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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 5/15/2025 - Lang 5/31/2025 - Kolbe & Fanning

 

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 MAY 4, 2025

New subscribers this week include: Jacob Hammers. Welcome aboard! We now have 7,248 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.

Happy Star Wars Day - May the Fourth be with you. This week we open with a numismatic literature auction, two new books, updates from ANS and the Newman Numismatic Portal, and more.

Other topics this week include William Wyon, Arthur Sargent, the Alaska-Yukon Exposition, the 1733 Rosa Americana Twopence, residual toning, the 2025 PNG award winners, auction previews, Queen Anne medals, the 6888 Postal Battalion Congressional Gold medal, Euro note crackdowns, chopmarked banknotes, more gold, and a whole truckload of dimes.

To learn more about the Collection of Greek Coins Formed by Sir Hermann Weber, the art of medal-making, the stolen duPont 1838-O Half Dollar, Nicholson's Half Dime tokens, Legacy, the suit against an "Unidentified, Wrecked and Abandoned Sailing Vessel", Jim Halperin, Greg Roberts,the 2025 gold market, and Walter Breen's encounter with Jackie Kennedy, read on. Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum

 

LANG NUMISMATIC LITERATURE AUCTION 6

Our 6th auction will take place on 15th of May, 2025 at 5 p.m. (CEST).

You can look forward to a varied selection of numismatic literature. Particularly noteworthy is a part of the library of a passionate book lover, which is characterized by magnificent bindings and rare books and catalogs that are almost impossible to find in the original. We are delighted to be able to offer this valuable collection in our auction.

In addition, an extensive collection of antique numismatics will be auctioned, comprising both rare works and standard literature. As usual, numerous bibliophile works, periodicals and auction catalogs can be found in the various sections. The auction catalogs range from entire series to special collections - a paradise for collectors and enthusiasts.

The auction comprises a total of 991 lots waiting for a new owner.

Some of the highlights:

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NEW BOOK: WILLIAM WYON

Chief Engraver at the Royal Mint and the leading medallist of his time, William Wyon RA (1795-1851) produced some of the best known and most widely distributed images ever made. His portraits of the young Queen Victoria on the coinage, used throughout the British empire, and the more regal head used for the first postage stamps, the penny red and two penny blue, were reproduced in their millions and distributed all around the globe. A highly regarded modeller in low relief, known and admired for the classical purity of his compositions and the accomplishment of their execution, Wyon was celebrated as a British artist who more than rivalled his continental competitors, favored by royalty and by many of the most prominent and influential figures of his time. The book aims to understand how and why Wyon's work was commissioned and how it was received, using institutional archives, contemporary correspondence, and reminiscence, and the popular press, to create a rounded picture of the life, work, networks, influence, and impact of an artist who was also an entrepreneur on his own account and a public servant at the heart of the establishment.

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NEW BOOK: THE ART OF MAKING MEDALS

The Art of Making Medals
Sculpting, casting, and metalworking techniques for artists
by Ross Pollard

Editor Ross Pollard has packed his new book "The Art of Making Medals" with practical, first-hand insights from contemporary artists into the fascinating world of medallic sculpture. The book explores a wide range of traditional and modern sculpting, casting, and die-striking techniques via step-by-step demonstrations and essays. Each chapter was contributed by a member of the American Medallic Sculpture Association and documents the creation of an original medal from start to finish. Authors include Mark Benvenuto, Don Everhart, Jim Licaretz, Jacqueline Lorieo, Tracy Mahaffey, Mashiko, Michael Meszaros, Susan Taylor, Mel Wacks, et al. And Pollard has written four chapters -- on creating medals for Benjamin Franklin, Nathan Hale, a Vietnam Service Medal, and Oglala Chief Jack Red Cloud.

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ANS LIBRARY CATALOG ADDS CORRESPONDENCE

More Than 3,000 New Library Catalog Records Added to DONUM

More than 3,000 catalog records from the scanned correspondence files of Howland Wood, the ANS's curator from 1913 to 1938, are now accessible through DONUM, the ANS library catalog. This important set of archival materials – from fourteen bankers' boxes – was scanned as part of the Society's ongoing collaboration with the Newman Numismatic Portal. The records include thousands of letters to and from some of the biggest numismatic names of the first half of the nineteenth century, all of which can now be easily found and read through the library's catalog.

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VIDEO: ALASKA-YUKON-PACIFIC EXPOSITION

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ARTHUR HEWES SARGENT (1856-1932)

(from Heritage Auction Site 2016 9/7-11 Long Beach Expo US Coins Signature Auction)

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NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: MAY 4, 2025

The Stolen duPont 1838-O Half Dollar
Saul Teichman writes:

Saul adds:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
HERITAGE: THE BRUCE SHERMAN COLLECTION, PART II (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n17a19.html)

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ROSA AMERICANA 1733 TWOPENCE IMAGES AND COPIES

Was the 1861 Robinson copy of the 1733 Rosa Americana Twopence based on an 1859 American Numismatical Manual Plate?

During the April, 2025 Ann Arbor Area Coin Club Zoom meeting, Lev Linkner gave a presentation which included the 1861 Robinson copy of the 1733 Rosa Americana Twopence. He compared the Robinson copy to the fabled original coin. Using the Stack's Bowers 2018 auction of the Parmelee-Garrett 1733 Pattern Rosa Americana Twopence, both the original and copy could be said to fit the description: obverse "Bust of George II to left with legend GEORGIUS II.D.G.REX.; reverse A rose, full face, surmounted by a crown, with the legend ROSA.AMERICANA 1733, and scroll below Inscribed UTILE DULCI" as it was described by J. Doyle DeWitt in his 1968 monograph Alfred S. Robinson: Hartford Numismatist. However, otherwise, they are quite different. Robinson's copy depicts a straight alignment of George II's forehead and nose, where the original is angled. The original coin's cheek and cheekbone are curvaceous, the copy flat. The reverse rose aims slightly right, the copy straight forward. Did Robinson, or Joseph Merriam, who cut the dies, have the coin in hand? Afterall, it was one of the great rarities of American numismatics, even in those days.

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LESTER, WALTER, JACKIE AND LIZ

Mike Costanzo writes:

LEGACY: Your principal catalogers seem to have been Walter Breen and Doug Smith.

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VOCABULARY TERM: RESIDUAL TONING

Residual Toning. A toning occuring after a lapse of several years. Most oxidized and relieved bronze and silver medals – even though they are lacquered – may tone or slightly darken under the lacquer years after their manufacture. This is a result of the oxidizing or darkening chemical in the finishing process (as ammonium sulphide) slowly reacting in time. Relieving removes most of the darkening chemical from the object's surface, particularly the high spots and the fields, but traces of the chemical even remains on these areas, and some remains in the crevices.

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CLAUDE C. BIRDSELL (1879-1963)

Ray Williamson, the subject of my article last week, mentioned that his mentor was Claude C. Birdsell. This week I set out to see what I could learn about him.

Claude C. Birdsell was born on February 27, 1879, in Heyworth, Illinois. He was the son of William Jesse Birdsell (1857-1930), a farmer, and Flora Buck Birdsell {1858-1919). The 1880 Census lists him as their daughter. It must have been dark in the delivery room.

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TREASURE TALK WITH BOB EVANS, EPISODE 4.1

I have written before about how I love discovering interesting things and sharing them with people. This was never so true as it was with the S.S. Central America treasure, but it took a while to get there. The late 80s and the entire 90s found the project ensnared in extended legal battles on multiple fronts.

So, I will summarize what I personally feel are some of the important elements of the legal saga in which we found ourselves, having found the "Greatest Lost Treasure in United States History."

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HALPERIN RECEIVES PNG'S HIGHEST HONOR

Left to right: Heritage Auctions president Greg Rohan, Co-Chairman Jim Halperin and Co-Chairman and CEO Steve Ivy

Heritage Auctions Co-Chairman Jim Halperin received the Abe Kosoff Founders Award, the Professional Numismatists Guild's highest award at PNG's annual membership dinner April 23.

The Kosoff Award is given annually to a PNG member-dealer who has, in the past year, "made a significant contribution to the Guild or to the numismatic fraternity in general."

The award is named after Kosoff, PNG's Founding President who spearheaded the launch of the organization and served as its first President in 1954.

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ROBERTS RECEIVES PNG'S LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Greg Roberts, CEO of Stack's Bowers Galleries and A-Mark Precious Metals, was presented with the Harvey G. Stack Lifetime Achievement Award by the Professional Numismatist Guild during the recent Central States Numismatic Society convention. The award recognizes numismatists for their devotion to numismatics and for their significant additions to the body of PNG membership. Greg has been deeply involved with the hobby since he was a teenager. He started his own business in 1990, and that business has grown into a multi-billion dollar organization with affiliates headquartered on three continents.

"Greg is one of the savviest people I have ever had the pleasure to know, if not the savviest," commented Stack's Bowers Galleries President Brian Kendrella. "I am so thankful to have worked with and learned from him for the past 15+ years. There is no one more deserving of this great recognition than Greg."

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MORE 2025 PNG AWARD WINNERS

The Professional Numismatists Guild (www.PNGdealers.org) has given its highest honor, the Abe Kosoff Founders Award, to James Halperin, co-founder of Heritage Auctions. The award was presented during the PNG's annual membership dinner on April 23, 2025.

The Kosoff Award is given to a PNG member-dealer who has shown steadfast dedication to the entire numismatic community and who has made a significant contribution to the Guild or to the numismatic fraternity. The award is named after PNG's Founding President who spearheaded the launch of the organization and served as its first President in 1954.

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STACK'S BOWERS MAY 2025 WORLD PAPER MONEY

AUSTRIA. Austro-Hungarian Bank. 50 Kronen, 2.1.1902. P-6. PMG Choice About Uncirculated 58 EPQ. A high grade example of this scarce type from Austria. Surely missing at this grade level from many collections, this particular example is surpassed in the PMG population report by just two finer examples. A handsome and fully original note perfect for an advanced type collection.

To read the complete item description, see:
AUSTRIA. Austro-Hungarian Bank. 50 Kronen, 2.1.1902. P-6. PMG Choice About Uncirculated 58 EPQ. (https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-1ISW26/austria-austro-hungarian-bank-50-kronen-211902-p-6-pmg-choice-about-uncirculated-58-epq)

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STEPHEN ALBUM RARE COINS AUCTION 52

Stephen Album Rare Coins will hold its next premier sale Auction 52 from May 15-18, 2025 at their offices in Santa Rosa, California. The auction is made up of 3550 lots of Ancient, Islamic, Indian, Chinese, and World Coins. The first two days will include in-person bidding as well as online bidding, while the third and fourth days will be online-only sessions.

The firm's CEO Joseph Lang notes: "The coin market is very strong currently and our consignors as well as our bidders have been eager to contribute to and participate in our highly successful auctions. Our current auction has a wide array of interesting items that our clients have come to expect to see in our sales".

Featured collections in the auction include:

• The Dr. Robert A. Rosenfeld Collection of World Coins
• The Almer H. Orr III Collection of World Coins
• The Roland Dauwe Collection of Coins Minted at Qumm
• The Dr. Dirk Löer Collection of Chinese Coins
• The Solar Collection of Indian Coins

Lot viewing is available by appointment at the firm's offices in Santa Rosa, California.

Some highlights from the sale follow:

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NOONAN OFFERS RARE GOLD BERKSHIRE TOKEN

Noonans are to offer the highest value gold token struck in England - a very rare gold 19th century 40-shilling token from Reading, Berkshire depicting a bust of King Alfred. Dating from 1812, it is estimated to fetch £6,000-8,000, and is being sold as part of a single owner collection in the sale of British Tokens and Art Deco Medals at Noonans Mayfair on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, at 12pm.

Peter Preston-Morley, Special Projects Director (Numismatics) at Noonans explains:

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SINCONA OFFERS QUEEN ANNE MEDALS

On 26 May 2025, SINCONA will auction off part 6 of the British Collection presenting the medals of this ensemble. In this article, we will show you some of the treasures among the lots and explore the story of Queen Anne. Under her rule, Great Britain became the most important trading power in Europe.

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6888 POSTAL BATTALION CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL

On Wednesday, Don Everhart posted on Facebook:

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NEW CRACKDOWN OVER EURO NOTES

In an effort to combat counterfeit euro bills, the government of Spain has announced plans to yank some types of euro notes from circulation.

As of this July, reports the U.K.'s Metro, Spain's central bank will begin withdrawing old and/or wrinkled €50 notes from circulation.

Visitors who attempt to spend a euro note that is crumpled, torn, or overly stained with anti-counterfeit detection markings from prior transactions may find that vendors refuse to accept the bills. In Spain, particularly for higher-value euro denominations, only crisp and clean bills will be considered legal tender.

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MONEY EXCHANGES REJECTING CHOPMARKED BILLS

Kavan Ratnatunga writes:

An Aussie travelling through Thailand has discovered his money was practically worthless thanks to a tiny detail. While rips and tears can sometimes reduce the value of notes, a mark meant to verify legitimate notes could have been to blame for the awkward situation.

Peter Fuller was left scratching his head when he tried to get some local currency on his trip. He asked people on social media if they knew why he was knocked back.

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THE 2025 GOLD MARKET

Inside New York's gold rush, where buyers are snapping up bullion, bars, and actual Trump coins.

"Over the last six months, we're doing four times the volume that we did before that," Kahan said. "We have north of $1 million in transaction volume per day."

The 57-year-old Kahan owns Bullion Trading LLC, a gold and silver dealer in the heart of New York City's Diamond District. Despite the neighborhood's name, there's more to the area than just diamonds. The one block stretch in Midtown Manhattan is also an international hub for gold and other precious metals.

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GOLD TREASURE FOUND IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

Two hikers were strolling in the foothills of the Krkonose Mountains in the Czech Republic in early February when they noticed something shiny peeking out of a stone wall. They pulled out what turned out to be an aluminum can, looked inside and found a small fortune.

Inside was a treasure trove of 598 gold coins, neatly organized into columns and wrapped in black fabric, said Miroslav Novak, the head of the archaeological department of the Museum of Eastern Bohemia, which later took possession of the stash.

A few feet away, the hikers unearthed a second cache: a metal box containing gold items, including 16 snuffboxes, 10 bracelets, a comb, a chain with a small key and a powder compact.

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LOOSE CHANGE: MAY 4, 2025

Cash Rules in Spain's Power Outage

Paying with phone and card has become the norm, but in cities across Spain and Portugal, queues formed at cash machines - at least the ones that were still working - as shops switched away from card payments.

"We managed to pay for our coffees with card when the outage first started, [but later] we didn't have any cash so we couldn't buy a thing," Ed Rowe, 26, in Madrid told the BBC.

"All the restaurants that were open were cash only."

Grace O'Leary, 32, who also lives in Spain's capital, said she and her mum were counting coins to see if she had enough money to buy wine from a corner shop.

"Cash, apparently, is in fact, king."

Jaime Gorgojo, 28, was lucky enough to have some cash on him, which allowed him to buy food and other essentials.

To read the complete article, see:
Five things you need to make it through a power cut (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwy6d0987r0o)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NEW BOOK: THE POWER OF CASH (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n17a06.html)

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DIMES SPILLED ON TEXAS HIGHWAY

Just days after a truck dropped bags of cash in Illinois, an 18-wheeler spilled $800,000 in dimes on a highway in Texas.

The vehicle carrying the dimes was driving through Alvord in Wise County, about 75 miles northwest of Dallas around 5:30 a.m. April 29, when "the driver veered off the roadway, overcorrected, and caused the 18-wheeler to roll onto its side," the Texas Department of Public Safety said.

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ABOUT THIS ISSUE: MAY 4, 2025

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