Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 3, Number 50, December 3, 2000:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2000, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
SUBSCRIBER UPDATES
We have one new subscriber this week: Todd Ballen, a previous
subscriber who just rejoined. Welcome back! Lionel Silva
unsubscribed. This keeps our subscriber count at 352.
ASYLUM MAILED
The 2000 No. 3 issue of The Asylum was mailed on November
28th, and many NBS members have already received it.
Contents:
Wayne Homren: "President's Message"
Karl Moulton: "Behind the Scenes"
Mike Paradis: "A Research Query: Guttag Publications"
Joel Orosz: "Missing Masterpieces: The Twilight Zone
of American Numismatic Literature"
John and Nancy Wilson: "The Ken Lowe Library Sale"
Pete Smith: "News from the Net"
John and Nancy Wilson: "Overprinted Coin Show 'Red Books'
and Mr. Yeo"
E. Tomlinson Fort: "CD Review: Scottish Currency"
The back cover is a Memorium of John F. Bergman,
featuring a photo of John taken by E-Sylum editor
Wayne Homren during a visit to his library in 1991.
The upcoming 2000 No. 4 issue of The Asylum will
feature several remembrances of John. The issue is
nearly ready to go to the printer and should be in members'
hands by the end of the year.
If you are not already a member of NBS, please consider
joining. Only paid members receive The Asylum. For
more information, see the end of this newsletter.
MICHIGAN STATE SHOW
Michael E. Marotta writes: "The Michigan State Numismatic
Society annual Fall show over Thanksgiving Weekend draws
about 200 dealers. If you count the two newspaper publishers,
this year there were six literature sellers. I had the opportunity
to meet John H. Burns of North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.
I bought a reprint of Adams & Woodin from him. It looks
nice next to my Judd. I got it because Adams' catalog of
Western Gold served so well for those with a latter day
interest and because Woodin was instrumental in keeping
legal to own during the New Deal common gold coins priced
near London Spot such as the Three Dollar."
FUN MEETING
A regional meeting of NBS will be held Saturday, January
6, 2001 at the Florida United Numismatists convention in
Orlando, Florida. Held from 11:00am-Noon in room
231C, the featured speaker will be Mike Ellis, former
President of CONECA and editor of the 4th edition of "The
Cherrypicker's Guide to Rare Die Varieties." Mike's topic is
"The Proliferation of Recent Numismatic Literature on the
subject of Varieties and Errors." Room 231C.
Many thanks to Fred Lake and NBS Board member
Bill Murray for putting this event together. [Editor's note:
Yours truly will be en route to Orlando for a family vacation
that morning, and with luck, will attend the NBS meeting.
I hope to many of you there.]
MORE MARIA THERESIA REFERENCES
Ronald Greene writes: "I don't know if the person wanting
Maria Theresia taler information is aware of "1780 Restrike
Talers of Maria Theresia" by M.R. Broome Doris Stockwell
Memorial Papers No. 1, reprinted from the Numismatic
Chronicle, Seventh series, Vol XII, 1972 illus, 4 plates."
Greene's recommendation was seconded by Granvyl G.
Hulse, Jr., Librarian of Numismatics International: "The best
work I have found on this subject is Michael R. Broome's
"The 1780 Restrike Talers of Maria Theresia" published in
1972, 24pp, w/plates. He has done quite a job of determining
the mints by the change in design on the outer rims. One
other book not mentioned is Josef Hans "Zwei Jahrhunderte
Maria Theresien Taler 1751-1951", pub 1950, 60pp, illus. I
can't speak for how well it is written as my German is very
poor."
MORE ON THE 1850 ECKFELDT-DUBOIS
George Kolbe writes: "I can add two more colors to Dave
Bowers' 1850 Eckfeldt-Du Bois palette, namely, black and
white. In my admittedly limited experience, black and blue
turn up most often, then red, and, rarely, white. The printing
must have been large, though many copies have surely perished,
and many appear to have been vandalized (i.e., the gold
samples have been removed).
I first met John J. Ford, Jr. over an enjoyable breakfast at the
old Statler Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles (probably in June 1977)
and recall that this book, and the binding colors, were among
the topics discussed.
Several years a ago a stunning copy of the 1850 Eckfeldt-
Du Bois came up for sale in Los Angeles, at an auction by Austin,
Texas bookseller Dorothy Sloan (herself stunning) of Henry
Clifford's "Zamorano 80" and other Western Americana holdings.
It was a superb, "blazing" royal blue copy, inscribed to "J. B.
Longacre with the respects of the authors, Feby 1850."
I attended the sale, intending to bid on this and several other lots,
but I never got a chance to raise my hand when the volume in
question came up for sale. Estimated at $2,500-$4,500, it
opened at low estimate and bids were rapidly batted back and
forth between the "book" (I believe) and a floor bidder, who
eventually prevailed at $5,100. I should'a been willing to pay
more - the mournful refrain of the unsuccessful bidder."
PERKINS BANK BILL TEST
Eric P. Newman writes: "You asked in your Nov.26, 2000
Bulletin about the present location of the JACOB PERKINS
BANK BILL TEST from the Streeter sale in l966-70. It is in
its original marbled paper thin boards and is in choice condition.
It has been in my library (actually in my bank safe deposit box)
since shortly after the sale. If my recollection is correct I was
unsuccessful in my bid for it because one of the institutions
outbid the limit my agent had from me.
Then the institution decided that they really didn't want it and
asked my agent to try to sell it to the underbidder for what I
had bid. I was just lucky to back into it that way. The only
other one I have ever heard of was the Fuld - Bass copy which
was completely rebound and which I think Kolbe sold rather
recently. Does anyone know of any other originals, as I have
not checked carefully? Fuld made reproductions of his piece
long ago. As soon as others furnish you with information as to
what other numismatic books were in the Streeter Sale I believe
I can comment further."
COIN THEFTS
Just one response so far to the "Famous Coin Thefts" query
- the controversial case of William Sheldon and the Clapp
coppers from the American Numismatic Society collection.
Some lesser known documentary evidence of 19th century
coin thefts include broadsides printed just after the theft - do
any of our ephemera collectors have any of these?
1804 DOLLAR FOUND IN CHINA
Just when you've thought you'd heard every cockamamie
story about someone finding an 1804 dollar, along comes
another one. We last visited this perennial subject in the
January 23, 2000 issue (Volume 3, Number 4), after an
ad appeared in COIN WORLD offering a "$25,000
REWARD for the location and legitimate recovery of my
1804 SILVER DOLLAR." The full issue is archived on our
web site at this address:
http://www.coinbooks.org/club_nbs_esylum_v03n04.html
Nearly a year later, we're treated to a web site titled
"King of Kings of American Dollar?", where the author
(whose English needs some work) notes: "I have
discovered an incredible coin in China. The 1804 dollar
to be precisely. " Quoting from the web pages:
"The main purpose here is not to make my simulation one true
event. Rather my attempt is to draw interests to my collection.
Just in case this coin of mine is a genuine one. This much I
must do on my site so that other researchers can direct their
attentions on unexplored water."
"This coin was purchased in a Chinese flea market where most
items were once owned by families for decades if not centuries.
The very point of purchase in itself constitutes a strong case."
The site includes illustrations of the coin - see for yourself.
http://www.geocities.com/coinpoints/king_coin.htm
Perhaps one of you "other researchers" out there would like
to render an opinion...
FEATURED WEB SITE
This week's featured web pages are devoted to Saint Eligius.
This past Friday, December1st, was the festival day of St. Eligius.
Most commonly known as the patron saint of goldsmiths and
blacksmiths, Eligius is also considered to be the patron saint
of minters, minting, numismatics, and numismatists.
From http://www.catholic.org/saints/saints/eligius.html:
"Eligius (also known as Eloi) was born around 590 near
Limoges in France. He became an extremely skillful metalsmith
and was appointed master of the mint under King Clotaire II
of Paris. Eligius developed a close friendship with the King
and his reputation as an outstanding metalsmith became
widespread. With his fame came fortune. Eligius was very
generous to the poor, ransomed many slaves, and built several
churches and a monastery at Solignac."
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saints/eligius.html:
To see what St. Eligius may have looked like, refer to the
painting "St. Eligius in His Workshop", created in 1449 by
Petrus Christus (active 1444-1472/73 Oil on wood, 98 x 85
cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The second
page shows a statue of St. Eligius in France.
http://gallery.euroweb.hu/html/c/christus/eligius.html
http://www.keenjunk.com/sketchbk/sh80409a.htm
For details of his life, see The Medieval Sourcebook: The
Life of St. Eligius, 588-660
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/eligius.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 21704
(To be removed from this mailing list
write to me at whomren@coinlibrary.com)
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