Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 2, Number 33: August 16, 1999:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
SUBSCRIBER UPDATES
Our newest subscribers are: Tim Cooper, Sam Deep,
David Evans, Ken Hallenbeck, Dan Hamelberg,
John Huffman, Jim Matthews, Mike Metras, Larry Sekulich,
James Taylor, Jon Warshawsky, Ute Wartenberg, and Kerry
Wetterstrom.
This brings our current subscriber count to 199, just one shy
of our goal of 200. But if we're lacking in quantity we're
overcompensating in terms of quality. This class includes not
only some top publishers, researchers and literature collectors,
but present and former ANA and ANS officers and staff.
Welcome aboard, all!
SUBSCRIBER RECRUITMENT
Most of the above subscribers were recruited at the ANA
convention. We also distributed a few hundred copies of a
publicity flyer, and hope it will lead to additional subscribers
in coming weeks. Literature dealer Remy Bourne offered
to distribute copies of the flyer with his upcoming sale catalog,
and this should also help grow our numbers. Thanks, Remy!
SO-CALLED DOLLAR RESEARCH?
Bill Fivaz writes: "Wayne...Thank Q for continuing to send info
on the organization - it's very much appreciated.
Question: Do you know if anyone is working on an update of
the old and revered H&K (HIBLER & KAPPAN) "So-Called
Dollars" book? It's in very bad need of updating, and I think
someone who is qualified could do the hobby a great service
(and probably make a few bucks along the way) by
undertaking such a venture. Any knowledge on this?
Regards, Bill"
Well, I'm afraid I don't know if any update is in the works,
but perhaps one of our readers does. The book is certainly
easy to sell these days - it's one of those titles Ken Lowe
referred to as "the Kreugerrands of numismatic literature" -
books that aren't sexy, but can always be counted on to
find buyers.
EARLY ASSAYERS' WRITING SAMPLES SOUGHT
David Cassel writes: "In my research in the Postage Currency
Coins area, I have come across some documents that may have
been written by the hand of Mint assayers, William E. DuBois
or Jacob Eckfeldt, circa 1863.
In order for me to establish this, I need to have comparison
handwriting analyses of each of the men to be reasonably
certain who penned the documents that I would like to include
in my new book entitled: United States Postage Currency
Pattern Coins.
Can you or any of your members send me a Xerox of a writing
sample of either man or both. My fax line is 305-662-9400
and my mailing address is David Cassel, 5995 SW 97 Street,
Miami, Fl. 33156. I will be very grateful for anyone's
assistance."
BACK ISSUES OF THE ASYLUM
New member Mike Paradis writes: "I received a letter from
David Hirt and a copy of The Asylum. I am thrilled and in the
process of reading EVERY word. I noticed through the ANS
search directory that The Asylum had a writeup about
Numismatic Notes and Monographs. Is there anyone I can
contact to get a copy of that Asylum or just the article?"
The answer is that our Secretary, Dave Hirt, maintains our
stock of back issues for sale at $5 a copy. Photocopies are
available for any sold-out issues.
ON-LINE ASYLUM INDEX
It is nice to see our earlier efforts to put our index on line
through Harry Bass' Numismatic Indexes Project are paying
off. If you haven't tried it yet, you should - the index covers
most major numismatic publications including The Numismatist,
Coin Collector's Journal, The Colonial Newsletter, and most
publications of the American Numismatic Society. There is a
link to NIP from the NBS web site: http://www.coinbooks.org/
Click on "Numismatic Indexes", then "Numismatic Indexes
Project".
NBS WRITER'S AWARD
Outgoing NBS President Michael J. Sullivan was unable to
attend the ANA Convention due to unfortunate last-minute
mechanical difficulties somewhere in the state of Indiana.
But he sends the following note:
"The NBS Writer's Award for 1998 is presented to Mr.
Randolph Zander for his wonderful series of articles on the
hobby's history. Mr. Zander secured over 50% of voters'
support, which is an astounding tribute to his contribution to
The Asylum. His award will be sent via mail this week to
his residence. While we only present a single award each
year, it is notable to also mention that last year's Writer's
Award recipient, Joel Orosz, tied himself for second place
in the voting with his Printer's Devil series and his article on
Ken Lowe. We appreciate the continued contributions from
all of our members who make emission of The Asylum
possible."
ANA NBS MEETING
The general meeting of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society
was held at 6:30 PM Friday, August 13th. About 40 people
attended. Nawana Britenriker, ANA Librarian, reported on
the ANA Oral History Project & book preservation work at
the library. Audible gasps were heard when she reported that
$600 had been spent on restoring a copy of A.M. Smith's
Visitors Guide to the U.S. Mint. The funds had been donated
by the Women In Numismatics (WIN) group and were
earmarked for this specific volume, which had seen much use
and abuse over the years.
Dr. Ute Wartenberg, ANS Executive Director, gave us a virtual
tour of the new ANS Headquarters and Library Facilities, which
should give their library 30 years' worth of expansion room.
Finally, John Burns recounted some stories of visits to the
numismatic libraries of Armand Champa, Frank Katen, and
others, including the infamous five-pound meatball prank
played on John by Armand (see the Money Tree's "Out on
A Limb" for the full story and picture).
THE GREAT "DEBATE"
Having promoted the Buttery/Hodder debate in this space we
would be remiss in not mentioning it. As spectators entered
the room Thursday morning "it was like a wedding," one
witness said, as proponents of the opposing sides took their
places on opposite sides of the room. The room was soon
filled to capacity since, as one wag put it, "everyone wants to
see a train wreck..."
The event was certainly a spectacle, as moderator Ed Rochette
did his best to keep both the participants and the audience in
line. Afterwards, one observer likened it to "a Greek Tragedy",
where doom is foreshadowed from the start.
No doubt much will be written in weeks to come about the
event, in The Asylum as well as the mainstream numismatic
publications. Somewhere in this morass lies the numismatic
truth, and someday it may rise to the surface. But it was an
ugly side of human nature that rose to prominence that
morning, and it was not a pleasant sight.
A number of events were set into motion which will play out
over the upcoming months (or years), including the threat of
a lawsuit and a generous offer to fund the large expense of
scientific analysis of the disputed assay bars. This may take
longer than the Gold Rush itself to completely play out...
FEATURED WEB SITE
This week's featured web site is the Edmonton Numismatic
Society, home base of our new subscriber, Dan Gosling:
http://www.compusmart.ab.ca/dang/index.htm
Wayne Homren
Numismatic Bibliomania Society
The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a
non-profit organization promoting numismatic
literature. For more information please see
our web site at http://www.coinbooks.org/
There is a membership application available on
the web site. To join, print the application and
return it with your check to the address printed
on the application. For those without web access,
contact Dave Hirt, NBS Secretary-Treasurer,
5911 Quinn Orchard Road, Frederick, MD 21701
(To be removed from this mailing list
write to me at whomren@coinlibrary.com)
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