Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 3, Number 26, June 25, 2000:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2000, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
SUBSCRIBER UPDATES
We have one new subscriber this week: Tony Deserto of
Camden, Delaware. Welcome aboard! This brings our
subscriber count to 297.
Tony writes: "I read and collect numismatic literature, mostly
books. I enjoy reading about the colonial period and early U.S.
mint history. I have been collecting for about three years and
have a library of about 75 books."
Pete Smith reports: "NBS board member Bob Metzger and his
wife Chris participated in the FANS 24-hour endurance run in
Minneapolis on June 24-25. In his third running of the event,
Bob had his best finish completing more than 96 miles. In her
second running, Chris completed more than 99 miles and
finished fourth among the women. This was also her best mileage
and matched her fourth-place finish last year. (Results reported
are unofficial)" Wow! Congratulations, folks! So Bob, take a
break and read a book!
AUCTION ETIQUETTE
Dan Gosling writes: "In the January 9th, 1965 edition of the
Canada Coin News on page 31 there is a picture of actress
Carroll Baker and a policeman. Her Furs, Jewelry, and Coin
Collection had been recovered after a burglary.
Further to Mr Kolbe's comments on AUCTION ETIQUETTE
in that same paper there is an article on "knock-out" rings. Here
is the story, headlined "British Dealers Face Scandal":
[I've edited the article a bit to cut its length. Many thanks to
Dan for scanning it in. - Editor]
Disclosures of how some antique dealers get rich without
dealing has provoked a major reshuffle in their official British
organization. Membership in the British Association of Antique
Dealers is supposed to provide a sort of testimonial of reliability
to the public who buy and sell. The president and 13 members
of the Association's council have resigned after a public scandal
that exposed what one member called "club practices," and
others called plain cheating, and illegal at that.
It all began with an expose in London's Sunday Times early in
November. After five months of detective work, which included
sneaking a reporter with tape recorder and radio transmitter into
a secret meeting, the paper published details of a profitable game
called "knockout" by its players. Names were named,' figures
stated.
In one case, a small group of dealers shared a 500 per cent profit
made through the technique within a few hours. Despite Britain's
stringent libel laws, the Sunday Times had so many hard and
undisputed facts that nobody seriously tried to make it swallow
its words, or defend them in court.
The "knock-out" is run by rings of dealers. They get together
before an auction and agree among themselves to keep the
bidding extremely low on items of special interest. As soon as
the public sale is over, they gather in private for another auction
among themselves. The difference between the first purchase
price and the highest bid behind closed doors is then shared out
among the group participating.
In that way, some dealers can make several thousand dollars
on a transaction by neither buying nor selling, and everybody
involved shares in the bargain except the public. One
documented case of how the "knock-out" works involved a
Chippendale commode. It was knocked down at public
auction for $2,100, with the dealers in the ring deliberately not
competing with each other. An hour later, secretly, the
commode changed hands for $12,180, with the difference
divided up among the ring. Within 24 hours the ring winner
resold the commode at a further considerable profit to still
another dealer, not in on the game but with a wealthy,
well-known clientele. Eventually it showed up at the annual
Antique Dealers Fair and was valued at about $30,000. The
family who sold it got the $ 2,100, minus fees and commissions.
The "knock-outs" are organized in such a way as to make rich
dealers much richer, but they also make little dealers a little
better off. In fact, there are some people who make their
modest living as travelling non-salesmen in the antique business.
They turn up at country auctions where they expect the ring to
operate, help it by buying up the cheaper lots, or bidding on
them just a little, to give the appearance of diversity at the sale.
They they hurry to the "knock-out," turn over the acquisitions
they never wanted anyway, and go off with their share of a few
dollars for having cooperated.
What really brought the scandal to a head in the end was the
diffidence of a number of the former leaders of the Association
at demands to clean up the trade. Major Michael Brett, one
dealer, told the Sunday Times, that "I blame the stupid public."
The ring system, he said, "is inevitable" so long as sellers fail to
have their treasures properly valued."
NBS BANNER
David Surber recently added a banner for NBS on his
web site (see this week's Featured Web Site, below).
If you have a web site and would like to do the same to
help promote the Society, here's the address of a
ready-made NBS banner:
http://www.coinbooks.org/club_nbs_banner.gif
BOOK PRESERVATION
David Fanning writes: "Unless it's been discussed lately (and
I don't see that it has on the E-Sylum archives), I think it'd be
interesting to have a discussion within the E-Sylum on book
and catalogue preservation. I think I read at some point in the
archives about Wayne Anderson cleaning and oiling books.
I'd like to have more info on that and also ask others to write in
about how they take care of their material.
The only items of value in my collection are mostly 19th-century
catalogues, which I keep in plastic bags made for comics with a
posterboard insert in it to guard against bumps. This really helps
guard against humidity, which is a real problem in the summer here.
What do others do?"
Ben Keele posed a similar question in the February 27, 2000
issue: "..how should I store my books and magazines to ensure
that they are preserved in their present condition?" George
Kolbe's advice for book storage was simple: "cool, dark, dry
(but not too dry)."
One article I've since read makes George's recommendation
more specific: temperatures 60-70 degrees F (15.5-21 C),
and relative humidity of 55%-65%. Humidity can be
measured by a hygrometer, available in most hardware stores.
We didn't get much follow-up in The E-Sylum on the
preservation question, so it's high time to ask again. Meanwhile,
here's one web page with a few tips, from the State Library of
Victoria, Australia:
http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/slv/conservation/conserve.htm
NBS BIBLIOGRAPHY UPDATED
NBS Board Member Larry Mitchell has added the
following sections on Modern Coinages to the
NBS Bibliography, available on our web site at:
http://www.coinbooks.org/
88. SOUTH AMERICA
89. CENTRAL AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN
90. MEXICO
91. CANADA
He has also written an introductory section listing books of
general interest to bibliophiles, and some of these discuss
care and preservation.
He writes: "I hope to begin work on the USA section of
the bibliography within the next few weeks. As this seems
to be the area in which most NBS members collect, I'm
very much open to suggestions as to what materials should
be included in the following Modern Coinages sections
(which are subject to change):
USA: INTRODUCTORY WORKS
USA: GENERAL WORKS
USA: PRE-FEDERAL
USA: CENT & HALF-CENT
USA: TWO CENTS TO QUARTER-DOLLAR
USA: HALF-DOLLAR TO DOLLAR
USA: GOLD COINAGE
USA: COMMEMORATIVES
USA: PATTERNS
USA: PRIVATE COINAGE
USA: COUNTERFEITS
Books and auction sales will be the focus of these sections, as
they have been for the previous sections. Due to time constraints,
I have to draw the line somewhere, and that somewhere is
ARTICLES (though articles reprinted in book form WILL be
considered). Also, nothing about tokens or other exonumia, paper
money, etc.--these subjects will be covered in future sections.
If you have suggestions, please send me at least the title and
author, and--if published in more than one edition -- the edition
you consider most authoritative. Email to: numislit@yahoo.com
I doubt all suggestions can be incorporated, but all suggestions
WILL be seriously considered, & acknowledged in a future issue
of the E-Sylum. Thanks!"
BREEN REVIEW RESPONSE
Karl Moulton writes: "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".
MOST IMPORTANT EVENTS IN U.S. NUMISMATICS
In response to last week's question, Brad Karoleff writes:
"My nominations for events that dramatically changed the face
of numismatics over the last 100 ( or so ) years would include
the following: ( in no particular order )
1. The publishing of The American Numismatist in 1888,
later to become The Numismatist. The house organ of the
American Numismatic Association, the bond that kept
collectors in touch with what was going on in numismatics
over the last century.
2. The formation of The American Numismatic Association in
1891.
3. The beginning of commemorative coinage in 1893 for the
Columbian Expo.
4. The redesigning of our coinage with the influence of
St. Gaudens.
5. The issuance of Pennyboards to get the average citizen
interested in collecting coins.
6. Publication of the first Redbook, eventually replacing
Raymond's Standard Price Guide as the leading pricing
reference for coins.
7. Silver being removed from our coinage after 1964.
8. The BU Roll investment craze coupled with the 1955
double die cents and the 1960 small date cents being
released. The average citizen could make serious
money looking through change.
9. The Silver Certificate run.
10. The writing of the ANA grading guide and the formation
of ANACS. Collectors now had somewhere to turn to
see if their coins were authentic. The precursor to slabbing
as photocertified coins were easily traded based on their
assigned grade.
11. 1980 gold and silver rush. Many a fortune was made
and lost in the bullion and rare coin markets.
12. Slabbing by PCGS and later NGC became all the rage.
Coins were now the "same as a share of stock" and
tradable sight unseen.
13. COIN WORLD was started. The largest circulating
weekly in the hobby.
14. B. Max Mehl publishes the Star Rare Coin Encyclopedia
and sells it to the general public who hopes to find the rare
1913 Liberty Nickel and get rich.
15. Publication of Early American Cents by Sheldon. The
first modern variety identification guide written for the most
popular coin to collect by variety- the large cent.
16. The formation of EAC and the publication of Pennywise.
The first specialty club for collecting a specific type of coin
with a journal to exchange information with other club
members. The club and journal that formed the basis for
all the others who have come after.
17. The Carson City Dollar sale by the government in 1972.
18. THE FIFTY STATE QUARTER PROGRAM!
There you have it. My nominations for significant events in our
hobby over the last century. Many of you may duplicate some of
these listings, while others will have different ones. I'm sure I
missed a few of your favorites. What are they?"
WORD OF THE WEEK: BIBLIOPHILE
Here's our latest installment from A.Word.A.Day, available
at this address: http://www.wordsmith.org/awad/index.html
bibliophile (BIB-lee-uh-fyl) also bibliophil (-fil) or
bibliophilist (bib-lee-OF-uh-list) noun
1. A lover of books.
2. A collector of books.
[Biblio-, book + -phile, lover of.]
"The 17th-century bibliophile George Thomason, whose
specialty was seditious tracts, once buried his collection of over
22,000 publications, fearing their discovery, by the Army. What
if he'd died, before he was able to retrieve them? "
Albert Goldbarth, Canyon, Gorge, Arroyo, Poetry, Oct 1999.
[Editor's note: burying one's library is not generally considered
a good preservation practice. And in the "Who Says You Can't
Take It With You" department, 27-year-old bibliophile and
"traction heir" Harry Elkins Widener clutched a 1598 edition of
Bacon's Essays as he went down with the S.S. Titanic on April
15, 1912. (Trager, James; The People's Chronology, New York,
1979]
FEATURED WEB SITE
This week's featured web site is the WildWinds DataBank of
Ancient Coins run by an E-Sylum subscriber David Surber.
He writes: "I have been collecting online auctions' images and
results for about a year and a half. I have over 12,000 individual
specimens so far, of Greek, Roman and Byzantine ancients,
which are cross-indexed and browsable by Sear number, by
ruler or location, and are fully searchable."
http://www.wildwinds.com/
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
(To be removed from this mailing list
write to me at whomren@coinlibrary.com)
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