MARANVILLE COUNTERFEIT DETECTION DEVICES

Newman Portal Adds Research on Maranville Counterfeit Detection Devices

Given Eric P. Newman's natural interest in all things mechanical (and numismatic), the publication of U.S. Coin Scales and Counterfeit Coin Detectors (co-authored with A. George Mallis) in 1999 was no surprise. This work focused on 19th century counterfeit detection devices patented and produced in the United States. Malcolm Mathias, an Australian collector, has now driven this work forward with a set of papers on the Harvey Maranville counterfeit detection devices patented in 1857, 1860, and 1878. Supported in part by a grant from the Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society, Mathias traveled extensively throughout the United States in search of Maranville examples to add to his census, and in addition visited related archives and institutions in search of background information on Maranville and his inventions. The result is what will be the definitive work on this topic for many years.

Image: 1857 Maranville Coin Tester, from the Eclectic Numismatic Treasure collection.

Link to Malcolm Mathias papers on Maranville counterfeit detectors:
https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/booksbyauthor/534837

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