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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 can go to the following web page Subscribe You may Unsubscribe Here 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 AUGUST 10, 2025

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.

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This week we open with two NBS updates, a new book. one periodical, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal and the ANA, and more.

Other topics this week include Whitman Brands, New Orleans Mint gold coins, numismatic literature exhibits at the upcoming ANA, David Macdonald, the Osborne Mint, rim breaks, authors on coins and medals, and fixed price and auction offerings.

To learn more about Conder tokens, the "death of print", the NBS Charity Auction, the "the Fairmont Effect", Hard Times Tokens, Louis Braille, "Building Canals with Paper", OPA Red Points and Blue Points, Fractional Currency literature, the War Dog Fund, the finest known 1857-S $3 gold piece, and How to Raise Pigs with Little Money, read on. Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum

 

NBS BIBLIOTALK PODCAST WITH JOHN FEIGENBAUM

NBS Podcast Interviews John Feigenbaum

In the latest NBS podcast, Lianna Spurrier interviews John Feigenbaum, CEO of CDN and Whitman Brands. John grew up in the business, with a father who started as a weekend dealer and eventually took up numismatics full time. David Feigenbaum and son built up David Lawrence Rare Coins, which was eventually sold to John Brush and Dell Loy Hansen in 2018.

John covers the ever ubiquitous Guide Book of U.S. Coins, one of the best-selling books of all time of any genre, and discusses the past and future evolution of this standard guide. Feigenbaum opines on the importance of keeping this resource in numismatic hands, as opposed to a mass market publisher. Finally, John has an interesting take on the "death of print" and shares good news for all book lovers!

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NBS EVENTS AT 2025 ANA WORLD'S FAIR OF MONEY

Jeff Garrett
speaks on the Guide Book of U.S. Coins

One of the best-selling books of all time of any genre, the ubiquitous "Red Book" has been informing U.S. coin collectors since the first edition was published in 1947.

Now in its 78th edition, the Guide Book of U.S. Coins has become collectible itself, with the earliest editions especially prized. Jeff Garrett, Guide Book Senior Editor, will speak on the challenges of keeping this foundational reference accessible and authoritative at the same time.

 

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NEW BOOK: GOLD COINS OF NEW ORLEANS MINT 5TH ED.

DWN Publishing, a division of Douglas Winter Numismatics, is pleased to announce the fifth edition of its popular title, Gold Coins of the New Orleans Mint, 1839-1909. Pre-orders for this hardcover 407 page reference are being accepted in early August, 2025 and the cost is $150 which includes shipping.

The last edition of this work was published in 2020 and, according to Doug Winter, "the market for New Orleans gold—especially for half eagles, eagles, and double eagles—has changed radically due to the infusion of hundreds of high(er) grade coins sourced from the Fairmont Hoard. A number of these coins qualify as being in the Condition Census for their respective issues and in the new fifth edition, every one of these is noted. These coins changed the total number known for many issues and the rarity rankings for a number of New Orleans half eagles and eagles were also changed."

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PERIODICAL: CONDER TOKEN JOURNAL SUMMER 2025

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Note from our President
Jeff Rock

After He's Gone
William Frank

I Need an Edge
Jon Lusk

Lancashire 138 Bis III Reappears!
Jeff Rock & Gordon Greenman

Collecting Handel
Chriss Hoffman

Oct. 2024, A Double Dose Of Auctions
Jeff Rock

The Token Exchange and Mart

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MORE NNP U.S. COIN PHOTO FILES

Saul Teichman Adds U.S. Coin Photo Files to Newman Portal

Saul Teichman continues to build condition censes of significant U.S. coins, with the most extensive work being done in the pattern series. Saul recently contributed a file on the Low 54-A Hard Times token, the well-known AM I NOT A MAN AND BROTHER anti-slavery piece. Until 2011 only three examples were known, from the Ford, Newman, and Partrick collections. The fourth piece was discovered in Canada and has since been offered by both Stack's and Heritage.

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VIDEO: LOUIS BRAILLE COMMEMORATIVE COIN

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ANA LITERARY AWARDS ANNOUNCED

The American Numismatic Association's (ANA) 2025 literary awards – recognizing articles published in the 2024 volume of its official magazine, The Numismatist – will be presented during the Member Awards and Donor Celebration at the Oklahoma City World's Fair of Money® on August 21. The Numismatist was launched by ANA founder and first editor Dr. George F. Heath in 1888. This year marks its 138th volume.

The Heath Literary Award, introduced in 1949, acknowledges outstanding articles published in the preceding 12 months.

• First place goes to David Schenkman for "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" (March 2024). The author will receive $250, an engraved nickel-silver medal, and a certificate.
• William R. Eckberg earned second place ($100, an engraved bronze medal, and a certificate) for "The Birch Cent" (June 2024).
• In third place (engraved bronze medal and a certificate) is Alex Schultz for "The 1964 Special Mint Sets: Special or Not?" (November 2024).

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ANA YN LITERARY AWARDS ANNOUNCED

The 2025 ANA Young Numismatist (YN) Literary Awards were announced during the ANA's annual Summer Seminar banquets. The three award categories are generously funded by Whitman Publishing and named after authors dedicated to educating the next generation of numismatists.

The Bill Fivaz Young Numismatist Literary Award honors writers who are aged 8 to 12. This year's first place recipient was Daniel Kim for "The Art and Science of Coins: History in Coins." Harrison Bluhm received second place with "Understanding OPA Red Points and Blue Points: A Deep Dive into Their Roles and Impact." In third place was John Swindling for "Lionel Mint Cars: A Numismatic Side Quest."

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2025 OKLAHOMA ANA ONLINE EXHIBIT GUIDE

An online guide to the Collector Exhibit Area at the August 19-23 World's Fair of Money is available at: http://www.chicagocoinclub.org/events/2025/ana/ex/all_by_cl.html

The Collector Exhibits are no longer listed in the Show Guide. The above guide groups the exhibits by Exhibit Class, while the ANA website has an ungrouped listing of exhibits at: https://www.money.org/wfm-exhibits/

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MORE ON DAVID MACDONALD

I remember my conversations with David MacDonald in late 2006 and early 2007. He had recently retired from 34 years of teaching in the History department of Illinois State University, and he had a new book idea. It would be a study in Greek chronology and monetary theory as told through overstruck Greek coins. "Can you give me a brief analysis of current competition?" I asked. "There are no similar books," was Mac's reply. (There were some narrowly specialized articles about individual overstruck Greek coins, or related groups of coins, published in foreign journals.) That made my next question moot --- "How would your book be superior to others in the same field?" There were no others in the field!

Whitman Publishing already had several books about ancient coins in its back list. There was the Handbook of Ancient Greek and Roman Coins, a very popular volume that combined two earlier works by Zander Klawans (skillfully edited together by Kenneth Bressett); Money of the Bible (authored by Bressett); Coins of the Bible (by Arthur Friedberg); and 100 Greatest Ancient Coins (by Harlan J. Berk). Ancient coins were also discussed in chapters or sections of other Whitman books. MacDonald's study would be a more specialized exploration of the subject, intended for serious numismatists, but intriguing enough to appeal to general collectors and historians.

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NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: AUGUST 10, 2025

1738 Rhode Island Rarity Repro
Regarding the 1738 Rhode Island note discussed last week, David Gladfelter writes:

David adds:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
1738 RHODE ISLAND RARITY (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n31a24.html)

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JEFF GARRETT VISITS THE OSBORNE MINT

Last week, I had the opportunity to visit the Osborne Mint in Cincinnati. Our group was invited to the striking ceremony for the upcoming American Numismatic Association (ANA) commemorative medal that is being struck of the Oklahoma City convention. The visit gave everyone an opportunity to see the inner workings of the oldest private mint in the United States.

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VOCABULARY TERMS: RIM BREAK, RIM DIEBREAK

Rim Break, Rim Diebreak. A die crack starting near the rim of a die and growing until a part of the die breaks away. It begins at the rim because this is where the metal stress is the greatest (between and around lettering and the rim) and usually proceeds on the surface toward the center. With continued striking it progresses into the body of the die. Two nearby diecracks may joint together and intensify until the die completely deteriorates. At the point when a small portion falls away – leaving a cavity in the die – the die is no longer useable. On the struck piece this die creates a raised lump or boss on the rim or between the legend and the rim. The resulting boss on the struck piece is called a cud by collectors. See broken die.

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AUTHORS ON COINS AND MEDALS

For the August 3, 2025, issue of The E-Sylum, Marie Gibbs posed the question, "I was wondering if you have ever come across any information pertaining to collecting currency, tokens or coins that have actual images of authors, books or libraries on them?"

The field is vast. There are hundreds of examples on American items and thousands worldwide. There is enough material for a series of articles discussing general areas. A complete listing exceeds my level of interest in the topic.

The first that comes to mind is a medal featuring author Kenneth Bressett. The obverse has a profile of Ken with the cover of a Red Book (The Guide Book of United States Coins). The reverse has, not a library, but a bookshelf featuring titles of books by Bressett.

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TREASURE TALK WITH BOB EVANS, EPISODE 7.1

Individual coins, ingots, nuggets and artifacts also created special moments during my decades of involvement with the S.S. Central America. I would like to share one of those stories.

In the previous expeditions, over two decades earlier, our gold recoveries were exclusively from the area where we found the commercial shipment. So, except for a minor amount of possibly intermingled passenger gold, the treasure we recovered 1988 – 1991 represented the money of banking and big business, shipped in large amounts on the twice monthly mail steamers to Panama, and then on toward New York.

In 2014, our recoveries from the coin piles we found in the debris field brought much more variety to the numismatic inventory of the SSCA. This was not the money of the businesses; this was the money of the businesspeople, the money of the wealthy street, the money that a businessman or a miner might like to have at hand for the expenses of a triumphant trip back east to "The States." So, instead of the boxes of double eagles we found in the commercial shipment, we found dozens of gold dollars, quarter-eagles, half-eagles, and eagles, strewn together in distinct groupings, small and large, or sometimes buried within heavier debris.

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THE SAN FRANCISCO MINT IN 1913

A persistent problem in numismatic research is the scattered nature of documents relating to a specific subject. Normally, this requires careful examination of a dozen or more archival files of a general nature, i.e., "Letters Sent," "Miscellaneous Correspondence," "Branch Mint Letters," etc., before we can begin to assemble a complete description of the subject.

However, during a period of about a decade from 1910-1919 the Mint Bureau filed most documents by subject. Clerks used a 6-digit code to indicate a topic of the correspondence. Each new item on that topic was given the same code number and all were filed together.

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NUMISMAGRAM MEDAL SELECTIONS: AUGUST 10, 2025

103260 | GERMANY. Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral) bronze Medal. Issued 1855. Most Remarkable Edifices of Europe series (59mm, 83.31 g, 12h). By Jacques Wiener in Brussels and struck at the Geerts mint in Ixelles. DER DOM ZU KÖLN IN SEINER ZUKÜNFTIGEN VOLLENDUNG / UNSERE HOFFNUNG, perspective view of the cathedral exterior from the south-southeast, highlighting its ubiquitous single northern tower; in four lines in exergue: GESTOCHEN VON J. WIENER / NACH DEM VOM DOMBAUMEISTER E. F. ZWIRNER / ERGÄNZTEN BAUPLANE / VERLAG VON F. C. EISEN IN KÖLN // JUBELFEIER AM 14 AUG: 1848 DER ERSTEN GRUNDSTEINLEGUNG DES DOMES ZU KÖLN AM 14 AUG: 1248, perspective view of the cathedral exterior from the south-southeast; an additional four years of construction (since Wiener's previous take on this edifice) has taken place and is depicted in a completed south transept façade and additional clerestory-level structure over the nave; in seven lines in exergue, EINWEIHUNG DES HOHEN CHORS AM 27 SEPT: 1322 / OFT UNTERBROCHENER FORTBAU BIS ETWA 1500 / GÄNZLICHER STILLSTAND BIS ZUR ZWEITEN / GRUNDSTEINLEGUNG AM 4 SEPT: 1842 / DURCH FRIEDRICH WILHELM IV / KÖNIG VON PREUSSEN / 1855. Edge: Plain. Ross M151; van Hoydonck 124; Reinecke 27. Gem Mint State. Extremely glossy and brilliant in the fields, with astounding eye appeal. A wondrous representative from the always-popular series, and for this edifice for which there are a number of versions conveying the various states of construction over two decades. $565.

To read the complete item description, see:
103260 | GERMANY. Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral) bronze Medal. (https://www.numismagram.com/product-page/103260)

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HERITAGE AUCTIONS: BYZANTINE COINS SHOWCASE

Justinian II, First Reign (AD 685-695). AV solidus (19mm, 4.46 gm, 7h). NGC MS 4/5 - 2/5, brushed, marks. Constantinople, uncertain officina, AD 692-695. IhS CRIS?OS R?X-R??NAN?I?M, half-length bust of Christ facing, with long hair and full beard, wearing pallium and colobium, cross behind head, raising right hand in benediction, book of Gospels cradled in left arm / D I?STINI-AN-?S SER? CHRIS?I, full-length figure of Justinian II standing facing, wearing crown and loros, cross potent on two steps in right hand, akakia in left; CONO-P below. Sear 1248.

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GADOURY BLEU: ISLAM, POPES, GOLD AND FRANCE

Islam, Popes, Gold and France: Four Collections at Gadoury Bleu

3 October 2025
Gadoury Auctions
Monaco, Hôtel Le Méridien

Gadoury Auctions has established two auction series in recent years: the blue catalogue features collections, while the black one presents numismatic highlights from antiquity to the present day, sourced from various collectors.

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ABOUT THIS ISSUE: AUGUST 10, 2025

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