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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 JUNE 21, 2026

New subscribers this week include: Kevin Markman, courtesy Kathy Freeland. Welcome aboard! We now have 6,449 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 a numismatic literature auction, three new books, a review, one obituary, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, and more.

Other topics this week include world encased postage stamps, New Zealand coins and banknotes, splashers, Dorothy Cox, Ken Bressett, fixed price and auction offerings, and the Libertas Americana medal.

To learn more about paper money in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia, the 1922 No D Lincoln cent, the John Max Wulfing collection, the lady numismatist spy, John Ford, Nobel award medals, 1785 United States Congress Federal Indent Bearer Notes, Ron Dutton medals, the Society of the Cincinnati enameled gold Eagle medal, and the U.S. Secret Service, read on. Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum

 

LANG NUMISMATIC LITERATURE AUCTION 12

Dear friends of numismatic literature,

The wait is over! On July 1, 2026, our 12th auction of numismatic literature will take place as usual on the Auex platform. You can expect a wide selection of literature covering various areas of numismatics.

Highlights include:

• The library of a former coin dealer
• Numerous sought-after standard works
• Rare originals
• Bibliophile rarities in magnificent bindings
• A wide variety of journals
• As well as a large number of auction catalogs.

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NEW BOOK: ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ENCASED POSTAGE

Kolbe & Fanning Numismatic Booksellers are pleased to announce the publication of The Encyclopedia of Encased Postage, by Paul Montz. This 350-page book, illustrated throughout in color, is the first comprehensive work in English on encased postage stamps of the world. While the use of encased postage stamps as a currency substitute during the American Civil War is well known, their use in Europe, particularly in the difficult days following the First World War, is much less familiar to most collectors. This volume is designed to change all that, with 4,587 listings from around the world.

Montz's book introduces these intriguing tokens, discusses their historical background, and provides a catalogue of all known types. The extensive issues of France and Germany are discussed in considerable detail, as are the classic U.S. issues of the 1860s. Lesser-known encased postage stamps are also included, ranging from Norway to New Caledonia and from Algeria to Argentina. Never before has so much information on this topic been brought together in one place.

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NEW BOOK: NEW ZEALAND CATALOGUE 2026

The John Bertrand New Zealand Coin and Banknote Catalogue 2026
by Anthony W. Grant FRNSNZ

Weight: .2 kg
Dimensions: 21 × 15 × .5 cm
Price: $26.95

There are a large number of price changes due to the recent price fluctuations in the value of Gold and Silver. This catalogue features important information regarding all New Zealand coins issued from 1933 and includes values with retail prices given in five grades for the pre-decimal issues. A full listing of decimal issues is also included.

The 2026 edition is edited by Anthony W Grant FRNSNZ and contains many revisions and price updates for new and previous coin issues.

The catalogue contains a "Checks, Discount & Special Purpose Tokens" section, courtesy of Martin Purdy FRNSNZ, and again includes five pages of information on all the major coin "varieties", also compiled by Martin Purdy, all being shown with values in the category pages. New Zealand banknotes are covered from 1934 to present with prices given in up to six grades, including first and last prefixes. The catalogue as always includes simplified listings of Tradesmen's Tokens, Communion Tokens, Internment Camp Tokens, Checks, Discount & Special Purpose Tokens and Mint Rolls.

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NEW BOOK: BOHEMIA, MORAVIA AND SLOVAKIA PAPER MONEY

Papírová platidla in území Cech, Moravy and Slovenska 1900 – 2026
(Paper money in Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia 1900 - 2026).
by Pavel Hejzlar

436 pages, 3rd edition Prague 2026. Format 14.8 x 21 cm, softcover and bound, full color throughout with numerous illustrations.

In Czech.

The book costs approximately €31 (softcover) and €33 (hardcover). To order, contact the author – info@bankovky.com . International shipping is available; please inquire for costs.

ISBN 978-80-11-07995-6 (Softcover) ISBN 978-80-11-07994-6 (Hardcover).

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BOOK REVIEW: THE ENIGMATIC CENTS OF 1922

A cover-to-cover read of The Enigmatic Lincoln Cents of 1922 reveals the many years of research and organization that Tom DeLorey conducted to produce this monumental work. DeLorey addresses why the Denver Mint produced 1922 cents of inferior quality. He also introduces new early die state discoveries and updated terminology to describe the die categories for 1922 Lincoln cents.

DeLorey began his career as a professional numismatist in 1973 and has been working with 1922 die cent varieties since 1974. He mentions the dearth of information about 1922 cents after being freshly minted. The first account he found was in the published notes of the New York Numismatic Club (NYNC) from September 1925. NYNC member Howland Wood had spent several months tracking the Lincoln cents he had observed on the East coast. No 1922 cents had met his eyes! (DeLorey, The Enigmatic Lincoln Cents of 1922, p. 29).

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PAUL WITHERS (1942-2026)

Galata Coins was established in 1971 in Wolverhampton. It sold ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine coins. It eventually incorporated the coin dealing activities of Paul Withers which included hammered coins, world coins, tokens, medals, numismatic books, etc. Nowadays it is a partnership of Paul and Bente Withers. It all began when Paul gave up teaching in 1973, since when we have been full-time dealers in coins and numismatic books. We like to think of ourselves as being specialists in being non-specialists. Although we do not claim to be specialists in any particular fields, and apart from thinking that we know a little about coin-weights, 19th-century copper tokens, and medieval halfpennies and farthings, we sometimes offer a better selection of some coins than many who do claim to be specialists.

Our house, a former pub, my drawing of which can be seen [below], was built before Colombus set sail. It is stuffed with our ever-growing personal library of 5000+ numismatic books. We moved here, to Llanfyllin, in the wilds of Mid-Wales, in 1991, to semi-retire and get away from urban nastiness. Llanfyllin is a tiny town, population around 1400, in Montgomeryshire, one of the most beautiful parts of Wales.

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NEWMAN PORTAL: JOHN MAX WULFING EXHIBIT

John Max Wulfing's Passport to the Past Exhibit Opens August 5, 2026

John Max Wulfing was born in 1859 to Charles and Hermine (Diekriede) Wulfing in St. Louis, MO. He was educated in both the United States and Germany before entering the family business and becoming a third-generation wholesale grocer in St. Louis. The wealth accumulated through his business success enabled Wulfing to engage in local philanthropy through Park Unity Church and to support German relief efforts and academic causes following World War I. His personal interests focused on archaeology and the classics.

Wulfing is best known for his ancient coin collection, which was donated in 1928 and forms the nucleus of the Wulfing Collection at Washington University in St. Louis. Less known is the substantial collection of Native American artifacts, Japanese tsuba (sword guards), and books that Wulfing collected until his death in 1929. Wulfing added many objects to his collections during his travels across the United States, Central America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. This exhibition highlights some of those travels and the items he acquired along the way. To Wulfing, these were not just objects, but lenses into past times and cultures that served as invaluable teaching aids.

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VIDEO: BUILDING A NATIONAL BANK NOTE COLLECTION

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VOCABULARY TERM: SPLASHER

Splasher. A method of easily testing a die by impressing it in soft lead. Splashers are usually made by pouring molten lead on a piece of paper and impressing the die into the lead before it cools. Splasher impressions were used by hand engravers to examine the progress of cutting a die, or to prove the die before it is completed. This was always done while the die was in a soft state and further alterations could be easily made at the bench. (The need for a press to prove the die was only done after the die was hardened.)

The splasher was not usually saved because of the incomplete status of the die; but existing splashers usually exhibit the paper backing and very irregular edges. Similar pieces were made by engravers in Great Britain, but moreso in tin than it lead, where they are called hot tin impressions. (Tin was more readily available in Britain at the time.) While lead and tin were the most used metal for splashers they could be made in any fusible alloy.

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DOROTHY HANNAH COX (1892-1977)

Robert Leonard recently wrote to suggest that Dorothy H. Cox might be worth two or three paragraphs in The E-Sylum. She was known as an architect, archaeologist and numismatist. She was also a spy during the Second World War. Let's see if I can find anything more to say about her.

Dorothy H. Cox was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, on February 18, 1892, the daughter of Lewis Joseph Cox (1857-1920) and Lenore Hanna (1864-1941). Lewis was affiliated with the Terre Haute Car and Manufacturing Company.

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KEN BRESSETT INTERVIEW, PART FOUR

GREG BENNICK: Well, along the lines of those adventures, you've mentioned B. Max Mehl and William Sheldon and some other folks. Are there other characters, other people from the history of the hobby that today are of course legendary, but who were contemporaries of yours that you remember stories about?

KEN BRESSETT: Oh yeah! Well, like John Ford.

GREG BENNICK: Sure. What could you tell us about John Ford?

KEN BRESSETT: He was absolutely a character. I say that—yeah, just absolutely. I got along fairly well with John. He was brief and not very close to anybody. I mean, most people didn't like John because he was so arrogant and so short with everybody. And not that he liked me very much, but I was able to stand up to him.

We'd go out to dinner at a convention, and John would bring his own food along with him and have a chef keep it in the kitchen because he wouldn't eat the hotel food.

GREG BENNICK: Really?

KEN BRESSETT: Wherever he was, it didn't matter. I remember one time he said, "For dessert, I want strawberries—fresh strawberry shortcake." And the chef said, "Well, they're out of season. We don't have them." He said, "Don't tell me that you don't have them. Send somebody out and find them. They're here somewhere in New York." (Laughs)

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ATLAS NUMISMATICS SELECTIONS: JUNE 21, 2026

1086879 | GREEK. KINGDOM OF MACEDON. Philip II. (King, 359-336 BC). Early posthumous issue. AR Tetradrachm. NGC MS? (Mint State ?) Strike 5/5 Surface 5/5. Pella. 18mm. 14.33gm. Head of Zeus right, wearing laurel wreath F????-??? (FILP-POU). Nude youth mounted on horseback holding palm frond and rein; snake coiled between horses legs and a Boeotian shield in exergue. Le Rider plate 22,530; HGC 3.1.

A phenomenal example and one of the finest known of the type; given the star designation by NGC for exceptional eye appeal.

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NUMISMAGRAM MEDAL SELECTIONS: JUNE 21, 2026

103364 | SWEDEN. Alfred Nobel silver Award Medal. Issued 1998 for participation on the nominating committee for the prize in literature (27mm, 11.78 g, 12h). By Erik Lindberg (after an obverse in 1926) at the Eskilstuna mint.

ALFRED NOBEL, bust left in frock coat // SVENSKA • AKADEMIEN, SNILLE / OCH / SMAK (genius and taste, –motto of the Swedish Academy) in three lines within garlanded laurel wreath; six hallmarks below. Edge: Plain.

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KUENKER'S SUMMER AUCTION SALES 442-444

With its Summer Auction Sales 442-444, the Kénker Auction House in Osnabréck will once again present an exceptional numismatic selection of international caliber from June 23 to 26, 2026. A total of more than 2,250 lots with a combined estimate of over four million euros will go under the hammer, bringing together significant provenances, rare gold coins, and outstanding coins and medals from the Middle Ages and Modern Times.

The event kicks off on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. with Auction 442, "The Imperial Collection, Part 1." Up for auction are 337 numismatic treasures from the Collection of the Prussian Kings and German Emperors of the House of Hohenzollern. With an estimated value of over one million euros, the auction offers fascinating insights into the collecting and representational culture of one of Europe's most significant ruling houses.

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ARCHIVES INTERNATIONAL SALE 114 SELECTIONS

Cuba, 1869. 1 Peso, P-61, Issued Banknote, Black print with red seal at bottom left, Uniface note, S/N 15292, VF condition with repaired upper left side that has a small piece added with very light glue stains from previous mounting on the left border, still very attractive for the issue.

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EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY JUNE 2026 SALE

September 27, 1785 United States Congress Federal Indent "Bearer Note", Two Dollars, Anderson-166. Signed, "J. Hardy" (by John Hardy), PCGS graded Very Fine-30.

This extremely rare Congressional Pre-Constitution Federal "Indent" Bearer Note was issued by a "Requisition of Congress" and to be received for anticipated "Taxes" to be received from the various states and payable to Congress. This issue is printed on thin laid paper with marginal border designs at top and bottom. At the "Indented" left end, the partially remaining denomination text of TWO DOLLARS, is outlined on shaded engraved portion. This example is Signed by John Hardy with his elegant flourish below. A very natural note, its period laid paper is strong and original with complete full margins and has a nicely cut left indent. As mentioned on its holder there is some damp staining at the top center, minor ink erosion within the manuscript portions, plus overall age tone. As with all of these Federal Indents they are extremely rare and important emergency fiscal Bearer notes. Newman reports that a Two Dollar note in the John Ford sale of January 2005 graded Fine over two decades ago sold then for $2,185. Provenance Ex: Eric P. Newman Collection.

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DAVISSON'S E-AUCTION 53

Our summer E-Auction opens with Greek coins from the Peter Bartlett Collection. This sale complements and completes the important offering from the Bartlett Collection featured in our March 25, 2026 sale – gold, silver, and bronze from the beginning of coinage itself, in the 7th century B.C. in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), with a particular focus on the earliest coins of Ionia. (If you would like a print copy of our March auction please get in touch.)

Look for small (and scarce) pieces of art, conservatively estimated, with bees from Ephesos, lions from Miletos, griffins from Phokaia, and more. Such a focused and carefully-assembled collection presents a rare opportunity—many of the coins are in exceptional condition for the type and come with pedigrees linked to important auction firms in the 1980s-2000s.

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WAYNE'S NUMISMATIC DIARY: JUNE 21, 2026

On Wednesday I drove from work to Alexandria for the monthly meeting on my numismatic social group, Nummis Nova. This month's co-hosts were Jon Radel and John Kraljevich. John got called out of town and a number of other regulars had to bail out as well, but a smaller jolly group convened and we had a great evening. First up is Tom Kays' account.

See the smiles on the "in-office" crew of Nummis Nova at Aldo's Italian Restaurant, a family-run business tucked away in Alexandria, who gave us cakes of many flavors after a fine meal. Clockwise from sinister to dexter are Mike Markowitz, Robert Hoppensteadt, Wayne Homren, Julian Leidman, Mike Packard, and Jon Radel with Tom behind the camera holding them up from taking that first bite.

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1921 PROOF DOUBLE EAGLE APPEARANCE AT ANA

The finest of the only two known 1921 Satin Finish Proof Saint-Gaudens Double Eagles will be publicly displayed for only the fourth time since its momentous discovery two decades ago. It is graded PCGS PR64+ CAC.

Brian Hendelson, president of Classic Coin Company of Bridgewater, New Jersey, will be exhibiting the magnificent $20 denomination gold coin along with historic, rare Declaration of Independence items from his collection during the American Numismatic Association Pittsburgh 2026 World's Fair of Money® (www.WorldsFairofMoney.com).

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SILVER LIBERTAS AMERICANA MEDAL OFFERED

Circa 1783 Medal Libertas Americana Medal, Silver, Loubat-14, Betts-615, Adams-Bentley 15, MS64+ PCGS. CAC. The Libertas Americana is arguably the most important American medal. Examples were struck in bronze, silver, and gold, with a silver example of the latter chosen to illustrate the front cover of 100 Greatest American Medals and Tokens where this medal holds the top spot. These medals that combine beauty and historical significance served as the inspiration for some of our earliest federal coin designs.

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JEFF SHEVLIN 2026 COMMEMORATIVE MEDALS

Jeff Shevlin, known throughout the hobby as "The So-Called Guy," is pleased to announce the release of his 2026 commemorative medals. As he has done for the past thirteen years, Shevlin is issuing two separate medal programs:

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LOOSE CHANGE: JUNE 21, 2026

When and Why the Secret Service was Created

On April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln signed legislation creating the U.S. Secret Service. That very evening, he was assassinated at Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth. It seems like one of history's strangest cases of ironic timing. But the story isn't quite as uncanny as it sounds, because the Secret Service wasn't created to protect the president.

The agency's original purpose was slightly less dramatic: fighting counterfeiters. In the mid-1800s, the American money system was chaotic; individual banks issued their own bills, and fake currency flooded the economy. By some estimates, as much as one-third of the nation's money in circulation was counterfeit. The Civil War only made the problem worse, and U.S. Treasury officials pushed for a dedicated force to investigate financial fraud. That force was the Secret Service.

To read the complete article, see:
The Secret Service was created on the day Lincoln was assassinated (https://historyfacts.com/us-history/fact/secret-service-lincoln-assassinated/)

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ABOUT THIS ISSUE: JUNE 21, 2026

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