Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 7, Number 03, January 18, 2004:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2004, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.


SUBSCRIBER UPDATE

  Among recent new subscribers is Roger Moore, courtesy
  of David Gladfelter.  Welcome aboard!  We now  have
  621 subscribers.


NBS MEETING AT FUN

  Fred Lake writes: "The Numismatic Bibliomania Society held
  a meeting at the annual Florida United Numismatists show in
  Orlando, Florida on January 10, 2004.  Some of the people
  in attendance were:

  David Crenshaw
  Howard Daniel
  George Fitzgerald
  Bob Fritsch
  Dan Hamelberg
  John Kraljevich
  Fred Lake
  Jan Monroe
  John Reichenberger
  Elmer Rhode
  Tom Sebring
  Tom Sheehan
  Wendell Wolka

  After introductions, there were interesting comments regarding
  collecting interests, recent auctions, George Kolbe's narrow
  escape, etc.  Dan Hamelberg talked about his library and also
  updated the audience on the ANS plans for their library and
  new publications."

  With Fred's permission, Bruce Perdue has added his photo
  of some of the attendees to the NBS web site.  Check it out:
  http://www.coinbooks.org/nbsfun.html

  [I know many of the faces in the picture, but not all.  Let's
  add a list of their names to the web page.  Who can help?
  Thanks.  -Editor]


NBS/NI/IBNS TABLE AT PORTLAND ANA

  Speaking of NBS meetings,  Howard A. Daniel III, has
  received oral confirmation from the ANA at the FUN Show
  for an ANA National Money Show club booth in Portland,
  Oregon, where he will promote NBS,  Numismatics International
  (NI) and the International Bank Note Society (IBNS) from
  March 26th to 28th, 2004.

  Howard will also be moderating separate meetings and
  educational forums on March 27th (Saturday) for IBNS
  at 11 AM and NI at 12 Noon in the same room.  The
  date and times are regularly approved, so he is not
  expecting any changes, but everyone should check their
  show program.

  NBS members are invited to both meetings, but especially
  the NI meeting because Scott Semans will be speaking
  about his recommendations for creating numismatic catalogs.
  Howard will be the speaker at the IBNS meeting and will
  show and speak about North Vietnamese Army (NVA)
  military monies used on the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

  A special invitation has been made for the Chopmarked Coin
  Collectors Club and Philippines Collectors Forum to also
  attend one or both of the meetings.  Each meeting will have
  everyone introducing themselves and a Show & Tell where
  everyone can talk about a piece from their collection or just
  bought at the show for 1-5 minutes.  If you have any questions,
  please contact Howard at Howard at SEAsianTreasury.com

  NBS members and all others are also invited to visit the booth
  and use it for leaving messages for other NBS members,
  meeting others there, or just to take a break and rest.  If an
  NBS member finds a prospective member at the show, please
  send them to the booth and Howard will convince them to join
  us, or at least to sign up for  The E-Sylum.

  [Thanks, Howard!  -Editor]


LAKE BOOKS SALE #72 CLOSING

  Fred Lake writes: "A reminder that Lake Books' sale #72
  closes on Tuesday, January 20, 2004 at 5:00 PM (EST).
  Bids may be made by FAX, Email, or telephone until that
  time. The sale features Part III of the library of Dr. William
  E. Hopkins and features the reference material on Ancients
  and World Coinage that were a big part of his library."


UPDATE FROM DAVE BOWERS

  Q. David Bowers writes: "As announced in Coin World,
  Numismatic News, the American Numismatic Rarities
  website, and elsewhere, I have signed on with American
  Numismatic Rarities as their "numismatic director," rejoining
  a great "dream team" group of people, many of whom I had
  the pleasure of working with in earlier times.

  The numismatists there include John Pack and Rick Bagg
  (consignment gathering specialists) and  Frank Van Valen,
  with whom I've worked for a long time, but long ago he
  took some time out to catalogue for Christie's.  Then there is
  Beth O. Piper, who got her first job in coins with me many
  years ago. One of my favorite anecdotes about Beth relates
  to one day when a group of the biggest "names" among
  American coin dealers were in Wolfeboro looking at rarities
  for an upcoming sale.  Rick Bagg came into the room, stating
  that someone had consigned a "grading set" of PCGS
  Saint-Gaudens twenties, one each MS-60 to MS-65.  A
  test was proposed on the spot, a piece of masking tape was
  put over the label of each, and each was given a designation,
  1 to 6, for the six holders.  The country's greatest experts all
  wrote down their evaluations. The  tape was then removed
  and---guess what?--Beth came closest to the PCGS score!

  Doug Plasencia is so busy taking pictures for the upcoming
  ANR sale that he won't talk with me now about some photos
  for a book I am now completing for Whitman--a 288 page
  volume about double eagles, probably everything you wanted
  to know, and a lot of other stuff you never cared about.
  There will be a lot of hitherto unpublished information (at least
  not in a single volume) giving interesting and specific
  information on vast quantities of double eagles being exported
  to Europe, personal interviews conducted by me with many
  importers (beginning with Jim Kelly and Paul Wittlin in the
  1950s, when I first became interested in hoards), and more--
  including recent talks with Mark Yaffe and Marc Emory, just
  to keep up to date, including the expose of a fantasy hoard, a
  practical joke, but it landed in Breen's 1988 Encyclopedia!

  If any E-Sylum readers would care to send me previously
  unpublished information on hoards of double eagles, secret
  finds, etc., etc., and can do this within the next few days, I
  will use anything of interest to me. I will also keep confidential
  any information, if desired, as I have done for several Swiss
  and other foreign bankers and for the one-time owner of four
  1933 double eagles (my gosh, am I piquing anybody's interest?).
  There will also be some new (to most readers) stuff on how
  Matte Proofs and Roman Finish Proofs were made, some
  great info sent to me by Roger W. Burdette (who lives close
  enough to the National Archives to poke around there on a
  regular basis), some nifty info from David E. Tripp (who can
  with equal facility regale listeners on the subject of MCMVII
  Ultra High Relief or 1933 double eagles), and from others.
  Of course, you can expect that if Whitman Publishing Co.
  were not involved and if budget were not a consideration,
  the double eagle book could be a thousand pages! Really.

  Back to the ANR staff, it was nice to see Cynthia LaCarbonara
  and Laurel Morrill on the auction podium the other day in
  Orlando at the Rarities Sale, which totaled about $4 million.
  After reading the description in the catalogue of the Thomas
  Sebring Collection of treasure coins, I could not resist bidding
  on and buying an 1856-S $20 from the Fort Capron treasure,
  the marvelous Herndon medal, ex the Garrett Collection years
  ago, made to honor the captain of the lost S.S. Central America,
  and even a Chinese export porcelain cup fished up from a 1799
  wreck in the Antipodes or somewhere like that.  My wife
  Christie out-collects me on many things, can even read Chinese
  coin inscriptions, etc., and when I brought this prize little cup
  home,  she reminded me that some years ago she had bought
  similar pieces from a shop in New Bedford (or was it Salem?),
  Mass.,  and told me the story about the wreck.  John Kraljevich,
  Jr., is,  of course, the very definition of a young numismatist
  with talent.  The other day I had a nice lunch with Mike Hodder
  (who is up to his ears in cataloguing the Ford Collection for
  Stack's), and we both agreed that the future of numismatics was
  in good hands with John K and John's friend, Vicken Yegparian,
  also in his twenties, and a Stack's staffer. Of course, in the
  modern market of certified coins, perhaps numismatic
  scholarship is a dead science. But, I hope not.

  Christine (Chris) Karstedt has held the ANR banner high for
  about a year now, with impressive success--it is fun to sit back
  and watch! Such an excited, enthusiastic staff I have never seen.
  While I am at it, I'll mention Chris' daughter Melissa, by now a
  familiar face at conventions and auctions, Jennifer Meers
  (graphics artist and guru extraordinaire, whose talents
  constantly amaze me, and who did the entire layout work for
  my 1,050-page A CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH HISTORY,
  produced without budget limitations under the aegis of Dwight
  Manley and the California Gold Marketing Group), is now
  laying out some ideas for new ANR magazine to be called
  THE NUMISMATIC SUN, of which I will be editor (if I pass
  the spelling test which they plan to give me). Joel Orosz
  writes to say that he has already subscribed---hopefully not a
  leap of faith, but faith well placed! Now I will HAVE TO write
  it!

  Jenna King, who answers the ANR telephone at 1-800-569-0823
  and sounds as if she always enjoys hearing from me, takes
  care of incoming calls at ANR, while Jeremy Wiggin helps
  with mailing, shipping, and many other things, including, the
  other day, a scramble through a storeroom full of "stuff" to
  find a stack of papers about a certain double eagle. Mary Tocci
  I've known for a long time--10 years? 15 years?--and if you
  order a copy of my new double eagle book from ANR, she
  will be the one who takes care of your request.  I almost forgot
  to mention my son Andrew, who has been around coins ever
  since he first learned how to walk and talk, or even before
  then. He is on the ANR staff, too, and, according to Jenna
  King, "never rests--he has your work ethic." Now, if he can
  only learn to look at 1,000 Morgan dollars at a convention
  and cherrypick 10 or 20 good ones. Actually, he can already
  do some of this sort of thing--good for ANR customers who
  like quality.

  My new e-mail address within a day or two will be
  qdavid at anrcoins.com, but until then it remains
  qdbarchive at metrocast.net. My new business mailing address,
  in case anyone wants to send me an old-fashioned letter with
  a stamp on it, is Dave Bowers, American Numismatic Rarities,
  Box 1804, Wolfeboro, NH 03894.  Wonder where they got
  that nifty box number!

  That's about it for now. Happy New Year and good health
  and fortune to all."

  [It's always great to hear from Dave, and we'll be looking
  forward as always to his new numismatic publications.
  Let the Numismatic Sun shine!   -Editor]


ASYLUM INDICES POSTED

  Bruce Perdue writes: "I finally have posted the complete
  Author and Subject Index for our print journal, "The Asylum."
  They can be reached through the "Asylum" link on the main
  page or at:
  http://www.coinbooks.org/asylum_subject_index.html
  http://www.coinbooks.org/asylum_author_index.html

  NOTE: these addresses have changed since the last
  announcement, so old bookmarks will be out of date.

  Both documents are available as downloads as either a
  Microsoft Word document (.doc) or as an Adobe (.pdf)
  file...  if anyone wants them in any other format let me
  know."

  [This is the cumulative index from volume I through XX
  (1980-2002), as compiled by William Malkmus.  Bill
  has been hard at work keeping it up to date for later
  publication.  -Editor]


FRACTIONAL CURRENCY SHIELD SITE SOUGHT

  Speaking of changed web addresses, Michael J. Sullivan
  writes: "Here is an extract from The E-Sylum v6n49.
  Does anyone know what happened to this web site?  It
  had great content, but can no longer be located."

  This week's featured web page is Shannon and Paul
  Burkhard's page on U.S. Fractional Currency Shields.

  "Fractional Currency Shields consisted of a printed shield-
  shaped background (nearly always gray in color, but
  sometimes pink or green) on which were pasted by hand
  39 different Specimen (printed on one side only) Fractional
  Currency notes, typically consisting of 20 fronts and 19
  backs, all from the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd issues."

  http://www.fractionalnotes.com/fractionalshields.htm

  [The fractionalnotes.com web site is indeed gone.  A
  web search did not turn up a relocated site.  Can anyone
  help?   By the way, the search did turn up a page using
  the identical text to describe Fractional Currency Shields.
  The text is on the Harry Bass Foundation web site, in
  text taken from the Bowers and Merena sales of the Bass
  holdings.   Perhaps the Burkhards borrowed the text from
  there.  Here's the address:
  http://www.harrybassfoundation.org/basscatalogs/BASSSALE1/b1-1-g.htm
  -Editor]


BECKER/ROSA COUNTERFEITS

  Regarding Bob Leonard's commends on the "Becker"
  counterfeits last week, Gene Anderson writes: "Let me say
  that I am in complete agreement with Bob Leonard's belief
  that the "Becker" counterfeit I inquired about a couple of
  weeks ago was a Peter Rosa production.  I had read the
  book "Classical Deception", and my correspondence with
  author Wayne Sayles this past summer tended to support
  that idea. I was hoping to find proof regarding this item.
  Perhaps someone out there has some old Rosa catalogs or
  advertisements that would shed the light of certainty on the
  matter. For clarification, the name Becker is not on the edge
  of either the obverse or reverse. It is on the blank side of each
  uniface piece."


BAY AREA COUNTERFEITS

  Eric Newman writes: "In your Gene Anderson counterfeit
  story in the last issue, I recall Bay Area counterfeits which
  were the subject of litigation in or near Nebraska about 20
  years ago.  I do not remember any names involved but the
  forgeries were beautiful and were all early American without
  edge decoration. They were dental stone centrifugal casts, I
  believe, rather than spark erosion.  I begged George Hattie
  at the American Numismatic Association to do something
  about it on behalf of the ANA but nothing happened.  The
  suit was settled and the source not disclosed.  I have a large
  file on the entire matter but without any name I cannot locate it.
  You may ask Mr. Anderson whether he can help me help him.
  I would like to know what forged coins Mr. Anderson is
  working with and when he thinks they were made."

  [I asked Eric, "Did the Bay Area counterfeits include Jules
  Reiver's 1794 Dollar?  He showed me two 1794 dollars one
  evening, and they were identical down to the last detail, save
  one: one of them had a flat spot on the edge, which was where
  the sprue was cut off and filed down - that coin was a
  counterfeit taken from the other one."

  Eric replied: "The 1794 US dollar was a centrifugal cast and
  as you point out the port was on the edge. He showed the
  cast to me long before he acquired the original and the fact
  that the cast had a file mark or so was very deceptive.  When
  he saw the original and it had the same file mark as the cast
  then he was really impressed with the quality of forgery.  I have
  no idea where the cast came from and never heard that it was
  a Bay Area product. I will look a little more to see if I can
  find my file but wish I had some name as a clue."

  [The "file mark" Eric refers to is an adjustment mark on the
  planchet, made when a mint worker filed some silver off
  it to bring its weight into tolerance.  The adjustment mark,
  as well as all die characteristics and circulation wear were
  identical on the two pieces, making for a very deceptive
  counterfeit.  The piece came to light through Jack Collins'
  research in the 1794 dollars.  Jack had matched Jules' piece
  via plate photos to a particular auction, but Jules had purchased
  his piece (later found to be the counterfeit) elsewhere.  Several
  years later Jules was able to purchase the genuine coin and
  reunite the pair for study.  -Editor]


CYBER COUNTERFEIT DETECTOR

  Adrián González Salinas. of Monterrey, Nuevo León, México
  sends a link to an interesting article about software designed
  to detect potential counterfeiting of currency.  It comes from
  Wired magazine, which notes the the features are easily
  defeated.  Here's an excerpt:

  "Anti-counterfeiting provisions in the latest version of Adobe
  Systems' flagship product have proven little more than a speed
  bump, but company representatives insist that including them
  was the right thing to do.

  Adobe acknowledged last week that its Photoshop CS digital
  editing package includes a "counterfeit deterrence system"
  designed to prevent users from accessing images of currency.

  When the counterfeit deterrence system detects an attempt to
  access a currency image, it aborts the operation, displays a
  warning message and directs the user to a website with
  information on international counterfeiting laws.

  Almost as soon as word of Photoshop's new anti-counterfeiting
  provisions started to circulate, users began finding ways around
  the system."

  "With digital counterfeiting on the rise worldwide, partly due to
  software like Photoshop, Adobe voluntarily chose to work with
  international banks to help solve the problem, said Kevin Connor,
  Adobe's director of product management for professional digital
  imaging."

  "Central banks are pushing for counterfeit protections in
  software as well as hardware. The anti-counterfeit software in
  Photoshop CS was developed by the Central Bank Counterfeit
  Deterrence Group, an organization established by the governors
  of the G-10 central banks to promote the use of anti-counterfeit
  devices in the computer industry.

  The inner workings of the counterfeit deterrence system are so
  secret that not even Adobe is privy to them. The Central Bank
  Counterfeit Deterrence Group provides the software as a black
  box without revealing its precise inner workings, Connor said."

  http://www.wired.com/news/infostructure/0,1377,61890,00.html


BRITISH NUMISMATIC LIBRARY FOR SALE

  Gar Travis writes: "I found this on the net - 172 books -
  what a library...
  http://www.goldenbks.co.uk/NumismaticBooks.htmll"

  [Golden Books of North Devon, England is offering a
  "Collection of 172 Good Numismatic, Coin and Medal
   Books from the library of: Mr Edwin D. Burt"  The
   collection is being offered as a single lot at a fixed
   price, including shipping anywhere in the world.
   -Editor]


NEW JERSEY COINAGE BOOK PUBLISHED

  Gary A. Trudgen forwarded the following press release
  from the ANS:

  The American Numismatic Society is pleased to announce
  the publication of The Copper Coinage of the State of New
  Jersey: Annotated Manuscript of Damon G. Douglas, Edited
  by Gary A. Trudgen.  The book contains the original
  manuscript of researcher Damon G. Douglas on the early
  copper coinage of the state of New Jersey.  The original
  manuscript, which was written several decades ago, has
  been annotated by some of the leading specialists in this field
  [David D. Gladfelter, Roger A. Moore, MD, FAAP, Gary A.
  Trudgen, Dennis P. Wierzba, Raymond J. Williams.]  130p,
  3 illus., ISBN 0-89722-289-X.  The book is available through
  the ANS' distributor, David Brown Book Company,  Toll-free:
  800 791 9354, Tel: 860 945 9329, Fax: 860 945 9468, Email:
  david.brown.bk.co at snet.net.  Price $45; 30% discount to
  ANS members with valid ID.

  When the American Revolutionary War ended in 1783, there
  was no central mint to supply the newly independent states
  with coinage. In fact, nearly a decade passed before Congress
  formed the US Mint in 1792 and attempted to unify the
  growing nation's coin types. In the meantime, some of the states
  produced their own coins, under what were often primitive and
  difficult circumstances. Mute witnesses to our nation's
  beginnings, these coinages have not always received the proper
  study they deserve. A case in point are the copper coins minted
  by the State of New Jersey, some of the more interesting state
  coinages because of their design and the circumstances under
  which they were made.

  Decades ago, Damon G. Douglas began an extensive research
  project on the history of the New Jersey state coins. This
  important project was never completed, but Douglas' unfinished
  manuscript was acquired by the American Numismatic Society
  where it has been one of the more frequently consulted items
  on early state coinages in the library collection.  In the interest
  of making Douglas' work more widely available, the American
  Numismatic Society publishes this valuable study for the first
  time....

  For further information contact: Pamala Plummer-Wright at
  212-234-3130 x 231, or by email: wright at numismatics.org


CHARGE COIN BOOK PUBLISHED

  According to an item in the January 20 issue of Numismatic
  News (p30), "Alpert's Catalogue of Charge Coins" has been
  written and published by dealer Stephen P. Alpert of Los
  Angeles.  This is the book's first edition.  In his introduction,
  Alpert explains the history of charge coins, predecessors of
  the modern credit card."

  The 72-page book "sells for $15 postpaid, plus sales tax
  in California.  Send orders to Stephen P. Alpert, P.O. Box
  66331, Los Angeles, CA 90066."

  [Charge coins are another specialty of mine.  I collect by
   type nationally, and by variety for the Pittsburgh area.  The
  only prior work on the subject that I'm aware of is the one
  by Philadelphia-area collector Ed Dence, who published
  two or three editions of a simple photocopied catalog.
  The first one didn't even have an index.  I wrote one, sent
  it to Ed, and it was incorporated in the next edition.
  -Editor]


NUREMBERG JETON BOOK PUBLISHED

  The same issue of Numismatic News (p30) has a review
  by Russ Rulau of a new book by L. B. Fauver titled
  "Nuremberg and Nuremberg Style Jetons."   The 300-
  page hardbound catalog "will almost certainly replace
  the works of Eklund, Barnard, Berry, Drewing, Gebert,
  Levinson, Mitchiner and others insofar as their Nuremberg
  coverage overlaps the current volume."

  "Fauver said he spent some eight years preparing this
  work.  The book may be ordered from Oak Grove
  Publications, P.O. Box 521, Menlo Park, CA 94026.
  It retails at U.S. $31.95 postpaid domestically, or
  $33.95 overseas postpaid by surface delivery. For
  overseas airmail, add $16."


CARSON CITY MINT BOOK PUBLISHED

  Rusty Goe's new book on the Carson City Mint
  has been published.  An ad in the January 26th issue of
  Coin World offers the book, titled "The Mint on Carson
  Street: A Tribute to the Carson City Mint & A Guide to
  a Complete Set of CC Coins."   The 530+ page book
  "pays tribute to the popular Nevada branch mint and
  and the many wonderful coins produced there."

  The retail price is $69.95.  Through March 31, 2004,
  the book may be ordered for $59.45 plus $8 shipping
  (and 7.375% sales tax for Nevada residents).  To order,
  contact Southgate Coins, 5032 S. Virginia St., Reno, NV
  89502 or call  775 -322-4455.


HARRY COLE, COUNTERFEITER

  David Phillips writes: "I am looking for information about early
  life of HARRY COLE, 1821 born Batavia, NY, died in prison
  1885.   Especially need information on his counterfeiting career
  between 1821-1860 before he moved to New York City and
  Philadelphia. He printed private banknotes and National  Bank
  Notes."


THROWING COINS AWAY

  Regarding the question about museums discarding ancient
  coins, Bob Leonard writes: "When I was researching cut
  bronze coins in the ancient Near East in August 1991, I
  contacted Dr. Brooks Levy at Princeton to obtain casts of
  Waage, Antioch On-The-Orontes IV, Part Two: Greek,
  Roman, Byzantine and Crusaders' Coins (Princeton, 1952)
  nos. 360 and 361, groups of halved bronze coins of Roman
  Antioch.  I was told that these coins--which should have
  been preserved with the other finds--could not be located
  and had apparently been discarded.  While these were
  fragments of coins, and corroded as well, it was a great loss
  to scholarship that they were not properly conserved and
  retained."


NUMISMATIC BOOK SALE

  George Depeyrot of Paris writes: "There is now a special
  promotion on numismatic books (see Moneta web site,
  below).

  Moneta:
  http://www.cultura-net.com/moneta/content.htm

  Romania:
  http://users.pcnet.ro/coin/page4.html

  Helsinki congress (session 30):
  http://www.valt.helsinki.fi/yhis/iehc2006/sessions.html


VAN LOON QUIZ ANSWER

  Ferdinando Bassoli was quick to respond with an
  answer to last week's Van Loon quiz.  He writes:

  "Reply to your quiz is
  -heedendags Penningkunde... Gravenhaage 1723
  -Beschryving der Nederlandsche hist.Penningen...
       Haage 1723
  -Beschryving aloude Hollandsche Histori der Keyseren...
       Gravenhaage 1734
  -and the more known Histoire Metallique des XVII
       Provinces des Pays Bas depuis l'abdication de
       Charles V jusqu'à la pais de Bade, 1732, à la Haye,
       in 3 parts.

  I quote only the first editions. More will appear in the next
  volumes of the monumental work of Christian Dekesel
  (Bibliography of Numismatic Literature, Kolbe & Spink)."


ONE IS NOT ENOUGH

  Alan V. Weinberg writes: "Your story about the obsessive
  English bibliomaniac Richard Heber's desire for three of
  everything in rare books he sought: one for preservation/
  condition, one for personal use, one for his friends' use
  reminds me of a curious similar penchant on the part of
  our own Smithsonian's numismatic collection:

  In 1967 before Congressional sub-committee hearings, the
  two Indiana senators (Birch Bayh and another) sought to
  have a Congressional bill passed allowing the Josiah K. Lilly
  (CEO of Indiana's Lilly Pharmaceuticals and son of the founder
  Eli Lilly) family to donate the late Josiah's virtually complete
  American and foreign gold coin and ingot collection to the
  Smithsonian in exchange for a $5.5 million dollar estate tax
  credit - the modern day equivalent of perhaps $50 million
  dollars. Several prominent numismatic dealers and Vladimir
  Clain-Stefanelli, the Smithsonian's  numismatic curator,
  testified on behalf of this tax credit / essentially taxpayer
  purchase of the collection.

  I testified against the bill before the Sub-Committee as a
  large % of the collection was already represented in the S.I.
  collection and, in essence, the taxpayer was paying $5.5
  million for a bunch of expensive "duplicates" for approx.
  10% of the collection still actually needed.

  I was successful in delaying the bill for up to a year but the
  Senatorial sponsorship was just too strong, coupled with
  Clain-Stefanelli's expressed promise to Congress , under
  oath, to have the S.I. divest and sell off the duplication
  represented in the collection. Great!  That's what I'd sought.

  Decades passed and not a duplicate was released by the S.I.
  I read in the Dec '93 Maine Antique Digest that US Supreme
  Court Chief Justice Wm Rehnquist was head of a S. I.
  de-accessioning  and oversight committee and wrote him of
  the situation and the S.I.'s sworn promise to dispose of the
  numismatic duplicates. Weeks later in Feb 1994 I received
  a detailed 2 page single-spaced typed /signed letter from the
  Secretary of the Smithsonian Robt McC. Adams of whom
  Chief Justice  Rehnquist had inquired.  Adams' letter specifically
  (and absurdly) stated that "duplicate" in the normal sense of the
  word was not a "duplicate " to the S.I, according to his
  information from numismatic curator Clain- Stefanelli.

  That the S.I. required two specimens for obverse and reverse
  display [including such absurdities as two 1927-D St Gaudens
  $20's and two 1822 half eagles, both represented in the Lilly
  Coll'n and already in the S.I.. holdings] and a third for traveling
  displays to other organizations. And thus no "duplication" was
  created with the acquisition of the Lilly Coll'n !

  Today, we have absurdities like a shrinking numismatic public
  display at the S.I., dismissal of unneeded curatorial staff and a
  stripping off the walls and cases of any and all Lilly gold pioneer
  ingots as "questionable" (a not insignificant $ proportion of the
  $5.5 million collection acquisition) while not a single "duplicate"
  Lilly coin has ever been de-accessioned, despite curatorial
  promises to the contrary in 1967.

  It would appear that bibliomaniac Richard Heber's obsessive
  desire for three of every book was somehow contracted by
  the Smithsonian.

  In a follow-up note Alan added: "I still have and read this
  afternoon, before typing the piece, Sec'y McC.Adams' S.I.
  letterhead letter referring to Clain-Stefanelli, Rehnquist, et al.
  The letter does indeed re-define "duplicate" just as I indicated.
  Not Adams' understanding of "duplication" but he ascribes it
  to Clain-Stefanelli.

  I was attending George Washington University law school in
  DC at the time and thus had access to the hearings and indeed
  an invitation to testify, which I did.

  I recall Abe Kosoff testifying and Clain-Stefanelli but cannot
  specifically recall what other dealers were present although one
  would think one of the Stacks, at least, was there. Lilly bought
  much from and through them."


U.S., CANADA, MEXICO: ALL AMERICANS

  Chick Ambrass writes: "In response to Tom DeLorey's
  comment concerning the MassBay Colony being the first
  Mint in America, and the comment about it being in Canada
  --  this has been a minor pet-peeve for me for some time
  now. Not only have the citizens of the U.S., but also most
  of the rest of the world, use the term "Americans" exclusively
  for  the citizens of the United States. Canadians, Mexicans,
  as well as Brazilians are all technically "Americans".  In 1688
  when the letters in reference were written... Canada was part
  of the American colonies. I wish that we as citizens of the U.S.
  could come up with a usable, convenient term other than
  "United Statesians".  I guess I should gripe to John Adams,
  and Thomas Jefferson, and others about naming the new
  nation that they created....they should have thought more
  about the term that would be used to call its citizens.  Thanks
  for allowing me to air my gripe."


HIDDEN GOLD TREASURES REDISCOVERED

  Arthur Shippee forward the following story about
  the remarkable survival of the Iraqi Nimrud Gold
  hoard and the Afghani Bactrian horde.  The story
  came from an Australian source, thanks to Explorator,
  a weekly notice of classics, history, archaeology news
  on the net.  Non-numismatic, but fascinating nonetheless.
  I recommend reading the original article.  Here are
  some excerpts:

  "There were many features common to both the Iraqi
  campaign and the Afghan conflict: American hi-tech weaponry,
  vigorous anti-war protests all over the world, the sudden
  collapse of opposition forces ? and, less obviously,
  archaeological catastrophe.

  Great publicity was given to the looting of the Baghdad and
  Kabul museums, and also to the criminal destruction of the
  Buddhas of Bamiyan by the Taliban.

  Less attention has been given to the unexpected reappearance
  a few months ago of two fabulous hoards of ancient golden
  objects with oddly similar histories. Both have been compared
  with the objects found in the tomb of Tutankhamen; neither
  has ever been seen, except very briefly.

  In each case, the initial rediscovery was made just before the
  fog of war descended and the treasures were hidden away
  again, only to re-emerge in circumstances of Tintin-like
  daringdo."

  IN IRAQ:
  "On August 2, 1990, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, the
  United States took military action (Desert Storm) early in
  1991, and the gold vanished from view into the most secure
  vault of the Iraqi Central Bank, which was then flooded with
  sewage.

  The treasure was next seen last summer, after a team of Iraqi
  investigators, assisted by National Geographic, had pumped
  out two million litres of water (a process that required three
  pumps operating for three weeks). The Nimrud finds were in
  three boxes with intact seals, exactly where they had been
  left."

  IN AFGHANISTAN:
  "The current issue of The Economist, on the other hand,
  reports that although the vault was indeed sealed, it had been
  done by the director of the bank having deliberately broken
  his key in the lock, thus jamming it.

  As coalition troops were poised to take Kabul in 2002,
  Taliban officials had tried in vain to enter the vault. What
  they could not have known is that although the gold bars
  were in the vault, the Bactrian treasures were, in fact,
  stored in a room upstairs, in a number of ordinary travel
   trunks underneath bags containing old coins.

  The Taliban had walked straight past the treasure. But four
  months ago, Hamid Karzai, the new President of Afghanistan,
  and a number of his ministers inspected the vault, which had
  finally been opened by a local locksmith, and announced to
  the world that everything was safe.  It appears that they did
  not actually see the Bactrian gold (as they claimed) but even
  so, according to The Economist, it is apparently intact."

  To read the full story, see:
  http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/01/13/1073877824063.html


MINT TOKENS

  Kavan Ratnatunga noticed a Royal Mint Token for sale
  recently.  The inscription is:   "Royal Mint Token / 10p
  [in circle] / Valid only within the Royal Mint Llantrisant"
  The seller wrote: "For obvious reasons the workers in the
  Royal Mint are not allowed to have coinage on their person
  whilst at work. Thus these tokens were issued for use in the
  canteen and the like."

  Do many mints around the world use similar tokens or
  script within their walls?   In a sense, these tokens would
  have a lot in common with prison money and Leper Colony
  tokens, used only within an institution where outside money
  is for one reason or another, forbidden.


THOUSAND DOLLAR BILL CONFISCATED

  The Associated Press reported this week that the mayor
  of St. Louis suburb Pine Lawn, Missouri "fancied a rare
  $1,000 bill that was seized in a traffic stop, so the town
  wrote the driver a check and the politician kept the cash.

  Not a fair trade, according to the driver, a retired trucker
  who said he carried the bill in his pocket for two decades."

  "Experts said collectors will pay $1,300 to $3,500 for the
  bill showing President Grover Cleveland, depending on its
  condition. The U.S. government printed its last $1,000 bill
  in 1934 and took the denomination out of circulation in 1969
  after technology replaced paper notes for transfers of large
  sums."

  "According to an official report, Smith was taken to the
  police station, where the mayor watched as police counted
  Smith's money, including the $1,000 bill, several $100 bills
  and a few $2 bills."

  "The mayor fetched 10 $100 bills, and police switched the
  money and deposited it in an account for seized drug assets,
  the report said.

  In September, county prosecutors refused to charge Smith
  with selling drugs and ordered the money returned. The city
  issued Smith a check for $3,231 to cover the $1,000 bill and
  his other cash."


FINDING A PENNY

  From the Internet comes this supposedly real inscription
  of John Penny's epitaph in the Wimborne,  England cemetery:

  "Reader, if cash thou art In want of any,
  Dig 6 feet deep; And thou wilt find a Penny."


FEATURED WEB PAGE

  This week's featured web page is recommended by Larry
  Mitchell in honor of Martin Luther King day.  It is the U.S.
  Bureau of Engraving and Printing's "African Americans on
  Currency" page.

  "It is a little known fact that five African Americans have had
  their signatures on currency. The four African American men
  whose signatures appeared on the currency were Blanche K.
  Bruce,  Judson W. Lyons, William T. Vernon and James C.
  Napier.  These men served as Registers of the Treasury."

     http://www.moneyfactory.com/document.cfm/18/97
	 
	 
	 
  Wayne Homren
  Numismatic Bibliomania Society