HERITAGE OFFERS THE ERIC P. NEWMAN COLLECTION PART III

Eric P. Newman began traveling at an early age with his family and has never stopped. During their 74 years of marriage, Eric and Evelyn Newman have literally been from Afghanistan to Zanzibar. The couple has visited, and sometimes revisited, more than 150 countries. Their first journey together took place in December of 1939. While on their honeymoon cruise, they witnessed the culmination of the first active battle of World War II: the scuttling of the German battleship Graf Spee in Montevideo’s harbor.

Eric’s habit of keeping meticulous records extends beyond his numismatic transactions and research to documenting his worldwide journeys with Evelyn. A small sampling of their international travel file folders reveals the following titles:

1947: Peru; 1956: England, Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda, Belgian Congo, Rwanda, Kenya, Zanzibar; 1963: Moscow, Mongolia, Siberia, Tokyo, Hawaii; 1965: Central, East and South Africa via Land Rover; 1967: Germany, East Germany, Hungary, Russia, Romania, Poland, Denmark, Norway; 1974: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Ireland; 1978-9: Antarctica, Easter Island; 1985: India; 1987: Ecuador, Galapagos, Jamaica; 1995: England—QE2 and Concorde; 1999: Vietnam, Laos; 2003: Cuba.

Eric and Evelyn’s love of travel off the beaten path led to numerous adventures. They fondly (yes, fondly!) recall sleeping on top of a dining room table at an airport in India as they waited for the fog to lift in Nepal, their next destination. Later, during the Cold War, the two were shadowed while on a visit to Moscow. On one of at least eight trips to Africa, the Newmans were detained when soldiers commandeered their Land Rover for military use. It was later returned, as promised.

Many of their voyages included the acquisition of numismatic items. After a harrowing automobile journey through the Khyber Pass where tribesmen “greeted” them with gunfire, they reached Afghanistan. Eric’s inquiries about coins led to a foray through a maze of alleyways to a shopkeeper near Chicken Street in Kabul. The merchant had a large sack of copper coins, perhaps 5000 pieces, and emptied them out pile by pile, onto his mattress; for eight cents each, Eric had his pick. Among these were some unknown pre- Kushan items. On a trip to New Guinea, they were invited to attend a wedding ceremony. There they exchanged paper money for coins on a blanket next to the dowry pigs. It was a win-win situation for all. The groom’s family was pleased because they didn’t have to tote the weighty coins back to their village; Eric was happy to acquire new material for his collection.

Not surprisingly, Eric’s world coins also range from Afghanistan (1925 1/2 Amani) to Zanzibar (1908 Ali Bin Hamud Cent), and encompass nearly everything in between. If studied, all provide a glimpse into a particular place and time. One stellar example from Italy is the 1684 Marcantonio Giustinian gold Osella of 4 Zecchini. Its unique reverse is as breathtaking as the iconic city it portrays: Venice. The viewer sees the Piazza San Marco, the Palace of the Doges, St. Mark’s Cathedral and, of course, the Grand Canal.

The undated Basel City gold 2 Ducats (1680-1700) is noteworthy for depicting an elevated view of the Swiss city, with a bridge spanning the Rhine, boats sailing downriver, and multiple spires aglow on the gold surface of the coin. The 1674 Emden Leopold I City 2 Taler is a masterpiece in silver. Remarkably, the foreground shows horses prancing on a small area of land. Ships under sail are seen rocking in the waves of the outer harbor. One boat enters the calm waters of the protected inner harbor; the charming city is seen behind its sea wall, and freewheeling birds circle above. These three city view coins, and others like them, transport the viewer to a precise spot on the globe. Today, captured with a smartphone, these scenes might have a rather ephemeral existence, but here, they are memorialized for eternity.

To read the complete catalog, see: SELECTIONS FROM THE ERIC P. NEWMAN COLLECTION PART III (coins.ha.com/common/auction/frontmatter/3029_catalogpdf.pdf)

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