Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 6, Number 23, June 8, 2003:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2003, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
SUBSCRIBER UPDATE
Among recent new subscribers is Warner Talso.
Welcome aboard! We now have 561 subscribers.
NBS EVENTS AT THE UPCOMING ANA CONVENTION
The Numismatic Bibliomania Society has scheduled two
events at upcoming convention of the American Numismatic
Association in Baltimore.
Thursday July 31, 2003, 1 PM
Numismatic Bibliomania Society Symposium
Barry Tayman and George Fuld will present a paper on the
research methodology for their upcoming monograph on
Blacksmith tokens
Friday August 1, 2003, 11.30 AM
Numismatic Bibliomania Society Annual Meeting
Leonard Augsburger will present a paper entitled
"132 South Eden: House of Gold"
ASYLUM BEST ARTICLE BALLOT
The latest edition of our print journal, The Asylum, contains
ballots for members to vote on a new slate of officers as
well as the best article of the year. The list of articles is
shown below. Do NOT vote by email - only printed
ballots will be accepted. The eligible articles are listed here
to illustrate the breadth and depth of the publication, which
is free to members. As always, I urge E-Sylum readers who
who are not already members of the Numismatic Bibliomania
Society to seriously consider joining. See the end of this
(and every) E-Sylum mailing for more information on joining
NBS.
David F. Fanning, Plagiarism or Cooperation?: Two Identical
Premium-Paid Lists of the Late Nineteenth Century.
Q. David Bowers, Some Notes on Archives.
David Cassel, A Misnomer Mystery Finally Solved.
Q. David Bowers, The Fascinating Challenge of Numismatic Research.
William Malkmus, Bibliomania Through the Ages: Four Mini-Reviews.
Pete Smith, Response to Fanning.
David F. Fanning, More on Identical Premium-Paid Lists.
David Hirt, Collecting Numismatic Literature in the 1960s.
Frederick N. Dyer, Storer's Numismatic Roots.
W. David Perkins, My Amazing Story by a 1795 B-10 Dollar.
David W. Lange, The Development of the Coin Album, Part 6.
George Kolbe, Numismatics in the Age of Grolier.
Darryl A. Atchison, A Selection of Desirable 19th Century
Auction Sales Containing Important Canadian Numismatic
Material
Michael E. Marotta, Authoring in the Collection of Titles.
David F. Fanning, Book Review: The Coins of Pontius Pilate.
Myron Xenos, You Don't Say: Numismatic Gleanings from the Past
Doug Andrews, Seven Steps to Protect Your Library Investment.
Leonard Augsburger, Genealogical Methods in Numismatic Research
Stephen B. Pradier, What People Will Put on eBay.
David F. Fanning, Hidden Treasures in Old Literature.
NBS CHARTER MEMBER LIST
Michael Sullivan writes: "In spring 2002, I facilitated the transfer
of some early NBS historical records into the NBS archives via
the help of some anonymous organization members. The
material now rests in the NBS archives which are carefully
watched over by the esteemed Joel Orosz.
One of the more interesting documents was a list of the
"Numismatic Bibliomania Society Charter Numbers." The one
page document lists member numbers one through one hundred.
Member number one was held by the late Jack Collins followed
by George F. Kolbe who together founded NBS as we know
it today. Member numbers three through thirteen were "Reserved."
Member number fourteen was prior NBS president Cal Wilson
who, it could be assumed, assembled the membership list.
Members fifteen (John Adams) through 86 (Randolph Zander)
are listed in alphabetical order to include Harry Bass Jr., John
Bergman, Walter Breen, Armand Champa, John Ford, Jr.,
Byron Johnson, Dennis Loring, Harrington Manville, Joel
Orosz and David Sklow, many of whom made great
contributions to numismatic literature. Members eighty-seven
through ninety-eight form yet another alphabetical listing of
members followed by what might appear to be a more
chronological listing.
Questions can be sent to Michael Sullivan, PO Box 1309,
West Chester, OH 45071 or numisbookmjs at earthlink.net."
FORD LIBRARY VISIT
Mark Van Winkle writes: "Regarding John Ford's library, he
gave me a brief tour when I was at his house in 1989 for the
two-part interview Heritage published in Legacy magazine.
We entered the library with our shoes off. (He said he had just
had carpet laid and wanted to keep it in nice shape, but Jack
Collins told me this was his usual practice). I had never seen
anything like it before and to this day haven't again. He was
obviously very proud of his library.
It was a true library with rows and rows of books, all neatly
organized and covering every conceivable subject. He had
old auction catalogs, new auction catalogs, all the standard
references, city directories, books on metallurgy. And the
condition was simply incredible. But what was perhaps the
most unusual aspect was how he had fireproofed the room.
The ceiling had some sort of fire retardant powder (I forget
now what it was called). In case of a fire, this powder would
drop out of the ceiling and smother the flames. He said it cost
him a thousand dollars to test the system when he had the
room built in the house.
I would periodically hear from John whenever we published
a catalog he thought was worthwhile. He had me trained to
select a copy for him with a perfect cover and spine. If it
arrived in less-than-perfect shape, he would call, and I would
ship him another until he got a pristine copy. I also would ship
him ten copies of our ANA catalogs as soon as they were
printed and available. If I forgot, he would always call and
remind me. Over the years, I must have shipped him 30-40
copies of the Legacy interviews.
Fortunately, we had quite a few copies on hand and I could
always ship them out to him. John really liked the way the
interview came out and he gave copies to his many friends."
[The interviews very interesting and are available on the
Heritage web site at the following addresses. Even if you've
read them before, they are well worth another read. As
Mark wrote in the first piece: "John Ford is the most gifted
storyteller in numismatics today. He remembers events from
thirty-five years ago with startling clarity, and he retells the tales
with boundless enthusiasm. This interview took place February
27 and 28 at Ford's home in Phoenix. From the six hours of
tape many stories and personality sketches had to be deleted,
but even with careful editing, Ford's story won't fit in just one
issue." -Editor]
http://www.heritagecoin.com/features/NumisArticles/article.asp?id=246
http://www.heritagecoin.com/features/NumisArticles/article.asp?id=263
THE FIRST SLABBED NUMISMATIC CATALOGUE
Fred Lake writes: "Reading about the upcoming auction(s) of
John J. Ford's library by Stack's/George Kolbe and the
description of John's insistence on acquiring material in the
best condition possible reminded me of his appearance at the
NBS General Meeting held in July, 1993.
There, John held up a catalog of the Stack's, March 17, 1993
sale of the Herman Halpern Collection of United States Paper
Money. This sale catalog had been mailed to him several times
by Stack's and each time the catalog was damaged in some
manner by the Post Office.
John contacted Martin Gengerke at Stack's and insisted on
receiving a pristine copy. Martin arranged to have the catalog
sandwiched between two pieces of Lucite and taped at the
edges very neatly with duct tape. Thus was born the first
"slabbed" catalog. I was fortunate enough to catch the famous
moment with my trusty Minolta and so preserved the record
of a catalog that could not be read, but would forever be in
Mint 70 condition. I believe the photo was published in
"The Asylum" that year.
As a postscript, I had the photo enlarged to 8 x 10 and
enclosed in a suitable wood frame with glass covering the
picture. Before packaging the frame for delivery to John, I
took the wrapping paper to my driveway and ran over it
several times with my truck, leaving some very distinct tire
marks. Needless to say, John was amazed that a package
could be run over by a truck and yet the contents were
undamaged."
PENNYPACKER HETTRICK CATALOGUE SOUGHT
George Fuld writes:: "In the early 1960's, Pennypacker Auctions,
I believe of Lancaster, PA, had an auction of the Dr. George
Hettrick collection in three large lots- His hard times tokens,
his civil war cents, and his Pennsylvania tokens. There was
a printed catalog. Do any of our readers have a copy of this
sale that can photocopy it for me.? George Fuld at
fuld1 at comcast.net "
FROSSARD CATALOGUE INFO SOUGHT
David Fanning (fanning32 at earthlink.net) writes: "Can
anyone provide me with the following information?:
Thanks much.
1. The description of lot 375 in Frossard's 145th sale,
April 20-21, 1897. This is a (by our terminology) 1793
Breen 11, Sheldon NC-4 cent and brought $4.10. I
need the exact description of the lot by Frossard.
2. The price brought by lot 548 in Frossard's 23rd sale
(August 3, 1882). This is a (again by our terminology)
1794 Breen 60, Sheldon 68 cent."
TOKENS OF SPAIN PUBLISHED
Elmore Scott sent this press release about a new book: "The
new "Tokens of Spain" by Russ Rulau and published by
Numismatics International is a hardbound book (174 pages
on 8.5" x 11" glossy stock with over 500 tokens illustrated)
is now ready for shipping. The retail cost is $35.00 + $5.00
shipping (USA). Personal checks (USA banks) or money
orders may be sent to E.B.Scott- NI Book Sales, 309 Duke
St., Garland, TX 75043 or you may use PayPal with funds
sent to: (ebscott at attbi.com). Dealers (3 or more copies)
receive 40% off retail plus postage. Non USA buyers check
for shipping rates."
The author adds: "Printed on glossy stock in large 8.5 by
11-inch format, it contains more than 500 photographs of
non-governmental coinage substitutes, including a large
number of unlisted Civil War (1936-39) cardboard and
metallic as well as other classes of exonumia.
Included are cooperative issues, game counters, political
counterstamps on coinage, proclamation medalets of
homeland Spain, store cards and tokens for value. The
listings, arranged geographically and alphabetically, include
pricing in up to four condition degrees. An economic
overview of Spain's troubled past which led to so many
money substitutes is also featured. In-depth footnotes
common to all Rulau catalogs are present in the new volume."
PATRIOTIC CIVIL WAR TOKEN BOOK UPDATE
A note in the Summer 2003 issue of The Civil War Token
Journal, published by the Civil War Token Society reports
that "the fifth edition of the patriotic book is progressing
nicely. There are some three dozen new dies and well over
100 new die combinations/materials. In addition, all of the
rarities have been evaluated and changed as needed. A
short article on blank reverses and their evolution has been
added in the special categories chapter, as well as new insight
into die making ala H. D. Higgins of Indiana Primitive fame."
VISITING JACOB PERKINS' HOMESTEAD
W. David Perkins writes: "I was in Newburyport, Mass.
Tuesday and Wednesday, June 4th & 5th, and while there
I visited Jacob Perkins' house and mint building! I am a
distant relative of Jacob Perkins, thus my interest in him is
genealogical as well as numismatic.
It turns out that Jacob Perkins' house in Newburyport was
only one house away from the current location for the
Newburyport Historical Society building and museum.
The house is still standing and lived in today. The curator
of the Historical Society and I got into a discussion on Jacob
Perkins. He turned out to be a knowledgeable and enthusiastic
source of information on Jacob Perkins!. Among other items,
he showed me a picture of "Jacob Perkins' engraving Plant"
on Fruit Street in Newburyport. I had walked by the Jacob
Perkins house earlier, and had noticed a three story brick
building behind it. I confirmed the building was still there and
that it was the one that I had noticed. The Historical Society
property backs up to this brick building, and he offered to take
me over to it. The first floor of this building, which likely was
his engraving shop, is now sadly an automobile garage! (behind
the house). Yes, I did touch the building and the house, just
for good measure.
On a "non-numismatic note," the next day in Ipswich, Mass.
while taking a tour of the Whipple House (built around 1667,
if I remember correctly) the tour guide pointed out a walking
stick (cane) owned by John Perkins of Ipswich, the first of
my Perkins line to come to America (early 1630s). Labeled
"do not touch," an exception was made for me.
Needless to say, a good couple of days."
HEATH'S MICROSCOPE
Item 105 in George Frederick Kolbe's 2003 Numismatic
Bookseller fixed price list is an unusual piece related to the
famous Heath's counterfeit detectors. "Heath's Improved
Adjustable Compound Microscope, [Patented Dec 25,
1877]. For Examining Bank Notes, Minerals, Flowers,
Seeds, Linen, Etc., Etc." The device was illustrated in
late editions of Heath's counterfeit detector. George lists
it as "The first we have seen." It's the first I've even heard
of these - time to go check my later Heath editions.
-Editor.
CRYSTAL CITY RECOLLECTIONS
Although we have discussed this before, I wanted to
publish this note from Art Jacobs, a former internee
at Crystal City, Texas. He wrote to us correcting an
earlier E-Sylum item that only mentioned the Japanese-
American occupants of the facility:
"The Crystal City Internment camp held Japanese Americans,
German Americans and Italian Americans, as well as Latin
Americans of these three nationalities. Japanese Americans
from the West Coast were among the internees--they, like all
internees in the Crystal City Camp, used the same tokens.
For more on internment of German Americans see
http://www.foitimes.com."
In a similar vein Harold Eiserloh writes: "I forwarded the
recent E-Sylum items about the Crystal City Internment
Camp to some distant relatives who lived there with their
interned father.
When their father, Mathias Eiserloh, was "arrested" for
being a German alien (he had lived in this country for over
15 years, and never bothered to become a citizen, but
married and had three children, the youngest just 1 year
old). He was a mechanical engineer, they had built their
own house and the mother did sewing and other things to
add to their family income. When the father was interned
they lost his income, and her customers figured that if he
was interned they must be guilty of espionage or something,
so they had no more dealings with the mother. The younger
children were mistreated by other children in their
neighborhood.
Soon the family, without income, lost their home and had
to move from Cleveland to join the father in the camp at
Crystal City, Texas. Although there was no mistreatment
at the camp, they felt like prisoners. In January of 1945,
just a few months before Germany surrendered, the family
was sent to Germany in exchange for some American
internees there. The father thought that he would be
welcomed by relatives, but they weren't given rations by the
German government and the relatives hadn't enough for
themselves. The Gestapo figured the father was an
American spy and imprisoned him.
When the war was over they immediately applied to return
to the United States. It was nine years before they were
permitted to return, even though the mother and three
children were United States citizens. When they finally
were able to return, the father was in sixty years old and
couldn't find a job. The mother supported the family
with sewing and other odd jobs. The father died a couple
of years later.
Although the government has officially acknowledged the
Japanese internees and given them some reparations, they
haven't even officially acknowledged that Germans and
Italians were also interred, much less offered any reparations."
CRYSTAL CITY CALL FOR ACTION
Eiserloh's relative is Ensi Bennett of Anaheim, CA, and
she writes: "Harold Eiserloh, a subscriber to The E-Sylum
newsletter, recently sent me a copy of your article in E-Sylum
about the Crystal City Internee tokens. In that article you
wonder if the the 11,000 German American internees
received reparations as did the Japanese. The answer is a
resounding NO, and such reparation is not even on the
radar screen.
My family lost not only the home my engineer father built
with his own hands, which today is valued at a half million
dollars, but we lost every personal possession except the
clothes on our backs by the time we arrived in Germany,
not to mention my father's career, life's work and business.
My parents, who were in their forties at the time, never
quite recovered from those painful events, either emotionally
or financially, and my father died a very broken man at age
65.
In any case, the insult on top of injury, has been the fact that
the treatment of German Americans has been ignored and
even denied through the years. History books do not
mention it, schools teach our children only about the Japanese
internment and relocation, and the media has repeatedly
stated that "NO German Americans were interned", until just
this last year when a few journalists brought a little scattered
attention by mentioning the GA internment in the same
sentence with JA internment. The German American internees
were commanded to never speak of the internment and had
to sign a document agreeing not to do so when they were
released. And that silence has prevailed to the point that
most of them never even told their own children who were
born after the war.
It was therefore refreshing to read your comments and
question - but your mention of being "surprised" to learn that
German Americans were also interned does serve to
underscore the secrecy of this bit of history. Sadly, there
are very few of us still living who can speak of it - we are
the children of the camps. Our parents, for the most part,
are no longer living.
We have only recently, finally, succeeded in getting a bill
(S. 1356 - WW II Treatment of European Americans)
before congress. It was sponsored by Sen. Feingold of
Wisc. and proposes establishing a commission to study
the internment, exclusions and forced relocations and
repatriation of European Americans.
We are not seeking reparations as did the Japanese
Americans, but we do want our government's
acknowledgment of this travesty, and at least some form
of apology for the mass ruination of so many innocent lives.
So, if you have occasion to encourage your own senators
and congressmen to support this bill by asking them to
co-sponsor S-1356, there are a handful of us still left who
would be deeply grateful on behalf of ourselves and our
deceased parents."
[My mother's side of the family is German, and luckily,
they did not endure such hardships that I am aware of.
But I would encourage E-Sylum readers in the U.S. who
are so inclined to please consider Mr. Bennett's request.
As history buffs we know the importance of setting the
historical record straight, and it is never too late to right
an old wrong. -Editor]
1913 NICKEL TALE DEBUNKED
Gar Travis sent in a link to an Associated Press story where
Coin World editor Beth Deisher debunks the Nevada story
about the missing 1913 Liberty nickel that we mentioned
last week.
"Beth Deisher, editor of Coin World magazine in Sidney, Ohio,
said John Finney's tale that the nickel was lost when his
mother's childhood home in Sparks was razed for a freeway
overpass is implausible."
"We know the whereabouts of the coin up until around 1945,"
Deisher said by telephone. "It is documented through auction
sales, private sales. ... It goes off the radar screen in 1962."
To read the full story, see:
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/Main.asp?SectionID=25&ArticleID=81436
WANDERING ASYLUM SUBMISSIONS
Robert Zavos writes: "I was glad to read Tom Fort's comments
on submissions to The Asylum in the last issue of The E-Sylum.
I was one of those whose submissions were lost. In my case, I
mailed two submissions from Florida in December 2002. One
was a comment on a Letter to the Editor in which I was involved.
My letters were not published in the next Asylum, but I was not
real surprised. As the editor of a publication in another field I am
aware of the problems of balancing space availability with
submissions.
To my surprise the real reason surfaced about 5 months later
when my letter was returned with a yellow USPS sticker marked
"attempted not known". In between I had moved from Florida
back to Pittsburgh and the letter eventually followed the same
route. Amazingly, my house is only about 3 miles from the original
Post Office that failed to deliver. I will try again, after all, its been
12 years since my last submission to the Asylum."
CHEATING RASCALS
Dave Ginsburg writes: "I'm a new subscriber to the E-Sylum
and I've been bringing myself up to speed by reading the
archived issues on-line, which I've greatly enjoyed.
Henry Bergos encouraged me to join the NBS a year or two
ago, just after he sold me Lester Merkin's copy of Walter
Breen's pamphlet on "United States Eagles" published by
Hewitt Brothers, and I've finally gotten around to doing so.
(Just for the record, the pamphlet has a book plate, but no
marginalia.)
I haven't seen anyone reply to this, so I thought I'd comment
on Joel Orosz' note from the 12/23/01 E-Sylum in which
he refers to Scrooge's poor opinion of the soundness of
American financial obligations with these quotes from Chapter
One of "The House of Morgan" by Ron Chernow:
"When Baltimore merchant George Peabody sailed for
London in 1835, the world was in the throes of a debt crises.
The defaulting governments weren't obscure Balkan nations
or South American republics but American states. The
United States had succumbed to a craze for building railroads,
canals, and turnpikes, all backed by state credit. Now
Maryland legislators, with the bravado of the ruined, threatened
to join other states in skipping interest payments on their
bonds, which were largely marketed in London."
Later, Chernow states: "During the severe depression of the
early 1840s - a decade dubbed the Hungry Forties - state
debt plunged to fifty cents on the dollar. The worst came
when five American states - Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Indiana,
Arkansas, and Michigan - and the Florida territory defaulted
on their interest payments."
"British investors cursed America as a land of cheats, rascals,
and ingrates. State defaults also tainted federal credit, and
when Washington sent Treasury agents to Europe in 1842,
James de Rothschild thundered, "Tell them you have seen
the man who is at the head of the finances of Europe, and that
he has told you that they cannot borrow a dollar. Not a dollar."
Clergyman Sydney Smith sneered at the American "mob"
and said that whenever he met a Pennsylvanian at a London
dinner, he felt "a disposition to seize and divide him. . . . How
such a man can set himself down at an English table without
feeling that he owes two or three pounds to every man in the
company, I am at a loss to conceive, he has no more right to
eat with honest men than a leper has to eat with clean men."
Even Charles Dickens couldn't resist a jab, portraying a
nightmare in which Scrooge's solid British assets are transformed
into "a mere United States' security.""
As you can see, Dickens wasn't the only person at the time with
a poor opinion of US securities, and not without good reason!
Keep the great E-Sylums coming!"
ENGLISH-ITALIAN COIN NAME TRANSLATION
Pietro Valocchi of Italy writes: "I'm trying to publish an
English version of my web site http://utenti.lycos.it/moneteit/
and I'm not able to find a reference for the English versions of
the Italian coin names: can you suggest any URLs or books?"
[I don't know of an online dictionary, but can anyone
recommend a book for him? -Editor]
1792 QUARTER IMAGES
Saul Teichman writes: "For those interested in the two
recently-discovered 1792 Wright quarters, images are
available at http://uspatterns.com/uspatterns/2j117quarfou.html"
DORIS DOSCHER, QUARTER MODEL
Mark Van Winkle has a nice article in the June 16, 2003
issue of Coin World about Doris Doscher, the model for
Hermon MacNeil's Standing Liberty Quarter (1916-1930).
Of interest to bibliophiles is the pictured pamphlet containing
a great deal of biographical information on the model. The
pamphlet is an offprint from the Nov. 1961 / Jan. 1962
issues of "American Vegetarian-Hygienist" magazine. It
was part of a lot of ephemera from the Doscher estate which
sold for $1,495 a lo 6043 in the Heritage May Long Beach
sale.
ATOMIC NUMISMATICS
[The following article by is Warner Talso reprinted
with permission from the MPC Gram (Series 004 -
Number 928, Monday June 2, 2003), edited by
Fred Schwan. Use the following link if you'd like to
subscribe to this interesting email newsletter
http://www.papermoneyworld.net/WebMailList/Default.asp
-Editor]
Here is an interesting connection between numismatics
and the atomic bomb. The Manhattan Project (code name
for the atomic weapon development project) was famous
for its insatiable appetite for materials and the lengths to
which the project went to get the job done. There was a
need for a conductor for the coils of magnets. In the
summer of 1942 the preliminary plans for the electromagnetic
plant had called for five thousand tons of copper. However,
copper was in short supply due to other war related needs
and strikes in the industry.
Silver was suggested as a substitute, because it has the
highest electric conductivity of any other natural substance.
"On August 3, 1942, Colonel Nichols visited Undersecretary
of the Treasury Daniel W. Bell with a request for a large
amount of silver. When Bell asked how much he needed,
Nichols replied 'six thousand tons', to which the secretary
replied rather indignantly, 'Young man, you may think of silver
in tons, but the Treasury will always think of silver in troy
ounces.'" Eventually, 14,700 tons of silver (much in the form
of silver dollars), worth 400 million dollars at the time, was
loaned to the Project. A total of 940 magnets were fabricated
using this silver. The magnets were estimated to be one hundred
times larger than any magnets previously constructed. They
were so powerful that they pulled on the nails of workers shoes,
making walking difficult. They caused tools to fly out the hands
of workers. Special nonferrous tools and equipment had to be
fabricated.
"When it came time to return the silver to the Treasury after the
war, every ounce was scavenged. In the final accounting, of
the 14,700 tons borrowed, only a minuscule fraction of 1
percent was missing."
The majority of this information and the quotes are taken from
the book "Racing for the Bomb" by Robert S. Norris,
Steerforth Press, South Royalton, Vermont, 2002
[Warner adds: "Please give the credit for the book as follows:
An excerpt from Racing for the Bomb, by Robert S. Norris,
published by Steerforth Press of South Royalton, Vermont.
Copyright © 2002 by Robert S. Norris" This is the publisher's
preferred format.]
MORRIS' REFLECTORS AND DATE OF DEATH
Karl Moulton writes: "Here is a minor correction about
the "Morris' Mirrors" item in the May 25th E-Sylum. In the
1950 book, "Forgotten Patriot-Robert Morris" by Eleanor
Young, the word used is "reflectors", not mirrors. They
were placed above and behind the cashier's cage, who
used a series of overhead chains or belts to carry silver
coin filled boxes back and forth to the vault. The "mirrors"
were not actually inside the vault.
The Morris book contains much useful information about the
early monetary needs of America. It's a shame that Morris,
who was the first person to be offered the Secretary of the
Treasury position, eventually ended up spending three and a
half years in the Prune Street Prison debtor's building called
"the Wonder of the World". It was a far cry from his beloved
3 story brick mansion on High (Market) Street, which
President George Washington had utilized during his 8 year
presidency.
On page 244 of the Morris book, one rather curious
September 1798 letter, regarding the current yellow fever
epidemic, written by Morris while in debtor's prison reads:
"Our prisoners are gone, except the sick, Banks, Rittenhouse,
and myself. They all have the fever, but still I am not alarmed
although in the house with it."
My question is this, was Morris referring to David Rittenhouse,
the first Director of the United States Mint? Could he have
ended up in debtor's prison in 1796 due to his extensive
financial contributions to make that institution successful? Is
that why there was a memorial service for Rittenhouse held
nearly six months after his reported death? If anyone has
conclusive contemporary confirmation of David Rittenhouse's
death, other than what's reported in the modern numismatic
texts, I would certainly like to hear about it."
[The earliest Rittenhouse reference in my library is "Memoirs
of the Life of David Rittenhouse" by William Barton, 1813
According to this work, Rittenhouse died at home on June 26,
1796. -Editor]
After passing this along to Karl, he added: "Brooke Hindle's
1964 book about David Rittenhouse describes a memorial
service held on Saturday, December 17, 1796 at the First
Presbyterian Church on High Street. Dr. Benjamin Rush,
perhaps Rittenhouse's most ardent admirer at the time, was
the eulogist.
It's just the timeframe of having Rittenhouse die in the
Summer, and then having a memorial service in the midst
of Winter some 6 months later, that struck me as being
rather odd. When combined with the Morris reference in
1798, it becomes even more unusual.
I don't want to rock the boat here, I merely want to have
valid contemporary confirmation on the official timeframe
of his death (meaning not from a later, secondary source)."
According to Barton's 1813 work, Rittenhouse died on
the morning of June 26, 1796. Barton, who was
Rittenhouse's nephew, was supposedly in the room when
this happened. However, according to Hindle, Barton's
"Memoirs" book is "frustrating" because "he did select only
the portions he liked and he deleted words and phrases" to
located original Rittenhouse manuscripts. Hence, the Barton
book can't be considered as completely factual and is most
likely biased to some degree.
Does anyone have any mentions of Rittenhouse, other than
the one in the 1798 Morris letter while at prison? Considering
the 6 month time delay, the possibility exists that Dr. Rush was
attempting to protect the good name of David Rittenhouse
when he had actually been sent to jail (albeit in poor health).
The later Barton work would have naturally built upon this
in order to achieve the same results. I beg the question,
did Rush and Barton collaborate on setting the "official"
date of Rittenhouse's death?
There have been other well-believed numismatic related stories
handed down that are eventually found to be in error. The
one about Joseph J. Mickley going to the Mint in 1827 and
getting four 1827/3/2 quarters for a dollar comes to mind.
Could David Rittenhouse, like Robert Morris, both highly
respected friends of George Washington, have gone to prison
because of his benevolent contributions to our nations first
Mint?"
If all of this is true, for Rittenhouse to have been reportedly
buried beneath the floor of his observatory at his residence,
means that when his house on Seventh St. was razed for
making an overpass to downtown, we lost the marble slab
and remains of one of our nation's most dedicated and
influential citizens. In any event, I'm proud to be the
present owner of the original June 15, 1782 deed to David
Rittenhouse's property."
FIRST CHAPMAN SALE?
Regarding the item Dave Bowers submitted last week,
John Eshbach writes: "The Portsmouth Journal coin article
was about the first Chapman sale, I think."
David F. Fanning agrees. He writes: "Since I don't own a
copy of the sale, I'm not positive, but from the description
this sale sounds like the Chapman Brothers' first sale
(October 9, 1879)."
LAST WEDNESDAY JUNE 6 WAS MEDAL DAY.
Dick JOhnson writes: "No, it's not the day of the year
that the Medal Collectors of America promote medal
collecting. Instead, it is the day in New York City that
medals are bestowed on heroic firemen.
"Medal Day," said Newsday staff writer Bill Murphy, "is
the most important day of the year for the people who
fight fires for a living, and it is also one huge party day.
The firefighters are not always on their best behavior."
The mayor of the City personally pins the medal for
bravery on the proper bestowee's uniform. Ed Koch
did this one year just after he had closed two firehouses.
He only got one medal bepinned before he was hissed
and booed until he left the ceremony. This year Mayor
Michael Bloomberg settled a dispute with the firefighters
union the day before he was to appear on stage. (Just in
time! Three thousand firefighters had practiced cupping
their hands to their mouths to magnify their catcalls.)
Now what does this have to do with numismatic books
you ask? For years I have noticed the pamphlets given
out at these medal ceremonies listing all the recipients'
names selling for $5 to $10 on eBay. Any fireman who
has the presence of mind to bring his pamphlet home
without getting beer glass on the cover can pick up a
little extra money on the side.
If you would like to know what happened Wednesday,
click on:
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/
politics/ny-nypols063320038jun06,0,4611806.story
HAVING A FLING WITH MEDALS
In last week's issue I asked about some of the more creative
ways of disposing of an overage of medals.
David Lange writes: "What to do with remaining supplies of
medals has always been a quandary. When I lived in California,
I belonged (and still do) to a coin club in the San Francisco
Bay Area called Liberty Numismatic Society. The club began
issuing medals annually in 1987, its 30th anniversary, and my
designs were selected for three of the first four years. The first
year's medal was oversubscribed, and a number of prospective
buyers were disappointed. To avoid a repeat of this situation,
the number minted in 1988 was greatly increased, with the
inevitable result that not all were sold. While the remaining
silver pieces were simply returned for recycling into the next
year's edition, the unsold bronze medals presented a real
problem. This was solved when the officers and board of
directors held a "medal dumping" party on a pier alongside the
San Mateo Bridge. The 80 or so leftover medals were flung
across the waters of SF Bay, as we matched our skills at
skipping them over the waves. While doubtless breaking some
law, our action did protect the integrity of the medals sold to
collectors, and I suspect that the evidence of our crime is nearly
unrecoverable at this point."
SCOTT RESTRIKE STORY
Regarding the story of the unsold Scott restrikes of the
Confederate Half Dollar, Gar Travis sends this quote from
an item written by Q. David Bowers:
"Scott decided to strike impressions from his die, and he sent
out circulars offering silver restrikes at $2 each, agreeing to
have only 500 pieces struck. It was doubtful if over 250 were
sold, as Scott had a plentiful supply of them for over 30 years
thereafter. He gradually raised the price to $15 each."
http://www.pcgs.com/articles/article2903.chtml
THEATRE AT NEW YORK TOKEN
Following up on last week's item about The Theatre at New
York Token, Gar Travis sends the following link to a page on
the subject at the Notre Dame site:
http://www.coins.nd.edu/ColCoin/ColCoinIntros/NYTheatre.intro.html
CURSE OF THE QUARTERS
CNN published an amusing item on May 27th about the
curse" of the state quarter series.
Did the Old Man of the Mountain die of natural causes, or was
a curse the culprit?
The distinctive rock formation had been famous since Native
Americans roamed the White Mountains. ... When the rock's
face crumbled to dust in early May, it was a blow for naturalists
and numismatics alike.
Age was cited as the official cause of the Old Man's demise.
But conspiracy theorists take note: since the Mint inaugurated
the coin series, a string of unfortunate events has befallen many
of its subjects."
[To say the least, the article's examples require quite a stretch
of logic to believe. For the full text of the article use the link
below. I wasn't aware though, of the near-tragedy that struck
the subject of the Maryland quarter.
"The quarter depicts the statehouse in Annapolis, America's
oldest legislative building still in use as a capitol. Last summer,
the historic wooden cupola was struck by lightning, starting a
small fire, which had to be extinguished by automated sprinklers."
http://money.cnn.com/2003/05/15/pf/banking/quarter_curse/
TOKEN AND BANKNOTE QUERIES
David Fanning forwarded the following query: "Am trying to
find the mint responsible for the tokens by the Savings Bank
of Colon-1885 Field Brodie & Co., silver, reeded edge
with a "B" mint mark-no, it is not the Bogota mint, who has
denied authorship. So, does anybody have the address of
either the Bern Mint or the Lima (Peru) Mint so that I can
write them on this? I would appreciate any help.
Something else I could use some help is the address of the
American Bank Note Company- I'm seeking information on
the Continental Bank Note Co which was absorbed by
ABNC in the 1870/80's. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks Joaquin Gil del Real gildelreal at yahoo.com"
FEATURED WEB SITE
This week's featured web site is suggested by Dick Johnson.
He writes: "Here is a brief website, but I laughed at every item.
The Webmaster is Courtney McFarren who has another site
of interest: Lincoln Cents / Quantities Minted. But check out:
http://home.att.net/~abcmcfarren/misc/coins.htm
[Here's an excerpt. -Editor]
"The Spiro T. Agnew Minus-One-Cent Piece
This trapezoidal-shaped coin was recently released into
circulation to alleviate the "penny problem". It is the only
known coin with a negative value. For example: instead
of lugging around four pennies, a person would only have
to carry two coins; a 5-cent piece and a "Spiro".
Wayne Homren
Numismatic Bibliomania Society
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