Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 6, Number 50, November 23, 2003:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2003, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.


LAKE BOOKS SALE 71 PRL AVAILABLE

  Fred Lake writes: "The prices realized list is now posted
  to our web site at: http://www.lakebooks.com/archive.html
  After opening that page, scroll down (or press the "2003"
  link) to sale #71.

  Due to our travel plans this week and the Thanksgiving
  holiday next week, our usual "speedy" packing and shipping
  of lots to the winning bidders will be a bit slower.

  Many thanks to all of our bidders for making this a most
  interesting sale.

  Our next sale will be held on January 20, 2004 and will
  feature Part III of the library of Dr. William E. Hopkins.
  Excellent reference material in the field of ancient numismatics
  will be highlighted."


BYRON KANZINGER

  Regarding token author Byron Kanzinger, David Gladfelter
  writes:  "To know him was to like and admire him.  Although
  terminally ill and he knew it, he called upon all of his energy to
  provide leadership to the Civil War Token Society in his
  typically upbeat manner. He wanted to do all that he could,
  knowing that he didn't have much time to do it, so he got
  right to work, leading by example.  He got as much out of
  the hobby as anyone I know and made many friends along
  the way."

  Dick Doty writes: "Having been blessed with a melanoma
  myself, that hit home.  But thirty-two is obscene..."


CANADIAN NUMISMATIC BIBLIOGRAPHY DEADLINE

  Darryl Atchison writes: "The pre-publication deadline has
  passed but if anyone wishes to enquire if they can still get in
  under the wire, they should contact Ron Greene at
  ragreene at telus.net.  I cannot make any promises, however."

  [The cutoff date for ordering the new Canadian Numismatic
  Bibliography had been pushed back from October 15th to
  November 15th.  -Editor]


LIBERTAS AMERICANA REPLICA INFO SOUGHT

  John W. Adams writes: Back in the early 1960's, Stanley
  Apflebaum of FCI ran a promotion on replicas of the Libertas
  Americana medal.  Does anyone in the readership possess
  one of these replicas and/or have literature relevant to the
  offering of these items?   This information could prove helpful
  to the Comitia American survey that I am doing in conjunction
  with the Massachusetts Historical Society.  Thanks for your
  help. (jadams at ahh.com)"


1910 PATTERN CASE INFO SOUGHT

  Roger W. Burdette writes: "Saul Teichman referred me to you
  on the following subject:  Can anyone tell me anything about a
  legal case involving pattern coins (legality of private ownership?)
  that was being handled in Philadelphia in September 1910?
  I did a search of Lexus/Nexus but their database does not go
  back that far. Probably the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  (Federal Court) - possibly NNN vs MacVeagh, or NNN vs
  United States.

  I found a reference to it in a letter from A Piatt Andrew (Asst
  Treas Sec) to William Woodin.  (There are also other letters
  with reference to a pending "pattern decision" by Andrew.
  This appears to be part of a larger US Mint issue in 1910
  involving pattern coins and dies.  Thanks!"


ADDING CYPRUS AND MALTA TO DESIGN OF EURO NOTES

  An article from the Reuters news service on November 7th
  describes an upcoming change to the design of the Euro notes.

  "If the designs on euro notes now in the pockets of millions of
  Europeans are to be believed, Cyprus and Malta have sunk.

  But the two Mediterranean islands are due to join the European
  Union next year and now want their inadvertent omission from
  the notes, which feature maps of the continent, set right.

  http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?storyID=3777140


DROOLING DOLLAR

  Regarding the "drooling dollar" question, Joe Boling was the
  first to respond with an answer.  Neil Shafer chimed in soon
  with some additional detail:

  Joe writes: "Nepal, several denominations (2, 100, 500, 1000
  rupees, Pick numbers 29, 34, 35, 36). The two low
  denominations carry little premium for the "drooling" variety;
  the two higher denominations are priced more than double for
  the early variety (so is the 2 rupee, but the difference is only
  $1.50)."

  Neil writes: "The "drooling dollars" are from Nepal.  King
  Birendra Bir Bikram's first notes, issued in 1981, did show him
  with what is thought to be a line of "drool" coming from his lower
  lip on some notes, specifically the 2,100, 500 and 1000 rupees.
  The Standard Catalog of World Paper Money lists two varieties
  of the 2 and 100-rupee notes, with and without the drooling line.
  As far as we know, the others with the drooling line were not
  issued in the corrected version. The 5, 10, 20 and 50 rupees
  were not issued with the drooling line.  There is only a slight
  premium on the 2-rupee drool piece, and even less on the 100."


NEW BOOK ON BULGARIAN COUNTERFEITS

  A new book has been published on the counterfeits of
  ancient coins emanating from present-day Bulgaria.
  From the press release by Eugeni Paunov & Ilya
  Prokopov, Sofia, Bulgaria:

  "We have the pleasure to announce the recent publication of
  a new book:  "Modern Counterfeits and Replicas of Ancient
  Greek and Roman Coins from Bulgaria", by Ilya PROKOPOV,
  Kostadin KISSYOV and Eugeni PAUNOV., in English,
  format 16°, 78 pp., glossy black paperback, 192 coins in
  bronze, silver and gold. Sofia, September 2003.
  ISBN 954-91396.1.1.

  Publisher's price per single copy: Euro / USD 20,-- (P&P not
  included), /or USD ~23. with P&P to America/.
  [Retail price discount available for distributors and larger orders].

  This is a second booklet on the counterfeits of ancient coins
  from present-day Bulgaria.  In 1997, a team of three co-authors
  lead by Dr Prokopov prepared and edited a first small book of
  fake coins, which was subsequently published in Sofia.  It
  covered a large group of contemporary fakes of ancient Greek
  and Roman coins from Bulgaria ? 204 specimens in gold,
  silver and bronze. The present catalogue is the result of that
  first booklet.

  The authors prepared the second book in 1998 in the same
  format. It was not until 2003 that a publisher for this book was
  found. Prior to publication it was necessary to edit and reformat
  the manuscript - this publication is the result of that work and
  reflects information gathered up to the spring of 2003.

  In this small format (22.5x14.5 cm) catalogue is published a
  large group of modern forgeries of ancient Greek, Roman and
  Byzantine coins coming from Bulgaria. 192 coins in gold, silver,
  copper and bronze are catalogued and illustrated with nice
  black&white photos in chronological and geographic principle.
  From the total number, 112 specimens are Greek (2 in gold,
  the remainder in silver); 78 Roman (Republican - 5 denarii and
  a gold coin of 60 asses; Imperial - 18 in gold, 34 in silver, 5 in
  bronze, including 5 interesting 4th c. AD? multipla/medallions
  in gold and silver), as well as 2 Byzantine pieces. A special
  section of the catalogue is devoted to a group of 77 modern
  fakes of Thasian type Celtic/Thracian imitation tetradrachms,
  all in silver. For the first time, 8 sets of modern steel dies for
  striking of Roman Republican and Imperial coins are illustrated
  and commented.

  A comprehensive 5-pages introduction provides background
  information about the phenomenon of modern coin forgery
  production in Bulgaria.  The patterns, technology and workshops
  known are discussed as well as some up-to-date references
  quoted.

  Publication is devoted to serve to professional numismatists
  and amateur collectors and make familiar with the modern fake
  types of ancient coins. Such imitations are offering for sale in
  museum giftshops as  replicas and souvenirs in Bulgaria and in
  the West and North America for use in coin jewelry. The
  series will include a third issue with more than 119 additional
  forgeries.

  We will be glad to accept orders from interested individuals
  and institutions.

  SP & P Publications Ltd.
  Mr Stoyan POPOV
  Sofia BG-1000, BULGARIA
  e-mail: ccchbg at abv.bg
  tel/.fax: +359-2-718630.


JOHN FORD TAPE AND CHARLESTON SLAVE TAGS

  Gathering dust in your editor's home office were a set of
  audio cassette tapes.  They appeared to be unlabeled but
  inside the case were notes I'd made indicating that they were
  from a previous American Numismatic Association convention.
  "I'll label these properly when I have some time," I surely
  said to myself, and of course, the time never came.  I believe
  further research will confirm that these are from the Baltimore
  convention in 1993.  The note with this tape indicated it was
  a recording of John J. Ford speaking at 4pm Thursday, probably
  as part of the Numismatic Theatre.  I listened to it in my car
  over the course of a couple days, and although it was hard to
  hear parts of the talk, it was very interesting and informative.

  One part of the talk touched on coins as an investment, and
  he mentioned the 1881-S Morgan Dollar, which is plentiful in
  high grades.  "I handled 127 bags of 1881-S dollars.  That's
  127,000 coins.  They aren't rare."   [I'm paraphrasing here -
  this isn't a transcript of his exact words.]

  As an example of something he collects that IS rare, Ford
  mentioned Charleston, S.C. slave tags.  Ford had been
  accumulating these for years at $100-$200 apiece.  His
  collection of slave tags was about to be auctioned by Stacks,
  and Ford estimated they would bring $1,000-$2,000 apiece.

  For reference, here are links to some interesting web pages
  about the badges.
  http://charleston.net/stories/022403/loc_24badges.shtml

  http://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/issues03/feb03/object.html
  http://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/turningpoint/pages/6.3.htm
  http://www.wakeforestcoins.com/slave%20badges/slave%20badges.htm

  At the Stack's sale, I believe some slave tags brought
  considerably more than  Ford's estimates.

  Ford's other topics included dealer B. Max Mehl, Ford's
  discovery of Walter Breen, and a brazen broad-daylight
  theft of rare early American medals from the New-York
  Historical Society.


ANA HALL OF FAME

  In response to last week's question about the American
  Numismatic Association Hall of Fame, Chris Fuccione
  quickly located the information on the ANA web site.
  I suspected it could be found there.   Gail Baker, the
  ANA's Education Director, also responded quickly.
  She writes: "The ANA Hall of Fame with a listing of all
  the inductees is in the ANA web site (www.money.org)
  at http://www.money.org/halloffame.html"

  The following is from the web page:  "To perpetuate and
  enshrine the names of the most important numismatists of
  all time, the American Numismatic Association established
  the Numismatic Hall of Fame at its headquarters in Colorado
  Springs, Colorado.

  The brainchild of Jack W. Ogilvie, a Hollywood film writer
  and editor who served as ANA historian from 1950 to 1970,
  the Numismatic Hall of Fame was created in August 1964.
  A constitution and bylaws were drafted that year, and the
  first inductees were named in 1969. The next group was
  enshrined in 1970, with subsequent honorees inducted every
  two years thereafter."


S.I.N. ARCHIVES PRESERVED

  In response to my query, "What is to become of your
  archives?",  Phil Iverson of the Society for International
  Numismatics writes: "We have preserved all the files of
  our history that we could including all the publications
  that we know of.  Several years ago we donated our
  library to the Getty Museum here in Los Angeles.  We
  plan to donate whatever money we have left at the end
  of this year to the ANA to be used for young numismatists.
  Hopefully, our name and memory will continue on..."


DENVER MINT TOURS

  In last week's item about the Denver Mint, it was noted
  that "tours for schoolchildren still can be arranged, but
  adults hoping to see the mint must ask their congressman
  to arrange a visit."

  Gail Baker reports a third option:  "attend the ANA
  Summer Seminar! We have arranged a fabulous optional
  floor tour of the Denver Mint for Friday, July 9, 2004."


FRANKLIN MINT ARTICLE LINKS

  Dick Johnson writes: "The two links in this week's item on
  Franklin Mint both led to a dead end.  Both led to
  delcotimes.com  but neither had a Franklin Mint story.
  Perhaps for this daily it changes text that often.  FM now
  is old news for them. I searched for their archive news
  stories but could not find them.

  Perhaps this is a persistent problem in giving out news
  links. It ain't there when you want it. Even a day or two later.

  I am also leery of putting any Internet address in any
  published book -- or citing this in any bibliography. How
  long will it be available?   It is always questionable.

  I just read that CD technology will be obsolete in five years
  (before I had the chance to get my directory published in
  print and available on CDs!)   This is frustrating.  But it does
  point out the certitude of a bound book.  As long as there
  are human eyeballs, the technology will always exist for
  downloading the printed page!"

  David Gladfelter unlocked the secret of the missing pages.

  Go to http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/
   Click on "Articles last 7 days"
   Choose "Go to articles older than 7 days"
   Type "Andrew Cassel" in subject box
   Click GO to find his column for Nov. 14.

  [The broken link problem is a never-ending battle for
  web publishers.  That's why I like to quote key sections
  of articles or web pages referenced in The E-Sylum.  At
  least the quoted text will remain in the E-Sylum archives
  even if it disappears 10 minutes later from the original
  web page.   I believe most citations meet the "fair use"
  criteria for copyrighted works, but when in doubt I do
  prefer to err on side of over-quoting.  We'll be happy to
  retract or expunge anything the original author objects
  to, but in six years of editing The E-Sylum, this hasn't
  happened yet.  -Editor]


URBAN LEGEND, RIGHT?

  A bank story making the rounds of the Internet recently:
  "A thief burst into a Florida bank one day wearing a ski
  mask and carrying a gun.  Aiming his gun at the guard, the
  thief yelled, "FREEZE, MOTHER-STICKERS, THIS IS
  A ****-UP!"  For a moment, everyone was silent. Then
  the sniggers started.  The security guard completely lost it
  and doubled over laughing. It probably saved his life,
  because he'd been about to draw his gun. He couldn't have
  drawn and fired before the thief got him. The thief ran away
  and is still at large. In memory of the event, the banker later
  put a plaque on the wall engraved with the words, "Freeze,
  mother-stickers, this is a ****-up!"


FEATURED WEB PAGE

  In light of this week's anniversary of the assassination of
  President John F. Kennedy, this week's featured web page
  discusses the 1964 Kennedy Half Dollar.

  "The story of the Kennedy half dollar?s inception is perhaps
  best told in the words of then Chief Engraver of the United
  States Mint, the late Gilroy Roberts:

"Shortly after the tragedy of President Kennedy's death,
  November 22, 1963, Miss Eva Adams, the Director of the
  Mint, telephoned me at the Philadelphia Mint and explained
  that serious consideration was being given to placing President
  Kennedy's portrait on a new design U.S. silver coin and that
  the quarter dollar, half dollar or the one dollar were under
  discussion.

  A day or so later, about November 27, Miss Adams called
  again and informed me that the half dollar had been chosen
  for the new design, that Mrs. Kennedy did not want to replace
  Washington's portrait on the quarter dollar.  Also it had been
  decided to use the profile portrait that appears on our Mint list
  medal for President Kennedy and the President's Seal that has
  been used on the reverse of this and other Mint medals.
  This work was undertaken immediately, Gilroy Roberts
  sculpting the portrait obverse, while his longtime Assistant
  Engraver, Frank Gasparro, prepared the reverse model
  bearing the presidential seal."

  http://www.ecoinprices.com/kennedy-halves.htm
  Wayne Homren
  Numismatic Bibliomania Society