Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 2, Number 47: November 21, 1999:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
SUBSCRIBER UPDATES
We have three new subscribers this week: Mike Grogan,
Richard Jozefiak, and M. Iskender Targac of Istanbul, Turkey.
Welcome aboard! This brings our subscriber count to 251.
Address change: numismatic literature dealer Karl Moulton of
Great American Sales has a new email address:
numiscats@aol.com
NUMISMATIC LITERATURE SALES RECORD SET
A Press Release from numismatic literature dealer
George Frederick Kolbe announces that "For the first time
in history, a numismatic literature firm has sold over one million
dollars of numismatic literature at auction in less than a year."
In the eleven-month period beginning December 12th, 1998
(sale 75, the "Bass I" sale) $1,200,000 of literature was sold.
"approximately $500,000 were works on ancient and foreign
numismatic topics, the remainder being on American numismatic
topics. A great many alltime price records were set, especially
in the Bass sales." Some highlights were:
* Two complete sets of the American Journal of Numismatics
($11,000 and $9,000)
* Raphael Thian's 1880 Register of the Confederate Debt
brought $11,550
* Milford Haven's monumental work on British and foreign
naval medals realized $4,840
ARMENIAN COIN FINDS PUBLISHED
Georges Depeyrot of France sent notice that the first volume of
the series "Inventory of Coin Finds in Armenia" by Khatchatur
Mousheghian, Anahit Mousheghian and Georges Depeyrot will
be available in January, 2000. The series covers hoards and site
finds from Armenia, and includes new studies. 84 pages, maps,
graphics, 23 plates, BEF 3000 The book may be ordered via
http://www.cultura-net.com/moneta/
QUICK QUIZ ANSWER #1
A few subscribers came through with correct answers to last
week's quiz questions. First question:
What well-known U.S. colonial numismatic items trace
their pedigree through the Bank of New York?
Tom DeLorey, Bill Swoger, and Michael Schmidt correctly
identified the answer as a hoard of Fugio Cents, the first coin
authorized by the Continental Congress, minted by James
Jarvis. [See "The Fugio Cents", by Alan Kessler, 1976].
Bill Swoger gets bonus points for noting that the "$7 1/2
and $15 gold pieces struck by Ephraim Brasher" can also be
traced through the Bank of New York.
QUICK QUIZ ANSWER #2
What famous 1930's crime was solved by tracing serial
numbers? Bonus: an item of numismatic ephemera
which led to the arrest of the suspect was sold in what
recent auction?
Tom Delorey, Bill Swoger, and Bob Cochran all correctly
answered the question, although no one collected the bonus.
Bob Cochran summed it up best:
"I believe the second question has to do with a listing of the
Gold Certificates used to pay the Lindbergh baby kidnap
ransom.
"The note that "nailed" Bruno Hauptman was a $10 Gold
Certificate. He passed it at a gas station, and the clerk was
so intrigued by the "funny-looking bill" that he wrote the
license plate of Hauptman's car in the margin on the back.
The police were watching for notes from the ransom to hit the
banks, and when they noticed the numbers in the margin one
of the officers had a hunch that it might be a license number -
and the rest is history.
This took place in (I believe) 1934, about 2 years after the
ransom had been paid.
An article in "American History" magazine about 2 years ago
about the first "Trial of the Century" recapped the Hauptman
trial, and contained illustrations of some evidence in the New
Jersey State Police Museum - including a color photo of the
back of the $10 Gold Certificate with Hauptman's license
plate number written in the margin."
Here's an interesting web site about the crime and trial:
http://www.lindberghtrial.com/html/front.html
The bonus answer? Lot 1660 of the June 19, 1999 R. M.
Smythe sale at the Memphis International Paper Money show
was a copy of "The Official List of U.S. $5-$10-$20 Notes
Paid by Colonel Lindbergh to the Kidnappers of His Son"
The 57-page pamphlet lists the "serial numbers of all the
small size notes comprising the Lindbergh ransom money."
The lot was estimated at $250-$300, but brought $1660.
SUBSCRIBER PROFILE: M. ISKENDER TARGAC
A numismatist and coin collector since 1967, M. Iskender Targac
is a member of the Turkish Numismatic Society and the Oriental
Numismatic Society. "My main concerns are the Anatolian minted
coins and researching the Anatolian Beyliks ( AD 1071 - 1400 ),
which is the most dark area for Islamic numismatists."
CENT CIRCULATION IN THE SOUTH
A visitor to my personal web site asked "Do have any idea why
pennies were not accepted in the South in the 1890s? I am
researching a book based on my grandfather's memoirs and he
states that when he was in New Orleans in 1898 he was branded
as a Northerner when he tried to spend pennies."
Does this ring true to any of you? I don't recall hearing this story
before. I referred them to one of my favorite books, "Fractional
Money" by Neil Carothers, 1930.
SHE'S GOT A POINT
Patricia A. McGuire, President of Trinity College and a member
of the committee of experts chosen to pick the design of the
new dollar coin, was quoted in the November 19, 1999 Wall
Street Journal in an article about the new Sacagawea coin:
"Ultimately, we decided that we wanted someone who had
actually lived, not an allegorical figure. After all, no one ever
says we need to have mythical men on our currency."
FEATURED WEB SITE
This week's featured web site is a story about the newly
announced designs for the U.S. $5 and $10 bills, featuring
new portraits of non-mythical men Lincoln and Hamilton.
http://www.cbs.com/flat/story_202895.html
Wayne Homren
Numismatic Bibliomania Society
The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a
non-profit organization promoting numismatic
literature. For more information please see
our web site at http://www.coinbooks.org/
There is a membership application available on
the web site. To join, print the application and
return it with your check to the address printed
on the application. For those without web access,
contact Dave Hirt, NBS Secretary-Treasurer,
5911 Quinn Orchard Road, Frederick, MD 21701
(To be removed from this mailing list
write to me at whomren@coinlibrary.com)
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