold_museum_historic_site_in_georgia.html DAHLONEGA GOLD MUSEUM HISTORIC SITE Twenty years before the famed 1849 gold rush in California, thousands of prospectors flocked into the Cherokee Nation in north Georgia, marking the true beginning of our country's first gold rush. Their dramatic story is told inside the historic 1836 Lumpkin County Courthouse, the oldest courthouse in Georgia. Dahlonega prospered with this mining activity, and a U.S. Branch Mint opened in 1838, coining more than $6 million in gold before closing in 1861. The museum's exhibits include a set of these coins, a nugget weighing more than five ounces, a large hydraulic cannon and nozzle used to blast soil from mountainsides, a film and gift shop. Newman Numismatic Portal Project Coordinator Len Augsburger writes: I should clarify Pete???s comments regarding the Newman Money Museum, which was operated from 2006-2018 in the Kemper Art Building on the Washington University campus in St. Louis. The Museum was closed in 2018. Today, Olin Library, on the same campus, periodically features numismatic exhibits in the Newman Tower exhibit gallery, which is located on the main floor of the library. A new group of such exhibits will be opening in mid-January, and more information will be forthcoming on this topic. Larry Edwards provided some address updates: Great list of money museums! Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is at 230 S. LaSalle Street. Chicago History Museum is at 1601 N. Clark St (which is actually the SW corner of Lincoln Park) but GPS might do better with the address. Blind Coin Collector blogger Tom Babinszki writes: I was so happy to read the list of museums last week, it definitely put a few on my bucket list I have never heard about. Though probably Howard Berlin knows them all, as I understand he by far didn't cover all the museums of the world in his Numismatourist book. I would like to contribute a few more items to the list, which I have personally visited and mostly written about. I think the only major miss here was the Coin Gallery of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, which has a huge and extensive collection. Here is a direct link to the collection: https://www.mfa.org/gallery/ancient-coins And what I wrote about my visit: https://blindcoincollector.com/2016/12/10/visiting-the-coin-gallery-at-the-museum-of-fine-arts-in-boston/ The rest of the museums I know are much smaller, but I feel they would be worth mentioning: The Ottilia Buerger collection and more items at the Lawrence University in Appleton, Wysconsin. Their web site is: https://library.artstor.org/#/collection/87732176 I wrote about their coin petting zoo project at: https://blindcoincollector.com/2019/12/08/coin-petting-zoo-at-the-lawrence-university/ The New Orleans Mint Museum. It is at the bottom of the Jazz Museum, if you ask me it is rather underwhelming, but certainly deserves a place on the list. Their site is: https://louisianastatemuseum.org/museum/new-orleans-jazz-museum-old-us-mint And what I wrote about it, probably my least interesting article, but in a way a different documentation of my numismatic venturing: https://blindcoincollector.com/2022/07/23/the-new-orleans-mint-when-things-dont-go-well/ The last one is a small collection at the Allen Memorial Art Museum, in Oberlin, Ohio. I have not been at the collection itself yet, but I personally met the curator a few weeks ago, so I have evidence that it exists. https://amam.oberlin.edu/art/collections/ancient I hope it adds some useful information to Pete???s great collection. Thanks, everyone. I've passed these on to Pete for the next iteration of his list. See his new article in this issue, where he takes a look at our sister hobby - philatelic museums in the U.S. How many are there? Read on to find out. Howard Berlin's 2014 book, The Numismatourist opens with a great review of the current money museums in the U.S. and goes on to cover the world in the bulk of the book. Pete reaches back into history to cover U.S. money museums that have closed their doors. Great work all around. -Editor To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see: MONEY MUSEUMS IN THE U.S., PART ONE (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n49a16.html) MONEY MUSEUMS IN THE U.S., PART TWO (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n49a17.html) NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: DECEMBER 10, 2023 Christmas 1884 Love Token on $1 Gold Piece Bob Hurst writes: "Thank you very much for your hard work with The E-Sylum. I enjoy reading it first thing on Monday mornings. I thought with Christmas coming up in a few weeks that readers might like to see a really nice 'love token' that I have owned for over 30 years. I have attached photos of both sides. It is a really nice Type 3, $1." ?? Indeed - very nice piece! Thank you. -Editor To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: SILVER AND GOLD COIN LOVE TOKEN JEWELRY (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n49a13.html) Lincoln Cent 115 Years Old in 2024 Tom Bridgeman of Rosenberg, Texas writes: "While reading the E-Sylum about the Lincoln cent, I noticed (what I think is) a huge mistake in Allen Davisson's article. It states that the Lincoln cent will be 125 years old in 2024. Perhaps with the "new" math it could be, but I am old enough that I use old-school math which makes the cent 115 years old. Aside from that, the article and the entire E-Sylum is, as always, an excellent read!! Thanks for the great job!" ?? This is why we need publications with real editors and reporters like Coin World. Thankfully E-Sylum readers are great proofreaders and find a lot of things that slip through like that. Thanks - good catch. -Editor To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: THE CLASSIC LINCOLN CENT (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n49a23.html) Visiting Coin-A-Rama City Fred Weinberg writes: "I drove there from around 1967 until they closed in the early/mid ???70???s, as I recall. There were other local L.A. dealers who went there on a much more regular basis than I did. I was pretty young, and just remember seeing so many ???vest pocket??? and regular dealers there, trading coins, talking, playing poker later (I wasn???t in that group at that time!)." Thanks. Coin dealers are a poker-playing bunch! -Editor To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: COIN-A-RAMA CITY (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n47a18.html) BASF Emergency Notes Ron Guth writes: "Regarding the Badische Aniline Dollar in the latest E-Sylum, I don't think the name of the note has anything to do with depositing Dutch Guilders. Anilin (Analine) was a chemical product produced by BASF and was the A of the company's initials ever since its founding in 1865. Like BASF, numerous firms produced emergency money and they are more appropriately named after the firm, not after their product. Thus, the proper name for this note is BASF currency." ?? Thanks. That makes more sense. I wondered if I was missing something when the article described it as "the so-called aniline dollar" and later "hence the nickname Aniline Dollar". Since BASF isn't a government, rather than "currency" I think I would call it "BASF Scrip" or "BASF Emergency Money." -Editor To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: THE ANILINE DOLLAR (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n49a26.html) 1895 College Point, NY Counterfeiter Jim Haas passed along this newspaper clipping inspired by last week's item about catching a counterfeiter. Thanks! -Editor ?? Jim adds: "Officer John P. Kraebel and my great grandfather Charles Dockendorf served on the College Point Police Force in the 1890s." To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: LOOSE CHANGE: DECEMBER 3, 2023 : Counterfeit Shover Eats Fake Bills (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n49a29.html) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 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: From esylum at binhost.com Mon Dec 11 05:48:42 2023 From: esylum at binhost.com (The E-Sylum) Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2023 06:48:42 -0700 (MST) Subject: The E-Sylum v26n50 December 10, 2023 (short) Message-ID: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The E-Sylum An electronic publication of The Numismatic Bibliomania Society Volume 26, Number 50, December 11, 2023 ** WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM DECEMBER 10, 2023 <#a01> ?? Click here to read this issue on the web Click here to read the thin version on the web Click here for the NBS Facebook group Click here to subscribe Click here to unsubscribe 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 DECEMBER 10, 2023 New subscribers this week include: Stuart Weinerman. Welcome aboard! 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. Contact me at whomren at gmail.com anytime regarding your subscription, or questions, comments or suggestions about our content. This week we open with a new NBS podcast, four new books, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, money museums, and more. Other topics this week include Santa Claus notes, the National Currency Foundation, semiquincentennial coin designs, ANACS slabs, auction previews, Juno on ancient coins, worldwide coin mania, Gaza's cash convoy and new physical bitcoin notes. To learn more about 1794 large cent pedigrees, coins of England and France, the 100 Greatest Ancient Coins, Dahlonega gold, U.S. Mint document destruction, overlap designs, Polhemus counterstamps, Brazil's titanium coin, the baddest coin on the planet, Juno Moneta, and the Sringfield Stamp Museum, read on. Have a great week, everyone! Wayne Homren Editor, The E-Sylum ?? Click here to read this issue on the web ?? ?? ?? Image of the week ?? ?? ?? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 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: From esylum at binhost.com Sun Dec 17 19:46:18 2023 From: esylum at binhost.com (The E-Sylum) Date: Sun, 17 Dec 2023 20:46:18 -0700 (MST) Subject: The E-Sylum v26n51 December 17, 2023 (short) Message-ID: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The E-Sylum An electronic publication of The Numismatic Bibliomania Society Volume 26, Number 51, December 17, 2023 ** WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM DECEMBER 17, 2023 <#a01> ?? Click here to read this issue on the web Click here to read the thin version on the web Click here for the NBS Facebook group Click here to subscribe Click here to unsubscribe 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 DECEMBER 17, 2023 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. Contact me at whomren at gmail.com anytime regarding your subscription, or questions, comments or suggestions about our content. We currently send two versions of the email each week. One is the regular long version, and the other is a very short one with a link to the complete version online. Some email providers (AOL, Yahoo) don't like the long version. The short version seems to get through to everyone, and next year we may stop sending the long one to reduce clutter and confusion. If you're getting both versions but haven't tried using the short one, please do so and let us know if you have any problems. Also, since the upcoming issue dates fall on Christmas and New Year's Eve, we'll likely not publish Sunday night as usual but sometime the following day or so. Happy holidays! This week we open with five new books, two passings, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, notes from readers, Christmas collectibles, and more. Other topics this week include Roman Imperial Coinage, the Charlotte Mint Museum, overlettering, fixed price and auction previews, King Charles coins, dodgy toonies, medals for dishonor, St. Nicholas, bitcoin banknotes, and movie prop money. To learn more about how to become a coin dealer, the San Fernando Book Co., Bob Lyall, Santa???s helpers, sickly coins, Christmas puddings, the Boston Stamp Heists, useless papers, documents, and records, Persian hairpin money, a huge silver pentakaidekadrachm, and the rebel Queen Zenobia of Palmyra, read on. Have a great week, everyone! Wayne Homren Editor, The E-Sylum ?? Click here to read this issue on the web ?? ?? ?? Image of the week ?? ?? ?? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 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: From esylum at binhost.com Sun Dec 17 19:46:54 2023 From: esylum at binhost.com (The E-Sylum) Date: Sun, 17 Dec 2023 20:46:54 -0700 (MST) Subject: The E-Sylum v26n51 December 17, 2023 Message-ID: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The E-Sylum An electronic publication of The Numismatic Bibliomania Society Volume 26, Number 51, December 17, 2023 ** WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM DECEMBER 17, 2023 <#a01> ** NEW BOOK: ROMAN IMPERIAL COINAGE V.4 GALLIC EMPIRE <#a02> ** NEW BOOK: GOLD COINS OF THE WORLD, 10TH ED <#a03> ** NEW BOOK: MEDALS FOR DISHONOR <#a04> ** NEW BOOK: ART & MONEY <#a05> ** NEW BOOK: GUIDE TO BECOMING A COIN DEALER <#a06> ** EMIL NICHOLAS EUSANIO (~1925-2022) <#a07> ** BOB LYALL (1938-2023) <#a08> ** CHRISTMAS RIDDLES & THE COIN COLLECTOR <#a09> ** VIDEO: FEBRUARY 2017 LONG BEACH EXPO <#a10> ** CHARLOTTE MINT MUSEUM COIN EXHIBIT <#a11> ** NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: DECEMBER 17, 2023 <#a12> ** THE PROOF COIN IS IN THE PUDDING! <#a13> ** AN IRISH NUMISMATIC TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS <#a14> ** VOCABULARY TERMS: OVERLETTER, OVERLETTERING <#a15> ** THE BOSTON STAMP HEISTS <#a16> ** NATIONAL SILVER DOLLAR ROUND TABLE ESSAY <#a17> ** ATLAS NUMISMATICS SELECTIONS: DECEMBER 17, 2023 <#a18> ** NUMISMAGRAM MEDAL SELECTIONS: DECEMBER 17, 2023 <#a19> ** CNG TRITON XXVII SALE <#a20> ** TCNC JANUARY 2024 NEW YEAR'S SALE <#a21> ** NUMISMATIC NUGGETS: DECEMBER 17, 2023 <#a22> ** SPANISH COLONIAL CUARTILLOS <#a23> ** AUSTRALIA RELEASES NEW $1 KING CHARLES COIN <#a24> ** REALLY BAD FAKE CANADIAN TOONIES <#a25> ** DAVID SMITH???S MEDALS FOR DISHONOR <#a26> ** MORE ON MEDALS FOR DISHONOR <#a27> ** JELONEK AWARDED WACKS JUDAICA ART MEDAL <#a28> ** THAT???S NOT SANTA CLAUS <#a29> ** TOM BADLEY'S BITCOIN BANKNOTES <#a30> ** LOOSE CHANGE: DECEMBER 17, 2023 <#a31> ** MONEY MEASUREMENT MANIA <#a32> ** FEATURED WEBSITE: PROP MOVIE MONEY <#a33> ?? Click here to read this issue on the web Click here to read the thin version on the web Click here for the NBS Facebook group Click here to subscribe Click here to unsubscribe 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 DECEMBER 17, 2023 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. Contact me at whomren at gmail.com anytime regarding your subscription, or questions, comments or suggestions about our content. We currently send two versions of the email each week. One is the regular long version, and the other is a very short one with a link to the complete version online. Some email providers (AOL, Yahoo) don't like the long version. The short version seems to get through to everyone, and next year we may stop sending the long one to reduce clutter and confusion. If you're getting both versions but haven't tried using the short one, please do so and let us know if you have any problems. Also, since the upcoming issue dates fall on Christmas and New Year's Eve, we'll likely not publish Sunday night as usual but sometime the following day or so. Happy holidays! This week we open with five new books, two passings, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, notes from readers, Christmas collectibles, and more. Other topics this week include Roman Imperial Coinage, the Charlotte Mint Museum, overlettering, fixed price and auction previews, King Charles coins, dodgy toonies, medals for dishonor, St. Nicholas, bitcoin banknotes, and movie prop money. To learn more about how to become a coin dealer, the San Fernando Book Co., Bob Lyall, Santa???s helpers, sickly coins, Christmas puddings, the Boston Stamp Heists, useless papers, documents, and records, Persian hairpin money, a huge silver pentakaidekadrachm, and the rebel Queen Zenobia of Palmyra, read on. Have a great week, everyone! Wayne Homren Editor, The E-Sylum ?? Image of the week ?? ?? ?? NEW BOOK: ROMAN IMPERIAL COINAGE V.4 GALLIC EMPIRE Spink has published a new volume in the Roman Imperial Coinage series, covering the Gallic Empire from AD 260-274. -Editor Roman Imperial Coinage Volume V.4: The Gallic Empire by Jerome Mairat Regular price £150.00 276 x 219mm, 404 pages The Roman Imperial Coinage (abbreviated RIC) is a typological catalogue of Roman Imperial coins from the Battle of Actium in 31 BC to Late Antiquity in 491 AD. It aims to offer a complete and chronological reconstruction of the whole coinage produced by each of the Roman emperors. The series was started in 1923, and has become the standard work for numismatic reference. It was previously comprised of 10 volumes in 13 parts, some of which are currently being revised and will be divided differently. This brand new volume, published to celebrate the centenary of the series, covers the Gallic Empire from AD 260-274. Jerome Mairat is the Curator of Roman Coins at the Ashmolean Museum and Lecturer in Roman Numismatics at the Faculty of Classics, University of Oxford. He holds the positions of Director for RPC Online and General Editor for the Roman Provincial Coinage series, having authored several volumes. His research is primarily focused on the third century coinage, both imperial and provincial. For more information, or to order, see: Roman Imperial Coinage Volume V.4: The Gallic Empire by Jerome Mairat (https://spinkbooks.com/products/roman-imperial-coinage-volume-v-4-the-gallic-empire-by-jerome-mairat) NEW BOOK: GOLD COINS OF THE WORLD, 10TH ED Coin & Currency Institute has published a new edition of Friedberg's Gold Coins of the World. -Editor The last edition of Gold Coins of the World, by Arthur L. Friedberg and Ira S. Friedberg, was published by the Coin & Currency Institute six years ago, in 2017. That edition the ninth and each one before are derived from the original, groundbreaking 1958 work by Robert Friedberg, whose cataloging and numbering system revolutionized the way gold coins are collected. It changed the face of world-gold collecting at that time, and it remains unparalleled in its scope and universal usage today, six decades later. Collectors and dealers around the world rely on the Friedberg Numbering System™ to systematically identify and study any gold coin ever made. Now, the Friedberg legacy is renewed yet again with the all-new, tenth edition of Gold Coins of the World. Three years in the making, the newest edition calls on the expertise of a numismatic who's-who of more than one hundred expert contributors and consultants from across the globe. The continued respect commanded by each edition of the volume is due to the expertise of both the authors and the impressive contributors they bring together. The popularity of gold coins, however, is due to a whole host of factors. It is not an overstatement to say that the history of gold coinage parallels, and has helped define. the trajectory of civilization. >From the preface: Since the first gold coins were struck in ancient Lydia, about 700 BC, they have been the subject of collecting, hoarding, accumulating, and investing. For over two and a half millennia, they, along with gold itself, have been man's ultimate measure of economic value. For rarity, purity, luster, resistance to the ravages of the elements and time, for unique color and for sheer beauty, they have nary a rival among the creations of either man or nature. In times of uncertainty and war, depression and panic, inflation. and disaster. they have served their purpose as symbols of security when all else lay in ruin. More remarkable than the rise in the gold price is the dramatic, unparalleled, and sometimes frenzied increase in the value of numismatic gold coins. Collectors and investors now realize the relative rarity of coins compared not only to other forms of art and antiques but also to other numismatic categories. The tenth edition of Gold Coins of the World is arriving at just the right time to meet the needs of this ever-expanding market. Like each edition before it, the tenth expands on its predecessor, digging more deeply into new areas of collector interest, and expanding many sections. It includes the addition of many new discoveries for dozens of countries. From the 384 pages of the 1958 edition, the work has expanded to 852 pages, which have been completely revised and updated. The authors have listed more than 22,000 coin types. which are illustrated with more than 8,500 photos now, for the first time, each one of them in color. Each country's section includes tables of weight and fineness. The market valuations are extensively revised to reflect both the higher price of gold as well as the skyrocketing demand for numismatic rarities. Valuations are now provided, for the first time, in up to three states of preservation. Many of the prices, especially for great rarities and coins in higher grades. have at least doubled. In fact, as collectors recognize the scarcity of coins in the highest states of preservation, the premium for such coins relative to lower-graded ones is escalating beyond traditional proportions. The coinage of India and the Islamic world. long dismissed by western collectors as difficult to decipher, unimportant, and lacking in value, is now the subject of intense interest, and has shown some of the most dramatic increases of all. The reader will also find a useful directory of the worlds leading gold-coin dealers and auction houses. For the numismatist, banker. economist, historian, or institution of higher learning, the tenth edition of Gold Coins of the World (ISBN 978-0-87184-310-4) is a book for every library, public and private. The 11 3/4 by 8 1/4 inch (A4) hard-bound book has 852 pages and a list price of US $94.95 or €95. It is available from bookstores. coin dealers. and internet booksellers. It is also available as a full-color e-book or Kindle book (ISBN 978-087184-012-7) for US$44.95. The e-book is also available as a one-day rental ???a first in the world of numismatic reference books. To order direct from the publisher or for more information, contact Coin & Currency Institute 34 Blair Park Road. Suite 104-188. Williston, Vermont 05495. Toll-free 1-800-421-1866. Fax 802-536-4787. E-mail: info at GoldCoinsoftheWorld.com. Ordering information and sample pages are found on the book's web site, www.GoldCoinsoftheWorld.com. To read the complete article, see: News Story: Gold Coins of the World, 10th edition (https://www.coin-currency.com/page309.html) For more information, or to order, see: http://www.GoldCoinsoftheWorld.com/ http://66.39.37.41/page9.html NEW BOOK: MEDALS FOR DISHONOR Not new actually, but new to me. See two articles elsewhere in this issue for more information on artist David Smith and his Medals For Dishonor series. -Editor Title: David Smith: Medals For Dishonor Text by: Michael Brenson, Dore Ashton, Matthew Marks This catalogue examines a major though little-known body of David Smith's work. Enraged by the rise of fascism that he witnessed while visiting Europe in the 1930s, Smith began to work on the ???Medals for Dishonor.??? Approaching the tradition of commemorative medallions ironically, Smith denounces historical players who willingly contributed to the horrors of war. Publisher: Independent Curators International (ICI) Publication Date: 1997 Binding: Paperback Language: English Number of Pages: 84 Item Length: 9.5in Item Width: 9.5in For more information, or to order, see: David Smith: Medals For Dishonor (https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31550781445) David Smith : Medals for Dishonor by David Smith (1997, Trade Paperback) (https://www.ebay.com/p/606777?iid=225731595160) THE BOOK BAZARRE KENNETH W. RENDELL has traveled the world tracking down, buying, and selling the most significant, iconic historical letters and documents from the ancient world through the Renaissance to today. Read about his early start as a rare-coin dealer in the 1950s???and much more???in his thrilling new memoir, Safeguarding History. Order your copy online (including at Whitman.com ), or call 1-800-546-2995. NEW BOOK: ART & MONEY Money artist Tom Badley has written a book on art and money. The Foreword is written by Elias Ahonen, author of the Encyclopedia of Physical Bitcoins and Crypto-Currencies and Blockland. -Editor Banknotes: unique in the world of product design, a source of artistic inspiration, and the visual brand of money and debt. But why do we use cash? Why does it look the way it does? What does it say about us, life on Earth, and where we???re going as a species? Artist Tom Badley brings together his experience in art, design, cryptocurrency, history, and his work in the banknote industry to present a unique philosophy of money design. In doing so, he uncovers society???s beliefs on life, evolution, and the future of money. ?? ?? ?? ?? Daniel Ambrosi, founding member of the AI Art movement: "Wow! This book went to places and depths I did not expect. Tom's thesis of money as a mirror of humanity and our evolutionary drive beyond centralization to self-determination is quite compelling. I found the chapters, The Hierarchy of Sophistication and Banknotes vs Art very illuminating and while reading those, I couldn't help but think about what I'm trying to do with my own art. I learned a lot from these chapters and came away encouraged by the aspiration towards transcendent life-affirming art. It was also great to get a much better handle on Tom's art, background, ideas, and philosophy. His work is truly singular and a tremendously important contribution to crypto art." ?? Tom Badley Tom Badley is an artist, designer and author. He studied art at the Slade School of Fine Art, London, and the Cooper Union School in New York. He is known for his work in the banknote industry and blockchain art space. He lives and works in London and Europe. Publisher ??? : ??? Independently published (July 10, 2023) Language ??? : ??? English Hardcover ??? : ??? 208 pages ISBN-13 ??? : ??? 979-8397495349 Item Weight ??? : ??? 1.32 pounds Dimensions ??? : ??? 8.25 x 0.68 x 11 inches See the article elsewhere in this issue about Tom Badley's physical cryptocurrency notes. -Editor For more information, or to order, see: Art & Money (https://www.bitcoin-banknote.com/) ART & MONEY (https://www.amazon.com/ART-MONEY-Tom-Badley/dp/B0CC4JBF4M/ref=sr_1_1) To read earlier E-Sylum articles, see: TOM BADLEY'S PORTFOLIO OF MONEY (https://www.coinbooks.org/v22/esylum_v22n32a34.html) NEW BOOK: GUIDE TO BECOMING A COIN DEALER With help from a robot friend, Ron Guth has written A Practical Guide To Becoming A Coin Dealer. Here's the Foreword. There's no cover illustration yet, so I'd like to invite our readers to submit candidates, with or without the help of AI tools. -Editor ChatGPT, one of the most famous AI tools on the market at present, created this entire book in less than an hour. ChatGPT (Version 3.5) took the prompt, ???Outline for a book titled How to Become a Coin Dealer???, and created a ten chapter outline in just a few seconds. Each line in the outline became its own prompt from which ChatGPT generated entire sections in less than a minute each. The final count came to over 37,000 words. Compare this to the months it would have taken a human to write a similar book. ChatGPT even provided alternative titles for this book, several of which were entirely appropriate, and from which the actual title was chosen. How did ChatGPT perform? Surprisingly well in this writer???s opinion. Though it took ChatGPT less than an hour to create the book, your editor spent several hours reviewing the text and adding notes. ChatGPT often repeats itself or rephrases sections, though that in itself is not bad. Good ideas should be reinforced. On the positive side, ChatGPT included several interesting topics that this writer had not even contemplated. ChatGPT has been known to hallucinate (make things up) and outright lie (make false statements), not out of evil intent but merely because of the nature and current state of the technology. In order to present the raw power and the idiosyncrasies of ChatGPT, no changes were made to the actual text or content. However, editor's notes were inserted within brackets [ ] throughout the text to correct or explain any errors or misinformation. The end result is a book that, with the accompanying revisions, will prove to be very useful to anyone considering becoming a coin dealer. If nothing else, it illustrates the sheer power and potential of ChatGPT. Important note: ChatGPT and the editor do not offer legal and tax advice. What may appear to be legal or tax advice in this book are guidelines only. Readers are encouraged to consult appropriate professionals for legal and tax advice. Enjoy! The book was published a chapter at a time on Ron's Numismatic Detective Agency blog. See the links below. -Editor To read the complete book, see: A Practical Guide To Becoming A Coin Dealer (https://numismaticdetectives.com/blog/f/the-business-of-coins) A Practical Guide...Chapter 1 (https://numismaticdetectives.com/blog/f/a-practical-guide-to-becoming-a-coin-dealer) A Practical Guide...Chapter 2 (https://numismaticdetectives.com/blog/f/a-practical-guidechapter-2) A Practical Guide...Chapter 3 (https://numismaticdetectives.com/blog/f/a-practical-guidechapter-3) A Practical Guide...Chapter 4 (https://numismaticdetectives.com/blog/f/a-practical-guidechapter-4) A Practical Guide...Chapter 5 (https://numismaticdetectives.com/blog/f/a-practical-guidechapter-5) A Practical Guide...Chapter 6 (https://numismaticdetectives.com/blog/f/a-practical-guidechapter-6) A Practical Guide...Chapter 7 (https://numismaticdetectives.com/blog/f/a-practical-guidechapter-7) A Practical Guide...Chapter 8 (https://numismaticdetectives.com/blog/f/a-practical-guidechapter-8) A Practical Guide...Chapter 9 (https://numismaticdetectives.com/blog/f/a-practical-guidechapter-9) A Practical Guide...Chapter 10 (https://numismaticdetectives.com/blog/f/a-practical-guidechapter-10) A Practical Guide...Conclusion (https://numismaticdetectives.com/blog/f/a-practical-guideconclusion) ?? EMIL NICHOLAS EUSANIO (~1925-2022) Adrián González-Salinas of Monterrey, Mexico shares this information about an NBS member and numismatic literature dealer who passed away in February 2022. Thanks! -Editor Last month, I bought on eBay a lot of twenty COINage magazines (1972-1984) and in the February 1978 issue, page 17 there is a very interesting article written by Bob Wolenik and titled "He Deals In Coin Books". At that time Emil Nicholas Eusanio was working as an engineer at Rockwell, International and he was the owner of "San Fernando Book Co." in California. Emil said: "I found the books were harder to find than the coins, so I never got around to purchasing the coins". I was looking for information about Emil N. Eusanio and found that he was the son of Emil Eusanio (1902-1975) and Lucy Marrano (1908-2007) and both native from Italy (most likely from the Abruzzo region). His parents came from Italy to New York in 1905. Emil N. Eusanio was a mechanical engineer graduated from the University of Buffalo (NY) generation 1946-1950. On October 13, 1973 he married Patricia L. Kinman in Los Angeles, California. Numismatically, Emil was an associate member of the American Numismatic Society since 1967. In "The Asylum" Summer 1985 (page 13) he is listed as a new member of the NBS. He was a member of the California State Numismatic Association (#3066) in 1976; The Society of Paper Money Collectors (#5092) in 1977 and the Numismatic Association of Southern California (#2223) in 1980. With respect to The E-Sylum, he appeared as a new member in Vol. 5 # 36 (02 September 2002); Vol. 8 #44 (16 October 2005) and Vol. 18 #16 (19 April 2015). ?? Finally, I found an obituary of his passing in February 2022. Back in my early collecting career I was aware of the San Fernando Book Co., but don't recall if I purchased any coin books there. Emil subscribed to The E-Sylum three times, perhaps due to email address changes. I don't see any submissions from him in the archive, and never met him in person that I'm aware of. Can any of our readers tell us more about him? -Editor To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see: SUBSCRIBER UPDATES (https://www.coinbooks.org/club_nbs_esylum_v05n36.html) WAYNE'S WORDS (https://www.coinbooks.org/club_nbs_esylum_v08n44.html) WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM APRIL 19, 2015 (https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v18n16a01.html) BOB LYALL (1938-2023) Ken Eckardt writes: "Bob Lyall passed away on 11th December 2023 at the age of 85. The relatively small community of collectors of West Indian cut and countermarked coins have lost a true cornerstone in our series. "Bob was a collector from a young age and in his teens focused on the coinage of Charles I. This eventually developed into a serious collection. In 1958 Bob did his National Service in the Royal Navy and this included a period of time in the West Indies and British Honduras. Something about the region stuck in his mind and in 1969/1970 Bob started collecting the cut and countermarked coins from the Caribbean islands. Over the years many letters were written to collectors, libraries and archives seeking information and as a result a number of articles were written. "I met Bob through correspondence in 1975 and when I first visited the UK, in 1977, Bob organised a weekend visit to Fred Pridmore's home. What a valuable experience that was for both of us. Bob???s most important work was published by Spink & Son in 1998, ???West Indian Coinage ??? Some New Discoveries.??? This work brought to light a number of previously unpublished Acts, Decrees and Proclamations that greatly added to our knowledge of this fascinating series. "Bob also was a keen collector of tokens from the West Indies and British Colonies and he formed a very comprehensive collection. In 1988 the Token and Medal Society published his book ???The Tokens, Checks, Metallic Tickets, Passes and Tallies of the British Caribbean and Bermuda???. He later privately published ???The Tokens and Checks of Malta??? and ???The Tokens and Checks of Gibraltar???. "The sale of Bob???s collection of cut and countermarked coins through DNW, in September 2018, established a new milestone in the series with the number of rarities offered. "A great friend and colleague of mine going back nearly 50 years ??? I will miss him." Sorry to hear the news. Bob was a reader and contributor to The E-Sylum over many years - see some of his submissions linked below. Here is an excerpt from Ken's preface for Bob's collection in the Dix Noonan Webb catalog. -Editor Bob Lyall has been a cornerstone with respect to research on the West Indies cut and countermarked series for many years. A major achievement was the publication of a very important booklet, West Indian Coinage ??? Some New Discoveries , by Spink in 1998. This work brought to light a significant amount of contemporary documentation not previously published in the numismatic domain. Additionally, his work covers much more as evidenced by his book on West Indies tokens, and publications on Gibraltar, identifying this colony as the original location for the series of heart-shaped piercings (the earliest examples of mutilated coinage for British colonial use) in 2008, his book on the tokens of Malta, along with a number of articles published in Spink???s Numismatic Circular over the years. Bob developed a collecting interest at quite an early age, starting off with artefacts and objects of interest given to him by family members. By the age of twelve his interest focused primarily on numismatics. He was already on his way to forming a significant collection of the coinage of Charles I (sold in these rooms in 2015 and 2016) when he had his first exposure to the West Indies (including Bermuda, Bahamas and British Honduras) in 1958, performing his National Service with the Royal Navy. While some issues are common (common being a relative term in this series), many are great rarities. Accordingly, the collecting fraternity has been small in number, due not only to the lack of material but also to the limited understanding of the social and economic conditions that brought about the existence of these coins. It is gratifying to see that in the past 8-10 years there has been a marked increase in interest by collectors and students, and a genuine recognition of the rarity of the coins in general. It is not the easiest series to understand, complicated as it is by ???unofficial??? specimens, ???contemporary counterfeits??? and, sadly, ???modern fakes???. With study the first two categories add significant interest to the series and indeed these coins formed an integral part of the day-to-day marketplace transactions for which the various island assemblies took steps to enact this exceptional local coinage. With very few exceptions, study and close examination can usually detect and identify the third category. Bob, being a faithful student of the series, focused on study and research, writing literally hundreds of letters to museums, historical societies and individuals who might have useful information, and visiting various libraries and museums in the UK and the West Indies. To read the complete catalog on the Newman Numismatic Portal, see: The Lyall Collection of Cut and Countermarked Coins (https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/auctionlots?AucCoId=512703&AuctionId=539434) To read earlier E-Sylum articles, see: ON NAMING NAMES (https://coinbooks.org/esylum_v09n06a07.html) ON ELECTROTYPES (https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v09n43a14.html) FIRST LOOK: THE MINING AND RELATED TOKENS OF WEST CUMBERLAND, UK (https://coinbooks.org/esylum_v09n53a08.html) LYALL COLLECTION OF CUT AND COUNTERMARKED COINS (https://www.coinbooks.org/v21/esylum_v21n28a24.html) ?? ?? CHRISTMAS RIDDLES & THE COIN COLLECTOR Newman Numismatic Portal Project Coordinator Len Augsburger provided the following holiday report. -Editor Christmas Riddles & The Coin Collector The Coin Collector, a monthly house organ published in tabloid form by Bowers & Merena from 1994 to 2003, numbered 144 issues total. The readable Bowers formula combined coin commentary, the occasional presentation of original research, letters to the editor, engaging graphics, and of course coins for sale. The Internet has rendered the format obsolete, a pity for those of us who eagerly snatched such publications from the mailbox. From the February 19, 2001 issue (no. 104) come a pair of Christmas riddles contributed by reader Dr. Kathy Helgesen Fuller, ???a long time reader of our publications.??? Q. What do you call Santa???s helpers? A. Subordinate Clauses. Q. What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire? A. Frostbite. Q. What do you call an elf who sings? A. A wrapper. OK, we confess the third riddle is a Chat GPT special. The reader is left to determine if AI is an improvement or not! Link to The Coin Collector on Newman Portal: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/publisherdetail/539529 ?? VIDEO: FEBRUARY 2017 LONG BEACH EXPO The David Lisot Video Library on the Newman Numismatic Portal can be found at: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/multimediadetail/522852 We highlight one of his videos each week in The E-Sylum. Here's one from 2017 from the Long Beach Expo. -Editor ?? The Long Beach is held three times a year and always have great exhibits and numismatic events. The Expo displayed the first United States Silver Dollar with Don Willis and JD Dannreuther, talked to Tom Caldwell who purchased a 1943 Copper Cent, and saw John Highfill announce his plans to run for ANA Board of Governors. Speaker(s): Interviewer: David Lisot. ?? ?? To watch the complete video, see: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/578920 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 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: From esylum at binhost.com Mon Dec 25 12:14:56 2023 From: esylum at binhost.com (The E-Sylum) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2023 13:14:56 -0700 (MST) Subject: The E-Sylum v26n52 December 24, 2023 Message-ID: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The E-Sylum An electronic publication of The Numismatic Bibliomania Society Volume 26, Number 52, December 25, 2023 ** WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM DECEMBER 24, 2023 <#a01> ** NUMISMATISCHES ANTIQUARIAT LANG AUCTION 1 <#a02> ** NEW BOOK: COLLECTING VINTAGE COIN BOARDS 3RD ED <#a03> ** BANKNOTE BOOK VENEZUELA CHAPTER PUBLISHED <#a04> ** ORIENTAL NUMISMATIC SOCIETY WINTER 2023 <#a05> ** REXFORD ADDISON STARK (1947-2023) <#a06> ** BCD CATALOGS ARRIVE IN CHICAGO <#a07> ** MORE ON THE EVERMAN COUNTERSTAMP <#a08> ** VIDEO: 1715 FLEET SOCIETY 2017 CONFERENCE <#a09> ** MORE ON THE MONEY MUSEUM <#a10> ** AI-GENERATED COIN BOOK COVERS <#a11> ** UPDATE: AI-POWERED APP NUMI <#a12> ** NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: DECEMBER 24, 2023 <#a13> ** ACQUIRING A 1788 R 4-G MASSACHUSETTS CENT <#a14> ** DICKENS LAND LONDON 1941 MEDALS <#a15> ** VOCABULARY TERM: OVERSIZE FLAN <#a16> ** FREDERICK WILLIAM HARRIS (1872-1938) <#a17> ** WBNA WORLD CURRENCY SALE 53 <#a18> ** FRANK S. ROBINSON 123ND AUCTION <#a19> ** ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM'S ROMKOMMA PROJECT <#a20> ** BYZANTINE COIN FIND IN NORWAY <#a21> ** MEDIEVAL CHURCH CHRISTMAS TOKEN FOUND <#a22> ** BANK OF ENGLAND COUNTERSTAMP ON 1798 DOLLAR <#a23> ** 1859-O DOLLAR IN INDIAN TRADE NECKLACE <#a24> ** 1920 ZANZIBAR 1 RUPEE SPECIMEN NOTE <#a25> ** ISRAEL DROPS FAKE MONEY ON GAZA <#a26> ** THE KING OF SILENT ANIMATION <#a27> ** THE $100,000 GOODWILL STORE VASE <#a28> ** THE WILD RIDE OF COLLECTIBLES <#a29> ** JENNY LIND AND ???SWIFT-MANIA??? <#a30> ** LOOSE CHANGE: DECEMBER 24, 2023 <#a31> ** OTIS KAYE???S HOLIDAY TREE OF MONEY <#a32> ?? Click here to read this issue on the web Click here to read the thin version on the web Click here for the NBS Facebook group Click here to subscribe Click here to unsubscribe 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 DECEMBER 24, 2023 New subscribers this week include: Don Ackerman, courtesy of Alan Weinberg, who writes, "Don is head of Heritage???s historical / political dept and has been an authority and serious collector of political ephemera for decades and co-founder with the late Jon Mann of The Railsplitter which is now online." Welcome aboard! 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. Contact me at whomren at gmail.com anytime regarding your subscription, or questions, comments or suggestions about our content. As noted earlier, this issue and the next one are arriving late because of the holidays. This week we open with a numismatic literature auction, two new books, a periodical, a library on the move, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, and more. Other topics this week include coin boards, counterstamps, the 1715 fleet, AI in numismatics, Massachusetts cents, oversize flans, Rev. Fred Harris, auction reviews, fake banknotes in Gaza, Jenny Lind and Otis Kaye. To learn more about Venezuela banknotes, Chinese coin charms, Rex Stark, the BCD library, the Money Museum of the National Bank of Detroit, the Numi app, Charlotte Mint superintendent and chief assayer Stuart Cramer, Dickins Land medals, Russian Cheese Money, Ming dynasty notes, the posthumous Dupondius, the Nazi who traveled to Palestine, and the world's largest portable money museum, read on. Have a great week, everyone! Wayne Homren Editor, The E-Sylum ?? Image of the week ?? ?? ?? NUMISMATISCHES ANTIQUARIAT LANG AUCTION 1 Here's the announcement for the first numismatic literature auction from Numismatisches Antiquariat Lang. -Editor 1st auction of numismatic literature at the Numismatische Antiquariat Lang GmbH on January 07, 2024 Auction 1 of the Numismatisches Antiquariat Lang will offer 1328 lots of numismatic literature on January 07, 2024. The auction begins with a lot of bibliophile works. These include numerous rare books and magnificent volumes. This will be followed by general literature and a wide range of ancient numismatic titles. Three original editions are particularly noteworthy: Svorono's work "Ta Nomismata tou Kratous ton Ptolemaion" in a beautiful uniform half leather (lot 282), Haeberlin "Aes Grave Das Schwergeld Roms" (lot 180) and Ravel "Descriptive catalogue of the collection of Tarentine coins formed by M. P. Vlasto" (lot 250). ?? Lots 55 and 282 Lot 55: Menestrier, C.F. Histoire du Regne de Louis Le Grand. Par les m??dailles, embl??mes, devises, jettons, inscriptions, armoiries, et autres monumens publics. Paris 1700. Kupfertitel mit Vign., gest. Portr.-Front., gest. Front., 93 Tfn. (2 gefalt.) und zahlr. Textkupfern und Initialen. 80 S., 4 Bll. Contemporary full leather, somewhat bumped and foxed. Splendid edition. Expanded edition of the 1693 edition. Lot 282: Svoronos, J.N. Ta Nomismata tou Kratous ton Ptolemaion. 4 Bände. Athen 1904-1908. XII S., 506 Spalten, 3 Falttabellen; 324 S.; 64 Tfn.; LXVIII, 622 Spalten, 4 Tfn. Band 4 beinhaltet auf Spalten 1-396 eine umfangreiche Zusammenfassung dieser grundlegenden Studie in deutscher Sprache. Am Schluss verlagsmäßig in separater Paginierung hinzugefügt: HULTSCH, F. Die Gewichte und Werte der ptolemäischen Münzen. 80 Spalten. Athen 1904-1908. Uniformly bound in 4 volumes. Half leather, crease in volume 1. Splendid copy. Rarely offered in the original. Literature from the Middle Ages and modern times is most strongly represented. When browsing the selection, you will find numerous standard works in the original edition as well as sought-after and out-of-print works. There are also special editions and fine quality items. Examples include Dannenberg "Die deutschen M??nzen der s??chsischen und fr??nkischen Kaiserzeit" in the original (lot 417), Mailliet "Catalogue descriptif des monnaies obsidionales et necessite" in the original (lot 654) and a splendid edition by Chestret "Numismatique de la principaute de Liege et de ses dependances (Bouillon, Looz) depuis leurs annexions" (lot 409). After a small number of commemorative publications, periodicals come under the hammer. Particularly noteworthy here are a complete series of the Numismatische Zeitschrift Wien and an almost complete series of the Gazette numismatique francaise. ?? Lot 475 Lot 475: Fiala, E. Münzen und Medaillen der Welfischen Lande. 1. Teil: Prägungen der Zeit der Ludolfinger, Brunonen, Billinger, Supplingenburger etc. Prag 1916. 143 S., 6 Tfn. 2. Teil: Die Welfen in den Sachsenlanden. Das alte Haus Braunschweig. Das alte Haus Lüneburg. Prägungen der Burgundier, der Welfen in Bayern, Italien etc. Prag 1910. 173 S., 11 Tfn. 3. Teil: Das alte Haus Braunschweig, Linie zu Grubenhagen. Mittelbraunschweig-Mittellüneburg. Prag 1906/1907. 112 S., 5 Tfn. 4. Teil: Das mittlere Haus Braunschweig, Linie zu Wolfenbüttel. Prag 1906. 268 S., 19 Tfn. 5. Teil: Das mittlere Haus Braunschweig, Linie zu Calenberg. Prag 1904. 53 S., 4 Tfn. 6. Teil: Das neue Haus Braunschweig zu Wolfenbüttel. Prag 1907/1908. 292 S., 18 Tfn. 7. Teil: Das neue Haus Braunschweig zu Wolfenbüttel II. (Bevern). Prag 1909. S. 295-466, Tfn. 19-27. 8. Teil: Das neue Haus Lüneburg (Celle) zu Hannover I. Prag 1912. 283 S., 14 Tfn. 9. Teil: Das neu e Haus Lüneburg (Celle) zu Hannover II. Prag 1913. S. 287-587, Tfn. 15-36. 10. Teil: Das neue Haus Lüneburg zu Hannover III. Prag 1915. S. 591-766, Tfn. 37-44. 11. Teil: Das neue Haus Lüneburg zu England (Großbritannien). Prag 1917. 292 S., 16 Tfn. 11 Bände. Full leather. Splendid series. The auction concludes with the auction catalogues section. These include auction catalogues before 1945, such as those by Cahn, Helbing, Hess, Hamburger and Merzbacher. Early auction catalogues, such as the Welzl von Wellenheim collection or the Montagu collection of Roman and Byzantine coins, are just a few examples of the diversity of this section. Also on offer are auction catalogues after 1945 with some series, such as Adolph Hess AG, Leu Numismatik, M??nzen und Medaillen AG. For more information, or to bid, see: Auction 1 - Numismatic Literature - 07.01.2024 16:00 (https://auktionen.numismatisches-antiquariat.de/Auktion/Onlinekatalog?intAuktionsId=1444) To visit the firm's website, see: https://www.numismatisches-antiquariat.de/ NEW BOOK: COLLECTING VINTAGE COIN BOARDS 3RD ED A new edition of Donald Kocken's book is available. He is also offering his massive lifetime collection for sale - this is a great opportunity for the next generation of collectors. -Editor Collecting Vintage Coin Boards, Albums, Folders, & Holders - 1930s and Beyond by Donald Kocken Pages: 101 Format: Softbound, Spiral Bound Images: Color Edition: Third Here are some sample pages. -Editor ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? FOR SALE Vintage Coin Boards, Albums, Folders, & Holders 1930's and Beyond Selling lifetime collection [55+ years] 40 Ft. Display TYPE SET of the 1930's to 1940's Coin Boards Plus 900+ vintage coin boards 12 Large Whitman Coin Board Albums 21 Pc. Set Whitman First Edition Blue Folders 240 Dansco older version coin folders 46 Oberwise older coin folders Complete Set of Treasury of Coins Albums + 37 extra pages 40 Whitman Green Plasticlad Coin Holders 13 Crest Green Coin Albums + extra pages 16 New Whitman Green Folders 8 New Megring Green Book Coin Albums 45 Hobby Unlimited round pink coin folders 16 Fort Hamilton Publishing Co. Coin folders 14 Shore Line older version coin folders Bigelow Coin Binders and Holders The Kewaunee Line Encased Coin Folder Call 920-337-6509. Ask for Don or leave a message. Don adds: "I set up my 40 ft. Display of vintage coin boards for the first time due to the invitation by Clifford Mishler at the Numismatics of Wisconsin's 55th Anniversary Event hosted in May 2015. Since then, I have set up around the Wisconsin area. This year I set up at the Rockford, IL Coin Show on Sept 24. I did 14 presentation seminars, which take 10 to 15 minutes each. Also I did the Milwaukee Coin Show on Nov.12 with 15 presentation seminars. These are some pictures from the Rockford, IL. Coin show 40 Ft. Display." ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? Wow - what an amazing collection! Great hobby history. -Editor To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see: NEW BOOK: COLLECTING VINTAGE COIN BOARDS (https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n10a07.html) NEW BOOK: COLLECTING VINTAGE COIN BOARDS 2ND ED. (https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n38a07.html) ?? BANKNOTE BOOK VENEZUELA CHAPTER PUBLISHED A new chapter of The Banknote Book by Owen Linzmayer has been published by CDN - a complete 114-page catalog covering 1,310 varieties of notes from all three national and 30 regional issuers in Venezuela from 1811 to present. -Editor ?? To read the complete article, see: Venezuela chapter now available (https://banknotenews.com/?p=42376) ORIENTAL NUMISMATIC SOCIETY WINTER 2023 The Winter 2023 issue of the Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society has been published. -Editor Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society Winter 2023 CONTENTS Editorial??? Pankaj Tandon Some Rare Kuninda Coins??? ??? Devendra Handa An unknown and unusual imitation of the Athenian owl ??? Patrick Pasmans Phanebal of Ascalon: a question of attribution and gender ??? Marvin W. Kushnet A Kanishka I forgery ??? Nikolaus Schindel A Chinese coin found in the medieval town of Handoga (Djibouti)??? ??? Jorge de Torres-Rodriguez and Joe Cribb Kabul???s rare 1/2-tankas of Akbar??? ??? B. Millancourt Four copper coins of early Safavid rulers??? ??? B. Millancourt The Burger Collection of Chinese coin charms ??? Alex C. Fang and Joe Cribb Khaksar currency??? ??? Sanjay Garg Ashoka Prize 2002 ONS News Book reviews and notices For more information, see: https://www.orientalnumismaticsociety.org/ THE BOOK BAZARRE KENNETH W. RENDELL has traveled the world tracking down, buying, and selling the most significant, iconic historical letters and documents from the ancient world through the Renaissance to today. Read about his early start as a rare-coin dealer in the 1950s???and much more???in his thrilling new memoir, Safeguarding History. Order your copy online (including at Whitman.com ), or call 1-800-546-2995. REXFORD ADDISON STARK (1947-2023) Political Americana dealer Rex Stark passed away on December 14th. Alan Weinberg submitted this remembrance. -Editor ???Ask Rex??? was a phrase widely used in the Americana collectibles and political ephemera field for many years. Rex Stark died in mid-December while hospitalized in Massachusetts for a multi years-long battle with cancer. He???d been seen in recent years at major shows experiencing discomfort from medical treatments for cancer, all to little avail. Despite this, Rex was scheduled to attend FUN Orlando early January but fate intervened. Rex lived for many decades with his wife Patti in Gardner, Massachusetts although they recently bought a second home in Tennessee. Rex started his dealing / collecting in American ???smalls??? while working for and under the tutelage of Ben Corning who back in the 1970???s issued fixed price catalogues. Rex went on to be super-knowledgeable in scrimshaw, American historical porcelain, political memorabilia and really rare American coinage, and widely encouraged and contributed to specialized book references in these fields. Realizing a dealer cannot collect fields that compete with his clients, Rex built a world class collection of ceramics and related items pertaining to John Brown, the Civil War era abolitionist and insurrectionist hanged by the federal government in 1860 - a person and related events made famous in more than one Hollywood movie, most notably one where Brown was played by noted actor Raymond Massey. When I first met Rex at a Cherry Hill NJ show in the early 1980???s, I was put off by his know-it-all persona and big booming John Ford-like voice. Perhaps this was because he???d once been a Palo Alto, CA police officer, an occupation requiring such a ???command presence??? personality. I know that well. But I soon got to like him, perhaps because he was so much like me and he did ???know it all???. He was a fount of knowledge in early American history, rarity, authenticity and value. Rex???s prices were always ???strong??? in his 2-3 annual fixed price catalogues but everything, much esoterica, was genuine and usually an ???opportunity only??? purchase. He???d also list several rare early US coins and many rare medals. He will be missed by many who knew, talked and dealt with him. There is a hole in the heart of many collectors who knew him but many knew this was coming as Rex was not hesitant to discuss his health problems which became increasingly apparent. Alan adds: "This is one of the last items Rex sold at a major coin show - to me at $4,750. A unique gold fully intact Civil War presentation badge, hand engraved with each battle on the bars approx 6??? Ex Ulbrich collection, a major sophisticated collection Rex helped build over decades." Tony Terranova writes: "GREAT DEALER!!!!!. Mostly historical ceramics, political everything,, medals, coins,, paper money. Mostly at high to very high, but fair prices. Very knowledgeable on every single item he offered and sold. More importantly, a very dear friend and colleague!!! The numismatic cognoscenti will miss him greatly!!!!!" Researcher Pete Smith writes: "He was born on August 30, 1947, the son of civil engineer Donald R.Stark and Dorothy J. Stark." Rex's wife Patti confirms Pete's added details. Thanks, everyone. I never had the chance to meet Rex, but got his catalogs for years and purchased some items for my collections. He was also a reader and occasional contributor to The E-Sylum. He will be missed. -Editor BCD CATALOGS ARRIVE IN CHICAGO Shanna Schmidt published this report in her email Newsletter #211 this week about the arrival of the auction catalog section of Basil Demetriadi's famous library of Greek numismatics. Great news! -Editor ?? Right now I am working feverishly to empty 490 boxes of catalogs that we just received from Athens, Greece. The long awaited BCD catalogs (not to be confused with the BCD numismatic literature auction that is being sold by Kolbe & Fanning starting in February, 2024) arrived by ship and were finally delivered after a year in the making. While I am excited to have this monumental and important reference library, I also understand the weighty responsibility it carries. The library was cared for and treasured by Basil and his librarian Patricia for several decades. It was also heavily utilized and shared with scholars across the world. I know that its impact on numismatic study was very important and I don???t take it lightly. ?? Along with the overwhelming task of unpacking boxes, we continue our project of digitizing our 6,000 volume library located at 8 S. Michigan. This includes packing books up and driving them either to Internet Archives in Indiana or for the high value books to St. Louis for scanning right at Washington University. Remember to visit the Newman Portal at https://nnp.wustl.edu/ if you want to check out any of the books that are out of copyright and are being offered for public consumption. The ones in copyright will just be available to me on a restricted site for our use. To read earlier E-Sylum articles, see: GREEK NUMISMATIC LITERATURE SALE JUNE 2014 (https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v17n19a05.html) MORE ON THE BCD LIBRARY OF GREEK NUMISMATICS (https://www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v17n20a10.html) SHANNA SCHMIDT ON NUMISMATIC LIBRARIES (https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n08a08.html) NBS BIBLIOTALK PODCAST WITH SHANNA SCHMIDT (https://www.coinbooks.org/v24/esylum_v24n19a02.html) VIDEO: NAC USA NUMISMATIC LIBRARY TOUR (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n33a08.html) MORE ON THE EVERMAN COUNTERSTAMP Newman Numismatic Portal Project Coordinator Len Augsburger provided the following report. -Editor More on the EVERMAN Counterstamp ?? A Newman Portal user asked about an EVERMAN counterstamp on an 1856 dollar. The counterstamp is listed in the Brunk reference, there on an 1852 Augustus Humbert $50 gold ???slug.??? Eric Schena added to the story in the June 2015 Numismatist, noting other EVERMAN pieces including an 1854 gold dollar, 1854 quarter eagle, and two 1855-O half dollars. Eric???s best guess as to the identity of the maker was Louis Everman, a silversmith in Carroll County, TN. Our correspondent added that the coin was from his uncle, who located the piece while metal detecting in Tennessee. Eric Schena writes ???What a great find - thank you for sending these images my way; I will add them to my census. I need to revisit that article and see if I can find any additional evidence.??? Images: 1856 gold dollar featuring EVERMAN counterstamp, submitted by NNP user. Link to Newman Portal EVERMAN search results: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/searchwithterms?searchterm=EVERMAN Eric also provided these images of his EVERMAN half dollar and quarter eagle. Thank you! Note that both of Eric's coins are stamped twice, once on the obverse, and once again on the reverse. -Editor ?? ?? ?? VIDEO: 1715 FLEET SOCIETY 2017 CONFERENCE The David Lisot Video Library on the Newman Numismatic Portal can be found at: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/multimediadetail/522852 We highlight one of his videos each week in The E-Sylum. Here's one from 2017 at the 1715 Fleet Society Conference. -Editor ?? 1715 Fleet Society Conference Highlights 2017 People talked about why they came to the banquet, comments about 1715 Fleet Conference, banquet remarks, awards to Sergio Gonzales, Curator, Cuban Numismatic Museum, gold coins worth millions discovered on Florida beaches recently, Ernie Richards, editor of Plus Ultra being honored, having membership in 1715 Fleet Society, the youngest girl treasurer and more. Speakers: Ben Costello. Running time: 40:35. ?? To watch the complete video, see: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/540274 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 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: From esylum at binhost.com Mon Dec 25 12:15:47 2023 From: esylum at binhost.com (The E-Sylum) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2023 13:15:47 -0700 (MST) Subject: The E-Sylum v26n52 December 24, 2023 (short) Message-ID: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The E-Sylum An electronic publication of The Numismatic Bibliomania Society Volume 26, Number 52, December 25, 2023 ** WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM DECEMBER 24, 2023 <#a01> ?? Click here to read this issue on the web Click here to read the thin version on the web Click here for the NBS Facebook group Click here to subscribe Click here to unsubscribe 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 DECEMBER 24, 2023 New subscribers this week include: Don Ackerman, courtesy of Alan Weinberg, who writes, "Don is head of Heritage???s historical / political dept and has been an authority and serious collector of political ephemera for decades and co-founder with the late Jon Mann of The Railsplitter which is now online." Welcome aboard! 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. Contact me at whomren at gmail.com anytime regarding your subscription, or questions, comments or suggestions about our content. As noted earlier, this issue and the next one are arriving late because of the holidays. This week we open with a numismatic literature auction, two new books, a periodical, a library on the move, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, and more. Other topics this week include coin boards, counterstamps, the 1715 fleet, AI in numismatics, Massachusetts cents, oversize flans, Rev. Fred Harris, auction reviews, fake banknotes in Gaza, Jenny Lind and Otis Kaye. To learn more about Venezuela banknotes, Chinese coin charms, Rex Stark, the BCD library, the Money Museum of the National Bank of Detroit, the Numi app, Charlotte Mint superintendent and chief assayer Stuart Cramer, Dickins Land medals, Russian Cheese Money, Ming dynasty notes, the posthumous Dupondius, the Nazi who traveled to Palestine, and the world's largest portable money museum, read on. Have a great week, everyone! Wayne Homren Editor, The E-Sylum ?? Click here to read this issue on the web ?? ?? ?? Image of the week ?? ?? ?? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 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: From esylum at binhost.com Sun Dec 31 18:12:19 2023 From: esylum at binhost.com (The E-Sylum) Date: Sun, 31 Dec 2023 19:12:19 -0700 (MST) Subject: The E-Sylum v26n53 December 31, 2023 (short) Message-ID: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The E-Sylum An electronic publication of The Numismatic Bibliomania Society Volume 26, Number 53, December 31, 2023 ** WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM DECEMBER 31, 2023 <#a01> ?? Click here to read this issue on the web Click here to read the thin version on the web Click here for the NBS Facebook group Click here to subscribe Click here to unsubscribe 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 DECEMBER 31, 2023 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. Contact me at whomren at gmail.com anytime regarding your subscription, or questions, comments or suggestions about our content. As noted earlier, this issue may arrive late because of the holiday. Happy New Year! This week we open with two new books, two obituaries, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, notes from readers, and more. Other topics this week include Numismatic Rogues, Boy Bishops, Rev. William Augustus Muhlenberg, Jenny Lind, the Bank of Canada Museum, dates on ancient coins, off-metal errors, the Trial of the Pyx, a bank building renovation, and the Tangbunia Bank of Vanuatu. To learn more about America???s paper money, the Florida State Treasure Collection, commemorative banknotes, tactile coin exhibits, the Ralph Foster Museum, Tom Caldwell of Northeast Numismatics, the rarity found in a Coinstar machine, the World???s Richest Poor Man, and the World's Weirdest Bank, read on. Have a great week, everyone! Wayne Homren Editor, The E-Sylum ?? Click here to read this issue on the web ?? ?? ?? Image of the week ?? ?? ?? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 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: From esylum at binhost.com Sun Dec 31 18:13:11 2023 From: esylum at binhost.com (The E-Sylum) Date: Sun, 31 Dec 2023 19:13:11 -0700 (MST) Subject: The E-Sylum v26n53 December 31, 2023 Message-ID: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The E-Sylum An electronic publication of The Numismatic Bibliomania Society Volume 26, Number 53, December 31, 2023 ** WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM DECEMBER 31, 2023 <#a01> ** NEW BOOK: AMERICA???S PAPER MONEY <#a02> ** JOHN B. LOVE (1936-2023) <#a03> ** JOHN P. BURNHAM (1940-2023) <#a04> ** NNP ADDS SMITH???S NUMISMATIC ROGUES GALLERY <#a05> ** VIDEO: FLORIDA STATE TREASURE COLLECTION <#a06> ** MORE ON BOY BISHOPS' CHURCH TOKENS <#a07> ** REV. MUHLENBERG AND HIS MEDAL <#a08> ** MORE ON JENNY LIND AND TAYLOR SWIFT <#a09> ** NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: DECEMBER 31, 2023 <#a10> ** REVIEW: BANK OF CANADA MUSEUM <#a11> ** VOCABULARY TERMS: OVERSTRIKE, OVERSTRUCK <#a12> ** JOHN PAUL BUTLER (1920-1982) <#a13> ** NUMISMATIC RESEARCH REQUESTS SOUGHT <#a14> ** TOM CALDWELL INTERVIEW, PART ONE <#a15> ** WORLD BANKNOTE AUCTIONS: 2023 REVIEW <#a16> ** NUMISMATIC NUGGETS: DECEMBER 31, 2023 <#a17> ** DATES ON ANCIENT COINS <#a18> ** 1965 SILVER ROOSEVELT DIME FIND <#a19> ** 1983 COPPER LINCOLN CENT <#a20> ** STACK???S BOWERS OFFERS TRIAL OF THE PYX COINS <#a21> ** 2024 ROYAL MINT COMMEMORATIVE COINS <#a22> ** 18TH CENTURY GERMAN CYPHER WHEEL <#a23> ** SOUTHERN STATES BANKNOTE ALBUM <#a24> ** BARTLETT, TEXAS BANK RENOVATION <#a25> ** PUZZLE PURISTS DECAMP TO A CASTLE <#a26> ** LOOSE CHANGE: DECEMBER 31, 2023 <#a27> ** THE TANGBUNIA BANK OF VANUATU <#a28> ?? Click here to read this issue on the web Click here to read the thin version on the web Click here for the NBS Facebook group Click here to subscribe Click here to unsubscribe 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 DECEMBER 31, 2023 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. Contact me at whomren at gmail.com anytime regarding your subscription, or questions, comments or suggestions about our content. As noted earlier, this issue may arrive late because of the holiday. Happy New Year! This week we open with two new books, two obituaries, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, notes from readers, and more. Other topics this week include Numismatic Rogues, Boy Bishops, Rev. William Augustus Muhlenberg, Jenny Lind, the Bank of Canada Museum, dates on ancient coins, off-metal errors, the Trial of the Pyx, a bank building renovation, and the Tangbunia Bank of Vanuatu. To learn more about America???s paper money, the Florida State Treasure Collection, commemorative banknotes, tactile coin exhibits, the Ralph Foster Museum, Tom Caldwell of Northeast Numismatics, the rarity found in a Coinstar machine, the World???s Richest Poor Man, and the World's Weirdest Bank, read on. Have a great week, everyone! Wayne Homren Editor, The E-Sylum ?? Image of the week ?? ?? ?? NEW BOOK: AMERICA???S PAPER MONEY The Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press has published a free 384-page electronic book by William L. Pressly called America???s Paper Money: A Canvas for an Emerging Nation. Check it out - it's an important new look at the intersection of numismatics and art history. Found via News & Notes from the Society of Paper Money Collectors (Volume IX, Number 28, December 26, 2023) -Editor America???s Paper Money: A Canvas for an Emerging Nation William L. Pressly The Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1690 became the first government in the Western world to print paper money, the imagery for which initiated an indigenous American art form of remarkable dynamism and originality. After the Revolutionary War, disillusioned by how quickly its promiscuous printing of Continental currency had led to hyperinflation, the U.S. government left it to private institutions such as state-chartered banks to carry on this artistic American tradition. Adorned with a vast variety of images, bank notes soon became the fledgling country???s primary currency. With pressures of the Civil War, the federal government in 1861 began taking charge of the paper-money supply by creating a national currency; simultaneously, the Confederate States of America was creating a competing self-image, making heavy use of bank-note vignettes. Later, collaboration between government engravers and well-known artists on the 1896 Silver Certificates marked the apex of U.S. government currency design. For two centuries, American creativity and technical ingenuity resulted in imagery on paper money that helped create and enhance the nation???s imagined self. Publication Date: December 20, 2023 Availability: Electronically Here's an excerpt from the book's Preface. -Editor I have written this book to open a more fruitful dialogue between the disciplines of art history and numismatics as applied to American paper money. The numismatic literature has undertaken the Herculean task of documenting this extremely large body of material. Eric Newman???s publications on Continental and Colonial currency are exemplary, and multiple catalogers have categorized the national currencies produced, beginning in 1861, by the federal government of the United States of America and by the Confederate States of America. Between these two eras, however, documenting the vast quantity of bank notes has proved to be a more daunting challenge. James A. Haxby made an impressive beginning, and Q. David Bowers is pursuing an even more thorough state-by-state catalog of bank notes and related currency. Other authors, such as Richard Doty, Bob McCabe, Mark D. Tomasko, and Heinz Tschachler, have provided helpful insights into issues involving the images used by banknote engravers, including the technology of bank-note production. In addition, digitization is transforming access to this vast material. Databases, such as the Newman Numismatic Portal at Washington University in St. Louis, are putting illustrations of paper money, along with the critical literature, at one???s fingertips. All this research provides an indispensable foundation for further exploration. ?? One of the deficiencies of numismatic writers that this book hopes to correct is the lack of knowledge of the artistic context in which these works were created. Ignorance of academic art, with its long tradition of complex iconographies and its mixture of allegorical figures with historical ones, has sometimes led to the misidentification of a vignette???s subject. The origins of whole genres of subject matter have at times escaped notice. Images of children performing adult tasks are not American drolleries, as some commentators would have it, but are taken from the conventions of rococo art. Some researchers of American paper money, such as John A. Muscalus, have been remarkably adept at locating old-master and contemporary sources for images appearing on currency, but they rarely go beyond the simple identification of a source to assess the significance of such borrowings or how the original design might have changed in its adaptation to this new context. On the other side of the ledger, one might ask why so few art historians, with the notable exception of Jennifer Roberts, have held back from exploring in depth American paper money. One reason is the concern that notes, the product of commercial printing, are viewed as exemplars of skilled craftsmanship rather than as original works of art. In this regard, paper money is seen as falling more within the purview of visual culture than art history. This book offers arguments to the contrary. It attempts to open to art historians and the public an area of American art that has been largely overlooked and to encourage numismatists to see this material in new ways. ?? I began collecting American paper money when I was in the fifth grade, and I often think this interest had an influence on my decision to become an art historian. Throughout my career, my area of study has been primarily eighteenth- and nineteenth-century European art, but I am glad now to be able to give something back to the field that first engaged my interest. While writing this book, my constant mantra has been ???ars longa, vita brevis??? (art is long, life is short). This Latin phrase, first coined by Hippocrates in Greek, is often misinterpreted to mean that while one???s life is fleeting, one???s work will live on long after he or she has died. Instead, it means that one lifetime is too short a span in which to master an art. In my case, this is all too painfully true, but I am delighted to have been able to make a beginning. To read the complete book, see: America???s Paper Money: A Canvas for an Emerging Nation (https://scholarlypress.si.edu/store/all/americas-paper-money-a-canvas-for-an-emerging-nation/) ?? JOHN B. LOVE (1936-2023) Silver dollar specialist John B. Love passed away on December 19th. He was born June 6, 1936. -Editor John Bracy Love, nationally known numismatist, went to meet his Lord on December 19, 2023. He was at his home in Whitefish, Montana surrounded by all his loved ones. In his last years, John was blind and had many health problems, but he stayed positive and strong, seldom complaining unless you interrupted his Grizzly game. John was born to Virgil and Florence Bracy Love on June 6, 1936, in Carbondale, Illinois. As a small child the family moved to Burbank, California where Virgil went to work for Columbia movie studios. John graduated from John Burroughs High School in Burbank, and then went to Los Angeles Valley Junior College on a football scholarship. His team was successful, and they went on to win the championship for their football league in 1955. After graduating, John was offered a football scholarship to the University of Montana. While at the U of M, John met his wife of 63 years, Karla Kay Kluth. The couple were married in 1960. Shortly after they married, they moved to Cut Bank, MT where John managed the Orpheum Theater Company for his mother-in-law. They lived in Cut Bank for over 50 years and raised their daughter, Lisette Lee Love, and son, John Byron Love, there. During the time John worked at the theater, silver was the currency people used and he soon got interested in silver dollars. That was the beginning of his career in the coin business. He started Record Coin in 1962. At the same time, he hired Diane Biegler as his secretary and she is still there today. Throughout his career he was a member of the Professional Numismatists Guild (PNG), a lifetime member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA), honored with the National Silver Dollar Roundtable Lifetime Achievement award in 1990, and inducted into the Professional Coin Grading Services (PCGS) Coin Dealer Hall of Fame in 2011. He loved to go to work and was still working up until the time of his death. In addition to his coin business, he and Roy Roper of Twin Falls, Idaho, along with Theo Bartschi and Byron Kluth started Interstate Amusement in 1967 in Twin Falls, which grew to 25 movie screens. They sold the theaters in 2014. John loved animals, horses in particular, and soon he started running racehorses. His horse trainer was Tommy Roberts, and they raced up and down the West coast, using jockeys such as Gary Stevens, Johnny Longden, and Will Shoemaker. In the 1980???s, John was the leading owner in races won in the nation. He also had a horse named Blue Rimrock, which was voted best claiming horse nationwide in 1985. To read the complete obituary, see: John Love (https://www.asperfh.com/obituaries/john-love) Here's some additional information from CoinWeek. -Editor Love, along with fellow Morgan dollar specialist Wayne Miller, is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of the modern silver dollar market. The two were partners for a short time in the early 2000s. When the Redfield Hoard of Morgan dollars came to market, John was one of its three major distributors. He handled Morgan dollars by the bag, by the roll, and by the coin. Love was a mentor to PCGS and NGC coin grader Michael ???Miles??? Standish and is listed as a contributor to Standish???s book Morgan Dollars: America???s Love Affair with a Legendary Coin. To read the complete article, see: Legendary Coin Dealer John B. Love Has Passed Away (https://coinweek.com/legendary-coin-dealer-john-b-love-has-passed-away/) JOHN P. BURNHAM (1940-2023) George Cuhaj and Tony Terranova alerted me to the passing of John P. Burnham on December 16th. -Editor Born to George R. Burnham and Kaarin (Maki) Burnham, John began his life of uncommon learning and accomplishment on July 20, 1940 in Portland, Oregon. There, with his beloved parents and sister Kaarin (Burnham) Cargill, John spent near every weekend of his childhood exploring the Columbia River Gorge and the numerous parks along the old highway - picnicking at Wahkeena Falls, tromping through the forest, intrepidly leading adventures up Oneonta Gorge, a lifelong favorite. Innumerable family road trips to Wecoma Beach and San Francisco further fueled the travel and exploration bugs. Those formative years were also the beginning of John???s lifelong passions for trains and for coins and collecting (his first coin, a gift from his mother, a 1912 Liberty Head dime from the Denver Mint). After graduating, as valedictorian, from Jefferson High in 1958, John attended the University of Oregon where he starred for the University???s College Bowl team before graduating Phi Beta Kappa. John then left his beloved Oregon to attend graduate school at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Connecticut would become his home for the ensuing six decades. After earning his degree (in part paid for by his winnings playing Gin) John joined the faculty at Connecticut College as a professor of economics. At Connecticut College, he met Christina, the love of his life. The couple married in 1967 and would raise four sons together, primarily in their book-filled (oh so very, very book-filled!) and historic home in Old Saybrook. In addition to teaching at Connecticut College John gave his considerable efforts and talents to many other roles: he served on the Governor???s Council of Economic Advisors of Connecticut; was Curator of the Yale Numismatic Collection for 30+ years; a numismatic consultant to Stack???s/ Coin Galleries in New York; a financial consultant and columnist; director of the Connecticut Central Railroad; President of the Valley Railroad; on the Board of Directors of the Providence and Worcester Railroad; a fellow of the American Numismatic Society and founding member of its Augustus B. Sage Society; chairman of the Waterford, CT Board of Finance; and many more too numerous to list, though he undoubtedly would have liked them to be. His curious nature always meant there were new and more books being added to the collection, books on near any subject one could imagine (This Was Logging anybody?). Luckily, the many visits to bookstores, be it Powell???s in Portland (on summer trips out west) or the Yale Co-Op, meant a new book for each son to pick out as well. Time was always made in his busy schedule to support his sons... John???s intellectual curiosity was reflected in his hobbies, of which there were a great many. He loved collecting coins; reading (always a pile of books in various progress); collecting medals; playing chess; collecting paper money; playing cards (gin, cribbage, pinochle); collecting railroadiana; ensuring his children had strong cardio by making them sprint through the labyrinthian New York subway system or risk being left behind; collecting political memorabilia; crosswords; collecting books; dining with friends and family; and, it can???t be stressed enough; collecting. His entry in the 2009 An Island of Civility: The Centennial History of the New York Numismatic Club reads as follows. George Cuhaj supplied the photo of John at his Coin Galleries cube in the early 1990s. -Editor John P. Burnham. Member: 1992-Present Educated at the University of Oregon and at Yale. Cataloguer for Stack's. Part-time curator of the Yale numismatic collection for nearly thirty years. An avid collector of medals, he led one of the first medals-only auction houses, Collectors Auctions Ltd. He is a member of the ANA, the Russian Numismatic Society, the Medal Collectors of America, Phi Beta Kappa, Delta Chi, the Elizabethan Club and the Mory's Association. He is the former chairman of the Connecticut Central Railroad and the Valley Railroad Company, and served on the board of directors of the Providence and Worcester Railroad Company and the Mutual Shares Corp. The entry for Collectors Auctions Ltd of Danbury, CT in Martin Gengerke's 2009 American Numismatic Auctions lists sales dated 9/13/1987 through 5/4/1991. -Editor ?? ?? ?? ?? Catalog numbers are continued from the Johnson & Jensen series. After sale number 35 the firm moved to Old Saybrook, CT, and the next catalog was number 8, reflecting the desire of the owner to separate the firm from the Johnson & Jensen catalogs. The Newman Numismatic Portal includes Collectors Auctions as a continuation of the Johnson & Jensen series. Alan V. Weinberg writes: "I knew John fairly well when he worked upstairs for Stack's on 57th Street. A quiet and seemingly humble, soft-spoken man, I???d heard he was well connected and accomplished but I had no idea just how prominent he was. He never portrayed himself as being so accomplished. "I have at least two unique medals in my collection acquired privately from John, after much pleading. One a hand tooled silver 1835 American shooting award, and one a large high quality gold, originally cased, 1840???s completely hand engraved life saving medal from Alabama depicting a paddle wheel afire and sinking.Acquired perhaps 30 yrs ago from John at a very firm non-negotiable $10K. Very high then but I had to have it. John would not have sold it but for my intense interest." ?? Tuscaloosa Steamship Lifesaving Medal Great medal! Amazing work. Thanks, everyone. -Editor To read the complete obituary, see: John Printz Burnham (https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/old-saybrook-ct/john-burnham-11588383) THE BOOK BAZARRE KENNETH W. RENDELL has traveled the world tracking down, buying, and selling the most significant, iconic historical letters and documents from the ancient world through the Renaissance to today. Read about his early start as a rare-coin dealer in the 1950s???and much more???in his thrilling new memoir, Safeguarding History. Order your copy online (including at Whitman.com ), or call 1-800-546-2995. NNP ADDS SMITH???S NUMISMATIC ROGUES GALLERY The latest addition to the Newman Numismatic Portal is Pete Smith???s Numismatic Rogues Gallery. Project Coordinator Len Augsburger provided the following report. -Editor ?? Pete Smith???s Numismatic Rogues Gallery Added to NNP The commercial side of numismatics has a way of attracting ne???er-do-wells, and to be sure academic and museum collections are no less susceptible. Pete Smith???s latest work shines a spotlight on 275 perpetrators of numismatic crimes, compiling the pertinent data in a single reference. In earlier days, dealers published their own lists of individuals not to be trusted, but the explosion of public information in the Internet age allows for a more systematic approach. Readers are encouraged to contribute suggestions and additions. Image: Samuel Hudson & Henry Chapman ???frauds??? list Note that Pete's book isn't a list of deadbeats who don't pay their bills - a documented conviction is required. Handy categories include burglary, counterfeiting, drug trafficking, embezzlement, bank fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, murder, pedophilia, Ponzi schemes, fencing stolen property, safe cracking, tax evasion and plain old theft, with special chapters for the Dupont and Fogg Museum heists. Bank safes, FBI raids, cash hoards, dead bodies, mug shots and prison jumpsuits abound. But it's not just rogues - their victims appear here, too. Interesting reading. -Editor Link to Numismatic Rogues Gallery on NNP: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/634354 Link to S. H. & H. Chapman 1906 client list, including ???frauds???: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/archivedetail/516023 VIDEO: FLORIDA STATE TREASURE COLLECTION The David Lisot Video Library on the Newman Numismatic Portal can be found at: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/multimediadetail/522852 We highlight one of his videos each week in The E-Sylum. Here's one from the 1715 Fleet Society Conference in 2017 about the Florida State Treasure Collection. -Editor ?? Highlights of the Florida State Treasure Collection The state of Florida has an extensive collection of artifacts from the countless shipwrecks that have gone down along its coast. See examples of many of the items as well as conservation techniques used to preserve them. Speaker: Jessica Stika. Running time: 44:17. To watch the complete video, see: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/540278 ?? ?? MORE ON BOY BISHOPS' CHURCH TOKENS David Powell kindly provided this information on the medieval Boy Bishops and their Christmas tokens. Thank you! -Editor There is an excellent paperback on the history of the Boy Bishop tradition in the form of Neil MacKenzie???s ???The Medieval Boy Bishops???. I have written a couple of pages on the subject in my lead token newsletter at LTT_128, pages 2-3 {see https://thetokensociety.org.uk/ltt/ }, and there are various examples illustrated elsewhere throughout the Leaden Tokens Telegraph {see specifically the display on the back page of LTT_88}, but Gary Oddie knows a lot more about the things than I do. ?? ?? ?? ?? The Boy Bishop token coinage of East Anglia more closely approximates to regal money than any other lead issue, particularly in the early days c.1485-1500 when it was at its finest, and our main purpose, of course, is to ascertain just what role it fulfilled. Was it ceremonial money only, or was it used in lieu of real money and subsequently exchanged like, for example, pickers??? checks? Perhaps the use of token coinage, rather than real money, was part of that control; having said which, we have no firm evidence for it having been deployed generally, beyond the area of East Anglia for which it is known. Not to say that it wasn???t, of course; maybe some of the other known ecclesiastical lead and pewter tokens fulfilled the same role without us realising it. However, it is very possible that the use of tokens was local only to certain cathedrals??? traditions. As regarding a catalogue, the 1984 article by Mitchiner and Skinner in BNJ54, pages 86-163 {see https://www.britnumsoc.org/publicns/bnj-articles-by-year } is the best I know to date; in terms of their type classification, Boy Bishops are types P and R. However, as with most lead, of the late mediaeval and early modern period, new types are being dug up all the time. Gary Oddie writes: "For the so-called Boy Bishop tokens - Daniel Haigh was the first to speculate that the lead tokens with bishop's mitres etc might have been used as part of the feast of St Nicholas (Num Chron, 1843, pp 82-90). The first, and so far only, catalogue of the type was written by Stuart Rigold (Proceedings of the Suffolk Institute of Archaeology and History. 34(2) pp87-101. 1978, with a couple of later supplements). Michael Mitchiner's catalogues derive from these. "There is no documentary evidence for the use of the tokens during the feast of St Nicholas and they were more likely issued by the larger religious establishments as alms or small change. Indeed the cult of St Nicholas was commonplace across Northern Europe and all of England (T. Skambraks; Das Kinderbischofsfest im Mittelalter, 2014), whereas the tokens that fit this type are exclusive to East Angla. When I last looked, the Portable Antiquities Scheme had listed over 500 "Boy Bishop" tokens from East Anglia along with 20 or so outside this area that are all misidentifications. "Rigold's listing can now be extended to include lead halfpennies and some much larger pieces as well as several new legend types and portrait pieces." Very interesting! Thanks, everyone. -Editor ?? The token discussed last week To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: MEDIEVAL CHURCH CHRISTMAS TOKEN FOUND (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n52a22.html) ?? REV. MUHLENBERG AND HIS MEDAL Author Jim Haas submitted these notes on Rev. William Augustus Muhlenberg and the medal Victor David Brenner designed featuring him. Thanks! -Editor ?? My current project of editing a book penned by an artist friend is coming to an end, and my hope is to begin writing another book. The subject will be either a comprehensive history of College Point, NY or how the community experienced WWII. Both are near and dear. With regard to the former, yesterday I chanced upon two versions of an article about a new medal that was published in the New York Times and The Sun in 1896. The person for whom the medal was struck, Rev. William Augustus Muhlenberg, also gave College Point its name. Here???s the story. In late summer 1835, Rev. Muhlenberg, great-grandson of the founder of the Lutheran Church in America, purchased a tract of land of about one hundred acres in the township due north of Flushing in Queens, NY, the location commonly called Strattonport. Using his own financial resources and those of a few other equally disposed individuals, his plan was to erect a college there to educate young men for ministry in the Episcopal church. Scheduled to open its doors in 1837, the financial panic that was crippling both the nation and his investors put the project in jeopardy. A much diminished version of the college named for St. Paul, was opened in 1837, but never truly got off the ground. The site on which St. Paul???s College was erected came to be called College Point. Muhlenberg went on to spend the majority of his eighty years in ministerial service. During the Civil War years he played a significant role in the building of a hospital in New York City to care for the wounded streaming back from the various theaters of the war. The hospital named for St. Luke, patron of physicians, is still in operation today. ?? As I???m sure you know, the medal was the work of Victor David Brenner. One hundred bronze copies of the medal were struck for distribution to society members, hospital managers, Bishop Potter and other dignitaries of the Protestant-Episcopal Church. A gold medal was presented to George MacCulloch Miller, president of the hospital and another for Andrew C. Zabriskie, President of the Numismatic and Archaeological Society. Throughout his life Zabriskie, 1853-1916, was a collector of coins and medals, having one of the best collections in the country that included many rare Lincoln medals. He was president of the Society for ten years. The ANS archives contain a scrapbook of Zabriskie's, with more information on the cornerstone laying ceremonies, as well as the members of the Joint Committee on the Improvement of the United States Coinage. Who can tell us more about that body? -Editor Jim adds: "Taking a look at the medal it occurred to me to wonder if like MacNeil, who reworked previously used medal designs, did not Brenner harken back to this effort when pondering the Lincoln penny. They are remarkably similar design-wise." ?? ?? Well, there are some similarities. Of course, the closest predecessors for the obverse were Brenner's Lincoln plaque designs. At Jim's suggestion I reached out to Shawn Tew, author of The Rabbit Hole of the 1909 Wheat Cent. -Editor Shawn writes: "In my research with the archives the current Brenner design of the Lincoln Cent was in fact the third one submitted and it was due to the suggestion of President Taft of a Brenner statue in the White House. Here are the first two sketches submitted for approval. But Brenner being an experienced medalist, he designed all of his medals with the same type of elements in similar arrangements which caused issues when it went to produce the smaller scale coinage." ?? Jim adds: "The 3rd design is a gigantic leap from the first two sketches. From whence the dramatic change? The left-facing walking figure reminds me of the front-facing St. Gaudens. "Acknowledged that the Lincoln profile is not the Muhlenberg and the verbiage is not centered on the coin, but the presence of the acanthus frond or maybe wheat sheaf on the right side could have easily been his inspiration for the two sheaves of wheat enclosing he reverse on the Lincoln penny." For more information on the medal, see: Bronze Medal of American Numismatic Society, New York City. 0000.999.6717 (http://numismatics.org/collection/0000.999.6717) Medallic Art of the American Numismatic Society, 1865???2014 (http://numismatics.org/digitallibrary/ark:/53695/Miller-ANS-Medals) For more information on the Zabriskie scrapbook, see: Andrew C. Zabriskie scrapbook, 1893-1894 (http://numismatics.org/archives/ark:/53695/nnan0127) To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see: THE RABBIT HOLE OF THE 1909 WHEAT CENT (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n30a10.html) NEW BOOK: THE 1909 LINCOLN WHEAT CENT (https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylum_v26n33a04.html) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 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: