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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: Jeff Dickerson, Treasurer Numismatic Bibliomania Society P. O. Box 578, Weatherford, TX 76086 Asylum For Asylum mailing address changes and other membership questions, contact Jeff 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 Watch here for updates!

 

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 APRIL 27, 2025

New subscribers this week include: Stuart Williams, who found us on Flickr (here's his Flickr account). Welcome aboard! We now have 7,252 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 the Fred Weinberg numismatic ephemera collection, three new books, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, museum exhibits and more.

Other topics this week include Mint Director David Rittenhouse, "Supernote" counterfeits, Castorland jetons, military currency, error coins, the coins of Islam, the power of cash, Ray Williamson, John Gaines, Renaissance medals, and banknote designer Walter Shirlaw.

To learn more about San Francisco Mint lantern slides, the Rumford Prize medal, the 1795 Mint Report, Bank Note Printer Test, Promotional, and Advertising Sheets, Harry James, Alan Cox, the "Crowned F" counterstamp, Ram Tolani's money museum, John Ford and Walter Breen seeing the S.S. Central America gold ingots for the first time, the 1792 Copper Disme, and Brian May's coin guitar picks, read on. Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum

 

HOLABIRD OFFER WEINBERG NUMISMATIC EPHEMERA

Lot 3284: Last Will & Testament of David Rittenhouse, First Director of the United States Mint
David Rittenhouse (1732-1796) was an astronomer, inventor, clockmaker, mathematician, surveyor, treasurer of the State of Pennsylvania and the first director of the United States Mint.

In 1768, Rittenhouse was elected to membership in the American Philosophical Society. He served as librarian, secretary, and after Benjamin Franklin's death in 1790, he served as president of the society until 1796. He was one of the few Americans who belonged to the Royal Society of London.

In 1786, Rittenhouse built a new Georgian-style house on the corner of 4th and Arch streets in Philadelphia, next to an octagonal observatory he had already built. At this house, he maintained a Wednesday evening salon meeting with Benjamin Franklin, Francis Hopkinson, Pierre Eugene du Simitiere and others. Thomas Jefferson wrote that he would rather attend one of these meetings "than spend a whole week in Paris."

Rittenhouse was treasurer of Pennsylvania from 1777 to 1789, and with these skills and the help of George Washington, he became the first director of the United States Mint. On April 2, 1792, the United States Mint opened its doors, but would not produce coins for almost four months. The first coins were made from flatware that was provided by George Washington on the morning of July 30, 1792. The coins were hand-struck by Rittenhouse, to test the new equipment, and were given to Washington as a token of appreciation for his contributions to making the United States Mint a reality.

Signed by David Rittenhouse, witnessed by Benjamin Smith Barton and T. Thomson.

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PHILADELPHIA MINT MEDAL DEPARTMENT, 1856-1868

This is an important documentary discovery from the Fred Weinberg Collection. It was a 6 x 7"notebook of about 50pp (100) of which 17pp were used (34pp of front and back), with numerous little paper notes on scrap, including notes on a gold bullion Mint receipt. The covers are no longer present.

This book was misidentified in a 2008 article in the Rare Coin Market Report. It is unmistakably a record of the Philadelphia Mint's Medal Department.

The book contains notes of expenses and orders from the Medal Department from 1856-1868, thus one must assume it is in the hand of the same clerk employed throughout. Our clerk here divided up the book into various sections annually: "Simple orders"; Requisitions Sanctioned", "Bills approved and signed by the authority of the Director".

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NEW BOOK: PROMOTIONAL SHEET & TEST NOTES 2025

The Catalog of Printers Promotional Sheets & Test Notes - 19th Edition

The Reference for Bank Note Printer Test, Promotional, and Advertising Sheets & Notes

Covers all test, advertising, promotional, color samples house notes, titled vignette sheets, stock samples, greeting cards, and calendars for firms involved in the production of bank notes.

 

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NEW BOOK: SUPERNOTE

"Supernote" is a counterfeit $100 bill so undetectable, it threatens to destroy the entire global economy. One United States Secret Service special agent crossed international borders from the Iguazu jungle in Argentina and Paraguay, to casinos in Moscow, safe houses in Beirut and the back allies of Phnom Penh to unravel the distribution routes of the DPRK, Hezbollah, PLO, PFLP and IRA all supporting their lethal operations with Supernote funds. Special agent Ross Garrett's investigation culminates in arresting one of the world's most wanted fugitives and dismantles the infamous Supernote criminal enterprise, unbeknownst to a world oblivious to just how close it otherwise came to global financial chaos.

SBN-13: 9781665764353
Publisher: Archway Publishing
Publication date: 01/27/2025
Pages: 386
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 1.25(h) x 9.00(d)

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NEW BOOK: THE POWER OF CASH

It seems quixotic that we should resist the pull of electronic payments and digital banking and get back to using cash. Why would we give up the ease of swiping our cards or tapping our phones in favor of clammy banknotes and fiddly coins? In "The Power of Cash," Jay Zagorsky, who teaches at Boston University's business school, asks us to fight the lure of a cashless economy and stand up for the green.

Mr. Zagorsky's conversion to cash came when he served as an unpaid adviser for a Boston Federal Reserve survey of how people paid for things. He helped design and implement the survey from 2010 to 2018, a period when many Americans were shifting from paying in cash to using electronic payments for even their most mundane daily purchases.

In 2015, he reports, 17.1% of Americans said they did not carry cash. By 2022 that number had more than doubled to 34.6%. Among 18-to-34-year-olds the number not carrying cash went from one in four to almost one in two. The author notes a similar shift in the use of ATMs. Visits to bank machines peaked in 2009 with about six billion withdrawals. By 2021 the number of ATM withdrawals had fallen to less than four billion.

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HARRY N. JAMES (1946-2025)

Scott Douglas, President of the Canadian Association of Token Collectors (CATC) writes:

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HOW TO IDENTIFY CASTORLAND JETONS

Chester Sullivan Publishes on the Castorland Jetons

The Guide Book overview of the Castorland jetons notes "These medals, or ‘jetons,' are dated 1796 and allude to a proposed French settlement known as Castorland in Carthage, New York, at the time of the French Revolution. They were given to directors of the colonizing company for their attendance at board meetings. Copy dies are still available and have been used at the Paris Mint for restriking throughout the years. Restrikes have a more modern look; their metallic content (in French) is impressed on the edge: ARGENT (silver), CIUVRE (copper), or OR (gold)."

Chester Sullivan has recently published a paper that details seven types of the Castorland pieces and includes a census of significant examples. Most significantly, the work separates initial strikes (100 pieces in bronzed copper, 673 examples in silver, three types) from medals struck later (four types, though still with the original dies).

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VIDEO: EVOLUTION OF MILITARY CURRENCY

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NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: APRIL 27, 2025

New Reader's Comments
Brian Reed writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
RUSTY GOE SPEAKS ON THE CARSON CITY MINT (https://coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n15a09.html)

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CONECA TO OFFER ERROR & VARIETY EXAMINATION

CONECA, the international error coin and variety club, will be offering free examination of error and variety coins to collectors at educational tables at coin shows across the United States throughout this year.

The club, whose name stands for "Combined Organizations of Numismatic Error Collectors of America," is the largest coin specialty club in the United States and has actively been educating collectors about mint error and variety coins for the last five decades.

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NICKLE GALLERIES COINS OF ISLAM EXHIBIT

COINS OF ISLAM
January 6-April 26, 2025

Coins of Islam explores the rich and diverse history of Islamic coinage, tracing its evolution from the 7th century to the height of the Fatimid Dynasty and beyond. Islamic coins served as more than currency; they were symbols of power, faith and propaganda, and canvases for exquisite artistic expression. From the earliest coins inscribed with Arabic script and influenced by Byzantine and Sasanian designs, to the intricate calligraphy and bold patterns of later dynasties, these artifacts reveal a dynamic interplay of faith, culture, and authority.

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RAM TOLANI'S DUBAI MONEY MUSEUM

To say I was surprised would be putting it mildly. I've visited a fair number of coin and currency exhibits and museums, but I completely flipped over this one in Dubai.

How often do you come across a coin that celebrates one of the most iconic tales from Arabian Nights, of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves? Struck in pure silver, it features the legendary scene where Ali Baba overhears the thieves visiting the secret cave where their treasure is hidden. It's legal tender in Niue, a small island nation in the South Pacific, and one of just 3,000 ever minted.

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VOCABULARY TERM: REPUNCHED, REPUNCHING

Repunched, Repunching. The use of the same, or a new punch, during the original diesinking, or the use of any punch a second or subsequent time. During the making of a die by hand diesinking, each letter is formed by separate letter punches (or with logotypes of several letters on the same punch) by the tapping of the punch with a chasing hammer into the face of the die. When the punch has not been driven deep enough, the diesinker may reposition the punch (hopefully in the same letter depression) for another blow or two. In a sense the repunching of a letter (or number) makes it deeper within the die, thus taller in the struck piece from that die. Infrequently, if the diesinker has not positioned the punch exactly in the same location, the previous letter is faintly visible, slightly offset from the repunched letter form on the struck piece.

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RAYMOND HOWARD WILLIAMSON (1907-1997)

Raymond H. Williamson was mentioned in two previous articles about M. W. Hanchett and Charles W. Foster. Can any E-Sylum reader predict who will be my topic next week?

Ray Williamson was born in Eagle Grove, Iowa, on April 5, 1907. His parents were Solon Howard Williamson (1864-1957) and Ruth Agnes Cooler (1875-1960). His father was in the real estate and insurance business.

Ray began collecting coins at age 10. His Eagle Grove mentor was Claude C. Birdsell. Ray was also interested in amateur radio and had a licensed amateur station from 1921 to 1926 and licensed commercial station 1926-28.

Ray married Hazell Letts (1907-1999) in Scotia, New York, on May 3, 1930. They were married for 67 years.

He graduated from High School in Eagle Grove in 1924. Ray received a B. S. in electrical engineering from Iowa State University in 1928. He got his Masters Degree in electrical engineering in 1935 from Union College in Schenectady, New York.

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TREASURE TALK WITH BOB EVANS, EPISODE 3.2

As I have discussed before, apart from a brief and not-too-serious involvement with hobby coin collecting in boyhood, I knew very little about numismatics other than what I had gleaned from guides and references in the Columbus Public Library. This was my state of my numismatic knowledge just prior to seeing the Garden of Gold and becoming its Curator. After another year of library books, I was eager to share what I had found with any knowledgeable numismatist. Finally, it was time.

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MORTON AND EDEN RENAISSANCE MEDALS, PART III

Tom Eden of Morton & Eden writes:

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HERITAGE AUCTIONS: WORLD AND ANCIENT COIN SIGNATURE SESSION

German States: Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Karl I "Mining" Taler 1752-IBH MS61 PCGS These Brunswick Mining Talers have seen increased popularity in recent years and for good reason. Departing from more regulated Taler designs, these reverse designs have an undeniably whimsical presentation, appearing like a scene from an illuminated manuscript. The example here is "illuminated" to some degree, with polychromatic tone peppering the fields, an attribute not all that common for the type.

To read the complete item description, see:
German States: Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Karl I "Mining" Taler 1752-IBH MS61 PCGS (https://coins.ha.com/itm/german-states/brunswick-wolfenbuttel/german-states-brunswick-wolfenbuttel-karl-i-mining-taler-1752-ibh-ms61-pcgs-/a/3123-31205.s)

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HERITAGE: THE BRUCE SHERMAN COLLECTION, PART II

More than 100 lots from a collection billed as "one of the most remarkable achievements in numismatics" will be among the top attractions in Heritage's May 4 CSNS US Coins Signature® Auction April 30-May 4.

The Bruce S. Sherman Collection, Part II includes 109 lots in the second installment of the collection of Bruce Sherman, Chairman and principal owner of Major League Baseball's Miami Marlins. Part I of his collection was offered in Heritage's FUN US Coins Signature® Auction in January.

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LYN KNIGHT APRIL WORLD CURRENCY HIGHLIGHTS

Republica del Paraguay. 103a 200 Pesos L. 1899. Fine. Extremely difficult high denomination. Mountain and farm. Soiling.

To read the complete item description, see:
Republica del Paraguay. 103a 200 Pesos L. 1899. Fine. (https://www.lynknight.com/items/1214505)

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SEDWICK AUCTION 37 HIGHLIGHTS

While we always stress that numismatics is a hobby, there is no denying it can be financially profitable as well. Why? Obviously, soaring precious metal prices help, but there is more to the story. The answer is that rare old coins, paper money, ingots, and artifacts are limited commodities. They were made in a certain quantity and survived at a certain rate, but that's it: No more will be made. So then it becomes a matter of demand, and when demand is high, there is no limit as to what something rare can be worth.

Our auctions are packed with unique or near-unique items whose current value depends on you, the bidders. Our consignors depend on us to present these coins and artifacts in their best light, but only the bidders can decide the prices. At a time when the world is very concerned about financial matters, this is the time for collectors to put idle money into rare assets.

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EARLY ILLUSTRATION OF A CELTIC MINT

Bob Van Arsdell writes:

This image deserves more attention than it's received. It shows an ancient British mint in operation – and it's in colour no less. It's been around since 1815.

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PAPER MONEY AS A WEAPON OF WAR

Ships of Britain's massive Royal Navy, the largest in the world, inflicted great damage on American ports, property, and vessels during the years of the Revolution (1775–1783). Perhaps none of those ships wreaked more havoc than HMS Phoenix, and it accomplished its devious work not with a cannon but with a printing press.

The bodies from the battle on Boston's Bunker Hill were buried just days earlier when the Second Continental Congress authorized the printing of paper money. What began with a modest batch of six million in continental dollars turned into a blizzard of several hundred million by the war's end, yielding a steady depreciation and giving rise to the famous phrase "not worth a continental." With nothing to back the money but murky promises to redeem it in precious metal at a future date, Congress didn't need any help to make it worthless, but the British were happy to assist, nonetheless.

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THE ARTIST BEHIND THE EDUCATIONAL SERIES

Walter Shirlaw, among numismatists, is best known for designing the iconic vignette, Electricity Presenting Light to the World, on the face of the 1896 $5 Educational Series note, which is often regarded as the most beautiful in U.S. currency. He is also familiar as the designer of the allegorical vignette, Progress, on the back of the 1901 $10 Bison Legal Tender note. But Shirlaw was much more than a banknote designer and engraver. He was a prominent 19th century American artist and made significant contributions to both American art and numismatic design.

Shirlaw's journey into the world of currency design began as a banknote engraver for the American Bank Note Company in New York, and later the Western Bank Note Company in Chicago – a career he pursued to help finance his artistic education. By 1861, he had established himself as one of the nation's leading engravers.

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LOOSE CHANGE: APRIL 27, 2025

Fewer Children Are Swallowing Coins

Society's move to cashless payments may have had an unintended positive side effect, surgeons say - fewer children needing operations or procedures to remove swallowed coins.

The Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) experts looked back over hospital records in England since the Millennium.

Procedures to remove foreign objects, including coins, from children's throats, airways and noses saw a "significant decline", of almost 700 cases by 2022.

Historically, coins had accounted for over 75% of objects swallowed by under-sixes, they told a medical journal.

According to the UK Payments Markets Survey, cards began outstripping cash in 2012.

And that is when the researchers say a decade-spanning drop in patient cases began.

To read the complete article, see:
Big drop in child surgery for swallowed objects (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr52g1pjznno)

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BRIAN MAY'S COIN GUITAR PICKS

Since Queen's debut album was released in 1973, plenty has been said about Brian May's guitar tone, and rightly so. Yet, while most look to his handcrafted Red Special guitar, alongside a Vox AC30 combo and a treble booster as the secrets to his tone, a Queen expert has pointed out a lesser-known but equally significant element: sixpence guitar picks.

Guesting on the Booked on Rock Podcast to promote his new book, Queen & A Night at the Opera: 50 Years, author Gillian G. Gaar has spoken about the big impact the unusual guitar picks have on his overall sound.

"He didn't like a pick," Gaar explains. "And Brian, being ever so meticulous about this stuff, was saying that the older six-penny pieces, which would probably be a type of pence coin these days, had more nickel in them.

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ABOUT THIS ISSUE: APRIL 27, 2025

For a New York Times review article, see:
The Symbolism in ‘Sinners' (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/26/movies/sinners-symbolism.html)

 

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