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About UsThe Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit association devoted to the study and enjoyment of numismatic literature. For more information please see our web site at coinbooks.org SubscriptionsThose wishing to become new E-Sylum subscribers (or wishing to Unsubscribe) can go to the following web page link MembershipThere is a membership application available on the web site Membership Application To join, print the application and return it with your check to the address printed on the application. Print/Digital membership is $40 to addresses in the U.S., and $60 elsewhere. A digital-only membership is available for $25. For those without web access, write to: Charles Heck, Treasurer AsylumFor Asylum mailing address changes and other membership questions, contact Chuck at this email address: treasurer@coinbooks.org SubmissionsTo submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com
BUY THE BOOK BEFORE THE COINSale Calendar |
- WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM OCTOBER 2, 2022
- STEPHEN ALBUM LITERATURE AUCTION 1
- WORKMAN'S BOOKS FIFTH BID SALE IS LIVE
- PETER H. TILLOU NUMISMATIC LITERATURE SALE
- NEW BOOK: MEGA RED 8TH EDITION ADDS CANADIAN
- NEW BOOK: 2023 CANADIAN GOVERNMENT PAPER
- NOVEMBER 2022 NNP SYMPOSIUM ANNOUNCED
- U.S COIN SCALES AND COUNTERFEIT COIN DETECTORS
- A VIRGINIA COINAGE BIBLIOMYSTERY
- VIDEO: MIKE BEAN AND THE SPIDER PRESS
- WHERE WERE ELIZABETH II CORONATION MEDALS STRUCK?
- STRIKING IMPRESSIONS PRINT RUN
- NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: OCTOBER 2, 2022
- DALL-E COIN IMAGES
- OCTOBER 2022 PAN SHOW EVENTS
- VOCABULARY TERM: MAHOGANY FINISH
- JOHN/JACK ROWE, AKA JAY ROE (1924-2000)
- WEXFORD MEDAL SELECTIONS OCTOBER 2022
- ARCHIVES INTERNATIONAL AUCTION 79B SELECTIONS
- KÜNKER AUCTION SALE 377, 378 HIGHLIGHTS
- NUMISMATIC NUGGETS: OCTOBER 2, 2022
- THE ORIGINAL ERROR COINS
- RARE PORTUGUESE GOLD COIN FOUND
- WHERE THE GOVERNMENT MAKES CENTS
- KING CHARLES III COIN DESIGNS REVEALED
- ROB THE PARACHUTING DOG'S MEDALS FOR SALE
- ANOTHER ALTERED NORTH AFRICA NOTE
- U.S. $100,000 PROOF NOTE LOST IN FLOOD
- LOOSE CHANGE: OCTOBER 2, 2022
- BOOK NOOK: OCTOBER 2, 2022
- SNEAKER AUTHENTICATORS
- COLLECTING BARF BAGS
- FEATURED WEBSITE: CENTRAL STATES NUMISMATIC SOCIETY
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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 OCTOBER 2, 2022
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 three numismatic literature sales, two new books, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, notes from readers, and more.
Other topics this week include coin scales, the spider press, Striking Impressions, the fall PAN Show, Jay Roe, fixed price and auction selections, ancient error coins, King Charles III coin designs, the ultimate Dickin Medal, and altered North Africa notes.
To learn more about Copper Coinage of Imperial Russia, the Forgotten Mint of Colonial Panama, Mega Red, the NNP Symposium, tipping with twos, DALL-E coin images, John Mercanti plaster sculpts, sculptor David D'Angers, U.S. Steel service medals, the 1907 Brenner Lincoln plaque, the Denver Mint, Rob the Parachuting Dog, numismatic losses due to weather events, milling and engraving machines, collectomania and Death by Banknote, read on. Have a great week, everyone!
Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum
STEPHEN ALBUM LITERATURE AUCTION 1
Stephen Album Rare Coins is holding their first numismatic literature auction on October 17, 2022. Here are some lot selections. -Editor
Lots 5 and 14
Lot 5: A. H. Baldwin & Sons Ltd., The Diana Collection: Coins of the British Empire, Parts 1-3, London, 2008-09, all three auction catalogs of the Diana Collection hardcover bound together with prices realized.
Lot 14: Aydin, Sennur, Kudret ve Huner: Sikke'nin iki Yuzu / Power and Skill: The Two Faces of a Coin, Yapi Kredi Bank, Istanbul, 1994, 55 pages, softcover large format. The first of the series of catalogues of exhibitions of the bank's coin collection. It includes a general history of the origin of Islamic coinage, then covers Arab-Byzantine, Arab-Sasanian, Umayyad, Umayyad of Spain, Abbasid, Tulunid, Fatimid, Ayyubid, Mamluk, Idrisid, Aghlabid, Tahirid, Saffarid, Banijurid, Sajid, Wajjahid (Oman), Samanid, Ikhshidid, Buwayhid, Marwanid, Rassid (2nd period), Rasulid, Shirvanshah. Beautiful color photos. Bilingual (Turkish and English).
WORKMAN'S BOOKS FIFTH BID SALE IS LIVE
Alan Workman's latest sale is open for lot viewing and bidding. -Editor
Workman's Books announces its fifth bid sale is LIVE!
Workman's Books is conducting its Fifth sale and Part III of Selections from the library of long-time dealer, collector, and author, Holland Wallace. The sale will close at 10:00 AM on October 22, 2022 and will include 622 lots of rare, vintage, and out-of-print numismatic books, auction sale catalogs, dealer fixed price lists, and numismatic journals with subject matter focusing on the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central & South America, Europe, Portugal, Spain, Spanish colonial, Islamic, and Asain numismatics. The selections for this sale include important works and sales by Album, Bailey, Breton, Bruns, Burzio, Calbeto, Calico, Cayon, Chapman, Christie's, Christensen, Douglas, Elder, Ferrari, Gadoury, Glendining, Grove, Leroux, Low, Medina, Ponterio, Pradeau, Pridmore, Prober, Schulman, Sellschopp, Sotheby's, Stack's, Superior, and many others. Accompanying the Wallace library is a sizeable consignment of books, catalogs, magazines, maps, and ephemera on shipwrecks, sunken treasure, lost treasure, treasure hunting, lost mines, and treasure in the American West.
PETER H. TILLOU NUMISMATIC LITERATURE SALE
I'm afraid I didn't manage to get this notice into last week's issue - there were some lots of numismatic literature from the estate of Peter H. Tillou of Litchfield, Connecticut in the September 29th Brunk Auctions sale. Thanks to Julian Liedman for passing this along. There were some beautiful bindings offered. Were any of our readers bidders? -Editor
Lot 295: Two Louis XIV Numismatic Books
To read the complete lot description, see:
Two Louis XIV Numismatic Books
(https://www.bidsquare.com/online-auctions/brunk/two-louis-xiv-numismatic-books-3629638)
NEW BOOK: MEGA RED 8TH EDITION ADDS CANADIAN
The eighth edition of Mega Red adds an appendix covering Canadian silver five cent and twenty-five cent pieces. Here's the announcement. -Editor
The eighth edition of Mega Red (the 1,504-page expanded Deluxe Edition of the Guide Book of United States Coins) devotes nearly 300 pages to a detailed study of U.S. two-cent pieces, copper-nickel three-cent pieces, silver trimes, half dimes, twenty-cent pieces, and $1, $3, and $4 gold coins.
One of the book's 13 appendices covers two series of related Canadian coins—five-cent silver pieces (roughly analogous to U.S. half dimes), and twenty-cent pieces. The appendix is based on the work of James A. Haxby (author of Whitman's Guide Book of Canadian Coins and Tokens) and Harvey B. Richer (author of 100 Greatest Canadian Coins and Tokens).
Canada and the United States share a long geopolitical border, and with it the two nations share culture and history going back to colonial times,
said Whitman publisher Dennis Tucker. For coin collectors on both sides of the border it's valuable to study, understand, and appreciate our shared numismatic life.
NEW BOOK: 2023 CANADIAN GOVERNMENT PAPER
The 2023 edition of Charlton's Canadian Government Paper Money book has been published -Editor
2023 CHARLTON CANADIAN GOVERNMENT PAPER MONEY
$43.95
34th Edition, 2023
J. Rutkowski, Editor
The 34th edition has undergone several updates and additions. Prices have been updated to better reflect the current market. Census totals have been updated giving a better indication of scarcity.
ISBN 978-0-88968-435-5
Weight .85 kg
Dimensions 23 × 20.5 × 3.5 cm
NOVEMBER 2022 NNP SYMPOSIUM ANNOUNCED
The NNP Symposia are highlights of the numismatic year, bringing great speakers direct to you via Zoom. Be sure to plan for the next one. Here's the announcement. -Editor
Newman Numismatic Portal Announces NNP Symposium November 17-19, 2022
The Newman Numismatic Portal is pleased to announce the next NNP Symposium, which will take place November 17-19. This is a free, online event that brings together a variety of numismatic speakers and covers a wide array of numismatic subjects. Featuring approximately 25 presentations, attendees will easily find topics of interest. This is the fifth such event, which was launched in fall 2020 in response to the pandemic.
U.S COIN SCALES AND COUNTERFEIT COIN DETECTORS
The latest addition to the Newman Numismatic Portal is the Newman=Mallis book, U.S Coin Scales and Counterfeit Coin Detectors. Project Coordinator Len Augsburger provided the following report. Thanks. -Editor
Newman Portal Adds U.S Coin Scales and Counterfeit Coin Detectors
In 1999, Eric P. Newman and George Mallis teamed up to publish U.S Coin Scales and Counterfeit Coin Detectors. The authors begin with a history of scales for coins stretching back to the second millennium before Christ. The book comprehensively covers all scales and counterfeit coin detectors for which United States patents were issued, and many that never received patents. The authors focus on the experience of one inventor, John Allender, who, after many tries, was finally able to secure a patent for his machine, which combined high accuracy with a low price, and thus became successful in the marketplace. This work has recently been scanned by Newman Portal and is now available online.
A VIRGINIA COINAGE BIBLIOMYSTERY
Len Augsburger writes:
"In 1956, Eric P. Newman published Coinage for Colonial Virginia with the American Numismatic Society and followed up with Additions to Coinage for Colonial Virginia in 1962. Newman and Sanford J. Durst discussed the possibility of reprinting Coinage for Colonial Virginia in 1980. Little progress was made, and, in correspondence from Newman to Durst on June 18, 1986, Newman insisted on having any reprint incorporate new findings even if new typesetting and layout was necessary. This was not entirely consistent with the Durst Publications model, which was more focused on reproduction and distribution than editing and graphics work. Newman concluded by observing I am trying to cooperate with you but can not get pleasure out of other than a top quality publication.
"In 1956, Eric P. Newman published Coinage for Colonial Virginia This work is listed in the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) catalog under the title Coins of Colonial Virginia with a publication date of 1990 (ISBN #9780915262670), but no copies have been verified. It is unlisted in the Newman 1992 library inventory and is not present in the ANS or ANA libraries. I checked with the authority of Virginia coinage, Roger Moore, who was similarly unaware of the work. Can an E-Sylum reader point to a physical copy?"
VIDEO: MIKE BEAN AND THE SPIDER PRESS
These are selections from the David Lisot Video Library that feature news and personalities from the world of coin collecting. David has been attending coin conventions since 1972 and began videotaping in 1985. The Newman Numismatic Portal now lists all David's videos on their website at:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/multimediadetail/522852
Here's one with retired BEP printer Mike Bean demonstrating the spider press at the recent FUN show. -Editor
WHERE WERE ELIZABETH II CORONATION MEDALS STRUCK?
Last week Martin Purdy asked for more information on a 1953 Elizabeth II Coronation medal believed to have been struck in Canada. John Regitko submitted these thoughts. Thanks! -Editor
To come up with the answer, one should look for the possible minters that can handle such an order. I mentioned the following Canadian minters in my columns in Canadian Coin News:
- Canadian medals have been struck in the past by:
- Canadian Artistic Dies/Lombardo Mint (Sherbrooke)
- Elliott & Bishop
- Birks (Toronto)
- Franklin Mint (Mississauga)
- Interbranch International Mint (Mississauga)
- Jacques Cartier Mint (Aurora)
- Johnson Matthey (Brampton)
- Lasqueti Mint (Lasqueti Island)
- Sherritt Mint (Fort McMurray)
- Steve Kelly and Barry Much
- Wellings Mint (Scarborough)
- Pressed Metal Products (Vancouver)
- Great Canadian Mint (Edmonton)
- Mississauga Mint (Mississauga)
- Rideau Recognition Solutions (Montreal)
STRIKING IMPRESSIONS PRINT RUN
John Regitko provided this additional information on "Striking Impressions" and his own numismatic books. -Editor
I was told by a former V.P. at the Royal Canadian Mint that this sort of glossy book with all the colour and printed on glossy paper would be considered a money-losing proposition. What made the book a possibility is that the Royal Canadian Mint agreed to purchase 2,000 copies, if memory serves me right.
When I was chairing the upcoming 1981 CNA Convention, I asked the Mint what they had to give me to include in the registration kits. About a week later, a large delivery truck pulled up to my driveway with a skid of boxes. I had no idea what it was except that the shipper was the Royal Canadian Mint, Ottawa.
The waybill stated that the boxes contained a total of 500 books "Striking Impressions."
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: OCTOBER 2, 2022
On the Beginning and End of Centuries
David Gladfelter writes:
"People would disagree about Mr. Frazier having lived in parts of three centuries. That's because he died two months before the generally accepted starting date of the 21st century on January 1, 2001.
"Robert L. Hendershott (1898-2004) did achieve that amazing feat – John Wilson introduced me to him in 2002. However, my copy of his book on the 1904 St.Louis World's Fair, published in 1994, was signed by him that year to another collector, when he was a mere nonagenarian. Mr. Hendershott knew whereof he spoke, having attended the fair in person with his father."
To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
ARTHUR HENRY FRAZIER (1899-2000)
(https://www.coinbooks.org/v25/esylum_v25n39a14.html)
Other topics this week include Tipping With Twos, and the Death of a Die. -Editor
DALL-E COIN IMAGES
By now I think everyone has heard about DALL-E, the image synthesis tool that uses the latest artificial intelligence technology to generate images based on text prompts. Here's an excerpt from a recent Washington Post article and an image from an Ars Technica piece. -Editor
A DALL-E example of "An astronaut riding a horse." Ars Technica
Since the research lab OpenAI debuted the latest version of DALL-E in April, the AI has dazzled the public, attracting digital artists, graphic designers, early adopters, and anyone in search of online distraction. The ability to create original, sometimes accurate, and occasionally inspired images from any spur-of-the-moment phrase, like a conversational Photoshop, has startled even jaded internet users with how quickly AI has progressed.
Five months later, 1.5 million users are generating 2 million images a day. On Wednesday, OpenAI said it removed its waitlist for DALL-E, giving anyone immediate access.
OCTOBER 2022 PAN SHOW EVENTS
The Pennsylvania Association of Numismatists coin shows keep getting bigger and better. Here's an announcement for the upcoming fall show. I expect to be there and hope to see many E-Sylum readers there. -Editor
The Pennsylvania Association of Numismatists (PAN) Fall Coin Show and Convention is pleased to
announce the addition of George Washington as part of the PAN Living American History Program.
Benjamin Franklin (Patrick McBride), Abraham Lincoln (Dennis Boggs), and George Washington (Curt
Radabaugh) will be present at the Fall PAN Coin Show, October 20-22 at the
Monroeville Convention
Center, PA to talk about their roles in American History and their impact on our nation's coinage and
currency. They would like to see young people, home schoolers, Colonial and Civil War reenactors, and
all history enthusiasts and numismatists come to this gathering to greet, chat and take photos.
Admission is free and open to the public! We are accepting donations to keep this program viable.
Checks may be made out to PAN and mailed to the address below or go to
www.PANcoins.org and click
the Donate to PAN
link. PAN Bourse Chair, Ed Hammond, Running Bear Coins is the PAN Living
American History fundraising chairman.
VOCABULARY TERM: MAHOGANY FINISH
Here's another entry from Dick Johnson's Encyclopedia of Coin and Medal Terminology. I added the images. -Editor
Nathaniel Greene mahogany finish medal
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1007285/mahogany-versus-the-yellow-bronze-finish-for-medals-and-the-nathaniel-greene-medal
Mahogany Finish. A deep, dark patina finish which ranges from chocolate brown to red-brown. (The color closely resembles that of mahogany wood, hence the name). It was extensively used by the United States Mint on all its bronze medals in the later half of the 19th century but was phased out (beginning 1900 and ceased by 1910) because it was so labor intensive and time consuming. It was accomplished by a double-heating process known as fire-bronzing. (It is said one could have ordered medals from the Mint in either the dark mahogany or the lighter patina finish during the 10-year transition period at the buyer's option.)
Fire-bronzing predated the highlight-by-oxidizing-and-relieving finishing process, developed by the French in the 1880s, which the U.S. Mint adopted in place of fire-bronzing. (Numismatists called this later finish yellow-bronze). A close approximation of the mahogany color was achieved in 1930 by the Medallic Art Company for the Second Issue of the Society of Medalists, Dionysus, by Paul Manship. It accomplished this dark brown bronze patina with chemicals (ferric nitrate) but this was still not the exact deep mahogany color that results from red lead and fire-bronzing used in the 19th century.
In addition to fire-bronze, fire-bronzing, see also patina, finish and finishing.
Reference:
M37 {1977} Julian, Introduction, p XXXV-XXXVII (35-37).
JOHN/JACK ROWE, AKA JAY ROE (1924-2000)
American Numismatic Biographies author Pete Smith submitted this article on California fractional gold collector/dealer John/Jack/Jay Roe/Rowe. Thanks! -Editor
This week I was reviewing the listing for Jay Roe in American Numismatic Biographies and
discovered a couple of errors. They will be corrected in the next update.
I got Jay's autograph in 1985. I would see him at coin shows around the area. His exhibit at our
coin show one year made a strong impression. It was called Metals in Numismatics
with
examples of coins struck in 24 different metals including a few very rare metals like niobium and
tantalum.
Jay and his wife contributed articles for World Coin News on World's Coinage Uses 24
Chemical Elements
published in 1992.
WEXFORD MEDAL SELECTIONS OCTOBER 2022
Rich Jewell's Wexford Rare Coins and Medals eBay store features a number of great medals along with other numismatic items. Here are some that caught my eye this week. -Editor
Listing is for a 1830-David D'Angers,Sc.-Jean-Pierre de Beranger Medallion, BRONZE cast, 130MM
Obverse- a very high relief bust of J.P. De Beranger facing right, name behind head. Signed David 1830, beneath the bust.
Reverse- Blank.
A loop has been added to the reverse (at a later date).
Not found in the David D'Angers catalogue, but is recorded at the David D'Angers museum
Great relief - nice. -Editor
To read the complete lot description, see:
1830-David D' Angers, Sc.-JP De Beranger Medallion, Bronze cast, 130 mm
(https://www.ebay.com/itm/194414945763)
ARCHIVES INTERNATIONAL AUCTION 79B SELECTIONS
Here's a selection of items that caught my eye in the October 2022 Archives International Auction 79b. -Editor
Lot 1030: DuraNote Polymer Advertising Notes
To read the complete lot description, see:
DuraNote Polymer Banknote Predecessor Advertising Note Quintet
(https://auction.archivesinternational.com/DuraNote-Polymer-Banknote-Predecessor-Advertising-Note-Quintet_i46405351)
THE BOOK BAZARRE
KÜNKER AUCTION SALE 377, 378 HIGHLIGHTS
Here's a press release with highlights from the upcoming Künker auction sales 377 and 378. -Editor
Auction 377 / e- Live Premium 378: The Salton Collection Part 4: Roman and Byzantine Coins
1,940 lots with Roman and Byzantine coins from the Salton Collection will be sold on 20 and 21 October 2022. They once belonged to Mark and Lottie Salton. There is a very special story behind these issues that cannot be told too often.
NUMISMATIC NUGGETS: OCTOBER 2, 2022
Here's a selection of interesting or unusual items I came across in the marketplace this week. Tell us what you think of some of these. -Editor
This is an extremely large lot of original Mills slot machine tokens.
Condition: (Good).
Item Dimensions: Each: 3/4" Dia.
Looks like a dug hoard of Chinese cash! -Editor
To read the complete lot description, see:
LARGE LOT OF 5¢ MILLS TOKENS.
(https://auctions.morphyauctions.com/LARGE_LOT_OF_5__MILLS_TOKENS_-LOT550993.aspx)
Other topics this week include the Brenner 1907 Abraham Lincoln Plaque, the Jack Tippit Short Snorter, and a Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony official program. -Editor
THE ORIGINAL ERROR COINS
Error coins are a window into the minting process, and knowledge of mint errors is a key component of numismatic education. While most articles published nowadays discuss modern errors, errors are as old as coinage itself. With permission we're publishing this excerpt of an article by Jason Kim on "The Original Error Coins" in the September-October 2022 issue of ErrorScope, the official publication of the Combined Organizations of Numismatic Error Collectors of America (CONECA). Thanks to Editor Allan Anderson for providing the text and images. -Editor
As long as humans have been making coins there have been errors along with them. Those die cracks, brockages, off-strikes and double strikes were made thousands of years ago with bronze dies and hammers. In this article I will go into some of the errors that were produced at mints now long gone, by people long forgotten.
RARE PORTUGUESE GOLD COIN FOUND
This press release from Noonan's describes a metal detectorist's find of a rare Portuguese gold coin. -Editor
It was 6am on the 5th of July, a bright summer's morning that 62-year-old Mick Edwards went out with his newly-acquired Deus II metal detector, his only companions were rabbits and a herd of deer in the pasture field.
Mick, who lives in Peterlee in County Durham, works as a Civil Servant and has been metal detecting for ten years. He found it has helped him overcome his illness by being more mobile. As he explained: I was staying on the farm near Etchilhampton in Wiltshire with my wife after celebrating 35 years of marriage from the day before. So far I had only found some broken crotal bells, so I walked to the top of the field for a final effort before breakfast, taking just three more steps I received a clear signal which sounded like a large copper coin.
After digging five inches, then a further five inches and still nothing, he used his pin-pointer probe to locate the signal and saw the edge of a coin at the bottom of the hole. To his astonishment it was a huge gold coin 36 millimetres in diameter and weighing over 35 grams.
WHERE THE GOVERNMENT MAKES CENTS
Denver's Gazette recently published an article about a visit to the Denver Mint - here's an excerpt. Check out the full article and photo gallery online. -Editor
Somewhere between your couch cushions or the cupholders of your car, in a piggy bank or a wishing well or on the sidewalk of any street, there's a penny or a nickel or a dime or a quarter with an inconspicuous D
beside the head of a president.
That's D
for Denver. Specifically, for the Denver Mint.
And somewhere inside the white, ornate block of a building in the heart of the Mile High City, there's a charming, retired teacher-turned-tour guide cracking his usual line.
KING CHARLES III COIN DESIGNS REVEALED
Dick Hansom passed along this BBC News article about the new King Charles III coin designs. Thanks also to David Pickup and Arthur Shippee. -Editor
New coins featuring the portrait of King Charles have been revealed, with a 50p carrying his image entering general circulation within weeks.
BBC News was given a first glimpse of the 50p and a commemorative £5 Crown which include an image of the King by British sculptor Martin Jennings.
The coins follow centuries of tradition with the monarch now facing left - the opposite way to his predecessor.
ROB THE PARACHUTING DOG'S MEDALS FOR SALE
It's been quite some time since the sale of a Dickin medal. This article describes the upcoming sale of one of the most important Dickin Medals, awarded to Rob the Parachuting Dog. -Editor
A medal awarded to a Shropshire dog which was parachuted behind enemy lines on SAS missions is going up for auction.
The black and white Collie Retriever, Rob, originally from Colemere Farm near Ellesmere, was volunteered as a war dog during the Second World War.
He took part in 20 parachute descents throughout the war, and was awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal for Gallantry, otherwise known as the Victoria Cross for animals, as well as the RSPCA Red Collar for Valour, for his outstanding service.
The Dickin Medal will be auctioned on Wednesday, October 12, by Noonans – with a guide price of £20,000 to £30,000.
ANOTHER ALTERED NORTH AFRICA NOTE
Last week we discussed an MPC Gram article by Larry Smulczenski on altered North Africa silver certificates. This week's issue (Series 23 No. 2542, 1 Oct 2022) includes a follow-up. It is republished here with permission. Thanks! -Editor
After I wrote the article about the ten-dollar North Africa note that was altered to look somewhat like a ten-dollar New York Federal Reserve Bank Note, I went looking for an article about Hawaii and North Africa notes that I vaguely remembered written in a banknote periodical. It took a while to find it, but I'm glad I looked for it because it added another facet to the subject of altered North Africa notes.
U.S. $100,000 PROOF NOTE LOST IN FLOOD
In light of this week's Hurricane Ian, an article by Editor Fred Schwan in the same MPC Gram issue (Series 23 No. 2542, 1 Oct 2022) mentions a rare item that numismatist Arlie Slabaugh lost in a flood. -Editor
Several years ago, lower Alabama was hit by a big storm. The next day we were having some wind here in northern Ohio. I called Harold Kroll (from lower Alabama as he likes to say) and told him that based upon the news I was watching out my window to see if any of his MPC was blowing past.
We laughed about that because we not only were safe, but also did not know anyone who was in fact hurt by the storm.
THE BOOK BAZARRE
Bowers Seriesof numismatic references, will debut in December 2022! Award-winning author Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez provides a richly detailed 384-page study for the collector and investor. Order your copy online at Whitman.com , or call 1-800-546-2995.
LOOSE CHANGE: OCTOBER 2, 2022
Here are some additional items in the media this week that may be of interest. -Editor
In a Greysheet article this week, Greg Reynolds focused on a few of the more unusual items in the Harry W. Bass collection. Here's one that caught my eye - I was not aware of this posthumous acquisition. -Editor
While a 1907 Wire Edge eagle (U.S. $10 gold coin) is not nearly as rare as a pre-1840 Proof gold coin, it is unusual. The one in the Bass I sale is unusual in an additional way. It was not acquired by Harry Bass himself. In the four Bass Collection auctions by Bowers & Merena (New Hampshire) during 1999 and 2000, there was not one 1907 Wire Edge ten that I remember, though there were representatives of other varieties of gold coins from the year 1907, including High Relief Wire Edge 1907 $20 coins.
According to the Harry Bass Foundation website, this 1907 Wire Edge eagle was purchased by the foundation in 2000, long after Bass died. Apparently, F. David Calhoun, executive director and trustee of the foundation, handled the purchase of this coin, which was needed for the gold type set in the Bass Collection.
This Bass Collection, 1907 Wire Edge ten was never dipped and never harmfully cleaned. It exhibits original color and just a few faint hairlines.
To read the complete article, see:
A Focus on Some of the More Unusual Coins in the Bass Collection
(https://www.greysheet.com/news/story/a-focus-on-some-of-the-more-unusual-coins-in-the-bass-collection)
Other topics this week include Building a Numismatic Library, Paying in Coins as a Protest, Milling and Engraving Machines, and Death By Banknote. -Editor
BOOK NOOK: OCTOBER 2, 2022
There were several items in the media this week relating to books, so I thought I'd group them together here for our bibliophiles. -Editor
In the now-THAT'S-a-slabbed-collectible department, here's an article about the University of Chicago's attempt to study what is purported to be a 26-page booklet encased in concrete. -Editor
Art historians enlisted the help of Argonne National Laboratory to study artist Wolf Vostell's Betonbuch (Concrete Book).
THE SLAB OF CONCRETE IS more than a foot tall, ten inches wide, and two inches thick. It weighs about 20 pounds, and it is cataloged in the University of Chicago's library system as a book.
This unusual tome, titled Betonbuch (Concrete Book), was published
in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1971 by experimental artist Wolf Vostell. It is one of 100 copies he created by, Vostell explained at the time, encasing a 26-page booklet in concrete. Such concretifications,
as he termed them, were the artist's signature works through the late 1960s and early 1970s, nods to postwar urbanism and challenges to the traditional understanding of what materials are necessary to make art.
The University of Chicago has long owned one of Vostell's best known concretifications, Concrete Traffic. It is, unmistakably, a car covered in concrete—specifically, a Cadillac deVille drowned in a quickly hardening sand-and-stone slurry in a busy commuter parking lot in Chicago one morning in 1970. But when the university acquired copy number 83 of Vostell's Betonbuch in 2016, Patti Gibbons, head of collections management for the Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, began to wonder: Was this a prank, or is this for real?
To read the complete article, see:
Can Science Solve the Mystery of the Concrete Book?
(https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/vostell-concrete-book-mystery)
Other topics this week include the Gutenberg Bible, Books about booksellers and collectors, and books with themes related to Twilight Zone episodes. -Editor
SNEAKER AUTHENTICATORS
You thought third-party authenticators were done after they came for your comic books? Get ready for sneaker authenticators. Gerry Tebben passed along this article with the email subject line, "Sneakers authenticators for God's sake." -Editor
COLLECTING BARF BAGS
The Washington Post gets around the collectibles world. John Isles of Hanover, Michigan submitted this piece about collectors of... airplane barf bags. -Editor
Steve Silberberg was flying from Boston to San Francisco as a college student in 1982 when he took note of the small bag in front of him.
I bet no one collects these, he thought.
FEATURED WEBSITE: CENTRAL STATES NUMISMATIC SOCIETY
This week's Featured Web Site is the new address for the Central States Numismatic Society.
The Central States Numismatic Society, founded in 1939, is one of the larger numismatic organizations in the United States with membership fluctuating around 2,000. CSNS, as it is known informally, operates in a 13 state Midwestern region but membership is open to residents of all states and foreign countries.
States in the region are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
https://www.csns.org/
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