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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 (or wishing to Unsubscribe) can go to the following web page link 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 JANUARY 26, 2025

New subscribers this week include: Blaine Morin from Sanford, Maine, and Eric Brothers. Welcome aboard! We now have 7,255 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 new podcast episode, two new books, two club newsletters, updates from the Newman Numismatic Portal, a phishing warning, and more.

Other topics this week include glass trade beads in California, medal designer Eugene Daub, reduction punches, the first ANA President, Gerry Fortin, Jim Halperin, an auction preview, coin hoards, collectible counterfeits, a Dickin medal, and Wyoming National Banknotes.

To learn more about Postal Orders used in India, the International Primitive Money Society, ANS Curator Howland Wood, puddles of fire-melted coins, the woman so weighted down with coins that she could barely move, William Jerrems, Jr., the Numismatic Certification Institute (NCI), Presidential documents appointing Carson City Mint officials, a Roman coin counterfeiter's coin molds, zincers, the 1793 Manchester Promissory Halfpenny, the United East India Company, and the National Medal of Science, read on. Have a great week, everyone!

Wayne Homren
Editor, The E-Sylum

 

NBS BIBLIOTALK PODCAST WITH ERIC BROTHERS

NBS Podcast Interviews Numismatic Author Eric Brothers

Our latest episode features an interview with Eric Brothers, a prolific numismatic author. Eric discusses his journey into numismatics, starting with a childhood fascination with coins, which he revisited years later by joining a coin club in Florida. He highlights his extensive work as a numismatic writer, with contributions to multiple publications like The Numismatist, Financial History, and Fun Topics. Eric emphasizes his storytelling approach in numismatic writing, inspired by his broader literary interests and past experiences in counterculture journalism and historical research.

Eric further delves into his methodology, explaining how he integrates economic, political, and historical contexts into numismatic topics, avoiding narrowly focused accounts. He discusses several key resources and books that influenced his writing, spanning numismatic, economic, and artistic studies. Additionally, he touches on his work documenting the anti-fascist resistance in Berlin during WWII, a project that took decades to complete. Eric's advice to aspiring writers includes reading classic literature like The Great Gatsby to learn effective storytelling, demonstrating that great numismatic writing goes beyond just coins, encompassing art, history, and human narratives.

Link to “NBS Interviews Numismatic Author Eric Brothers” on the NBS website:
https://www.coinbooks.org/resources/podcast.html

NEW BOOK: GLASS TRADE BEADS IN CALIFORNIA

Glass Trade Beads in California
£ 38.00

Authors: Clement W. Meighan and Elliot H. Blair
Publication Year: 2024
Language: English
ISBN: 9781407362038
Paperback: 107 pages, Illustrated throughout in black & white, and color.

Description
In 1949 Clement Meighan began compiling a type collection of glass trade beads in California at the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley--his monograph documenting this collection was never published. This volume is an updated and annotated version of Meighan's original manuscript, including a complete reanalysis of the entire type collection. Updated to be consistent with contemporary scholarly standards for bead analysis, this volume documents and describes the global circulation of glass trade beads into California, from early contact through the early 20th century. Documenting more than 400 glass bead varieties, this is the only treatment of archaeologically recovered glass trade beads in California with substantial regional and temporal breadth. This volume is an essential resource for historical archaeologists interested in the global bead trade from ca. AD 1600-1900.

AUTHOR
Clement W. Meighan was Professor Emeritus at UCLA and one of the foremost experts in California archaeology. Elliot H. Blair is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of Alabama and the current president of the Society of Bead Researchers.

REVIEW
'This is an extremely important work, both from an historical perspective (it is a classic of early glass bead research) and for the data it provides which will be of use to many researchers. The insights that Meighan's years of research bring to the subject and the updates by Blair will make this a valuable resource. I have studied glass beads for over fifty years and I learned new information as I read through this volume.'
Professor Marvin T. Smith, Valdosta State University

For more information, or to order, see:
Glass Trade Beads in California (https://www.barpublishing.com/glass-trade-beads-in-california.html)

NEW BOOK: CATALOG OF INDIA POSTAL ORDERS

Introduction

On January 1st 1881 Great Britain became the first country in the world to issue Postal Orders. Ten different denominations were issued.

Indian Postal Notes were introduced on 1st January 1883 and withdrawn on 31st October 1886.

Indian Postal Orders were introduced on 1st April 1935.

Postal Order is an order for payment of a specified sum to a named payee, issued by the Post Office very similar to a bank cheque.

Postal Orders provide a convenient means of transmitting small sums of money by post.

Postal Orders for set values can be bought at the post office. They could then be sent by the post and redeemed by the recipient at their local post office.

Postal orders could be paid into a Post Office savings account, a bank account, or exchanged for cash.

Indian Postal Order can be crossed like bank cheques.

Indian Postal Order were in great demand when the banking was not widely available. Indian Post Offices had better and wider network in rural areas and small town than the banks.

The Electronic Indian Postal Order (e-IPO) was introduced on 22nd March 2013, initially only for Indian citizens living abroad. The e-IPO can be used for online payment. The service was expanded for all Indian citizens on 14th February 2014.

Money Remittance Services Offered by India Post

India Post with more than 150,000 branches across the country provides money remittance services. Money Order and Postal Order were the only means of money remittance in old days.

India Postal Notes

India Postal Notes were issued soon after the introduction of British Postal Orders in UK. As they were not very popular with the common public they were withdrawn soon after.

The printed Indian Postal Notes themselves were of no monetary value. Specially introduced adhesive postage stamps must be pasted on the Indian Postal Notes for them to be of the required monetary value.

East India Company's adhesive postage stamps of the denomination of the India Postal Note, specially overprinted at Calcutta, with text “I P N”, “I” at the top, lower down “P” to left, and “N” to right were used. An adhesive postage stamp of the value, 8 Annas (Issue 1868 SG #73), 1 Rupee (Issue 1874 SG #79) or 12 Annas surcharged with “Rs 2, As 8” (Issue 1876 SG #82) is affixed in the center square.

To read the complete book, see:
https://foxly.link/PostalOrders

 

EUGENE DAUB BOOK UPDATE

Adolfo Nodal writes:

For more information, see:
EugeneDaubArtBook (https://www.spotfund.com/story/56fff63c-2a5e-4bf4-a178-6d7c3c9d05bd)

To read earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
EUGENE DAUB RETROSPECTIVE (https://www.coinbooks.org/v24/esylum_v24n39a10.html)
NEW BOOK: PORTRAITS, METALS, AND MONUMENTS (https://www.coinbooks.org/v27/esylum_v27n32a02.html)
EUGENE DAUB BOOK UPDATE (https://www.coinbooks.org/v27/esylum_v27n33a06.html)

JANUARY 2025 IPMS NEWSLETTER

IPMS Secretary Bob Leonard writes:

ORIENTAL NUMISMATIC SOCIETY WINTER 2024

Journal of the Oriental Numismatic Society
258 Winter 2024

CONTENTS

Editorial
Pankaj Tandon

Some rare and interesting Rajanya coins
Devendra Handa

Spears, javelins, sceptres, goads and clubs on ancient coinage: a comparative study
Sanjeev Kumar

Sasanian and Arab-Sasanian coins in the Four-Season Museum, Arak
Amir Zamani and Sina Abaslou

Coin types of Avantivarman, first king of the Utpala dynasty of Kashmir
Gul Rahim Khan

Nanakshahi coinage: symbols of religious tolerance
Jeevandeep Singh

Obituaries
      Pratipal Bhatia (1936–2024)
      David MacDowall (1930–2024)

New grant announced from the Royal Numismatic Society

ONS News

Book reviews and notices

For more information, see:
https://www.orientalnumismaticsociety.org/

NNP ADDS HOWLAND WOOD CORRESPONDENCE

NNP Completes Scanning of Howland Wood Curator Correspondence

Howland Wood served as Curator of the American Numismatic Society from 1913 to 1938 and in that capacity sent and received thousands of letters, which have now been digitized under sponsorship of Newman Portal. This series consists of nearly 3,000 individual correspondent files, with scanning by Internet Archive associate Lara Jacobs launched in late 2023 and recently completed.

One of the final files is that of Mario Zucchi (1872-1949) of the Royal Library in Turin, Italy. In this correspondence, Wood requests plasters of ancient coins of Metapontum and later acknowledges receipt of the same. Today, the ANS holds thousands of plaster casts of Greek coins, but these are not catalogued in MANTIS. It is likely that the Zucchi copies remain in the collection.

Most examples of the Metapontum coinage depict barley or grain. The ear of barley was a symbol of this Greek city-state in Magna Graecia (southern Italy) that represented the city's agricultural wealth and reminded trading partners of its abundance. The file concludes with a request to host ANS President Edward T. Newell during his anticipated trip to Turin in spring 1922.

Image: Metapontum bronze coin (3.0g) with Dionysus head. ANS catalog no. 1935.117.33.

Link to Howland Wood curator correspondence:
https://archive.org/details/americannumismaticsociety?tab=collection&query=%22howland+wood+correspondence%22&sort=title

Link to Mario Zucchi correspondence:
https://archive.org/details/zucchimariocav1900amer/page/7/mode/1up

VIDEO: 1894 CALIFORNIA MIDWINTER EXPOSITION

For the 1894 California Midwinter Exposition in San Francisco, dozens of fascinating commemorative medals referred known as "So-Called Dollars" were struck. This presentation will cover the history of the exposition, including photographs of the fair and a discussion of the historical So-Called Dollars.

Speaker(s): Jeff Shevlin. From the 2009 ANA convention.

To watch the complete video, see:
California 1894 Midwinter Exposition So-Called Dollar (https://youtu.be/CYDRspcOx8U)
California 1894 Midwinter Exposition So-Called Dollar (https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/557311)

COIN CLUB PHISHING SCAM WARNING

The American Philatelic Society has received reports of an email-based info-gathering scam targeting stamp clubs and other philatelic societies. In the emails, an individual going by the name Pierre Champion claims that he was referred to the society by the APS because he is relocating to the United States from France. He requests that an application and an introduction to the club via the mail, and shares anecdotes about his collection and history with philately. Below is an example that was sent to us.

The emails seem genuine because the address is real, the scammer references the APS, and message is well-written and full of emotional anecdotes that appeal to philatelists, but this is a calculated strategy to increase the chance of receiving a response. The purpose of the info-gathering scam is to get access to materials and information like the letterhead of your club, the signatures of club leaders, and potentially even bank account numbers. This is the reason that the scammer requests the information by mail.

Note also that the email's To: field reads "undisclosed-recipients:" which shows the email was sent to a hidden distribution list — this means that the scammer is sending their email to multiple clubs at once, which would not make sense if the request was genuine. Another giveaway is that the email is not specific to the club or society that receives it. Phrases like "I will be relocating to the USA, in your State, near your philatelic club" seem relatively normal at first glance, especially if the reader assumes English is not the sender's first language. However, the phrase is a smokescreen that allows the scammer to send the email to many targets at once without having to change the text of the message.

If you receive an email from this individual or an email that follows this same template, we encourage you to delete it immediately without responding. The individual has also perpetrated the same scam in Europe using the name Pierre Bernard and the same mailing address.

David Menchell writes:

Mary adds:

NBS President Len Augsburger writes:

Mary adds:

For more information, see:
phishing noun (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/phishing)
Phishing (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing)
What is phishing? (https://www.malwarebytes.com/phishing)

2026 COIN DESIGN IDEAS

Instead of using Lincoln and Jefferson on the one and five cent coins, let's try and be creative. Why not use the versions of the dime that will not be used-to create a new cent and a new nickel for 2026.

For the ONE CENT coin-a modified version of dime O-02 with Liberty straightened out.

FIVE CENT COIN-the CCAC recommendation for the dime O-03.

And for the DIME, the CFA recommendation DIME-O-01A.

For more information, see:
CCAC recommends designs for 2026 dime, half dollar (https://www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/ccac-recommends-designs-for-2026-dime-half-dollar)
CFA looks at dime, half dollar designs for 2026 (https://www.coinworld.com/news/us-coins/cfa-looks-at-dime-half-dollar-designs-for-2026)

NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: JANUARY 26, 2025

Elephants
John Byars Jr. writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
HERITAGE: WINTER OBSOLETE CURRENCY SALE (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n03a21.html)

On the Roman aureus found in Pompeii

  Regarding the Roman aureus found in Pompeii, reader James writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
COINS FOUND WITH WOMAN IN POMPEII (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n03a23.html)

The Kessler Fugio Cents Book
Kent S. writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
ABOUT THIS ISSUE: JANUARY 19, 2025 (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n03a35.html)

About that Coin Roll

Regarding Wayne Pearson's "Australian Coin Roll", John Regitko of Toronto, Canada writes:

Jeff Starck writes:

Wayne Pearson writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: JANUARY 19, 2025 : Australian Coin Roll (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n03a14.html)

On the New UK Fifty Pence Coins
Jeff Starck writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: JANUARY 19, 2025 : 2025 Great Britain Salmon Fifty Pence (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n03a14.html)

Greenland and California Bear Coin Designs
Wayne Pearson writes:

For more information, see:
Greenland 25 Øre KM# 5 (https://www.ngccoin.com/price-guide/world/greenland-25-%c3%b8re-km-5-1926-cuid-1120049-duid-1333645)
1925-S California Commemorative Silver Half Dollar - Free Shipping US (https://thehappycoin.com/1925-s-california-commemorative-silver-half-dollar-free-shipping-us/)

More on Medals for Coin Clubs
Bill Daehn writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NOTES FROM E-SYLUM READERS: JANUARY 19, 2025 : Medals for Coin Clubs (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n03a14.html)

1809 Coin of George III Received in Change
David Pickup writes:

Share Your Hobby Specialty!
Ray Williams writes:

For more information, see:
Trump isn't first to be second: Grover Cleveland set precedent of nonconsecutive presidential terms (https://apnews.com/article/grover-cleveland-president-nonconsecutive-terms-7ea2c92c72911462ccb1bc2e7352fa23)

Personal Commemorative: First Money Made
Tony Terranova writes:

Looking for Los Angeles Puddles of Silver
Gary Beals writes:

To read the complete post, see:
Coins melted by a house fire. Oldest date visible is 1902! (https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/comments
/72ppxe/coins_melted_by_a_house_fire_oldest_date_visible/)

World Coins Magazine Offered
Dick Hanscom writes:

Autobiography of a Lost Quarter

New York Beggar Woman Weighed Down with Coins

Officers of the New York Charity Organization Society Friday afternoon arrested Cornelia Odell, sixty-six years old, of 150 West Twenty-Eighth street, Manhattan, on a charge of begging. When the woman was searched by the matron at the East Thirty-Fifth Street Police station there were found concealed in various parts of her clothing 1,100 one-cent pieces, $30.75 in nickels, dimes, quarters and half dollars, and $38 in bills, a total of $79.75. So weighted down with coin was this woman that she could move only with difficulty, and those to whom she appealed thought she was a cripple.

The police identified her as a woman who had been convicted of begging in May and August of 1902. In the Yorkville Police Court she was held for examination Sunday.

For more information, see:
Naked Cowboy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked_Cowboy)

WEDDING TOKEN OR BROTHEL TOKEN?

I was studying a hoard of Chinese amulets and then went to an old mining town for a day out. At the bookstore was an old book with tokens that I looked through and noted a token present that I was trying to figure out. The usual name is a Wedding token, thought to help the innocent husband know what to do after the marriage. The possibly wrong explanation of these being brothel tokens makes much more sense. And knowing how much the Chinese presence in the Old West was overlooked I think that the new idea backed by a book reference may be real.

Maybe too much for bibliophiles but neat for me. The one amulet is in the upper right of the plate. Others in the hoard are not presented.

I found a translation for this one and also one for the usual tokens that are different from this one.

This one: Ming Huang Yu Ying = Bright Emperor (or Imperial Concubine). Please note that the token is upside down in the book. The moon and sun should be above the hole.

The usual ones say: Feng Hua Xue Yun = Every Season Much Love/Pleasure.

I then noted the four figures are for the four seasons.

SPMC WEB UPGRADE DONATIONS SOUGHT

The Society of Paper Money Collectors strives to make available as much of its research and educational materials as it can to SPMC members and the general public alike. Unlike other organizations, the SPMC does not hide most of its resources behind a paywall. As a result, the SPMC website serves as the beating heart of our community, providing essential resources for all paper money collectors, beginners and experts alike.

To keep serving you and future generations of collectors, the time has come for SPMC to invest in a substantial upgrade of its website to ensure its functionality, security, and usability for years to come.

Slated to begin in early 2025, this critical upgrade will cost $27,500, covering redevelopment and the transfer of existing data. Without it, the website's performance and security will deteriorate, jeopardizing the educational tools and connections that make SPMC an invaluable resource to the collecting community.

We need your support to reach our goal by mid-2025. Your contribution—big or small—will make a lasting impact on the future of paper money collecting. Please donate today and help us preserve this vital resource for our community!

SPMC Governor Loren Gatch writes:

To make a donation, see:
https://www.spmc.org/donate

VOCABULARY TERM: REDUCTION PUNCH

Reduction Punch. A patrix or hub cut on a die-engraving pantograph; it may contain all design and lettering, but more often was the device alone. The reduction punch was particularly used in diesinking at a time when early pantographs were adequate to cut portraits (or other devices) but were inadequate to cut lettering or detail particularly near the border of a coin or medal design. What the reduction punch accomplished then, was a marriage of early machine engraving with existing hand engraving – with the machine cutting the device and hand working the lettering by engraving or punches.

Reduction punches were first used early in the 19th century when fixed-cutter pantographs – notably those of Dupeyrat and Wohgemuth in France, those of the Soho Mint and the Royal Mint in England, and several others elsewhere – were capable of cutting an acceptable portrait. The device was modeled, cast in some hard metal for the pattern, then reduced by the pantograph cutting a hub the intended size needed.

Instead of completing the full design in the model and reducing this to the size die required, here was the sequence necessary: (1) model the device, (2) cast or electroform a pattern of the device, (3) cut a reduction punch of the device on a pantograph from the pattern, (4) hub the reduction punch into a die, (5) add the lettering by hand punches or hand engraving to complete the die.

While these extra steps added time and cost, using reduction punches had the advantage, however, of reducing, say, a monarch's portrait for several size coins. The lettering could be different for each denomination, but the portrait would be the same design in differing sizes.

The next generation pantographs –Caque in France, C.J. Hill in England – had rotating cutters, in effect a milling machine. This improvement overcame somewhat the shortcoming of previous pantographs. But it was not until the 1890s that the quality of the pantographs was such that they could cut the entire die at one time from a pattern that contained all the design, lettering, everything. Thus the need for the reduction punch became unnecessary after this advancement in die making.

To read the complete entry on the Newman Numismatic Portal, see:
Reduction Punch (https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/dictionarydetail/516600)

 

WILLIAM GEORGE JERREMS, JR. (1869-1945)

Last week I asked a Smarty-Pants question. What is the numismatic connection to Nicoll the Tailor? The answer may appear somewhere in this article.

I will begin the story with William G. Jerrems, Sr. He was born in 1843 in Gainsborough, England, and went to Australia with his parents in 1859. He was married at Gainsborough to Mary Adelaide Nicoll in 1867. She was the daughter of Alexander Nicoll, proprietor of “Nicoll the Tailor.” William sold his printing and publishing business in 1875 to move to America, then London, then New York in 1881 to work for his father-in-law. He died at French Lick, Indiana, on May 4, 1905.

In 1885, Alexander Nicoll retired from the firm of Nicoll the Tailor. He transferred ownership of the New York and eastern stores to his son Donald. He sold the western stores to his son-in-law, William G. Jerrems, Sr. The business became Wm. Jerrems & Sons with Nicoll the Tailor retained as a trade name.

William Jerrems, Jr. was born in Sydney, Australia, on February 5, 1869. He was the son of William George Jerrems, Sr. (1843-1905) and Mary Adelaide Nicoll (1847-1930), the daughter of Nicoll the Tailor. William came to America in 1881 on the ship City of Chester. William Jerrems Jr. managed the distribution center in Chicago.

William had three brothers in the family business. Arthur Wallace Jerrems (1872-1931), studied at Harvard, Alexander Nicoll Jerrems (1874-1948) was a football star at Yale and coach for the Minnesota Golden Gophers before joining the family business, and Donald Edwin Jerrems (1885-1930).

William Jerrems Jr. was married three times. He was married (1) in a small wedding at the home of the bride in Hinsdale, Illinois, to Frances Lee Hinckley (1870-1953) on January 21, 1891, and had a son Walter Hinckley Jerrems (1891-1968). They were later divorced.

He was married (2) in Chicago to Genevieve Byford (1876-1930) on April 21, 1897. The wedding was small at the home of the bride, but a thousand invitations were sent out for the reception. They had a son William George Jerrems III (1904-1969) and a daughter and divorced in 1910 on grounds of desertion.

Genevieve Byford was a scofflaw. In 1907 she was arrested for speeding 21 MPH in Glencoe, Illinois. She paid a fine of $15.

He was married (3) to Anna Phillips Stapler (1886-1953) in about 1913. They had a son, Alexander Stapler Jerrems (1919-1995).

William G. Jerrems began collecting coins in 1882 after moving to America. He got a subscription after seeing the first issue of The Numismatist published by Dr. George Heath. He joined the American Numismatic Association as member #3 following Heath and Charles T. Tatman. During the organization of the club, George Heath appointed him as temporary president at age 22. At an organizational meeting with six attending in Chicago, he was elected 1 st ANA President and served October 7, 1891, to October 5, 1892.

Doctor Heath reported that Jerrems was quite helpful with the early organization of the Association. However, there were no specific contributions mentioned. His limited legacy was as the first president.

It might be remembered that Augustus B. Sage was involved with formation of the American Numismatic Society at age 17. Jerrems was president of the American Numismatic Association at age 22. Perhaps they had discussions at early meetings about how to get older members involved.

Jerrems advertised in The Numismatist under the name of Nicoll the Tailor. One ad stated:

In 1903, Jerrems joined five others for dinner at the Union League Club in Chicago to discuss formation of a local club. On January 4, 1904, the Chicago Numismatic Society was formed with Jerrems elected the first president. In 1912, Branch Number 1 of The American Numismatic Association was formed with many members from the Chicago Numismatic Society It lasted less than a year. The Chicago Numismatic Society fizzled out in 1915.

The ANA Branch No. 1 woke from slumber in 1917 and the Chicago Coin Club was formed in 1919. I have reason to believe it is still doing well.

William went to California between 1908 and 1913 to manage the store in San Francisco. In 1913 he returned to Chicago. In 1917, he left Chicago for Kansas City to manage the store there.

William retired from Nicoll the Tailor in 1930. I found one report that he went blind in the 1930's. Arthur W. Jerrems became president of the board with Alexander N. Jerrems and Donald E. Jerrems as vice presidents. Donald Edwin Jerrems died by suicide in 1930.

With the retirement of William and death of Donald, Nicoll the Tailor was out of business to be replaced by Jerrems Tailors. They were still thinking of coins as shown by this 1930 ad:

Jerrems discussed his collecting interests in an article in The Numismatist for October 1941.

He went on to discuss his other collections:

William died at home in Kansas City, Missouri, on December 16, 1945. He was cremated and interred at Elmwood Cemetery in Kansas City.

He formed one of the “complete” sets of The Numismatist that has been sold by George F. Kolbe three times. I assume the current owner continues to add to it.

Jerrems appears with Heath and Hooper on a medal for the 1966 diamond anniversary of the ANA. The 3-inch bronze medal was designed by Frank Gasparro and struck at the Philadelphia Mint. A comment on the medal was that the face of Jerrems was too plain to make a good sculptural subject.

In 1891, the name of Nicoll the Tailor would have been familiar to millions of Americans. Few of them would have cared that he was president of the American Numismatic Association.

Julia wrote:

To read the complete item description, see:
1800's 25¢ Nicoll The Tailor ((ADVERTISEMENT NOTE)) Obsolete Note (https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1800s-25-nicoll-tailor-advertisement-4734919428)

Sleuth Julia adds:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
ALEXANDER NICOLL (1821-1895) (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n03a16.html)

GERRY FORTIN INTERVIEW, PART FOUR

GERRY FORTIN: Something happened in my semiconductor career. I left Fairchild very frustrated and I ended up going to mainland China and working for a Chinese semiconductor company for six years. How about that?

GREG BENNICK: It's a twist I didn't anticipate. So that's really interesting.

GERRY FORTIN: That's what happened. In 2005, our CEO, who was very, very cost focused, he was not strategic at all, but just very cost focused. He decided that the organization I was running at that point, and I haven't talked about it, but starting in around 2000/2001, with the new Fairchild, I managed all worldwide contracted manufacturing. So, we had contractors throughout the world, you know, in Asia and in Europe, and I had an organization of 13 people, and we managed that part of the business. So, all the sourcing of chips made in those sub-cons, I had to ensure the quality, the yields, delivery, and so on and so forth. And all that flowed into our assembly sites to make our products.

I was doing that, and I was flying all over the world. So, I was in China frequently. I could tell you a whole bunch of stories offline, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and in Europe, it was working with the Dutch, working with the Germans. I had led a busy life, but still in the background, I was doing all this Liberty Seated stuff. So fast forward to 2005, the CEO said, “All right, you're spending way too much money. Your department is too expensive. Well, let's rebuild it in Singapore,” because we had a secondary headquarters in Singapore, and we had operations there. He says, “All right, I want you to move all your function there, including yourself, and hire your replacement.” That was no fun.

GREG BENNICK: That doesn't sound fun.

GERRY FORTIN: No, it was no fun. It was a year and a half of agony. I found jobs for all my people, and when it was done, I said, “That's it, I'm out of here.” And my German boss would say, “Gerry, stay, stay, stay, we'll get you a staff job at headquarters.” And I was like, “Really? I've been flying all over the world and running this large organization, and you want me to read and write reports in a staff function?” So, I approached one of my sub-cons in China and said, “Hey, do you need a high-level guy?” And they hired me immediately.

GREG BENNICK: Fantastic. That's great. Okay. Well, so at the same time, I'm assuming, at some point in this story, you dive back into Seated Dimes and or become a coin dealer full-time. So, I'm curious about that transition.

GERRY FORTIN: Well, so in 2006-7-8, I am just slammed with my career in China. I mean, here you've got a white American guy managing marketing and sales for a Chinese semiconductor company, and my Putonghua was pretty marginal. (laughs) So that was intense. You cannot believe how intense of a period that was in my life. By 2012, things happened there. The company I worked for, everything in China reports to the communist government. We had a shakeup with management and the whole management team essentially was let go because they took our semiconductor fab, we had built in Wuxi, China, and they turned it into a military fab. Classic Chinese Communist Party behavior.

GREG BENNICK: Wow.

GERRY FORTIN: So, we had brought in a lot of American tools. My last two years working with CSMC Technologies, I was handling export compliance with the Department of Commerce. I was the person that was guaranteeing to the U.S. government that the high-energy implanters and all these sophisticated tools were not going to fall into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party or the PLA. So that was my role. That was pretty intense, too.

GREG BENNICK: I'm sure it was. Now, were you still collecting? Were you gearing up to be a coin dealer at this time?

GERRY FORTIN: My wife was pretty tired of me working in China. She had stayed back. She did not want to live in China. She said, “You need to come home. Why don't you become a coin dealer?” She just said that. Why don't you become a coin dealer? You love coins. You know, we're financially fine. Why don't you become a coin dealer as a different career? And by 2013, I came home and that's what I did.

GREG BENNICK: Fantastic. So, you become a coin dealer. Now you've got this set of dimes that I'm assuming had been sitting stagnant for quite some time since that auction where the 65-S in gem got away from you.

GERRY FORTIN: Correct.

GREG BENNICK: What happened at this point, meaning I'm curious about how in one respect Liberty Seated Coins changed between the entry of other players into the game when you decided to put it aside in 2005 until now. I'm curious about that. How has it changed? Are there many more, as you alluded to, wealthy players in the game? Is it much more competitive now? But also, what was it like when you came back and decided to be a coin dealer?

GERRY FORTIN: Becoming a coin dealer was... it took a little time to figure out that industry. It took me like about a year. I decided I was going to, well, let's go back and look at the situation. So, in 2004, I published the book. And at that point, I had 1,650 Seated Dimes. It's a substantial amount. I had to liquidate this stuff, because I was done with it. I had used it as a reference collection to build the online book.

GREG BENNICK: Sure.

GERRY FORTIN: Now I didn't need it. So being a coin dealer was an avenue by which I could start liquidating it without shaking up the market. You just can't put 1,000 dimes on the market. You'll crash prices. So, what I did is I started letting go some of those reference pieces to raise capital. But also, while I was working in China, I was still active. I was buying up Chinese pandas. So Chinese silver pandas. And there was a period of time where they were just dirt cheap. Just dirt cheap. So, I bought a bunch of those and brought them back to the U.S. and sold some of those to also raise capital.

So, I had those two sources of capital. And that launched the business and really it got started in 2014. That's when I started doing coin shows. I had my own website, which I bolted a sales module onto the dime variety reference. I just bolted a module. I could program somewhat in HTML.

GREG BENNICK: I love it. Another parallel between the two.

GERRY FORTIN: Another parallel! Right. And that's how the coin business got started.

GREG BENNICK: So, in terms of the Liberty Seated collection itself. Are there coins that you, other than the 65-S, that you wish you could have owned? Or are there favorite pieces of your collection that you did own and sell or still own today?

GERRY FORTIN: Oh, man. (laughs) That's a wide-open question. When I was doing the die variety research, I built relationships with a number of collectors. You don't do die variety research in a vacuum. You need access to a lot of coins to study. All right. And like you mentioned earlier on, the 43-O and the 45-O.

GREG BENNICK: Sure.

GERRY FORTIN: Let's see. Probably around 1993, 1994, I was researching the 1840-O, no drapery dimes. Trying to figure out all the dies and then all the die marriages. And I was working with a gentleman in California named Kevin Zeitler. And Kevin and Craig Eberhardt in Los Alamos, and one other gentlemen, his name escapes me. These were the three major New Orleans collectors in the country. So, I hooked up with them. Kevin sent me all his 1840-O dimes. And some of them were pretty high grade. So, I was able to do all the analysis.

After I shipped those back, and a few months later, he calls me and says, “Hey, Gerry, I've got an 1843-O and an 1845-O dime that I want to sell. Do you want them?” I said, “Sure. Send them to me.” I bought the pair at a very attractive price, and they turned out to be what's in my set today. They were never upgraded. One is the third finest. I think they're both third finest. But I just, at that time, I made decisions to buy those two very nice dimes. That's what it was like, was relationships.

The auctions, the auction house, and the auction experience was so different than today. Back then, you went into an auction room, and everybody who was bidding was in the room. And sure, you had the phone bidders. There was no internet bidding. You showed up, and everybody looked at everybody else in the room. Who was there?

GREG BENNICK: Hold up your card.

GERRY FORTIN: Hold up your card. And then there was always that mysterious phone bidder at the end that you questioned. That was, you know, what was going on with that guy?

GREG BENNICK: Yeah. Who were they, and where were they?

GERRY FORTIN: Where were they? Yeah! Were they still bidders, or what was it? But that was the experience. Today, it's sad. The bidding process is all online. You go to an auction room, there's maybe five people there. You know, and the gentleman that's running the auction is playing for the internet and not for the people in the room.

GREG BENNICK: Yeah, it's a different experience, yeah.

GERRY FORTIN: The auctioneer behaves in a completely different manner.

GREG BENNICK: I remember many years ago, going to auctions and having my bid card, and I picked up a few error coins from my collection by holding up my bid card. And it was an exciting experience. I mean, it was engaging and physical to hold up the bid card. It was really exciting.

GERRY FORTIN: Oh, yeah, you get that feeling in your chest when the coin that you want is coming up and you start the bidding and say, “All right, where am I going to jump in?”

GREG BENNICK: I literally remember that experience with one particular coin. I still feel the feeling in my chest from the coin that I won. So that's exciting. I like that.

GERRY FORTIN: Yeah, yeah.

About the Interviewer
Greg Bennick (www.gregbennick.com) is a keynote speaker and long time coin collector with a focus on major mint error coins and US counterstamps. He is on the board of both CONECA and TAMS and enjoys having in-depth conversations with prominent numismatists from all areas of the hobby. Have ideas for other interviewees? Contact him anytime on the web or via instagram @minterrors.

To watch the complete video, see:
Gerry Fortin Interviewed for the NNP by Greg Bennick (https://youtu.be/aNYBgaAxv7k)

To read the complete transcript, see:
Gerry Fortin Interviewed for the NNP by Greg Bennick (Transcript) (https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/book/643416)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
GERRY FORTIN INTERVIEW, PART ONE (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n01a13.html)
GERRY FORTIN INTERVIEW, PART TWO (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n02a18.html)
GERRY FORTIN INTERVIEW, PART THREE (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n03a17.html)

JIM HALPERIN INTERVIEW

At just 11 years old, Jim Halperin had already found his calling, although he hadn't realized it yet. Back in the early 1960s, the Boston native was a fledgling but eager comic book dealer and fanzine publisher. But by 1968, he had turned the page on comics and started dealing in stamps and coins instead. That teenage pivot turned into an early withdrawal from Harvard University and a full-time numismatic career.

Halperin launched New England Rare Coin Galleries in 1971 and 11 years later teamed up with his friend and former rival Steve Ivy to form Heritage Rare Coin Galleries and Heritage Numismatic Auctions. Over the next few years, Halperin started Numismatic Certification Institute (NCI), the first privately owned collectibles grading service; wrote a book called How to Grade U.S. Coins; became an early shareholder in Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS) and Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC); and earned a reputation as possibly the most successful American coin dealer of the 20th century.

But even though the numismatic world is where Halperin made his name, his career came full circle when Heritage launched its first Comics & Comic Art auction in 2001. Once again, Halperin was immersed in the collecting category that first captured his attention as a bright-eyed adolescent. Today, he still oversees Heritage's Comics & Comic Art department, a cornerstone of Heritage Auctions' worldwide success and explosive growth over the past two decades.

Below, Halperin looks back on Heritage's early days, looks ahead to what might come next and explains how Mad magazine helped shape generations.

Take me back to when you and Steve Ivy first joined forces. What were your goals back then?

At the time, we were coming out of a horrible bear market for coins, which was finally starting to turn around. I was, to put it charitably, insolvent. My goal was to earn enough money to pay all my creditors and keep my reputation intact. Steve wrote out a plan on a yellow pad – his vision of what would happen financially if we combined forces. He showed me numbers that looked about right. As it turns out, he was a bit conservative. We did better than he projected for the first few years, and even after that, our business kept growing. But when I signed our partnership agreement I was completely focused on paying my creditors in full, with interest, as soon as possible and, only then, on growing Heritage.

Could you have imagined then that Heritage would become one of the largest auction houses in the world?

Our auction companies were an afterthought. They were tiny, even for coin auctions. So, to answer your question, not even a gleam in my eye. But I knew that Steve and I would invent, reinvent and constantly refine our businesses.

What was the single biggest factor that led to Heritage's success?

In my opinion, the fact that Steve and I had complementary talents, and although we often disagreed, we were never at cross-purposes. Steve was a great businessman, probably the best in the business. I was the highest-earning trader of U.S. coins. So he let me run our coin trading with 100% autonomy, and he took care of everything else, at least at the beginning. And together we hired and nurtured an amazing array of numismatic and business talent, including Marc Emory, who came with me from NERCG to Heritage, then Greg Rohan and Paul Minshull. Meanwhile, one of my many experiments, NCI, which Mike Sherman helped me design and operate, set the stage for the 1980s' biggest change in the coin business: certified grading.

And grading changed the game for everybody.

Yes, PCGS and NCG followed suit with even better products, which helped standardize grading and made numismatics much more attractive to collectors and investors alike. We adapted quickly, betting on PCGS and later NGC, while phasing out NCI.

What came along next?

The second sea change for numismatics, both private sales and auctions, was the internet. We had previously struggled to compete against a strong group of competitors in that field and were lucky to come in fifth or sixth in annual auction sales. Fortunately, I was exposed to the internet early while writing and promoting two science fiction novels in 1995 and 1996. So, by the time we launched our first interactive auction platform, I knew what we had to do: We had to give away as much free and useful information as possible even if it meant giving up most of our trading advantages. And it worked! Our online auction archive especially was a game changer. Every coin dealer and every major collector started using it routinely, and when they thought of auctions, they thought of us first. Within a year or two of launching our site, we had the No. 1 coin auction company in the world.

Heritage enjoyed similar success when it added the currency category. Then comics were the next big thing. How did that come about?

Paul Minshull deserves most of the credit for getting us into currency auctions by negotiating our purchase of Currency Auctions of America (CAA), the distant but highly respected No. 2 auction company in the field. A year later, simply by adding our platform to the mix, it was No. 1 by a huge margin. And CAA's founders, Allen Mincho and Len Glazer, who had agreed to run the business for us for two or three years, both wound up staying for 20!

Meanwhile, I'd started collecting comics again in 1991. So, after CAA's business took off, I started hounding Steve, maybe once a week. I'd say, “Steve, the coin auction business was so competitive, and we struggled for decades, and then bam, we launched our website and rose to the top. Then we did the same thing with currency.” And he said, “Yeah, but I don't know anything about comics.” And I said, “Well, I know a little.” He just wouldn't go for it. Finally, I told him, “OK, I'll consign from my own collection about $400,000 or $500,000 worth of comics, and I'll sell them unreserved. So Heritage can't possibly lose money on the auction.” He had no choice but to say yes.

How fast did things take off for comics?

We sold almost $1 million in our first auction. Our second auction, just three months later, realized $2.2 million. Three months after that, we sold Stan Lee's collection, along with lots of other consignments; that sale brought $5 million. Three months after that, we sold Nicolas Cage's comic book collection, and that auction brought even more.

So Steve was officially on board at that point.

Oh, yeah, he was fully convinced, and we were off to the races. Heritage comics auctions had sold over $15 million our first calendar year and would keep growing from there.

And then the sports category was the next big addition?

That was Steve's reciprocity to me. He said, “OK, Jim, you guaranteed me no loss in comics. I'm going to do the same for you in sports.” I would have said yes anyway. Unlike comics, sports did lose money for a year or two but made it back and quickly became quite profitable.

What categories are you currently most excited about?

Pop culture is popular right now, and it's a worldwide, all-ages demographic, which is what I love about it. Ever since we recruited Joe Maddalena, setting him free from all the minutia of running his own auction company, Profiles in History, Joe and Heritage have been resetting nearly ever record in that field. Joe is also an expert in historical documents and memorabilia and has quickly grown those departments, too. Fully 20% of our entire staff is now under his leadership.

What categories have surprised you recently?

I'm kind of surprised that VHS had such a short life – at least for now. That was a disappointment. I think video games are starting to come back, but they peaked at much higher levels than they're trading at today. You can't really predict or time markets. It's just impossible. Even Silver Age comics had a crash, although they're rebounding a bit now, too. Comic art is now at its peak. That doesn't mean it won't go higher, only that it's never yet been higher than it is today.

Why do you think comic art is so popular now?

I think it's because collectors are so passionate about it and because every item is unique. If you own a piece of comic art, you're the only one who can. And I think a lot of collectors who started with comics have migrated or expanded to comic art and really enjoy sharing their collections online. I believe that field still has plenty of room to grow, especially when you consider how much smaller the sales volume is when compared to comic books themselves.

What about coins? That was the beginning for Heritage. How's that market looking today?

We used to have demographic concerns, but not anymore! The best sign is that there are so many young people coming in as dealers, more than I've ever seen, and that's huge because dealers are the ones who evangelize the field. It makes sense because when these 20-somethings or early 30-somethings were in middle school, they were probably collecting state quarters. So there's a nostalgia aspect to that, and now, when young people get on the internet, especially social media, and see so many others their age trading coins, they tend to think, “Hmm, that's an interesting career path.” Most of my contemporaries and I can honestly say to them that professional numismatics, at least for us, has been a wonderful career and life.

How does nostalgia play into some of these other categories we've been talking about?

Well, I learned how to read by reading comics. I think a lot of kids my age, especially those of us who didn't play a lot of sports, read a lot of comics, and I also remember reading every issue of Mad magazine cover to cover from the time I was 8 until at least through junior high school.

Mad is a big part of your personal collecting, isn't it?

Yes, because I think Mad magazine was one of the best influences on my generation and maybe the next generation. It taught kids how to think critically, how to question the powers that be, how to be skeptical of Madison Avenue and politicians and the media and pretty much everybody. Healthy skepticism and learning how to view the world multidimensionally are skills seldom taught in grade school yet very conducive to a happy and successful life. Through humor, Mad made that sort of thinking and learning fun and did so with great joy and humanity. What a gift Mad has been to the world!

How do you see Heritage evolving next?

Opportunistically. By that, I mean we look for great talent. We look for areas that are underserved. We look for locations that make sense for us. But it's mostly about finding, nurturing and keeping the very best “talent” – people who have the experience and the drive, the integrity, the skill set and a full appreciation of the Heritage philosophy, which anyone can read on our About page.

Do you have any predictions for the collectibles market in general?

That's hard to predict. I suppose I am still the most bullish on comic art. That area of collecting has so much appeal and so much sticking power, and I've never seen any collector leave the category entirely except by dying or aging out. Even when someone sells their comic art collection, most of the time they'll eventually start buying it again. Collectors who used to read comic books as kids, or who now enjoy comics-based entertainment, just love owning original comic book art and sharing it with fellow enthusiasts.

A version of this article originally appeared in the Winter 2025 issue of Heritage Auctions Journal.

To read the complete article, see:
On the Record With Heritage Auctions Co-Founder Jim Halperin (https://intelligentcollector.com/on-the-record-with-heritage-auctions-co-founder-jim-halperin/)

 

HOLABIRD DESERT RICHES AUCTION

Offered will be over 2,100 lots in categories that include mining, gold, numismatics, scripophily, Native Americana, railroadiana, philatelic and Americana. Day 4 will be a timed-only session.

Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC will burst onto the scene in 2025 with a huge, four-day Desert Riches Auction, January 31st thru February 3rd, featuring over 2,100 lots in numerous collecting categories to include mining, gold, numismatics, scripophily, Native Americana, railroadiana, philatelic and general Americana, starting at 8am Pacific time each day.

The first three days – January 31st thru February 2nd – are live sessions, hosted in Holabird's gallery located at 3555 Airway Drive in Reno; as well as online on all of their auction platforms (iCollector.com, LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com). The fourth day – Monday, February 3rd – is a timed-only session, hosted on iCollector.com and LiveAuctioneers.com only.

“We chose the name ‘Desert Riches' to honor the gold specimens, stock certificates, mining artifacts and railroad pieces in this sale from the California desert mining camps in Inyo County and Death Valley, as well as from Arizona and Nevada,” said Fred Holabird, the president and owner of Holabird Western Americana Collections, LLC. “This is going to be a great auction.”

Day 1, on Friday, January 31st, contains 434 lots of stock certificates and bonds (mining, oil, transportation – such as air, auto, railroad and steamer/marine – and miscellaneous, such as banking, Express and foreign); and philatelic (including postal covers, revenue and US and foreign stamps).

Day 2, on Saturday, February 1st, showcases 503 lots of transportation, to include railroad (passes, lanterns, locks and ephemera); bottles and brewing; general Americana (geographic sort US, foreign, books and maps, and miscellaneous, to include gaming, sports and toys); and military, political and weaponry/militaria.

Day 3, on Sunday, February 2nd has 501 lots of Western art and collectibles (cowboy, Native Americana and art); minerals and mining (gold specimens, minerals, fossils, mining artifacts and equipment and mining ephemera); and numismatics (US Mint and ingots, California fractional gold, US and foreign coins, medals, currency and scrip, and tokens).

Day 4, the timed session only on Monday, February 3rd, features 716 lots, all with $10 start prices, in categories that include minerals and mining, transportation, general Americana, numismatics, and stocks and bonds (mining, transportation and miscellaneous).

The numismatics category on Day 3 will be led by a Carson City Mint treasure: a pair of 1871 documents appointing the melter/assayer for the Mint, with one signed by President Ulysses S. Grant. Also up for bid will be a circa 1884 tin ingot from the Deadwood, Dakota Territory; a silver ingot from the State of Maine Mine in Tombstone, Ariz., lead and babbit ingots from California; and lead mining ingots from Idaho and Missouri.

The rest of the section includes a California Fractional Gold collection (over 20 lots); a Lesher dollar; scrip; and Western tokens from Arizona, Montana and Nevada.

The auction marks the beginning of some fantastic material from the California desert mining locales such as Inyo County and Death Valley. Featured are circa 1870s-1880s ore bags from Darwin/Keeler and placer gold from Inyo and Kern counties.

The mineral section also has Alaska gold from Valdez and 75 lots of stunning turquoise from the No. 8 mine in Nevada, split into different types of lots based on the color and size of the specimens. Also offered will be rare meteorite lots and fossils, as well as 19th century assay and mining tools found in the Comstock Lode in Nevada.

The star lot of the Americana category is an exceptionally rare 1862 Nevada Territory receipt issued to Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) for his work as a legislative reporter, signed by Clemens on the reverse. Also on offer is a Pony Express Virginia City cover sent the same month Clemens arrived in Virginia City to work for the Territorial Enterprise; plus early bonds signed by Governors Nye and Blasdell, and an 1862 Mayfield murder trial witness certificate.

Other lots in the large, diverse section include an abolitionist John Brown family photo album; an 1860 Lorino's terrestrial globe with stand; a 1914 National Cash Register; three Mills slot machines; and an original 1881 cabinet card of a Tucson store posse.

The railroadiana section begins with a small group of ever-popular railroad passes, followed by locks from the Central Pacific, Southern Pacific and Union Pacific railways; a Railway Express lockbox; ultra rare Nevada artifacts that include brass plates and luggage tags for Bullfrog, Tonopah & Goldfield, V&T and Eureka & Palisade; lanterns; and ephemera.

The sale features hundreds of lots of stock certificates and bonds from the Ken Prag collection, plus others. Be sure not to miss the Death Valley / Inyo County mining stocks (as well as Arizona, California, Colorado and Nevada); and rare autograph certificates, including Otto Mears, CP Huntington, Founding Father Robert Morris, Wells and Fargo, Henry Clews, William Sharon, and early baseball figures.

A modest Native Americana, art and cowboy section on Day 3 includes a stunning group of bronze statues; a rare Washoe Chief carte de visite; an Edward Dobrotka original Superman artist collection; a Steven Woodburn painting; cowboy belt buckles; Native American jewelry; and some Native American artifacts.

As if all that weren't enough, the auction will also feature antique bottles (including pieces found on the Comstock, such as a rare citron example from the USA Hospital Dept.); weaponry and militaria (including rare knives, Civil War letters and artifacts); and philatelic lots (including an LZ 129 Hindenburg cover collection); revenue stamped documents; and foreign stamp collections.

Bids can be placed online, in-person or over the phone with an agent. “Be sure to use the Keyword Search Tool on our website to search for items in your collecting categories across all sections,” advised Mr. Holabird, who added, “You can also search past sales, too.”

Telephone and absentee bids will be accepted. Color catalogs are available by calling 1-844-492-2766, or 775-851-1859. Anyone owning a collection that might fit into a Holabird Western Americana Collections auction is encouraged to get in touch. The company has agents all over America and will travel to inspect most worthy collections.

To consign a single piece or a collection, you may call Fred Holabird at 775-851-1859 or 844-492-2766; or, send an e-mail to fredholabird@gmail.com. To learn more about Holabird Western Americana Collections and the huge, four-day Desert Riches Auction slated for January 31st thru February 3rd beginning at 8 am Pacific time each day, please visit www.holabirdamericana.com.

WORCESTERSHIRE NERO-ERA ROMAN HOARD

A hoard of 1,368 coins, most of them silver, has been discovered in a pot by a metal detectorist in Worcestershire, a county in England.

The hoard was buried around A.D. 55, a time when the Roman Empire, led by emperor Nero (reign circa A.D. 54 to 68), was struggling to take control of England. His predecessor Claudius (reign A.D. 41 to 54) had invaded Britain and gained control of large amounts of England, but resistance continued into Nero's reign. In A.D. 60, a rebellion launched by Boudica, the queen of a British tribe known as the Iceni, nearly succeeded in driving the Romans from the island before the empire put the rebellion down.

While the coins were buried during Nero's reign, some of them were minted earlier. All but one of the coins in the hoard are silver denarii, a standard Roman coin, that were minted between 157 B.C. and A.D. 55, according to a statement from Museums Worcestershire. The one gold coin in the hoard was minted between A.D. 20 and 45 for a tribe called the Dobunni who were based in Worcestershire and nearby areas, the statement reported.

"The coins almost certainly entered the region by means of the Roman army," the statement noted. "Their sheer number means that the hoard would have represented a very considerable sum of cash at the time it was buried."

At the time the hoard was buried, Worcestershire was located on the frontier of the Roman Empire, according to the statement. This raises a question of whether battles or conflicts in the area might have prompted its owner to hide it.

To read the complete article, see:
More than 1,300 coins buried during Roman emperor Nero's reign found in England (https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/romans/more-than-1-300-coins-buried-buried-during-roman-emperor-neros-reign-found-in-england)

MOLDS FOR COUNTERFEITING ROMAN COINS

Archaeologists have uncovered a crime nearly 1,700 years after it was committed.

A dig has revealed a number of moulds which would have been used to create fake Roman coins – an offence that was punishable by crucifixion.

During a time of crisis in the Western Roman Empire of the 260s, hyper-inflation meant people had to resort to forging coins to keep up with the rising costs.

Official coins were minted rather than moulded.

So moulds, particularly intact ones like the ones found in Castleford, West Yorkshire, are extraordinarily rare.

But researchers found more than 100 pieces in one pit.

To read the complete article, see:
I, Fraudius! Roman coin conmen discovered nearly 1,700 years after he committed crime - which was once punishable by crucifixion (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14294449/I-Fraudius-Roman-coin-conmen-discovered-nearly-1-700-years-committed-crime-punishable-crucifixion.html)

MEDIEVAL COIN HOARD FOUND IN ISRAEL

Archaeologists have discovered a hoard of gold and silver coins by the remains of a centuries-old synagogue in Israel, near the Sea of Galilee.

The hoard of 364 coins, which was unearthed at the archaeological site of Huqoq (also spelled Yaquq), dates to the 15th century.

The team found the stash within two jugs under the collapsed wall of the synagogue. Most of the coins are from medieval Venice or the Mamluk sultanate, which controlled the region at the time. It's unclear why the jugs were filled with coins and left at the site, Robert Kool, a curator in the Israel Antiquities Authority's coin department, wrote in a paper published in the latest issue of the American Journal of Numismatics.

The earliest of the Venetian coins dates to the time that Francesco Dandolo was doge (leader of Venice), between 1329 and 1339, while the latest Venetian coins date to the reign of Francesco Foscari, from 1423 to 1457, Kool wrote. Many of the Venetian coins have images depicting St. Mark the Evangelist, who is traditionally ascribed as the author of the Gospel of Mark, as well as Latin inscriptions that can be translated as "It is to You, Christ, that this Duchy is entrusted which You govern," Kool wrote.

During medieval times in the eastern Mediterranean, Venetian coins were widely used as an export currency. "By the end of the fourteenth century [Venetian] ducats were the only European gold currency accepted in Mamluk Egypt and Syria," Kool wrote in the study.

Most of the Mamluk coins in the hoard were minted during the reign of Sultan al-Ashraf Barsbay, from 1422 to 1438, Kool wrote. There are also a few coins from other locations in Southern Europe, such as a silver coin minted during the reign of James I, who was king of Sicily from 1285 to 1295, and even a coin from Serbia.

To read the complete article, see:
15th-century hoard of gold and silver coins discovered in Israel near Sea of Galilee (https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/15th-century-hoard-of-gold-and-silver-coins-discovered-in-israel-near-sea-of-galilee)

 

EXPLOSION AND THEFT AT DRENTS MUSEUM

A major theft at the Drents Museum in Assen has resulted in the loss of valuable gold and silver artifacts from the Dacia – Rijk van Goud en Zilver (Dacia – Kingdom of Gold and Silver) exhibition, which was in its final weekend.

The robbery occurred early Saturday morning following an explosion at the museum. Among the items taken were three gold bracelets and the exhibition's centerpiece, the golden helmet of Cotofenesti, which had been featured in all promotional material. Additional objects may also have been stolen.

The explosion shattered several windows, allowing the thieves to break into the museum, said Debby Homans, an officer of justice, during a press conference held at the site. Police are investigating a suspicious vehicle and are urging nearby residents to share any footage they may have of the explosion.

The exhibition featured over 600 gold and silver objects from at least 15 museums across Romania, with highlights including three golden bracelets and the crown jewel of the collection, a golden helmet. Museum director Harry Tupan confirmed that damage was inflicted on display cases in the exhibit room. A Romanian delegation is set to visit on Sunday.

Extra security was in place for the exhibition, though there was no guard stationed in the exhibition hall. "However, everything was professionally recorded," Tupan said. Tupan was unable to say when the museum would reopen, though it is expected to be discussed on Monday.

“This is an incredibly dark day,” Tupan said. “We are deeply shocked and heartbroken that items belonging to our Romanian colleagues have been stolen. It's not just gold; this is cultural heritage.” Tupan noted that the museum has received support from King's Commissioner for Drenthe Jetta Klijnsma and Minister of the Interior Judith Uitermark.

Brand also expressed concerns about the likelihood of recovering the stolen artifacts, explaining that gold is often melted down for its material value, citing similar cases, including the 2017 theft of a 100-kilogram gold coin in Berlin and a Roman gold treasure stolen in Munich. Neither was recovered.

“This is a nightmare scenario for any museum,” Brand said. “Paintings are often stolen with the intent to sell or return them later. But gold is stolen to be melted down. For Romania, this is a disaster; this collection was significant national heritage.”

Georges adds:

To read the complete article, see:
Ancient gold artifacts stolen in Drents museum robbery (https://nltimes.nl/2025/01/25/ancient-gold-artifacts-stolen-drents-museum-robbery)

See also:
Explosion rocks Dutch museum before gold masterpieces stolen (https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/explosion-rocks-dutch-museum-before-gold-masterpieces-stolen/ar-AA1xRrWw)
« Nous sommes très choqu€s » : un mus€e victime d'un cambriolage (https://www.lesoir.be/650821/article/2025-01-25/nous-sommes-tres-choques-un-musee-victime-dun-cambriolage)
Dacia – Empire of gold and silver (https://drentsmuseum.nl/en/exhibitions/dacia-empire-of-gold-and-silver)
Le trésor de Pietroasa (Roumanie) (début 5e siècle) (http://moneta.be/volumes/moneta_075.htm)

COLLECTABLE COUNTERFEIT COINS, PART ONE

I was struggling with what to write about for our January's MintMaster then the idea of counterfeit coins came to mind. As we are, and should always be, on the lookout for counterfeit coins, it is my opinion that just about all significant collections very likely contain an undetected counterfeit coin. Especially with modern technology and techniques of manufacturing counterfeits are improving every year many very high quality fakes already exist. In fact it has been discussed if so-called “Perfect” counterfeits already exist. Most experts presently deny the existence of perfect counterfeits but if one were to exist how would they or anyone know.

This article is not about detecting counterfeits but instead I will discuss the collecting of counterfeits. You may ask, who in their right mind would actually collect counterfeit coins, or even pay good money for them? I started digging through my library and found a number of books not aimed at counterfeit detection but their identification and collectability. There are several such books and they are quite interesting with specific pictures and details of collectable counterfeits.

Actually, quite a few collectors collect counterfeit coins. There are several categories of counterfeits. First those which were made to circulate and deceive merchants. Then there were those made to substitute for rare coins which collectors who could not afford the real item for their collections. By this I mean fabrications which were made not to deceive but to help collectors fill holes in their collection with something they could not afford to purchase the real thing. Finally the counterfeits that were made to deceive collectors by unscrupulous people for a quick profit.

First and probably foremost I will cover coins which were made to circulate and deceive merchants. Probably the most common of these were early capped bust half dollars. Fifty cents was a tidy sum of money in the early 1800's and up until the change in design many capped bust half dollars were counterfeited. Shown earlier are two books exclusively written identifying these halfs by Keith R. Davignon. His books are fully illustrated with pictures of each half known with detailed descriptions and information about the counterfeiters. His first book is 159 pages in length while his second contains 326 pages. These early counterfeit bust half dollars are highly collectable and can sell for a significant sum of money. One very interesting fact is when the capped bust design ended in 1839 counterfeiters continued to make fakes of the same design through 1842. There was no Numismatic News or other general publications to inform them of the design change which has made for some very interesting fakes.

Another interesting series of books is those entitled “Bad Metal” by Winston Zack. So far two editions have been released, the first covers copper and nickel fakes while the second covers silver 3c pieces through quarters. I understand that subsequent volumes are planned to cover the higher denominations and possibly gold coins. These books cover each coin in detail along with many stories about the counterfeiters themselves. They are illustrated in full color both with obverse and reverse images of each coin.

Still another recent book by Joseph P. Cronin covers a much more recent counterfeit. Namly the Jefferson nickels and various dates which were counterfeited between 1939 and 1953 by Henning. Many of these counterfeit nickels presently sell on the market for hundreds of dollars each and are eagerly collected.

Even the early “Red Books” got into the picture of identifying replicas of early colonial coins by a star next to the coin and identifying the name of the individuals who created the replicas or counterfeits. These replicas were somewhat common and most collectors were aware of them but nonetheless they were still collected. These are examples of coins which in many cases were quite rare and it was thought at the time of their manufacture that this would allow collectors to acquire an example of a coin which otherwise could not be obtained but still displayed in their collection.

Some of the makers' names are quite well known in our hobby such as Copley, Dickenson, Mickley, Edwards, Bolen and others.

ZINC VS. COPPER ELONGATED CENTS

Given a choice, elongated coin collectors prefer to roll on pre-1982 copper cents. If you've heard this and wondered, “why anyone would prefer a dirty old penny over a shiny new one?”, it's because over 40 years ago, the U.S. Mint changed the cent from 95% copper to 99.2% zinc. When a zinc cent is rolled, its very thin copper coating flows and exposes the zinc core, leaving cracks and gray shadows. Exposed to water, cleaners, or even just air, the zinc corrodes. When the change in composition happened, a lot of private rollers and collectors didn't know that zinc cents would eventually corrode and ruin their work and cherished elongateds. Although some private rollers treated the back of cents with a stain or shoe polish so the year of the coin would remain visible on the reverse after rolling, none treated the front of the coin. Unfortunately, the option to use our own carefully saved and cleaned copper cents is increasingly unavailable to us as vendors convert their machines to accept credit cards and preload them with zinc cents. So, even the most pro-copper of us need a solution. We all want to preserve our elongateds! Two of the this issue's elongateds demonstrate the problem and one solution: an older uncoated elongated zinc cent and an older elongated zinc cent sprayed with a copper metallic finish to preserve the image.

For the enclosures, I used Rust-Oleum, Bright Coat, Metallic Finish spray paint. At the WFoM in 2019, the late Ray Dillard excitedly demonstrated this approach for making corroded elongateds readable again. He had made quite a study of different materials and techniques and liked this one best. It's not perfect, but it's a way to read and preserve an unreadable elongated.

Another option some of us have tried is a Krylon copper leaf pen. However, the pens are expensive. When you have more than a few elongateds to do, I would say spraying is the way to go.

If you try the spray paint, start with duplicate zincers or ones you don't care about. Read and follow the instructions on the can. Go outdoors or at least into the garage and open the door. Lay out newspaper to protect surfaces. Apply a very light coat. Too heavy a coat fills in the engraving and covers the details.

If you trade or sell coated elongateds, please be upfront with your partners and customers. Specify that the host coin was a zinc cent and you have treated it.

For more information, see “The ‘zincer' dilemma” by Dee Drell in the January 2022 newsletter. There, he talks about clear coating freshly-rolled zinc cents and/or putting them in 2x2s and storing them in a dry place to keep them from corroding.

For more information on The Elongated Collectors, see:
The Elongated Collectors (https://tecnews.org/)

DOGE TAKES AIM AT THE PENNY

Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency is targeting one of the federal government's most notorious examples of waste: the penny.

Getting rid of the penny would be an early test of DOGE's influence: Could it help eliminate a piece of government inefficiency that has survived decades of reform attempts?

On Tuesday, DOGE's account on X highlighted the coin's mounting costs, writing that in fiscal year 2023, more than $179 million in taxpayer money was spent producing over 4.5 billion pennies, with each coin costing more than three cents to make. (According to the US Mint's 2023 report, pennies and nickels combined cost taxpayers nearly $179 million, while pennies alone cost them $86 million.)

Despite bipartisan recognition of the penny's costs since at least the 1970s, efforts to phase out or change the coin have repeatedly stalled in Congress, making it an ideal target for DOGE's efficiency campaign.

Lawmakers were considering the questions as recently as November, when Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, who founded the Senate's DOGE caucus, said changing the makeup of the coin could save significant money.

The price of the material to make the penny is largely to blame for its cost imbalance. While the coins were originally pure copper, they've been nearly 98% zinc since 1982, per JM Bullion. But zinc isn't as cheap as it once was. According to the US Mint's 2023 report, the penny's unit cost increased by 12.9%, more than any other coin.

It's not clear from one post if DOGE plans to officially take on eliminating the penny — and Musk's group alone doesn't have the power to get rid of the coin. Congress would need to pass a law stopping the distribution of the coin or, in theory, the Treasury secretary could decide that the nation doesn't need to make any more.

Other countries, including Canada and Sweden, have stopped producing their pennies, and the US ditched its half-cent coin in 1857. Data for Progress, a progressive think tank, found in a 2022 survey that 58% of people agreed that the government should stop producing new pennies.

To read the complete articles, see:
DOGE takes aim at the penny (https://www.yahoo.com/news/doge-takes-aim-penny-165459679.html)
https://x.com/DOGE/status/1881928086305870127?mx=2
Trump, Musk's DOGE looking to stop minting of this coin (https://www.silive.com/politics/2025/01/trump-musks-doge-looking-to-stop-minting-of-this-coin.html)

1793 MANCHESTER PROMISSORY HALFPENNY, PART ONE

In the late 18th century, shops lined the busy streets of Manchester, England, offering a wide range of goods. Among them were the haberdasheries, apothecaries, and grocers, - or spice merchants - who specialized in selling spices, sugar, honey, tea, coffee, and tobacco alongside drugs and medicinal products. Typically, these items were sold by weight in what was commonly referred to as a "grocery store." They prided themselves on their selection of coffee and tea and were known to keep a kettle in store to offer samples to potential customers. It's a tradition we still see today in modern markets. During the early industrial age, tea and exotic spices arrived in England from across the empire. Ironically, it was often easier to find these items in stores than it was to find the coins needed to purchase them.

Before the widespread adoption of paper currency, gold and silver coins were rare commodities, but copper coins were almost impossible to come by. Most coins in circulation were either clipped or counterfeit, vastly exceeding the number of government-issued coins. Fewer than one in ten coins even resembled the official regal currency.

The reasons for this predicament are numerous, but in this era of coinage chaos, trade tokens like our featured halfpenny became the people's currency. Issued by merchants, tradesmen, and individuals, they supplemented the lack of official coins and kept the economy afloat.

Our featured token, a 1793 Manchester Promissory Halfpenny, was struck for John Fielding, a grocer and tea merchant who conducted his business at 27 Withygrove, Manchester, England. As a grocer, John Fielding belonged to the grocer's guild, officially known as The Worshipful Company of Grocers. Established in 1345, the Grocers were a longstanding and powerful guild. Given this connection, finding the guild's coat of arms on the obverse of his token is unsurprising.

The token artists, Arnold and Roger Dixon, did a commendable job replicating it. We see a shield flanked by griffins on each side, crowned by a camel carrying what looks like a saddle but is actually bags of spices on its back. Below this ensemble is a banner bearing the inscription "GOD GRANT GRACE," complemented by the legend: "MANCHESTER PROMISSORY HALFPENNY 1793." The vivid blues and red of the official coat of arms, shown right, are serendipitously reflected in the coin's tonal hues. The shield is adorned with cloves—four above and two below the chevron. In 16th—and 17th-century Europe, pepper, cloves, and nutmeg were among the most precious items, worth more than their weight in gold. Interestingly, the Grocers guild originated from a group of 22 Pepperers, individuals who traded in pepper. These Pepperers, along with Spicers and Grocers, are the ancestors of today's pharmacies.

Despite its name, the Manchester Halfpenny was not minted in Manchester, but 80 miles south in Birmingham, by William Lutwyche (1754-1801), who transitioned from toymaking to becoming a prolific and somewhat notorious manufacturer of tokens. By the time Lutwyche struck this halfpenny, Birmingham had already gained notoriety as a hub for producing counterfeit coins, especially copper ones. This reputation prompted R.E. Raspe to mention in his "Descriptive Catalogue of Gems.." (Edinburgh, 1791) that the 'Brummagem ha'pence' were produced by 'shabby, dishonest button-makers in the dark lanes of Birmingham."

However, not all of Birmingham's manufacturers were making counterfeits. Many reputable firms, such as Matthew Boulton's Soho Mint, produced official coinage using techniques surpassing the Royal Mint.

The reverse side of the token presents a bit of a puzzle—not in its identity, but in the purpose of some of its elements. The legend reads: "PAYABLE AT IN. FIELDING'S GROCER & TEA DEALER." This fits with how tokens have been historically used to boost local businesses, suggesting that Fielding purchased it as an advertising tool.

The late-18th century version of the genuine EIC trademark.

In the center of the token is the bale mark of the East India Company (EIC). Today, we'd call it their logo. It's a heart-shaped symbol, representing 'good luck,' crowned by the number four, which symbolizes the Agnus Dei or 'Lamb of God.' The emblem incorporates the initials of the Company, V E I C (United East India Company). Like the Romans, the letter U is represented by a V.

Including the EIC's bale mark on the token is peculiar and raises many questions. The EIC was an enormous trading company, which at this time had a virtual monopoly on all English trade with the East Indies. Why did a small-town grocer in Manchester have the EIC logo on its token? Did he purchase their goods? Was it included for brand recognition?

It's plausible the EIC bale mark originated from Lutwyche, who frequently repurposed existing dies in his collection to produce a variety of mules and was known for crafting numerous questionable issues. Was Lutwyche striking coins for the EIC?

Renowned numismatist Richard G. Doty states that in 1791 and 1794, the years when this token was struck, Boulton's Soho Mint was actively producing millions of copper coins for the EIC, many with the bale mark on the reverse. It seems unlikely that a company of Lutwyche's size and reputation would have also been engaged in minting coins for them, so it's possible that Lutwyche obtained the dies for his unofficial use.

I have nothing but speculation, but if you, dear reader, have any insight or theories on including the EIC bale mark on Fielding's token, please do share...

Denis Richard
My name is Denis Richard, and I am the eye behind the lens at Coin Photography Studio. I've been making photographs for over two decades and know there are no rules for good coin photographs. There are only good photographs that bring out the best in coins. I create coin portraits because I believe a coin image is more than just a picture; it should be a feeling, and I invite you to experience it with me.

My professional memberships and affiliations include the American Numismatic Association, the Canadian Numismatic Association, the Ontario Numismatic Association, and the Canadian Association of Photographic Arts.

For more information, see:
https://hipshotphotography.com/

To read the complete article, see:
1793 Manchester Promissory Halfpenny (https://hipshotphotography.com/coin-stories/token-takeover)

PIGEON TOMMY VC DICKIN MEDAL SALE

A military medal awarded to a Second World War racing pigeon from Dalton is set to be auctioned in Carlisle.

The Dickin Medal, considered the animal equivalent of the Victoria Cross, will be part of a two-day auction at Laidlaw Auctioneers and Valuers, where a variety of rare items will be up for sale.

The medal was awarded to a Cumbrian pigeon named Tommy VC, who undertook a perilous journey during the war.

A historic news article featuring the story about the Dalton pigeon Tommy's story started in the German-occupied Netherlands, where all homing pigeons were ordered to be killed, and their identity rings handed over to authorities.

However, two pigeons belonging to Dutchman Dick Drijver, who was working with the underground resistance movement, managed to survive.

He removed the ring numbers from his pigeons and attached them to the legs of two deceased birds, thus delivering the right number of rings to the authorities.

Despite being in hiding, the two pigeons were trained to carry messages for the resistance but were eventually killed by a cat in 1945.

During this period, a child found an exhausted British racing pigeon, which turned out to be Tommy, of Dalton.

He was given a coded message detailing a build-up of arms at a factory near Amsterdam to carry home to England.

Tommy, with the message secured in a tiny aluminium canister attached to his leg, set off on his journey, braving enemy fire from a German lookout.

He successfully delivered the message to the British authorities, leading to an RAF bombing raid that destroyed the factory.

Tommy was decorated for his service with the Dickin Medal in 1946.

The Dickin Medal, instituted in 1943, has been awarded to a total of 75 animals, including 38 dogs, 32 pigeons, four horses, and one cat.

To read the complete article, see:
Medal awarded to WW2 racing pigeon set for auction in Carlisle (https://uk.news.yahoo.com/medal-awarded-ww2-racing-pigeon-091225046.html)

WALTER KOHN NATIONAL MEDAL OF SCIENCE

Prestigious National Medal of Science won by Walter Kohn, presented to the Nobel Prize winning scientist by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. Kohn rose to great heights in his life after being rescued as a child from the Nazis during World War II through the Kindertransport program. Kindertransport was established by the United Kingdom in 1938 immediately after the ''Night of Broken Glass'' pogrom in Germany, authorizing the safe passage of almost 10,000 children into the UK. The children were placed in homes throughout the British empire, with Kohn ultimately placed in a home in Canada after both his parents were killed in the Holocaust.

The National Medal of Science is one of the most prestigious scientific awards in the world and the highest scientific honor in the United States, bestowed by the President to individuals who have made significant contributions in the field of science. Kohn won this Medal as the architect of density functional theory (DFT), a computational quantum mechanical modeling system which has allowed scientists to understand the nuclear structure of microscopic matter. Though the underlying structure of NFT is complex, the actual equations are now commonplace among scientists, with countless practical results ranging from discovering trace impurities in chemicals to modeling planetary systems.

Designed by noted medal artist Donald DeLue, front of medal depicts a man surrounded by the Earth, sea and sky, attempting to understand the natural order symbolized by the crystal in his hand. The reverse reads, ''Awarded by the President of the United States of America to Walter Kohn / 1988''. Bronze medal measures 3.25'' and weighs 306 grams, with copyright statement on rim, ''1987 Maco-Bronze''. Medal is in near fine condition. Consigned by the Kohn family.

To read the complete lot description, see:
Lot #33: National Medal of Science Won by Walter Kohn (https://natedsanders.com/LotDetail.aspx?inventoryid=68533)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
BIDEN AWARDS NATIONAL MEDALS (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n02a23.html)

MORE ON THE TRUMP INAUGURAL MEDAL

Jeff Kelley writes:

Jurek Jakowicz writes:

Jeff adds:

To read the complete article, see:
Donald J. Trump Bronze Medal (https://www.usmint.gov/donald-j-trump-bronze-medal-MASTER_PRDJT.html)

Trump has taken a personal interest in presidential trappings, from designing a commemorative challenge coin—with the family crest emblazoned on the back—to noting with approval the rug in the Oval Office.

To read the complete article, see:
Why Donald Trump Is Racing So Fast to Remake America (https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/trump-immigration-border-pardons-26b72288)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
2025 TRUMP INAUGURAL MEDAL (https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n01a10.html)

WYOMING NATIONAL BANK NOTES

When coin collector and history teacher Randy Tucker first saw the $10 bill with “National Bank of Lusk” printed across it, he was convinced it was a fake.

“I did a little research,” he said. “It wasn't phony. I discovered that Lusk, a little tiny town with 1,800 people, was quite affluent.”

In the 1980s, when Tucker first saw this hometown note, there were still people around who remembered using the bills when they were kids. They confirmed that money printed with the names of Wyoming towns and signed by local bankers were real, legal tender.

“The Manville Bank, which is a little town west of Lusk, also printed money,” Tucker said, still amazed at the practice. “Other small towns like Meeteetse and Dubois did, too.”

According to the 1918 Bankers' Directory, the Bank of Lusk issued the $10 bill and was one of the oldest state banks in Wyoming. It had been established in 1886 with a capital stock of $50,000 and deposits of $300,000. In contrast, the Bank of Manville, organized in 1907, had a capital stock of $10,000.

The capital stock of each bank was important because the more money that a bank was able to send to the Federal Reserve, the more currency that could be printed with their names on it to issue to customers.

While these bills are still legal and can be spent for their face value, collectors pay big money — sometimes tens of thousands of dollars — for them.

Printing Money

In all, 51 Wyoming National Banks located in big cities like Cheyenne and small towns such as Basin issued currency under this system.

The Harford Coin Co. said that National Bank notes are one of the most complex and interesting areas of U.S. numismatics. Over a 70-year span, these Nationals, as they were called, were issued by more than 14,000 federally chartered banks, located throughout the U.S. and in U.S. Territories.

The bank names were featured prominently on the note face and included the names of their local towns and cities. As a result of this prominence of town names, Nationals earned the nickname hometown notes.

Outlaw's Dilemma

The banknotes were not desired by everyone.

An unsigned National was useless and when Wyoming outlaws stole them in a heist, they generally abandoned them.

“The only ones that were valid were the ones signed by the chief cashier and the bank president,” Tucker said. “If they were just coming from the mint or from the U.S. Treasury, they were unsigned. They were just empty notes, no value until they were signed by the bank.”

When the Wild Bunch robbed the train at Wilcox, Tucker said they grabbed whatever notes they could that had been signed by the Laramie and Cheyenne banks and took those with them, because those were good anywhere. They left the unsigned banknotes behind.

There were forged bank notes and bank tellers would try to catch those before they were cashed.

Dr. Will Frackleton wrote in his book “Sagebrush Dentist” about spending an afternoon with the outlaws . He had encountered some of these unsigned notes while watching a monte game in Andersonville, a shanty town the gang liked to hang out in.

According to Frackleton, the bartender grew confidential and offered to help if he ended up with an unsigned National.

“Doc,” the bartender said, “the boys are gettin' a little careless about them twenties. Took 'em in the last Union Pacific deal and some ain't signed up. If you get aholt of any like that, bring them to me and I'll give you signed ones!”

To read the complete article, see:
Wyoming Towns Used To Have Their Own Money, Which Is Now Worth Big Bucks (https://cowboystatedaily.com/2025/01/18/wyoming-towns-used-to-have-their-own-money-which-is-now-worth-big-bucks/)

ABOUT THIS ISSUE: JANUARY 26, 2025

Dawn posted on Facebook Saturday:

To read an earlier E-Sylum article on Pat McBride, see:
PAT MCBRIDE AKA BEN FRANKLIN (https://www.coinbooks.org/v24/esylum_v24n40a17.html)

Wayne Homren
Wayne Homren is the founding editor of The E-Sylum and a consultant for the Newman Numismatic Portal. His collecting interests at various times included U.S. Encased Postage Stamps, merchant counterstamps, Pittsburgh Obsolete paper money, Civil War tokens and scrip, Carnegie Hero Medals, charge coins and numismatic literature. He also collects and has given presentations on the work of Money Artist J.S.G. Boggs. In the non-numismatic world he's worked in artificial intelligence, data science, and as a Program Manager for the U.S. Department of Defense.

Garrett Ziss
Garrett Ziss is a numismatic collector and researcher, with a focus on American paper money and early U.S. silver and copper coins. He is also a part-time U.S. coin cataloger for Heritage Auctions. Garrett assists Editor Wayne Homren by editing and formatting a selection of articles and images each week. When he's not engaged in numismatics, Garrett is a Senior Honors student at the University of Pittsburgh.

Pete Smith
Numismatic researcher and author Pete Smith of Minnesota has written about early American coppers, Vermont coinage, numismatic literature, tokens and medals, the history of the U.S. Mint and much more. Author of American Numismatic Biographies, he contributes original articles to The E-Sylum often highlighting interesting figures in American numismatic history.

Greg Bennick
Greg Bennick (www.gregbennick.com) is a keynote speaker and long time coin collector with a focus on major mint error coins and US counterstamps. He is on the board of both CONECA and TAMS and enjoys having in-depth conversations with prominent numismatists from all areas of the hobby. Have ideas for other interviewees? Contact him anytime on the web or via instagram @minterrors.

John Nebel
Numismatist, photographer, and ANS Board member and Fellow John Nebel of Boulder, CO helped the ANA and other clubs like NBS get online in the early days of the internet, hosting websites gratis through his Computer Systems Design Co. To this day he hosts some 50 ANA member club sites along with our coinbooks.org site, making the club and our E-Sylum archive available to collectors and researchers worldwide.

Bruce Perdue
Encased coinage collector (encasedcoins.info) Bruce Perdue of Aurora, Illinois has been the volunteer NBS webmaster from its early days and works each week to add the latest E-Sylum issue to our archive and send out the email announcement.