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 NOVEMBER 8, 2020

New subscribers this week include: Larre Shiller, courtesy of Barry Tayman; Brandon Adcock, Shantanu Singh, and Bryan Stoughton. Welcome aboard! We now have 6,590 subscribers.

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@gmail.com anytime regarding your subscription, or questions, comments or suggestions about our content.

This week we open with a new NBS podcast, highlights from the upcoming Kolbe & Fanning sale, two new books, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, and more.

Other topics this week include authors Edgar H. Adams, Clyde Hubbard and Robert Obojski, the numismatics of abolition, digitizing the National Numismatic Collection, Japanese bar money, nonsense dies, New York's numismatic district, North Carolina currency, the Blue Max, and the Tyrant Collection.

To learn more about numismatic bookbinding, Buenos Aires medals, the King of Mexican Numismatics, PandaAmerica, Dorothy Baber, the Japanese Coin Collection at the British Museum, ANACS grading certificates, Capital Coin Company, the Israel Antiquities Authority coin collection, and Zoomismatics, read on. Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum

NBS BIBLIOTALK PODCAST ON BOOKBINDING

NBS Podcast “The World of Bookbinding” Posted

The latest episode of the NBS Bibliotalk podcast, “The World of Bookbinding” is now available on the NBS website and other popular podcasting platforms such as Buzzsprout. Lianna Spurrier, Bibliotalk producer, interviews Scott Kellar of Scott Kellar Bookbinding and Restoration in Chicago.

A number of NBSers in the Midwest have used Scott’s services to conserve numismatic books, and his work is well-known. Kellar discusses how he got started in the business, a typical day in his shop, and particularly interesting or challenging projects. Kellar maintains a storefront on the northwest side of Chicago, well worth a visit and easily accessible from the 2021 ANA convention site, for those planning to attend.

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KOLBE & FANNING AUCTION SALE 158 HIGHLIGHTS

Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers are holding our 158th auction sale on Saturday, November 21, 2020. The 467-lot sale features material from the extensive working library of Eldert Bontekoe, the TAB Library of works on ancient coins, and other properties. Most heavily focused on books and catalogues relating to ancient coins, the sale also features a substantial section on world coins and a smaller, but choice, selection of items of American interest.

Some highlights of the sale include:

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NEW BOOK: MONEY AND POWER IN HELLENISTIC BACTRIA

Money and Power in Hellenistic Bactria
(Numismatic Studies 40)
By Simon Glenn

$150
?member price: $105

The coins produced by the kings of the Graeco-Bactrian kingdom of the third and second centuries BC are the best and, in some cases only, primary source of evidence for the history of the period. The lack of context has, however, often led to highly speculative uses of the numismatic evidence in previous historical reconstructions. Money and Power in Hellenistic Bactria returns the focus to the coins themselves and presents the results of a full die study of the issues of Euthydemus I, Demetrius I, Euthydemus II, Pantaleon, Agathocles, and Antimachus I. In doing so it proposes a new, soundly based history of the Graeco-Bactrian kingdom under these kings based on a thorough understanding and suggested reconstruction of these enigmatic coins.

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NEW BOOK: CURRENCIES OF RAJPUTANA

The Currencies of Rajputana
William Wilfrid Webb (Author)

Synopsis
The author, who was posted as Surgeon Captain in the Indian Medical Service, Bengal Army, in his leisure hours during the years spent on duty at the courts of Udaipur and Bikaner, devoted his attention to the subject of coinage in the native states of Rajputana. The amount of local coins circulating in the Rajput states was very large, almost the collection of a century.

The coins were fashioned in a crude way with a hammer and anvil and had plain unmilled edges. Stamping was carried out in a similarly rough manner – one workman holding the piece of metal between two dyes, while another workman with a blow from a heavy hammer completed the coin.

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WARNER CLYDE HUBBARD (1916-2020)

The Sociedad Numismática de México writes:

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ROBERT OBOJSKI (1929-2020)

Robert Obojski age 91, born Oct 19, 2029, passed away Oct 31, 2020 in Roslyn, NY.

Robert Obojski received a Ph.D. from Western Reserve University in 1955, became a college professor of English and went on to write numerous books on baseball, stamp and coin collecting, and memorabilia. Among other things, he was known for his amazing recall of statistics, particularly on baseball.

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NNP ADDS NUMISMATICS OF ABOLITION MONOGRAPH

Ernie Nagy Publishes Numismatic Collateral of British and American Abolition

Black history is drawing increased attention in our society, with the formation of related academic programs and focal points such as the recently opened National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Numismatics forms another lens through which to view Black history, with notable contributions such as John Kraljevich’s Black History Month blog, initially published in 2017.

Ernie Nagy’s monograph Numismatic Collateral of British and American Abolition is the latest contribution to the field. This work serves as a catalog of American and British coins, tokens, and medals related to the 18th and 19th century abolition movement. Britain was well ahead of the U.S. in this regard, as these artifacts well demonstrate. Graphics and layout for this work were provided by Lianna Spurrier under sponsorship of Newman Numismatic Portal.

Link to Numismatic Collateral of British and American Abolition on Newman Portal:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/booksbyauthor/539733

Link to John Kraljevich’s Black History Month blog:
http://omeka.wustl.edu/omeka/exhibits/show/nnp-selections/blackhistorymonth2017

To read earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
2018 WORLD'S FAIR OF MONEY EXHIBITS (https://www.coinbooks.org/v21/esylum_v21n34a24.html)
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: SEPTEMBER 2, 2018 : More 2018 World's Fair of Money Exhbits (https://www.coinbooks.org/v21/esylum_v21n35a09.html)

VIDEO: PANDAAMERICA FOUNDER MARTIN WEISS

Numismatic Personality: Martin Weiss Interview, Long Beach Expo, September 19, 2008.

Marty Weiss was one of the most innovative and creative marketers in the coin industry. He started out as a coin collecting pharmacist and branched into international coin distribution for the mints of China, Macao, Australia, Singapore and more. He was a true Renaissance man with other interests that included photography and music. Marty was one of the first sponsors of the Coin Report on the Financial News Network with David Lisot in 1987. He and David became good friends and business associates. David called Marty “Napoleon Weiss” because of his dominance in world coin marketing.

In this video taken at the Long Beach Expo on September 19, 2008, David interviews his longtime friend about the current gold market, how he started out as a pharmacist collecting coins, how he started distributing modern coins that evolved into PandaAmerica. Marty tells the story of how in 1984 the director of the Shanghai Mint came to the ANA Convention in San Diego which resulted in the creation of the first 12 ounce gold Panda. Marty relates how he was in the Hong Kong Airport when he conceived the “Inventions of China” as a coin series. He talks about when he started a television network and what came from it and much more. Martin “Marty” Weiss passed away on November 1, 2020. His marketing brilliance and positive attitude will be missed.

Martin David Weiss
April 3, 1939 – November 1, 2020

An excerpt of the video is available for viewing on the Coin Television YouTube Channel at:
https://youtu.be/PrwApJKtdLU

DIGITIZING THE NATIONAL NUMISMATIC COLLECTION

Many of you are familiar with the Smithsonian’s National Numismatic Collection (NNC), but have had limited access to the treasures it holds. Since 2015, the staff of the NNC have been working diligently to share this rich and diverse collection online in order to make it a public resource for research and education.

We are proud to announce that over the past six years we have added over 320,000 new numismatic records and images to the National Museum of American History’s online database. The new records include the famous collections of Josiah K. Lilly Jr., Grand Duke George Mikhailovich, Paul A. Straub, and many others accessible via the links below:

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MORE ON THE BANK OF ALCATRAZ OVERSTAMP

Regarding the "Federal Prison Bank of Alcatraz 1955" overstamp discussed last week, Jim Downey writes:

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NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: NOVEMBER 8, 2020

On the Stone Mountain Distinguished Service Medal
Regarding Ty Gardner's questions on the 1926 Stone Mountain Distinguished Service Medal, Dick Johnson writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
STONE MOUNTAIN DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL (https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n43a14.html)

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THE RECTANGLE COINS: JAPANESE BAR MONEY

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JAPANESE COIN COLLECTION AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM

The initial collections of the British Museum, founded in 1753, were acquired under the provisions of Sir Hans Sloane’s will, and included over 20,000 coins and medals from all over the world. As inscribed objects, the coins and medals were regarded as ‘metal manuscripts’ and were housed within the Department of Manuscripts. In 1807, they were moved to the Department of Antiquities. In 1860, a separate Department of Coins and Medals was created, where the coins and medals have been ever since. The entire collection of coins and medals was removed for safekeeping during the second world war, but the Department was badly damaged and its gallery, offices and much archival material were destroyed.

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VOCABULARY TERM: NONSENSE DIE

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EDGAR HOLMES ADAMS (1868-1940)

He was born in 1868, in Pennsylvania. His father’s family came from Baltimore, Maryland and his mother from what is now called West Virginia. In 1880, at the age of twelve he was accidentally shot in the leg tripping over a loaded shotgun dropped by a companion that severely wounded him handicapping him for life with a walking disability requiring him to use a cane. The 1880 U. S. Census lists him living in Saint Clairsville, Ohio, with his widowed grandmother Elizabeth Adams, his younger sister Elizabeth and three spinster aunts, one of whom, Amelia was a school teacher. The lack of parents from this Census report contributes to the perplexity and confusion of the circumstances at the time compounded by the shooting of young Adams.

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HARVEY STACK'S NUMISMATIC FAMILY, PART 82

The year 1981 turned out to feature a few outstanding collections, a greater dedication at the ANA to stopping counterfeiting and "doctoring," and the stabilization of the silver market back at the original $10 per ounce. All this seemed to stimulate greater interest in numismatics, which had waned in 1980. This did not mean there were not challenges to deal with.

When the price of silver dropped on the world markets from over $50 per ounce to under $10 an ounce in a very short time, traders, speculators and coin collectors felt the sting. Speculators were forced to sell their "futures," the raw material they had bought on margin. Those who had counted on getting rich on the value of silver, were caught "short" and had to cover their losses by selling their collections or numismatic holdings. Many a bankruptcy occurred, and market confidence was damaged by all the forced sales. Such uncertainty in the metal markets of course had an effect on the rare coin market.

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HARVEY STACK ON NEW YORK'S NUMISMATIC DISTRICT

Paul Bosco's ( N.Y. Numismatic Walking Tour" was great to read and did awaken my memories of how Numismatics moved North in New York, following the directions set forth by the "Carriage Trade". As Lower New York got crowded with businesses and homes in the early 1900's the city started to move northward on Manhattan Island.

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COLTRANE NORTH CAROLINA CURRENCY

A diverse offering of North Carolina currency, spanning over 200 years, is featured November 29, 2020, in an unreserved special online auction by Heritage Auctions. The notes collected by Mike Coltrane for several decades include many elite types and varieties from the Colonial, Obsolete, and National Banknote series and form a panoramic narrative of currencies from Mike’s native state. Noteworthy is a complete 56-note typeset, offered individually, of the April 2, 1776, Halifax colonial issue. This complete suite has been achieved by only a handful of collectors, and we believe this is the first modern offering of all 56 different notes in one auction.

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AZERBAIJAN MUSEUM DISPLAYS ANCIENT COINS

The National History Museum's Archaeological Fund has displayed silver coins found in 1958 in Ibrahimhajili village of Tovuz region.

The find was handed over to the museum thanks to numismatist Ali Rajabli. The silver coins were minted in Derbent, Barda, Baku, Nakhchivan and other cities during the reign of the Sassanid kings - Gubad I, Khosrov I, Hormuz IV and Khosrow II.

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PAKISTAN NUMISMATIST SHAKEEL AHMAD KHAN

The pursuit of passion is a priceless endeavor, to which many dedicate their entire lives.

No different is the story of Kasur District’s Shakeel Ahmad Khan, who’s spent two decades of his youth building one of the most extensive private collection of coins and currency notes in the country.

The young numismatist’s collection features more than 250,000 banknotes and coins from over different 250 countries. Among his treasury are also coins dating back to 2,500 year ago, attributed to Macedonian king Alexander the Great as well as all memorial currency issued by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to-date.

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ISRAEL ANTIQUITIES AUTHORITY COIN COLLECTION

There are some 750,000 coins stored in one room in a well-protected Israel Antiquities Authority vault and Donald T. Ariel, the head of the IAA’s Coin Department, stands watch over them all.

Ariel, who immigrated to Israel from the United States, has headed the department since 1991. He is the editor of the Israel Numismatic Research journal and serves as the coin expert on several ongoing excavations in the country. He took The Times of Israel Community on a virtual tour of the history of Holy Land coinage and pulled out some of the IAA’s treasures during a recent Behind the Headlines conversation.

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COINS FOUND AT MARYLAND PLANTATION

Archaeologists have uncovered the remains of 300-year-old slave quarters at Newtown Neck State Park in Maryland that was the location of an 18th-century Jesuit plantation.

The team, along with the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA), identified structures of cabins, along with broken clay tobacco pipes, ceramic cups and other signs from those who were enslaved at the plantation.

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ZOOMISMATICS: STACK'S BOWERS LARRY MILLER EVENT

You are invited to an Auction Preview on Zoom of Part 1 of the Larry H. Miller Collection taking place on Monday, November 9 at 3:00 PM Pacific Time.

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TRIPLE COUNTERMARKED COIN EXAMINED

Countermarks have long served in the role of "repurposed numismatics," with a host coin issued under the auspices of one authority being appropriated by another sometime down the road. The concept of repurposing coins is not new, and often involves the melting down of a coinage seized, for example, during a war and then giving it new life when re-coined. Such production need not be so ambitious, however, as the original coin can, rather more conveniently, be altered simply with a stamp that conveys the new authority or usage while not attempting to hide the coin's original issuer or purpose. As there would sometimes be no clear connection between host and subsequent countermark, this field of collecting creates some rather unusual pairings and historical blending on the same piece. Nowhere is this more the case than a particularly extraordinary and unique 18th century silver issue that is featured in the Matthew Orsini Collection to be offered in January 2021.

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TOKEN AND MEDAL MAKER JOHN GIBBS

Opportunity often leads to innovation. Sometimes the events that contribute to an evolution of this nature are well-known and documented, while other times they are lost to history and only able to be speculated by present-day researchers. This is the case with the career of John Gibbs. In the course of the 1830s, his profession took a radical turn. While the exact details are currently unknown, the numismatic evidence of how his occupational path evolved creates a compelling story.

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HISTORY OF GERMANY’S BLUE MAX MEDAL

While the name is in French rather than German, the “Blue Max” is an award that has become nearly legendary. The origins date back to 1667 when the German state of Brandenburg introduced the Order of Generosity or Ordre de la Génerosite. The name was in French as it was the common language of many German courts of the day. This award was later renamed the Pour Le Mérite (For Merit) by Prussian King Friedrich the Great in 1740 and was issued to loyal subjects for meritorious service in the pending war over the lands of Silesia. More commonly known today as the “Blue Max”—in no small part due to the book and film of the same name—this is among the most famous Imperial German decorations.

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THE STORY OF CANADA'S 1975 TWO-DOLLAR BILL

In the early 1970s, real people appeared in the vignettes on Canadian bank notes for the first time? — including Joseph Idlout and his relatives.

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LOOSE CHANGE: NOVEMBER 8, 2020

Roman coins from the war against Hannibal

The First Roman Quinarius

Waging war is expensive, and the Romans had to debase their currency in order to have enough coins to pay the costs of the Second Punic War; within a few years of Hannibal’s invasion, Roman currency was nearly worthless. But in 212 BCE, when Rome’s economic situation bottomed out, Roman armies outside of Italy began capturing enormous amounts of booty which could be used to replenish the empty treasury.

In 211 BCE, the Romans used their new-found wealth to launch an entirely new precious metal monetary system, based on a denarius that would be struck in good quality silver. The new coinage system was enormously successful and financed Rome’s ongoing military efforts – when the Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio marched against the Carthaginian armies in Spain in 210 BCE, he did so with a war chest that included 2,400,000 denari.

To read the complete article, see:
Roman Coins From the War Against Hannibal (https://coinweek.com/ancient-coins/roman-coins-from-the-war-against-hannibal/)

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A SURREAL ESCHERESQUE BOOKSTORE IN CHINA

A recently opened bookstore in southwest China looks like it came straight out of one of Dutch artist M.C. Escher's fever dreams.

Located west of Chengdu in the Sichuan province, Dujiangyan Zhongshuge boasts spiraling staircases, curved archways and strategically placed mirrors; these architectural features work in tandem to create the illusion of an impossible space similar to the one depicted in Escher's gravity-defying Relativity (1953).

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FEATURED WEB SITE: THE TYRANT COLLECTION

This week's Featured Web Site is The Tyrant Collection, recommended by Ed Moore in Texas. Be sure to drill down to see the photos. NOTE: for bibliophiles, five books are available at just $10 each, one for each of the collection exhibits.

http://thetyrantcollection.com/