Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 6, Number 5, February 2, 2003:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2003, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.


SUBSCRIBER UPDATE

  Among recent new subscribers are Michael Berke, courtesy
  of David Phillips, and Stephen Goldsmith of R. M. Smythe,
  courtesy of John and Nancy Wilson.  Welcome aboard!  We
  now have 523 subscribers.


UPDATE FROM Q. DAVID BOWERS

  Dave Bowers writes: "I am writing to state that I am
  overwhelmed and amazed by the calls and e-mails I have
  received regarding the sudden termination of my employment
  by the new CEO (Michael Haynes) of Collectors Universe,
  who arrived on the job on January 1.  I have had offers of
  money, assistance, help with moving, loans of books, and even
  lodging" you name it! I never expected to have such an
  outpouring from many of the largest 'names' in numismatics,
  including quite a few competitors! Indeed, my e-mail file from
  well-wishers could well form a nucleus for a book, "Who's
  Who in American Numismatics." All of this is inspiring and
  wonderful to me, and I am extremely grateful.   Please pass
  my appreciation along to the many NBS members who have
  been a part.

  As mentioned in my earlier note to you, my research and
  writing should be okay in the future, except that my library
  of thousands of items is packed in two hastily rented premises,
  and it will be some time until I can sort everything out and
  determine my legal options.  All of this happened unexpectedly
  and, as you might expect, has caused many sleepless nights.
  Ditto for my other top staffers, Christine Karstedt and John
  Babalis.

  My spirit and my enthusiasm for numismatics and the people
  in it are as bright as ever.   I do not yet have a business identity
  or telephone, but my contact information is:

  Q. David Bowers
  P.O. Box 539
  Wolfeboro Falls, NH 03896-0539
  e-mail: qdbarchive@metrocast.net

  Best wishes, Wayne, and thanks again "and to all of your
  readers!"


RED BOOK RIGHTS SOLD

  Ken Bressett writes: "Thanks for another great issue of the
  newsletter. They are always so enjoyable. Here is a bit of
  news that your readers may not have yet.  I wanted them to
  be among the first to know:

  All rights to A Guide Book of United States Coins, and all
  other Whitman books and coin supply products, have just
  been sold to H. E. Harris & Co.  The new owner has been
  in the hobby business (stamp and coin supplies) for the past
  85 years and is well known to the industry.  They intend to
  not only keep the Whitman line intact, but to expand it, and
  support the hobby in many innovative ways.

  Although I have thoroughly enjoyed my association with
  the former owner, St. Martin's Press, I am extremely pleased
  and enthused about the new direction that H. E. Harris intends
  to pursue. I will continue to edit the Guide Book and other
  Whitman products and to be involved in many new projects
  for H. E. Harris. I will continue to work at my home office,
  with the same communication contacts."


LAMASURE PAINTING INFORMATION SOUGHT

  Dave Lange writes: "The ANA is publishing a correspondence
  course I wrote on the history and coinage of the U. S. Mint.
  We would like to include (perhaps on the cover) Edwin
  Lamasure, Jr.'s familiar painting that depicts the first mint
  buildings.  This painting was commissioned by Frank H.
  Stewart in 1914 following his demolition of the remaining
  structure. The problem is that we don't know where this
  painting is currently located, who, if anyone, holds the
  copyright and whether prints of it may be obtained for
  reproductive use.  I suspect that if anyone knows it will be
  an NBS member.

  Since time is a factor, please respond directly to me at
  DLange@NGCcoin.com or to the ANA's graphic designer,
  Mary Jo Meade, at forkroad@aol.com."


ANS LIBRARY FUND 'TAX"

  In support of the American Numismatic Society library fund
  drive, numismatic literature dealers  George Kolbe and Charlie
  Davis are encouraging winning bidders in their upcoming sales
  to add a voluntary "lot tax", with proceeds going to the ANS.

  George has enclosed a notice with the mailing of catalogs for
  his sale #90 (closing February 20).  Charlie will send out
  notices with invoices for his sale of February 15th.  At my
  request, George forwarded the text of his notice for reprinting
  here in The E-Sylum:

  "Your help is needed. Those who utilize numismatic literature
  strictly as researchers, those who are bibliophiles at heart,
  and those of us who are a bit of both, owe an immense debt
  of gratitude to the American Numismatic Society and its
  magnificent Library.  The best in the world, it is open to
  serious numismatic researchers everywhere.  If you have not
  been there yourself, you have undoubtedly benefited from
  the researches of those who have.

  An endowment fund has been established, to be named the
  Francis D. Campbell Library Chair.  Those who have used
  the Library know that this is a fitting tribute to an individual
  who has personified the objectives of the Society for over
  a generation. The ultimate goal is permanent funding of this
  position. Then, the ANS will never be without a full-time
  Librarian, however difficult Frank Campbell¹s carrels may
  be to fill.

  Over coming auction sales, George Frederick Kolbe and
  other numismatic firms will request that successful bidders
  donate a set amount for each lot purchased, to help fund
  this endowment. In our case, we request that you add $1.00.
  In our February 20, 2003 auction sale, we will be pleased
  to match each dollar donated by bidders.

  Those of you interested in making direct contributions to help
  fund the Francis D. Campbell Library Chair are encouraged
  to contact the American Numismatic Society."

  It's a worthy cause, and I hope E-Sylum subscribers will
  be well represented among the contributors to the fund.
  At John Adams' invitation, I've joined the committee and
  hope to contribute to both the publicity and fund-raising
  efforts.


ALASKA & YUKON STOCKS AND BONDS PUBLISHED

  Dick Hanscom forwarded the press release for his new book.
  Congratulations!

  "Alaska Rare Coins is pleased to announce the publication of
  its book "Alaska & Yukon Stocks and Bonds."  The book is
  344 pages, printed on 8½ by 11 inch paper, soft bound with
  full color glossy covers.  It contains over 700 listings and over
  500 photos.

  Compiled by Dick Hanscom, it is the culmination of over 15
  years of data collection.   The data include place of
  incorporation and dates, color of the front and back of the
  stock, capital stock issued, description of vignette, size,
  printer and any other information that may be available.
  Prospectuses and historical photos are used to complement
  the listings.

  The stocks and bonds are fully indexed by company name
  and other key words in the company name.  Appendixes
  are provided that will aid in the identification of stocks that
  are not listed.

  The book is priced at $35 postpaid via bookrate postage.
  For delivery by priority mail, add $6 per book.  Wholesale
  prices are available upon request.

  Orders may be sent to Alaska Rare Coins, 551-B Second
  Ave., Fairbanks, Alaska 99701."


QUIZ QUESTION: ANA BOURSE START

  In what year did the dealer bourse area become part of the
  annual conventions of the American Numismatic Association?
  Do I know the answer?  Well, no, but I was hoping someone
  might.  I believe I read this bit of trivia somewhere, but have
  forgotten.

  The subject came up Thursday evening at a meeting of the
  Pittsburgh Numismatic Society, together with other volunteers
  for the 2004 Pittsburgh ANA convention committee.  ANA
  Convention Manager Brenda Bishop was in town scouting
  the convention center, hotels and restaurants.  It was a
  pleasure to have her join us and take the next steps in planning
  for the convention.


TIOLIER COLLECTION CATALOG SOUGHT

  Richard Margolis writes:  "Can the catalogue of a highly
  important numismatic collection, the publication date and other
  details of which are known from other sources, disappear
  off the face of the earth? This seems to be the case with a
  catalogue of the great Tiolier collection.  Pierre Joseph Tiolier
  was Engraver-General of France from 1803 to 1816, his son,
  Nicolas Pierre succeeding him in this position until 1845.
  Occupying this privileged  position at the Paris Mint for so
  many years they were in a unique position to put together a
  marvelous collection of essays and special strikings by
  themselves and by preceding French engravers.

  Based on information appearing primarily in Conbrouse's
  Maison de France (1845), and a few fleeting references
  elsewhere, this is exactly what they did. In 1840,  according
  to Conbrouse, a small catalogue of the Tioliers' collection
  was printed by H. Fournier (a well-known Paris publisher),
  "petit in 8o de vingt-quatre pages".  It is known from other
  references by Conbrouse to the catalogue that it contained
  at least 320 numbers. I think it highly unlikely, however, that
  the catalogue would have borne the Tioliers' name as owners
  of the collection, which was sold in 1841 to Rousseau, one
  of the two leading Paris dealers of the period.

  Unfortunately, despite having fairly exhaustively researched
  the French numismatic literature of the 19th century (primarily
  in the library of the Paris Mint, and even more extensively in
  the library of the Cabinet des Medailles of the Bibliotheque
  Nationale), I have been unable to locate a single copy of this
  catalogue, nor any reference to it anywhere, other than
  Conbrouse's mention of it.

  Apart from the small number of coins and essays that I know
  from other evidence were included in the catalogue, it must
  have listed a great many of the great rarities of the period that
  interests me (the French Revolution and Napoleon). It
  therefore goes without saying that I would give my right arm
  or any other appropriate part of my anatomy for even a
  glimpse of it. Any thoughts as to how or where to search
  further for this numismatic will-o'-the-wisp would be most
  welcome."


COBB WASHINGTON INAUGURAL BUTTONS

  Eric Von Klinger has an article in the February 10th issue
  of Coin World describing the floor action at last month's
  Stack's auction of the J. Harold Cobb collection of
  Washington Inaugural Buttons.  Great headline: "Button
  Collectors Undone by Coin Collectors in Auction."

  Cataloguer Michael Hodder's preface to the collection
  included a great overview of the literature describing
  these rare buttons, and this was also highlighted in the
  article.


2003 ROMAN COIN PRICE YEARBOOK

  Morten Eske Mortensen writes: "Following a number of
  enquiries from professional market players the owners of the
  publishing rights have agreed by special orders to produce
  an utmost and extremely strictly distributed minor number
  of the RCP Yearbooks 2003 edition.

  Printing run will be limited to 150 copies only (one hundred
  and fifty) to cover the complete world market.  The three
  volumes thus will go antiquarian from day 1.

  The 2003-Yearbooks are to be acquired through pre-orders
  only (time limit for order placements: 5 weeks).

  The order of reservations will be according to the dates of
  receiving the advance orders. (aka: first come - first serve).

  The order form is to be found at this direct link:
  http://home.worldonline.dk/mem/info/roman2003US.htm"


THE AMERICAN NUMISMATIST

  Ken Lane from Arkansas writes: "Who wrote the 1888 4-page
  pamphlet "The American Numismatist?"


1909 MONTREAL ANA CONVENTION INFO SOUGHT

  Darryl Atchison writes: "I am extremely interested in contacting
  anyone who owns any memorabilia from the 1909 A.N.A.
  convention held in Montreal.  I know of the existence of three
  different official convention photographs, a convention program
  and a convention badge.  As this was the first numismatic
  convention ever held in Canada, I hope to be able to include
  some of this material in our new  bibliography on Canadian
  numismatics as illustrations but need to locate the material.
  The text is essentially finished and will be released at the CNA
  convention in Windsor this July.  However, we are now
  gathering  illustrations for the book.

  I would also be extremely interested in hearing from anyone
  who owns a copy of a book by Neil Harris entitled 'Catalogue
  of convention badges & medals of the American Numismatic
  Association, 1908 - 1968.  I would be very  pleased to locate
  a copy for immediate purchase, and anyone with a copy can
  contact me by email at atchisondf@hotmail.com

  Of course, if there are any questions concerning our text, we
  also invite correspondence related to that as well. Thank you
  very much."

  [I'm not aware of a separately published book or pamphlet
  by Harris, but the work on ANA badges & medals was
  published serially in the ANA's "The Numismatist" from
  January 1970  through December 1973, with supplements
  in 1979 and 1989.  -Editor]


SPACE FLIGHT MEDAL

  From the Houston Chronicle, April 4, 1988: "The National
  Aeronautics and Space Administration Friday presented
  posthumous Space Flight Medals and certificates to
  representatives of the families of the fatal Challenger mission."

  "The medals and certificates were awarded to Steve McAuliffe,
  Christa's husband; Marcia Jarvis, wife of the Hughes payload
  specialist; Cheryl McNair and Lorna Onizuka, wives of NASA
  mission specialists Ron McNair and Ellison Onizuka; Chuck
  Resnik, brother of mission specialist Judith Resnik; Jane Smith,
  wife of Challenger pilot Mike Smith; and June Scobee, wife of
  commander Dick Scobee."


http://www.chron.com/content/interactive/space/archives/88/880402-1.html

  [Has anyone ever seen a Space Flight Medal, or have any
  more background information about it?" -Editor]


CONGRESSIONAL SPACE MEDAL OF HONOR

  A web search turned up another medal I was unfamiliar
  with, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.  See:

  http://www2.powercom.net/%7Erokats/medals.html
  http://www2.powercom.net/~rokats/histdeco.html#SPMDL

  "Established by Congress on 29 SEP 1969.  Awarded by
  the President in the name of Congress to civilian or military
  astronauts who, while performing their duties, distinguish
  themselves by exceptionally meritorious efforts and
  contributions to the welfare of the Nation and humanity.

  The design contains a 1/4 carat diamond at its center,
  which makes it the only US decoration with a precious
  stone.

  It is a non-military decoration and ranks after all military
  decorations.  Awardees include:

  John Glenn, 1978.
  Neil Armstrong, 1978.
  Alan Shepard, 1978.
  Frank Borman, 1978.
  Pete Conrad, 1978.
  Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, 1978 (posthumously).
  John Young, 1981.
  Tom Stafford, 1992.
  Jim Lovell, 1995.
  Shannon Lucid, 1996.
  Roger B. Chaffee, 1997 (posthumously).
  Edward H. White, 1997 (posthumously)."


FEATURED WEB SITE

  This week's featured web site is the history of the Rochester
  Numismatic Association (RNA): "America's Oldest
  Continuously-Operating Coin Club," ANA Club Member #2,
  established 1912.

     http://www.the-rna.com/history.html



  Wayne Homren
  Numismatic Bibliomania Society