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NEW ORLEANS $10 GOLD WHIST MATCHLen Augsburger submitted this note and video about an interesting numismatic event that took place during the recent FUN show. What fun! -Editor Doug Winter Arbitrates a Whist Match 
Stephen Petty, Doug Winter and Len Augsburger "Old cent whist," a game for comparing large cent collections, was popularized by William H. Sheldon in Early American Cents (1949). Sheldon named the collector George French as the inventor of the game, and half the fun seems to be that the rules were never precisely formalized. Sheldon described such a contest between French and Howard Newcomb: "Dr. French, always a jolly extravert, had caught a Tartar in Mr. Newcomb who was of quiet, taciturn disposition. The two were of opposite temperaments and they provoked a little more than friendly rivalry in one another. A game of old cent whist had been arranged between them, with some wagers set. It was the onlookers who did the betting. The score was very close, something like 122 to 119, when Dr. French began to present several of his ‘new varieties' of 1796. The argument which straightway broke out on those attributions would be unfit to print. Some disagreement seemed to be detectable too as to the grading of condition. The game was finally adjourned pending further research on attribution, and I am afraid it was never finished, and the bets never paid." This year's January FUN convention served as a meeting point for a "whist match" between Stephen Petty and Len Augsburger, both collectors of New Orleans ten-dollar gold pieces. This is a 37-coin set, spanning from 1841 to 1906. Rare gold coin specialist Doug Winter acted as the arbiter, evaluating each example and offering comments on the overall series. The author did not win (and did not expect to) but the real value of the exercise was tapping Doug's considerable expertise, which is fully evident here. The author acknowledges Lianna Spurrier of Numismatic Marketing, who handled all aspects of the video and still image production. Great idea! Check it out. -Editor
Link to "New Orleans $10 Whist Match" on YouTube:
Wayne Homren, Editor The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org. To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com To subscribe go to: Subscribe All Rights Reserved. NBS Home Page Contact the NBS webmaster 
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