Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 3, Number 24, June 11, 2000:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2000, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
SUBSCRIBER UPDATES
We have no new subscribers this week. Our subscriber count
holds at 296.
EMAIL PROBLEM
Your editor's email address (whomren@coinlibrary.com)
was accidentally out of commission for a couple days this
week. I hope we didn't miss any subscription requests as
a result. The problem has been corrected. If any messages
were returned to you, please send me a new copy.
ASYLUM MAILED
After a lengthy delay at the printer, The 2000 No. 1 issue
of The Asylum was finally mailed last week. This issue
includes a dues notice; if you're among the few who already
sent in your dues for the year 2000, please ignore the notice -
it was included with every issue mailed. Institutions and
hobby publications which receive a complimentary copy
needn't send dues either. We're putting the finishing touches
on the No 2. issue, and it should go to the printer at the end
of the month.
E-Sylum subscribers who are not yet members of NBS
should consider signing on - you will receive all four issues of
the year 2000 volume. If you like The E-Sylum, you'll love
the in-depth articles in our print journal. There is a membership
application on our web site.
KEN BRESSETT WRITES
In response to last week's E-Sylum, "Red Book" editor Ken
Bressett writes: "Thanks for another great issue of E-Sylum. It
just keeps getting better each week and is always something to
look forward to each Monday. Your dedication and work is
very much appreciated.
Peter and Donna Jones were two of the nicest people in all of
the numismatic world. The comments about her hospitality and
entertaining were not exaggerated. Unfortunately I lost contact
with them some years ago, but I would like to send Donna a
note of sympathy. Can you or anyone supply an address?
(Editor's note: Paul Withers has received several such requests;
Donna Jones has recently moved, and Paul is working to find
her new address).
To Tom DeLorey's request for info on an early auction of
patterns, I can offer the following: There was an auction on
Wednesday, May 30th, 1860 by Leonard & Co, of Boston,
Mass. that contained several lots of patterns all described as
such. Many were 1859 varieties, others went back to Gobrecht
dollars of 1838. It is interesting to note that Feuchtwanger pieces
were included. One lot is described as "full set of 1858 Pattern
Cents, proofs, 12 varieties."
Thanks for your kind words about "The Fantastic 1804 Dollar"
book. Somehow the coin continues to get more fantastic with
each passing year."
MORE ON PATTERNS
Charlie Horning writes: "In reply to Tom DeLorey's inquiry on
the earliest known sale of "identified" patterns, I have a bit of
information that may be helpful to him. I am a collector of Bangs
auction literature ... on a quick perusal of my collection, I was
able to identify an earlier catalogue containing patterns:
Bangs, Merwin & Co. sale of June 21st, 22nd and 23rd, 1859
The term "proof patterns" is even listed on the cover's
description of the sale.
There are several lots of patterns: i.e. lot 293 -- Copper Pattern
of 1/4 eagle 1803 sold to a Mr. Moses for $.10 (ten cents). In
the addenda, several patterns appear: Lots 127-130 Pattern
cents from 1858 -- all proofs. Lot 131 a "Nickle Flying Eagle
Cent, very Rare in that metal --1855".
My catalogue is priced and named in pencil for all the U.S. coins
Attenelli attributes the collection to John K. Curtis and E.M.Camp.
Hope this is of some value."
ISLAMIC NUMISMATICS IN GERMANY
A new survey has been published on Islamic Numismatics in
Germany. Edited by Stefan Heidemann, and written in German,
"Islamische Numismatik in Deutschland - eine Bestandsaufnahme"
had its genesis in 1996, when "all interested directors and
researchers of Oriental collections in Germany met in Jena in
order to review the history of Islamic numismatics and to
coordinate the future research."
"In the past Islamic numismatics did not belong either to the
core of Oriental studies nor to the classical numismatics. Its
history is marked by frequent ruptures, each standing for a loss
of knowledge. The history and their research potential of the
collections of the 19th century were hardly known."
(from the publisher's press release) For more information:
HARRASSOWITZ VERLAG
The Harrassowitz Publishing House
Taunusstrasse 14, 65183 Wiesbaden, Germany
Mail Address: 65174 Wiesbaden, Germany
DEALING WITH CELEBRITY COLLECTORS
Dick Johnson writes: "I'm sure every major dealer can list one
or more celebrities that he knows has purchased numismatic
items. Here is what I have learned in dealing with celebrities:
1) Honor their privacy (Bill Rosenblum in last week's E-Sylum
was 100% right).
2) Learn to schmooze with them (they enjoy conversing with
knowledgeable people on mutual interests).
3) Never, never, never take them off your mailing list. Often
they have shifting interests, which may be numismatics this
week, rare books next week, and something else next month.
But I found after one large purchase, and then a long dry spell,
they may come back even three or four years later and, with
rekindled numismatic interest, would make another major
acquisition.
Malcolm Forbes bought medals from our auction catalogs.
The bids would often come in telephone calls from secretaries.
While his secretaries were more sophisticated than most, I dealt
with some who did not understand reduced bidding and wondered
why their boss won the item at less than the bid the secretary had
submitted.
I will mention three celebrity coin collectors from radio
broadcasting: Chris Schenkel (Bowers and Merena sold his
collection), Paul Harvey (still on the air) and Robert Elliott
(of Bob and Ray) fame."
MORE FAVORITES
Doug Owens writes: "I enjoyed your recommendations, and will
begin an effort to obtain the three books you mentioned. I
wonder if you can recommend any books on the paper money of
the colonial and revolutionary war era? Thanks." Well, here are
three favorites in that area:
McKay, George L, "Early American Currency", 1944.
This short, 85-page, illustrated book is a great one-stop
starting point for information on colonial currency and
economics, and particularly on the printing of the bills.
It was also produced as an ANS Monograph.
Brock, Leslie V., "The Currency of the American Colonies
1700-1764: A Study in Colonial Finance and Imperial
Relations." Like Carothers, this work was written as a
PhD thesis in economics (University of Michigan, 1941).
It took me years to find my copy, but it's not necessarily
a scarce book, just scarce in numismatic circles. My
copy is a 1975 reprint in book form. Professor Brock
has a web page at the University of Virginia with links to
many online documents relating to Colonial money:
http://www.virginia.edu/~econ/brock.html
Scott, Kenneth, "Counterfeiting in Colonial America",
Oxford University Press, 1957. I agree with the Preface
that "This book might have been a dull and pedantic
recital of counterfeiting in Colonial America. Instead,
it is a lively combination of true detective and adventure
stories told in terms of real people of the past ..."
One unfortunate real person was Willet Larabe, who was
convicted in November 1751 "at the superior court of King's
County, Rhode Island, for passing several counterfeit
twenty shilling new tenor bills of New Hampshire. He was
sentenced to stand in the pillory for half an hour, to have
both ears cropped, to be branded with R on each cheek
with a hot iron, to be imprisoned for one month, to pay
double damages to the persons injured by his counterfeit
bills and the costs of prosecution, and to forfeit the remainder
of his estate, both real and personal, for the use of the colony."
(p178). And sent to bed without his supper, too, no doubt.
So what was the penalty for selling overgraded coins?
While on the subject of favorite books, we should note the
column by longtime NBS member and E-Sylum subscriber
Brad Karoleff in the June 19th issue of COIN World. In
addition to Carothers' book (and several others), he mentions
one book on U.S. coinage that I regretted not including in last
week's list: Don Taxay's "The U. S. Mint and Coinage", 1966.
I like this one so much that last week I bought two copies on
behalf of a local numismatic organization; the books will be
given to local school and community libraries.
LINCOLN, THREE BITS, AND A HEADACHE
The following note is from "A Treasury of White House Tales" by
Webb Garrison (Rutledge Hill Press, Nashville, TN, 1996) It
mentions a purchase in what seems like a very odd amount today.
But at a time when use of Spanish silver coins was not uncommon,
these odd denominations were commonplace. The Spanish Milled
Dollar was valued at 8 reales; two reales equaled one-fourth of a
dollar, thus the nickname "two bits" for a quarter. The following
denominations were seen frequently: 6 1/4 cents (half bit), 12
1/2 cents (one bit), 25 cents (two bits), 37 1/2 cents (three bits).
"Abraham Lincoln, who often complained about severe
headaches after reading for three or four hours, purchased
eyeglasses in Bloomington, Illinois, for 37 1/2 cents. Years
later, examination showed that they were at least three times
more powerful than needed."
All the better for reading fine print in bills from Congress,
I suppose. Perhaps that's why the Gettysburg address was
so short...
FEATURED WEB SITE
This week's featured web site is the Department of Coins
and Medals at the Fitzwilliam Museum at the University of
Cambridge. Of special interest to bibliophiles is "The
Departmental library, together with the personal library of the
Honorary Keeper, Professor Philip Grierson, which is partly
on deposit in the Museum, has a very good coverage of
numismatics in general, and is especially strong in Ancient
Greek, Roman, Oriental, medieval European and British
numismatics, historical medals and tokens."
http://www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/coins/
Wayne Homren
Numismatic Bibliomania Society
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. To join, print the application and
return it with your check to the address printed
on the application. For those without web access,
contact Dave Hirt, NBS Secretary-Treasurer,
5911 Quinn Orchard Road, Frederick, MD 21704
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