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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 September 23 Kolbe & Fanning November 11, 2023, Workman's Books

 

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 AUGUST 13, 2023

New subscribers this week include: Carlos Andrade Pernas of Portugal. Welcome aboard! We now have 8,026 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.

Due to my ANA show travel this week and the lengthy post-ANA reports, we have a number of submissions and articles still waiting in the backlog. We hope to get caught up again in the next week or two. Thank you for your patience.

This week we open with results of the NBS charity auction, three new books, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, and more.

Other topics this week include private and pioneer gold coinage, the Mexican silver coin riots, the NSC USA numismatic library, the 2023 Pittsburgh ANA, Eric Newman. Ron Gillio, the Edward VIII halfcrown, and the 1874 Indian Treaty medal.

To learn more about Utah Dairy Tokens, the Luís Pinto Garcia library, the "Living Fossil", A View of the Coinage of Ireland, Noncirculating Legal Tender, the Tyrant Collection, numismatic artist Robert Julian, and a group of 1906 Morgan dollars, read on. Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum

 

 

NBS CHARITY AUCTION RAISES RECORD AMOUNT

NBS Charity Auction Raises Record Amount

The NBS charity auction, held at the ANA convention in Pittsburgh on Friday, August 11, raised a record $13,460 to support the club. Kicking off the sale was a copy of The Numismatist, volume 5, donated by Dan Hamelberg, which realized $350. Carl Würtzbach's annotated and plated copy of Henry Chapman's Bement sale (1916), donated by David Steine, realized $3,000, while a bound volume of eight Henry Chapman sales, also donated by David Steine, realized $1,700.

In all, a total of 15 successful bidders won at least one lot each. NBS expresses gratitude to David Fanning for cataloging the lots, transporting the literature to the convention, and for calling the sale. A huge thanks to all those who donated material and participated with generous bids!

Image: cover of The Numismatist, vol. 5, no. 1, July 1892.

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NEW BOOK: AMERICA'S GOLDEN AGE

America's Golden Age: Private & Pioneer Gold Coins of the United States 1786-1862
By Donald H. Kagin, Ph. D. and David J. McCarthy

An entirely new presentation and treatment of all privately struck gold coinage types and varieties issued during the most romantic period in our nation's history.

This large format, 240 page hard-bound coffee table book is replete with large color images, insightful new analysis, updated rarities, and striking analytics.

Private or Pioneer gold coins are for the first time dealt with from a chronological perspective beginning with the Brasher Doubloon issues. They are followed by the Templeton Reid and Christopher Sr., August and Christopher Bechtler Jr. mints of Southern Appalachia.

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NEW BOOK: THE 1909 LINCOLN WHEAT CENT

The Rabbit Hole of the 1909 Lincoln Wheat Cent
by Shawn Tew (Author), Blaine Neupert (Author), Jay Painter (Author), Pete Apple (Editor)

For over a century the transition of the 1909 United States minor coinage has been studied and written about. Most all written publications base their writing on the documents stored at one of the National Archive locations. Theories and speculations have come and gone, some proven, some not, but in the end, they are all about the same information. The ideas contained in this publication started as theories but then were explored with science and facts. A few individuals helped with this exploration that led to the information presented in these pages. Many publications provide a summary of the story that unfolded in 1909 between the mint, the sculptors, and the public opinion. The intent of this book is to explore the anomalies that are not normally, if ever, explored.

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NEW BOOK: UTAH DAIRY TOKENS

Book: The Illustrated Guide to Utah Dairy Tokens (Udderly Utah)
Author: Robert J, Dalley
Publisher: ? Robert J. Dalley Publications;
First Edition (June 21, 2016)
Paperback: ? 44 pages
Item Weight: ? 5.9 ounces
Dimensions: ? 8.5 x 0.11 x 11 inches

The Illustrated Guide to Utah Dairy Tokens is the result of more than 25 years of extensive research, collecting, scanning, contacting Utah dairy collectors and interviewing families who once owned or worked in the dairy industry in Utah. There have been other publications listing Utah tokens but this is the first publication that has been dedicated to strictly Utah dairy tokens. It is in full color and features all known Utah dairy tokens, information on each one and scans for most of them. Author Robert J. Dalley, who is currently the curator of the West Jordan (Utah) Historical Museum, has worked hard to preserve the history of Utah dairies.

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ARTICLE: PUERTO RICO MEXICAN SILVER COIN RIOTS

CURRENCY REFORM PROJECTS IN PUERTO RICO AND THE RIOTS CAUSED FOR THE MEXICAN SILVER COIN REVALUATION (1888-1894)

Daniel Frank Sedwick, LLC Treasure Auction 17 - Auction date: 29-30 April 2015 - Lot: 1398 Puerto Rico (under Spain), 1/4 dollar, fleur-de-lis countermark (1884) on a Guanajuato, Mexico, cap-and-rays 2R, 1842PM, very rare combination. KM-unl. 6.03 grams. Full and bold countermark, rather worn host (Good) yet with clear date and other peripheral detail on that side, holed at edge.

The Overseas Minister, under the Law of June 29, 1888, article 6, According to the Treasury and before the serious monetary crisis in Puerto Rico, decided that it would proceed to supply currency of all kinds to the markets in Puerto Rico, in the amount deemed necessary for commercial transactions. It would apply to the expenses that said service required or could be of the coinage in the Casa de Moneda de Madrid on behalf of the Treasury of the island, thus being understood, of course, granted the indispensable credit, if these were not enough, or would opt for remittances of the currency that circulated in that time in Spain.

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THE LUíS PINTO GARCIA LIBRARY PROJECT

New subscriber Carlos Pernas of Portugal writes:

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VIDEO: NAC USA NUMISMATIC LIBRARY TOUR

Newman Portal Adds Video Tour of the Numismatic Library at the Offices of NAC USA

Opened this year in Chicago, the offices of NAC USA host an important and rapidly growing library maintained by Shanna Schmidt and NAC employee Tyler Rossi. Overlooking Michigan Avenue, Millenium Park and Lake Michigan in Chicago, the views may well be the most dramatic of any such library in the country. Newman Portal has recently produced a video of the library, which debuted at the Numismatic Bibliomania Society meeting held at the ANA convention in Pittsburgh.

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VIDEO: ERIC P. NEWMAN AT CSNS

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NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: AUGUST 13, 2023

Coins Lost in Maui Fire
Gerry Tebben writes:

To read the complete article, see:
Hawaii Wildfires At Least 80 Dead in Maui Inferno as Survivors Survey Damage (https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/08/12/us/maui-wildfires-hawaii-news#lahaina-residents-search-for-treasured-belongings-amid-the-ashes)

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DISTINGUISHED COLLECTORS OF IRISH COINS

On Valentine's Day 1839, John Lindsay a barrister from Cork published, A View of the Coinage of Ireland, etc., etc., which is still an important book on the history of Irish Coinage. In the remainder of his very long title he explains that this covers the period from the invasion of the Danes to the reign of George IV and includes some accounts of the ring money; also, copious tables, lists, and descriptions of Hiberno-Danish and Irish coins; and an account of some of the principal hoards or parcels of coins, discovered in Ireland. Illustrated with engravings of upwards of one hundred and fifty unpublished coins.

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2023 PITTSBURGH ANA PRESS COVERAGE

Mr. Sourel, from Indiana, was among hundreds of coin collectors and vendors to travel to Pittsburgh Tuesday for the World's Fair of Money, hosted by the American Numismatic Association. It runs through Saturday at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

More than 1,200 dealers will be buying and selling rare coins, vintage paper money, medals and tokens in all price ranges as well as gold and silver, said Kim Kiick, executive director of the association. Many of the experts will provide free, informal evaluations of the public's old money.

Mr. Sourel has been going to coin conventions for over 60 years.

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VOCABULARY TERM: NONCIRCULATING LEGAL TENDER

Noncirculating Legal Tender. A coin bearing all characteristics of a circulating coin, but intended to be sold to collectors and the public instead. Usually such a coin is sold at a premium over the face value and frequently in sets of two or more. The design is often commemorative and in a composition not usual for circulating coin. Such coins in precious metals are popular. The quantity struck is often small but the size is sometimes larger than typical circulating coin. Bullion coins bearing a denomination fall in this class of mint-struck objects. Caribbean island countries and third world countries were first to issue these coins, now many countries do. The term is abbreviated NCLT.

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MIKE DIAMOND INTERVIEW, PART FOUR

Greg Bennick: I was going to ask you about how the switch to the new coin presses in the early 2000s affected the output of errors. We all heard in the early 2000s that there were going to be no more major errors. That was going to be it. I think that I went into panic mode thinking, What's going to happen to the hobby? Did you find that that was true? What could you say about that period of time and the time since in terms of the errors that have been produced, and which errors have become scarcer?

Mike Diamond: Well, the range of errors definitely contracted. You're not going to get any foldover strikes anymore. You do get some dramatic multistrikes. The range of errors is reduced because the Schuler press is more reliable and because the mint tightened up on allowing these things to escape. They cracked down on the coin wrapping facilities and they told them, You better not let any errors that have escaped get out. They wanted them returned. A lot of errors that are produced, don't really escape. It's been reduced quite a bit from the halcyon days of 1988, 1999, and 2000. It's unfortunate, but certainly there are plenty of errors to satisfy the collector, including a lot of older ones. But, for instance, we have design creep and that's an error that's never been seen before or since, where the die face expands and kind of mushrooms out. I don't think that has anything to do with the Schuler press per se. It just happened to be a one-time flaw in the metal.

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PNG HONORS RON GILLIO

The Professional Numismatists Guild (www.PNGdealers.org) has presented a 50-year membership plaque award to dealer Ronald J. Gillio of Santa Barbara, California. Gillio served as the organization's President from 1991 to 1993, and earlier served as its Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary.

The plaque was jointly presented by new PNG Executive Director John Feigenbaum and long-time PNG member-dealer Kevin Lipton of Beverly Hills, California at the American Numismatic Association Pittsburgh World's Fair of Money® on August 8, 2023.

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DAVISSON'S ANNOUNCES E-AUCTION 47

Ending is a key aspect of this summer's end catalog. Over the past few auctions we have offered two major collections, a handful of smaller consignments, and have been dispersing a large collection of United States coins. Now we are at the end point for our work with much of this and we have come to the final pieces from the groups. For most collectors, acquisition is driven by the pieces themselves—denominations, dates, types, condition. Cost is a factor but it is an instrument of means, not an intrinsic aspect of the actual material in the collection.

Some of the individual pieces from these collections are offered in the first 294 lots in this sale. But the back of this catalog—the end of the sale— offers nineteen large lots. The lots contain very collectible and often important pieces that are of collecting interest, historic significance but modest value. Because of our policy of issuing a print catalog for every sale, every lot we offer carries the related cost of print publication. The cost of offering less valuable pieces as single lots outweighs the extra return the individual pieces might bring.

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WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: 2023 ANA, PART ONE

TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2023

My first day was relaxed and enjoyable without much time on the bourse floor. The morning drive to Pittsburgh was uneventful but interesting, thanks to a GPS detour that routed me through farm country in Maryland and Pennsylvania on the way to catch the turnpike in Somerset, PA. Traveling thru small-town America past hill-hugging old houses, railroad tracks, and sagging old barns, the only things I passed on the two-lane roads were a farmer on a slow-moving tractor and a buzzard having a meal in the middle of the road. The only notable event (to me anyway) was the realization that I'd just passed the last available rest stop for 20 miles and had to improvise at a big tree in the woods.

I met an old friend and had a good baked Italian hoagie for lunch in another small town across the river from Pittsburgh - Aspinwall, PA - where the parking meters still take dimes (but NO NICKELS allowed). Afterward I made my way downtown and checked into my hotel, the Hampton Inn across from the Pittsburgh History Center a couple blocks from the convention center.

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WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: 2023 ANA, PART TWO

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2023

Wednesday morning I woke up at 4am and after tossing and turning for a bit briefly considered getting up and working for a while. It was not to be - I finally slept and didn't get up until nearly 9am. After breakfast and a shower I worked on The E-Sylum for a bit before heading over to the show.

Ursula Kaupmann of CoinsWeekly in Germany was the first person I spoke to on Wednesday. It was great to see her, but I was sorry to hear her colleague had difficulty flying in from Switzerland and wouldn't be able to make the show. He was bringing most of the material for their booth, which stood empty. Ursula was awaiting a shipment of booklets which did arrive and later decorated their table.

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WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: 2023 ANA, PART THREE

THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2023
Thursday was packed with meetings and I took far fewer photos. The NBS Board meeting began at 11:30, and it was great to see everyone. Outgoing treasurer Chuck Heck gave a report on our finances, and we're in good shape assuming our charity auctions and website partnerships continue to augment dues income.

The NBS Symposium was next with speaker Harry Salyards discussing his new book, Eagle Poised On A Bank Of Clouds : The United States Silver Dollars Of 1795-1798. Here are some photos of the audience and speaker.

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WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: 2023 ANA, PART FOUR

FRIDAY, AUGUST 11, 2023
I had fewer meetings to attend on Friday but was still quite busy. In the morning I met Dana Linett of Early American History Auctions who recently announced his firm's relocation from San Diego, CA to Winchester, VA, a town about 45 miles from me here in the Washington D.C. suburbs. As it happens my good friend Eric Schena lives in Winchester and I introduced the two of them before heading off to the NBS General Meeting.

We had a nice crowd for the charity auction at our NBS General Meeting Friday. David Fanning called the sale while Len Augsburger recorded bids. Dan Hamelberg showed the lots while ANA Librarian Akio Lis and I shuttled books from the display tables in the back of the room to chairs in front where Dan could reach them.

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WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: PITTSBURGH WALKING TOUR

At about 2pm Wednesday a few hardy souls met at the NBS table to muster for my homegrown downtown Pittsburgh walking tour. Garrett Ziss, Kellen Hoard, Jeff Dickerson and I headed out on a sunny afternoon. This was an informal event, not advertised on the convention schedule. I'd led a similar tour back in 2004 and was curious to retrace my steps and revisit local landmarks.

This was not a purely numismatic tour - it was mostly interesting sites with a smattering of numismatic connections. Many thanks for Garrett Ziss for the photos.

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NOONAN'S OFFERS EDWARD VIII HALFCROWN

An extremely rare Edward VIII halfcrown that was never issued and is one of only six known to exist and the only one ever to be sold at auction will be offered at Noonans in an auction of British Coins, Tokens and Historical Medals on Tuesday & Wednesday, September 19-20, 2023. It is being sold by a private collector and expected to fetch £150,000-200,000.

As Tim Wilkes, Head of the Coin Department at Noonans explained: Edward VIII abdicated in 1936 before any coins in his name were released into circulation in Britain. Patterns of each denomination had been prepared (all dated 1937) but at the time of the abdication they had not yet received royal approval. After the abdication the few coins which had been struck were locked away, and work began on the coinage of the new king, George VI. It is not known how the coins in private hands came to be in the public domain so opportunities to acquire any of these coins are very rare and we expect this coin to be keenly contested.

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BAG OF 1963 FRANKLIN HALVES DISCOVERED

A canvas bag containing 2,000 silver half-dollars struck in 1963 at the Denver Mint and sewn shut there 60 years ago will bring a pretty penny for an elderly northeast Oklahoma woman who received the coins as a gift from her father a half-century ago.

This original, mint-sealed bag contains $1,000 face value of fifty-cent denomination coins, but each 1963 half-dollar depicting Benjamin Franklin contains about $9 worth of silver. Also, mint condition 1963 Denver Mint half-dollars usually sell today for about $50 each, so I would not be surprised if this bag sold for $100,000 or more, stated Rick Tomaska, co-founder of Rare Collectibles TV (www.RareCollectiblesTV.com) of Los Angeles, California.

The firm will offer the bag of half-dollars at auction on national television on July 27, 2023 with bidding starting at $69,000.

The owner of the coins, an elderly woman who wants to remain anonymous, received the bag in the 1970s as a gift from her father, a Denver dentist, who purchased bags of silver half-dollars for each of his four children. The woman's siblings eventually sold their coins over the years, but she kept hers for five decades, explained Tomaska.

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DANAT BANK INTEREST RATE CALCULATOR

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CANADIAN 1874 INDIAN TREATY MEDAL REPATRIATED

The much rarer 1874 Indian Treaty Medal No. 4, sold at the recent Royal Canadian Numismatic Association convention auction, is returning home to the Pasqua First Nation in Saskatchewan.

Having possession of the Treaty 4 medal is important for the Nation, the successful bidder writes in a news release from The Canadian Numismatic Company (TCNC), who presented the three-day auction in Halifax in July. It is symbolic of the sacred Treaty relationship and is a part of our heritage. It will be available for all to see and will help us teach our youth about the historical event.

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HIKERS RISK LIVES OVER FAKE $100S

An Oregon sheriff is warning of fake $100 bills that were thrown over Multnomah Falls and led some curious hikers to risk their lives by going to dangerous areas off-trail for the phony money.

The fake $100 bills were found Friday about 30 feet over the edge of the falls after deputies received reports of hikers attempting to retrieve what they thought was real cash, the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office said.

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