Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 3, Number 45, October 29, 2000:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2000, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
SUBSCRIBER UPDATES
We have no new subscribers this week. Our subscriber count
remains at 348.
FINN AND KENT DEATHS
Paul Withers writes: "The sad news had to come and I am
sorry to say that Patrick Finn died on Friday.
Another shock death, though it had been known for some
time that he was ill, is that of John Kent, author and editor
of several RIC volumes, and former Keeper of Coins at the
British Museum."
BERGMAN FUNERAL
Dan Demeo writes: "On Monday, Oct. 23, I attended the
service for John Bergman, who passed away last week at
age 56. The service and interment were at Forest Lawn,
Cypress, CA, a few miles east of John's home in Lakewood.
In attendance were his parents, wife, son and daughter, and
grandson. A number of John's former co-workers also
attended, as well as numerous friends and neighbors.
The foyer of the church had several displays of Bergman family
photos, spanning over 50 years, from photos of young John, to
recent photos with his grandson, Brett. Dr. Paul Estebo of
New Hope Community Church in Santa Ana, CA officiated.
As a bibliophile and coin collector, I recognized a few faces,
but fewer names. George Kolbe and I saw each other and
talked awhile, and reminisced with John's dad about the
drawings of past numismatic personalities he had done a few
years ago. From my collecting of ancient coins, I recognized
Dr. Paul Rynearson, a local dealer and author, and his wife,
and Catharine Lorber, author and respected researcher. A
reception at the family home followed, but I did not attend."
[Editor's note: The editor of our print journal, The Asylum has
received over 20 tributes to John, to be published in our 2000
No. 4 issue. He writes: "The quality of the man is measured
by how people miss him." Tom is still accepting material - he
can be reached at etfort@aol.com.]
ANNE BINGHAM CONNECTION SOUGHT
Reid Goldsborough writes: "I'm a journalist doing research on
Draped Bust coins, specifically on the model that many, though
not all, numismatic authors believe was used for Liberty, Anne
Willing Bingham. I'm wondering if any of your readers might
know the earliest reference to Anne Bingham as being the
Draped Bust Liberty.
I do know that this is mentioned in Walter Breen's Complete
Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins, copyright 1988.
In documenting this, Breen in a footnote references page 177
of the book Washington and National Medals by former U.S.
Mint director James Snowden, copyright 1861. However,
Snowden does not make this connection at all. All Snowden
does is suggest that Gilbert Stuart created the sketch that was
used by Mint engraver Robert Scot in designing the Draped
Bust coins.
There is a lot of circumstantial evidence that Anne Bingham
was the model. But I'm trying to uncover proof in the form of
early references to Anne Bingham and Draped Bust coins. I
thought one or more of the eminently edified participants
NBS's e-mail list might know.
P.S. I'll be happy to share with the participants of your list,
all the information about this that I turn up."
A previous issue of The E-Sylum (Volume 3, Number 6,
February 6, 2000) references an article by Red Henry in the
January 15, 2000 issue of "Penny Wise", the journal of
the EAC - perhaps that article can shed some light.
Mr. Goldsborough can be reached at: reidgold@netaxs.com
LEAD WEIGHTS: THE DAVID ROGERS COLLECTION
Paul Withers writes: "I am pleased to announce the birth of a
new book : LEAD WEIGHTS The David Rogers Collection
by Norman Biggs and Paul Withers, with a foreword by Geoff
Egan.
The book is A4 format with card covers and has 70 pages with
a separate 4 page supplement which has prices and a guide for
collectors. Lead weights might at first seem to be unconnected
with numismatics, but David Rogers the late owner of the
collection was a keen numismatist and some of the weights are
clearly intended to check the weights of coins, or to weigh coins
as bullion. A few goldsmiths weights, intended to weigh precious
metal, are also included. Price 15 GBP. Post extra.
Lead weights have been used in Britain for about 2000 years,
but very little has been written about them and what does
appear is usually buried deep in archaeological reports. The
late David Rogers was collecting at a time when the advance
of metal detecting meant that large numbers of new finds were
turning up in greater profusion than ever before, or have since.
His collection, due to his dedication to the subject, was by far
the largest and most important assembled. Nearly 300 items
are arranged, described and illustrated. Geoff Egan writes in
his foreword :
"The David Rogers Collection of lead weights, here published
in a catalogue raisonne, is probably the largest and most
diverse in existence in England for the period it represents.
It was assembled over some fifteen years, at a time that turns
out to have been uniquely provident of uncharted excavated
material, then available in unprecedented quantity. This
combination of chance factors was fortunately exploited by
a shrewd collector's instinct, so that with this present work
the subject is now advanced significantly...... This present
guide is a milestone in the rational, carefully considered
interpretation of a most difficult topic."
Galata Print Ltd.,
The Old White Lion,
Market Street,
LLANFYLLIN
Powys
UK SY22 5BX
Those in the US may obtain the book through the US
distributor, Allan Davisson, who may be contacted at
DAVCOIN@aol.com"
COLLECTING COIN ALBUMS
In response to last week's "Gee honey, it's not as bad as
collecting <fill in the blank here>", David Lange writes:
"Here's my "blank." I collect any and all coin albums and
folders, excepting those made entirely or mostly of plastic.
When asked why I do this (and I get that question a lot),
I simply say, "because no one else does."
While this is not enough to satisfy my girlfriend, who
derisively refers to my treasured archive as "dust collectors,"
it does usually prompt most coin people to pause for a moment
and reflect on what is being lost. Dealers routinely buy
collections in albums, pop out the coins (damaging the albums
in the process) and then discard the albums as just so much
junk. Those that are saved for resale are usually marred further
by the dealer writing what he paid for each piece below the
holes or applying some irremovable price sticker on the
album's front cover.
My attempt to preserve these relics of our hobby's past has
proved to be a fascinating treasure hunt. Many dealers know
of my interest and simply hand me any albums they can't sell.
While some brands, particularly the Library of Coins series,
are still sought by collectors for the storing of coins (why
would someone do that?), most old albums and folders have
little secondary value. The most obscure brands are usually
the least valued, and I can acquire very rare items for a dollar
or so. I've amassed a large collection of boards, folders and
albums, saving them by title, edition, printing variants, and so
on. Nothing has been published on this subject, other than my
own articles, and only the most prominent brands ran
advertisements that help me to reconstruct their history. For all
the others, all that is known is what may be gleaned from the
albums themselves.
There seems to be no area of numismatics remaining in which
one can still be a pioneer, so I'm enjoying this opportunity to
collect and catalog items that are otherwise disregarded by
the numismatic community. I hope it remains that way for
many years. I don't want to be priced out of yet another
collecting field!"
THOMAS CLENEAY
Dave's quest to assemble a collection of coin albums is not
unlike the quest of earlier numismatic pioneers such as
Thomas Cleneay, who was mentioned in the catalog of
The Harry W. Bass Jr. Collection - Part IV (Bowers and
Merena, November 20-21, 2000, Lot 610)
"... In the annals of gold coins, he looms as a very
significant figure - a numismatist of the stripe of Virgil
Brand: buying one piece is nice, having two is nicer yet,
and having three is even better... No doubt we can all thank
Thomas Cleneay for preserving for numismatic posterity
many gold coins that he was able to acquire from banks
and elsewhere in the late 19th century, in an era when the
series did not draw a wide circle of interest. Collectors
of Civil War Tokens may know that Cleaneay is one of the
most important figures who collected these tokens in the
1860's, in the time when they were produced."
Many thanks to the cataloguer (QDB?) for mention of
The Asylum and the Numismatic Bibliomania Society
later in the lot description.
CONFEDERATE HALF DOLLAR
One of your editor's favorite coins is the Confederate Half
dollar. A visitor to my web site wrote about a coin in their
possession:
"It is an 1861 Confederate Half Dollar. Now please don't think
I'm crazy, I know the chances are 5 billion to 1, if not more,
but there you go. How else can you tell (other than weight) if it
is a copy, and are the whereabouts of the real coins known?
Why would someone make a copy of this? If it is a copy is it
worth about 2cents? Even if it is a copy, I learned a bit of
history last night, and it was great fun. Thank you so much for
replying, and if its real, hey; you can help us celebrate!!"
My response:
"Well, there are restrikes and there are copies. Copies are a
dime a dozen, but the restrikes are actually collectible and
worth $2,000 - $3,000. I had two at one time, but sold one.
There were only four originals made and all are accounted
for, although I don't personally know the whereabouts of
the fourth specimen. One is in the collection of the American
Numismatic Society in New York, one in the hands of a St.
Louis collector, and the Jefferson Davis specimen is in the
hands of an Arizona collector. The fourth was sold to a
private collector about 25 years ago. [Perhaps one of our
readers knows its whereabouts - Editor]
The restrikes were made from the original dies by striking
them on a planed-off 1861 Half Dollar. The diagnostics are:
1. Lighter in weight than a real 1861 Half
2. Reverse shows pitting from die rust
3. Obverse is flattened from the blow of the reverse die.
Here's an illustration of the Confederate Half RESTRIKE
in the ANS collection:
http://ans.openarchaeology.com/cgi-bin/showobj?accnum=1906.98.5"
FEATURED WEB SITE
This week's featured web site is Douglas Bell's Military
Payment Certificate site:
http://www.starcomm.net/bell/
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 21704
(To be removed from this mailing list
write to me at whomren@coinlibrary.com)
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