Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 4, Number 29, July 15, 2001: 
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society. 
Copyright (c) 2001, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society. 
  

SUBSCRIBER UPDATES 

   We have four new subscribers this week:  Chris Hoelzle of 
   Laguna Niguel, CA, Russell Rulau of Iola, WI (invited by Bill 
   Murray), Richard Kelly and Nancy Oliver of Hayward, CA 
   (invited by Wayne Homren).  Welcome aboard! 

   We've lost some subscribers due to email address changes. 
   This brings our subscriber count to 407. 
  

JOHN DAVENPORT DIES 

   David Sklow reports; "Numismatics has lost another giant 
   and the American Numismatic Association (ANA) has lost 
   its senior life member!  John Davenport passed away.  I do 
   not have all the details as yet, but it was 6-10 days ago. 
   He lived in Mt. Dora, Florida.  There will be a formal press 
   release from the ANA very soon." 
  

MUSICAL CURATORS 

   In a game of musical curator chairs, Robert Hoge 
   gone from the American Numismatic Association (ANA) 
   to the American Numismatic Society (ANS) in New 
   York, and now Lawrence Lee of the Byron Reed 
   collection in Omaha, Nebraska is going to the ANA in 
   Colorado Springs.   Both are E-Sylum subscribers and 
   we wish them the best of luck in their new positions. 
  

MIGHTY FORTRESS PUBLISHED 

   As mentioned in The E-Sylum, February 4, 2001 
   (v4#06), Richard Kelly and Nancy Oliver have published 
   their book "A Mighty Fortress - The Stories Behind the 
   2nd San Francisco Mint"   In response to your editor's 
   query, they write: 

   "Yes, we are interested in receiving the E-Sylum email 
   newsletter; please add us to your subscription list. Also, 
   please inform us of conditions of membership to your 
   organization. We have been numismatic researchers for 
   three years running and are working on a second book 
   at this time on J. B. Harmstead (1870-S, three dollar 
   U.S. Gold).  The following is information on our current 
   book: 

   The one and only book on the history of the second mint 
   of San Francisco, affectionately called "The Granite Lady." 
   Stroll through the mysteries while reading the stories of this 
   magnificent monument to the Old West.  Never before 
   published information compiled from long lost mint ledgers 
   (and many other sources) discovered at the National Archives 
   on the West Coast.   Stories include such mysteries as 
   "where is the missing cornerstone and its contents?", "did 
   someone try to tunnel under the mint?", or "what is the real 
   story behind the rare 1894 S Dime?  These are but a few of 
   the stories included within this work. 

   The book is 144 pages in length and is available in spiral 
   bound.  The price total is $20.00, which includes shipping 
   (Calif. residents please add 8% sales tax).  Please send 
   check or money order to O.K. Associates, 26746 
   Contessa St,  Hayward, Ca. 94545-3150." 
  

RULAU PUBLISHING PROJECTS 

   New subscriber Russ Rulau sends the following updates 
   on his current projects for Krause Publications: 

   "Hard Times Tokens", 9th edition, will be a freestanding 
   volume with approximately twice the content of the 8th 
   edition (1999), which was part of Standard Catalog of U.S. 
   Tokens 1700-1900. It is already in typesetting at Krause 
   Publications and will be available to public January 2002 and 
   to jobbers December 2001. All pricing and background notes 
   are revised and many new items included, such as Harrison 
   and Clay cent and half-cent sized campaign medalets. The 
   largest expansion will be blow-up photographs of 
   die-evidence study by Wesley S. Cox  and an attempt to 
   assign a designer/maker to every HTT possible.  Pricing 
   accurate as of June 2001. 

    "Tokens of Spain 1800-1970" is a new project being 
   negotiated for publication by Numismatics International 
   of Texas. It is the culmination of some seven years effort. 
   It will include private cardboard chits of the Civil War 
   1936-39 and the 1945 and 1970 change shortages; 
   metal tokens and store cards, including many unlisted 
   CW pieces; proclamation medalets which circulated as 
   money (2-real size and under).  The manuscript is 
   complete and NI officers are considering its feasibility 
   for publication. 

    "Standard Catalog of United States Tokens 1700-1900," 
   4th edition, is to be published by Krause Publications in 
   2004. The manuscript is under preparation for 2003 
   typesetting.  The Hard Times Token section will revert to 
   its normal size in this edition. The U.S. Civil War cardboard 
   chit section is being considerably enlarged, as is the Gay 
   Nineties (1890-1900) section, and a good many more 
   attributed  merchant counterstamps are being added to 
   the three pre-Civil War segments. 

   Prices, size, binding, availability are announcements the 
   publishers must make at appropriate time. The author, 
   Russ Rulau, may be reached thru Krause Publications or 
   Numismatics International." 
  

NUMISMATIC GHOST WRITERS 

   NBS Board member and Presidential candidate Pete Smith 
   writes: "Dave Bowers asked who wrote the mint history 
   published by George G. Evans. He mentioned that much 
   of the material is similar to that published earlier by A. M. 
   Smith.  For about ten years I have been trying to figure out 
   who wrote the material published by A. M. Smith.  I don't 
   believe it was Smith. 

   A. M. Smith (Anders Madsen Smedt) left school in 
   Denmark at an early age to join the merchant navy. 
   Although we know that Smith collected books, he lacked 
   the education and language skills we would expect for a 
   writer in English.  I have been able to verify that some 
   sections of his books were lifted entirely from earlier 
   sources.  Although he may have done some editing or 
   re-writing, I believe he compiled his books from material 
   written by others.  I hope some day to publish proof and 
   give credit to those earlier writers. 

   While in Minneapolis, Smith published a newsletter that 
   promoted his business and sale of wines.  In one of these 
   issues he solicited writers to contribute material for the 
   newsletter.  He never acknowledged those writers if he 
   used their material. 

   Perhaps Frederick Eckfeldt wrote both books but didn't 
   want the use of his name to embarrass the family. (As our 
   governor likes to say, "That's a Joke!!") 

   Tracing the sources of material published by Smith and 
   Evans is something that needs to be done.  If not by Dave 
   Bowers, or by me, perhaps it can be done by some other 
   E-Sylum reader." 
  

PENNYPACKER ERROR COIN AUCTION 

   In the June 10, 2001 issue of The E-Sylum (vol 4, no. 24) 
   George Fuld discussed an auction of the Dr. George 
   Hetrick token collection at the Pennypacker Auction 
   Centre in Reading, PA..   Your editor came across a 
   catalog for another important Pennypacker sale - their 
   June 22nd, 1968 sale of the Jess Bausher collection 
   "consisting of early american coins and featuring his 
   famous "error coin collection" used in compiling the book 
   "It's Only Money".   The book was published in 1966 
   and coauthored with Charles V. Dolan. M.D. 

   From the dust jacket: "Jess Bausher, a charter member 
   of C.O.M.E., writes a regular column for Coin-Oddity 
   Magazine.  He is a regular contributor of numerous articles 
   to all of the leading Coin Publications.  A member of the 
   Reading Coin Club and the Berks Coin Club.  A 
   collector and authenticator of Major Mint Errors for 
   over twenty years."   So what is (or was) C.O.M.E.? 
   Collectors of Mint Errors, perhaps? 
  

NUMISMATIC CATS 

   Ron Guth writes: "Along the line of numismatic hoaxes, 
   although I think this one was more tongue-in-cheek fun, 
   I recall Roger Cohen telling me that the "publisher" of 
   his Half Cent books, Wigglesworth & Ghatt, was in 
   reality the names of his cats.  In fact, my copy of his 
   second edition of "American Half Cents" is signed on 
   the copyright page by Samuel B.T. Wigglesworth III 
   and H. Garrison Ghatt!" 
  

SUBSCRIBER PROFILE: CHRIS HOELZLE 

   New subscriber Chris Hoelzle writes: "Thank you for adding 
   me to the E-Sylum list.  I was most impressed with the past 
   few newsletters you forwarded to me! 

   I became aware of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society 
   some time ago while looking at George Kolbe's web site. 

   My numismatic book collecting hobby/habit/addiction 
   began with a few volumes used for ancient coin attribution. 
   It continued to grow to become a comprehensive "working" 
   library on ancients, U.S., and foreign coins.  My primary 
   source for these books was John Bergman.  John got me 
   "hooked"  on antiquarian works, and now most of my new 
   purchases are 16th through 19th century works. 

   John's library and inventory have now been dispersed. 
   His better books have gone to George Kolbe, who will 
   be auctioning them over some period of time.  The first of 
   these auctions will be in conjunction with the Long Beach 
   coin show this fall. 

   I purchased the remainder of his inventory with the desire 
   to enhance my personal library.  ALL remaining copies of 
   books and catalogs will be sold.  I NEVER keep a duplicate. 
   I suppose that is just part of my quirky collector ethic. 

   I am now actively seeking out avenues to sell the duplicate 
   copies, and this brought me once again in contact with the 
   Numismatic Bibliomania web site." 
  

NUMISMATIC LITERATURE EXHIBITS 

   Pete Smith provided information on the exhibits in the 
   numismatic literature category at the 1999 and 2000 
   ANA conventions.  The NBS web site has been updated 
   to include these. NBS Board member P. Scott Rubin 
   has been the most prolific exhibitor, with five exhibits 
   since 1992, including one first place and three second 
   place winners. 

   http://www.coinbooks.org/club_nbs_exhibits.html 
  

VOCABULARY WORD: TROUILLOTEUSE 

   Martin Purdy of New Zealand posted the following 
   query on the COINS mailing list:  "A translator friend 
   came across an article in Le Monde about French franc 
   coins being perforated when they are returned to the 
   bank in exchange for Euros, to prevent their being 
   extracted and re-exchanged elsewhere.  The device 
   used to do the perforating is called a "trouilloteuse" in 
   French;  the best option I can come up with in English 
   is "perforating machine" - is there any other term that's 
   better, or more official?" 

   A link to what I believe is the article in question (in the 
   original French) appears below.  With the help of some 
   machine translation, the gist of the article seems to be 
   as follows: 

   "An admirable word has just made its appearance in the 
   country: trouilloteuse. The word is an admirable object. 
   Clever. Definitively modern. And, let us dare say, 
   revolutionary.  The trouilloteuse is this fabulous machine 
   tasked with boring twelve holes in the surface of the old 
   franc coins. 

   In a few months now,  when it is a question of the whole 
   country exchanging old francs for the euro, a large 
   army of trouilloteuses will be put on line like combine 
   harvesters on a farm.  50,000 to 60,000 trouilloteuses 
   will be delivered to the French banks. 

   The holed coins, better perforated one hopes than the 
   ballots in Florida, will thus be effectively demonetized." 

   http://www.lemonde.fr/article/0,5987,3208--189704-,00.html 
  

NEXT ASYLUM NEARING COMPLETION 

   Although the previous issue of The Asylum (our print 
   journal) was delayed a bit for various reasons, the next 
   issue (Summer 2001) is right on schedule and is currently 
   at the printer. Editor E. Tomlinson Fort reports that the 
   contents include: 

    "The Original 'Fantastic 1804 Dollar' Book" 
         by Ken Bressett 
   "Diagnostics of the 'Fantastic 1804 Dollar' Book" 
         by Wayne Homren 
   "The Printer's Devil: William Gowans and the Contents 
          of the Three Earliest Significant Sales of Numismatic 
          Literature in the U.S." 
          by Joel J. Orosz with the assistance of George F. 
          Kolbe and Malgorzata Fort 
   "A Plea for Understanding - and a Warning" 
          by J.D. McCarthy 
   "The Holy Grail" by Bob Schuman 
   "Book Review: Glenn R. Peterson's 'The Ultimate Guide to 
           Attributing Bust Half Dollars'" 
           by Michael E. Marotta 
   "News from the Net" 
           by Pete Smith 

   Only paid-up members of the Numismatic Bibliomania 
   Society will receive this issue. Dues are $15/year to North 
   American addresses, $20 elsewhere.  To join or renew, 
   see the instructions at the end of this newsletter. 
  

ANA NUMISMATIC LITERATURE SYMPOSIUM 

   The traditional NBS Numismatic Literature Symposium 
   will take place at the American Numismatic Association's 
   110th Anniversary Convention in Atlanta, Georgia, on 
   Thursday, August 9, 2001 at 1pm.    The symposium will 
   feature a panel discussion with officers of the NBS and 
   ANA Librarian Nancy Green, who will give us an update 
   on the library expansion and other programs. 
  

ANA GENERAL MEETING 

   The annual general membership meeting of the 
   Numismatic Bibliomania Society will also take place 
   at the ANA Convention.  The meeting will be held on 
   Friday, August 10, 2001 at 11:30am.   The agenda includes: 

  Best Asylum Article Award presentation 
  Jack Collins Award presentation 
  Featured Speaker: Q. David Bowers on 
     "The Fascinating Challenge of Numismatic Research" 
  Fundraising auction 

   We've already received a few nice items for the auction. 
   If you'd like to contribute something, please bring it to 
   the meeting room a few minutes before the scheduled 
   start. 
  

HOBBY QUOTE: BLACKIE SHERROD 

   NBS Board Member Bill Murray writes: "Here's something 
   you might want to include in The E-Sylum credited to Dallas 
   sportswriter Blackie Sherrod: "Madam -- your husband is 
   capable of any amount of work, providing it's a hobby." 

   Another appropriate Sherrod quote is "History must repeat 
   itself because we pay such little attention to it the first time." 
   For more background on Sherrod, see: 
   http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring01/Linn/sherrod.html 
  

FEATURED WEB PAGE 

   This week's featured web page is an online version of 
   Pete Smith's Howland Wood Award-winning exhibit on 
   "The Challenging Literature of A. M. Smith".   The page is 
   from the NBS's own web site.  [Exhibitors: please consider 
   documenting your numismatic literature exhibits and making 
   them available online.  The ANA convention lasts just a 
   few days, but online exhibits can be see by thousands of 
   people for years to come] 

   http://www.coinbooks.org/club_nbs_exhibit_amsmith.html 
  

  Wayne Homren 
  Numismatic Bibliomania Society