"In response to Michael Marotta's review of the Breen Encyclopedia in the June 18th E-Sylum, I'd like to suggest that Walter Breen did not necessarily change the face of American numismatic scholarship for the better, as Mr. Marotta outlines in his glowing review.

While it is true that Breen was commissioned by Wayte Raymond to do research in the Archives in the early 1950's, which led to the first publication of Mint documents that had long been ignored, the fact remains that after the initial articles were written for the Numismatic Scrapbook and other publications, Breen did not have access to official documentation, and for the most part, relied on his memory and "exalted" status for future writings, much of which was pure conjecture, speculation, guesswork, and embellished hypothesis.

When any numismatist seriously researches the early American issues, it becomes clear in many instances where Breen is incorrect and/or incomplete in his writings. Contrary to the earlier review, the fact remains, a majority of his writings were not backed with documentary proof. A prime example of this can be seen in his original 1977 book "Encyclopedia of United States and Colonial Proof Coins", which he later "revised and corrected" in 1989.

It is absolutely amazing that an entire book length discourse about early American "Proof" coinage can be construed from nothing but shiny, new mint polish on the surface of a coin, whether it is well struck or not. To date, there has not been a single shred of documentation to support any claim of any early so-called "Proof" issues prior to the use of the close collar. The 1795 Lord St. Oswald "presentation piece" story, p.33, is perhaps the "highlight" of creative rhetoric from Breen. None of which is true. For an accurate review, see the Fall 1994 Asylum pgs.3-7.

Breen was a pioneer researcher, and as such, did a credible job - up to a point. Just because a book has a fancy cover and a lot of pages with illustrations doesn't necessarily make it a valuable source for accurate information. Yes, there are numerous errors contained in his "Complete" Encyclopedia. Let us not continue to glorify the mistakes and oversights of Breen's various works. Numismatically speaking, anything that is not verifiable from an official source, is strictly theory and nothing else. Mr. Marotta needs to heed his own words, "search for the truth rather than relying on authority".