Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 10, Number 22, June 3, 2007:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2007, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.


WAYNE'S WORDS: THE E-SYLUM 3 JUNE, 2007

Among our recent subscribers are John Meissner, courtesy of John and Nancy
Wilson, Andy Dickes of the American Numismatic Association, Ryan Weinheimer
and Beverly Lewis-Fifield. Welcome aboard!  We now have 1,123 subscribers.

I've got to dash to catch a plane, so no time for an overview of the issue.

Some interesting stuff, as always.  Enjoy, and have a great week.

Wayne Homren
Numismatic Bibliomania Society


NEW BOOK: INTERNATIONAL NUMISMATIC DIRECTORY

Bruno Colin forwarded the following book announcement:

"In an era of globalisation and the internet, the world of numismatics
is still very scattered, and until now there has not been available any
guide that lists the world's main professionals in one volume.  That is
why, after the success of the first two editions of the EUROPEAN COIN
DEALERS GUIDE, we are now proposing to broaden it to the entire world.

"After two years of research, we have managed to bring together FOR THE
FIRST TIME around 4400 addresses, spread over 110 countries, on 400
pages, in all sectors that may interest you: Mints, suppliers and
manufacturers of equipment for collectors, numismatics magazine,
publishers, medal manufacturers...and, of course, coin dealers. We
have chosen a pocket format so that you can take the guide with you
wherever you go, and have also provided listings by country, town/city
and lastly alphabetically by name, to make searching easier.

"This guide is indispensable for professionals across the world. As
the numismatics market is one of the most varied in the world, and
it is important to be able to find contacts easily for buying,
selling or simply obtaining information.

"This guide is also a reference for collectors, both experienced
and beginners, whether at home or on a trip, or even on the Web,
for research or simply for pleasure, who will find in the addresses
they need.

If you are interested in our distributor's prices, please send an
Email to sleclere@yvert.com. "

For more information (in French) see: more information (in French)


HAEBERLIN'S AES GRAVE: MOST IMPRESSIVE NUMISMATIC BOOK?

In his blog "A Gift for Polydektes" Ed Snible wrote (on Monday May 28):
"I recently saw E. J. Haeberlin's Aes Grave (1910) at the ANS library.
The plate volume is the most impressive numismatic publication I've
seen.

"First, it's huge. The pages are folio size. I wish I had measured them.
My recollocation is that each page was 3'x2', although that seems
impossibly large. It is probably about half that.

"Second, the printing. The book was printed with a collotype process.
This makes each page near photographic in quality. No masking or
pixelization. The paper may have changed color but the ink doesn't
look faded at all. The black and white printing gives them a dreamlike
quality.

"Third, the 'coins'. Very large Roman cast coins. Coins weighing half
a pound. The designs aren't complex or especially lifelike. The
primitive casting technology forced the Romans to use very simple
designs. Simplification gives the coins a powerful and primitive
appearance. The coin's large size gives them an alien appearance.

"Finally, the surfaces. I don't know if the rough surface represents
a patina or the casting technology. The collotype process seems to
have captured it perfectly."

To read the complete blog entry, see:
Full Story


WORLD COIN CATALOGER FRED BORGMAN RETIRES FROM KRAUSE PUBLICATIONS

In his Monday blog Dave Harper of Numismatic News wrote: "Fred Borgmann
retires at the end of next week on June 1. He has been a colleague of
mine on the numismatic staff for my entire career here, now almost
three decades.

"Fred's job was and always has been cataloging new issues from the
world's many mints so that they get listed in the Standard Catalog
of World Coins. It is a precision job in an age of corporate "whatever."

"The world's mints don't beat a path to our door and hand us computer
disks or paper lists of everything they produce. Dealers have regularly
sent packages to Fred to identify coins, assign them Krause-Mishler
numbers and figure out what they are made off. He sometimes resorts
to specific gravity tests to figure it out.

"All of this takes time, patience and encyclopedic knowledge of world
coinage output. There is probably no other individual who has such a
keen sense of what is going on with new issues.

"For nearly 31 years that is what he has been doing to the benefit of
the collectors and dealers of the world who use the Standard Catalog
both in print and in its new incarnation online in NumisMaster."

To read Dave's complete blog entry, see:
Full Story

[Congratulations to Fred on such a long and fruitful career.  His
tireless work provides a clear example of the huge value that authors
and cataloguers provide the numismatic world.  Whenever you find
yourself saying that the price of a new book is too high, consider
how much time and effort would be necessary to replicate the information
by compiling it yourself.  Still think it costs too much?  -Editor]


DICK JOHNSON ON THE KANASAS CITY KANSAN, REVEREND COOLE AND COIN WORLD

Dick Johnson writes: "The Kansas City Kansan was mentioned in last
week's E-Sylum (in the article on the Medal of Honor winner). The
Kansan holds a triple fondness for me.

"I was on the staff of the Kansan and it was there I met my wife.
Shirley was a TV and church editor, while I was in the advertising
department. Yes, it was an office romance, but that did not have
the adverse stigma that office fraternization has today.

"The Kansan also published my first newspaper article. I had
interviewed Reverend Arthur B. Coole. He was the author of 'A
Bibliography on Far Eastern Numismatics,' and had written extensively
on Chinese coins. He had lived in China as a Methodist missionary and
had built an extensive numismatic collection while there.

I had purchased a copy of his book from Abe Kosoff and brought it
along on the interview. I wanted Rev. Coole to autograph it. He did,
both in English, and he pulled out of his desk his seal with the
Chinese character bearing his name. He stamped this in red on the
title page as well.

"After Rev. Coole returned from China to the United Stares he answered
a call to a church in Kansas City. Shirley knew him well and paved the
way for my interview. My resulting feature article told of his numismatic
activities in China and a little bit about his collection. Incidentally,
he gave part of that collection to Baker University in Baldwin Kansas,
where he once attended. He later sold the remainder of his collection
to Jack Klausen (who I knew as a car dealer in Kansas City that I sold
advertising to). Jack later gave up dealing in cars to concentrate on
coins, specializing in gold, and later moved from Kansas City to Reno
Nevada.

"I was still on the staff of the Kansan when a call came from John Amos
of the Sidney Daily News. They were the printers of Linn's Weekly Stamp
News and wanted a similar publication for coins. He had learned about
me from coin dealer Jim Kelly in Dayton. I met with him and circulation
director Cecil Watkins at the airport in Chicago to discuss such a coin
newspaper and the rest of the story is the beginning of Coin World."


MORE ON VON BERGEN AND MAX MEHL

In response to Jim Hirtle's submission in last week's issue, Dan
Hamelberg writes: "The notion that there was a relationship between
Von Bergen and Mehl was interesting to me, so I did a little checking.

"I have an 'agent's circular' produced by Von Bergen and sent to
individuals who answered one of his newspaper or magazine ads. The ads
were designed to attract individuals as coin agents. The circular made
such statements as 'Our agents reap the benefit of $20,000 spent in
advertising.'  Regarding the book, the heading was 'Of immense value
to agents'.  I believe the circular is either late 1889 or early 1890.
The circular is 8' x 10' and is printed on both sides.  The main heading
on the front side is 'Office of Numismatic Bank, 89 Court Street,
Boston, Mass.'  At the bottom of the back side are testimonials from
3 individuals and are all dated September and October 1889.

"The price of books to agents were based on the quantity ordered. One
dollar each in paper covers up to $200 for 1,000 copies.  Books bound
in cloth with gilt edges were $1.50 each up to $400 per 1,000.  The
circular states 'Most of our agents handle the paper cover books,
claiming that they can sell them just as easy for a dollar as the
cloth bound ones.'  Wholesale orders were also available to booksellers
and newsdealers.

"It appears that Von Bergen's main business was selling books. Unlike
Mehl, I don't believe that Von Bergen had any auctions or produced any
fixed price lists (at least I don't have any such copies in my library).

"I have a Von Bergen book dated 1913 and it is titled 'The encyclopedia
of rare coins, stamps, old books, paper money.'  It has more general
information than his previous books (272 pages).  There is a great
section on the library sale of Robert Hoe sold by Anderson Auction Co.
of New York in 1911-1912. The sale realized almost $2 million.  This
is the last dated item I have in my library by Von Bergen.

"I have a Mehl Star Coin Book purchased in a Charlie Davis sale in
1993 that we believe is circa 1904.  We believe this is the first
coin book produced by Mehl.  I have two other Coin Books before the
1910 4th edition as well.

"This would suggest that Mehl and Von Bergen had an overlap of almost
ten years in business.  I checked the line drawings in Mehl's first
coin book to those in a sampling of Von Bergen's books and there are
some identical items.  The colonial coins, the California gold, and
a few regular issue U.S. coins (early copper and the 1796 quarter)
match up.  The other line drawings are different in comparison.

"I also checked the photo plates in some of the early Mehl books to
those in Von Bergen's and could not match any of them up.  I have
all of the original printing blocks that Mehl used to print up his
rare coin books and encyclopedias and fixed price lists.  It would
appear that except for a few identical line drawings, Mehl made up
his own illustrations for his books.  None of the printing blocks
have a reference to Von Bergen. This is not conclusive evidence of
a Mehl buyout of Von Bergen's book business, however.

"I would not discount the idea that Mehl and Von Bergen had an
arrangement of some sort, but I feel that Mehl just took the book
selling business that Von Bergen started and carried it to new
heights.  Mehl was the first real coin 'huckster' in the business,
so it would make sense that he took a good idea and ran with it.
The best evidence for a 'deal' between Mehl and Von Bergen is the
use of the term 'Numismatic Bank' and the layouts of the different
books.  I don't know if the term 'Numismatic Bank' was a title that
could have private rights, or if it was more of a generic term that
anyone could use.

"There is no doubt that Mehl copied the layout of Von Bergen's books
as they are very similar in content.  Of course, if Mehl was still
around he might say it was just an interesting coincidence.  In any
event, until some hard evidence turns up to suggest that Mehl actually
paid money for the rights to do what Von Bergen did, I would stick
with the theory that Mehl saw a good thing and carried it to a new
level.

"My brief exercise in looking up the above information on the possible
Mehl - Von Bergen connection did result in more questions.  Was there
ever any correspondence between Mehl and Von Bergen?  Did Mehl ever
visit Boston, and did Von Bergen ever visit Dallas?  How did Von Bergen
market the coins he must have surely received from his book promotion?
Was Anderson Auction Co, or Wayte Raymond or even Mehl himself involved
with Von Bergen to market the coins he acquired?  The answer to some of
these questions could indicate the link between Mehl and Von Bergen we
are looking for.  But for now, so many questions, so little time."


E-SYLUMITES: MOST INFLUENTIAL AUDIENCE IN NUMISMATICS?

Dick Johnson writes: "If numismatics had a list of the 100 most
influential people in the field like Time magazine's recent list,
they would all be subscribers to The E-Sylum."

[Perhaps in the U.S. that is true, with an increasing audience in
the U.K. and a handful of English-speaking numismatists around the
world.  It's our readership which makes the E-Sylum what it is, with
wonderful submissions from those in the know about often obscure
yet always interesting numismatic-related topics.   -Editor]


INPUT SOUGHT ON PROPOSED AMERICAN NUMISMATIC SOCIETY MOVE

In a 29 May, 2007 letter to Fellows of the ANS, Dr. Ute Wartenberg
Kagan asked for input on the society's proposed moved to a new location
in New York.  She wrote: "Some of you may have heard that the American
Numismatic Society's Board of Trustees has been discussing whether to
move from its current location at 96 Fulton Street.  At its upcoming
meeting in June, the Trustees will vote on a proposal to move to a
new location in Manhattan.  As part of this process, the Trustees
are interested in explaining the current plans and soliciting your
views."

ANS Fellows are invited to a meeting on June 6, 2007 at 6 pm at the
American Numismatic Society at 96 Fulton Street, where "ANS Officers
and other representatives of the ANS, our brokers and other consultants
will be explaining the proposed plans."

[The ANS has also arranged a conference call dial-in number for Fellows
unable to attend the meeting in person.  I will forward my comments by
email in advance of the meeting.  With Dr. Kagan's encouragement, I
will also forward the questions and comments of E-Sylum readers who
wish to represent the numismatic research community.  Please send me
any input tomorrow (June 4) at whomren@coinlibrary.com.  I'll forward
it to the ANS on June 5, the day before the meeting.  -Editor]


CANADIAN NUMISMATIC ASSOCIATION CONVENTION EDUCATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ANNOUNCED

Educational events for the upcoming 2007 Canadian Numismatic Association
convention have been announced.  The convention will take place at the
Sheraton Fallsview Hotel & Convention Centre in Niagara Falls, Ontario
from July 11 to 15.  The events were listed in the May 29 issue of the
C.N.A. E-Bulletin (v3n34).

"Michael Walsh, C.N.A. Educational Chairman, is pleased to announce that
at the 2007 C.N.A. Convention in Niagara Falls will feature the largest
and most diverse educational symposium in the past 20 years. Fourteen
speakers are now confirmed to present papers on Aspects of North
American Numismatics on Wednesday and Thursday, July 11 and 12.

"The papers presented will be compiled and printed in a hardcover book
later this year titled "Aspects of North American Numismatics II,"
following the format of the 1986 edition of Aspects.

Wednesday 11 July

Daniel Gosling - "The Life and Times of J Douglas Ferguson"
Philip Carrigan - "Auction Sales of the 19th and 20th Century
  with Significant Canadian Content"
Graham Esler (Topic TBA)
Ron Greene - "Early tokens of Nelson, B.C."
Henry Nienhuis - "Canadian Error Coinage"
Dr. Peter Moogk - "The Value of Archaeological Evidence to
   18th and 19th Century Numismatics"
David Bergeron - "Banking in the French Regime"

Thursday 12 July

Michael Walsh - "Weak Strikes on Canadian Coins"
Rob Turner - "The 1858 Canadian Cent"
Paul Berry - "The Double Tournois in 17th Century Canada"
H. Don Allen - "Ones' Own Money: Two Centuries of Cheque
  Evolution in Canada and the United States"
Tolling Jennings - "A Short History of the Lasqueti Mint"
Ted Leitch - "The Eight Real in the New World"
Dr. Chris Faulkner - "Some Observations Regarding the
  Production of the PEI Holey Dollar"

For times and other details, check the CNA web site:
Full Story


ANA CALLS FOR EXHIBITS AT MILWAUKEE CONVENTION

Also this week the ANA issued a call for exhibits at its upcoming
summer convention.  Bibliophiles are encouraged to submit and
application to exhibit in the numismatic literature class.

"The American Numismatic Association is inviting its members to
showcase their collections, knowledge and creativity with fellow
collectors by presenting a numismatic exhibit at the Milwaukee
World's Fair of Money, August 8-12.

"Exhibitors have the option to enter their displays in competitive
(judged, with open and young numismatist divisions), non-competitive
or marquee (invitational) categories. Competitive exhibits are judged
on a variety of standards, including educational value, presentation
and degree of difficulty.

"For complete rules, application forms, and resources for preparing
an exhibit, visit www.money.org (Select "World's Fair of Money" from
the "Featured Links" tab, then select "Collector Exhibit Area
Information & Applications"). Exhibit applications must be submitted
by July 2. For questions or more information about presenting a
numismatic exhibit in Milwaukee, call 719-482-9826 or e-mail
convention@money.org."


WORLD PAPER CURRENCY COLLECTORS

Last week Bob Knepper asked about a book bearing the stamp "W.P.C.C.
Library."  Joe Boling writes: "WPCC is World Paper Currency Collectors,
an organization that was quite active until the early '90s. I don't
recall who had the library nor where it went."

[Can anyone tell us more about the organization?  Is it still active?
If not, what became of its library?  -Editor]


JOHN BIG TREE

Ginger Rapsus writes: "I am seeking information on John Big Tree, who
claimed to be one of the models for Fraser's Indian Head Nickel.  Was
there a biography published some years ago?  I remember seeing John Big
Tree on TV in the 60s."


SPAIN PLACES ROUTINE CLAIM ON ODYSSESY SHIPWRECK

"The Spanish government has filed claims in U.S. federal court over a
shipwreck that a Florida firm found laden with Colonial-era treasure,
an attorney said Thursday.

'If the vessel was Spanish or was removed from that country's waters,
any treasure would belong to Spain, said James Goold, an attorney
representing the government.

Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. CEO John Morris said in a statement
Thursday that 'such a move was anticipated by Odyssey and is considered
normal in Admiralty cases.'

The company has previously said Odyssey would notify all claimants once
it conclusively determined the ship's identity. Odyssey said it was not
found in Spanish territorial waters.

The company announced two weeks ago that it had discovered a shipwreck
containing 500,000 gold and silver coins somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Tampa-based company said the site was outside any country's
territorial waters but would not give the exact location or name of
the ship.

To read the complete article, see:
Full Story


BOOK BURNING PROTESTS LACK OF INTEREST IN BOOKS

Len Augsberger forwarded the following article highlighting a sad
state of affairs in the used book business.

"Tom Wayne amassed thousands of books in a warehouse during the 10
years he has run his used book store, Prospero's Books.

"His collection ranges from best sellers like Tom Clancy's "The Hunt
for Red October" and Tom Wolfe's "Bonfire of the Vanities," to obscure
titles like a bound report from the Fourth Pan-American Conference
held in Buenos Aires in 1910. But wanting to thin out his collection,
he found he couldn't even give away books to libraries or thrift
shops, which said they were full.

"So on Sunday, Wayne began burning his books protest what he sees
as society's diminishing support for the printed word.

"'This is the funeral pyre for thought in America today,' Wayne told
spectators outside his bookstore as he lit the first batch of books.

"The fire blazed for about 50 minutes before the Kansas City Fire
Department put it out because Wayne didn't have a permit to burn them.

"Wayne said next time he will get a permit. He said he envisions
monthly bonfires until his supply -- estimated at 20,000 books --
is exhausted.

"Wayne said he has seen fewer customers in recent years as people more
often get their information from television or the Internet. He pointed
to a 2002 study by the National Endowment for the Arts, that found that
less than half of adult respondents reported reading for pleasure,
down from almost 57 percent in 1982.

"Dozens of customers took advantage of the Sunday's book-burning,
searching through those waiting to go into the fire for last-minute
bargains.

To read the complete article, see: Full Story

[If you can't even give them away, what DO you do with them?  Surely
there are individuals and libraries somewhere that would take on some
books, but finding them and shipping the books is time-consuming and
expensive.  It's easy to see the storekeeper's frustration as well
as the horror of the thought of books being destroyed. -Editor]

Dick Johnson adds: "You may have seen the picture or read the news
story this week of the book dealer in Kansas City, Missouri who
could not dispose of some books anyone wanted. So he burned them.
He said he was protesting society's diminishing support for the
printed word.'

"Well, there is a numismatic angle to this story, albeit slim. It's
not that he included some numismatic books in that flaming pyre
(although I could name a few candidates for such destruction). The
numismatic connection is that his store was owned by my relatives
from 1918 to the mid 1970s.

"Great Uncle Arthur Johnson first ran a grocery store in that same
building beginning in 1918. Years later when a hardware store on the
opposite corner became available he sold the grocery store to his
brother Albert Johnson and Arthur moved the hardware store into his
building. Eight of my relatives worked in those two stores across
the street from each other over the years, including my grandfather,
plus half a dozen aunts, uncles and then cousins, with the second
generation taking over in 1954.

"In 1994 I traveled back to Kansas City. My sister drove me around
to some of the old family sites. The hardware store was a bookstore
by then, but the grocery store was still in business. We went inside
and to our surprise they were still using the same old cash register.
It still had Uncle Albert's name on it!"


QUIZ ANSWER: SPEND A PENNY

Last week I asked, "When used in euphemistic terms, what does the
phrase 'Spend a Penny' mean, and how did it first arise?"

Tom DeLorey writes: "That's an old one. Pay toilets took one of the
large British pennies, so if you got up and told your mates you were
off to "Spend a Penny," it meant you were on the way to the 'loo'."

NBS President Pete Smith writes: "I believe the phrase, 'spend a penny'
is a euphemism for using a (public) toilet.  Sorry I can't stay and
chat, but I've got to go see a man about a horse."

Joe Boling, Ginger Rapsus and Ron Abler had the correct answer as well.
Bob Lyall adds: "Sadly, inappropriate activity has caused many such
public toilets to be closed down."

Martin Purdy of New Zealand writes: "I believe a penny was the price
one paid to use a pay toilet when they were first introduced.  Last
time I was at Heathrow the price was 20 (new) pence, so the price has
gone up 48-fold (1 decimal penny = 2.4 predecimal ones) in the meantime!"

Gar Travis forwarded the following definition from a U.K. phrases web
site:  "This refers to the (former) use of coin operated locks on public
toilets. It was used mostly in the UK and mostly by women (men's urinals
were free of charge).

"Such locks were first introduced, at a public toilet outside the Royal
Exchange, London, in the 1850s. The term itself is later though. The
first recorded citation of it is in H. Lewis's Strange Story, 1945:

"'Us girls,' she said, 'are going to spend a penny!'

Dennis Tucker adds: "In response to your recent Quiz Question, I hadn't
heard this expression, either, until very recently, and courtesy of
fellow Yankee Kenneth Bressett.

"Ken has written a wonderful new book called 'Milestone Coins: A Pageant
of the World's Most Significant and Popular Money'. It is at the press
now and will debut at the ANA World's Fair of Money in August.

"In one of the book's essays, Ken discusses phrases and terms with
numismatic origins ("filthy lucre," "pin money," "pass the buck,"
etc.). Among other examples, he offers this:

"In England the admonition 'Spend a penny' means do not be frugal---
just do it and spend the money. The expression originated with the
public toilets that charged a penny toll to open the lock on the doors."

www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/spend-a-penny.html


CATALOG OF THE "OTHER" MONEY OF AMERICAN INDIANS?

Panda America issued a press release this week about its ongoing series
of commemorative coins issued in association with various American
Indian tribes.

"The coin series began in 2002; with two tribes that they currently work
with: the Poarch Band of Creek Indians and the Shawnee Tribe. The coins
attracted considerable amount of attention not just in the coin industry,
where collectors are consistently searching for American History items,
but also among casual Americans looking to learn more about America's
History and Native Americans in general.

"Because the coins are officially approved coins, Panda America has
worked closely with each Tribe and each Tribe has approved every aspect
of the process. Some Tribes choose to feature their logo or crest, while
others feature specific individuals, former chiefs or leaders in the
Tribes History, as well as pivotal events in the Tribes history.

To read the complete press release, see: Full Story

[Numismatists are familiar with Indian Peace Medals made for tribe
officials, and wampum and other forms of money made and used by native
Americans, but has anyone compiled a study of OTHER numismatic items
associated with various tribes?  I assume there must be a number of
token, scrip or commemorative issues made for or issued by tribes over
the years, but I don't recall seeing a compilation of them.  Is anyone
aware of one?  -Editor]


MANLEY-KAGIN ANA ETHICS HEARING TURNS ON AUCTION CATALOGUE EVIDENCE

Earlier in The E-Sylum we mentioned the dispute between Dwight Manley
and Don Kagin over Kagin's handling of a transaction involving a western
gold ingot that had been stolen from Manley.  An article by Dave Harper
of Numismatic News discusses the dramatic hearing of Manley's complaint
by the ANA board, which may be the first such event involving numismatic
literature (an auction catalog) as a piece of evidence.

"The American Numismatic Association board of governors has decided to
take no action on Dwight Manley's ethics complaint against Don Kagin.
Manley had asked the board to determine what level of due diligence was
required by the ANA in a potential transaction involving a rare and
highly identifiable California Blake & Co. gold ingot that later turned
out to be stolen.

"The ANA board addressed that question May 29 in an all-day public
hearing in Long Beach, Calif. The board's decision, which advised Kagin
to improve his due diligence, was released to the public May 31. The
decision can be read at numismaticnews.net.

"The two parties battled in a Westin Hotel ballroom arranged to resemble
a courtroom from 9 a.m. until approximately 5:40 p.m.

"Manley as the complaining party was first to be sworn in as a witness.
All witnesses were under oath and a court reporter took down the
proceedings.  Manley alleged that Kagin knew or should have known that
the Blake & Co. bar, one of just 34 known and one of just three of the
Mold 3 type, belonged to him because he bought it in 2000 at a Sotheby's
auction along with about 80 percent of the ingots put on the block at
that sale.

"When it was Kagin's turn to testify, he said he did see the bar sold at
the Sotheby's auction, at which he was also a bidder, to bidder L106 and
that he "speculated" that the buyer could have been Manley, but he did
not know that Manley was the buyer because he was not physically present
in the auction room. Manley was in a skybox behind one-way glass
overlooking the auction room and bidding by telephone using three bidder
numbers.

"Vartian pointed out that most of the bars Manley had purchased at that
sale have since been sold by Manley to others. Some five and one-half
years had passed from the time of the Sotheby's sale to the time of the
actions under dispute, which occurred for Kagin during the 2006 Florida
United Numismatists convention Jan.6 and continued until Jan. 24.

"The legal contest focused on whether Kagin knew who bidder 106 was.
Manley said he told him in the auction room immediately after the sale,
because he approached Kagin to buy a bar that Kagin had purchased.

"Kagin said he had written three bidder numbers onto the inside cover
of his catalog, 106, 124 and 109. He circled them and wrote, "Manly?
(sic)."

"The ANA board passed the catalog among its members to look at it and
the notations in it."

[There is far more to the daylong proceeding than the excerpts shown
here.  Readers are encouraged to read Harper's complete article (and
all the accounts published in the numismatic press) for more detail.
-Editor]


NICKEL COINS SNAPPED UP AND MELTED IN INDIA

The Tribune of Chandigarh, India reported Monday that lower-denomination
nickel coins have disappeared from circulation and that gangs are buying
them up for melting profit.

"With the Re 1 and Rs 2 coins having suddenly disappeared from
circulation, several gangs are now collecting these coins from
shopkeepers in the region for the intrinsic value of the metal content
in these coins. With the cuperonickle (with copper and nickle metals)
coins having a good quantity of nickel, the prices of which have touched
an all time high of Rs 2500 per kg, these gangs are collecting the coins
and melting them to extract nickel and sell it in the market.

"The gangs are not just restricted to the traders in the urban areas,
but have appointed "sub-agents" in the semi-urban areas to collect coins
from people by moving from door-to-door. In Mubarakpur near Dera Bassi,
one such "sub-agent" has been collecting the coins by paying the gullible
villagers Rs 2 for every Re 1 coin and Rs 4 for every Rs 2 coin (old coin).

"With this artificially created scarcity of coins in the market, it is
the common man who is the real loser. More often than ever before, he
is simply offered sweets for the change money that any shopkeeper owes
him after deducting the bill for the goods bought."

To read the complete article, see: Full Story


SITCKERS ON BRITISH POUND COINS ADVERTISE HOTEL'S EVENTS

Appropriately timed due to the two items we carried last week about
advertising uses of coins in Canada and the U.S., Chris Eimer forwarded
this article from The Times of London regarding the use of stickers
on British pound coins for publicity.

"The Royal Mint has rebuked a hotel for using coins to advertise
entertainment.

"The Golden Lion in St Ives, near Huntingdon, in Cambridgeshire,
has been adding stickers to pound coins in the bar till and handing
them out in change to promote its events.

"A spokesman for the Royal Mint said: "We are not aware of any legal
powers to prevent people using stickers on coins for advertising.

""However, the Royal Mint disapproves of the use of the coinage in
this way as it brings the dignity and integrity of the coinage into
disrepute.""

To read the complete article, see: Full Story

[So the practice of stickering coins in England is technically legal,
though frowned upon by the Mint.  -Editor]

 CANADIAN RESTAURANT PROMOTION PUTS STICKERS ON NICKELS
 esylum_v10n21a18.html

 "SILVER SURFER" ALTERED QUARTERS DRAW U.S. MINT IRE
 esylum_v10n21a19.html

 David Ganz' article on the Silver Surfer quarter (Numismatic News):
 Silver Surfer quarter (Numismatic News)


HERLALDIC ART COMPANY GOLD MEDAL ISSUE PRICE

New subscriber John Meissner writes: "I was doing a Google search for
'Heraldic Art' and came across an earlier E-sylum where Rich Hertzog
was posing a question about the issue prices for Heraldic Art medals
(the Cleveland Ohio firm which started releasing half-dollar sized
commemorative medals in 1959):

"At least for issues #1 and #2 (Alaska and Hawaii statehood, respectively)
of the Heraldic Art Co. gold medals, the original sales price was $40.
This is according to the 1959 and 1960 Clifford Mishler "Medals and Tokens"
catalogs, which I trust implicitly.  I have not been able to confirm this
using contemporary numismatic articles or advertisements, however, it is
possible that these prices were only available to those on the Heraldic
Art Co. mailing list or subscription list.  I assume that these catalogs
would also include original list prices for later medals in the Heraldic
Art Co. series."

 INFORMATION SOUGHT ON HERALDIC ART MEDALS 1959-1976
 esylum_v10n15a09.html


RESEARCHER NOTES GAPS IN INSTITUTIONAL NUMISMATIC PERIODICAL HOLDINGS

John Meissner writes: "The early "Numismatic News", "Coin World" and
"Numismatic Scrapbook" issues are invaluable for tracing the history
of coin clubs, personalities, etc.  I have been talking with a number
of people at the ANA about the fact that every time I need to find a
back issue of a publication, regardless of the series, I find gaps.
This would suggest, since I am taking a random sampling depending on
what I'm researching, that many of their holdings are not complete
runs, which I find extremely troubling.

"Just as an example, yesterday while I was at the ANA I found that
they were missing the Spring 1991 issue of "FUN Topics" from the Florida
United Numismatists.  Doubtless they are missing others in this series
- this happened to be the one I needed.  Not too many people will get up
in arms about a missing "FUN Topics", but I think that some people will
recognize the problem if an entire issue of the Numismatic News cannot
be found at either the ANA or the ANS, and that the headquarters for
that publication has an incomplete issue (which proves that it exists).

"My biggest beef is that the ANA is missing complete years of issues of
Coin World, but I think the best way to point out this problem and to
make people drop what they are doing and agree that it is a problem is
to highlight one particular issue that appears to be lost.

"I am willing to fill in these gaps at the ANA where I can, and have
done so, for example, by contacting the Society of United States
Commemorative Collectors.  The ANA was missing the earliest issues,
which are the most important ones.

"Another thing that I found yesterday is that the ANA that isn't complete
on the population reports/census reports from PCGS and NGC (missing a
number of early issues in both cases).  Neither PCGS or NGC said there
was much they could do about it.  I wonder if either company has archived
complete sets of these reports, or if anyone would have a complete run
that photocopies could be made from.

"Most recently I have been trying to locate the 9 November 1964 issue
of Numismatic News and came up empty at the ANA, ANS and Numismatic News
itself.  If this issue is not on microfilm and no one has bothered to
save a hard copy, then it is lost, especially if the people at Numismatic
News don't care about completeness.  This Numismatic News publication is
from only 40 years ago, for gosh sakes, and they probably printed up
50,000 copies at the time.  Are they all gone?

[Gaps are a perennial problem for numismatic libraries.  It's a tall
order to collect one of each single issue.  Institutions often must rely
on the whims and resources of donors to build up and maintain their
collections.  I'm sure some E-Sylum readers would be willing to help
fill in the gaps once they know what's needed.  In the past we have had
pleas for certain issues from the ANS library, for example.  If
librarians or researchers are aware of such gaps, pleas make them know
to our readers.  -Editor]


FEATURED WEB SITE: MINNEAPOLIS FEDERAL RESERVE BANK

This week's featured web site is recommended by John and Nancy Wilson.
They write: "The Minneapolis Federal Reserve has some great information
on early state banks in the U. S.; how many there were, and where they
existed. It's great for research and information.  It was published in
the Fed's September, 2006 Quarterly Review.  The author is Warren E.
Weber from the Minnesota Fed's research department.

Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank


  Wayne Homren
  Numismatic Bibliomania Society