Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 6, Number 42, October 19, 2003:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2003, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.


SUBSCRIBER UPDATE

  Among recent new subscribers is Michael Toma.  Welcome
  aboard!   We now have 596  subscribers.


ANA LIBRARY DEDICATION

  The American Numismatic Association Library has been
  officially dedicated in honor of Dwight N. Manley,
  "recognizing his generous contribution to the ANA's
  Headquarters Renovation Fund."   From the press release:

  "The ANA completed a multimillion-dollar renovation of its
  Museum and Library in 2001, which more than doubled the
  Library's shelf space and provided better access to its growing
  collection of books, auction catalogs, periodicals and videos.
  The expanded, climate-controlled rare book room preserves
  and displays many of the Library's most important references,
  and a new security system protects the valuable inventory.

  "We have more than 9,000 titles available, circulate more than
  2,500 items a year to ANA members around the world and
  annually respond to nearly 2,000 research queries," says ANA
  Librarian Nancy Green. "As members of the Colorado Library
  Consortium, we also circulate material to anyone with a valid
  Colorado public library card, and we are seeing an increase
  in local circulation as more and more people discover this great
  resource."

  When he made his donation for the Library renovation, Manley
  said it was his experience as a teenager at an ANA Summer
  Seminar--a week-long event that now draws 450 people every
  year--that launched his numismatic career."

  "For more information about the Dwight N. Manley Numismatic
  Library, contact Librarian Nancy Green at 818 N. Cascade
  Ave., Colorado Springs, CO 80903-3279; phone
  719-632-2646; fax 719-634-4085; e-mail library at money.org;
  or visit the ANA at www.money.org."


LAKE BOOKS 71ST SALE

  Fred Lake writes: "The libraries of Dr. William Hopkins
  (Part II), the late Stu Hodge, and Tom Madigan are featured
  in Lake Books 71st mail-bid sale of numismatic literature
  which is now available for viewing at
  http://www.lakebooks.com/current.html  The sale has a
  closing date of November 18, 2003. In addition to early
  Crosby works, there are selections by Gilbert, Elder,
  Frossard, Chapman, Clapp and others who gave impetus
  to the collecting of early coppers.  Other sections of the
  catalog present reference material for Tokens and Medals,
  Paper Money, World Coins, Guide Books, and Exonumia."


FORD SALE PRL AND PHOTOS ONLINE

  Stack's has placed online the prices realized for the first sale
  of the John J. Ford collection.  See  http://www.stacks.com/

  Byron Weston uploaded some photos of the event to the
  Colonial Coins area of Yahoo.  Here's a link to one of them:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/colonial-coins/files/Ford%20Sale%20Images/Mvc-006f.jpg



ARGONAUT ROCKS!

  Dave Ginsburg writes: "This morning, I received my copy of
  the winter 2002 issue of The Argonaut, that Dave Bowers
  was so kind to recommend in the Sep. 28th E-Sylum.  All I can
  say is that it's probably the best $10 I've ever spent on a book!
  Lots of great pictures, footnotes and a bibliography - and I
  haven't even started reading the articles yet!  Please convey
  my thanks to Mr. Bowers for the recommendation."


NEW ORLEANS MINT BUILDING INFO

  Dave Ginsburg adds: "If no one else has responded, and
  if he hasn't already done so, I encourage Mark Borckardt
  to contact Greg Lambousy, Director of Collections of the
  Louisiana State Museum (and author of an article on the
  New Orleans Mint building in the March 2003 Numismatist)
  for details about the New Orleans Mint building.  Mr.
  Borkhardt will discover that he needn't make his own sketch
  of the building's floor plan and that it is indeed "known what
  each room in the building was used for".

  Hal & Sharon Dunn write: "In response to Mark Borckardt?s
  request for information regarding floor plans of the branch
  mints, those for the Carson City Mint can be found in ?Mint
  Mark ?CC? The Story of the United States Mint at Carson
  City, Nevada,? by Howard Hickson.  The basement, first
  and second floors are illustrated (pp.52-56).  These plans
  are not the original working plans, and they are identified as
  ?re-created from 1868, 1878, and 1881 plans and interior
  photographs taken in 1895.?  Measurements are not provided.
  Perhaps Bob Nylan, the curator of the Nevada State Museum,
  can offer additional assistance.

  Another reader adds: "There should be a wealth of information
  in the National Archives records: NARA at www.nara.gov.
  They have a very nice search guide as well as mint material at
  four different archives locations - five if you count Washington,
  D.C."


U.S. COLONIAL COIN FOUND IN BRITAIN

  In reference to the New England sixpence found in Britain,
  the anonymous reader also wrote: "This article appeared also
  on the Internet.  The version I saw showed the coin, however,
  it was an identical match for the sixpence coin that appeared in
  my 1989 Red Book (pg 14).  It was such an exact match,
  dark spots and all, that I think they are the same coin.  Perhaps
  someone used the photo from the Red Book on the Internet
  version of the article and not the coin actually found.  Is there
  some place I can see the actual coin discovered?  It is worth
  checking out!"

  [The Bonham's web address is http://www.bonhams.com/.
   They may have an online photo of the auction lot. -Editor]


FRANK HIGGINS PHOTO SOUGHT

  Darryl Atchison writes: "I was wondering if any of our readers
  have a photograph of Frank Higgins who was one of the 1909
  A.N.A. Presidential candidates.  I am trying to figure out which
  individual he is in the 1909 A.N.A. convention photograph.  I
  don't have any early copies of The Numismatist so I do not know
  if his picture was ever published in the run up to the election.
  If anyone has any information they can contact me at
  atchisondf at hotmail.com"


NEW TWENTIES REPORTED

  Brad Karoleff  writes: "One of my customers works at the
  branch of the Federal Reserve in Cincinnati.  He came in on
  the 9th and spent three of the new $20's which I then took
  to the Post Office and had canceled on the official first day
  of issue.  I had spent most of the morning trying to obtain
  some from any of the local banks, or the Fed itself without
  any luck.  Did anyone else get any on the first day?"

  Jeff Starck writes: "I found a new $20 on Oct. 10, the second
  day in circulation, in my cash drawer at work, a Walgreens
  pharmacy in Ballwin, MO (a suburb or St. Louis).

  Randy Partin reports: "I received 4 of the new $20 bills out of
  my ATM on Sunday October 12."

  On Thursday, Chick Ambrass wrote: "I got four of the new
  twenties (in numerical sequence) today...first I've seen..."

  Tony Tumonis writes: "Bank of America has the new $20 Bills
  here in Tucson."

  Dave Ginsburg writes: "I managed to get one of the new $20s
  last night (the manager of the diner we ate dinner at had one
  he was willing to let me have).  I like the addition of color - I
  thought that the Series 1996 bills had too much white space on
  them."

  Your editor finally came across some of the new twenties on
  Thursday.   With the help of a bank teller, I chose two nice
  examples, plus two of the previous series and two of the older
  small portrait type.  I'll use them for an exhibit at next week's
  coin show and convention of the Pennsylvania Association of
  Numismatists at the Pittsburgh Expo Mart in Monroeville, PA.
  If any E-Sylum readers are at the show, I hope to run into you
  there.

  Is anyone archiving the promotional materials and print
  advertisements for the new twenty?  What about the TV
  commercials?    These videos ought to find their way into the
  major numismatic literature repositories.


NEW IRAQI NOTES DELIVERED

  The Washington Post had an article about the delivery of the
  new Iraqi currency.

  "U.S. armored trucks fanned out yesterday across Baghdad
  on final deliveries of the new currency, which does not bear
  the face of ousted President Saddam Hussein and is due to
  be put into circulation tomorrow.

  Convoys drove through the crowded streets of the capital,
  escorted by Humvees from the 1st Armored Division and
  helicopters hovering overhead."

  "Large planes have been flying into Baghdad from London
  several times a week for the last two weeks to transport the
  new currency. Smaller planes have been delivering new bank
  notes to Mosul in the north and Basra in the south."

  For the full story, see:
  http://washingtontimes.com/business/20031013-095150-5035r.htm
  See also this week's Featured Web Site.


A BRAHMIN NUMMULARIIST

  Adrián González Salinas of Monterrey, Nuevo León, México
  writes: "As always, I enjoy reading The E-Sylum every Monday
  by morning...it has very valuable information.  Please keep up
  the good work!

  I would like to share the following numismatic information that
  I read recently:   The source is Mason's Coin and Stamp
  Collectors' Magazine, Vol. I No. 11, February, 1868,  pages
  102-103:

  A BRAHMIN NUMMULARIIST
  A Brahma rooster was recently killed in Amesbury, Mass., and
  in its crop were found thirteen nickel cents and two two-cent
  pieces." - Philadelphia Ledger, Dec. 20. [1867]

  The above is, probably, the first instance on record of the
  numismatic fever attacking the lower animals; and, if it takes in
  the natural way, poultry will become the cheapest meat in the
  market, besides furnishing a new locality for collectors to delve
  for uncirculated coins.  Fortunately, gold coins are not "lying
  around loose," to be "gobbled up" by every foreign rooster
  that struts on American soil. As as faithful recorder of numismatic
  doings, we cannot but acknowledge the addition of the new
  collector to our ranks.

  Questions to the readers:
  a) Do you know if similar facts have been appeared in another
     publication?
  b) Has the term "nummulariist" ever been used elsewhere?"


CALICO, CALICO & TRIGO BOOK FOUND

  Alan Luedeking writes: "I'm pleased to come to Granvyl's
  rescue again: he can order the latest  edition (9th) from
  A.N.E.'s website in Spain, item LACO-25 on page 4 of 9
  of ANE's book offerings, for Euros 60.50. See
  http://www.ctv.es/ane/Bibliografia.htm and click on the
  "Libros" link on the left. Even if he's not an ANE member,
  I have no doubt they'd honor Numismatics International's
  order as an inter-society courtesy.  Otherwise, I have no
  doubt the book is available from any of the major Spanish
  dealers, links to which are also available on this website.

  [A.E.E. is La Asociación Numismática Española. -Editor]


DISCOVERER OF THE THREE-LEGGED BUFFALO NICKEL

  Responding to last week's quiz question, Ron Guth (owner of
  the CoinFacts website) submitted the following from his site
  (http://www.coinfacts.com):

  "...discovered sometime between 1937 and 1939 by C.F.
  "Cowboy" Franzen of Billings, Montana.  Originally, this
  variety was believed to have been caused by a filled die, but
  later researchers suggest that a press operator named "Mr.
  Young" created the variety when he ground the die down
  with an emery stick to remove clash marks in the die.  On
  genuine examples, the bison appears to be urinating, the hind
  legs of the bison appear to be moth-eaten, and the front foreleg
  is missing, even though the hoof remains."

  Your Editor found the following on the Southern Idaho Coin
  Club web page: "Ivan Fitzwater was one of the founders of the
  club - his name will always be remembered as the discoverer of
  the "three-legged" Buffalo nickel."
  http://www.money.org/clubs/sicc/

  So - can anyone else weigh in on the topic?  What records
  are in the literature to confirm either of these claims?


OSBORNE MINT

  Your Editor came across a web page for The Osborne Mint.
  Can anyone point us to other sources of information on the
  firm?  Here's what the web site says:

  "The Osborne Mint has a rich history covering over 165 years
  of continuous coin, token and medallion manufacturing.
  Established in Cincinnati in 1835, the company that is now
  Osborne Mint produced coins during the California Gold Rush
  and struck campaign medallions for politically important
  presidential races, including Abraham Lincoln's successful
  1860 race against Steven Douglas.

  Later developments brought Osborne to its patented lines of
  tough-to-counterfeit ORCO scrip money, used extensively by
  the coalmines in West Virginia and Kentucky. During the Second
  World War, Osborne was called upon to support America's war
  effort by minting the famous Red and Blue ration tokens
  distributed by the U.S. Office of Price Administration."
  https://secure.dminsite.com/st/?sid=MINT


NOT A RECOMMENDED SAVINGS PLAN

  On October 16th Reuters report datelined Berlin states:
  "A German man dug a hole the size of a large mattress in a
  park in a vain attempt to recover a 100 euro note he had
  buried a week earlier, police said on Thursday.

  Police in the city of Aachen at first mistook the shovel-wielding
  35-year-old for a construction worker, but were suspicious
  because he was still digging at dusk on Wednesday.

  He told them he had resorted to burying money to stop
  himself buying alcohol but had decided to dig up his savings
  for a birthday drinking session.

  http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=3627973


SAN FRANCISCO MINT EMPLOYEE IDENTIFICATION

  Steven Olson writes: "Greg Burns suggested I contact you
  about this.....

  I was wondering if your readers could help me identify a San
  Francisco Mint employee from the Civil War Era?   I have a
  letter (just the envelope, actually) sent from New York to him
  in the early 1860's, but the handwriting is bad.

  I'm sure that if a list of employees from that period exists, the
  name will be easier to decipher.  Does such a list exist?  Is
  anyone familiar with the name?  You can see a scan of the
  envelope here:   http://www.fofex.com/stamps/index.htm
  Any help you could provide would be sincerely appreciated."


1941 KELLY NUMISMATIC LIBRARY SALE

  Nolan Mims writes: "At the Oct 4-5 GCNA show in Mobile,
  one of the dealers brought me a few old publications. One
  was  a January 1941 James Kelly auction catalog featuring
  "PATTERN CENTS", "1802 HALF DIME" and a "FINE
  NUMISMATIC LIBRARY".   It was interesting to see the
  estimated prices for some of the books. For example:

  Lot  1221. "LOUBAT, Medallic History of United States.
  2 vols. 1 Vol. of Plates and 1 Vol. of Text. Autographed
  copy to a member of the Royalty in Paris. $15."

  Lot 1222. "Annual Reports of Director of Mint. 58 copies.
  1874 to 1935. No Duplicates.... Value 25 cents per volume.
  Bid for lot." Lot

  Lot 1283. "History of Augusta. Pub. Rome 1641. 376 pages,
  many plates and cuts throughout text.  Bound in full vellum.
  9x13 1/2 inches. Value $6.00."

  In coins, Lot 360 was an uncirculated 1909-S Indian Head
  Cent "Worth $5.00." I guess this just proves that nothing
  ever remains the same."


WORLD CROWN COLLECTORS

  ANA Librarian Nancy Green writes: "The only reference I
  could find in the Bass Numismatic Index of Periodicals was
  for the Worldwide Crown Collectors Association.  There
  was an article about them in The Numismatist, March, 1966."


AUSTRALIAN CRICKET COIN MOSAIC

  "A unique mosaic made from thousands of Australian coins
  and depicting a trademark Don Bradman cover drive is
  unlikely to go on display at Bowral - due to its size and weight.

 "It is important that we celebrate the life of Sir Donald Bradman
  and it is very pleasing to see a crossover of sport and art," said
  Mr Mulvaney.  "Clearly the artist is a man who pays attention
  to detail as he has used 6996 coins, the same number as The
  Don's Test batting aggregate.  "However it is 2.5m high - and
  that coupled with its weight would make it difficult to hang."

  Created by Melbourne numismatist Jim Johnson, the mosaic
  features commemorative Bradman 20c pieces, pennies and a
  half penny from 1908 - the year of the late cricketer's birth.

  http://southernhighlands.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?story_id=261106


FEATURED WEB SITE

  This week's featured web site is recommended by David
  Klinger.  He writes: "Here is a nomination for the web site of
  the week - it is the DOD organization in charge in Iraq,
  headed by Paul Bremer, called the Coalition Provisional Authority
  (CPA).  This is their web page:  http://www.cpa-iraq.org/

  You can see all the new Iraqi currency which was introduced
  on 15 OCT 03, on this site at the following link:

   http://www.cpa-iraq.org/pressreleases/20031014_currency.pdf



  Wayne Homren
  Numismatic Bibliomania Society