Visit our NBS Sponsors

About Us The 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 Subscriptions Those wishing to become new E-Sylum subscribers (or wishing to Unsubscribe) can go to the following web page link Membership There 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 Numismatic Bibliomania Society P. O. Box 2058, Bluffton, SC 29910-2058 Asylum For Asylum mailing address changes and other membership questions, contact Chuck at this email address: treasurer@coinbooks.org Submissions To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com BUY THE BOOK BEFORE THE COIN Sale Calendar Workman October 22, 2022

 

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 16, 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, five new books, an obituary, an update from the Newman Numismatic Portal, a 1792 half disme, and more.

Other topics this week include error half cents, Roman Provincial Coinage, J.S.G. Boggs, Ghandi, Ruth Gruber, Larry Adams, the Higgins National Bank Note Museum, The Casement, early numismatic photography, auction results and previews, and proto-money.

To learn more about the R.C.Lockett Collection, Portuguese African Paper Money, An Ordinance for the Establishment of the Mint of the United States of America, Paine's Remarks on the Early Paper Currency of Massachusetts, Sylvester Sage Crosby's final resting place, numismatic NFTs, master patterns, North Carolina National Bank Notes, The Widows Medal, and full steps Jefferson nickels, read on. Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum

 

STEPHEN ALBUM LITERATURE AUCTION 1 SELECTIONS

Lot 25: Bernardi, Giulio, Primo tentativo di un corpus delle monete cufiche d'oro. I. Dagli inizi (65H = 684 D) all'avvento dei Buwayhidi (334 H = 946 D), Trieste, 2008, 254 pages, 70 plates, softcover. Title translates as "First attempt at a corpus of Kufic gold coins. I. From the beginnings (65AH = 684AD) to the coming of the Buwayhid (334AH = 946AD)." A very useful work, ex Libris Norman D. Nicol.

Lot 26: Bitkin, Vladimir. Svodnyy katalog monet Imperatorskoy Rossii First Edition, Juno Coin Publishing, Kiev, 2000, 621 pages, hardcover. Title translates as "Consolidated Catalog of Coins of Imperial Russia." Variety catalog of Russian Imperial coins, lavishly illustrated, with rarity ratings, edge information, and valuations for up to 4 grades of preservation, with many extra notes and information, including occasional prices realized information. Russian text.

Read more here

 

WORKMAN'S BOOKS FIFTH BID SALE SELECTIONS

Selections from the Holland Wallace Library Part III

Workman's Books Fifth Sale and Part III of Selections from the library of long-time dealer, collector, and author, Holland Wallace has ONE WEEK LEFT! The 622 lots start closing at 10:00 AM on October 22, 2022 and include 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 Asian 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.

Read more here

SOLIDUS LITERATURE AUCTION 107

With 423 lots, our literature auction offers an excellent opportunity to supplement one's own numismatic library. The focus is on special literature on Ancient Numismatics, supplemented by some works on General Numismatics. Among the books offered are some rarities as well as complete, multi-volume series, including standard reference works and rarely offered collections.

Read more here

NEW BOOK: THE HALF CENT HANDBOOK, VOL. 4

"The Half Cent Handbook - Errors and Oddities"

It is the fourth book in a series I have written on U.S. Half Cents.

This book is over 180 pages and covers all types of Half Cent mint errors. Everything from minor planchet errors to major striking errors are covered in great detail. Examples of some of the most spectacular mint errors are shown. There are even some surprises in store as a number of these coins have never been seen before by the public. Each mint error is broken down by category and full explanations are given describing how each error occurs. There is even a new type of mint error that will make its debut in this book!

Read more here

 

NEW BOOK: PORTUGUESE AFRICAN PAPER MONEY

Portuguese African Paper Money of the Banco Nacional Ultramarino

Regular price £45.00

Laurence Pope with Parcídio Campos E Matos and Andrew Pattison

This meticulously researched and fully illustrated catalogue details all of the paper money of the Banco Nacional Ultramarino used in the five Portuguese African colonies of Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Portuguese Guinea and Saint Thomas & Prince, between 1865 and 1975.

Read more here

 

NEW BOOK: ROMAN PROVINCIAL COINAGE VII.2 PT I

Roman Provincial Coinage VII.2 Part I: From Gordian I to Gordian III (AD 238–244)

Spink Books are delighted to announce the release of the latest volume in this highly regarded series, cataloguing over 25,000 coins classified into 3,750 main varieties from the world's principal collections, including the British Museum and Bibliothèque nationale de France.

This volume presents for the first time an authoritative and systematic account of the coins minted in the Roman provinces between AD 238 and 244 (except the province of Asia, previously covered in volume VII.1), and shows how these coins can be regarded as an integral part of the coinage minted under the Roman emperors. The book gives a complete picture of the material, thereby not only meeting the needs of numismatists but also providing an essential reference for historians, archaeologists and other students of the Roman empire.

Read more here

NEW BOOK: GANDHI BANKNOTES, COINS & STAMPS

Global Collectibles of Mahatma Gandhi: Through Banknotes, Coins & Stamps

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is a man with simple attire and great deeds. He was the face of Indian freedom struggle and leader of India during the post-independence period. Many revolutionary across the globe have followed the teaching of truth and non-violence to fight the colonization and slavery. The world respects and bows to his extra ordinary approach against oppression. In recent century, many countries and organisations have tried to commemorate and honour Mahatma through Stamps, Coins and Banknotes. In this book an amalgamation is created to compile all this token of honour and appreciation.

Read more here

NEW BOOK: ARCHAIC COINAGE OF GODAVARI VALLEY

Archaic Coinage of Godavari Valley and the Deccan

In this Volume, it presents us with a rare gift, the detailed and fascinating story of a Hitherto-poorly understood series of locak punch-marked silver coins, those of the godavari valley and neighboring regions.

This book encapsulates the outcome of a very large and very detailed study project into the many sources of this local PMC series, made available through official channels as well as by the very active numismatic fraternity of the Godavari Region. A number of chapters catch the eye, such as the exploration of the origins of the symbols struck on the coins, which dr Kulkarni Demonstates can be traced back to the megalithic culture.

Title: Archaic Coinage of Godavari Valley and the Deccan

Author: Dr Prashant Kulkarni

Read more here

LARRY D. ADAMS (1947-2022)

Read more here

 

THE HIGGINS NATIONAL BANK NOTE MUSEUM

Read more here

NEWMAN PORTAL ADDS THE CASEMENT

Newman Portal Adds The Casement

Produced by the Associated Collectors of Encased (ACE) from 1995-2003, The Casement documented the efforts of collectors searching for encased coins, tokens, and medals. Encased coins are in some ways 20th century analogs of 19th century counterstamped coins, often serving in advertising or promotional capacities. These also took the shape of commemorative issues, such as an encased 1921 Morgan dollar produced by Consolidated Foods Corporation as a 25th anniversary piece in 1964. The Casement included lists of encased issues (typically on a state-by-state basis), examples for auction, and notices of club meetings. Newman Portal acknowledges Bruce Perdue for his assistance with this title.

Link to The Casement on Newman Portal:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/publisherdetail/547791

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MINT AND 1792 HALF DISME

HAMILTON AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE U.S. MINT. CONTINENTAL CONGRESS BOARD OF TREASURY. An Ordinance for the Establishment of the Mint of the United States of America; and for Regulating the Value and Alloy of Coin. [New York: 1786.]

Printed broadside, bifolium leaf, 324 x 190 mm. Framed with small coin.

Read more here

MORE ON BRITISH MONARCH FIRST COINS

One of your correspondents mentions the 1820 half crown as the last time a British monarch appeared on a coin dated in the year of accession. Let me offer a little further information.

The half crown (two shillings and sixpence, or an eighth of a pound) was not struck in the first 56 years of George III's reign, when little silver was issued, but with the Great Recoinage of 1816, it appeared again. It was apparently quite popular at the time: Almost 16 million were struck between 1816 and 1819. Nearly 32 million shillings were struck over the same span, and the sixpence was also heavily struck, but the greatest amount of silver was used for half crowns. Only about 800,000 crowns were struck in the same period. The half crown was therefore the largest silver coin with wide circulation. It was also close in size and value to the three-shilling token issued by the Bank of England between 1811 and 1816 because of the coin shortage.

Read more here

ON EARLY NUMISMATIC PHOTOGRAPHY

"In last week's E-Sylum, Pete Smith described Sylvester Crosby's 1875 Early Coins of America as being the first photographically illustrated numismatic book to be published. This is incorrect. Even if we use 1873 as the date of Crosby's book (as that is when the first fascicule was published), there are a few numismatic books illustrated photographically from before then:

Read more here

NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: OCTOBER 16, 2022

Sylvester Sage Crosby's Resting Place
Mark Vitunic writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
SYLVESTER SAGE CROSBY (1831-1914) (https://www.coinbooks.org/v25/esylum_v25n41a20.html)

Read more here

BOGGS ESTATE SELLS NFTS, RECEIPT AND CHANGE

Read more here

VOCABULARY TERM: MASTER PATTERN

Master Pattern. A working copy of a coin or medal model, in hard material from which hubs or dies will be made. A master pattern in metal is made from the artist's original model (usually plaster) – it must be the exact same diameter as the model with the same height of relief. After the original model has been edited, all final touchup completed on the model, and all approvals obtained, the plaster bas-relief model is then cast into some permanent hard form. This can be a foundry cast in bronze or other metal, or more often, an electrogalvanic cast in copper. The later would be a galvano that would be either positive (being a hubshell) or negative (being a dieshell). If a less permanent form is required it can be made of epoxy.

Read more here

FALL 2022 PAN CIVIL WAR SHOWCASE TALKS

Three Days... EIGHT PROGRAMS and multiple EXHIBITS Featuring Storytellers/Authors and Living History Characters President Abe Lincoln and General William T. Sherman

Hosted jointly by two non-profit organizations, the Pennsylvania Association of Numismatists Foundation (501c3) and No Small Change Programs, are offering EIGHT CIVIL WAR MONEY Stories along with Displays & Exhibits. See complete show schedule at https://www.pancoins.org.

Read more here

CAC BECOMES A THIRD-PARTY GRADING COMPANY

Read more here

 

STEPHEN ALBUM RARE COINS AUCTION 44 RESULTS

Stephen Album Rare Coins held its Auction 44 on September 15-18, 2022, at its offices in Santa Rosa, California. The prices realized continue the trend of the firm's successful 2022 auctions, coming in at a strong $2.2 million (including buyer's fees) with a sell-through rate of 95.2%. Many items sold for well in excess of their estimates, including some world record results. The Joe Sedillot Collection of World Coins, Part III was instrumental in achieving these results.

A selection of highlights follows (prices include buyer's fees):

Read more here

CNG FEATURE AUCTION 121 RESULTS

A rare Greek gold stater from the Black Sea city of Pantikapion drew frenzied bidding and reached $134,750, nearly double the presale estimate, in Classical Numismatic Group LLC's Feature Auction 121, highlighting strong prices overall for ancient Greek, Roman, Byzantine, World and British coins.

The auction, held over three days October 6-8 at the firm's headquarters in Lancaster, PA, and webcast live via www.cngcoins.com, realized a total of $5.38 million in sales, a record for any Fall auction held by CNG over its 46-year history, said Mike Gasvoda, Managing Director. All prices quoted are inclusive of the 22.5% buyer's premium.

Our tally was about 60% over the presale estimate of $3.3 million, Gasvoda said, which shows a continuation of the strong market for rare and historic collectible coins, despite recent turmoil in the financial marks and currency exchanges.

Read more here

COLTRANE ESTATE COLONIAL AND EARLY U.S. COINS

On November 2, 2022, Heritage Auctions will offer Mike Coltrane's U.S. coin collection at an unreserved Signature Sale. Mike enjoyed a variety of numismatic pursuits including currency (to be sold in a Showcase auction on October 30), coins, and related financial documents. He was a student of history, always seeking to learn something new as his boyhood hobby progressed into an avocation. His interests encompassed Colonial issues, Federal coppers, and early half cents, as well as early, branch mint, and Territorial gold. Mike was a lifelong resident of Concord, North Carolina, and included Charlotte Mint gold bullion deposit records and other related documents in his collection; they are also being offered in this sale. Mike was committed to his hometown and was generous with both his time and money. Proceeds from this auction will be donated to charity, through the Foundation for the Carolinas, to assist individuals in need as well as for community betterment.

Some notable lots are listed below:

Read more here

COLTRANE ESTATE NORTH CAROLINA NATIONALS

A comprehensive and important offering of North Carolina National Banknotes, from early First Charters to 1929 Small Size, will be featured October 30, 2022, in an unreserved online Showcase auction by Heritage Auctions. These Nationals were collected by the late Mike Coltrane for decades and include several examples accumulated by his banker father. Many elite types, locations, serial number 1 notes, and varieties from this popularly collected genre are represented. They mirror the post-Civil War banking history from Mike's native state. He retained this collection and continued to augment it after auctioning his Federal type notes, War of 1812 examples, and other North Carolina currency in 2020 and 2021. Noteworthy from the collection are eight Original Series and eight 1875 notes—the earliest National types from the state—most of which are in superior condition. There are also plenty of rare and attractive 1882 Brown, Date, and Value Backs, as well as Red Seals, and Small Size rarities to appeal to a wide range of collectors. Some of those notes, from the Coltranes' hometown of Concord, North Carolina, are offered in this sale. Many pieces are new to the census and being auctioned for the first time. Proceeds from this currency Showcase sale and upcoming U.S. Coins Signature auction will be donated to charity, through the Foundation for the Carolinas, to assist individuals in need as well as for community betterment. We hope you will take the time to peruse this important offering exemplifying North Carolina's rich banking history.

Some highlights are listed below:

Read more here

 

SEDWICK TREASURE AUCTION 32 ANNOUNCED

Our Auction 32 is now Online and bidding is open to everybody, so please register now! For this Floor Auction we have secured the SpringHill Suites by Marriott Winter Park Hotel in Winter Park, FL for November 3-4, 2022 (with lot viewing and guest speakers on Wednesday, November 2). Please let us know now if you plan to attend, so that we can make a preliminary head count and expand the room-block reservation if necessary.

This catalog contains some great worldwide numismatic rarities - a perfect appeal to this robust and enthusiastic market.

With Session I, we have a variety of Gold Cobs - both from Spain as well as the New World. Spain sees the finest and only graded 1690 (M) Seville-minted gold cob 8 escudos in NGC MS 64 (lot 22). The New World selection holds some high grade and rarer 1715 Fleet gold including a discovery piece Bogotá 1712/1 gold cob 2 escudos graded NGC MS 66 (lot 60), a Mexico City gold cob 8 escudos 1713 J graded NGC MS 64 (lot 26), a Lima gold cob 8 escudos 1708 H graded NGC MS 63 pedigreed to the John Pullin Collection (lot 44) and two different varieties of Cuzco gold cob 2 escudos 1698 M both in NGC MS 63 holders (lots 41 and 42). Among non-shipwreck gold cobs, there is the top pop Lima gold cob 8 escudos 1729 N graded NGC MS 62 (lot 47) plus the substantially difficult Lima gold cob 8 escudos 1748 R graded by NGC as MS 63.

Read more here

NUMISMATIC NUGGETS: OCTOBER 16, 2022

Cometallic Pattern

Undated (1885) Cometallic Pattern. Plain Edge. Choice Very Fine.

23 mm. 7.64 grams. A very rare pattern, produced with the standards set Forth in Nicholas Veeder's 1885 publication Cometallism, Gold, Silver and Paper Money. Made from a fine silver base weighing 109.68 grains and enclosing a thin gold disc marked 6.856 grains. Using the metal values of 1885, the piece contains 29 1/2 cents worth of silver and 29 1/2 cents worth of gold, making a "coin" worth 59 cents at the time, roughly equivalent to Veeder's half dollar proposal. This lot is accompanied by an original copy of Eric Von Klinger's December 15, 2003 Coin World article, "Cometallic Piece a Mystery". The present coin is the subject of the article and is pictured therein.

Provenance: Ex Lester Merkin's sale of June 1971, lot 896; our (Bowers and Merena's) sale of the Harry Einstein Collection, June 1986, lot 1365; and our Baltimore Auction of November 2011, lot 9111; our Americana Sale of February 2015, lot 218. Select lot tags and a Coin World article are included.

To read the complete lot description, see:
Undated (1885) Cometallic Pattern. Plain Edge. Choice Very Fine. (https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-ZA8VH/undated-1885-cometallic-pattern-plain-edge-choice-very-fine)

Read more here

MONEY BEFORE COINAGE

Read more here

NEW FOREST CELTIC COIN HOARD DISPLAYED

A HOARD of Celtic coins found buried in the New Forest by three metal detectorists is now on display at Lymington's St Barbe Museum.

The unique, 2,000-year-old cache of 269 coins, which includes some never before been seen by historians, was secured by the museum following a fundraising appeal backed by TV historian Dan Snow.

Having been declared a treasure trove by the British Museum – meaning it was buried deliberately – the find effectively belonged to the people who found it in 2018, and the landowner.

Read more here

ROYAL MINT COMMEMORATES BBC CENTENARY

The world's leading public service broadcaster marks its centenary in 2022. As the Corporation continues to thrive and innovate, we have struck a coin to celebrate this special anniversary.

In 2022, the BBC marks 100 years of broadcasting to the British public and beyond. To celebrate this magnificent achievement, we have created a beautiful commemorative coin that honours a century of award-winning creativity and innovation.

Since its inception in 1922, the BBC has dedicated itself to originality and ingenuity whilst striving for the highest quality service. From the dawn of radio to the advent of the internet, the Corporation has adapted to technology's evolution and remained at the forefront of British programming for all. Values we share at The Royal Mint.

Read more here

 

JAHF 53RD ANNUAL MEDAL HONORS RUTH GRUBER

Mel Wacks, Director of the Jewish-American Hall of Fame, has announced that its 53rd annual inductee - photojournalist, author and public servant Ruth Gruber - whose portrait will appear on high relief medals designed by sculptor Eugene Daub. The medal's reverse, designed by Mel Wacks, features the issuer's name.

The Ruth Gruber 2-inch, 3-oz. medal in this popular series will be produced in very limited quantities of no more than 150 bronze (available for contribution of $50), 75 pure silver ($200) and 35 gold plated pure silver ($250) medals. Each art medal is serial numbered on the edge and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. Add $10 per order for shipping and insurance. Mention that you read about this in E-Sylum and take 10% discount. Medals can be ordered using a credit card by calling 818-225-1348 or with paypal using email directorjahf@yahoo.com.

Read more here

QUEEN ELIZABETH II PLATINUM JUBILEE NOTES

After months of preparation, new Platinum Jubilee '70' banknotes were ready for release on the morning of 1 October. This set of two limited series honours and commemorates the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne.  One Banknote, producers of the exclusive collectors' banknote brand Britannia Pound, now release the currency in respectful memory of Her Late Majesty.

Read more here

BOOK REVIEW: INDEX, A HISTORY OF THE

INDEX, A HISTORY OF THE
A Bookish Adventure From Medieval Manuscripts to the Digital Age
By Dennis Duncan

Over the last quarter-century, the book as physical organism has been increasingly anatomized, and there has been no better medium for displaying anatomists' findings than the book itself. As they illuminate long-overlooked corners of bibliography, volumes like Anthony Grafton's The Footnote and H. J. Jackson's Marginalia have charted the contrapuntal dance among writer, publisher, reader and material object.

Consider, for example, the 2019 anthology Book Parts, edited by Dennis Duncan and Adam Smyth. Its table of contents includes, satisfyingly, Tables of Contents, along with Dust Jackets, Frontispieces and Indexes — a chapter by Duncan himself. Now, Duncan, a lecturer in English at University College London, has expanded that chapter into the erudite, eminently readable and wittily titled Index, A History of the. Fittingly, the book comes equipped with not one but two official indexes — one stellar, the other unabashedly less so — as well as a third and perhaps even a fourth. (More on Indexes: Duncan's multiplicity of, below.)

Read more here

LOOSE CHANGE: OCTOBER 16, 2022

On Full Steps Jefferson Nickels

Full-step designations focus on the reverse of Jefferson nickels (1938-present), with the two major holdering companies having slightly different criteria, which most lots on Proxibid, HiBid, and eBay muddle, hyping inferior coins.

Full-step designations bring higher prices, in some cases, dramatically higher ones. Consider the common 1961-D nickel. It has a mintage of 229,342,760. In gem condition without full steps, its PCGS retail value is $28. With full steps, the price rises to $20,000.

Yes, that's a dramatic case. But in general, any FS designation will increase business strike values substantially in any Jefferson nickel year.

To read the complete article, see:
The myth of full steps in online auctions (https://news.coinupdate.com/the-myth-of-full-steps-in-online-auctions/)

Read more here

INMATE STOLE $11 MILLION IN GOLD COINS

Contraband cellphones are invaluable to inmates, but in the hands of Arthur Lee Cofield, who is serving a 14-year sentence for armed robbery at a Georgia state prison, a mobile phone turned out to be worth $11 million, federal prosecutors said.

From the prison in Butts County, about 45 miles south of Atlanta, Mr. Cofield called the Charles Schwab Corporation in June 2020 and impersonated a billionaire named S.K., who was later identified as Sidney Kimmel, according to a federal indictment.

Mr. Cofield spoke with a company representative about opening a checking account. After Mr. Cofield was told he needed a form of identification and a utility bill, a co-conspirator texted him a picture of Mr. Kimmel's driver's license and a utility bill, prosecutors said.

Read more here